and interesting activities. A Catholic Christiancommunity is a group of people who gatheraround the person of Jesus Christ to worshipGod and live in the light of the Holy Spirit.Catholics come together at Mass, in the sacra-ments, and in parish activities to pray, to cele-brate joys, to mourn losses, to serve others, toprovide support, and to receive strength fordaily life. A Catholic parish offers all of this —and much more — to people who recognizethe importance of walking with others towardunion with God.

Because they want to help other people.There are lots of opportunities within thesecular world to volunteer. What’s miss-

ing is the spiritual dimension that service with-in the Catholic Church provides. It’s more thanjust a “feel-good” activity. It’s part of the greatcommandment (see Mark 12:28ff) to love Godand to love your neighbor as yourself. In reach-ing out to others, Catholic volunteers becomeinstruments of God’s love. The CatholicChurch offers opportunities to touch the livesof people at home or around the world.

Because they hunger for the Eucharist.Many people come back to the CatholicChurch because they feel an intense long-

ing for the Eucharist. Sometimes it happens ata wedding, a funeral, a baptism, a FirstCommunion, or a confirmation. Sometimes ithappens when people are alone or facing diffi-culties in life. They describe it as a deep hungerfor the spiritual nourishment that comes whenthey receive the Body and Blood, soul anddivinity of Jesus Christ. This hunger for theEucharist triggers a recognition of the presenceof Christ in other sacraments, which drawsthem even more deeply into the practice oftheir faith. It is, without exception, the number

Where to Go for More Information

Books:The New Catholic Answer Bible. Our Sunday Visitor,

2005.Aquilina, Mike, and Regis Flaherty. The How-To Book of

Catholic Devotions. Our Sunday Visitor, 2002.Dubruiel, Michael. The How-To Book of the Mass. Our

Sunday Visitor, 2002.———. A Pocket Guide to Confession. Our Sunday

Visitor, 2007.———. A Pocket Guide to the Mass. Our Sunday

Visitor, 2007.Duquin, Lorene Hanley. A Century of Catholic Converts.

Our Sunday Visitor, 2003.Madrid, Patrick. Where Is That in the Bible? Our Sunday

Visitor, 1999.Smith, Claire Furia. Catholicism: Now I Get It! Our

Sunday Visitor, 2006.

one reason people come back to the CatholicChurch.

Most people discover that coming back tothe Church is not an event as much as it is aprocess that involves a little pain, a little laugh-ter, some thinking, some prayer, some discern-ment, and a lot of letting go. “My actual returnto full participation in a parish took aboutthree years after I felt the first longing,” oneperson admitted.

And what do they get in return? TheCatholic Church offers union with Jesus Christin Scripture, in prayer, in the community ofothers, in the Eucharist,and in the other sacra-ments. It offers spiri-tual support ingood times andbad. It offersdivine wisdomthat is thousandsof years old. Itoffers meaning andpurpose in this lifeand the promiseof life after death.

You’ll knowyou are homewhen you beginto feel a deep senseof peace.

The Eucharist is thenumber one reason peoplecome back to the Church.

0208

For additional Catholic resourcesor to order bulk copies of this pamphlet contact:

200 Noll Plaza • Huntington, IN 467501-800-348-2440 • Fax: 1-800-498-6709 • www.osv.com

Copyright © 2007 by Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.

By Lorene Hanley Duquin

Nihil Obstat: Rev. Michael Heintz

Censor Librorum

Imprimatur: @ John M. D’Arcy

Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend

February 17, 2008

The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free of

doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained therein that those who have granted

the Nihil Obstat or Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

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You Can’t Go Home Again is the titleof a once-famous novel by ThomasWolfe. There is deep wistfulness in hisnovel, for he believed that goinghome again is bound to be a greatdisappointment.

Not so with the Catholic Church.No matter how long you’ve been away,you can always come home. You canstart coming to Mass. You can become apart of a parish community. You can enter intothe faith far more deeply than when you left.

Chances are, you’re already feeling a strangeinner pull. No matter what anyoneelse tells you, the spiritual longingyou feel is God trying to draw youback to himself. But God neverforces. God only invites. Whetheryou return to the CatholicChurch is a decision that onlyyou can make.

There are as many reasonsfor coming back to the

Church as there are peoplewho left. While God is atthe center of each person’s

decision to return, the cir-cumstances are varied.

Here are ten reasons thatinfluenced the decision ofothers to return to the prac-

tice of the Catholic faith.

Because they wantmeaning in life. Inthe hustle of today’sbusy lifestyles, lotsof people suddenlyrealize that theirlives have lost asense of meaning or

some people come back when they realizethat Catholicism has the full-

ness of truth and grace.The Catholic Church was

not founded by a singlereformer or historical

movement. It is not frag-mented by individual interpre-

tation of Scripture. There arethousands of Christian denominations, butonly one Catholic Church, which has beenguided and protected by the Holy Spirit fromgeneration to generation for some two thou-sand years.

Because they want their children tohave a faith foundation. Some people

return to the Catholic Church becausethey recognize that raising children in a culturethat promotes “doing your own thing” can leadto disaster. Children need to experience thespiritual dimension of life. They need a struc-tured system of belief and a firm moral foun-dation that goes beyondhuman logic and reason-ing. People returnbecause they want asolid foundationupon which theirchildren can buildtheir lives.

Becausethey want tobe part of a

faith community.Many people seek asense of belonging.But community ismore than just friendlypeople, good sermons,

purpose. They begin to ask them-selves, “What is my life all about?Why do I do what I do?” There iswidespread confusion in our cul-ture with regard to morality andtruth. The Catholic Church offers

a beacon of light that gives mean-ing to our existence and leads to

eternal life.

Because childhood memories surface.Some people say childhood memories of

feeling connected to God surface in laterlife. They begin to ask themselves, “Is it possibleto recapture that simplicity of faith? Can I everreally believe that God is watching out for me?”The secularization of our society leads peopleaway from the spiritual side of themselves. TheCatholic Church offers both religious and mys-tical experiences that feed the heart, the mind,the body, and the soul.

Because they made mistakes. Some peo-ple become burdenedwith the weight of

accumulated sin. Theywant to get rid of the guiltof having hurt them-selves or others. Theybegin to ask themselves,“Will God ever forgiveme? Is there any way Ican start over with aclean slate?” You canalways tell God thatyou’re sorry. But if youwant the complete assur-ance of God’s forgivenessand the grace to start again,the Catholic Church offers absolu-tion in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Because they need to forgive others.Sometimes people hold on to anger and

resentment toward individuals who havehurt them deeply. Maybe it was a family

member or a friend. Maybe it was some-one or something in the Church.

Our modern culture condones andencourages anger and revenge. But hatred andbitterness are spiritual cancers that eat at theheart of a person. The Catholic Church pro-

vides the opportunity to seek God’s help in for-giving others, even when the other person doesnot ask for forgiveness or does not deserve it.The ability to forgive is a gift that opens a per-son’s heart more fully to God’s love and peace.

Because they want to be healed. Somepeople carry deep spiritual wounds.They struggle with anger at God over

bad things — a terminal illness, a debilitatinginjury, a broken relationship, mental or emo-tional problems, an act of violence against aninnocent person, an unexplainable accident,some natural disaster, the death of a loved one,or some other deep disappointment. TheCatholic Church cannot change these situa-tions or explain why they happened. But thereare people in the Church who can assist inspiritual healing and help you get on with yourlife.

Because the Catholic Church has thefullness of truth and grace. Many peoplewho leave the Catholic Church are

blessed by the experience of worshiping for awhile in another Christian denomination. But

“Will God ever forgive me?”

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