Gathered and Sent Out

Today I attended a talk given by Paul-André Durocher, bishop of the Alexandria-Cornwall diocese in Ontario. He is here in Montreal, giving a Lenten mission. I could not attend the whole mission, but tonight was inspiring.

This bishop proclaimed that the Church is an institution, an association and a movement; all three! The Church, whose movement is Love, strives to bring the Kingdom of God to the world. He says that this is fundamental in understanding why we go to church.

He said that there are many reasons people cite for why they go to church. They say stuff like, “It helps me go over my past week”, “It gives me spiritual nourishment”, “It helps me take in the Word of God”, “I enjoy the fellowship”, … While all this is good, he says, it’s not enough. The proof is that when other people are asked why they don’t go to church, the answer they usually give is, “Well, what’s in it for me???” Do you sense the theme? It’s all about “ME”, and what “I get” from church! How will any Kingdom of God ever be built this way?

The reason we go to church is to get nourished from the Source of Life and all Holiness…and then go out and share it with the world that needs it SO much! We cannot keep this to ourselves!

We are gathered, and then we are sent out!

So the bishop suggested, “The next time someone asks you why you go to church, you can answer ‘I went for you! I went for your sake.’ You went so that you could nourish and love all those around you.”

We are gathered, so that we are not alone; and we are sent out, so that no one is alone! (Thank you, Bishop Durocher!)