AMDG

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Why Go to Mass? # 6

+ JMJ +


Hilaire Belloc (1870 – 1953)
Anglo-French writer, historian, orator, poet, satirist, man of letters, and political activist, notable for his Catholic faith.


Hilaire Belloc on why we need daily Mass:

In the first village I came to I found that Mass was over, and this justly annoyed me. For what is a pilgrimage in which a man cannot hear Mass every morning? 


A student on pilgrimage in Santiago, Spain. (Source)

Of all the things I have read about St Louis which make me wish I had known him to speak to, nothing seems to me more delightful than his habit of getting Mass daily whenever he marched down south. 


St. Louis, King of France 
1214-1270
(Source

But why this should be so delightful I cannot tell. Of course, there is a grace and influence belonging to such a custom. But it is not of that I am speaking, but of the pleasing sensation of order and accomplishment which attaches to a day one has opened by Mass -- a purely temporal ... feeling, but a source of continual comfort to me.

This comfort I ascribe to four causes, and these causes are:

1.  That for half-an-hour just at the opening of the day you are silent and recollected, and have to put off cares, interests, and passions in the repetition of a familiar action. This must certainly be a great benefit to the body and give it tone.



2. That the Mass is a careful and rapid ritual. Now it is the function of all ritual (as we see in games, social arrangements and so forth) to relieve the mind by so much of responsibility and initiative and to catch you up (as it were) into itself, leading your life for you during the time it lasts. In this way, you experience a singular repose, after which ... I am sure one is fitter for action and judgment.



3. That the surroundings incline you to good and reasonable thoughts, and for the moment deaden the rasp (a harsh, grating noise) and jar (a sudden unpleasant effect upon the mind or feelings) of that busy wickedness which, both working in one’s self and received from others, is the true source of all human miseries. Thus the time spent at Mass is like a short repose (the state of being at rest; peace; tranquility; calm) in a deep and well-built library, into which no sounds come and where you feel yourself secure against the outer world.

Young Man Praying


4.  And the most important cause of this feeling of satisfaction is that you are doing what the human race has done for thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years. This is a matter of such moment that I am astonished people hear of it so little. Whatever is buried right into our blood from immemorial habit that we must be certain to do if we are to be fairly happy (of course no grown man or woman can really be very happy for long–but I mean reasonably happy), and, what is more important, decent and secure of our souls. Thus one should from time to time hunt animals, or at the very least shoot at a mark; one should always drink some kind of fermented liquor with one’s food–and especially deeply upon great feast-days; one should go on the water from time to time; and one should dance on occasions; and one should sing in chorus. For all these things man has done since God put him into a garden and his eyes first became troubled with a soul. Similarly some teacher or ranter or other, whose name I forget, said lately one very wise thing at least, which was that every man should do a little work with his hands.

Oh! what good philosophy this is, and how much better it would be if rich people, instead of raining the influence of their rank and spending their money on leagues for this or that exceptional thing, were to spend it in converting the middle-class to ordinary living and to the tradition of the race. Indeed, if I had power for some thirty years I would see to it that people should be allowed to follow their inbred instincts in these matters, and should hunt, drink, sing, dance, sail, and dig; and those that would not should be compelled by force.

Now in the morning Mass, you do all that the race needs to do and has done for all these ages where religion was concerned; there you have the sacred and separate Enclosure, the Altar, the Priest in his Vestments, the set ritual, the ancient and hierarchic tongue, and all that your nature cries out for in the matter of worship.

(from The Path to Rome)

Why Go to Mass? # 5

+ JMJ +



The Mass is far more than just a “feel good” experience. I go to Mass because it is the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which is not only the salvation of the Church, but the salvation of the world.

If we do not have Christ’s sacrifice, we do not have either physical or spiritual salvation. I believe that without the Sacrifice of Christ being constantly offered to our Heavenly Father, our sins would call down the destruction of God upon the entire earth.

There is nothing more important in the entire universe than the Sacrifice of the Mass. It is the Sacrifice of Christ, and thus the Sacrifice of the Mass, stands between mankind and total destruction.

As we pray in the Consecration:

"We offer unto You, O Lord, the chalice of salvation, and grant that in the sight of Your divine majesty, it may ascend as a sweet-smelling savour for our salvation, and that of all the whole world."

~ Brooklyn

Why Go to Mass? # 4

+ JMJ +



I compiled some wonderful responses from Fr. Z's blogpost -- great reminders!

From Bryan:

1.  We will die someday and face our particular judgment, and so need to be constantly nourished at the Altar of His Sacrifice for that day -- after worthily receiving His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

2.  Since we're fallen human beings, it's our privilege to assist at this foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet here on earth, despite our sinfulness and unworthiness.



From Carole McCorry:

1.  I go to Mass to celebrate and receive the Eucharist, to be spiritually nourished.
2.  Sometimes I just go for the peacefulness of prayer.
3.  I go because my heart calls me to be there.

From Fr. W:

At Mass, we offer the Blood of Christ in atonement for our sins.

From Joseph:

In deep gratitude for everything from whom all good originates.

From Jenice:

1.  I love the Mass.
2.  I’m grateful that the Lord called me out of darkness and into the wonderful light of the Catholic Church.
3.  I want to become more holy.


Why Go to Mass? # 3

+ JMJ +



I compiled some wonderful responses from Fr. Z's blogpost -- great reminders!

From M:  To glorify God.

From Tzard:

1. For the answering of my particular intentions, which I bring with me to Mass (and general intentions, like for the Holy Father).

2. For the dead.

From Cardinal O'Malley:

1. To be transformed by Christ’s grace.

2. To participate in Jesus’s victory over death and the salvation of the world.

3. To deepen our relationship with God.

From Irish Girl:

I go to Mass to receive the graces to save my soul and be with God forever in heaven.

From a High School Principal:

I grew up in a family where going to Mass on Sunday was about as optional as breathing.

From bdchatfi:

We are dead men in need of Life. The Sacraments are our Medicine. Repentance and humility are our state.

Why Go to Mass? # 2

+ JMJ +




I compiled some wonderful responses from Fr. Z's blogpost -- great reminders!

From Blaise:

We desire to be transformed by God’s Grace because we need that to face judgment.

From Gregg the Obscure:

a. Nothing of this world approaches the importance of Jesus’s sacrifice of Himself which takes place in each Mass.

b. The grace of the Sacraments prevents me from doing even more harm to others through sin than I already do.

c. What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things He hath rendered unto me?

From Joe in Canada:

To worship God as He has commanded us to do. We were created to be in a proper relationship with Him: this is called “the Mass.”

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lql5fxdJVX1qmnpseo1_400.jpg

 (Source)

From KAS:

1. I’m there because Jesus is there.

2. I go because this discipline seems to set the tone for my entire week.

From Guatadopt:

The Eucharist … as if we need any other reason! We shouldn’t do things simply because there is a rule or law that says so.

From Ave Crux:

Because, in justice, we owe God worship.

Why Go to Mass? # 1


+ JMJ +


I compiled some wonderful responses from Fr. Z's blogpost -- great reminders!

From Super Trad Mum:

1)  I go to Mass to worship God in the Eucharist and take part in the Mystery of Calvary.
2)  Like Mother Teresa, I go to look at God and give Him time to look at me.

From Louise A:

1)  To adore God.
2)  To thank God.
3)  To obtain grace.
4)  To offer a Reparation to God for our sins and the sins of the whole world. 

(Suggestion for kids:  Perhaps you can offer up the times when you find yourself bored at Mass. Let's offer up that "suffering" for souls.)

 The Catholic Mass - Fyodor Bronnikov

The Catholic Mass by Fyodor Bronnikov  (Source)

From Introibo:

To receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Blessed Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

From iPadre:

To personally stand at Calvary and witness the sacrifice of the Living God. (I imagine this with my mind's eye when I look at the altar during Consecration.)

To offer my life (prayers, works, joys and sufferings, my whole being) to God, in union with the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

From pm12:

Being at Mass is our way to Him and His Way to us through His Priests.

From Young Canadian Male:

Because missing Mass -- without appropriate reason or unforeseen circumstances that prevent one from going -- places the person in a state of mortal sin. 


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