A person told me about her experience of moving her family to a new city. Within the first few weeks of their move, the local Christian church came by their home and offered them whatever assistance they needed to get settled--simple things like helping them unpack, dropping off ready-made dinners, finding the local dry cleaners.We, Catholics, should be able to do at least as much. Summertime often brings transitions, and so parishes should be even more alert to visitors and newcomers during this time (and notice when members are absent). One simple thing we can do is watch our language. When a new person comes to our church, one of our first questions shouldn't be "have you registered with the parish?" When Jesus met people, one of his first actions was to address their basic human need. As ambassadors of Christ and people of faith, we can strive to meet the basic human needs of people, and through our simple human actions, they will encounter Christ.
Click here for a Blessing of Families in Their New Homes.
Click here for a Blessing of Departing Parishioners.
