Mass Attendance Decline In The Philippines

A concise, well-written April 12, 2013, Philippine Daily Inquirer article about the shrinking number of Catholics attending Sunday Mass in the Philippines [1] was not a 2-year old country-specific phenomenon but a current reality generally everywhere.  The decline was attributed in part to "bland and boring" homilies, second collections (putting the burden of apportioning the first collection upon the parishioners), the perfunctory performance of priestly duties during Mass and "'superficial religiosity'", all of which sums up what this blogger has in mind for an entry.  Since these thoughts had already been expressed, far better than what this blogger can do, this entry ends here with two citations concerning homilies [2], [3], and the last paragraph of the article first cited:

"There's a lack of spirituality among our priests.  That's why their marriage doesn't come across to their listeners.  We must be personal witnesses.  As St. Augustine said, 'Before anyone can touch others, you must yourself be touched by God.'" [4]

[1] http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/389451/priests-blame-boring-sermons-second-collections
[2] http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1501807.htm ("No boring homilies, pope tells new priests at ordination")   Quoted from the April 27, 2015, Catholic News Service article: "'The bad shepherd,' [the pope] said, 'thinks about himself and exploits the sheep.  The good shepherd thinks about the sheep and gives himself for them.'"
[3] http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/02/11/vatican-gives-tips-on-preparing-homilies-tying-them-to-catechism/ ("The Vatican on homilies: Keep it short and don't be boring")  Every homilist ought to read this February 11, 2015, Catholic New Service article to understand what a homily is  ("[it] should show people how God's word is being fulfilled in their midst, how it calls them to growth and conversion") and is not ("[it] cannot 'address some issue completely unrelated to the liturgical celebration and its readings' or 'do violence to the texts provided by the church by twisting them to fit some preconceived idea'" in accordance with the Homiletic Directory published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, dated June 29, 2014.
[4] http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/389451/priests-blame-boring-sermons-second-collections