Welcome Back - Reflection

It may feel a bit strange to say “welcome back to church.” Of course, children often take breaks during the summer for travel and new experiences. But is there really a “break” in our faith journey?

As I was reflecting on this, passages from Mark, chapter 6, came to mind:

“He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits…

So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent…

The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’”

In these verses, we see that there is a rhythm to our faith journey. As we follow Jesus Christ, we first listen to his teaching and unite with him in praise of God’s goodness. This is what we do whenever we come together in worship. Then we are sent out with a mission.

Remember how, after the readings, we respond: “With your help, O Lord, we will listen and live.” As we receive the message of Jesus in worship, we carry it back into our daily lives. The Holy Spirit brings those words back to our hearts and invites us to embody the Gospel through our living. As our faith deepens, our words and deeds bear witness to the God who is good and merciful.

In this sense, summer may have been a season of being sent into the world—to deepen and share what we received in church with those around us. Whether that time brought joy, challenges, or struggles, if we lived it with mindful awareness of God’s presence, then we grew in faith and became sharers of the Good News.

Now it is time to come together again. We may tell one another what we have done. We may find comfort and joy in welcoming each other back. Whatever you bring to our community table, God will transform it into joy, consolation, hope, and passion. In this way, we become witnesses of God’s goodness—to one another, and to the world.

From Fr. James