Some people find it very difficult to go to Mass. Other than the logistics of having a disability, I never have. Jesus said, "And after I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to my myself." The Church teaches us that at the offertory, this is when we prepare to offer ourselves and our lives in union with Christ. And especially when the celebrant prays, "Through him, with him, in him..."
In a typical morning offering, we pray, "O Lord, I offer You all my prayers, joys, works, and sufferings [in union with Christ offered in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]."
Everything flows from Calvary, from the cross of Christ.
Not as though it isn't finished, but indeed, because it is. Jesus wants to bring the power of His Cross, indeed, His whole paschal mystery, into every corner of our lives. This is why we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass over and over. The petition of the Our Father, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done" is a recognition that we have yet to experience "It is finished!" in so many ways. Hope is to keep desiring this, for ourselves, and all who are dear to us.
The Mass wears grooves in your soul. The Eucharistic prayers especially strike me as a definitive stand against "the world, the flesh, and the devil." Exorcisms get all the press, but the fundamental ordering of the universe that is the Mass is the reality that I understand.
There is no possible way I'd have gotten through this year without the Mass. Sooner or later, the sorrow of life has to go somewhere. People get weird, sick, and sad when they try to make meaning out of this life by themselves. Are you kidding? Sometimes,--Lord, have mercy!--they even give up.
But perhaps it seems like another burden to carry. One thing keeps me going. I see Our Lord on the cross. I see Our Lady keeping watch. And St. John, the beloved disciple, is there. Somehow, I know that I never have cried, I never have lost anything or anyone, without them there. If that's crazy, I'll take it. The "sanity" of this world has no power against that.
In a typical morning offering, we pray, "O Lord, I offer You all my prayers, joys, works, and sufferings [in union with Christ offered in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass]."
Everything flows from Calvary, from the cross of Christ.
Not as though it isn't finished, but indeed, because it is. Jesus wants to bring the power of His Cross, indeed, His whole paschal mystery, into every corner of our lives. This is why we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass over and over. The petition of the Our Father, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done" is a recognition that we have yet to experience "It is finished!" in so many ways. Hope is to keep desiring this, for ourselves, and all who are dear to us.
The Mass wears grooves in your soul. The Eucharistic prayers especially strike me as a definitive stand against "the world, the flesh, and the devil." Exorcisms get all the press, but the fundamental ordering of the universe that is the Mass is the reality that I understand.
There is no possible way I'd have gotten through this year without the Mass. Sooner or later, the sorrow of life has to go somewhere. People get weird, sick, and sad when they try to make meaning out of this life by themselves. Are you kidding? Sometimes,--Lord, have mercy!--they even give up.
But perhaps it seems like another burden to carry. One thing keeps me going. I see Our Lord on the cross. I see Our Lady keeping watch. And St. John, the beloved disciple, is there. Somehow, I know that I never have cried, I never have lost anything or anyone, without them there. If that's crazy, I'll take it. The "sanity" of this world has no power against that.
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