{"id":1723,"date":"2011-10-14T14:24:43","date_gmt":"2011-10-14T19:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=1723"},"modified":"2014-04-28T11:58:39","modified_gmt":"2014-04-28T16:58:39","slug":"the-prodigal-son-returns-to-church-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=1723","title":{"rendered":"The prodigal son returns to church (again)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gillisphotos.com\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-3878\" src=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/14-Church-Saint-Marys-Church-Foxboro-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"14 Church - Saint Marys Church Foxboro\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/14-Church-Saint-Marys-Church-Foxboro-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/14-Church-Saint-Marys-Church-Foxboro.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>By Robert Gillis<\/em><br \/>\n<em>Published in the Foxboro Reporter and Boston City paper 10\/2011<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A few years ago I attended a family wedding. During mass, several of my other cousins and extended family were looking at each other during mass, unsure of when to sit, stand, and so on. I overheard my favorite cousin Michelle whisper, &#8220;Just do what Bobby does, he knows.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>I was flattered by that comment and the perception that I was such an expert on the customs of mass, but I also felt some guilt. Except for visits to Saint Anthony\u2019s in Boston during lunch time, I\u2019d been skipping Sunday mass for several years. I\u2019d love to give a good excuse, but the real reason was laziness.<\/p>\n<p>But a while back, I resolved to do better. I don\u2019t go to church because of the &#8220;Keep Holy the Sabbath&#8221; commandment, I go because I need to go. I want to go. And, so far so good, the church hadn\u2019t collapsed when I walked in and the lightning strikes have (so far) missed.<\/p>\n<p>And before I continue, I should emphasize that this one isn\u2019t just directed only Catholics, but to everyone &#8212; no matter what you believe in or not, it\u2019s comforting to be able to gather as a community and share a common faith, whatever that may be. There is great power and healing in COMMUNITY and FAITH.<\/p>\n<p>With all that in mind, here are some thoughts after mass a few Sundays back, in no particular order&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What a beautiful day. 80 degrees on October! It\u2019s amazing how the weather affects people. People were so happy, in a good mood, it felt like the first day of spring. Windows open in the church in October! And it was a game day, so I was amused to see that some folks had worn their Patriots shirts to church. I was always amused years ago, on game days, when Father Tom Reilly used to insist our responses were loud and enthusiastic and he would always add, &#8220;You DO want to get home in time for kick-off, right? Say, \u2018Yes, Father!\u2019&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>It\u2019s such an honor to be asked to collect. I always make it a point to say thank you to the little children who put in money, and always make eye contact to let people know that I\u2019m looking at them, not the amount they put in the basket &#8212; that\u2019s none of my business. Last week, an older woman sort of gave a me a little smile and she palmed what was obviously some change into the basket. I was honestly reminded of the gospel story of the poor widow who donated a penny because it\u2019s all she had &#8212; and how much more of a gift that was. I wish I could have told her that &#8212; no matter what you give, that\u2019s wonderful.<\/li>\n<li>Father Steve Madden is such a great guy and we are so lucky to have him back in Foxboro as pastor. He didn\u2019t pay me to say that but I\u2019ve long been a fan &#8212; he has a way of connecting with the congregation. Father Steve is &#8220;one of us,&#8221; along for the journey, leading us, yes, and also learning with us along the way. And I still love his sermons. Without exception, when he ends with his signature, &#8220;God bless you all,&#8221; I always think to myself, &#8220;Message received.&#8221; He likes plain M&amp;M\u2019s, by the way. Just thought I\u2019d add that for some bonus points.<\/li>\n<li>And speaking of Father Steve, I\u2019m grateful he is finally getting another priest and deacon to help! Father Steve has been single-handedly running the parish for some time. Welcome Father Brian and Deacon Paul!<\/li>\n<li>I find that as I get older I find that I appreciate the hymns more and more. Even the most familiar hymns sung as a child seem especially poignant to me these days. I don\u2019t know why, they just are.<\/li>\n<li>The choir at the church and singers are, without exception, some of the best I have ever heard. They have incredible talent. I love them.<\/li>\n<li>I saw a kid, about 17 years old, texting in church. I was going to say something but I thought to myself, &#8220;Shut up, Bobby. He\u2019s IN CHURCH.&#8221; When I was 17 I was bored in church too, but I found I learned a lot by osmosis (just being there). Besides, in my day when we were bored in church we didn\u2019t have texting, we made the bulletin into airplanes and choppers.<\/li>\n<li>I like how much of a role lay people have in the church these days. Whether it be the passing out the Communion wafer, doing readings, or other aspects of the mass, it seems so appropriate that more and more lay people are involved.<\/li>\n<li>We should never forget how lucky we are, that in this nation, we have the freedom to worship (or not) as we choose.<\/li>\n<li>I love that the church is usually standing room only every week, not just Christmas and Easter.<\/li>\n<li>For my own reasons, my faith has taken a lot of hits this past decade &#8212; not to mention the inevitable crisis of faith or two we all get when you\u2019re my age &#8212; but the physical act of gathering as a church community and sharing a common faith and receiving such inspiration from a church leader is a gift for which I am forever grateful. You can\u2019t answer your faith questions by staying away.<\/li>\n<li>I still have so many questions about life, the universe, and everything. I\u2019ll never have all the answers, but I can find some of them by gathering with the community in church.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These days, I\u2019m just feeling grateful that I\u2019m part of a church community that\u2019s so alive and vibrant, a place where I can pray, contemplate, and rejoice. At my age, going to church isn\u2019t an obligation &#8212; it\u2019s something I need to do to stay healthy. I still consider myself something of a &#8220;Cafeteria Catholic&#8221; but being in church very literally nourishes the spirit &#8212; it\u2019s like going to the gym &#8212; you make all sorts of excuses not to go, but you never regret going. I always feel better after mass. What\u2019s interesting is that at that mass a few weeks back, I just started thinking these thoughts and needed to get them out. And now I have &#8212; thanks for reading, and&#8230; see you at church!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4258\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4258\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/103507512.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4258\" src=\"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/103507512.jpg\" alt=\"Welcome-St. Mary\u2019s Church here in Foxboro recently welcomed a new priest and a new deacon to their parish family. From left: Deacon Paul Kline and his wife Rosemary, Reverend and Pastor Stephen J. Madden and Reverend Brian P. Smith, Parochial Vicar. (Photo by Christine Igo Freeman, Foxboro Reporter)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4258\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Welcome-St. Mary\u2019s Church here in Foxboro recently welcomed a new priest and a new deacon to their parish family. From left: Deacon Paul Kline and his wife Rosemary, Reverend and Pastor Stephen J. Madden and Reverend Brian P. Smith, Parochial Vicar. (Photo by Christine Igo Freeman, Foxboro Reporter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Robert Gillis Published in the Foxboro Reporter and Boston City paper 10\/2011 A few years ago I attended a family wedding. During mass, several of my other cousins and extended family were looking at each other during mass, unsure of when to sit, stand, and so on. I overheard my favorite cousin Michelle whisper, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,13,147],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-catholic","category-foxboro","category-foxboro-reporter-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1723\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}