This past week at Sunday mass, I noticed that more than half of the church was empty. In addition I also observed that there were very few children and young adults in attendance. In fact, there weren't any. Two of my own children stopped attending mass after they graduated from Catholic school. How ironic! My youngest child attends church services regularly; however it is not a Catholic church.

Mass attendance has dropped significantly since the 1960s. Only one in three American Catholics attends Mass regularly on Sunday(Chaput, Charles; Render Unto Caesar, 2012). It is a difficult task for parents such as me to persuade children on the virtues of Catholicism and the importance of attending mass on Sunday as the Church is becoming more and more hippocratic. Georgetown University one of the most prestigious Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States, covered over the monogram “IHS”--symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ, in compliance with a White House request. Roman Catholics traditionally use “IHS” as an abbreviation for Jesus’ name. Recently, DePaul University prohibited students from displaying signs reading "Unborn Lives Matter". The day after Hillary Clinton pledged her support for partial birth abortion in the third presidential debate, Cardinal Dolan of New York, socialized with Mrs. Clinton at a charity event. Notre Dame University presented Joe Biden with the prestigious Laetare Medal prompting Philadelphia's Archbishop Charles Chaput to criticize Notre Dame stating, "For the nation's leading Catholic university to honor a Catholic public official who supports abortion rights and then goes on to conduct a same-sex civil marriage ceremony just weeks later is - to put it kindly - a contradiction of Notre Dame's identity."

One of the reasons often cited for not attending mass is that it is boring. Many of our Catholic priests are not good public speakers. What makes matters worse is that they talk too long. Church members feel as if their heads are being held underwater wondering when this sermon will be over. This compounds an already dull mass. Consider the sermon below as an exception that was delivered by a charismatic priest who is an excellent public speaker:

Once there were two men who shared a very close friendship. One day the first man said to the second, "I am going to walk a tight rope across the Grand Canyon". Upon hearing this proclamation, the second man laughed and told his buddy that it was impossible and he was crazy to think he could do it. This only added to the first man's motivation and he insisted that they travel to the state of Arizona so he could perform this death defying feat. Word quickly spread; corporations sponsored the event and scheduled it to be aired live on network television.

When the two friends arrived at the Canyon the second man pleaded with his buddy to abandon this foolish adventure, but the first man was determined to show the world what he could do.

After the cable was laid across the canyon, the man removed his shoes and began his dangerous journey. At first, he took short smooth steps and sheepishly proceeded across the rope. When he reached the midpoint, the winds picked up making his quest all the more difficult. All the while his friend watched from the other side in amazement. As the man continued, television viewers were able to listen as the man prayed to Jesus for deliverance.

To the amazement of the viewing audience and especially his friend, the man successfully completed the dangerous task. Afterwards, he was filled with confidence so he decided to walk across the tight rope backwards. To further prove his point he asked his friend to fill a wheel barrel with rocks then proceeded to push the wheel barrel across the tight rope.

When he returned he said to his friend, "Now do you believe?" His astonished friend humbly shook his head and agreed he was convinced. To which the second man responded, "Hop in! You're going next".

Faith is more than just saying you believe. Having true faith means getting in for the ride.

This insightful lesson on faith was part of a sermon delivered by a charasmatic Catholic priest. The priest is an excellent public speaker and he knows it. The problem is that many priests are not good speakers and they don't know it. This amounts to boring sermons that compound an already dull mass.

With church attendance down, especially among the young, it's time for the Catholic Church to change the liturgy of the Mass. The length of the church service usually lasts between 40 and 45 minutes. This time can be better utilized. I recently timed the cantor at our church. Twenty minutes of the mass consisted solely by his singing. Almost one half of the entire church service is devoted to one person. The problem is that many of the prayers and responses are being chanted by the cantor. This discourages verbal participation by the congregation. Today's mass is a one-way street. The priest leads the prayer; a cantor sings the responses while the congregation is reduced to mumbling a scripted response from the prayer booklet. There is little interaction from the church members.

Alienating the congregation from the mass is one of the churches greatest sins. Although singing hymns is a pleasant way to add life to the mass, responsorial songs do not. Most people attending mass refrain from singing. Thus, having a cantor chant a response merely removes most of the congregation from the mass. Utilizing a cantor to sing prayer responses should be abolished. Opening and closing hymns along with a hymn during the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist should suffice.

The Church should also eliminate the "sign of peace". In this modern age of "germophobes", where people are frequently cleaning their hands with bacteria soap, handshakes with strangers are no longer desired. Instead, many people just go through the motions of waving or nodding to those around them.

Church should be used as a time of prayer and learning. Catholic priests are highly educated individuals. Their insights should be utilized to teach the members of the life of Jesus Christ and the history of the Catholic Church. This is an understanding that is lacking amongst many Catholics. I suspect that on any given Sunday the priest could ask some basic questions that would stump much of the congregation. For example, how does one become a saint? What is the hierarchy of the Catholic Church? There are many ways that the mass can be made more interesting and interactive.

Mass should begin with an opening prayer followed by readings from the Old and New Testaments and the Gospel. After the readings the priest should offer a synopsis. His response should be focused solely on the readings and the Gospel. This presents an opportunity for the priest to educate the parishioners on something he is well versed - bible history. Surveys show that Catholics don't know basic Catholic teachings(Chaput, Charles; Render Unto Caesar, 2012).

A portion of the mass could be devoted to one of the twelve apostles each month. This would enable the church goers to learn about the lives of the men that were closes to Jesus. Part of the mass could also be dedicated to the biography of a Catholic from the past and present. There are over 800 canonized Roman Catholic saints. Perhaps each Sunday the life and times of these saints could be discussed.

It would also be good to highlight ways that acts of Christianity by everyday people are helping to improve the world. When possible invite guests to speak openly at church.

Let's save the best for last. The Sacrament of the Eucharist is the most important part of the mass. Holy Communion should be distributed at the end of the service. Afterwards members can reflect in silent meditation and prayer. Finally, the celebrant will conclude the Mass with a closing prayer.

In addition to declining church attendance the church is also suffering from the decline in catholic priests. According to CARA research (http://cara.georgetown.edu/frequently-requested-church-statistics/) the Catholic Church has experienced a steady decline in diocesan priests of 28% from 1965 to 2015. In 1965, 49,000 men were studying in Catholic seminaries. In 2006, the number had shrunk to 5,600(Chaput, Charles; Render Unto Caesar, 2012). The role of the deacon should be expanded.

All priests were first ordained as deacons. The other type of is the permanent deacon. Permanent deacons, especially those who are married, have secular jobs to support their families and also help the local pastor by visiting the sick, teaching the faith, counseling couples and individuals, working on parish committees and councils, and giving advice to the pastor. Deacons can baptize, witness marriages, perform funeral and burial services outside of Mass, distribute Holy Communion, and preach the homily (http://www.dummies.com/religion/christianity/catholicism/the-role-of-deacons-in-the-catholic-church/). It seems that they can perform many of the function of the priest with the exception of saying mass. Maybe this needs to change. These men could provide a perspective that is different from the priest and better relate to church members.

In summation, the Catholic Mass can be improved by reducing the role of the cantor, educating the members of the teachings of Jesus Christ and Church history, focusing on the impact of contemporary Catholics.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend an Evangelical church service. The church was attended by a mixture of both young and old. Half of the service consisted of the minister quoting scripture hand applying it to everyday life. He used power point slides to provide the members with a visual display. He applied the readings to current events and used real life examples in his sermon. The preacher had made a connection with his congregation. I noticed that the vast majority were totally engaged in his talk prompting some to speak out when they felt inspired. Others repeatedly raised their hands indicating that they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit.

While I felt inspired by the Evangelical church service there were a few things missing. Fold up chairs were used in place of wooden pews. Absent were stain glass windows, life size statues, expensive paintings and marble alters. In place of these riches was a faith based congregation inspired by a charismatic preacher.

It is time for the Catholic Church to face the reality of diminishing church attendance. If the Church implements the reforms that I have recommended above then there is still hope that our children will be inspired to keep the faith and "Hop in for the ride".