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June 17, 2021Once, a long time ago, I was in a tough spot. I had just been broken up with by my boyfriend, was far from home, and feeling terribly lonely. I realized how far I’d strayed from not only my relationship with God but from what I understood to be God’s plans for my life.
I found a small church near where I lived at the time and wandered in on Sunday morning for Mass. I wept from the time I walked in the building to the moment I left, and when I tell you I wept, I mean I sobbed. Like… ugly sobbed.
Sometimes I wonder what the people around me that morning must have thought. I can’t imagine what they were thinking, but I know one thing; not one person in that church approached me to ask me if I was okay. No one even made eye contact with me.
At the time, I was kind of grateful. I was feeling embarrassed, and, in a way, I appreciated people giving me a wide berth. But I left that church feeling even more lonely than I’d gone in. I knew God still loved me, but I had been given the distinct impression that the people in that church didn’t.
Lately, we’ve been hearing from visitors that they are amazed by how friendly the people at our Masses are. It’s been so cool hearing that! It makes me so proud to be part of this parish. But it strikes me how surprised people seem to be that they’re being greeted, welcomed, smiled at. It’s a very sad thing indeed that being warmly welcomed in a Catholic church is still a surprising thing.
On our website at one time, the first words a visitor would see were these: “Be welcomed. Be healed. Belong.” I believe it does come in that order. It’s a lot to expect that someone would entrust their wounds to someone who makes them feel like an imposition. It’s a stretch to think someone would want to belong in a place where no one makes eye contact.
And creating that space; welcoming, healing, and bringing people into the Body of Christ, that’s every Catholic’s job. When all is said and done, our churches can be beautiful, our Masses stirring and inspiring, and our programs fun and fulfilling, but the first face of Jesus that every visitor sees is our face. In a couple of weeks, we’ll return back to our indoor worship spaces, and some people will have to take brave steps to walk in our doors. I am so glad to know that they’ll be welcomed extravagantly and be greeted by a friendly bunch of people inside. Thank you for making our parish known as a friendly place!
