I just finished reading The Mass: Four Encounters with Jesus That Will Change Your Life by Dr. Tom Curran. It is an incredibly simple but eye opening book that describes what we encounter when we go to mass. I have learned so much. I will share a few things, but would first like to share what happened at mass this morning.
I arrived at mass and was ushered to one of the seats toward the front. With two small children in tow, I tried to pay attention as best I could, and enter into the mass and what was truly going on. I have to say, it was difficult. The readings were about dying by the sword, the just judgements of God, and the Gospel was about the story in Matthew 9 when Jesus tells the paralytic to pick up his mat and walk.
As I sat in the pew listening to the homily, I said to myself, "What are you talking about?" The priest was talking about how he had been in the seminary since he was in high school and that people throughout his life had often shared with him how bored they were. I did not get the connection until he continued. He began to share about how God is in the ordinary things of every day life. He is in the mundane day in and day out duties that we have at our jobs, in our homes, with our children, with our spouses. He is there every day, offering us the opportunity to be sanctified to become holy in the simple duties of every day life.
He then went on to say that we can apply the same concept to the mass. It is the same thing every day. We read the readings, say the prayers, sing the songs and receive communion. We do it over and over again every day, but again, we must understand that God is there! He is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. He is waiting to sanctify us, to purify us to make us holy with the very ordinary things of life. Bread and wine become the catalyst to a life filled with holiness. The altar, a simple table, becomes the sacred place where Jesus chooses to come to us every day in the form of a little piece of bread.
In human terms, this can become very boring and ordinary with no pomp and circumstance, but what we don't often realize is that with every mass, there IS great celebration! With every mass, the angels and saints and Mary Our Blessed Mother, and Jesus himself, come to us in the holy celebration, offering us the grace to do all that we are called to do while walking on this journey through life.
We are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and sent forth to spread the gospel, the truth of Jesus Christ, and sometimes that mission is fulfilled in the very ordinary duties of every day life. Amazing.
As I read the book, I came to understand that the presentation of the gifts, is really a presentation of you and me. The gifts brought up by members of the community really represent our lives offered as a spiritual sacrifice. The bread and wine stand for every member of the church, and we are offering ourselves as a sacrifice to God, asking Him to change us, transform us and make us into who He has called us to be.
I will never look upon the offering of the gifts the same again. We indeed place ourselves onto the altar, into the cup, into the hands of the priest, never to be returned the same. We no longer belong to ourselves, we belong to God. How many actually know what is going on when the gifts are being presented? I did not know.
Dr. Corran goes on to say, "The word sacrifice comes from two Latin words which literally mean "to make holy." To make something holy means to take it out of ordinary usage and set it apart for God's purpose. In the Old Testament, it meant that the animal brought to the Jewish priest to be sacrificed or made holy, no longer belonged to its owner; it belonged to God, it became God's property. The lamb is no longer part of the flock; it is given up to God and set apart for His purpose. Indeed, it is killed; it is set apart so radically that there is no way it can be brought back into the flock. There is no returning it back to its pre-sacrificial condition."
Now that I know this, I want to shout it from the rooftops and tell everyone what they are actually doing as they partake in the holy mass and are given as gifts on the altar. We are to be self giving sacrifices, giving ourselves over to God, asking Him to fill us, change us and make us holy, that we may be sent out into the world to draw others in to do the very same thing. All of which is an act of love given by the Grace of God.
There is so much to share about what I have learned. This may turn into a bit of a Bible study, or maybe I should call it Mass 101. I often ask myself, "Why didn't anyone tell me this?" Now, I have to say, "Now that I know this, why am I not telling everyone else?"
That is one reason for this blog. I hope others will see the beauty of the Catholic Church that our Lord has given to us. There is so much richness and beauty in the Catholic faith. May God give us the grace to understand and live the beauty of the mass in the every day ordinary beautiful lives He has given to each of us.
I'd like to shar about a visionary, though unapproved, who speaks of this same thing. I have also never looked at the mass the same way again, as this vision does not go against the Magisterium. The visionary sees a lineup of our guardian angels taking our offerings up to the altar at the offertory durng mass. Some are sad and empty handed. They are the guardian angels whose people have not offered anything. Some have their hands filled and carry a large ciborium. They are happy and give all to the priest at the altar. If this actually happens every time, I try to make sure I fill my ciborium at every mass!!
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