My feelings about coffee hour following Mass have evolved.

For quite a few years, I was convinced – and remain so on this count – that these social gatherings after Mass were obviously great on paper, from the standpoint of a community spending time together and, ideally, helping each other grow in faith.

However, I found it disconcerting that none of the conversations seemed to focus on God, Jesus, what they learned during the homily, or any matter overtly related to Catholicism. Small talk and chitchat about matters such as travel, entertainment and, of course, the weather ruled and continue to rule the roost.

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It remained a baffling sensation for me. Given the commission to “go and announce the Gospel of the Lord,” one would assume, at the very least when we have been spiritually recharged via the Mass, that we could at least keep that theologically-driven dynamic going for at least another hour.  We could earnestly discuss how we could take what we learned in Mass and bring it forth to society. But instead, it felt to me like we immediately disconnected the spiritual battery by chatting about light, frothy topics.

But through introspection and a change of perspective won from life experiences, I have arrived at the understanding of how these coffee hours, a forum for good-natured small talk, can serve as a source of great comfort and a dependable pleasure for churchgoers in an increasingly uncertain world.

This one hour after Mass may very well be the only experience of social connection many congregants get to experience during the week, and that alone makes these gatherings worthwhile considering the social isolation epidemic continuing to grip our culture. And the good feelings one parishioner picks up during a friendly conversation with a friend or acquaintance could very well give them the energy and resolve to face the trials of the week ahead. Perhaps most notably is that the after-Mass social is a good time for the children to play together. Any avenue that connects the youth is always a win.  

Nevertheless, I do maintain my conviction that we could all strive to fill at least an hour each week speaking with others about weighty faith-related topics. We are supposed to centre our whole lives around growing closer in communion with God and His plans for each of us. I believe the very best person-to-person interactions have that iron-sharpen-iron dynamic at play.

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Fortunately, there are many great study and discussion programs and resources available for chats dedicated to achieving personal and communal growth.

For 20 Tuesdays this year, I belonged to a small seven-member group who completed Ascension Press’ Catechism at a Glance program. From January until the end of May, we came to each meeting having watched the educational video and having considered the reflection questions and paragraphs from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

We arrived at each meeting fully ready to dive into a spiritual discussion where we could feel fully comfortable to share our hopes, fears, uncertainties and more. We discussed difficult topics about what it means to love your enemy, Hell, conflict in the world and more, and each of us was respectful in sharing our views even when differences of opinion emerged.

The journey was so edifying that we are already at work in figuring out another discussion and study program to complete with each other in the autumn.

Fortunately, there are a plethora of great spiritual discussion tools available today at a time when the revival of Christianity, particularly Catholicism, is so palpable. For example, so many Canadian and U.S. parishes are subscribed to formed.org, a platform loaded with Bible studies, faith formation programs, parish renewal content and many books, movies, podcasts and more.

And a tip of the cap must be given to Fr. Mike Schmitz. The Minnesota-based priest’s popular Bible in a Year podcast was a propellant for this golden age of Catholicism in the digital space. There are groups meeting in person and online to complete this 365-day journey together.

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The Catholic Register has also showcased the great faith-filled talks fostered by the Alpha and Divine Renovation programs.

I leave you to this: we have an awesome God Who is bigger and more awesome than we could ever hope to comprehend. Small talk is good, but do you think that is all He wants for us? We cannot be daunted from elevating chitchat to conversation that is universal, open-ended and deeply meaningful.