WE need to exert effort to grow in
our love for the Holy
Mass. Human as we are, we should not take this concern for granted,
since we always have the tendency to get so accustomed to celebrating
or attending Mass as to become complacent, like a rock where water
would just pass by without absorbing anything.
We have to constantly remind ourselves of what the Holy
Mass really is. It is not just a ceremonial, a dramatization of past
events in the life of Christ. It is the very sacrifice of the Body and
Blood of Christ, sacramentally renewed in an unbloody manner on our
altars under the appearances of bread and wine.
In short, the Holy Mass is substantially the same as the
sacrifice of Christ on the cross. It has the same Priest and Victim,
and the aims and fruits are identical. Only accidental differences
distinguish the two.
We attend the Holy Mass to identify ourselves with Christ
as our Savior, and to make our own Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We
should not be mere spectators in the Holy Mass. We should make that
sacrifice our own together with Christ, and we offer it to God in the
Blessed Trinity, again together with the merits of Christ’s work of
redemption.
Our abiding attitude and disposition in attending the Holy
Mass is to seek forgiveness, an increase in God’s grace and
ultimately, eternal life. In the Mass, we adore God with Christ’s
adoration, we make up for our sins with Christ’s sacrifice, we pray
with Christ.
There in the Mass the best expression of our shared life
with God is achieved while here on earth. What belong to Christ become
ours, and what belong to us also become Christ’s. In the Mass is where
all our thoughts, words and deeds assume a supernatural and eternal
value. That is why the Mass should be the center and root of our life.
Everything in our life should be offered there.
In the Mass, we enjoy a certain “oneness in time” with
Christ on the cross. We become contemporaries of his. Time and space
are done away with in a mysterious way, so we can be with Christ on
the cross. And united and identified with him in the Mass, we become
co-redeemers with him for ourselves and for everybody else.
So, you can just imagine what tremendous importance the
Mass is for all of us! We should not take it for granted. We should
develop the desire to celebrate or to take part of it as often as
daily.
In fact, for priests, the Code of Canon Law earnestly
encourages them to celebrate Mass daily. “Remembering always that in
the mystery of the Eucharistic sacrifice,” Canon 904 states, “the work
of redemption of redemption is exercised continually, priests are to
celebrate frequently; indeed, daily celebration is recommended
earnestly since, even if the faithful cannot be present, it is the act
of Christ and the Church in which priests fulfill their principal
function.”
The Mass is so important for everyone that the Church
obliges us to attend it on Sundays and holy days of obligation. Of
course, it is also highly recommended for the lay faithful to attend
it daily. Given what the Mass is, it is the most important event of
our day, and in fact, of our whole life.
We need to develop a strong love and devotion for the Holy
Mass. We need to learn the proper attitude and dispositions for the
priests to celebrate it and for the lay faithful to participate in it
as best as we could.
Our celebration or participation in the Mass reaches its
culmination in Holy Communion where we achieve a complete
identification with Christ in an indescribable way.
Remember Christ saying: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
(Jn 6,54) St. Paul reiterates the same point when he said: “I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) Of course, we have to
know what eating Christ’s flesh and drinking his blood would involve
in concrete terms. Such eating and drinking certainly involves dying
and resurrecting with Christ.
Our love for the Mass should extend to the point of
developing a Eucharistic piety in ourselves. This can be shown in
visiting Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, making frequent spiritual
communions or that desire to receive Christ mentally.
We have to spread this Eucharistic culture more widely.
Mass. Human as we are, we should not take this concern for granted,
since we always have the tendency to get so accustomed to celebrating
or attending Mass as to become complacent, like a rock where water
would just pass by without absorbing anything.
We have to constantly remind ourselves of what the Holy
Mass really is. It is not just a ceremonial, a dramatization of past
events in the life of Christ. It is the very sacrifice of the Body and
Blood of Christ, sacramentally renewed in an unbloody manner on our
altars under the appearances of bread and wine.
In short, the Holy Mass is substantially the same as the
sacrifice of Christ on the cross. It has the same Priest and Victim,
and the aims and fruits are identical. Only accidental differences
distinguish the two.
We attend the Holy Mass to identify ourselves with Christ
as our Savior, and to make our own Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We
should not be mere spectators in the Holy Mass. We should make that
sacrifice our own together with Christ, and we offer it to God in the
Blessed Trinity, again together with the merits of Christ’s work of
redemption.
Our abiding attitude and disposition in attending the Holy
Mass is to seek forgiveness, an increase in God’s grace and
ultimately, eternal life. In the Mass, we adore God with Christ’s
adoration, we make up for our sins with Christ’s sacrifice, we pray
with Christ.
There in the Mass the best expression of our shared life
with God is achieved while here on earth. What belong to Christ become
ours, and what belong to us also become Christ’s. In the Mass is where
all our thoughts, words and deeds assume a supernatural and eternal
value. That is why the Mass should be the center and root of our life.
Everything in our life should be offered there.
In the Mass, we enjoy a certain “oneness in time” with
Christ on the cross. We become contemporaries of his. Time and space
are done away with in a mysterious way, so we can be with Christ on
the cross. And united and identified with him in the Mass, we become
co-redeemers with him for ourselves and for everybody else.
So, you can just imagine what tremendous importance the
Mass is for all of us! We should not take it for granted. We should
develop the desire to celebrate or to take part of it as often as
daily.
In fact, for priests, the Code of Canon Law earnestly
encourages them to celebrate Mass daily. “Remembering always that in
the mystery of the Eucharistic sacrifice,” Canon 904 states, “the work
of redemption of redemption is exercised continually, priests are to
celebrate frequently; indeed, daily celebration is recommended
earnestly since, even if the faithful cannot be present, it is the act
of Christ and the Church in which priests fulfill their principal
function.”
The Mass is so important for everyone that the Church
obliges us to attend it on Sundays and holy days of obligation. Of
course, it is also highly recommended for the lay faithful to attend
it daily. Given what the Mass is, it is the most important event of
our day, and in fact, of our whole life.
We need to develop a strong love and devotion for the Holy
Mass. We need to learn the proper attitude and dispositions for the
priests to celebrate it and for the lay faithful to participate in it
as best as we could.
Our celebration or participation in the Mass reaches its
culmination in Holy Communion where we achieve a complete
identification with Christ in an indescribable way.
Remember Christ saying: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks
my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
(Jn 6,54) St. Paul reiterates the same point when he said: “I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) Of course, we have to
know what eating Christ’s flesh and drinking his blood would involve
in concrete terms. Such eating and drinking certainly involves dying
and resurrecting with Christ.
Our love for the Mass should extend to the point of
developing a Eucharistic piety in ourselves. This can be shown in
visiting Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, making frequent spiritual
communions or that desire to receive Christ mentally.
We have to spread this Eucharistic culture more widely.
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