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and make joyful in my house of prayer; . . .
For my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord GOD,
who gathers the dispersed of Israel:
Others will I gather to him
besides those already gathered. (Is 56:7-8)
Objective: To renew the sense of hospitality and welcome in the faith community.
Introduction
In the Gospel Jesus tells us that he is the door to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is the door and Jesus opens himself up to invite, to welcome and to bestow the gracious and transforming hospitality of God. By crossing that threshold, we enter into "a house of prayer for all peoples" - a house with many faces.
In this session we will take time to be mindful that all Christian life is a journey to God's house and that during this Jubilee Year we make a special effort to enter the door of Christ. We will explore the ways our Church can follow the example of Christ by inviting, welcoming and providing hospitality to all persons.
Welcome and Prayer (15 minutes)
Welcome the participants and ask them to briefly introduce themselves. Since the main theme of this session is hospitality, each participant should be given a sign of welcoming after each personal introduction. If the group is very large, the symbol can be given to the entire group at the end of the introductions. It should be something simple like a cross, a holy card with the patron saint of the parish, a Marian medal, or anything that represents the faith community. This is followed by a simple prayer and a bilingual song, such as John Schiavone's "Qué Alegría Cuando me Dijeron"(Flor y Canto, #565, Oregon Catholic Press). Other suggested songs include: "Pueblo de Dios," "Come To The Feast," or "Gather Your People" - all by Bob Hurd and available from Oregon Catholic Press.
Sharing Our Experiences (40 minutes)
Human beings are social by nature. The need to establish relationships leads us to form social groups of all kinds. We humans gather circles of friends, choose spouses, form families, build communities and belong to a nation. However, the transient nature of modern life, the challenges of beginning professions and family, the crisis of family values, the migration of people in search of a better life, and social inequities, among other situations, can leave many people feeling alone and isolated. One has only to look around to see people who "don't fit in" and "don't belong" to the community where they live. This attitude of exclusion also affects our faith communities and can distance the person from the Church and even from God. Sacred Scripture tells us that God is the grand host of life in whose house there is room for everyone. The mission that Jesus Christ entrusted to the Church is, above all, an invitation of welcome to be part of God's kingdom (Lk 4:16-30). In order to accomplish this mission, the Church has to be, primarily, a welcoming and hospitable Church. It must welcome those who expect to find in our faith communities the home they seek and the hope they need in life.
Discussion questions:
- Share an experience when you felt welcomed in a church community or campus ministry
center. How did that experience help you become more involved?
- Share an experience when you didn't feel welcomed. How did it influence your faith life
and your relationship with that community?
Reflecting on our Faith Tradition (40 minutes)
The Catholic Church has a tradition of hospitality rooted in its beginnings two thousand years ago. Sacred Scripture reveals God as our creator, redeemer, and sanctifier. In these three welcoming actions, God invites us to life, welcomes us to his house, both on earth and in heaven, and sends us to bring his hospitality to others. This mystery of God's love is simply expressed in the life and teachings of Jesus. From the beginning of his public life, Jesus dedicated himself to inviting others to his Father's kingdom (Lk 4:18-19).
This tradition of hospitality can also be seen in the tradition of the "Holy Door" which has its roots in the Church's earlier celebrations of the Jubilee year. The Holy Door is opened at the beginning of each Holy Year in all four of the major Basilicas. During the Jubilee Year, pilgrims to Rome will be able to walk through the "Jubilee Door" at the Basilica of St. Peter. To pass through this door is to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is to strengthen one's faith in Christ so as to live the new life which he has given us. In passing through this door the faithful are meant to gain the courage to leave behind all that hinders their journey to God. It is a door to a new start. It is a new beginning for ourselves, and for our relationship with God and our neighbor.
Faithful to this tradition of hospitality, the Church in the United States has welcomed with open arms the different immigrant groups that have come to this country. This hospitality was manifested through the formation of national parishes at the beginning of the twentieth century to receive Italian, Polish, German and other immigrants. These parishes provided a familiar and welcoming environment where immigrants could celebrate and practice their faith, live their cultural traditions and get the necessary support to become a part of U.S. society. Due in part to the changing demographics at the end of World War II, these national parishes gave way to culturally mixed parish communities. It was expected that immigrants would assimilate into U.S. society and into the Church. However, in a 1987 document, the U.S. Bishops lamented the fact that a policy of assimilation had forced immigrants to give up their language, culture, values and liturgical traditions. The bishops stated that all new immigrants are "to be welcomed to our Church institutions at all levels. They are to be served in their language when possible, and their cultural values and religious traditions are to be respected. Beyond that, we must work toward mutual enrichment through interaction among all cultures" (National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry, p. 66).
Also, this tradition of hospitality empowers the Church to welcome young adults to our Church communities. The U.S. Bishops, in dialogue with young adults, have recognized that young adults are too often an overlooked population in parish life. Traditional parishes have generally focused on family life leaving many young adults with their unique gifts under-utilized and many of their needs unmet. The bishops expressed the need for parishes "To invite, empower and enable young adults to participate in the life of the Church through worship, community life, small faith communities and evangelizing efforts, and on committees, in ministries and in Catholic movements and organizations" (Sons and Daughters of the Light, p. 33).
The invitation to the faith community is also addressed to those whom no one wants to welcome. The humble, the sick, the poor, the disabled, the aliens, and the sinners are among the first to accept Jesus' invitation with joy. Jesus knows their difficulties and, as a result, invites them to be freed from their burdens and to rest in him. "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. . . . For my yoke is easy, and my burden light" (Mt 11:28, 30). Jesus' invitation to become part of the kingdom of the Father is both a welcoming and an invitation to extend this welcome to all. By receiving Jesus in our hearts, we become friends of God (Jn 15:14) and commit ourselves to continue his welcoming mission to others and to walk together as one Church toward the Father's house.
Discussion questions:
- What has helped create an environment of hospitality and welcome in your faith community? How so?
- What makes it difficult to experience a welcoming hospitality in your faith community, especially for those who need it most? How so?
Putting Our Faith Into Action (40 minutes)
The Church in the United States has a very strong parish base. The faith community is organized, in most cases, under the coordination of the pastor in collaboration with the parish council and professional and volunteer ministers. This parish model permits the community to experience church life at a central location. Families gather in parish facilities to participate in the sacraments and to benefit from the different ministries and programs offered by the parish. This model has many advantages but also presents some challenges. One of the challenges is to reach out to Catholics who live within the parish boundaries but for various reasons do not take part in the activities of the faith community. To meet this challenge, it is necessary to renew the missionary spirit of the faith community—to reach out to those who have not felt the love of the Church, instead of waiting for them to come on their own. It is also necessary to prepare a place for inactive Catholics and to welcome them with open arms. This preparation means creating an environment of hospitality and welcome that will help all people to feel at home. This in turn will inspire and motivate them to be active members.
In the case of new immigrants, it is necessary to develop with them a pastoral plan that answers their religious, social, linguistic and cultural needs. Where young adults are concerned, it is important to consider the special situation of persons who may be single or married with no children, young professionals or college students, those who are new to the community or exploring new roles within the community. Each will have distinctive needs as well as unique gifts to share with the faith community. The bishops of the United States speak of the need to promote a model of Church that is communitarian, missionary, evangelizing, hospitable, and incarnated in the reality of the different people and groups that live within the parish boundaries (National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry, no. 17). For it is this model of Church that will help the parish community carry out the New Evangelization to which Pope John Paul II calls us.
Action steps:
- Discuss the possibility of your faith community designating a door in its church or campus ministry center as a jubilee door. Individuals can also be encouraged to set up a jubilee door in their place of residence. A door blessing is provided here.
- Brainstorm to identify persons and groups that need to be invited and welcomed to the faith community.
- Identify concrete actions that your faith community can undertake to reach out to others and to welcome them. Consider the liturgical life, the decision making process and the religious education of your community as well as the basic human needs of the people in the local community.
- Select those actions that are most important and urgent, and develop a plan to implement them.
- Brainstorm the things that you can do personally to welcome people into your faith community. Commit yourself to doing one or two of the items on the list.
Gathering Our Experiences (15 minutes)
- What helped you participate in this session and what made it difficult?
- What did you learn and accept about others?
- What did you learn about your faith?
- How did people make a commitment to implement a course of action?
Celebrating Our Faith as a Community (25 minutes)
- Opening hymn/song
- Invocation or invitation to prayer
- Scriptural reading
- Prayer of thanksgiving or petition
- The Lord's Prayer
- Final prayer and sign of peace
- Closing hymn
Blessing of a Jubilee Door At Home
Gathering before the Jubilee door, the father or mother prays:
Sign of the Cross -- In the name of the Father...
Reading -- Jn 10:7-10, Lk 4:18-19, or Lev. 25: 8-12.
Blessing --
Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
for you guide our footsteps.
You bless our coming in and our going out,
from birth to death, you hold us in your care.
Bless this door, O Lord,
which we consecrate to this time of preparation.
Each day we pass this place,
draw us more deeply into your presence
and the wonders of your love for us.
You are the door to the Kingdom of God,
the sheep gate to life eternal,
O portal of eternal peace, our new and living way,
loose our sins and open for us the door to salvation.
O God, protect our going out and our coming in;
let us share the hospitality of this home with all who visit us.
May the poor find rest within these walls
and all who hunger find refreshment in our home.
Lead us home through you, to you, and with you,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Jubilee Seal -- Placing of the Jubilee logo or cross on the door or door frame.
Hymn -- All may sing the hymn To Jesus Christ our Sovereign King or some other appropriate song.
Blessing of a Jubilee Door At Church
Gathering before the Jubilee door, the bishop prays: (The door may be blessed at the beginning of Sunday Mass or at another appropriate time.)
Blessing --
Blessed are you, O Lord our God,
King of the Universe!
You bless our coming in and our going out,
from birth to death, you hold us in your care.
Bless this door, O Lord,
which we consecrate to this time of preparation.
Each day we pass this place,
draw us more deeply into your presence
and the wonders of your love for us.
You are the door to the Kingdom of God,
the sheep gate to life eternal,
O portal of eternal peace, our new and living way,
loose our sins and open for us the door to salvation.
Grant that through the power of the keys
we may be found worthy to enter the gateway to heaven
and rejoice forever at the nuptial feast in your
presence, our Bridegroom and our Lord,
for whom we wait and for whom we long.
Lead us home through you, to you, and with you,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Jubilee Seal -- Placing of the Jubilee logo or cross on the door or door frame. (It is suggested that the insignia of the Papal Tiara and Keys be placed above this door as a way to remember the connection between these doors and the Holy Year Door at St. Peter's Basilica.)
Hymn -- As the door is sprinkled with holy water, Psalm 124 is sung with the antiphon: Lift high the ancient portals! The King of Glory enters!
For Those Attending WYD 2000
Those who attend WYD 2000 will have the exciting opportunity to see the great diversity of the faces in God's house. Thousands of young people will be in Rome with you praying and celebrating life in Jesus Christ. These people of faith will also be walking with you through the Jubilee Door in the Basilica of St. Peter, embraced by God's love and compassion.
In the Gospel of John Jesus said: "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture" (John 10:9). May you and many other pilgrims enter that most holy of doors in faith and peace.
Discussion questions:
- As you attend WYD 2000, you will have the opportunity to meet many people from different cultures. How can you and your group share the welcome of Christ with them?
- For you personally, what do you imagine when you hear Jesus' promise of safety and pasture. What do you think others hope for?
- Take a few moments to reflect on Christ's welcome to all who pass through the Jubilee Door. Then draw a picture which represents your vision of that welcome from Christ. When everyone in your group has finished, share your drawing with the others.