“If Jesus is in your heart, please notify your face.”

St. Ann has a Hospitality Team that acts in many ways. But is that Team solely responsible for the hospitality of the entire parish? That is their main focus, but the responsibility of being a welcoming, hospitable parish is on all of us. We know that we are not doing the Sign of Peace during the Mass and we have our mask on but there is one thing that can still be sensed. A smile! Smiling at one another in church is not just a great social practice. It has solid theological grounds, as we are told in Scripture to “rejoice in the Lord always.” (Philippians 4:4) Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium, tells us that “an evangelizer must never look like someone who has come back from a funeral.” We know that during the Advent and Christmas season we have many visitors and strangers joining us in celebration. Let us make sure we welcome that stranger with a smile. Even thru our mask it is the simplest form of hospitality we all can provide. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25:35)