Happy Pentecost! Pentecost is sometimes referred to as the “Birthday of the Church” because it is the Holy Spirit given by Christ that makes us more than just a club or service organization, but binds us together in the mystical Body of Christ we call the Church, and also empowers us with supernatural divine grace to share in the work of Christ.
But one important aspect of being Church is gathering together as Church in prayer, in the public communal liturgical prayer that is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This is one aspect of being Church that is becoming less and less valued or prioritized in society. People are often busy or tired or say, “Father, why do I have to go to church, when I can just pray on my own?” Why go to Mass?
Besides that the Lord asks it of us, both in the Ten Commandments “Keep holy the sabbath day” and when Jesus at the Last Supper said, “Do this in memory of me” I give here seven more reasons of Why go to Mass.
- To give thanks for my very existence
- To learn to pray better and know God better
- It’s important to communally recognize ourselves as sinners
- To ponder how to live and love better (both individually and communally)
- To unite myself to the saving sacrifice of Christ on the Cross (done most perfectly through the Mass)
- For the sake of others, not just myself. To pray for the living and the dead (a work of mercy)
- Because our faith is not just a “Me and Jesus” thing but a “WE and Jesus” thing
For each of the next seven weeks, I will be unpacking each of these seven reasons. Of course, these seven reasons are interrelated and overlap, and they also all touch on helping us to better love God and love neighbor; or to use the language of the Church, for “The glorification of God, and the sanctification of humanity.”
Peace,
-Fr. Kevin
