Advent begins a new
liturgical year. As with the civil
observance of the New Year, it is a good idea to make resolutions to renew our
commitments and our efforts to grow. As an
invitation, I want to offer a bit of a commentary on some things we are doing
as a parish to invite a greater commitment to the proclamation of the Gospel as
a community.
Catholics in the past
have tended to treat their Faith as a private matter, focused on our individual
efforts to attain salvation. We are less
comfortable with sharing our Faith and speaking from our hearts about our
relationship with Jesus. In order for
the Faith to grow, we must reach into our hearts and, relying on the power of
the grace of Jesus given to us through the Sacraments, we must become ever more
courageous and bold in our proclamation.
In April 2015, more
than 20 parishes of the Diocese of Columbus attended The Amazing Parish
Conference in Denver, taking with them a team consisting of the pastor and 3-5
other members of the parish. At the same
conference, there were more than 75 other parishes from all over the United States
and Canada represented. Since then,
several other conferences similar to that one have been held. This means that literally hundreds of
parishes across North America are praying the Amazing Parish Prayer that we
pray together before each Mass. We are
asking the Lord to give us the courage to be faithful to the Great Commission,
the call to make disciples of all nations.
As we enter into
Advent, I want to begin to reflect on our efforts to respond to the call of the
Lord and His Church as a parish. My hope
is that it will help you to understand the reason for our efforts and free you
to find your own way to renew your commitment as individuals, as couples and as
families.
Ordinarily, we begin
Advent also with a Rite of Welcome for Catechumens and Candidates who are
seeking to join the Catholic Church through the R.C.I.A., the Rite of Christian
Initiation for Adults. Sadly, there are
no adult catechumens or candidates this year.
Although we have had a number of children in our School who have become
Catholic through the course of several months, no adults have been identified
who wish to join our Church. We will
take this as an opportunity to live the year as a parish seeking to learn
better how to welcome new members.
Why do we have a moment
of personal welcome at each of our weekend Masses before we pray the Amazing
Parish Prayer? We have been doing this
since 2016 at the suggestion of parishioners who were seeking to enhance our
parish stewardship.
For two main reasons:
First, many parishioners have made the comment that there are so many new
families that they don’t know, so this gives an opportunity in a friendly environment
to reach out. Our parish has been here
for more than 50 years and those who were the founding families need to know
the newcomers in order to be able to pass the baton for the future.
Second, when we hear
stories about folks who have left the Catholic Church to join the mega-churches,
the number one reason given is not the scandals, but that they have not found
welcome in the Catholic Church. The
invitation to extend a personal welcome before Mass is not the same thing as
the Sign of Peace. The Sign of Peace is
an expression of unity among those who already know they are brothers and
sisters in Christ. Welcoming folks
before Mass starts is a way of ensuring that Jesus is truly in our midst as we
gather. If you are uncomfortable with
this gesture, then it is a moment for you to step out of your comfort zone in
order to make the Gospel real for those who will soon join you in the celebration
of the Mass. Learning how to welcome one
another here gives us practice for extending welcome out there as we seek to bring
the Gospel to the world.
As Advent begins, let
us recommit to being a community of welcome for all who come across the threshold.
