In the past couple of months my husband and I have had fun traveling out of state again. It’s refreshing and invigorating to discover new places, enjoy sporting events, restaurants and to be with groups of family and friends again.

Recently, when we were out of town, I was struck by how much we enjoy going to Mass at other churches while we are traveling. We love to meet the priests, experience the varied architecture of the local churches, pray before the beautiful saint statues and worship with the local community. Visiting a new Catholic Church often takes us to interesting new corners of the area we are visiting and leads to more new experiences.

I love it so much that I always leave Mass thinking that I could live any where in the world where there is a Catholic Church —- because where Mass is offered, Jesus is present and there is community, both liturgically and socially. Living in a new place where there is a Catholic Church means immediate friends, people with similar values, and the support of a faith community. However, for me, first and foremost, having access to Jesus in the Eucharist makes any place feel like Home.

I agree with St. Padre Pio who said, “It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than without the Holy Mass.”

Due to COVID, many people were not able to attend Mass, but now is the time for us to invite people back, to welcome people Home to Jesus Christ who offers us his most generous mercy love.

That personal invitation, from one person to another, to encounter Jesus Christ in the Holy Mass is vital to rebuilding our sense of community in parish life. We also need this encounter with Jesus to nourish and strengthen us to continue on the individual mission Jesus has for each of us. As St. Paul reminds us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis invites us Home by risking an encounter with Jesus — no matter where we are on our faith journey.

“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since ‘no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord’. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms.”

So let us gather our courage to return to Mass and actively invite and welcome our brothers and sisters back Home and into the loving embrace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.