Our Parish Pastoral Council meeting this week included a discussion on what are signs of a vibrant parish.\u00a0 The list ranged from a line for Confessions to people feeling at home.<\/p>\n
Today, I would like to talk about feeling at home in church.\u00a0 I think a lot of people feel and\/or act like guests in church.\u00a0 They arrive at the appointed time for Sunday Mass and leave as soon as Mass is over. Hopefully, they feel like they have received something special in the eucharistic meal we have celebrated.\u00a0 But we really don’t know because we never hear from them.\u00a0 Some of them may be people of incredible faith.\u00a0 Others may never pray during the week.\u00a0 We don’t know and it is not for us to judge.<\/p>\n
My point is that we shouldn’t feel like guests in church.\u00a0 We should feel at home.\u00a0 I think back several years to a summer assignment I had while in seminary.\u00a0 One of the people I had come to know as a friend had recently had surgery and was recovering at home.\u00a0 I stopped at their house on the way home to see how he was doing.\u00a0 We talked for a while and I was invited to stay for dinner to continue the conversation.\u00a0 As the wife began preparing dinner, she was asked if I would like a glass of water or something.\u00a0 I said water would be great.\u00a0 She then asked her husband if he wanted some water.\u00a0 He did.\u00a0 Then, she told me to get him a drink while I was getting mine.\u00a0 That’s when I knew they were not just parishioners but friends.\u00a0 I felt at home with them.<\/p>\n
With regard to feeling at home in church, I think back to my own return to church.\u00a0 I hadn’t been to church in almost 16 years.\u00a0 I began to realize that something was missing in my life.\u00a0 That led me back to church.\u00a0 I immediately went from not going to church at all to going everywhere because I was blessed to find a church that felt like home right away.<\/p>\n
What it means to feel at home in church can be different for each person.\u00a0 The bottom is church a place we want to be.\u00a0 What makes church feel like home for you?<\/p>\n
Peace,<\/p>\n
Fr. Jeff<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
my own return to church<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our Parish Pastoral Council meeting this week included a discussion on what are signs of a vibrant parish.\u00a0 The list ranged from a line for Confessions to people feeling at home. Today, I would like to talk about feeling at home in church.\u00a0 I think a lot of people feel and\/or act like guests in …<\/p>\n