Andrea Fitzsimons
April 28, 2022
This Palm Sunday, I reflected on how I practice hospitality for outsiders who come to St. Maurice Parish. I joined St. Maurice in the Summer of 2021 and I feel warmly welcomed. Parishioners, greeters, ushers, and the leadership team have been very kind. Individuals have started conversations with me on multiple occasions and I greatly appreciated this. I always have a feeling of joy when I come through the doors of the church and see the engaging smiles (or eyes if they are wearing a mask).
On Palm Sunday, the children processed through the church with palms raised. I reflected, when Jesus was on the calf processing through Jerusalem amongst the crowds of people what was He thinking? Were some people in the crowd friends? Had He had arguments with others? Were some people He hadn’t met yet but would soon? This caused me to reflect on my own actions when I come to mass.
Now that I have been coming to St. Maurice for many months and completed Alpha, I have more friends. After mass, it is tempting to only catch up with my friends. I desire to always take time for this; however, I hope that the sense of being “new” to the parish does not wear off. I see the fruit of introducing myself to people and I hope I continue to do this. Once, when I introduced myself to someone and invited them to join Alpha, they were grateful to meet me and confided that they had been coming to the parish for 10 years and had never met anyone. Another time, I met a couple bringing their son for Confirmation and they were not regular church goers. It was special to give them a personal welcome to the parish.
I believe it takes everyone to make St. Maurice a welcoming home. In Fr. James Mallon’s book, Divine Renovation, he speaks about how we welcome the ‘stranger’ and parallels it to welcoming Jesus (102). In the reading on Palm Sunday, Jesus said, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out” Luke 19:40. The joy I have in Christ motivates me to welcome others. The previous Sunday, I was waiting in the parking lot for a family to arrive. I’m an extrovert and I was excited to be able to attend mass in person. It was natural for me to welcome people as they entered. I’m not an official greeter or usher, it just felt right. I hope we can continue to take opportunities to be hospitable. That’s what I will be trying to do as I settle in.
