Pastoral Invitation to My Church Fellowship
Catholic Faith, Prayer, Formation, and Fellowship at St. John of the Cross Cluster
Welcome to My Church Fellowship, the online Catholic ministry of the St. John of the Cross Cluster and the Christian Life Center, in the Diocese of Portland, Maine.
This website is first and foremost for pastoral invitation. It is an open door for anyone seeking God, exploring the Catholic faith, or looking for a place of prayer, learning, and community. Whether you are a longtime parishioner, a visitor, a family searching for spiritual growth, or someone rediscovering faith after time away, you are welcome here.
Our mission is simple: to help every person encounter Jesus Christ and grow in faith, hope, and love through the life of the Church. Through prayer, the celebration of the sacraments, the study of Sacred Scripture, and the fellowship of believers, we walk together as disciples on the journey of faith.
Fr. Simon is a Catholic priest of the Society of African Missions (SMA). He is dedicated to preaching, pastoral care, and helping the faithful encounter Christ through Sacred Scripture and the sacraments, guiding parishioners toward a deeper life of prayer and discipleship.
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The Reason Why Series
Things We Say to Shy Away from Faith — and What the Gospel Reveals
The Reason Why series will offer our visitors Pastoral Invitation to encourage those who shy away from the faith to return to practicing the faith.
Many people do not reject faith outright. More often, they quietly step away. Life becomes busy. Questions arise. We tell ourselves, “I will return later,” or “I am not ready yet.” Sometimes faith is not denied—it is simply postponed.
Yet, in the midst of daily life, Christ continues to call us.
This space is an invitation to pause and listen again to that gentle call. It is a place to reflect honestly on the reasons we sometimes distance ourselves from prayer, from the Church, and from one another. Without judgment, and with the light of the Gospel, we are invited to look at our lives with truth, humility, and hope.
Faith is not meant to be perfect before it is lived. It is a journey—often marked by questions, hesitation, and even struggle. But it is also a path filled with grace, mercy, and new beginnings.
Here, we gently explore the thoughts and reasons that can keep us away:
“I am too busy.”
“I will come back later.”
“I am not ready.”
“I am still young.”
And we place them in conversation with something deeper—the enduring truth of the Gospel, which continues to invite, to heal, and to lead us forward.
This is not about pointing out faults. It is about opening a door.
A door back to prayer.
A door back to community.
A door back to Christ.
Wherever you find yourself today—close to faith, far from it, or somewhere in between—you are welcome here. Let this be a place where you can reflect, rediscover, and take one step closer to the One who never stops calling you.
The Reason Why Series begins now...
Reason Why I Never Come to Table Fellowship
Reason Why I Never Have Time for Church
If the Apostles lived in America Today
The Reason Why I Don't Give to Church
The Reason Why I Never Enter Church Everyday
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REASON WHY I NEVER
GO TO CHURCH
ENTER CHURCH EVERYDAY
I live in modern America.
I am not hostile to faith.
I am not angry at God.
I am not even against church.
I simply say—calmly, sincerely, and without much reflection:
“I go to church… once a year.”
It’s Christmas.
The lights are warm.
The candles flicker.
The music is familiar enough to hum along, even if I don’t know all the words.
Family gathers beside me.
For a moment, everything feels gentle, almost holy.
Or perhaps it’s Easter.
The church is full.
People stand shoulder to shoulder, dressed a little better than usual.
There is a sense that something important is being remembered—
even if I can’t fully explain what.
I stand.
I sit.
I kneel
I listen—somewhat.
I nod at the right moments.
Then I leave—quietly.
After completing my annual exercises in the pews,
I feel fit enough for the rest of the year.
Life resumes.
Work schedules.
Family obligations.
Bills to pay.
Appointments to keep.
Endless notifications.
Faith is not rejected.
It is simply… postponed.
If I had lived in the time of Jesus Christ,
I doubt I would have followed Him every day.
I might have appeared only on special occasions—
when the crowds were large,
when the miracles were happening,
when something extraordinary seemed guaranteed.
When bread was multiplied.
When water became wine.
When the energy was high and the outcome unquestionable.
I would proudly say:
“I was there when He fed the thousands.”
“I was there when He entered the city.”
Look at the video I took—wasn’t it incredible?
But I probably would not have been there on the ordinary days.
The long walks.
The slow conversations.
The quiet teachings.
The unremarkable moments where hearts are actually formed.
I would have missed the deeper work.
The truth is this:
Going once a year often feels sufficient—
because it stirs memory,
but not conversion.
It offers a moment of peace,
but not a transformed life.
It keeps a connection—
but at a safe distance.
It whispers,
“God matters… sometimes.”
But discipleship has never been seasonal.
And yet—even for the one who comes once a year—
something remarkable still happens.
The door is not locked.
The lights are still on.
The invitation has not expired.
And if Jesus Christ were to meet me on that one day,
He would not say,
“Why only once?”
He would still say:
“Follow me.”
He would say:
“Your brother who was lost is found.”
Not once a year.
Not occasionally.
But daily.
THE MORAL
The problem is not that someone comes once a year.
The deeper question is this: What is holding the rest of the year back?
Because faith is not an annual event—
it is a relationship.
And relationships cannot survive on rare visits.
God does not demand perfection.
But He does ask for presence.
And the one who dares to take even a small step beyond
“once a year”
begins to discover that what once felt like obligation
is actually life.
Because the reason we go to church
is not merely to remember God—
but to be with Him.
Fr. Simon, SMA
