The aroma of their food fills the air, exciting the senses and inviting the stomach to express its emptiness. The conversations are filled with laugher, inquisitiveness and energy, where the meeting of minds and hearts takes place amongst people from different backgrounds and cultures. Mass begins and is filled with songs indicative of the five hours of preparation completed in order to rightfully praise the Lord. Eyes are closed, mouths are moving, bodies sway and hearts are lifted to a God who loves his children so immensely that he would allow his only Son to die a horrific death on a cross in order to truly set people free. The host is raised, recognition of sin is made, and the procession begins as hands and mouths await the reception of our Lord Jesus Christ in the heart of ‘mission land USA.’
Just a few miles down the road…
Centered between gang violence and drug deals rests a house of peace and prayer. The time for Mass has come, yet the people continue to file in. Children are forced to sit on the floor in front of the altar so that everyone can fit. The smell of lilies fills the air while the risen Lord hangs watching over the masses. The furniture and decorations in the church are truly a universal representation, the products of donations from places where something newer and more developed is needed. In this tiny country parish the rituals of 2000 years are celebrated and the Lord of eternity is made present on the altar, calming the violence, destroying the addictions, healing the divisions, and renewing the faint of heart.
But who will continue on this work that God has begun???
Both of these churches are examples of the many mission areas in the United States that are without a resident priest. Lay and religious leadership continue to catechize, gather, and unite the people, but the priest is no where to be found. Sometimes courageous, retired priests drive long distances to provide the sacraments to the people, but the parishioners are left wondering how long this will really be possible. If these churches are closed down, the people are left with no other options. It is not like in a city where one can choose from any number of Catholic churches if the sad situation occurs where a church must be closed or merged; no, all that is left for these people is to wait, pray and hope.
Who will answer the call to bring the Gospel of Christ to these areas? Who will have the courage to go where others cannot go, or simply do not want to go? Who will receive the gift of serving the people of these areas—beautiful people from diverse backgrounds, with wonderful gifts and hearts longing to remain in the grace and presence of the Lord?
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
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