Former President Sir Ellis Clarke is calling on adult Catholics to recommit themselves to the practice of the Catholic faith, and so set a better example for young members.

He made the call as he spoke last Sunday at the close of the Emmanuel Community’s “Week of Prayer and Fasting for the Nation” at Queen’s Park East, Port of Spain.

The nation’s first president said not long ago there was a “sense of devotion” towards the Mass and the Eucharist among the faithful. He lamented that today this seems to have been lost “in a secular world that rejects Christ, rejects religion and, specifically, the Catholic Church”.

He expressed the opinion that many Catholics did not truly believe Christ was present in the Eucharist. “People have so shallow a faith that it amounts to nothing,” he remarked.
He said if it were announced that Christ would appear at Mt Hololo (St Ann’s) the following day, “you would not be able to get near there.”

But Christ was on the altar at every Mass, he noted, and yet some Catholics found it difficult to attend Mass every Sunday, far less every day.

Sir Ellis said a man once told him that he did not attend Mass every Sunday because “he was no fanatic”. Sir Ellis then surmised that those who attended Mass daily might therefore be viewed as lunatics.

Sir Ellis, who is involved in revising the Trinidad and Tobago Constitution, said he recently travelled to Tobago for a public consultation on the draft document. He said many in the audience took the opportunity to air their grievances over what they considered a poor relationship with Trinidad.

Sir Ellis noted that it was not so much what was said by those in the audience, but the passion with which it was said. He remarked that if adult Catholics showed that kind of passion, some young people would not consider the Mass as boring.

He encouraged parents to teach their children about the Liturgy of the Word and suggested that before Mass, they sit with their children and go through the readings so when they hear them during Mass, they could relate to them.

He encouraged adult Catholics to learn and study the Eucharist as “it is up to us to get to know enough about the Eucharist so we can expound on it to others.”

Sir Ellis also encouraged adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, saying Christ was delighted by visitors to chapels and churches where there was Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. He lamented, however, that very few young people were willing to spend even a few minutes before the Sacrament.
“Our only hope of retrieving our young people is to get them to develop a love for the Eucharist and this would manifest itself in their going to Mass and Adoration.”

He ended by noting that in 48 hours he would celebrate the 80th anniversary of his First Communion.

Sir Ellis was the final speaker during the week-long event organised by the Emmanuel Community. Each day featured a different speaker.

After the final talk, Community members and participants were anointed with oil by Community founders Fr George Pritchett and Violet D’Ornellas.

Participants then walked around the Savannah in procession with banners and, later, with lit candles. They prayed the rosary and sang along the way. A large replica of the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe was carried on a van ahead of the procession. The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was celebrated on December 12.
- RS