March 24, 2024 - "Why Should I Go To Mass?"

Welcome to all who are joining us today as we begin the holiest week of our Church year.  Next Sunday, when we celebrate Easter, is a day when many people feel a longing to come to Church.  I hope all of us will do all that we can to make people feel truly welcome. I want to encourage those of us who come to Mass here regularly to think about people who do not do so.  Why not invite them to come to Mass with you next Sunday?
 
Everyone knows people who are not connected to a church or who are not practicing their Catholic faith very often.  As your pastor I am asking you to be an ambassador of welcome and invitation.  Think about how you could bring the wonderful gift of faith into the lives of others.  Think about how a simple invitation on your part can help others feel touched by God!
 
When you think of Catholics who do not practice the faith so much, think of friends and neighbors, co-workers and associates.  Often these people are easier to talk to and start a conversation with. Perhaps they might ask you: Why Should I Go to Mass?  Let me give you ten good reasons supplied by Fr. John F. Baldovin in an article written in 2004 for America magazine:
 
1. Participation in the salvation of the world
2. Experiencing the glory of God
3. Discipline of faith
4. Hearing the Scriptures communally
5. Developing the moral life
6. Companionship with Christ
7. Focusing my needs
8. Praying for the world
9. Welcoming the kingdom
10. Pure joy
 
For more on this, you can read Fr. Baldovin’s book Bread of Life, Cup of Salvation.
 
In the Gospel of John, Jesus invites his followers to “come and see.”  I don’t believe that invitation from the Lord could be any clearer than in the invitation to share in the celebration of the Mass.
 
The best way to know about our faith is for folks to know us - the people we are, the faith that empowers our lives, the way we pray, the way we form community, and the way we serve.  You can make a big difference in the lives of others.  Please think about someone whom you can invite to Mass and then just do it!
 
Until next week,
Fr. John