ARE YOU GOOD AT WELCOMING AND GREETING? One of the essential dimensions of cultivating the social virtues is the capacity to both greet and welcome individuals, as well as groups. Most would agree that the first impression we have of another leaves a profound impact for good or for bad.

On the negative side, when somebody ignores us, overlooks us, snubs us, or even glares at us ending with a sarcastic and derisive smile, it truly cuts us to the heart and can leave an indelible wound. Expecting a warm greeting and receiving quite the contrary, or even being completely ignored, can result in anger, resentment and even a desire for revenge in the depths of our heart.

Therefore, as authentic followers of Christ, should we not make a concerted effort on our part to improve and upgrade our greetings and welcoming attitudes? Especially in the realm of apostolic efficacy, a warm greeting can open a heart to follow Christ, whereas a snub and cold stare can shut the door to Christ.

This may catch many of us by surprise, or even shock us, but there are many Biblical passages dealing directly with greeting and welcoming others. Let’s contemplate a few.

1. THE ARCHANGEL GABRIEL AND MARY. (Lk 1:26-38)

Of all of the greetings in the history of the world, the Archangel Gabriel’s greeting to the Blessed Virgin Mary is the most prominent, as well as significant: “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” This greeting would culminate in Mary’s consent to conceiving the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity in her most pure womb. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (Jn 1:14) In fact, every time we pray the Hail Mary, we renew this Angelic salutation. For that reason, the technical name for the Hail Mary is actually “The Angelic salutation.”

2. THE VISITATION. (Lk 1:39-56)

A rapid sequel to the Archangel’s greeting in the Annunciation to Mary is Our Lady’s quick response, as she moves in haste to visit her elderly cousin Elizabeth who is with child. Upon arriving, Mary greets Elizabeth, most likely with the Hebrew manner of greeting: Shalom —Peace be with you! Saint Elizabeth responds: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? At the sound of your greeting the baby in my womb leapt for joy. Blessed are you for your firm belief that the word of the Lord would be accomplished in you.”

3. ZACCHAEUS, CHIEF TAX-COLLECTOR OF JERICHO. (Lk 19:1-10)

In the case of this short tax-collector who is ready and willing to climb a tree to see Jesus, we witness another greeting and welcome. Almost always Jesus was formally greeted and welcomed into homes. In the case of Jesus, He actually invites Himself into the home of Zacchaeus, and the little man joyfully welcomes Him. Overflowing with joy Jesus responds: “Today salvation has arrived at this home.” How often has Jesus knocked on the door of our heart seeking entrance? How often have we failed to open the door?

4. SAINT MATTHEW. (Mt 9:9-13)

Jesus approaches the tax-collectors’ post where Matthew is seated. Peering into the eyes and penetrating the depths of the soul of this Publican (tax collector), Jesus says two words: “Follow Me!” Without a moment of hesitation, Matthew accepts the invitation and leaves all that he has to follow the Master. That very night Matthew prepares a banquet for Jesus, inviting many of his friends—tax collectors and sinners, so they too can meet the Lord. Matthew greets Jesus and welcomes Him into his home with overflowing joy!

5. BETHANY: MARY AND MARTHA AND LAZARUS. (Lk 10:38-42)

Among the most dear friends of Jesus during the three years of His Public Ministry were Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus. Living close to Jerusalem in the town of Bethany, they would often invite Jesus and welcome Him as their guest. Polar opposites in temperament, Martha and Mary served Jesus each in their own unique manner. Busy and active to her very core, Martha practiced the most minute details of hospitality. Quiet and more reserved and contemplative by nature, Mary loved to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him, speak to Him, and simply be present to Him as a friend.

The above are five classical examples of different Biblical personalities and their attitude in both greeting and welcoming Jesus. We might even call these Biblical figures: THE SHALOM COMMITTEE! (PEACE BE WITH YOU—SHALOM!)

Let us step back and examine our own lives, the people we meet and the opportunities that God presents to us to exercise the Apostolate of Shalom, the greeting and welcoming Club!

6. FAMILY MEMBERS. 

If you are a homemaker, as well as wife and Mother, you most likely have the golden opportunity every day to both greet and welcome family members home. Welcoming your husband with a hug, a smile, and a refreshing drink can turn his long and tiring day into an oasis of peace. Also, receiving and welcoming your children with a joyful smile, milk and cookies, and words of encouragement can make a world of difference from the tough, aggressive and cold external social milieu they encounter every day.

7. GREETING FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES.

A simple question for your examination? Upon seeing a friend or acquaintance approach, do you wait for them to greet you? Or do you make an effort to take the initiative and greet them first? Taking the initiative, there is real virtue practiced in this assertive approach. Humility, courtesy, and even charity emanates from the first to greet! Who knows, maybe you can even win a new friend by taking the initiative to greet first with a winsome smile!

8. GREETING THE HOME-BOUND, THE SICK AND THE LONELY.

One of the most pleasing gestures that we can do for others, and so pleasing to God, is to go out of our way to visit those who are sick and abandoned, lonely and depressed. A greeting, a smile, a kind word, a holy card, a hug or embrace can pull those lonely persons dwelling in the valley of tears into the light of God’s joy and happiness! Jesus will reward us: “Whatever you do to the least of these brothers/sisters of mine, you do to me.” (Mt 25:40)

9. GREETING JESUS IN THE CHURCH.

Another noteworthy greeting is towards Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the context of the Church. This can be done in two ways: Eucharistic visits and Eucharistic receptions! One of the first short poems that I learned as a child was the following: “Whenever I see a Church I stop to make a visit, so that when I die the Lord won’t say, ‘Who is it?’” Upon entering a Catholic Church, we should immediately draw close to the Tabernacle, the home of Jesus in the Church, and greet Him. First, we make a genuflection towards the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Next, we greet Him and welcome Him by opening up our heart to Him in fervent prayer. Then of greatest importance, we participate fully, actively and consciously in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The culminating moment is to greet Jesus and warmly welcome Him into the very depths of our heart in Holy Communion. This Eucharistic welcome and greeting is by far the most important in this world. May we strive to improve and upgrade our welcome and greeting of our Eucharistic Lord!

10. HEAVENLY WELCOME COMMITTEE. 

Now, as a conclusion, if during the short course of our earthly existence, we have sincerely striven to be that kind, warm, attentive, greeting and welcoming person towards our family, our neighbors, the sick and lonely, even strangers, and most important, towards Our Eucharistic Lord in the Mass and in Adoration, then one day we will have our own welcoming committee—Jesus and His Heavenly Mother Mary, surrounded by the angels and saints, will welcome us into the halls and eternal banquet of Heaven to rejoice with them forever and ever!

Father Ed Broom, OMV, serves as Associate Pastor at St. Peter Chanel Church in Hawaiian Gardens, California. He is a member of the Religious Order, Oblates of the Virgin Mary, and was ordained by Saint John Paul II in St Peter’s Basilica on May 25, 1986. Fr. Ed is a Retreat Master and teaches Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality through articles, podcasts, a radio show, retreats and spiritual direction. He is the author of three books: From Humdrum to Holy, Total. Consecration to Jesus through Mary through the Mysteries of the Rosary and Road Map to Heaven, A Catholic Plan of Life.

http://fatherbroom.com/blog/2022/01/60681/

In the Advent Season one of the Gospel Readings is the long list of the Genealogical Origin of Jesus, in the three sets of 14 names. Daunted by the long list and befuddled as to how to preach a homily on this long list of names, this thought occurred to me: the healing of our own Genealogical Tree.

ORIGINAL WOUNDS.  All of us who come into the world as sons and daughters of Adam and Eve inherit the Original Wound as well as its consequences. With the exception of Mary’s Immaculate Conception and the Virginal Birth of Jesus, we all inherit Original Sin and its consequences at the very moment of our conception. True! Baptism washes away the stain of Original Sin, but not the consequences that Saint Thomas Aquinas terms concupiscence.

CAPITAL SINS.  Those bad tendencies that are defined as the Capital Sins remain within our very being until we die. These are the following: Gluttony, Lust, Avarice, Sloth, Envy, Anger, and Pride. With the help of God’s grace and our collaboration with His grace, these bad tendencies have to be tamed and the opposite virtues must be practiced.

WOUNDED HUMANITY.  All of humanity, therefore, has this mortal wound stemming from the Original Sin. However, to compound the state of our wounded human nature is our own moral culpability that flows from our own personal sins. Original Sin wounds from the start; personal and actual sins aggravate the state of our wounded condition.

WALKING WOUNDED HUMANITY.  We live in a world walking side by side with a walking wounded humanity and we add our own quota to this wounded and broken world.

WOUNDED WOUNDER OR WOUNDED HEALER.  Taking into account our woundedness there are two possibilities or options. Either we are wounded wounders or we become wounded healers. If we do not come to terms with our wounded condition, then our woundedness grows, festers, and spreads like a disease, like a moral pandemic. And we wound others by our wounded condition.

WOUNDED HEALER.  However, if we recognize that we are wounded, if we admit it and we strive to seek healing, then being a Wounded Healer can become a reality. How? The only solution is to run to Jesus. Only Jesus can truly heal us. Indeed, He alone is the Wounded Healer. The Prophet Isaiah made reference to the coming of Jesus and His mission when he said: “By His wounds we are healed.” (Is 53:5)

JESUS’ PASSION: HIS WOUNDS AND OUR HEALING.  In His Passion, Jesus was wounded for our sake. His scourging at the Pillar, His crowning with thorns, His falling under the weight of the cross, the nails that pierced His hands and feet, His side that was pierced with the lance—all of these manifest the open and gaping wounds of Jesus.

FINDING REFUGE IN THESE WOUNDS.  If we sincerely seek refuge in the wounds of Jesus then we can experience His healing. Most specifically, the healing of our moral wounds can take place in the context of the Sacraments, and most especially in the Sacrament of Confession. In fact, every Sacrament communicates not only grace but a specific Sacramental grace that differentiates it from the others. The Holy Eucharist confers nourishment and spiritual strength. The Sacrament of Confession confers moral healing of the wounds that we have contracted due to moral evil that we call sin.

BLOOD OF CHRIST—HEALING POWER.  Every time we approach the Sacrament of Confession with a good disposition, then with the confession of our sins and Sacramental absolution, the Precious Blood of Jesus that poured forth from the cross on Calvary that first Good Friday washes away our sins. Jesus’ Precious Blood cleanses us and heals us.

HEALING OUR GENEALOGICAL TREE.  Recently, much has been written on the healing of our ancestors, our relatives of the past, the gaping wounds of past ages. Fascinating as this topic sounds and the variety of ways to approach the healing of our genealogical tree, I believe there is truly a most efficacious manner, means or practice that we can undertake. Indeed, going all the way back to our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, there are many wounds, gaping wounds, unhealed wounds of the past that have repercussions in the present and that can extend way into the future.

THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS AND UNIVERSAL HEALING.  Of all of the possible remedies for healing wounded humanity—past, present and future, there is an all- powerful means that we have at our disposal: the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

MOST POWERFUL OF ALL PRAYERS.  Of all the prayers that can be offered in the past, present and future, there is no more powerful and efficacious prayer than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is truly OPUS DEI—the great work of God Himself. It is God offering Himself to God: Jesus (Second Person of the Trinity) offers Himself into the hands of His Heavenly Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit for the salvation of humanity.

CALVARY: THE MASS TRANSCENDING ALL TIMES AND PLACES.  Even though it is true that Jesus died on Calvary on Good Friday more than two thousand years ago, the presence and power of Calvary extends to all times and places—past, present, and future even until the end of time! How does this take place? Every Sacrifice of the Mass today, tomorrow, and until the end of time takes us back to Calvary. That First Good Friday as Jesus hung on the cross, He poured forth His most Precious Blood. That same Blood that Jesus shed willingly and most abundantly becomes present in every Mass. And it is through the shedding of the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world that the purification of our sins and salvation becomes a reality!

OFFERING THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS TO HEAL OUR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.  Now to the point of our topic: OFFER MASS FOR HEALING! Have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for your family, and the two different lines if you are married: the husband and his family of the past; the wife and her family of the past.

THE INTENTIONS.  By way of example, that Mass intention can be specified in the following way: Families Lopez and Garcia—healing of the past, present and future.  Therefore, this intention includes the paternal side (Lopez) and their past, present and future; and the maternal side (Garcia) and their past, present and future. This intention is universal, all-inclusive. In a real sense it is Catholic which means universal! Let us now explain the three time dimensions of past, present and future.

HOLY MASS: META-HISTORICAL EVENT.  By meta-historical is meant that it transcends all times, places, events and cultures—that it encapsulates the entire past, present and future. The power and efficacy of EVERY HOLY MASS transports back to Calvary 2000 years ago and is actually present with its fruit and effects right now, but also its power extends into the past and into the future until the end of time. It is through the Precious Blood of Jesus shed on Calvary that wounds are truly healed and wounded wounders can indeed become wounded healers!

THE PAST.  By the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—this meta-historical event that transcends time—the Precious Blood of Jesus can be applied to family members, both maternal and paternal over years, decades and even centuries in the past. In concrete, in the Lopez and Garcia family there are countless numbers who have passed away. Many of these members were not ready to have direct access to Heaven, and may still be detained in Purgatory. Therefore, this Mass offered in the present can serve as a most efficacious means to help purify these souls detained in Purgatory; and some may actually be released from Purgatory and arrive finally at their Heavenly Home for all eternity! Their healing total and complete!

THE PRESENT.  These two families have immediate family members, as well as other blood relatives, such as cousins and aunts and uncles. Now the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered on their behalf can serve in the present as a most powerful means to sanctify many, convert others, prevent still others from making egregious moral blunders, and can serve as a shield against the wily but persistent attacks of the enemy—the devil who is always on the prowl like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour! Also, countless lights, inspirations, insights can flow invisibly but most powerfully to these family members, and all by means of the Precious Blood of Jesus poured forth on the cross on Calvary on Good Friday but applied in the present moment in Holy Mass!

THE FUTURE.  It is God Himself who created time with all of its ramifications. However, God is not confined to time and space as we the living experience it. In a real sense God lives in the eternal present! This being the case, even though the Mass is being offered for the Lopez-Garcia family right now in the present moment, its effects can extend into the future. In all truth, the effects of every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass can extend into the future, way into the future. If you like, this Mass offered right now can extend in its power and efficacy until the very end of time and into eternity. How might this be the case? Say a family member of the Garcia-Lopez clan living in the year 2500 is on his deathbed after living an immoral, sinful life for many years. Shortly before he expires, he receives a light, an insight, an inspiration to repent and turn his heart back to God. His last words before giving up his spirit are: “Jesus, have mercy on me a sinner” or “Jesus, I trust in your mercy” or simply, “Jesus, save me”! Or other words similar to these. These words are not only expressed with his lips but deeply intended in his heart. He is saved! What is fascinating is the following: the Mass offered close to five hundred years earlier by a family member in the Garcia-Lopez clan was the means by which on his deathbed, this hardened sinner received the grace of final conversion!

In conclusion, all of us can tap into this source of infinite value: the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! Even one Mass offered for our family members can have universal repercussions.  The Precious Blood of Jesus poured forth on Calvary but applied in every Mass has a universal and timeless extension. Holy Mass can purify our deceased relatives who perhaps lived hundreds of years in the past. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass can serve to convert, sanctify, and save family members living in the present epoch. Finally, far into distant and future years, Holy Mass can prevent sin, sanctify souls, and convert the most hardened sinners of our family. How great and powerful is God through Jesus’ Passion, death and Resurrection, all applied in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! Let us pray that through Holy Mass and the Precious Blood of Jesus, we indeed will not be wounded wounders but rather wounded healers in a broken and wounded world!