Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church
Hot Springs Village, Arkansas
After offering encouragement (and I hope, inspiration) in last week's Pastor's Column to invite people you know in the Village who are not going to church, to go with you to our Mass (and activities like the Chicken Bake and Fall Fest), I thought I would give you a few talking points to use to entice people to come.  I found these points in an article by Marie Snider in the Sentinel Record this last Saturday.  In this article she says that hundreds of studies confirm that people of faith are healthier and less likely to die prematurely from any cause.  (I think of some of the nuns I have known, including my fifth grade teacher, Sister Laurene, who is still with us at 98 years of age.)

A study at the California Public Health foundation followed 5,000 people for 28 years and found that women who went to church at least once a week had a one-third less risk of dying prematurely than women who did not attend church. In addition, researchers at John Hopkins Hospital found that weekly churchgoers died 50% less frequently from heart disease.  The research continues to show that religion and spirituality can help us stay healthy.

I hope we all strive to be living witnesses of the blessings that come from our "lived faith" fo us and especially for those we touch with Christ-like love, mercy and hope.
Last weekend I reported that some Christian churches are supporting a "Back to Church Sunday" for this Sunday, September 21.  It is an initiative to reach out to the "un-churched" and "de-churched," people who once attended church, but don't anymore - to invite them to return on a designated, special Sunday.  I then read a bulletin from a Catholic Church in Texas which speaks of an archdiocesan effort to get people to church by having a "Welcome Sunday" wherein Catholics are to "bring a friend to Mass and share the Good News!"  This effort has been expanded by the archdiocese to a "Season of Welcome" through November 2.  This effort sounds very proactive and is worth promoting here as well.  It is good, but often not good enough, to ask someone if they have ever thought about coming back to the practice of faith starting with going to Mass.  People are waiting for a personal invitation and an offer to accompany or meet the person at church and sit with them at Mass.  I challenge everyone in our congregation to identify people who are missing out on many blessings from their lives by not coming to church and INVITE THEM TO COME.  Assure them that your pastor would be happy to speak with them about any situation that needs to be resolved and/or healed.  Jesus tells us of the "Good Shepherd" who went looking for the lost sheep.  We are called to follow his example, and often, we don't have to look far to find the lost sheep.  That's step one, and the second step is to lead them home.  I pray that we will always give witness to the joy, hope and peace that the practice of our faith brings to us and can certainly bring to others.  GO GET THEM!!!!!
I feel truly blessed when someone, who has some negative feelings about me because of something I said at Mass or to them personally, is willing to speak to me about it in person or over the phone.  Doing so, is answering the call of Jesus, especially in what the Lord said in last Sunday's Gospel (Matthew 18:15-20).

Today, I spent an hour with a parishioner who wanted to talk about something I said in my homily last Sunday.  His concern was with what I said about the Church's teaching about work and the right to a fair wage.  If you want, you can see what I said by pulling up my homily from the parish website.  I would also like to provide a link to a letter written by Bishop Wenski on behalf of the United States Bishops Conference to the United States Senate.  It is:
www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/labor-employment/upload/joint-minimum-wage-letter-2014-01-08.pdf.   I do feel secure when supported by our bishops and firstly, by the Gospel of Jesus Christ which calls on us to love our neighbor and follow ALWAYS the words and example of the Lord.

Please know that I answer my phone and welcome any of you to my office to talk about what's on your mind or in your heart.  I thank the parishioner who came to speak to me the other day about his concerns.  It ended with a handshake and an appreciation for time well spent together.