22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

It is a law of nature that there is no such thing as a simple project. We start to paint a door and discover dry rot in one corner, and that necessitates a trip to the hardware store for wood filler and sandpaper. We go to sew a button on a sweater and find three more loose ones. We see a cobweb in the corner and recognize the whole room needs a good cleaning. Every task we begin seems to snowball into something more involved and time-consuming than first thought. 

Our plans for renovations here at Holy Redeemer have been like that. When I first spoke with Tom Palanza, our architect, I outlined our construction priorities for him. I told him we would need an addition for a new elevator, an upstairs restroom, and renovation to make the sanctuary roomier. He nodded in agreement and said there would be a little more involved. Since our last renovation was over forty years ago, we need to make a few more improvements to keep our safety and other systems up-to-date. Also, because our renovations would cost more than thirty percent of the value of our building, we would have to conform to the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He told me that those requirements would include additional restrooms in the Parish Hall and wider aisles here in the sanctuary. 

Tom told me that we would have to reconfigure our pews and allow room for parishioners in wheelchairs and on walkers, not only in the front and back of the church but also in several places scattered around the nave. He told me the design would need these places so that people with physical disabilities could have a wider selection of locations to sit throughout the church. 

My first reaction when I heard that was, “Isn’t this a bit of regulatory overkill?” Then I got to thinking. So many people tell me they have favorite seats in church, and they like sitting where they do because they can see a particular stained-glass window, statute, or other feature of the church. Some choose to sit in a specific place because it brings back memories for them. Other people like to sit behind poles where they can’t be seen. It dawned on me that when you have mobility issues, your choices are minimal, and it is important to have the opportunity to have some freedom to decide on even a limited number of places to sit in church. 

Our church renovation plans aim to ensure everyone has a place to sit at the table of the Lord. They are all about providing not only people with disabilities a place at the table but young families, youth, empty nesters, and retirees. We want to make our church accessible for those without a relationship with Jesus right now to feel welcome and at home. 

To bring about a clearer sense of hospitality, the renovations include creating a family area at the back of the church. This area will be behind a transparent wall and provide space for families fearful that their rambunctious children might disturb others at Mass, a place to sit and participate. I want to clarify that we don’t intend to isolate young families there. Children are more than welcome in church. Their soft talk, occasional whimper, and even sudden scream remind us that the Church is alive and growing. 

This area will also allow space for gathering before and after Mass. I foresee it as a space for a kiosk where we can provide information about the parish and our Catholic faith. When parish organizations and ministries recruit new members, it will be the area to do that comfortably. 

The renovations will also break down walls at the front of the church to enlarge the sanctuary. A roomier sanctuary will allow better mobility around the altar for the priest and other ministers. An area for the organ and choir will enable the choir to face the congregation rather than have their backs to them while they sing. These renovations will enhance the congregation’s ability to participate fully in the Mass.

Even such things as the stained-glass window facing out towards Old Harbor Road and planned improvements to our parking lot are to help make our church more welcoming. The stained-glass window will be a focal point for the north side of the church, and it will plainly show the building is a church and offer passers-by an invitation to come and worship. Catholic churches should be places of grandeur that invoke a little bit of Heaven and the glory of God. The window repurposed from a closed church will do that for us.

Even something as mundane as our parking lot is a focal point for hospitality and welcome. If funds allow, we hope to redesign it with an entrance directly off Old Harbor Road, better lighting, and individual car stalls rather than the present parking lanes. Plans for these changes are crucial to one capital campaign donor I spoke with this week; he promised to give the campaign an additional gift if we reconstruct the parking lot too. 

In today’s Gospel, Luke relates an episode when Jesus visited the home of a Pharisee after attending a sabbath service. He saw how the guests vied for the places of honor at the table. In those days, it was often the tendency to offer hospitality only to people who could reciprocate kindness. 

Luke wrote of Jesus:

“Then he said to the host who had invited him, 

“When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends 

or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,

in case they may invite you back, and you have repayment.

Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 

Blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.

For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

You have heard me say that the church isn’t a clubhouse for Catholics. Yes, this building is a gathering place for the faithful, but most of all, it is meant to be a tool for evangelization. This church is where the faithful come to have their beliefs reinvigorated with God’s grace in word and sacrament, but most of all, it is where people seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus are to feel welcomed and introduced to Christ. It has been said that the church is the one institution that exists not for its members but its non-members. Think of it; the Church exists for its non-members. Jesus didn’t commission the apostles only to gather every Sunday to hear about Him, talk about His healing and preaching, and receive Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist. No, Jesus commissioned the apostles to go throughout the world to proclaim the Good News and baptize in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The church is the table where both the materially and spiritually poor can find a place to gather to be the guests of a generous Jesus the Lord, who wants to shower them with grace freely given. 

Jesus offers everyone a place at the table to receive Him; Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Are you accepting your place at the table? Mass attendance has yet to recover entirely from the COVID pandemic, and attendance is only about 75-80% of what it was previously. If you are sitting at home watching our Live Stream of Mass and do not have health problems that prevent your attendance in person, it is time for you to rejoin the parish community at Mass. Sitting on your porch watching the Mass on your laptop in your most comfortable clothes might be more relaxing, but it is time to be present with your parish community to receive the Eucharist and share your faith. Come and take your place at the table.

Recently, the parish began a Capital Campaign to raise $1M of our renovations' $3M cost. Registered parishioners received a mailing seeking your gift. As of last week, we have already received gifts and pledges of over $400K. Three gifts were six-figure ones, which is a significant start and reveals great enthusiasm for our renovation project.  

I ask all parishioners to consider your gift to the Capital Campaign prayerfully. God has bestowed on all of us great gifts and blessings. They aren’t ours to keep and use only for ourselves but to help bring the message of Jesus’ Good News to all. When considering your gift, can you push the envelope? If you are considering a four-figure gift, can you take it to the next level and make it a five-figure one? If you planned to make a five-figure offering, can you give a six-figure one? Make your donation show how you recognize just how much God blesses you daily. 

Jesus invites us today to respond to His invitation to take a place He has prepared for us at the table of the Lord. If we come, God will feed us with Eucharistic grace to courageously answer the call to the task of evangelization this week. It isn’t an easy task. Like every other project,  there will be more to it than we will have planned. It will cost more of our energy but offer more of a reward too. We will receive the prize of an invitation to a place reserved for us at the table of the banquet of Heaven.