A:

Thank you for sharing your heart so honestly. Based on your letter, you have walked a long road with the Lord — and I can tell that you’re sincerely seeking His will. That desire to know and love Jesus is beautiful, and it’s clear that He’s been drawing you closer and closer to Himself.

But I want to be very clear about something: to knowingly walk away from the Catholic Church is to walk away from Jesus Himself. 

Not because He leaves you — but because He has chosen to remain with His Church. He is the one who founded it, who promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it and who continues to pour out His grace through the sacraments. The Catholic Church is literally the only God-made religion; every other denomination is man-made.

You are right to want your children to have a living, joyful relationship with Jesus. But the fullness of that life with Him is only found in the Church He gave us — the Church that guards His word, celebrates His sacraments and makes His Body and Blood present on every altar. Even when the community feels cold, Christ is still there. He never leaves.

I think of the “hidden Christians” of Japan. For centuries, when the Church was outlawed and priests were gone, they held on — generation after generation — without the warmth of community or clergy. They clung to the faith, knowing that to abandon the Church was to abandon the truth of Christ. Their perseverance is a challenge to us today: If they could remain faithful under persecution, we can remain faithful through inconvenience or disappointment.

You said your parish feels lifeless. But you are part of your parish. That means you have the power to bring warmth, to invite, to smile first, to start something new. You can be the spark of the community you long to find. I guarantee there are others in your parish who feel exactly as you do — waiting for someone to open a door, start a Bible study, invite them over for coffee or simply notice them. Maybe God is asking you to be that person.

And yes, it may mean driving farther for Mass, or finding a different parish nearby that helps your family grow. But the answer can never 
be to leave the Church. The Eucharist — the very Body and Blood of Jesus — is worth every sacrifice, every mile, every act of endurance.

Stay close to Him. Stay in His Church. And bring to life what you wish your parish already was. Christ has not abandoned you — maybe 
He is sending you.