We Are Fed. By. C.C.

"A friend once said, I'll tell you what I hate about the Catholic Mass. The preaching stinks and the music stinks and I get nothing out of it." I replied, "What I love about the Catholic Mass is that even if the music or preaching stinks, I still receive Christ." It is never about the peripheral things. They are only the glass and the face of the compass. Christ is the needle pointing us back to God. The Mass is bigger than the personalities associated with it. The Lord did not give us the gift of the church to make us miserable. Christ does not take on flesh in the Eucharist to dwell unnoticed or unappreciated in the corners of our churches. He has come to dwell in us. He is available." (Mark Hart)

Tonight I attended mass and experienced something wonderful. I am not saying that each Mass is not wonderful, but tonight I experienced a moment that affirmed my Catholic faith. I have recently begun attending Monday night mass at a different parish. I try my best to make daily mass part of my schedule, and much of that entails finding a parish that has a schedule coinciding with mine. From the moment I began attending evening Mass at this parish I was truly moved by the depth, delivery, passion, and devotion of every homily. This certain priest surely has a way of proclaiming the Gospel and sharing his reflections. He does this in a manner that is not self-righteous at all, but rather in a way that leads me to further appreciate the experience of Mass and receiving the Eucharist. However, tonight he did something different which allowed me to reflect upon how wonderful the Catholic Mass and faith truly is. Tonight the priest did not deliver a homily. Following the Gospel he quietly retreated to the altar to begin the Liturgy of The Eucharist. It was then that I experienced such a joy within me. At first I was confused. I expected Father to share a reflection, words of wisdom, devotion, and a brief lesson. Through his silence he affirmed the biggest lesson of all......,that receiving Christ is truly the reason for the Mass, that it is indeed bigger than the personalities associated with it. This in turn reminded me of something I had read written by Mark Hart (shared above). What a wonderful gift we receive through the Eucharist! Regardless of all that surrounds our Mass experiences, as Catholics our focus should not be on the "peripheral things" but on Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament. Even when the preaching is dull and when the music is torturous, the one constant is Jesus Christ present to us at the altar. " Take this all of you and eat it, this is my body which will be given up for you". (Matthew 26:26) Amen. (C.C.)