GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST

The highest form of praise that we can give to Almighty God on earth is the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! In Holy Mass God the Father is glorified, by the offering of the Sacrifice of His only-begotten Son and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This adoration of God is most clearly manifested in the part of the Mass that is called the DOXOLOGY.  After consecration the priest lifts up the chalice in which is present the Precious Blood and the paten on which rests the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ and these words are said or sung by the priest celebrant:

“Through Him, with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is yours Almighty Father, forever and ever. AMEN!!!

In this short article we would like to exhort all of us to get to know the Mass better, participate more fully and love the Mass with greater intensity in our hearts.

We will offer tens suggestions on what we should avoid  so as to make Mass more engaging. Then we will offer ten suggestions as to what we can do so as to derive the maximum of grace that Holy Mass offers us.

Sacramental theology teaches us the concept of the dispositive grace. Put plainly this means we receive abundance of graces in direct proportion to the openness of our heart and the disposition of our soul.  If graces are few, the fault is never in the Sacrament—it is truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  Rather, the limitation of grace is in the anemic or mediocre reception of the Sacrament. Indeed one Holy Communion properly received can bring us immeasurable graces that will be the most powerful of motivations to help us to get to heaven.

Jesus promised this:  “I am the Bread of life, whoever eats my Body and drinks my Blood will have everlasting life and I will raise him up on the last day.”(Jn. 6—Bread of life discourse)

Therefore, let us first list attitudes, gestures and actions that should be avoided so as to augment the graces in our soul for Holy Mass and then we will end on the positive note giving a list of actions and attitudes to carry out.

Blessed Mother Teresa in her convents in the sacristies has a placket for the priest to read and meditate as he prepares for Holy Mass---

“Priest, man of God, say this Mass as if it were your first Mass; priest, man of God, say this Mass as if it were your last Mass; priest, man of God, say this Mass as if it were your only Mass.” May we all follow this advice!

LIST OF THINGS TO BE SERIOULSY AVOIDED:

1.    MISSING MASS ON SUNDAYS. It is a sad fact that only about 20-25% of Catholics in USA attend Mass regularly on Sunday. That means that close to 75% regularly miss Mass. The biggest religious group in USA actually are non-practicing Catholics. Why not be a missionary and bring the wandering sheep back to the fold!

2.    COMING LATE. All too frequently in many Masses people saunter in late. This is bad manners. It disturbs the people who are trying to participate with attention; it disturbs the priest and it diminishes the graces. Coming late, it is hard to concentrate in the rest of the Mass. Most arrive early for a concert, school graduation, and sports event. But how easy it is to short-change God and come late—almost as if we were giving God the crumbs form the table of our lives!

3.    GUM.  Some bring gum in their mouths, almost as if they were cows. There is a time and place for everything. Gum is fine in the baseball diamond, but not in Mass. This is bad manners!

4.    CELL- PHONE. Most disturbing today is the reality of people bringing their cell-phones into Church during Holy Mass. Then they go off and ring, disturbing the whole Mass. Best remedy? Leave your cell-phone in your car. Nobody is more important than God. You can live an hour without your cell-phone. But you cannot exist even a second without God sustaining you!

5.    IMMODESTY. A Bishop in Mexico recently warned the women that Mass is not a fashion show. It is not Hollywood stars! Immodesty offends God, distracts the men and is a source of scandal towards children who have a right to the good example of the adults. Women should be attractive but modest. Never forget our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and tabernacle of the Blessed Sacrament after receiving Holy Communion. Dress accordingly. We must always call to mind our dignity and our destiny!

6.    TALKING IN CHURCH.  This should be avoided. Why? Jesus said that the temple is a House of prayer. If everybody is talking to each other than God is being ignored and put to the side. Also, those who want to pray in silence are disturbed, frustrated and angered by chatter-boxes in the Church. Socialize after Mass and outside the Church.

7.    KNEELING BENCHES GENTLE TOUCH! When you lower down the kneeling benches do it gently. Otherwise the clatter could wake up the dead from the nearby cemetery. This is courteous towards the fell-worshipers!

8.    NO BENCH WARMERS!  Vatican II, the document on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium gives us advice on how to comport ourselves in Mass. We should participate actively, fully, and consciously. Of course the fullest way we can participate is by receiving Jesus in Holy Communion with a burning faith, love and devotion. Leave the bench-warmers to the baseball park next door!

9.    LEAVING EARLY.  The other extreme of arriving late are those who rush out of the Church, before Mass is even over, as if their pants were on fire. Stay until the Mass is concluded, that is to say until the final hymn is finished. Better yet, stay after a few minutes to thank the Lord for the gift of the Eucharist. “Eucharist” means thanksgiving!

10. AVOID FIGHTING IN THE CAR.  Right after Mass sometimes the devil gets in and causes tension and fights among family members in the car as they return. It should be the contrary. If we have received the Sacrament of the Lord’s love then we should be loving, kind and patient with each other. Jesus’ Last Commandment was:  “Love one another as I have loved you.”

LIST OF WHAT TO DO TO LIVE OUT MASS FULLY!

1.    READINGS.  Read the Sunday readings and meditate upon them before coming to Mass so that you can get into the mood for Mass even before it starts. Why not buy the Magnificat(Mass booklet), that has the daily and Sunday readings and meditate upon them the night before!

2.    EARLY BEFORE MASS TO PRAY.  Come ten to fifteen minutes before Mass starts to pray and dispose your soul to listen to the Word of God, pray with all your heart and receive Jesus worthily in Holy Communion.

3.    INTENTIONS.  The priest—officiator, the President of the Assembly, will have his intention in the Sunday Mass. This does not exclude that fact that you can have your own intentions. You can add hundreds of intentions, but I would suggest three: 1) Souls in Purgatory that desperately need our prayers to attain the glory of Heaven; 2) Conversion of sinners, especially family members; 3) Your own conversion of heart. We might even call it a spiritual heart-transplant!

4.    PRAY WITH ALL YOUR HEART!  The Mass is not a monologue; rather, it is a dialogue between the priest—who represents Jesus—and the people of God. Nothing more ugly than a Mass with nobody participating. This happens often in funeral Masses. The people attending seem to be more dead that the body of the dead about to be buried! Live the Mass—participate fully!

5.    LISTEN TO THE WORD.  Every Sunday Mass there are three Readings, as well as the Responsorial Psalm. When the Word is being read God is speaking to us. When the Gospel is being read Jesus is actually speaking to us. Listen!  The Word of God is a lantern for our path and a light for our minds.

6.     RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION. Make sure you are in the state of grace, of course! Then approach begging Mary for her Immaculate Heart to receive Jesus with ever greater love. Every Communion we receive we should receive with greater love than the prior Holy Communion.

7.    REVERENCE IN RECEPTION. Hands should be folded. Before reception there should be a reverential bow to receive the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. When the Communion is offered respond in a clear and resounding voice: AMEN!!!  This word means you believe. It is an act of faith!

8.    THANKSGIVING AFTER MASS. Spend time after Mass to talk to Jesus from your heart. Take the movie “Marcelino, Pan y vino” as your example. Talk to the Lord from your heart and tell Him everything that is going on in your life. He desires to enter into deep conversation with you. These moments after Holy Communion when Jesus is in your heart are the most precious and important in your life.

9.    DAILY MASS.  In the Our Father, Jesus says: “Give us this day our daily Bread…” An interpretation of this phrase could be the daily Bread of the most Holy Eucharist.  The greatest action we can do on earth is to receive Jesus worthily in Holy Communion. Nothing can come close to this most sublime of actions. In the Diary of Saint Faustina she notes that even the angels in heaven experience a holy jealousy for us because they have never nor ever will they be able to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

10.IMITATE MARY. Our Lady received Jesus into her heart in the Annunciation when she said:  “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” Then she brought Jesus to others. After we receive Jesus in Holy Communion—in imitation of Mary—we should bring Jesus to others and others to Jesus!