Everything's Gonna be Alright

Yesterday we attended mass at St. Francis de Sales in New York City. I was pleasantly surprised. This Church community is vibrant. I was ready to raise my hand and volunteer to help out. Then I remembered that I was just visiting. For that one hour, I forgot I was a visitor. I felt at home.

As New York gets ready for the Pope's visit next week, that is the message I got. We are one family, one community, no matter where we come from. And this is the message that Pope Francis is trying to spread through the world. The Church needs to be open. It needs to be inclusive. We need to welcome everyone. I recently found out that women that have had abortions were not welcome in the Church. I was appalled. If Jesus came today, would He turn His back on them? I don't think so. So who are we to judge? We have to be careful not to become like the Pharisees of the first century. We get so hung up on the rules that we lose sight of our humanity.

Pope Francis is trying to change the Church's outlook and old ways. Another area that I was happy to hear that he's taking a second look at is how the Church annuls marriages. I know many couples that go to mass every Sunday and yet they are not allowed to receive the Eucharist because they were previously married by the Church and for whatever reason, they have not been able to annul those first marriages. Would Jesus deny them His body and blood simply because they made a mistake the first time around? 

The priest at St. Francis de Sales in New York City began the mass by asking everyone to say hello to those around them. Then he grabbed the little girl sitting in the front pew and asked her to hold the Bible for him. He asked for volunteers to pass out the mass and song booklets. During the offertory, instead of passing the basket, everyone walked up to the altar to deposit their gifts. He said: "I'm not the only one celebrating mass. We are all celebrating mass together, as a community. This is your home. You should feel welcome when you come here." At the end, he called to the front everyone that was celebrating a birthday or anniversary and he blessed them. He asked: "Who is visiting?" and he personally went up to each visitor and welcomed us to St. Francis. 

The offertory song went something like this: "I've got a feeling, everything's gonna be alright..." And I left with joy in my heart. No matter what we are going through on a personal level and no matter what is happening in our world, "Everything's gonna be alright."