The Power of a touch
I have never had a «good» reputation of being a strict follower of strict rules.
In my former Parish in California I always started my Sunday Masses with a little procession from the front door to the altar. The altar servers, the readers and Ministers of Communion were always very neat and very serious about their role. I cannot say the same thing about their Pastor who was supposed to give them a «good example» of a «sacred» behaviour. Sometimes I would tell somebody to sing louder, sometimes I would tell a lady to give a hug, in my name to her husband, when she got home after Mass or just tell him that was missing him, sometimes I would steal a baby from their parent’s arms and then they had no choice but go to the altar if they wanted their baby back. Well sometimes it was funny… especially when the baby would make everybody smile, before jumping to his father’s arms.
One of my «bad» habits was to gently touch people on their shoulders.
My Parish was very «white». If my Parishioners were not white they were Indians from Mexico or Central America, and a good number of Filipinos, but not Afro-Americans.
One Sunday I was following the entrance procession when I saw a very dark Afro-American man. Very well-dressed and polite. And as usual when I passed by him, I gently touched him on his shoulder.
The Mass ended and he got lost among the Sunday crowd. On the following Thursday, this same man appeared at the Rectory’s door. I gave him a hug as usual, invited him to come in and sit down. And then, during this informal conversation he told me that the reason why he was visiting me was because he wanted to be baptized. I expressed my joy with another hug. I called the lady in charge of the adults Baptism preparation and he joined the group of adult people who were in their journey to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.
Some people kept telling me that during their meetings, the man mentioned different times that the moment he decided to be baptized was the moment «when Fr. Bernardino touched me».
One day I was talking with him and I dared to ask him: «George, some people have told me that the moment you decided to receive the Baptism and become a Catholic was the day I touched you. Is there anything, any story that I said that moved you to make that decision?»
«Yes. You said some things that touched me, but the real moment I decided to receive the Baptism was one Sunday, when I was in church, and you were walking to start Mass and you touched me. I was new in the city, I didn’t know anybody and you didn’t know me and you touched me. You recognized that I was there. You didn’t ignore me. You made me feel at home». Then I thought: «Who would ever guess that under that neat suit there was a «baby» in need to be touched»?
On that day I confirmed, even more, what I already knew. The Church has more than seven Sacraments. The Church has eight Sacraments. The eighth Sacrament is the Sacrament of Hospitality. But one day I said this to a colleague from Brazil and his answer was. «No. Hospitality is not the eighth Sacrament. Hospitality is the only Sacrament. Without Hospitality the other Sacraments are good for nothing».
Today’s first reading (Gen. 18, 1-10) talks about the way Abraham welcomed three strangers. The Gospel (Lk. 10, 38-42) talks about the way Mary and Martha welcomed Jesus.
Many people will find Jesus and a meaning for their lives not through the Bible…. they don’t know, and don’t read the Bible. And not through Catholic activities, because most of those activities don’t attract them. They will find Jesus and his Church if we welcome them and love them. This is the Sacrament of Hospitality.
Love and Peace,
Fr. Bernardino Andrade