The Truth About the Mass

The Truth About the Mass

Why Go?

07-12-13&07-13-13

The Vatican City. More specifically, St. Peter's Square. 

The center for Catholicism. Our Catholic roots go back some 2,000 years, with Rome and the Vatican remaining the home of the Pope,  along with being a place that fosters the faith. Though the Church is still very much alive, and thriving in many places, it seems to have hit another stumbling block, and this one might be more threatening than anything before. The biggest problem we face in the Church  today is actually coming from inside the safe haven that is our Faith. This attack could potentially destroy us. 

It is... the lukewarm Catholic. 

We all know what the lukewarm Catholic looks like, because in all honesty, it is us at times. All of us. None of us can honestly say we always avoid this title. I know I don't. 

With that, the question becomes -

1. How did it get to this?

and

2. How do we change this?

A picture can better display some problems our Church faces. 

In the past, our Churches looked like this - The best word I can use to describe this would be FULL. The cafeteria Catholics were a small group, not a large army. People went to mass, prayed their prayers, understood the importance of a relationship with God. We all know the Church has not been perfect up until this point, and it is true, there were problems in the past that we are dealing with less now, and we can all thank God for that, but in the past, one thing that people did do, no matter who you were, a saint or a sinner, was go to MASS. Sunday Mass was expected, and sadly, we seem to have fallen away from that. Now a days, our Churches are 

filled with empty pews, and the problem does not seem to be leaving anytime soon. As a whole, we have become...gulp....lukewarm! In scripture it says, 

 ^"So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." 

Revelations 3:16 

I don't know about you, but that kind of freaks me out, and is a wake up call. You know what this lukewarmness is; you've seen it, experienced it, been a part of it yourself. Remember when you went to mass and no one sang, or when you  received communion and came back to your seat with no one around you? Wasn't there a bunch of people a minute ago? Yes, we know what this is. This is sadly what our Catholic Church is becoming. 

So now we see how it came to be, but how can we change it? 

One way is through prayer! How lovely a thing! There is nothing quite as beautiful as prayer, especially the Rosary. Of course there is the Mass, the most wonderful prayer, but if we want to start going to Mass, not out of obligation, but out of desire,  and to actively participate, we have understand.
Instead of having myself explain it, I think Catherine de Hueck Doherty, founder of Madonna House in Canada, can do a better job. She says:

"The Mass is the very breath of our spiritual life. There we are, face to face with the Lord of Hosts. There we become one with him. Then, refreshed and strengthened beyond our understanding, we once more can face whatever the day may bring. In the Mass we find bread and wine for the soul. We find Love bending down to us, Love lifting us, ever higher, to himself, until all things are right and well with us. For we have our being in him already on this earth. The Mass is the sum total of all our prayer life! Vocal: “With my voice I praise you.” Mental: “My mind is slowly absorbed in his, and I begin to see, to understand.” Contemplative: When we are unable to speak or think, we just “rest” in him.

All things come together in the Mass, for humanity comes together in God, and in God all things have their being. The Mass is a mighty bridge which brings the entire Church — living on earth now and those gone on to eternal life — together in an unbreakable unity. In doing so, it brings us peace, strength, and joy. For in the Mass we realize as through a glass darkly, that there is no loss of our Beloved, that we are not alone, that we walk in a goodly company of saints and martyrs. Life changes utterly and begins to make true sense to us when we participate in Mass daily. Our horizons become wider than all the universe, for they span time and eternity. Love grows within our soul until finally its eyes see Christ in all. Slowly, but oh, how surely, our whole person turns to God! Then the spirit of the evangelical counsels –- of poverty, chastity, and obedience – of the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments becomes simple and clear. We become free. How free cannot be told; it has to be experienced."

BOOM. 

Quite honestly, this is one of the most powerful reflections I've ever read. To fully comprehend it, I need to read it over and over, and even with hours of reflection, there is still much to be grasped. If I had given my reasoning for why people are so lukewarm and why mass participation is so low, I would have basically said, in more basic terms, we suck, and we need to not be complacent, blah, blah, blah. Miss Catherine? Well, she actually knew what she was saying, and hit it out of the park with true charity.

I came across this reflection in the June issue of the Magnificat, and am so happy I did. I hope that I answered the questions I posed and I also hope I made you at least think, and planted some sort of seed. The Lords will be done. I'm just glad he is trying to use me in some capacity,  just his lowly servant .

Thank you for reading this and understand I am praying for you. Please pray for me. Let us continue to strive for Heaven. God bless you my brothers and sisters. 

"He died for me, so I will live for him."