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Fr. Maassen's Message - 09/17/2023
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Dear Missionary Disciples of Jesus Christ,
Why go to Mass? Following are some points, but not a complete list:
In paragraph 1 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we read that God "in a plan of sheer goodness freely created" each of us to share in His own blessed life. God created us for communion with the Blessed Trinity. Nowhere on this side of death do we experience a greater communion with our God than at Mass. The sacrifice of the Mass is the intimate union of the faithful with Christ through communion. At Mass, we experience an incredible intimacy with Our God.
We want to experience salvation and ultimately share in the resurrection of the dead. In the Gospel of John 6:53-55, “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” “The Eucharist is the food of salvation, the food of the resurrection.
Jesus says, "Do this in memory of me." This scripture is from the Gospel of Luke 22:19 when Jesus gives us this command to do this for Him and us. The Mass is the worship of Jesus Christ - true God and true man - given to us. When we celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we are and know we are doing God's will.
Eucharist comes from a Greek word that means thanksgiving. The Mass is our weekly "thank you" to God; we hear it several times in the Liturgy. God gives us so much daily, every second, in the 168 hours each week. Our Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have shown us how to thank God - through the Mass. The Eucharist is how Jesus wants us to thank the Blessed Trinity.
We love the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit when attending Mass. We don't just say we love God; we love God by giving our hearts, minds, and voices through thanks, praise, and adoration. Instead of focusing on our subjective experience, whether the homily was good or not, whether the music was moving, we love God by giving God this hour of our life. We choose to love God by giving this hour to Him regardless of the homily or the music. Love is a sacrifice. There are more reasons – with eternal ramifications (as reflected in this letter) – to “Why go to Mass?” than our emotional or subjective experiences.
At the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Holy Mass, we are at Calvary. The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice. The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different.' And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and offered in an unbloody manner..." (CCC 1367)
"The faithful not only offer this unblemished sacrificial Victim but also learn to offer their very selves. Christ wants us to be present to and participate in the greatest Sacrifice of Love ever made, the offering of His life on Calvary." (summary, Eucharist Prayer)
"The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason, the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation (every Sunday or Saturday evening), unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.” (CCC 2181)
We encounter God, who loves us at each Mass in words and actuality. We are so loved, especially in communion, where Jesus show us the depth of His love.
In Christ,
Fr. Maassen
