Are All Really Welcome?

There is a song that we sing at many parishes by Marty Haugen, it’s called “All Are Welcome’. The song boasts of the welcoming nature of the Church, and the body of Christ, and bids everyone to gather in this house of love and grace, because after all, we are all welcome at the His table.

But, are we really all welcome? How many of us come to Mass each week steeped in mortal sin, yet approach the Eucharist as if we are welcome and worthy, while the Church cleary teaches us that we are neither welcome nor worthy to be partaking in this Sacrament. Has there been any clearer demonstration of this Truth than the outrage the teaching of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics having the ability to receive Communion has generated? You see, when we approach the Mass and the Eucharist we should be doing so on God’s terms as defined by the Church, not on our owns terms, as defined by our own pride and arrogance. When we do the latter, we are committing the one sin that is unforgiveable in God’s eyes; blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

So, what exactly is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? It sounds pretty bad, nobody would out rightly blaspheme the Holy Spirit, that is crazy, right? Well, is it? An article came out just yesterday citing that most Catholics miss Mass regularly on Sundays even though the Church teaches that this is a mortal sin. The Church and the Scriptures outline pretty clearly this Church requirement as an obligation for all Catholics, yet studies show that only 23 percent of Catholics attend Mass regularly on Sundays, which means when they do decide to show up, they do so in a state of mortal sin. Now, if those Catholics who have decided on their own that this mandatory obligation is an outdated teaching, that they willingly choose to ignore and be disobedient to, then they have blasphemed the Holy Spirit. You see, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the sin of unrepentance, and it is the sin that will condemn us to Hell. Being condemned to Hell would nullify your welcome into Heaven, and also nullifies your welcome to the table of our Lord, yet many will still partake of the Eucharist in this state of separation from God, even though St. Paul warns that those who do this bring death upon themselves.

You see mercy and forgiveness are freely given to us by God, but on his terms, not ours. They are his gifts to give, and he freely gives them to hearts who love and seek him. They are only given to those who repent and seek them.  Those of us  of don't acknowledge our sinfulness will lack these gifts.  They are not granted to those who willingly and arrogantly deny and disobey Him, his Laws, and the infallible teachings of His Church.  You must ask for these gifts to receive them.

So, all really are not welcome. God wants each and every one of us to fall in love with him. The problem is, we cannot do this if we are consumed with love for ourselves. If we are unwilling to put God first in our lives, and focus on his will for us, we will never obtain the Grace that brings us closer to him in Love and Life. If we are so prideful to deny that we are sinners in need of the forgiveness for our many transgressions that lead us away from Christ, there is no hope for us to humbly submit to his will for our lives, here in the temporal or the eternal. Being unwelcome, is actually a mercy from the Church to hopefully guide us back to God in repentance. Yet, 77 percent of Catholics skip Mass for other more important events, like sleeping in, or soccer games. How many do we see in the Communion lines verses the Confession line? That really tells the whole story.

If you really want to be welcome, then we would embrace the Love that this song professes. A love that puts God first and desires the good of all his family and a Church where we not only learn to forgive but we seek forgiveness ourselves. It is a great song, that everyone loves to sing, but a lyrics that few dare to live.