Philemon 1:1-2. "To Philemon our beloved fellow worker and Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house..."

This salutation from Paul really made me think -  Is the church in my house? Do I think of it that way? I have to admit, I don't, but I am going to try to from now on!

The Church is the people of God, so Paul is right to refer to the followers of Christ who live with Philemon as "the church in his house", but I tend to think of the Church as an institution - as the hierarchy and the buildings; as the priests and religious; really, as something or someone I "go to." I pray at home, of course, but when I do, I am not thinking of myself as being the Church, I still tend to think of that as something "out there." But that is wrong. 

Paul's words remind me that every single Catholic is the Church. If any one of us was the last remaining follower of Christ on earth, that person would be the Church! I remember hearing that when Mary Magdalene met Jesus in the garden outside of His tomb, she was, in those moments, the entirety of the Church, the only one who knew the Good News.

So I'm going to make a greater effort to remember that the Church is in my house; that my everyday tasks, my interactions with my family, my behavior in every situation, are all being done "in church". What an amazing lesson from a simple salutation! Thanks, St. Paul!