For many years, I have made it a point to exercise every day. It wasn’t always so. When I was younger and imagined myself to be invincible, I neglected to do any exercise, unless it was walking to my car. I wasn’t opposed to it; I just didn’t think I needed it. But as I got older, I knew something had to give.
The hardest part was going to the gym. I hadn’t been in years. I went with my priest-secretary at the time, who introduced me to a variety of exercise machines. I decided to try the elliptical. But as I mounted that machine, I was self-conscious. All around me were avid fitness buffs – some bench pressing, others on treadmills. Me? It was all I could do not to fall off the elliptical and before long I was out of breath. But with the encouragement of my priest-secretary, I kept at it and soon I was exercising daily.
By now, you may wonder why I am telling you this. It’s not to say that I’m healthier than a horse – I’m not. My purpose is to compare going back to the gym and going back to church for Sunday Mass.
In my experience, most unchurched Catholics are not opposed to Sunday Mass. Some tell me, “The Mass is good for those who feel they need it, but right now, I don’t.” That’s what I used to say about exercise: “Fine for those who need it, but I don’t.” That is, until we do! I needed exercise all along and those who think they don’t need the Eucharist may find out that they needed the Eucharistic Lord all along.
Others say they’d come back to Mass on Sunday except that they’d feel awkward. A friend of mine put it this way: “I got out of the habit of going and now I’m uneasy about going back. I’m not sure I’d know what to do. I think my neighbors who go to church regularly would stare at me. I’m afraid the priest would ask me where I’ve been.” Not unlike how I felt when I started exercising again. That first trip back to the gym was a “doozy.”
Yet another non-practicing Catholic told me this: “I’d go back to church, but would I have to sign up at the parish office? Would I have to go through a lot of meetings?” And here’s the kicker: Confession. “Would I have to go to confession?” he asked. This is not unlike going back to the gym. Many gyms insist on a meeting with new and returning members for an evaluation (confession) and then explain how the various fitness machines work (catechesis) and then you sign on the bottom line (envelopes). Formidable obstacles!
That’s why I’m grateful to my former priest-secretary who encouraged me to go to the gym and to stay with it. He knew I’d be like a fish out of water, but he reassured me until exercise became a part of my life.
So too, those who are thinking about going back to Sunday Mass need “a soul friend” – someone to help them through the process of re-entry, someone to encourage them, maybe sit with them, help them with the responses – or in the vocabulary of Pope Francis, someone “to accompany” them until the practice of the faith becomes a regular part of their lives.
A great act of charity is to accompany a person or family who is thinking of coming back to church. Some have hardened their hearts, but many are searching and pondering. With gentle encouragement, we might just get them back into the exercise that counts the most: spiritual exercises!
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