I did something really stupid this past July.
Coming back to the States from a wonderful Danube River cruise, I left my Apple Mac at the security check-point at the airport in Budapest, Hungary. Fortunately, I located it via the internet. But it took almost two months before I was reunited with it
The Unclaimed Baggage Center for items that were never claimed is located in a huge warehouse in Scottsboro, Alabama. Any piece of luggage that is left behind on an airplane ends up here, where it is sold to the general public. Laptop computers, cell phones, CD players, clothes, and jewelry are some of the more common items at the Center.
This is what we need in our Church – an Unclaimed Persons Center. There ought to be a place in our society where anyone who feels lost for any reason can come and find a warm welcome and a sympathetic ear. We in the Church ought to be the one place in society where no one feels left out.
This is why Pope Francis has said many times that the Church needs to be a Field Hospital, a place to heal our wounds, where we place the needs of others before our own.
What often hurts the most is having to pretend that none of this hurts at all.
Is there someone who is lost that you can claim on this Rejoice Advent Sunday?
