The Power of Inviting and Accompanying

Ever wonder why people felt drawn to Jesus, this seemingly ordinary person of no special status? There are probably many both practical and spiritual reasons that contributed to what attracted people to him. This might be a good topic to reflect on in your prayer time one day this Lent. One of the things that I am convinced drew people to follow Jesus is the fact that he invited them to join him in doing many of the things he was teaching about. He invited his disciples to come up the mountain to pray with him, to join him in visiting and healing the sick, etc. Rather than tell people what they should do to improve their lives, his invitation often included Jesus either going with them or sending someone with them (as the disciples were sent out two by two). It is much more likely that someone will try something new if they are able to go with someone they know. It naturally makes us more comfortable to not be out there on our own until we are more familiar with the experience! We can do it on our own, but it’s easier when someone accompanies us at first.
 
As we enter into our Lenten Mission this week, hopefully you have reserved one hour at 7:30pm this Monday thru Wednesday (or as many days as possible) to come together for this powerful spiritual boost on our Lenten journey. As much as possible, we cancel all other activities in our parishes that might conflict with the Mission, which is meant to be an experience for all people in our collaborative - both those actively participating in Church life and those who may have fallen away from active practice.
 
Now that you have decided to attend, please ask God to help you to think of at least one or two people to invite to join you, and then ask for the courage to actually invite them - today!  Your desire to spend time with them, and your willingness to accompany them to something they may not be familiar with, could go a long way toward opening their hearts to saying “yes”!  Even if they can only attend one or two nights with you, you might offer to ride together or meet them at a specific door so you can sit together in the church. We may not have all the divine gifts that attracted people to Jesus, but we can use his human example to invite and accompany people like Jesus did...