A New Series of Bulletin Articles on the Mass

Beginning this week you will see a new series of articles in our parish bulletin for St. Mary’s of the Lake and St. Benedict’s that I am writing to help people better understand and better appreciate what we do at Mass.  I’ll also post it here and on a page I will be creating on my website to include the whole series.  Here is this week’s article:

The Hidden Depths of the Mass #1

Why do you come to Mass?  In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read, “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass…unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants)” (2180-2181).  We receive this obligation from God in the Third Commandment, “Keep the Sabbath Holy.”

We shouldn’t have to be told to go to Mass.  “The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation” to living our faith (Catechism, 2181).  It is the rich soil of God’s Word and celebrate the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.  When we understand this, Mass begins to be something we want to come to.  Some people go only when they feel they need a “recharge” of grace.  Do you wait to charge your cell phone till it is completely dead?  Probably not.  Don’t wait until your spiritual batteries are dead to come to Mass.

Today we start a series of articles on the Mass.  We hope you will read the articles each week to help you understand the depths of what we celebrate.

For more on Sunday as the Lord’s Day you can read Fr. Jeff’s article, “Keeping the Lord’s Day:  What Does It Mean to me at https://www.renewaloffaith.org/the-lord-s-day.html

Peace,

Fr. Jeff