Today’s Spiritual Journey Thursday is being hosted by Dave. https://dave-homeschooldad.blogspot.com/2023/05/churches-places-people-purpose-and-path.html He poses several questions regarding our journey. Where have we been? Where are we going? Who has guided us on our way? What is a church?
After thinking about this for a couple of days I decided to concentrate on what church is to me, how it has changed over the years, and how it remains a constant in my life.
As a kid growing up in a small town, the joke was that there was a church on every corner and a barroom on the other. There was the Irish church, the Polish church, the Italian church, etc. I am Byzantine so we had our own church. You did not go to a church that wasn’t yours. Priests had been known to tell people to go to their own church. I know, very Christian.
I could never understand this. We all worshiped one God. All Masses were said in Latin at that time, except ours, so what difference did it make which church I attended? Now with the consolidation of churches we are just lucky to have a one nearby.
But what is a church? Is it just a building where people gather to worship? I don’t think so. To me, church is the people who gather together, who share beliefs. People who help out the people in their parish or community who need help. People who pray for those who need it. I know that several years ago when I had my triple bypass surgery I had a whole lot of people from church praying for me. I truly believe it made a difference in how things went and with my recovery.
But does this mean that there needs to be two or more present for God to hear us? I don’t think so. We pray silently. We have conversations with God. He listens. He knows our hearts. He is there when we are alone. We don’t need to be in a church or with others for God to hear us.
So, although the church building offers a place for people to gather and worship, it is the people who make up the church. I still go to church weekly. I find comfort being with people, attending Mass, listening to the priest. Some might see this as a crutch. If it is, it is one that I am not willing to give up.