The Welcoming Jesus

As you exit the main Shrine Church of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, in Belleville IL, you will be facing a statue of Jesus—The Welcoming Jesus.

A plaque for this statue mentions that it is in memory of all whose lives have been affected by suicide, both those who have succumbed to suicide and those whose lives have suffered from their loss.

The hands of Jesus are lowered, but they are ready to be raised… not straight up in a sign of victory, but rather towards his heart, for the lowered hands of Jesus is the prelude to an embrace by which the welcoming Jesus gathers in the viewer and holds
them close to his heart. What do we hear Jesus whisper to us from his heart as he draws us near? “I got this… I got you… welcome home, Child.”

As we exit the Shrine Church and face The Welcoming Jesus, may we also become dedicated to being a welcoming church and people, through whom the welcome of Jesus is extended to all we meet.