I am reminded of a video that I saw online of an elderly woman who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Sitting in her wheelchair with headphones on to hear the sounds of music from Swan Lake. She seems to come alive while gesturing with her hands toward the person controlling the phone to “turn it up”. As the music get’s louder, its as though the melody starts to flow through her arms and she begins to dance.
It only takes a few port-de-bras (ballet term from the French meaning “carriage of the arms”) before she stops and almost gives up hope. dropping her hands into her lap and shaking her head. Almost saying that she isn’t the same ballerina anymore. The music assistant holds her hand and gently kisses it. and with that little encouragement, she begins to dance again.
The ballerina, Marta, has a wonderful story that you can read on the Ballet Herald website.
This story reminds me of fallen away Catholics and their plight to find truth. Some never find it and some find it later in life. The truth that I speak of is the beauty and fullness of our Christian faith that was and is there in the Catholic Church. The person comes back home to their parents funeral or another relatives wedding mass and the music and gestures of their childhood flows through their body like Marta. It reminds them of the confusion of their faith and they stop gesturing along to the “And with your spirit” or the penitential act.
Unlike Marta, no one is there to kiss their hand and encourage them to keep going. But as scripture says:
How beautiful are the feet of those that preach good news!
Romans 10:15
A gentle smile or even a simple touch of peace can help reassure them they are in safe space. Hopefully it leads them to seek answers and ask questions. Clarify some misconceptions or ill feelings they’ve been harboring about the Church. I plead with you to keep an attitude of invitation. If you are discouraged, just say a short prayer under your breath. It could be as simple as, “Lord, help me to lead this person back to you”.
I’m sure there are plenty of reasons that we don’t invite non or fallen away Catholics to mass but most of the time it is more convenient for us to be silent then to step out of our comfort zone. Maybe we are scared that we can’t get them back into the church or help them through the pain of whatever trauma that caused them to leave in the first place. And you’re right, you can’t. Only God can do that so don’t keep them from coming to Jesus in the Eucharist. Amazing things happen every day whether we see them or not.
My sponsor kick started my journey into the catholic faith by simply inviting me to mass. And when Fr. Jim raised the host in the air and said “Through Him, and with Him, and in Him” in the ‘Per Ipsum’ the Holy Spirit pierced my heart and I was convicted to join the Church right then. It wasn’t anything my sponsor said or did after that invite. It was Jesus in the Eucharist. Did I know the teaching behind it? Nope. I didn’t know scripture or tradition. I didn’t know that Jesus literally said “Take and eat; this is my body” or “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, you will have no life within you”. All I cared about at that moment was being where I knew God wanted me.
We just never know what God will use to convict someone. All He is asking us to do is our little part. And who are we to deny God?
Gentlemen, it’s time to be real men of faith.
Disciples At The Ready 