Why Go to Church ( Unedited)

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A few weeks ago a child at a school visit to st. Josephs asked me this question. Why do you go to Church? This I thought was a very good question. I then began to wonder what is it about coming to Church for me is so important to my Sunday. I know you will probably say. Because you have to say Mass Father but, there must be a deeper reason why we or indeed I come to Mass. 

For many I guess its the sense of community where we meet friends and Jesus. The invitation for us is not only for us it is for everyone. This invitation then is something that is for us as a community to extend. We welcome here the stranger those on the fringes of society. We ask them to come and join us. For many people the Church is not a place where people can come. It is a place where they do not feel welcome. We need to be a people of welcome.  This involves all of us. Not just speaking to our friends and those who are around us but to extend and welcome those who are maybe visitors. 

There are a few people who are not named in the Gospel but their actions teach us something about our relationship with God. We came across one the other week with the woman with the haemorrhage and today we come across a boy with two fish and 5 loaves of bread. This humble giving of all he had is more than enough for the grace of God to give everyone there enough food to eat and even enough to fill baskets afterwards. This grace does not come in the sacraments it comes in the word and our listening of the word of God. But also in the prayers of the faithful the power of prayer for a particular person. 


But all this involves one thing to be open to the grace of God to open our hearts to the power of his love and grace. When we give of our very selves when we give all we have when we open our hearts and welcome Jesus into our lives there is abundant graces that comes our way. Jesus gives us more than enough. Because he not only loves us but likes us. 

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