October 16, 2020

Dear friends in Christ,

Mass is an encounter with Christ

In this year of the Eucharist called for by Archbishop Etienne, each month I am offering a reflection on some aspect of the Mass and the Holy Eucharist:

Last week at Mass, the prophet Isaiah announced that atop God’s holy mountain, God would feed his people with a rich banquet.  In another place, Isaiah proclaims that all peoples shall stream to this mountain, the place of encounter with the Lord.  We are called to this encounter with the Lord at our Baptism.  And each week, when we celebrate the Mass, we stream to or  we go up to the altar - an earthly place of encounter with the Lord Jesus, which is a foretaste of the banquet of heaven.

The significance of the Entrance procession.

Vatican II taught that at the Mass:

“Christ is always present to his Church, especially in the actions of the liturgy. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, in the person of the minister (it is the same Christ who formerly offered himself on the cross that now offers by the ministry of the priest) and preeminently in the eucharistic species. He is present in the sacraments by his power, in such a way that when someone baptizes, Christ himself baptizes. He is present in his word, for it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Finally, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he himself promised: Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.”

This passage reminds us that Mass is always an encounter with the living Christ in manifold ways.  This manifold presence of Christ is ritually revealed and enacted in the entrance procession.

You, as members of the Church, begin that procession when you leave home and “stream” to the “mountain of the Lord,” process to the altar raised up in the sanctuary of the church. 

Christ leads us to this altar through his crucifixion, and therefore the processional cross with the image of Christ crucified is placed at the head of the procession.

Then comes the Word of God, held aloft in the Gospel book by the reader or the deacon because it is “Christ himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read.”  When Christ was born, “the Word became flesh,” and in another sense, the Word becomes flesh in us and is reborn in us when we listen to the readings and the homily being proclaimed.

Then the priest enters into the assembly “…in the person of Christ, the head,” to lead the assembly in offering the sacrifice and praise in thanks to God.  Through the ministry of the priest, Christ comes to stand in the midst of the assembly of believers to join our sacrifices to that of Christ’s.  

Together, then, we “go up to the altar of God, the God of our joy,” and here in this place Christ makes himself present preeminently and most especially, in the Eucharist, Christ’s Body and Blood, given to us as a foretaste of the banquet of heaven.  Could there be any more profound gift than this?  Jesus, Himself, Body, Blood Soul and Divinity given to us as food to sustain us on our pilgrimage to heaven.  Yet this is who we receive at the altar every time we come to Holy Communion! This is the One whom we encounter every time we enter into Mass.

Ways we can more fully enter into Mass

So, I want to encourage in us some practices to help us more fully realize whom we encounter at Mass, to help us enter fully into this encounter with the Lord Jesus.  A few suggestions:

1.)  Take some time to pray before Mass begins, whether by live stream or in person.  Think of 5 things you are grateful for to God and tell God that you are offering the Mass in thanksgiving for these things. Think too of a grace that you need from God or of a person whom you want to offer the Mass for.

2.)  The day before Mass, read through the scriptures for the Sunday Mass.  The readings can be found easily on this link from the US conference of Catholic Bishops: https://bible.usccb.org

3.)  Pray a prayer of thanksgiving after Mass.  Here is one from St. Thomas Aquinas:

Lord, Father all-powerful and ever-living God, I thank You, for
even though I am a sinner, your unprofitable servant, not
because of my worth but in the kindness of your mercy,
You have fed me with the Precious Body & Blood of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that this Holy Communion may not bring me
condemnation and punishment but forgiveness and salvation.
May it be a helmet of faith and a shield of good will.
May it purify me from evil ways and put an end to my evil passions.
May it bring me charity and patience, humility and obedience,
and growth in the power to do good.
May it be my strong defense against all my enemies, visible and invisible, and the perfect calming of all my evil impulses, bodily and spiritual.
May it unite me more closely to you, the One true God, and lead me
safely through death to everlasting happiness with You.
And I pray that You will lead me, a sinner, to the banquet where you,
with Your Son and holy Spirit, are true and perfect light, total fulfillment, everlasting joy, gladness without end, and perfect happiness to your saints. grant this through Christ our Lord,

Amen.

Hope fully by doing these things we may become aware of the many ways Christ comes to us through the Mass and have a more profound experience of his loving presence. This week in particular, we are reminded by the readings that God has, “called you by name,” and the “The Lord is God, there is no other.”  It is this same God who we encounter at Mass each Sunday.  Let us hold on to Him as a rock, an anchor amid this passing world.

Blessings on your week!

Fr. Johnson