A Sad Goodbye

Elizabeth Estrada describes her reaction when she learned that her favorite Catholic bookstore is closing.

This week I had a training on the north side of town. I had planned to visit my favorite Catholic bookstore if I got out early since it is in that part of town and not too far from the training site. Sure, enough I was able to leave early and head on over there to pick up some things for Advent.

As soon as I drove up, I noticed a sign that said, “Store Closing: All Sales Final.” You can imagine that my mouth dropped, and I just couldn’t believe it. You are probably wondering, why is she so upset, so dramatic about this? Well, this is more than a Catholic bookstore: it was a place of refuge, of friendships, and of Catechesis.

This store has been around for 49 years! I discovered this gem when my son was 2 years old, he is now 15! As a revert, I loved talking to the ladies who worked there: all about the faith, their recommendations, and sometimes we even had time for a chat. Now I know many of them by name and they know me. We ask each other about our families and sometimes ask each other for prayers.

The store tried to keep afloat, but the pandemic was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sales had been declining for years before the pandemic. They were thankful for their faithful customers that came in and supported them over the years. But now, they still owe vendors and the sales, well, they aren’t good.

The manager told me as I was trying to make sense of the whole thing, ”Don’t worry; you can still get things online.” The big difference is that I won’t be supporting a business in my community, a business that evangelized.

Click to tweet:
Catholic bookstores do more than provide a service or sell a product; they are building relationships and evangelizing. #catholicmom

The sadness for me is that it shows what has become a reality. Many Catholics are lukewarm and perhaps the convenience of the internet has made things convenient for others. However, places like these do more than provide a service or sell a product; they are building relationships and evangelizing.

So, if there is a small business or local Catholic bookstore near you, my advice is to support it. If not, you might be saying goodbye to it sooner than you thought, just like me.

store closing