Bishop Michael leads Day Seven of the Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help at the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway.
“If I do not have an ongoing, friend-to-friend relationship with God—and if I do not put time and effort into that relationship—then Mass can often feel like visiting a stranger. Soon it becomes meaningless. No wonder people stop going.” —Bishop Michael
John and Mary have four young children. It was from them that I learned of the concept of a “date night.” Each week, come what may, they set aside time for themselves. They might go out for a drink or travel to a show. More often than not, it’s the cinema or a meal together. The Oxford Dictionary describes a “date night” as “an occasion when an established couple, especially one with children, go out together for an evening. It is used to refer to a regularly scheduled night out intended to maintain the relationship.” It has often struck me that, for people of faith, Sunday Mass is a little like our weekly “date night” or “date day” with God.
They say that fish cannot see water. Humans cannot see air. Sometimes, there are things that become so much a part and parcel of our everyday reality that we begin to think little about them and often fail to recognise their essential importance. I sometimes think that the same could be true when it comes to Sunday Mass. It has become so much a part and parcel of our religious experience that, at times, we take it for granted. We fail to recognise its value in our lives as Catholics.
You may have heard the story of the priest who, at the start of Mass, realised the microphone was not working. Turning to the congregation, he said, “There is something wrong with this!” To his surprise, the congregation replied, “And also with you!” Often, we can freewheel through Mass on autopilot. We go through the same actions and recite the same words without ever really thinking about what we are doing.
When teaching, I used to get students moaning that “Mass was boring!” Sometimes, to provoke conversation, I would say, “Well, if you really want to know how boring Mass is, come and have a look down at the congregation and see how boring it is from my perspective!” We do not come to Mass to be entertained. Our gathering for Mass is at a different level altogether. It is quality time spent with God—someone who is important in my life, someone I trust, someone I talk to and turn to, not just at Mass but outside of Mass as well. If I do not have an ongoing, friend-to-friend relationship with God—and if I do not put time and effort into that relationship—then Mass can often feel like visiting a stranger. Soon it becomes meaningless. No wonder people stop going.
For Christians, Sunday is the day of resurrection. It is a special day, held sacred each week, for encountering the risen Lord—alive and present among us. It is a day to draw help from this encounter to renew and focus our lives for the week ahead. It is a day when the whole Christian family gathers together to spend time with the Lord. No live-streamed Mass can ever match being at the real thing.
Entering the church, we bless ourselves with holy water, reminding us of our baptism into the family of God. As brothers and sisters, we gather in His presence. We feel our human weakness and confess our human sinfulness. We ask for forgiveness, and forgiveness is granted. We give thanks by praying together, “Glory to God in the highest.”
Then we sit to listen. The Bible is opened. God’s Word is proclaimed. We respond, “Thanks be to God!” At times, we let it pass us by. At other times, it can cut deep into our hearts. At all times and at every Mass, God has a personal message for us when the readings are proclaimed. Do we listen? Do we hear? In the homily, the priest helps us to discern what God might be saying to us—what wisdom God might have for us on that particular Sunday of our lives.
After the homily, we stand. Using words that have been spoken for centuries, we publicly profess our Christian faith. Too often, we run through it. Too often, we fail to think about what we are saying. “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty!” Do we really believe it? “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son!” Then it is our turn to speak—we speak of our prayers and our needs for that Sunday. We bring the prayers and needs of the whole world as we ask God to help us and to help our world.
After the prayers of the faithful, the mood changes. We move from focusing on the Bible to the supper table. Simple gifts of bread and wine are brought forward. We add our offerings to them as a token from the work of our own hands, given to support our local faith community. The priest prepares the bread. He prepares the wine. Then he turns and cries out, “The Lord be with you!” He invites all present to “lift up your hearts” and to “give thanks and praise to the Lord our God!”
We then pull up a chair, so to speak, to the supper table and are transported to Jerusalem, the night before He died. In continuity with ancient tradition, we do as Jesus did, and in and through the doing, He becomes as present to us as He was to the disciples of His day. The bread and the wine become His Body, given for us; His Blood, poured out for us. Jesus Himself becomes present to you and to me. God is here; God is with us. We bow down before the mystery of it all.
Then, as one family, we pray to the Father as Jesus taught us. Remembering His plea that we forgive and be reconciled with one another, we offer a sign of peace before we approach the altar. Next, there comes that moment of Communion. We come forward to receive into our bodies, to receive into our lives, the Lord Himself—food for the journey of life, strength for the way. This is perhaps one of the most sacred moments of the Mass. How often it passes us by. Jesus Himself has come to us, but we do not even bother bidding Him the time of day or spending even a bit of quality time with Him. This is a precious, intimate moment to talk to Jesus, to listen to Him friend to friend.
The end comes rather quickly. We are blessed and sent—sent out to “love and serve the Lord,” to live out our calling to make ourselves, our families, our community, and our world a better place during the week to come. In that moment, as we heard in the Gospel today, we are sent to be that salt and light to an often tasteless and darkened world.
What a “date night,” what a “date day” with God Sunday Mass is. What a profound enrichment it can be for our personal lives of faith. However, all this just does not happen. Like all relationships, it takes time, thought, and effort. I encourage you to create that space, to take the time, to make the effort. Today, through the intercession of Mary, let us pray for a renewed appreciation of Sunday Mass.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us. Amen.
