Many of us have experienced firsthand the growing trends of loneliness, isolation, anxiety and depression in our society and in the Church.

Whatever your own favorite way to characterize it, it is undeniable that many sense that something in our lives is a little (or a lot) off. We long to feel normal, but often can’t quite seem to get there.

We go to Church in part, or maybe even subconsciously, because we hope we might find something there to help with this feeling. We go because we intuit that a life of virtual connections, online friends, constant busyness, and sometimes superficial relationships are not cutting it for us. We may even go because we have a secret hope for a whole alternative way of life, with a depth that corresponds to the seriousness with which, at our best moments, we take our faith.

What is it that we’re longing for? Not just faith, not just the spiritual life, not even just a personal relationship with God. More than these, or rather, as a necessary part of all of these is community: real, in-the-flesh, face-to-face, in-the-same-room, community. Scripture and tradition are clear that all those other things only make sense as part of a life shared closely with other Christians. And while most of us would affirm that there’s no such thing as just-me-and-God Catholicism, there is no doubt the Church in America is characterized primarily by a strong current of individualistic piety.

And this, of course, has everything to do with our feeling that something is not right. There may be more to our depression and anxiety than lack of community, but it is certainly one big part of it. I think it’s the greatest challenge confronting the Church in our age.

And so, in February and March, the Center for Catholic Social Thought will offer an extended time to reflect on these matters, with a speaker series entitled “Rebuilding Catholic Community,” held at Assumption in St. Paul. The talks will be on Thursdays at 7 p.m. from Feb. 15 to March 7.

In the first session on Feb. 15, Father Byron Hagan and I will set the stage. We’ll consider why, theologically, community is necessary in the first place and look at some examples of what it looks like when done well. We’ll then consider ways our contemporary culture of consumerism and technology actively fragment our lives.

In the second talk, we’ll welcome two Catholic Workers from Chicago — disciples of Dorothy Day — who work daily in society’s underbelly. They’ll tell us why they see renewed community, rather than just increased government services, as the key to a more inclusive society, and why the Church must be a community not only for, but of the poor.

On Feb. 29, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Williams of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will speak about community in the local parish. He’ll relate his own experience revitalizing parishes in Minneapolis, and what we can learn from it. We’ll also consider if the parish can still be the center of Catholic life in our age, and its relation to other sites of fellowship such as small groups or intentional communities.

Finally, we’ll be joined by Leah Libresco, author of the popular book “Building the Benedict Option.” Libresco will share with us some very simple things that we can do right now to start living Catholic community, and how she’s done it in her own life. She’ll underline one of the main points of the speaker series, which is that getting to a place where we have Catholic community is important, and a primary way to do that is to start living it in small ways right now.

That’s something that’s within the reach of all of us. We hope you’ll join us and learn more about how. (To register, go to catholicsocialthought.org.)

Miller is director of pastoral care and outreach at Assumption in St. Paul.