3 minute read
Catholics Returning Home: Providing a Joyful and Prayerful “Welcome Back” to Our Faith
Throughout the United States, seemingly in every family, some Catholics have fallen away from the faith for one reason or another. We may even have some in our own families. We want them to come back and practice the faith, but it’s hard to know where to start or what to say. Here at Immaculate Conception, we can offer them participation in the Catholics Returning Home sessions. The six-week program will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on April 20, 21, 27, and 28 and May 4 and 5 in St. Joseph’s Hall.
Lee Jarocki helped to bring the nationwide program Catholics Returning Home to Immaculate Conception in 2012. Due to COVID-19, the program hasn’t been conducted for the past two years. However, Lee is ready to bring the program back, knowing the impact it can have. Many people who have gone through Catholics Returning Home are now practicing Catholics at Immaculate Conception or other area churches. Having fallen away from the faith for a time himself, Lee loves that he can now share the Catholic faith with others who have fallen away.
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“There is a real need for this,” he says. “Every family has at least one person who is no longer practicing the faith. There’s no silver bullet to get them back. It involves prayer, leading by example, and being joyful in the faith.”
Lee says bringing people back starts with prayer and an invitation to Catholics Returning Home. He loves this program because it helps bring people back to the faith through the sessions and support of the facilitators and participants.
“Sometimes, people think they are not welcome because they are divorced or somehow excommunicated,” Lee says. “We always tell them that they are always welcome back, no matter what or how old.”
Many of the past participants have been 60 or older. But there have also been some in their 20s or 30s.
“If we aren’t joyful in the faith, no one will want what we have,” Lee says. “We have to be joyful and make people feel welcome.”
Most sessions have had five to 10 participants. Attendees are never required to share their stories on why they left the faith.
“We want Catholics to be able to tell two stories — their faith story and the story of the Church,” Lee says.
Three of the classes are led by a priest. Attendees learn some baseline Catholic history, hear stories of other Catholics who have come back, and discuss Reconciliation. There is also a tour of the church, which is always a neat session. Some attendees have even gone through the session twice.
“We really want to get our Catholics back to the regular practice of the faith,” Lee says.
