This is the tenth of a 10 part series “Faith and Reasons Behind the Mass.”

 What is the most important thing that you could possibly do this week?  If you have been following my series on the Mass and if what we as Catholics believe about the Mass is indeed true, then you should have a pretty good sense of where I’m going with this.

If we take our Catholic profession of faith to its logical conclusion, then the most important thing that we do on a weekly basis is attend Mass and receive our Lord in the Eucharist.  Now, the next question is, why is it so darn difficult to live this reality?  So often the urgent things of our lives get in the way of those things that are truly important.

 Why is it so easy for us as Catholics to approach Mass as just another “check” on our to-do list for the weekend?  In my last article on the Mass I ended by mentioning some prayers that we can offer in our pew after having received our Lord in the Eucharist.  Sadly, for many Catholics, we don’t even make it back to the pew; we receive and leave.  I still remember when I first heard the comparison about the one man who left Jesus’ Last Supper early?  Hmmm…perhaps it’s not completely reasonable to compare all early Mass departures to “Judas,” but hopefully it at least gets us thinking about what could possibly be important enough on the schedule to necessitate leaving the “Banquet of our Lord” six or seven minutes early; before we have been blessed and sent in peace.

 Perhaps a good question for reflection at the end of this series on the Mass is, “Why does the Catholic Church place the weight of ‘grave sin’ upon those who would miss Sunday Mass?”  Well, I would like to suggest that it is not the Catholic Church who imposes “grave sin” upon those who miss, but rather “grave sin” or separation from God is the natural consequence of us placing the things and events of this world before our relationship with the Lord of all things.

Imagine a relationship where the lover avoided entering the home of the beloved.  Or imagine that you loved someone and were constantly being invited to share in a deeper physical, emotional, and spiritual intimacy with them and you chose rather to vacation, to shop, or perhaps watch a football game.  How much division might there be in that relationship?  Sin is not punishment handed down by the Church, but rather the separation that comes as a result of our free choice to place “the world” before our relationship with God.

 If we use God’s gift of free will to choose to be separated from God’s invitation to intimacy (the Eucharist) in this life, God allows us the freedom that this choice might resonate into eternity.  Why would we desire to spend eternity with a Beloved whose gifts and relationship we chose to ignore during life?
I will be the first to admit that in this life it is extremely difficult to perfectly live out and to completely understand all that we profess and believe about the Mass.  However, I have also been given the gift of being able to “taste and see how good the Lord is”, through the sacrament of the Eucharist and it tops all that this world has to offer.  Let us sincerely pray that we and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ might never grow weary in seeking and learning about this miraculous gift that God gives us in this “one flesh union” with our Lord that is the eternal gift of the Mass.

             I remember a summer not too long ago when I was still fairly new to seminary studies and I was in the midst of a serious struggle with my decision of whether or not God was calling me to remain a seminarian with my home diocese of Salina or to leave for another diocese.  A few short weeks earlier, two seminarians, who had entered seminary for our diocese at the same time as I, had left seminary and another had decided to transfer to a different diocese.  Thus, at the time, it seemed as though there were just four of us seminarians left.

            Thankfully a priest mentor of mine told me to spend the summer in residence in a parish in the diocese; the parish I was assigned to was St. John the Baptist in Beloit.  It was in that summer assignment that I remember attending a conference at the Mother House of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Concordia.  I don’t remember much about that conference, but I remember especially struggling that day with the weight of my decision, feeling somewhat alone, without seminarians or priests my age to talk to or lean on.   So, I did what any normal young man would do, I went to look for something to eat; I went to lunch.

            I remember not knowing many people in that cafeteria, and in fact, I sat down at a table by myself to eat lunch.  While seated eating my lunch (before anyone else joined the table), feeling sorry for myself, a religious sister hobbled up to me.  She was obviously quite aged and she wore a black and white veil and an old black habit that had seen many years of use.  I had never met her before, and she didn’t bother to introduce herself.  She simply walked up, patted me on the shoulder, looked me straight in the eyes and said, “You will have helpers soon.”  She turned around and hobbled away.  In that moment, I thought to myself, “How bizarre!  What on earth was she talking about?  Obviously her age is affecting her mind.”  Then God’s peace began to sink in and her words began to bore a little deeper into my heart.

            Was this “little old nun” a messenger of God?  Was she telling me to stay the course, to be patient and to hope and pray for future seminarians and priests in our diocese?  The words have echoed in my mind and heart over the years.  What about you; what do you think?  At that time, we had five seminarians in studies for the Diocese of Salina.  We now have 14 seminarians studying for our diocese, have more than I expected in the application process for next year and God willing will be ordaining two priests this summer.  Praise God for His goodness in leading us to follow His path.  His plans for you and for each of us are always so much greater than we could ever accomplish or hope for on our own.  Continue to pray to the Harvest master to send out laborers for His harvest in our diocese as we continue to build a culture of openness to vocations to priesthood and religious life.

This is the ninth of a 10 part series “Faith and Reasons Behind the Mass.”

How fitting it is that after the “body, blood, soul and divinity” of Jesus Christ has come into a “real” presence upon the altar at mass we next stand as a family of faith and together pray those ancient words that Jesus taught us… “Our Father.”  Do we realize just how unique it is to call God “Abba?”  In most world religions it would be a foreign concept to address your creator God as “Daddy,” as we have the blessing of doing as Christians.  What more appropriate time to do so then after commemorating that salvific act of our God in giving us His son in the sacrifice at Calvary, as well as giving us His son’s flesh in this Eucharistic mystery.

So, we thank “Our Father” and then we hear one of my favorite prayers of the mass.  “Deliver us Lord from every evil and grant us peace in our day.  In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior Jesus Christ.”  If there is one thing that will keep us from living our baptismal call to share the gospel it is sin and the fear or anxiety that comes with that sin. 

Therefore, at every mass before we receive Jesus we ask that we might be free from sin and fear and that we might be given peace.  Also, every mass we are given the opportunity to reflect on our “joy-filled hope.”  Are we waiting in joyful hope?  Would your family and friends describe you as a person of joyful hope?  If not, why?  As Christians that is our greatest tool of evangelization, the reality of joy that comes as a fruit of the gift of faith we have been given.  If you are not a person of joy, then this moment of mass is a good time to reflect on why?

Then we share the sign of peace.  This action is not merely an opportunity to see who is at mass or to shake hands with friends, but rather before approaching the altar to receive the body and blood of our Lord, who in your life is God asking you to forgive?  This is what you should be reflecting on as you share the sign of peace.  If there are people in our life that we are unwilling to forgive because of anger, envy, or revenge then we should think twice about coming forward to receive the Eucharist, the greatest sign of unity and peace.

The words of the priest, after the Eucharist is broken and the Lamb of God has been recited, are, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, happy are those who are called to His supper.”  This prayer is not a form of saying “in your face” to those who are unable to receive the Eucharist.  That is why it is important that the prayer reads “his supper”, rather than “this supper,” because it refers not to receiving the Eucharist at this mass, but rather to the sharing in the marriage supper of the Lamb referenced in the book of Revelation. (Rev. 19:9)  In other words, this Eucharist is symbolic of the fullness of communion we will have with Our Lord in heaven.  Happy are those who are called to that supper; eternity in heaven.  “Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”  This is a direct reference to the faith of the centurion in Luke 7:6-7.  This is the moment of the mass that we reflect upon our disposition to receive the healing grace of the Eucharist.  What is required to receive Jesus?

1. That we are in a “state of grace,” not conscious of any unconfessed grave sin.
2. That we have observed the one hour fast from food and drink (except for water and medicine) before receiving the Eucharist.

Finally, comes the communion procession.  What are you doing as you wait to receive the Eucharist and once you have received?  There is a great temptation as human beings to “watch” our brothers and sisters in the communion line.  If this is a temptation for you perhaps this is a perfect opportunity for closing one’s eyes or for focusing on the words of the communion hymn.  Communion is the time for our greatest connection with Jesus Christ and therefore you can guarantee that there will be distractions, because the devil wants nothing more than to keep you from recognizing the awesome power of this moment. 

Take advantage of these most powerful moments for prayer in unity with our Lord.