Messages from the Mass
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Read MoreMID LENT CHECK IN
God says to Moses, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you . . . The Lord, the God of your [ancestors], the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:14, 15). As Jesus would later say, God is not a God of the dead, but of the living, and so we believe that the dead will one day rise.
At this midpoint of Lent, we pause to consider how our repentance is leading us to the Resurrection, to our reunion with the great “I AM.” Part of our repentance involves working to secure justice for all and helping our neighbor to live in God’s ways. We encourage each other and nurture each other, like the compassionate gardener of today’s Gospel, who tells the owner of the orchard that he will nurture the tree, fertilize it, and perhaps it will bear fruit.
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Read MoreHollywood has given us an image of Moses slipping off his shoes before a burning bush. God has just called Moses by name, and so that Moses doesn’t miss the meaning of this breakthrough in human history, God requires that all barriers to the experience be eliminated. If you’ve ever tried to maneuver barefoot across hot sand, or pick your way along a rocky beach, you know how sensitive feet can be.
Within the Church, there are religious orders with a custom of going barefoot, not merely to show poverty, but to be an outward sign of a desire for connection with creation, a desire to go through life alert to what God is doing. In early days, when reconciliation was a once-in-a-lifetime possibility, penitents often went barefoot for a long period of time as a sign of their conversion.
Even today, people follow an ancient practice of slipping off their shoes to walk in the procession to the cross on Good Friday. It is striking that the first use of our newly-scrubbed feet from Holy Thursday night is to walk resolutely in the footsteps of Christ to the cross.
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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.