Messages from the Mass
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Read MoreA VISIBLE GOD
We find it difficult to convey ideas to people unless we can actually show them something, demonstrate what we mean. God, who is invisible and truly beyond human understanding, apparently faces the same difficulty. People want to see, not just listen to an idea. So God gave us Jesus Christ, God made visible in the world.
During these past weeks we have seen how Jesus was revealed as an infant to the shepherds and the magi, and then began his adult “public life” at his baptism by John. Today’s Gospel reading tells us of his “first sign,” providing wine for the wedding guests at Cana.
Of course, even Jesus, God made visible, was not always easily understood in his own day, nor is he even now. So we have to ponder what we see: the poverty and simplicity of his birth, his humility and openness before John the Baptist, his kindness and compassion toward people in their ordinary problems, such as running short of wine at a wedding. Yet it is in coming to know Jesus that we come to know God.
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Read MoreThe cause of church unity is commended to Christians for prayer and action every year around this time. This week is not so much to focus on the many divisions within the Christian family, but on bonds of faith and mission. Even though Christians have always shown an inclination to fracture, spin off, and mutate into new expressions, recent history shows some new points of convergence and agreement.
Catholics are more firmly rooted in the word of God, for example, and many Protestants are more likely to celebrate Communion than in years past. Some denominations are merging and pooling resources, and people from various traditions are collaborating on projects.
The call of this week is to be mindful of the diversity of our traditions and customs while treasuring what we hold in common. The old advice to “lighten up” is good medicine, because sometimes our differences are delightful and amusing. If someone says, “Let us pray,” a Catholic might close the eyes, bow the head and fold hands; a Protestant reach out and clasp hands with the person in the next chair; and someone belonging to an Orthodox tradition might stand up with eyes wide open.
Each has taken a different path, but the goal is always the same. This is a week not for focusing on the well worn paths of divergence, but for mutual delight in a common goal.
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God's Presence
A Prayer to the SpiritRealize above all that you are in God's presence ... empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like a chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what its mother gives it. - St. Romuald
A Prayer to the Holy SpiritSpirit of Jesus, poured out in flames of fire upon your disciples on the day of Pentecost, we pray to you.
Set afire the hearts of your faithful so that they will announce in all the languages of the world the wonders of the salvation of God.
Holy Spirit, who sent Christ Jesus
to carry the Good News to the poor,
We pray to you: Help us to contiinue your work
by serving the poor, our brothers and sisters
The Gifts of the Holy SpiritWisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge,
Fortitude, Piety, Fear of the Lord
Walk With Us LordWalk with us, Lord,
Along the road of resurrection!
Explain for us, so slow to believe,
the things that Scripture says of you.
Break the bread of the Eucharist with us
whenever we share our lives
with our brothers and sisters.
Stay with us
each time night approaches
and the daylight fades in our hearts!
Come to us, Spirit of HolinessHoly Spirit,
You banish fear from our hearts;
You bear witness in us that we are children of God;
We pray to you;
Remove from our hearts the spirit of slaves;
Place in us the spirit of adopted children to make us cry out, "A bba, Father!"
Jesus Gives Us the Gift of Himself
When we go to Mass, we are doing what Jesus commanded his followers to do. It is a command to love and to be loved by God. Jesus offers himself to us in the Word of God that we hear, and in his Real Presence, offered to us in the Blessed Sacrament at Communion.
People Need Our Prayers
When we go to Mass, we speak to God through out singing, our communal responses and prayer, and our personal prayers from the depths of our hearts. During the Mass, we have the opportunity to ask God for what we need, promise that we will do what He wants us to do, and thank Him for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us.
The Gift of GraceYou are What You Eat
The gift of grace increases as the struggles increase. - St. Rose of Lima
The effect of receiving the body and blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive. - Pope Saint Leo the Great
CharityCharity is that with which no one is lost, and without which no one is saved.- St. Robert Bellarmine
Holy Spirit, Guide Us Today.Holy Spirit, you who pointed out the way for your disciples to announce the Gospel, we pray to you: "As in the time of the apostles, guide today's messengers of the Good News."
God Asks Us to Make One Day Holy.God asks us to set aside one day to refocus physically, mentally, and spiritually. We live in a secular world. Going to Mass helps us to see everything from a different perspective. We begin to see in the depths of our being that God is in charge. We can let go of our own agenda because we know that God will inspire us, guide us and strengthen us for the week ahead.
What the Mass Tells Us.When we listen to the readings, the homily, and the prayers at Mass, God speaks to us in a special way. We should come away from each Mass with at least one inspiration that will impact our lives in some way. We just have to pay attention and be open to what the Lord is trying to tell us.
Praying During Mass.We can pray for other people anytime, but when we pray for others during Mass, we pray in a special way. It doesn't matter if the other people are separated from us by distance or by death. The Mass brings us together in the Body of Christ, and we become the communion of saints. It is part of the cosmic dimension of the Mass that unites heaven and earth by reaching across time and space.