Randy Hain on Fixing Catholic Boredom

". . . I often hear complaints that the 'Mass is boring,' 'the priest is difficult to understand' or 'the priest didn't wow us with an exciting homily.' Still more complaints (whining?) center on the lack of exciting music during Mass or the 'inconvenience' of having to attend Mass weekly as well as all the Holy Days of obligation. I also frequently hear this comment: 'I wish our parish was more like insert name of any Protestant megachurch. They have a lot of fun in their services and the music is awesome.  They even have a coffee bar!' The list of complaints is likely much longer, but I think you get the picture.

"Much has been written about the explosion of Attention Deficit Disorder (A.D.D.) in the past few decades. Many studies link kids' over-stimulation from video games as a big contributor to the problem. Adults have the same challenges as we struggle with our own addictions to smart phones and information overload from computers, TV, etc. Is this problem spilling over into our spiritual lives? Do we go from parish to parish looking for some sort of 'Catholic buzz' to keep us entertained? Do we flirt with heresy by attending non-Catholic churches? Are our brains, craving more and more stimulation, incapable of finding peace? We need to tune out the 'noise' to achieve the quiet and focus required in the Mass."

In a recent commentary, writer Randy Hain, Senior Editor for The Integrated Catholic Life, reflected on the challenge of boredom as we celebrate Mass, and he offers some suggestions on countering this challenge.

To access Randy's complete post, please visit:

Integrated Catholic Life: Fixing Catholic Boredom in Six Easy Steps (5 NOV 15)