Are you Plugged In?

Are you Plugged In?

We all know someone who is Catholic who hasn’t been to Mass in a long time.   And many of us have experienced that the longer you stay away from Mass, the harder it is to go back.   And it is hard to get back.  Our lives are busy with family schedules, sports, travel, and work.   And that is totally understandable.  We are overscheduled.  
Many of us have heard ourselves or others say:

• “I’ve been away so long how could I possibly show my face there,”

• “I’m a terrible Catholic I don’t deserve to go”

•  “I have sinned;  how could I possibly walk into the Church”

• “I don’t feel welcome”

• “I don’t even know the words anymore”

• “I haven’t brought my children into the faith.”

• “I am an imposter if I go”

And there are many, many, many other reasons that people use (cultivate) to keep them from attending or becoming involved in the church.   And that is your opportunity and what you must listen for.  
If you have heard someone give a reason NOT to go to Mass, then they are actually still thinking about their religion.  We need to invite this person (and challenge them) to investigate that thinking. 

And we ALL KNOW SOMEONE LIKE THIS.   So here is what we are asking you to do:
ASK YOUR FRIENDS IF THEY ARE PLUGGED-IN?  (Are you getting charged up?)
Explain to them that Mass today is a place to go for non-judgmental quiet self reflection, as a mini vacation from our busy lives.  Simply as a place to unplug, and get charged.   Invite them to come and slow down, if only for an hour.
Priests today understand that modern life is a constant hum of messaging from all corners of the earth.  One of the hardest things to do today is to simply slow down enough to be able to actually hear and feel our selves.   We simply don’t slow down enough.  We don’t reflect.
So say this to the person you know:

1. You are officially invited to come mass on Ash Wednesday.  It’s ok … There will be no external judgment.

2. Come to slow down, unplug, and think.  Rest and be peaceful.   Listen.

3. Let me send you a link to our Facebook page.

You will have given your friend a gift.  The act of slowing down just once a week will start to let your friend’s voice from within be heard again.  That voice hopefully, with enough quietness, will find rhythm with the Holy Spirit and lead to many physical and emotional benefits, including a renewed relationship with God.   We all need to unplug from the wild energy of the world and plug-in to the peaceful energy of God.  “Unplug to plug-in”
Ask everyone you know:  Are you Plugged In?
 
The St. Joseph Parish Pastoral Council