The Domestic Church

In the early church there were no building people went to in order to celebrate the Eucharist.  They went to someone’s house.  Over the centuries and when Christianity was allowed in the Roman Empire then it became necessary to find a large enough building to accommodate big crowds.  One of the advantages of COVID, I believe, is that the value of the domestic church is again highlighted.  Certainly with all of our technology we can hear scripture being proclaimed by someone else.  We can hear the music we love.  We can see Eucharist being celebrated in our church.   But we are pushed by our need to adapt to figure out how to talk to one another in our home about faith, Jesus, and why I am a believer in Jesus Christ.  When I was growing up we went to church often.  But I don’t remember as a child ever hearing a conversation about why church is important, what older folks believed, and how some adults lived their faith on a daily basis.  It is not just in the church building.  It is every day of our lives.  So maybe I am reading the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel for this liturgical year.  Maybe I am listening to more and a wider variety of Christian music.  Maybe I am learning to pray in new ways.  It may be that I am even learning how to pray in deeper ways.  Commitment to Parish Life begins in the home, not in the church building.  I pray that over the past few months, and probably for the next few months to come, you will take advantage of the domestic church in your life.  May it bear fruit in your life, and in the lives of those you touch.  Fr. Mike