Why is Mass so important?
FROM THE VICAR’S DESK: FR. STEVE MONDIEK
WHY IS MASS SO IMPORTANT? Can’t we just pray and worship God anywhere? Well, yes, you can pray to God anytime and anywhere, but Our Lord gave a specific command to his Apostles on the night he celebrated the Passover meal. Jesus said, “This is my body to be given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke: 22:19)
If we were to think about what God has done for us, and who we are in relationship to him, we would understand how much thanks we owe to God. Then we would understand that the Mass is the most important thing you could participate in. The great Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, when conducting a retreat for teenagers, once gave a talk on the meaning of the Mass. He said, "If you don't get anything out of Mass, it's because you don't bring the right expectations to it. The Mass is not entertainment, he said. “It is worship of the God who made us and saves us. It is an opportunity to praise God and thank Him for all that He has done for us.”
If we have a correct understanding of Mass, Bishop Sheen said, it will become more meaningful for us. We will want to go to Mass. We will understand why the Mass is God's precious gift to us, and we wouldn't think of refusing that gift. Ok, so why Go? We all know the Commandments were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The Third Commandment is keeping the Sabbath holy and going to Mass fulfills that script.
The Mass was instituted at the Last Supper by Jesus before his Crucifixion. The Last Supper was the first Mass. When we celebrate the Mass, we repeat the Last Supper, as Jesus commanded us to do. In doing this, we remember and re-present his great act of love for us on the Cross — taking our sins upon himself so that we, if we follow his commandments, can live with him forever in heaven.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994, pp. 493-94) explains that Mass attendance on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation is the first of the six Commandments of the Church. These Commandments of the Church also require receiving Communion at least once a year during the Easter season, confessing any mortal sin as a preparation for Communion, and observing the prescribed days of fasting and abstinence. These Commandments spell out the minimal responsibilities of a Catholic. To fail to fulfill them through our own fault, the Church teaches, is a serious sin.
The Mass is first of all a sacrifice — the perfect sacrifice, created by Christ. Through the priest we offer Our Lord’s Body and Blood, to the Father, just as Jesus offered Himself to the Father on the Cross. In an un-bloody way, we repeat — make present — Christ's death and Resurrection. Through this memorial of Jesus, we offer God our praise, sorrow for our sins, and deepest thanks.
The Mass is also a meal. At the Consecration, the bread and wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, become the Body and Blood of Christ. Not a mere symbol, but Jesus's real Flesh and real Blood, under the appearance of bread and wine. When we receive Holy Communion, we receive Jesus Himself. He is real food for our soul. He said this very plainly: I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. (John 6:55-56).
What are the benefits of Holy Communion? It strengthens our union with Christ; He lives within us in a special way. It cleanses us from venial sins. (Mortal sins require forgiveness in Confession.) It gives us grace to avoid sin in the future. It increases our love of God and neighbor. God made us social beings. He wants us to come together in community to worship Him. Jesus said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I." (Matthew 18:20)
If we attend Mass intending to give God a chance, He will help us experience the tremendous benefits of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist. We should bring an attitude of prayer and thanksgiving to Mass, and WE will reap great spiritual riches: consolation, confidence, peace, deep happiness, and spiritual strength for the challenges of life. Saint John Vianney once said, "Attending Mass is the greatest action we can do, all the good works taken together do not equal the sacrifice of the Mass, because they are the works of men, and the holy Mass is the work of God. The martyr is nothing in comparison, because martyrdom is the sacrifice that man makes to God of his life; the Mass is the sacrifice that God makes for man of his body and blood…the words of the priest, and a piece of bread, makes God!" he said. "That's more than creating the world!"
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Steve Mondiek