Writer attends Mass all over country for book

Daniel Markham stands outside St. George Catholic church in Tinley Park, Ill. Markham, who resides in that town, will attend Mass at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Cabot on Sunday and feature a story from his experience as part of his forthcoming book "52 Masses."
(Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Cormac Markham)
Daniel Markham stands outside St. George Catholic church in Tinley Park, Ill. Markham, who resides in that town, will attend Mass at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Cabot on Sunday and feature a story from his experience as part of his forthcoming book "52 Masses." (Special to the Democrat-Gazette/Cormac Markham)

An Illinois man in the process of visiting Catholic parishes all over the United States for a forthcoming book is headed to Cabot on Sunday for a taste of Mass in Arkansas.

Daniel Markham, a trade magazine editor for the steel industry and former newspaper reporter, said he had the idea to attend Mass in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico around five years ago. In 2018 he began reaching out to U.S. bishops, archbishops and parish priests and received their blessings to embark on the project, which will result in a book titled "52 Masses" slated for publication at the end of next year.

"I asked [them], if you have a story that you think would be a contribution to my book, tell me about it ... and I got suggestions from all over," said Markham, who lives in Tinley Park, Ill.

His trip to the parish in Cabot comes more than a year into the covid-19 pandemic. Congregations of all faiths are weighing which public health measures to continue practicing and which to loosen as the numbers of cases of the virus decline while its variants are on the rise, and cases of its Delta variant are surging in parts of the country, including Arkansas.

The visit comes days after Pope Francis' issuing of the July 16 apostolic letter, "Traditionis Custodes," which tightens restrictions on Latin Mass as it was celebrated before Vatican II. (During the Second Vatican Council in 1962-65 -- among other changes -- parishes were granted permission to say Mass using more contemporary language, making it more accessible and resulting in many churches transitioning away from giving Mass in Latin.)

Markham will attend Mass at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Cabot, one of two churches in the diocese devoted to celebrating the Latin Mass. (Bishop Anthony Taylor, head of the diocese, announced July 16 that the announced restrictions did not apply to either Latin Mass-dedicated parish). The Illinoisan said he found that other parishes around the country tend to offer the Latin Mass in addition to Masses celebrated using contemporary language. St. John's creation with the intention of celebrating only the Latin Mass intrigued him.

Markham said his objective is to share his Catholic faith, "what it has to offer, and what people who share my faith are doing in service of our lord, in service of their communities, and in their relationships with Christ.

"I would love if someone was able to take something away from it," Markham said. "And on a personal level, I want to come home a better Catholic than when I left. I want to enrich my faith and grow my faith in the process."

Markham's travels began last month with visits to parishes in Kansas, New Hampshire and Connecticut. He plans to share stories from each locale and reach beyond Mass to include a roundup of ministries and outreach programs.

Kim Franzen, who attends Nativity of Our Savior Catholic Church in Portage, Ind., worked with Markham.

"[In] the Catholic faith, we're the same everywhere," Franzen said. "Every Sunday, every church in the world hears the same Bible readings at the same time, the prayers are the same. But we're all different too, so it's [going to be] exciting to see what makes us the same and what makes us different."

Markham said the story he'll tell of St. John the Baptist and other parishes is one he hopes other parishes will be able to learn from, and be inspired by.

"I'll be able to paint a picture of life in the Catholic Church in the United States," he said. "These small stories will ... combine to tell a larger story of who we are as Catholic people, what are we doing in service of our faith."

A month into his yearlong journey around the country, Markham said his interactions with Catholics have already shaped how he relates to the book project, and what it means to him.

"After I started talking to people and heard how passionate they were about their parish or their pastor [or] a ministry they were involved in ... then it really kind of changed for me, and it became something I was supposed to be doing, rather than something I could do," Markham said. "It's more than a thing I'm doing, it's what I'm supposed to be doing. It's why I'm here."

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