Thankful for My Parish Community

I must confess that I one time I felt some superiority to many of the parishioners in my parish community.  It seemed as though people arrived late for Mass, or weren't appropriately dressed, or let their kids be noisy or shred the hymnals.  Some people didn't shake hands at the sign of peace, and some people got too loud.  When I went to parish events or even volunteered, it seemed to me that some people were into their little cliques and some people were outright rude.  If I was on a committee and voiced an opinion, some people demanded to know how long I had been in the parish and claimed the way they had always done things as superior. I suppose there was judgment flying both ways.

Years went by and I have had my problems and embarrassments and have been both a victim and a perpetrator of sinfulness.  I have had highs and lows within my parish community, just like in my family life, highs and lows.  I have come to know that some folks I held up as models of Christian life and love have some warts that most people don't see.  And some of those folks have let me down or put me down in ways that I don't like to think about.  I don't hold people who appear superior in the esteem I used to.  And some folks I once judged as horrible mean sinners have revealed to me their love of God and their deep faith in ways I never imagined.  I have learned humility and I have learned that all of us are in some ways models of the human walk of life, and all of us are sinners.

I wouldn't want to find a Catholic church where everyone did things "right," or perfect, or superior.  I have found that I enjoy going to a church where there may be some people a little farther down the path who can show me the way, and a few who I can guide in small ways.  Like any good, large family, my parish is a mess, and a blessing.  I am thankful for the blessing of my parish.