Bill and Susan are both baptized Catholics. But they rarely went to Mass. You might see them in the pews at Christmas and Easter, but that is about it. One Easter they came to Mass and had the surprise of their lives. The parking lot was empty. Going up to the church doors, they discovered that everything was locked. Confused, they almost decided just go home but it was Easter so they drove a little further to another church. Again, they were shocked. There was no one there, either. Now the mystery was intriguing them. What had happened? Had there been a revolution and the churches forcibly closed? Were the Protestants right and all the good Christians taken away by the rapture? They traveled outside of town to a third church. Here they found cars but services were ending. Although they had missed Mass, they entered the church for a quick visit and to find reassurance that nothing else had suddenly changed. Everything appeared to be in place, although the congregation seemed a bit small from the celebrations remembered in the past. They saw the priest and approached him with their puzzlement.
Susan spoke first, “Father, we are sorry about missing Mass but we had trouble finding an open church.”
Father Flynn responded, “I take it that you are new to the area. We would love to have you register here. We can always use new members.”
“No Father,” said Susan, “we have lived here all our lives. We were married at St. Margaret’s.”
“Oh my,” responded the priest, looking somewhat disturbed and maybe upset.
Bill entered the conversation, “We went to St. Margaret’s this morning and finding no one there went over to Holy Spirit. Both places were empty.”
To read more...head over to Fr. Joe's Blog. It will really make you think.
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