She was an indispensable member of Sacred Heart parish, also within walking distance of home. Her four children grew up amongst Catholic friends and neighbors, with whom they have formed life-long friendships. Rita had learned the great secret of a good life: grow where you're planted. She lived, worked, and worshipped in one small place, and she did it for a very long time. She knew who she was, and she knew where she belonged.
The average American, we are told, now spends more than 70 minutes per day behind the wheel of an automobile. I've been there. For several years I lived in one city, worked in another, and worshipped in yet another — probably averaging 80 minutes per day on the road during the week, and 45 minutes on Sundays. We are also told that the average American moves once every five years, in pursuit of better jobs, bigger homes, and greener grass. Obviously, this is not the sort of life that builds community or enduring relationships. The steady decline over the past several decades in what researchers call “social capital” — such as personal involvement in religious, neighborhood, and civic activities — is undoubtedly related to an increase in American restlessness.
Rebuilding our Catholic communities will require a reversal of these trends. Although we can't go back to the horse and buggy, we can still make some progress. Paradoxically, the first thing that some of us will have to do is move. Catholic life properly revolves around the Mass, and that means it revolves around the parish church. It would be good if neighborhoods immediately surrounding the church could be re-settled by Catholic parishioners. Ideally, you should be able to walk your kids to and from the parish school every day. You should be able to hear the Angelus bells from your living room sofa. Visitors should be able to turn the corner and instantly recognize a “Catholic neighborhood” because of the front-yard Mary gardens. Short of this, perhaps you could still re-locate closer to your church, and therefore closer to a network of committed Catholic friends.
Along the same lines, it is imperative to find employment close to home, or to find a home close to employment. By doing so most people can easily gain one hour per day, or twenty hours per month. Twenty hours per month! And you were wondering where the time went? Just think, the time you once spent commuting can now be devoted to rebuilding your spiritual and family life. Perhaps you will even have dinner with your family every night, and lead them in the evening rosary. Perhaps you will get to a mid-week Mass. Perhaps you will play more ball with your boys, or get more work done in the garden. Not only that, you will be doing your patriotic duty by reducing air pollution and American dependence on foreign oil.
Depending on your choice of employment, working close to home also means that you are more likely to meet your neighbors at work. That means more face-to-face time with fewer people, which is essential to restoring ritual and familiarity to our chaotic lives. Besides the obvious social benefits of meeting neighbors while on the job, this also provides an incentive for responsibility. Men are more likely to behave responsibly in business if they know that they are going to meet their customers in the pews on Sunday morning, or at the Prunedale Heights Homeowners Association meeting.
Finally, once you've put down your roots, stay put! Plant your own trees and watch them grow to maturity. Know your neighbors, your barber, your grocer, and your baker. Know who to call in an emergency, and who is likely to have a cup of sugar just when you need it. Educate yourself on the history of your city and region, and pass that history down through the generations. Give your children a place to call home, a place with the consolation of intimate familiarity. Give them a place to speak in hushed tones of hallowed memories, a place to get all teary-eyed and sentimental when no one is looking. Do this, my friends, and Saint Rita of Sacramento will smile upon you.
© Copyright 2002 Catholic Exchange
Jeff Culbreath resides in Sacramento, California, with his wife and three children. The Culbreaths attend St. Stephen's Catholic Church, and are expecting their fourth child in February.
