Saint Josaphat - Detroit

 To my surprise I discovered that St. Josaphat is one of three Catholic churches within three blocks. The churches form an almost straight line and make for a dramatic vista as they dominate the surrounding neighborhood, their spires visible from the nearby expressway.

At one time churches formed the heart of the community. It was at the church that children and seniors met one another to socialize, young adults met future spouses and a place where milestones were celebrated. The church was the place for the community to come together at times of loss and find solace in God and in the arms of neighbors. The church was a place of communal actions, where we worshiped as a community, loved as a community and even grieved as a community.

Looking at the vacant land that surrounds Saint Josaphat is difficult to picture the once thriving community that lived and worked on these empty streets. The surrounding community is mostly abandoned though the church endures.

Will our modern world endure without the Church? Will we endure without a center to our community? Do we no longer need to laugh together and love together and grieve together? Do we no longer need to worship together? Sometimes the Church seems quaint and old fashioned in our modern world where there's little time for neighbors or Sundays spent at Mass and parish bake sales and food drives for the needy. Yes, the church will endure since the church is God and God is everlasting. But will mankind endure without the church?