Catholics Coming Home
This Lent, the Archdiocese of Seattle will participate in Catholics Come Home, a national media campaign encouraging non-practicing Catholics to return to the practice of their faith through ads that will air on local television. We asked Helen Oesterle, a member of the Catholics Come Home Task Force for the Archdiocese of Seattle, to share some thoughts with us about how our liturgies can be even more welcoming.
St. Paul instructs us "Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you." (Romans 15:7).
Pope Paul VI preached that "the Church exists in order to evangelize" (EN 14), that is, the Church exists to proclaim the Good News and bring people to an intimate encounter with Christ. When we gather to celebrate Mass it is important that we make this our focus. This Lent people who respond to the invitation from Catholics Come Home commercials or from a friend will not be seeking a program; they will be seeking an encounter with Christ.
This encounter with Christ is the core value of each and everything we do in the Church. Hospitality needs to be an essential component in liturgy so we can we recognize and welcome one another as the Body of Christ. This can happen in many ways:
- The entire assembly, including all liturgical ministers, needs to be ready at all times to receive those who may come home or visit--greet them, welcome them, and by our example model for them what it means to have a relationship with Christ and his Church. In addition, providing worship aids will not only assist parishioners to participate fully, actively, and consciously in the liturgy, but they are essential to assist visitors.
- Preaching needs to encourage, challenge, and inspire God's people to share the Good News with their family, friends, and neighbors. It is so important that each and every parishioner is asking their family and friends to come home. In addition, especially in the Northwest, Catholics know a lot of family and friends who are not affiliated with any faith community. Sometimes just an invitation to come to Mass is all a person needs to encounter Christ in a meaningful way.
- All the collective efforts of the community must be offered up in prayer. The parish is encouraged to pray specifically for those who have left the Church, who may have been hurt by the Church, those who exploring their relationship with God and seeking a faith community, and those who are returning home or finding a new home in the parish
- Finally, the Dismissal Rite commands us to go forth "to love and serve the Lord" thereby increasing our ability to spread the Good News to all of creation, . This love and service is demonstrated by our willingness to witness it with our lives. We are called to "bring Jesus into every situation" (GMD, pg. 2). The laity have the unique ability to bring their faith and love for Christ to the workplace, the home, the mall, etc.
Liturgy is central to who we are as Church and every element is important in our evangelization efforts. We are continually challenged to bring our best and be our best so we can more truly reflect the face of Christ to both our neighbor and the stranger. In our efforts to be ready for the Catholics Come Home commercials during Lent, let those efforts extend in the months and years to come as we carry on the mission of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Helen Oesterle
Director of Religious Education at St. James Cathedral and a member of the Archdiocesan
Catholics Come Home task force.
Director of Religious Education at St. James Cathedral and a member of the Archdiocesan
Catholics Come Home task force.
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