Members of One Family

by David Lins  |  04/04/2021  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

Welcome to Our Lady of Joy.

This parish belongs to God. And His family.

You are as much a member of His family as I am.

You are missed when you aren’t here. There is a hole that no one else can fill. Even when the pews are filled, the Church can never be full without you.

We could never be the same without you. Without your prayers. Without your gifts. Without your smile. Without your burdens.

I’m not going to lie. You benefit from your attendance at Mass. You hear the Word of God. You receive blessings (literally!). You participate in the sacraments. You avoid the very serious sin of missing Mass. You sit, stand, and kneel in unified worship. You are welcomed as you are...and challenged to step more fully into who you were created to be...at the same precise moment.

Yes. As they like to say, the benefits are “out of this world” when you come to the table.

But the Church benefits from your presence.

If you are coming, never stop.

If you usually don’t, come back and never stop.

Every Easter, families across the United States gather. And every Easter, members of those families are missing. They are estranged. Or they are working. Or they are indifferent. It could be any number of things.

Whatever the reason, those family celebrations aren’t whole.

Whatever the reason some of you have been missing Mass, our parish hasn’t been whole without you.

And only you can fix that.

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