The parishioners of Saint Theresa’s Parish give a
beautiful example of Catholic Faith when they come to Sunday Mass.
The manner in which so many of our parishioners participate at Mass is a
tremendous and moving part of the beautiful example you give to each other and
to the priests of the parish.
But beyond the reality of that commandment, which for us
Catholics means the obligation to be at Sunday Mass, there is much, much more.
There is the reality of the Mass itself.
What is the reality of the Mass?
In a few paragraphs, I will try to express this reality as best I can.
Our Lord’s Sacrifice of Himself on the Cross
is made present and renewed in a mysterious way when, at Mass, the priest
pronounces the words of consecration over the bread and wine, which are changed-
- -mysteriously but really and truly- - -into His Body and Blood.
At that moment, He becomes truly present in the Eucharist and renews His
offering of Himself for our sake to His Father.
We have the privilege of joining to His offering of Himself our offering
of ourselves to Our Father in heaven, “tagging along”, as it were, with the
Eternal Son of God. Even if a person
is not able to receive Holy
Communion, being present at Mass when Our Lord becomes present in the Eucharist,
when His sacrifice on the Cross is renewed at the Altar, and joining ourselves
to Him, is a truly privileged moment of grace, something not to be missed!
And then there is the gift Our Lord gives to us at the time
of Holy Communion. He gives us Himself, the Bread of Life. He becomes part of
our lives in a most intimate way. He
is here to help us in every situation and circumstance, in every temptation and
trial, in every sorrow, anxiety, failure, and in every effort we make every day
to be faithful to Him and to be faithful to the people who are nearest and
dearest to us, and to any person for whom and to whom we have any kind of
responsibility.
At Mass, Our Faith in Christ is nourished and deepened when
the sacred Scriptures- - - the Word of the Lord- - -are read for us.
At Mass, we are strengthened with the Grace of Christ, truly present at
the Altar, and we are nourished by Our Lord’s gift of Himself in Holy
Communion. Nourished with the Bread
of Life, we are strengthened by Our Lord to be more and more like Him, doing and
accepting the will of God Our Father, keeping the Commandments of God, heeding
every day Our Lord’s words: “You must love one another as I have loved
you!”
There is much more I could say, but I believe I have said
enough to remind you- - -and to remind myself- - - that attendance at Mass is an
extraordinary privilege- - something more important and significant than
anything else we do. There may be
days when getting ourselves and our families organized for Sunday Mass, or
arranging the schedule to include Sunday Mass, is a source of stress, but- - -
-from the perspective of our Faith in Christ and His Real Presence in the
Eucharist and all we believe about the efficacy of the Mass- - - none of us
should ever get to thinking that the Mass is a burden.
It is, rather, a privileged moment each Sunday to come into the presence
of the living and loving God Who abides with us and brings us through this life
to the life of heaven.
It is for all these reasons that I am anxious and troubled
by the fact that a large percentage of our parishioners do not attend Sunday
Mass. I was reminded of the
significant number of people who are not at Sunday Mass on Christmas, when about
4000 people were here, at Saint Theresa’s.
That is in contrast to the usual number of 1650-1950 we see every Sunday.
And so, I am writing this to remind every parishioner of
whatever age or state in life: you are always welcome at Sunday Mass in Saint
Theresa’s Church, whether or not you are able to receive Holy Communion. There
will never be an embarrassing moment for you at Mass in Saint Theresa’s
Church. There will always be moments
of grace as you experience the Lord’s Presence and the love Christ Our Savior
has for you and for the people who may be at Mass with you.
There is another anxiety I have about Sunday Mass, namely,
the mixed signals given to children and young people when their parents do not
go to Sunday Mass. It causes
tremendous confusion in their lives. They
know that Sunday Mass is an obligation and a moment of grace, but, often times,
they find themselves living in a situation where they are not taken to church or
are not encouraged to be at Sunday
I realize that a large number of parishioners who are
reading this letter faithfully attend Sunday Mass and, as I mentioned above, I
am always inspired by your exemplary devotion and prayerfulness at Mass,
especially at the time after Holy Communion.
I close with the words of a beautiful hymn, written by
Saint Thomas Aquinas, about the Real Presence of Christ Our Savior in the Holy
Eucharist:
“O Sacred
Banquet—in which Christ is consumed;
the memory of His Passion is recalled;
our souls are filled with Grace;
and we are given the promise of Eternal Life!
I look forward to praying with you at Sunday
Pastor
Saint Theresa of
West