I think a lot about fallen-away Catholics during Christmas, especially the ones I know and love.

I used to be one of the people who would come and fill the pews just for Christmas Eve only because I wanted to be with my family. I would think about other things during the Mass, roll my eyes if the priest said a corny joke and raise my eyebrows at the women wearing fur coats and the Mercedes Benzes in the parking lot. In short, I did a lot of judging during Christmas Mass. Perhaps it was because of my anger toward the Church. Perhaps it was because my outside eyes could easily spot hypocrisy, one of the reasons I left the Church. Or perhaps, I was afraid of what would happen if I stopped focusing on what was outside of me.

Brian Laline, a journalist for the Staten Island Advance, just wrote a beautiful article about his relief at finding out that his neighborhood parish was not closing even though he is a fallen-away Catholic:

A couple of weeks ago, I admitted in this very space that, like a lot of other Catholics, I have drifted from my church. I simply can’t find that 45 minutes on Sunday morning to visit with God. Why should I care if [St. Margaret Mary] closes? Financially, it has to be a Herculean struggle to meet bills. And St. Christopher’s, up there by the railroad tracks, is a just short jog away. It makes financial sense. With all due respect, shouldn’t I care more if the bagel store on the corner closes, the one where I manage to find the 45 minutes every week, stand on a line stretching out the door, to get a sesame with butter, toasted? But I do care about St. Margaret Mary’s.

He goes on to explain why he is returning to the Church ending with a beautiful line with an obvious answer:

I’m coming home for Christmas. I just hope God wants me back.

Go read the article.

Then invite someone you love who has become inactive in the Church to consider coming back, not just for Christmas but forever. God wants everyone back, but sometimes he wants us to be the messengers, to share in his desire to see loved ones back in the pews, so we can share in his joy when they return.

And if you have stopped going to church, for whatever reason, I hope this Christmas you consider coming home. There are lots of reasons to come back.

But the biggest reason is the answer to the question underlying the last sentence in Brian’s article – yes, God definitely wants you back…he watches the road home and the minute he sees you starting down the path he will run to you and welcome you with open arms.

Please come home.