Tuesday, November 29, 2011

A Walk Through the Mass - The Richness and the Changes

Step 2 - The last two days I provided a backdrop for many reasons why we NEED to go to church on Sundays and that the church is a house of prayer and that it is God's HOUSE, that is, where Jesus remains in the Eucharist reserved in the Tabernacle in the sanctuary. 

Let us proceed to what we do at each Mass.  After blessing ourselves with Holy Water, we normally look for space to sit in a pew.  As we find a place that is comfortable to us for prayer, we normally approach the pew and then what?  Ahhh, yes, we genuflect before our Lord Jesus Christ who is present in the sanctuary, or in some exceptional cases where Jesus is reserved in a side chapel or other area, we turn in that direction and genuflect, dropping our right knee until it hits the floor to show honor and due respect to the Master of the Universe and Savior of the World; either that or a profound bow as we would before a king, but since Jesus is truly the one and only King, we want to honor Him most properly. (If we set up a video in church and later watched everyone as they came into church, we would see how sloppy and irreverent most people are....maybe a pastor should do this once to make his point clear)  Inside the church is not the time or place to chat.  A quick, quiet whisper is okay, but let’s not forget that reverence and awe should be filling our minds.  Once we get in our pew, it’s time to pray in silence for a few minutes before Mass begins, bringing before the Lord a contrite and open heart to His Will for us, our thanksgivings for the week, and requests for help to overcome vices, sin, and temptation in our life. 

Mass then begins, typically, with a hymn, a hymn that matches closely to the reading for the day.  We don't sing "Jesus has risen today" during Advent, Christmas or Lent, for example.  Yes, some designated liturgist or musical director has carefully chosen and prepared the music for Sunday's Mass, and if you are blessed with a choir, then the entire choir has been practicing on the hymns of the day to elevate the mind and soul to a more perfect union with God during Mass for everyone.  As the processional hymn is complete, the presiding priest takes his place at his presiding chair in the sanctuary and officially begins the Mass, with the sign of the cross saying "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".  On occasion you may hear the priest say something like, "Let us begin our celebration by the sign of our Salvation: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", as everyone signs themselves with the sign of the cross over their body.  Quickly, in this regard, the theologian Tertullian (c A.D. 160-225) described the common practice of believers who marked themselves with the sign of the cross throughout the day: "In all travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting the candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross". (Tertullian, De Corona, no. 30).  St. John Chrysostom (A.D. 347-407) exhorted God's people to turn constantly to the power of Christ found in the sign of the cross: "Never leave your house without making the sign of the cross.  It will be to you a staff, a weapon, an impregnable fortress.  Neither man nor demon will dare attack you, seeing you with such powerful armor.  Let this sign teach you that you are a soldier, ready to combat against the demons, and ready to fight for the crown of justice.  Are you ignorant of what the cross has done?  It has vanquished Satan, and destroyed sin, emptied hell, dethroned Satan, and restored the universe.  Would you then doubt its power?" (See Edward Sri, A biblical walk through the Mass, p 18).  The cross, that is, Jesus who died on the cross, is the sign of our salvation, he alone has power over sin, Satan, and death.  The sign of the cross lets everybody know that everything we will do in the next hour will be in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Where else do we have such a powerful sign?  When else do we come together as a sign of our oneness to praise God and to offer Him our life?  Actively participating at Mass gives us our human and Christian identity and dignity.  Mass also sets the standard for everything else that we will do in the week ahead, so that all that we do, we do in His name; it gives us direction and purpose, we are inspired by the Holy Spirit, we walk with Jesus, who we entrust our lives, because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we are obliged to go out and spread the Good News of Jesus to all we meet even as we are learning more each day about our Lord.

See, Mass is truly inspiring, and we are just getting started.  Next time we will look into the official greeting at Mass.

Fr. Kyle

Monday, November 28, 2011

A Walk Through the Mass - The Richness and the Changes

Step 1 - Step Into Church - Going to church or even thinking about going to church should make our hearts jump for joy.  Why?  Why you ask?  "I don't even like going to church."  That is the attitude of some....and believe me it’s all ATTITUDE, not much others can do about that until that person falls deep enough in sin and away from God that they realize they can't live without Him...like the prodigal son in Luke 15.  But I digress. 

Each church is very special and that doesn't matter if it’s a small rural church or a large mega-sized church, each is unique with many powerful symbols.  Each church took a whole community of people laboring together, disputes were resolved and agreements were achieved, as to exactly how the church should look like, which is never a small accomplishment.  Certain things are required in all Catholic churches; a steeple and cross on top, a vestibule or gathering space, the nave of the church were the congregation will worship, a center aisle for all the processions to the sanctuary were the Word of God is proclaimed at an Ambo and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated at the altar, a large crucifix is always placed in the sanctuary to remind us of the price Jesus paid for our sins.  Beyond these necessary parts of the church, each church will have its own unique inspirations (stained glass windows, stations of the cross, statues of saints who never abandoned their faith, mmm ahhh mmmm, confessional area for the Sacrament of Reconciliation) that is meant to further help us realize that we are on Holy Ground, that we are in a Holy Place dedicated to God and where Jesus is present night and day and so illuminate within us a desire to worship.  Remember that the disciples recalled in John 2:17 after Jesus had thrown out all the money changers and those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves saying "Take these out of here and stop making my Father's house a marketplace," they recalled a Hebrew passage about Jesus in the Temple, "Zeal for my house shall consume you." (Psalm 69:9 and John 2:17)  This is why I originally said that thinking about going to church should make us want to leap for joy!   The Catholic Church is extremely important...it’s literally God's House!  What?  Come on, father, it’s just another building, but one in which we happen to worship together.   Not exactly, actually not even close!  In each Catholic Church resides the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus is in the HOUSE!  Jesus is present, body and blood, soul and divinity, in the tabernacle reserved for Him alone.  Literally, the church is God's house and how well we should take care of His House before we think about our own.  How we care for or neglect our local church says a lot about how much we care for or neglect God. 

So, now, as we step into church, I hope we all have a greater understanding and sense of awe.  Holy Water is provided at each entrance of the church to help us be mind filled of this.  As we enter the church, we tap our fingers into the Holy Water and make the sign of the cross over our bodies…head, abdomen, left shoulder, right shoulder....reminding each of us of our salvation in Jesus Christ through baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

See, again I feel better.  Next time we shall talk more about the sign of the cross, where it came from and why we, as Catholics, make the sign of the cross so often.

In Christ Jesus,
Fr. Kyle

Sunday, November 27, 2011

A Walk Through the Mass - The Richness and the Changes

Before Step 1 - I hope to give a daily explanation of parts of the Mass in the following weeks which I hope will bring about a review for all, as well as a better understanding to the changes in words at Mass (All the actions are the same, just changes in wording have taken place for more precision).

The Eucharist at Mass is the "Source and Summit" of Christian life (Catechism of Catholic Church #1325).  Our unity is best observed and strengthened when we are united in prayer.  Mass is even more than this!  To attend Mass is:  to observe the commandment, "Keep Holy the Sabbath", to enter into communion with Christ and neighbor, to be humbled before God, to enter into the sacrifice of Christ, to bless and be blessed by God, to listen to the Word of God, to be challenged for the week ahead by the ordained minister of God in his homily, who has given his life over to Christ in a visible sacrificial way in order to serve others as Christ has served him, to pray for all the needs of the community and of the universal church, to be reinforced and strengthened in our faith, to look upon and be a part of the greatest of miracles in our life as the bread and wine is truly changed into the body and blood of Christ, to receive Jesus in the Eucharist if we are in full communion of the Church, or to receive Jesus in a true spiritual form in our hearts if we cannot receive communion, to be united in one mind and heart as did occur for the early disciples in ACTS 2:4, "And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them". WOW!!!  We live in a world today where husbands and wives are seldom of one heart and one mind and yet this is what occurred with the early disciples of Christ and continues today at Mass, for where Christ is, man cannot be divided because there is no division in Christ for we are many parts but all one body. Think about that, yes I know we have differences of opinions, but when we follow our call to holiness and humility, then our opinions give way to what is truly important, loving God and loving our neighbor as ourself. Thus, this is precisely why husbands and wives NEED to go to church, bring their children and join together as one local parish family who joins the whole world of Catholics and other Christians. So, think again about there being no division in Christ, think about the human body for a moment.  If our body was divided against itself, even in the smallest of ways and even for a short time, we would find ourself racked with pain and suffering beyond belief and we would have no relief.  If, as St. Paul writes, in 12:21 "the eye can't say to the hand, 'I don't need you'", then we can't either if we want a true body of Christ on either that is functional, alive, vibrant, healthy, growing and not mangled or suffocating because of division. Yet, this where we seem to be today half the time, racked with unnecessary pain and suffering due to pride and arrogance and then even deeper internal suffering of the soul due to our insidious welcome mat to sin of every sort under the sun. Yes, knowing that we are all sinners, we need a weekly cleansing from our sins, a shower in Christ's blood, shed on the cross and made present in the Eucharist to wash us clean of the smaller venial sins and an occasional super soaker of a shower in the confessional under the Sacrament of Reconciliation to welcome, in humility, a cleansing from those graver, more serious and even mortal sins we have committed against God.  In my opinion, having seen firsthand the destructive powers of sin (and Satan) which has destroyed the lives of so many individuals, it seems to me that there is indisputable evidence that attending Mass every Sunday is an undeniably necessity to be able to:  grow in the image and likeness of God, break from the powers of sin and Satan, grow in faith, hope and love, grow in humility, grow in relationship with Christ and His bride, the Church, grow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit; in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, wisdom, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord, grow in the fruits of the Holy Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity.

In short, Jesus never said we are our own boss or that we can do as we please, rather he pointed us to himself, he pointed us to the Last Supper and said "Do this in memory of me", he pointed us to his suffering, death and resurrection, he pointed us to his Bride, the Church and he put Peter and his successors in charge of it saying that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it", and through the guidance of his Catholic Church, Jesus points us to the way of holiness and eternal salvation. Knowing all this, I truly don't want to miss Mass, EVER!  I want to be one with Jesus and that summit of life that happens at Mass, with his people, in His Word, through the priest that presides the Mass, and in the Eucharist!

Okay, I already feel better!  Let's start talking about the various parts of the Mass tomorrow.

In Christ,
Fr. Kyle