Spend a few months attending the same Mass at your parish, and you’ll grow accustomed to the faces and families. The elderly couple that sits two pews ahead of you, the family with five small children, the college students who impressively show up every week. The faces and familiarity builds a degree of comfort and a sense of belonging. Though you may not know their names or their story, their regular presence subtly contributes to a sense of normalcy.

Our weekly attendance at Mass is a requirement of our faith, but like all other requirements imposed on our lives by the Church, they are done so for our benefit and edification. Prayer is meant to be intensely personal and regularly communal. Jesus spent very specific times in prayer alone, withdrawing from everyone to catch His breath and connect directly with His Father. He also spent lots of time in His public ministry praying and worshiping in groups large and small. He reiterates the importance of communal prayer when He shares wherever two or more are gathered in His name.

Sadly, many regard this sacred obligation unnecessary or burdensome. What they perceive as one more thing to do, one more appointment on their busy calendars, is the sustainment we need to endure the challenges of life. Not only is it good for us to gather and pray the highest prayer we have, the Mass, it’s good for us to know that we are not alone. That there are other retirees, young families, and students who value their faith as much as we do. Others who recognize that no matter the stage in life, the Church stands ready to support us.

The best thing about these fellow parishioners whose names we don’t yet know is when we finally do meet. Whether at a Knights of Columbus meeting, a volunteer rummage sale, a parish picnic, or in the basement sheltering from a passing storm, when we finally exchange names and talk for the first time, it feels like connecting with a friend we’ve known for years. There’s an instant depth, a mutual respect, on which to build this new friendship. And a few days later, when you show up to a particularly packed Mass, they greet you with a smile from afar and invite you to sit next to them in their pew.

The bonds of Catholicism and rich and deep. Through the Communion of Saints, we are connected to the living and deceased members of our Church and, though we do not know their names right now, we share in the most precious bond known to man. We belong to God’s family and are always and forever united in the Eucharist.