Pope Francis and the Holy Mass

This post was originally shared on February 11, 2014. Pope Francis spoke recently about something that is very dear to me, namely, the importance of the Holy Mass as a mysterious and sacred encounter with the living God and more than just the gathering of Catholics to pray together.

He explained that Holy Mass is not just a “social act” or a “prayer gathering,” but the place where “the presence of the Lord is real, truly real.”“When we celebrate the Mass, we don’t accomplish a representation of the Last Supper,” the pope said, explaining that, “IT IS the Last Supper itself.” 

His comments made me think of an encounter I had a few years ago.  Just after I had finished celebrating the Holy Mass, I was asked by a member of the congregation, “Father, I noticed that when you say the Mass, you really don’t seem to be looking at us a whole lot. Why is that?” My initial reaction and response was “Well, when I celebrate the Mass, I am speaking to our Lord and not with the congregation.”

In response to this very good question, I attempted to clarify this common misconception that the Mass is primarily a dialogue between the priest and the congregation, or this sort of social gathering that the pope was referring to.

With the exception of just a few dialogical parts, i.e., “the Lord be with you …  lift up your hearts …” the Mass is not a dialogue between the priest and the congregation as if it were simply a performance reenacting the Last Supper. The Mass is a dialogue between us and Almighty God, a dialogue in which the priest is leading, but one in which everyone is (or should be) participating. 

Maybe we have never thought of it in these terms. Maybe we were formed in a way of thinking that leads us to believe that Mass is essentially about “us,” about what “we” get out of it, about how it makes “me” feel.  But if we listen closely to the prayers that are said during the Mass it becomes abundantly clear that we are speaking above all to God the Father. 

Msgr. Guido Marini, pontifical master of Liturgical Ceremonies, spoke of this very topic, explaining that, “theologically speaking, the holy Mass, as a matter of fact, is always addressed to God through Christ our Lord, and it would be a grievous error to imagine that the principal orientation of the sacrificial action is the community.”

Pope Francis has in essence invited us to plunge into the unfathomable and sacred mystery of the Mass! To do so, it is crucial that we first understand the very nature of the liturgy and to whom it is being directed. If we are truly to encounter our Lord in the breaking of the bread as did the disciples on the road to Emmaus, our hearts and minds must be open to and formed by the liturgical actions and prayers themselves. The Mass is ultimately about the worship and adoration of God, not about any emotional response it may invoke.

As a former high school chaplain, I often heard from the students, “I don’t get anything out of the Mass” or “It is so hard to pay attention or stay focused.” I don’t believe for a minute that this response is limited to teen-agers, even though they may express it in a more straightforward manner. The same is true, however, of any event or activity that we attend. If we are unfamiliar with what is happening or to the real beauty in how it is executed, then, certainly, we will not appreciate or be able to enter into it. 

For example, I remember the first professional soccer game that I went to in Italy. I knew the basic point of the game was to kick the ball into the opponents’ net and I knew that you couldn’t use your hands, but that was the extent of my awareness of the game. I didn’t understand strategy or the concept of being off-sides or how the individual players functioned together as a team. There was an initial excitement about being in a huge stadium with thousands of screaming Romans, but after that initial excitement faded away, I was quite bored. 

I imagine that this feeling is similar to that of those who “get nothing out of the Mass” or find it “boring.” When one is unfamiliar with the beauty and the sacredness of such an encounter with God, then that response is almost natural. The question that I continually asked myself as a high school chaplain, trying to foster in the students an appreciation and love for the Mass, was “How do we reclaim the sense of wonder and awe of the Mass that the generations of Catholics before us experienced?” How do we restore the sense of the sacred?

Over and over again, I came to the same two-fold conclusion. On the part of ministers of the Church, first we must persistently provide and embrace an ongoing catechesis for Catholics of all ages and states of life. How can we live out our faith and celebrate it liturgically if we are unaware of what we truly believe as Catholics? 

The second thing that is necessary is to provide reverent and solemn celebrations of the Mass allowing its natural beauty to lead us into contact with the presence of God. There is nothing I or any other priest can do to make the Mass more beautiful or engaging or interesting than it already is on its merits. At each Mass Jesus Christ becomes truly present — there is nothing more awesome than that.

These are the things the Church provides. Each of us, however, has the responsibility actively to seek to grow in our faith and not just go about things as passive members of the Church. If we are to “get more” out of the Mass, we ought first to strive to understand the Mass by reflecting upon how we approach Mass in the first place. We need to ask the question, “Is this about worshiping and praising God?” or “Is it about me and how it makes me feel?”

The March Continues...

This blog post was originally posted on February 4, 2014. Two weeks ago I boarded a bus with members of my parish to travel to Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life, which commemorates the awful decision of our nation’s Supreme Court in 1973 to legalize abortion in our country. Each year on January 22nd people young and old (though the crowd is looking predominantly younger each year) participate in a peaceful march on our nation’s capital ending at the Supreme Court to voice our opposition to the “Roe vs Wade” decision and also to give a voice to the MOST vulnerable in society, those who do not have a voice of their own, the unborn!

You may or may not remember, but that was the same day that the East Coast was being hit by yet another snowstorm. We were about half way through CT when we heard that the Diocese had made the decision to call back all of the buses from the 5 High Schools that were heading down to DC. Disappointment overcame the people on the bus when I told them that we might have to turn around and head home! After considering the options, talking with the bus driver (and his boss) and looking at the forecast, we decided to press on and continue to Washington! The clear feeling of excitement and determination was truly present on the bus!

The normally 8-hour bus ride from MA to Washington, D.C. last 13 hours, but there was not a single complaint about the extra long ride or the freezing cold! The bus full of people truly understood that this was a “Pilgrimage” and accepted the challenges with a joyful heart! The young people on the bus led us in the recitation of the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet! Providentially, we watched the movie, “Restless heart” on the life and conversion of St. Augustine (one of the best movies on a the life of a saint that I have seen). The movie shows Augustine’s search for truth and meaning in his life – what a great inspiration for those of us preparing to March for Life.

Despite the FREEZING cold and snowy streets, there were still tens of thousands who gathered at the National Mall for the rally and March! Perhaps the cold and long bus ride were the reasons this was such a powerful experience for me personally. I have been going to the March since I was in high school, but this year, it just seemed so much more powerful! There was an obvious enthusiasm and sense of conviction in those present! If you have never been, think about joining us next year!

Now many probably don’t know much about the March for Life and that’s because the secular media doesn’t give it much coverage, probably because they are very much opposed to what we stand for and unlike St. Augustine, they aren’t really seeking truth themselves. But regardless of what the media shows or doesn’t, those present know the truth, that EVERY human life is SACRED and worth defending!

The March for Life is truly a great thing and one that I think most people should experience, if for no other reason than to witness so many young people united in positively standing up for what they believe! But the March for life is more than a trip to our nation’s capital, more than the rallies and speeches. It is also more than people being opposed to abortion, it is about being PROLIFE. It is a reunion of people who are committed to building the culture of life, coming together to remember a day and a court decision that is responsible for the death of over 55 MILLION PEOPLE!!! But the March is more than this too, it is an opportunity for those who are committed to defending life to recommit themselves to building a CULTURE OF LIFE!

You see, the work of the prolife community doesn’t culminate at the March for Life, but it is strengthened by it! Actually, the work of the prolife community really takes place when we get back from the March for Life! For us committed to building a culture of life as Blessed Pope John Paul II called us to is not just about changing laws, but about CHANGING HEARTS! It is our goal to convince people of the horrors of abortion, not just for the babies killed, but also for those mothers and fathers who lose their child in such a horrendous way, so that no one would ever again even consider such a thing.

For some of us, it is easy to call ourselves prolife, but it is much harder to actually work to bring about this culture of life. But there are practical ways in which we can (and MUST) do this. We can not just be against abortion, we must address the reasons why people would ever consider killing their child and work to help them in those crisis situations. What does being prolife require of us? For those who are afraid of bringing a child into the world, they need to know there are options other than abortion. Crisis pregnancy centers are an essential part of building this culture of life!

–   We should know where they are and who to contact when someone is in a crisis pregnancy –   We should be donating time or money to crisis pregnancy centers –  We should be educating ourselves and our young people about the horrors of abortion –  We should be helping those who have had abortions with loving mercy and compassion.

If we are prolife, we must be committed to building a CULTURE OF LIFE!!! If we are prolife, we must always remember that the March for Life continues on after we leave Washington.

Zeal for your house will consume me...

The following blog post was written on January 31, 2014.

I have procrastinated long enough! Friends and parishioners have been encouraging me to start a blog for some time now. They have thought that it would be a great opportunity to further explain the teachings of the Church and why they are important and how they can be applied to the lives of ordinary Catholics sitting in the pews. So this will be my humble attempt.

With the help of a more tech savvy parishioner, I have set up this page to share some of my thoughts and convictions. The title of the page, from Psalm 69, “Zeal for your house will consume me” has always spoken to my heart. I am zealous for Christ, His Catholic Church and for for the salvation of souls… and I need to be more so!

I chose today, January 31 as the day to begin this blog because today is the feast day of one of my favorite saints, St. John Bosco. “Don Bosco” as he is more affectionately known, was an italian priest who lived during the 19th century and did so much encourage other people to have zeal for Christ and Church as well! I am one that is so inspired by his life and work!

There are so many things to refer to when speaking about Don Bosco – His priestly work with the children of Turin who were suffering in factories, his prophetic dreams, the religious community that he founded, etc. etc. But there is a quote that I think is relevant to one of the things that I want to address in this blog, namely, the reality of struggles that the Church faces in the present age. Don Bosco is quoted as saying:

“All past persecutors of the Church are now no more, but the Church still lives on. The same fate awaits modern persecutors; they, too, will pass on, but the Church of Jesus Christ will always remain, for God has pledged His Word to protect Her and be with Her forever, until the end of time.”

Many in the present day have dismissed the Church and the message of Jesus Christ and their relevance in today’s society. Precisely because of this fact, it is all the more important for us (all members of the Church, not just those ordained) to proclaim with joyful enthusiasm the Living Word of God, which is the same, yesterday, today and forever!

So often too, we hear people say, “I can pray at home” or “I don’t need the Church to be a follower of Jesus Christ,” or “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” I am sure all these things are said by people with good intentions, BUT, as Pope Francis recently reminded us:

“The Christian is not a baptized who receives baptism and then goes on his way. The first fruit of Baptism is to make you belong to the Church, the People of God. You cannot understand a Christian without the Church. This is why the great Paul VI said that it is an absurd dichotomy to love Christ without the Church, to listen to Christ but not the Church, to be with Christ at the margins of the Church. It’s not possible. It is an absurd dichotomy. We receive the Gospel message in the Church and we carry out our holiness in the Church, our path in the Church. The other is a fantasy, or, as he said, an absurd dichotomy.”

With enthusiasm, and with a real desire to share and explain the faith of the Church, I begin offering my thoughts on a variety of issues, devotions, rules, and practices of the Catholic Church, with the sole hope that others will come to know the reason for our joy! God Bless!