Being a good catholic

I’ll be the first to admit, we often skip church in the summer.  With no Sunday school June through August, it is far too easy to come up with excuses not to go.  This past week our back to Sunday school routine kicked in and it was good to be with our regular “church peeps.”  There is something comforting about going to church every week and sitting among “the regulars.”  I only know a handful of names of the people that sit by us and I’ve been going to this church, this mass, for 5 years now.  But I can tell you this….

I love watching the two school age boys hold hands and hug their mom during mass.  They make my heart sing and I feel their love. 

I take note of the couple that sits behind us, sometimes they come together and sometimes don’t.  I’ve said a few prayers for them because I just have a feeling they are having a hard time these days. 

I’ve watched the newborn baby off to our left grow up each and every week for the last four years.  I feel the pride of her mom and dad as I have watched them emerge as parents each week.  I suspect I will be seeing another baby bump soon.

I am currently taking note of the older woman who is losing clumps of her hair each week.  I know this isn’t a good sign.  I saw her in the grocery store and introduced myself not so long ago.  I am happy when her daughters come to mass with her.

I take note of the couples who hold hands, who sing loud, who kiss during the sign of peace.  I take note of attendance and of new faces and I think the woman who sits in front of us has wonderful handbags and another has the most amazing coats, jackets and accessories.

Honestly, I feel God’s good work in that special space each week. I don’t know many of the names of those around me but they are people that I know, I care about and I pray for. Like a good catholic, I always nod and wave at fellow church goers when seen at the store.   I’ve thought about these people a lot since Sunday.  Seeing them once again felt good but my thoughts have taken me to a place that says --- maybe I need to do more, maybe I should know not only the face and the name but also the heart of those around me.  Yes, I am sure God is happy that I am praying for them and with them each week but does he want me to do more? That’s why I am setting out on a mission to meet my neighbors in the pew! I just may call it. . . Operation - Who are Pew - or maybe Mission - Happy to Meet Pew.  No matter what it’s called, it is about being a better person, being kind and helping those who come into my life, even if that simply means sitting a few feet from me for one hour each week.