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| The beautiful, historic church in General Cepeda: San Fransisco de Asis. |
Last spring, we were discussing the miracle of the Eucharist and the gift of the Mass during a Wednesday morning prayer group when a woman, L.M., shared something that has stuck with me. I was encouraging everyone to go to Mass to be a part of and witness to this great miracle that God performs every day at Mass. She shared that each of her five children have a different dad, none of to whom she’s been married. When she walks into the church, she feels like everyone judges her, incredulous that she should enter the church, and she has no desire to go. Few people share so openly in this indirect culture, and I was grateful for her honesty and vulnerability. But as a faithful Catholic Christian, her words stung me to the core and broke my heart. Jesus came for the sinners; He was most compassionate and merciful with them. He was harshest with the pharisees, the rule-followers with no love. Has our faith become more about the rules and less about Love? How do I treat the people who I know are living in sin? Do I stop to ask what’s their story/what has happened in their life? How do I look at them compared to myself? Are those with more obvious/visible sins less than those of us who can easily cover our sins? Do I worry about what religious circles will think of me if I befriend a visible sinner? Do I treat everyone I come into contact with as a daughter or son of God in spite of if I agree/disagree with the choices they are currently making?
In my own personal story and in my experience journeying with others, the rules of our faith are of no importance until we have felt the love and mercy of Jesus. Once His love becomes real to us, we want to know all the details of how we can best follow Him. We want to understand why He gave us the directions He gave and why the Church teaches what she teaches.
When people are too scared to go to church and feel unworthy to go directly to Jesus and to pray, how can they feel His love? We, the people of God, are His hands and His feet, His eyes, ears and mouth, His heart. We have the beautiful opportunity to love people for Jesus through our words and actions, our smiles and greetings, our welcoming conversations, and our increased awareness and sensitivity to who may be feeling unworthy or left out.
I’m sad to say, L.M. still doesn’t feel welcome in church and she no longer comes to our prayer groups. However, I have great hope that seeds of Jesus’ love have been planted and that one day she will know she is worthy simply because she is created by and loved by God.
Jesus told St. Faustina, “The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy” (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 723).
Thank you, Jesus, for your mercy for me! Thank you, Jesus, for your mercy for L.M. Thank you, Jesus, for your mercy for every person in this world. Give us the grace to say yes to You, to accept Your mercy. Jesus, I trust in You. I want to trust in You more. Give me the grace to trust more, give me the grace to say yes to You.
With love in Christ,
Lisa
