Have you had that awkward moment yet? I have. Actually, a couple times. Everyone around me remembered to grab their instructional pew cards. But no, I haven’t mastered that necessary skill I need to remember not to say “And also with you.” So there I stand, awkwardly sputtering the words my mind automatically supplies.
Editor’s Note: This is a true story told by a priest who would prefer to remain anonymous. I was celebrating a wedding, the first wedding in the parish where I was assigned as a newly ordained priest. It was for a couple that was not particularly faithful and whom I had never gotten to know because I had just shown up at the parish. The deacon of the parish was to assist me by preaching since he knew them. We walked in for the entrance procession and everything went just swimmingly well and we’re still singing the opening hymn of [...]
“… Now you shall consider My love in the Blessed Sacrament. Here, I am entirely yours, soul, body and divinity, as your Bridegroom. You know what love demands: one thing only, reciprocity.” Jesus to St. Faustina
When we skip Mass on Sunday, we are violating our covenant with God. We are saying to God, “I don’t need to be united to you. I don’t need to worship you.” It may seem innocent, but we are actually declining His marriage proposal. We are not showing up for our own wedding.
When we make a decision to deny His invitation to covenant we are saying we don’t want a relationship with Him. Because our God loves us and is a gentleman, he allows us to do this.
However, it’s a grave sin to miss Mass.
Now a lot times we think the bride wears the white dress to show that she’s a virigin or that she’s pure, and that is part of the tradition. In this case, the linen garment shows in an outward way that on the inside is pure. This is one of the reasons that in Corinthians the Church says before you go to receive the Eucharist, you should be in a state of grace. You should not have serious sin. You should not have mortal sin in your soul. You should go to Confession before you go to Communion.
What the Church is trying to teach us, what God is revealing to St. John to reveal to us is Revelation. The book of Revelation is not a book of damnation and hell; the book of Revelation is about a wedding.
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There is something about Mass being the first real moment of my day that I don’t think I could do justice describing. It changes my entire approach to the world around me. Someone might argue that it’s unnecessary to go everyday but if I could why wouldn’t I? The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. Receiving the Eucharist is more productive than anything else I could do in my whole day. It not hard to see how consuming Christ is more important than that extra moment of sleep or playing video games. He is all that I need. If I don’t go to Mass, I refuse an incredible invitation from the God of the universe!
I hope by now you’ve heard that some of the words we say at Mass are going to be changing. The english-speaking world is getting a new translation of the Roman Missal – the book of prayers at Mass.
For the past couple weeks at my parish in place of the homily we’ve been listening to a teaching on the new words. Honestly, as I sit there on the hard pew with my eyelids getting heavier by the minute, I can’t help but ask myself, “Why should I care?”
The answer is simple: words matter.
Lately he had been having doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Was the bread and wine really transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus?
He said Mass at the Church of St. Christina. As Peter raised the Host and consecrated it blood started flowing out of it, onto his hands and the altar. God was telling him (and us) that yes, He is truly present in the host.
Peter was confused and tried to hide the blood.
Why did we switch the “Sabbath” from Saturday to Sunday? What does the Mass have to do with the Resurrection, besides being on the same day of the week, Sunday? How does that effect me? How can I live out the Resurrection celebration in my daily life? Fr. Fred explains the answers to these questions and tells us how we can still celebrate Christ’s rising from the dead today!
“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.” – St. Maximillian Kolbe
Two monks got in a boat and rowed to the Church. When they saw that the water was halfway up the main doors they feared the worst. They pushed open the doors to the church and saw that the main aisle and the altar were completely free of water. The rest of the Church was filled with four feet of water, but the altar remained dry. The Blessed Sacrament was just as they had left it. They also saw that some papers, books and cloths which had been placed under the altar were dry.
“And the moment he held that bread up, for the first time I looked at it and for a split second, for a nano second, in my soul I thought … what if? What if that’s really Him? What if that’s really who they say it is?” Mark Hart, XLT: Life Teen Training Convention, 2010
Family dinners, unfortunately, don’t occur as much as they did when our parents were growing up. Maybe you have family dinner all the time in your home, but many of your friends don’t. We as Catholics are blessed to have a family meal to come to every week – the Mass. The Mass has been compared to many different things, but the easiest example I can think of is the family meal. Just think about it for a moment.
“When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now.” – Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Hey! Did you know? Around 750 AD., at a monastery called St. Longinus, a monastic priest was having doubts about the Lord’s presence in the Eucharist. One day, he was celebrating Mass and at the words of the consecration the host turned to flesh in appearance and the wine turned to blood. He quickly called the astonished congregation up to the altar to see for themselves.
“Do not, therefore, regard the bread and wine as simply that, for they are, according to the Master’s declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ. Even though the senses suggest to you the other, let faith make you firm.”
- St. Cyril of Jerusalem
I don’t walk to Communion looking around anymore but I walk up the aisle toward my Bridegroom who is giving himself to me. Imagine, my God lets me hold him in my hands. I gently and deliberately place Him in my mouth. We have the most intimate conversations during those few minutes after I return to my seat and the peace that envelopes me nourishes my soul as earthly food nourishes my body.
At first I was irritated that someone would have enough nerve to come up to me and say that I should be going to daily Mass. After all, wasn’t Sunday Mass enough? But it got me thinking, “Why would I be irritated at someone suggesting I go to Mass every day?” I realized that the reason I was irritated was because she was speaking the truth and I did need to be going to Mass more often.
Here in South Bend, people get pretty pumped over Notre Dame football. They dress in blue and gold, paint their faces, prepare food all night for the tailgates, even get up early. When the game starts, the crowd goes nuts! Cheers. Standing. Sitting. High fives to strangers you don’t know. We are fully engaged in the event. I wonder what would happen if we participated with the same heart and passion at Mass on Sunday?
Let’s be honest. Mass … it’s boring, right? Growing up, that’s what I thought.
“Everyday, Jesus humbles Himself just as He did when He came from His heavenly throne into the Virgin’s womb; everyday He comes to us and lets us see Him in abjection, when He descends from the bosom of the Father into the hands of the priest at the altar.” – St. Francis of Assisi
