On a cold, windy,
dark spring evening,
Paul and I enter the Church of Saint Joseph
in Glenavy.

As I look up
at the Body of Christ on the altar,
I feel a wave of welcome
wash over me.

I kneel in prayer
and I sense Jesus speaking gently
to everyone present, saying,

“In your weakness,
in your brokenness,
in your incompleteness,
you are welcome.

“In your hopelessness,
in your darkness,
in your depression,
you are welcome.

“In your suffering,
in your agony,
in your forsakenness,
you are welcome.

“In your anxiety,
in your frustration,
in your weariness,
you are welcome.

“In your grief,
in your loneliness,
in your emptiness,
you are welcome.

“In your remorse,
in your regret,
in your turmoil,
you are welcome.”

As I rest, in prayer,
in this haven of welcome and peace
I sense Jesus say to me,
“Claire,
I’m glad you came!”

© Claire Murray