Knowing One Another (12/22/2024)

I attended the 4:30 p.m. Mass of anticipation because I’d been assigned to lector. I rarely go to that Mass; I usually attend the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday. After Mass, as I was walking out, a friend stopped me to ask if I knew why the woman with a walker who usually sat in the very back had not been there for some time. She thought her name was Mary Ann, but she wasn’t sure of her last name. I explained that I didn’t know, but I’d ask a regular attendee who had lived in our community her whole life.

We went to her, but she said she didn’t know the person’s name. So, we went to another person, also a long-time member of the parish. She knew who we were talking about, but not her name, and she was unsure of why she hadn’t been there. She recommended that we ask the woman who sat by her. So, after Mass, I emailed the woman who always sat by her. And she said she thought her absence was due to the extreme cold. She admitted she also didn’t know her name and said she’d ask next time.

As I thought about this round-robin discussion last evening, I realized how far we’d strayed from the community we are called to be. As members of the living body of Christ, we should know one another and care for one another. The first woman’s response at not seeing the familiar face was spot on, it was authentic and sincere concern for another’s well-being. How do we return to the values Christ asks us to live, to caring for one another, especially the most vulnerable?

I vowed last evening to be more proactive in learning the names of my fellow parishioners. It is difficult for our community. We don’t have a gathering space for after mass where people can visit, can introduce themselves to newcomers. I prayed for help in responding to this challenge now that I recognize the need. I prayed that I and others would take the time to come to know the others and that we would grow into the community the LORD calls us to be.

As we continue our journeys of faith, hope and love, let us commit to coming to know those on the journey with us. Let us also commit to watching out for one another, to noticing when one of us is not there. Let us grow more fully into the call we have received – to be the living body of Christ – to know when one of us is in need.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.