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The Mass Gives Mercy

Of all the words said and sung during Holy Mass, one of the most often used is the word “mercy.”

At the beginning of the Mass when we confess our sins, we pray Almighty God to have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. During the Kyrie, we plead with Our Lord nine times to have mercy upon us. When we sing the Gloria in Excelsis, we ask the Lamb of God, the Son of the Father who takes away the sin of the world and sits at the right hand of the Father, to have mercy upon us. During the Collect, we often beg Our Lord to hear and grant our prayer based on His mercy. Right before we receive the Lord’s Body and Blood, we again pray the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world to have mercy upon us. And in one of the prayers before approaching the Altar, we beseech Our Lord Jesus Christ to let our eating and drinking not be to our judgment, but of His mercy, to let the Blessed Sacrament preserve us in body and soul and show forth within us His healing. Continue reading “The Mass Gives Mercy”

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The Mass Presents Christ

As we stand in heaven during the Mass, Christ is in our midst. He is in our midst mentally, as we think about, contemplate, and meditate on His saving work and His sacred gifts. He is in our midst emotionally, as our hearts are uplifted due to His loving-kindness and many mercies which we certainly do not deserve. He is in our midst spiritually, as the Holy Spirit draws us slowly, gently, kindly, into His soothing and invigorating embrace. But most of all, Christ is in our midst physically. He is really present, standing before us not figuratively but literally, not symbolically but actually, not metaphorically but truly. Continue reading “The Mass Presents Christ”

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The Mass is from God

The Mass is not a human construct, fashioned according to our notions of pleasing worship. Rather, the Mass is divinely designed, fashioned by God to the smallest detail, including the style and shape of the vestments. This means that the Divine Liturgy is not divine because it is about God or in God’s presence; rather, the Mass is divine because it comes from God.

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Duty & Delight

We hear the word “obligation,” and too often we think of duties that must be performed, of requirements that must be done. And so “burden” and “compulsory” and “requirement” is what we hear. Especially to our American ear, “obligation” sounds tyrannical. It rings more of slavery than of freedom, more of servitude than of liberty. Perhaps that is due not only to our American spirit of fierce independence, but also to our fallen human nature which does not wish to be obliged to anyone or considered in anyone’s debt.

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Honoring Our Mother

In popular devotion, each month is dedicated to a particular mystery or event. These dedications are intended to aid the devout in their consideration of Our Lord’s grace. Usually these dedications coincide with a dominant feast celebrated during the month. For example, January is dedicated to the Most Holy Name of Jesus (2 January), March to St Joseph (19 March) and November to the Faithful Departed (2 Nov).

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The Mass is Heaven

The most important work we do as a community is to gather in the kingdom of heaven in order to receive our Lord’s gifts with thanksgiving. In fact, it is the most important work we do of any kind. To be sure, caring for our family, putting in a good day on the job, helping and serving others (especially those in need), praying for and supporting one another—these are all important tasks. But the assembly of the faithful in Church is the most important, by far, because the Mass places us in heaven itself.

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