My family went to the 12:10 Mass at St. Peter’s Catholic Church this past Friday. It’s the oldest Catholic Church in Montgomery.
After the Mass, the other congregants swarmed around my family wanting to meet the newcomers.
“You must be military,” one guy said to my husband with a smile.
I laughed and said, “Are we that obvious?”
“It’s the haircut. Gives you away.”
They all introduced themselves and were enamored with my son. There were smiles and handshakes, invitations to come back.
Two of the men hung around and stood with us in the heat, giving us the low down on all the churches and the names of all the priests for every church.
One of them said in his southern drawl, “The good news is, it cools down around November.”
To which we all laughed.
It’s been good to be so welcomed. Southerners are known for their welcoming, hospitable ways.
Both times that we’ve lived in the South, my husband and I have been impressed with how quick people are to acknowledge us, look us in the eye, want to feed us all the food, and just say, “Hey.”
They have the human connection thing down and it goes a long way to making people feel like they are included.
We aren’t meant to live in our own bubble, Catholic Pilgrims. Someone that crosses our path today needs us to acknowledge and see them, even in the most simplest of ways.
Have a blessed Monday.
