Interestingly, at a campground my husband and I stayed at recently there were two outdoor showers, something we hadn’t encountered before. While each shower stall was enclosed for privacy, it was refreshing to look up and see the open sky above us or the grass surrounding the shower floor.
But showering at a campground is quite different from home, where everything I need is at my fingertips. At camp, I had to remember to bring all the necessary toiletries, towels and a change of clothes. Luckily, this trip I didn’t have to wait for a shower to open, as often is the case. At home, I can run the water as hot as I want and for as long as I would like. That’s different from most campgrounds, where showers usually cost a dollar for a fixed time or, if they are free, you have to keep pressing the water on every 30 seconds or so. And you can’t really call it hot water.
Yes, going on vacation and discovering new adventures is great. But, as cliched as it sounds, there’s no place like home.
Three years ago, my husband and I relocated to a new parish. While it has taken time to adjust to the change from one faith community to another, our new parish has finally become ‘home’ for us. We may not know everyone by name, but we recognize most people by sight. We know who sits where, how the flow of the liturgy goes, who the lectors and Eucharistic ministers are, and have become acquainted with new songs of praise. Not only is it a comfortable and familiar place for us to pray, but we have found a sense of belonging there as well.
We have watched as more people have returned to the weekend liturgies after long months of separation during Covid-19. Still, there are others we haven’t seen return yet, or at least not on a regular basis.
At one point, we, too, were skeptical about returning to in-person liturgies. We liked the pandemic routine when we sat comfortably in our living room watching Mass live streamed while sipping a hot morning beverage. We didn’t have to get dressed up and when Mass was over, we could slip right into the kitchen and make breakfast. Our Sunday morning routine was easy, but, for me, something was always missing – the sense of community I find in our parish.
Community was important to Jesus. People mattered to Him, and other than the times He spent in prayerful solitude, He made it a point to surround Himself with others. He encourages us to do the same and tells us in Scripture, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” Jesus understood we need the support of one another in living out our mission here on earth.
If you haven’t returned to your parish community yet because you are hesitant to attend in-person Mass, or have gotten out of the weekend Mass routine, consider these words of Pope Francis: “We all come to Mass with needs, wants and hopes, but when we gather in community, our personal intentions give way to something bigger than what’s on our minds. We are asking for the grace to move beyond ourselves – grace to live our lives better, to love our families more, to be more honest and more faith-filled than when we entered – so that we may bring Christ to the world.”
Now isn’t that reason enough to come home?
By Mary-Jo McLaughlin