Chapter 14 - The Mass

I had never attended mass before November 2009. My first experience was with my dear friend who showed me the way "home to Rome". I didn't really understand what was going on most of the time, but I was surprised by the things I did know -- the Apostle's creed, the Our Father, and some of the "old-time hymns" that cross denominational barriers. I had been studying some of the Jewish liturgy and it was intriguing to me to find out just how many of the Catholic rites are rooted in Judaism. It seemed like the deeper I dug in, the more layers I found, each more beautiful than the last.

As a convert, I think it is easier for me to have a deep appreciation for the mass than a cradle Catholic. It's kind of like the difference between being born in America and coming here from an oppressed or impoverished country. We truly take our freedoms and our wealth as a nation for granted as opposed to a refugee from Haiti or China who finds New York City the most amazing and magical place, appreciate freedom and liberty for what they truly are, and understand that with hard work and perseverance anything is possible in this country.

Mr. Kelly laments the cries often heard about church (and protestants say the same things). Here are some of his and some that I have heard myself over the years (modified to fit the current audience, of course): The service is too long. I never get anything out of the homily. It's too boring. The songs are too old. The songs are too new. They need more instruments. They should go back to organ music. The mass form is too dreary. The mass form is too contemporary. The priest hurt my feelings. The priest is too conservative. The priest is too liberal. The people there are not friendly. The people there are too friendly (bunch of fakers).

Or, as Mr. Kelly pointed out... perhaps most church-goers have missed the point altogether. The mass is not about me or you or the priest or the music, it's about our Savior, and being in His presence is NEVER a waste of time. For me, believing in the Real Presence in the Eucharist has been life changing. I am filled with awe and wonder every time the priest elevates the host and I hear the bells ring. I hear the words "This is the New Covenant in My blood" and my heart stirs within me knowing that I am finally part of that covenant! There have been times I wish I could prostrate myself before the host (I believe that may be a little too "charismatic" for my current parish; however, I did get that opportunity at Adoration once and it was amazing). Sometimes I think "I can't believe I believe Jesus becomes bread and wine!", but like another convert I know, I believe He became dust, so is it really that far of a stretch?

I think sometimes the excitement of new converts or returning Catholics who have fallen away is actually offensive to some (or maybe it's actually convicting?). It's as if they are thinking, "Yeah, they're all excited now, but just wait, in a year or two, they'll be dead like me." I encountered this attitude myself as a new convert. So many times when talking about ideas or passions, I heard things like, "No one around here would be interested in doing something that." or "People around here are just too busy to take on one more thing." or "You can try, but I don't think you'll get any response." or "We used to do that, but we don't anymore, there just wasn't any interest."

So negative. So apathetic. So boring. So defeated. Just how our enemy likes us to be. Ouch.

So how does one stay excited about going to mass?

My husband and I have been married almost 15 years. There are days when married life is not very exciting and days when it is. I believe that staying in love with the Eucharist is the same as staying in love with your spouse. I could be married to my husband for 100 years and still not delve all the depths of his thoughts or emotions, and yet even today, I can finish his sentences for him because I know him intimately (and vice versa). The subtle nuances and meanings behind every prayer, every gesture, every scripture in the mass could take a lifetime to explore, and yet, we could go to a foreign country and still worship with our brothers and sisters because we know the mass intimately. It takes effort, it takes commitment, and it takes time. Instant gratification is not a gift of the Holy Spirit, no matter how much we wish it was.

I had read, some years back, about how, in the most intimate relationship between a husband and wife, the "seed" from the man is eventually absorbed into the bones of the woman through her uterus, thus providing her with nutrients she needs to prevent bone loss, releasing certain hormones to combat depression, and even preventing cancer... and in turn, she ends up absorbing his pieces of his DNA... literally becoming "bone of [his] bone and flesh of [his] flesh". (Ever wondered why happy old couples look so much alike?) You may be wondering, "What has that got to do with the mass?" Well, consider this... by our belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, and by taking our Savior's flesh and blood intimately into our body where it is absorbed and metabolized, in like fashion, we too can transform quite literally in His likeness by absorbing His DNA every week.

Let that sink in a minute.

If Christ can quite literally become a part of you through the intimacy of the Eucharist, what things in your life have the power to prevent you from moving heaven and earth to get to mass and your Savior every week? Would you treat being with your spouse with the attitude as you approach being at the mass? Would you come to the marriage bed with the same attitude as you have when coming to mass?

To hear complaining about not getting anything out of mass reminds me of what my grandmother used to say at her heavy-laden dinner table, "If you don't get enough to eat, it's your own fault!" We receive Jesus in the flesh at every mass!! How can we NOT get something out of it!

As Mr. Kelly says, the mass is a gift... we should embrace it with gusto. So, what's REALLY keeping you from being excited about the mass and being intimately connected your Savior?

I will leave you with some ponderings that touch on some of the other issues Mr. Kelly takes to task in this chapter:

• Funny how $20 looks so big when we take it to church and so small when we take it to the store.
• Funny how long an hour or two in church seems and how short those same 60 to 120 minutes are when spent playing golf, eating out at a fine restaurant, or watching a movie.
  
• Funny how difficult it is to read a chapter in the Bible and how easy it is to read 500 pages of a best selling novel.
• Funny how we believe what newspapers say but question what the Bible says.
• Funny how we can't think of anything to say when we pray and don't have any difficulty thinking of things to talk about to a friend.
• Funny how we need 2 or 3 weeks to fit a church event into our schedule, but can adjust it for a social event at the last minute.
  Funny, isn't it?

Blessings,
St. Frances of Rome