Several years ago, a young man approached me and told me he had a world religions class he was taking at college for which he needed to attend several different religious services and then interview a minister of that religion about various questions. 

 

I remember we began with the fundamentals, “Do you believe in a heaven?”, “What is the nature of the soul?” etc. Then his question caught me off guard. 

 

“Why don’t Catholics like going to Mass?” 

 

I said, “Please forgive me, but why do you think Catholics don’t like going to Mass?” 

 

He said, “Well, when I attended services for other denominations the people in the congregation seemed very engaged, they participated, spoke the words, sang the songs, and when I attended Mass, people didn’t seem happy to be there and many did not sing and certainly did not seem to be enthusiastic.” 

 

I explained that a relationship with God is like any relationship. If you picture a married couple, every night cannot be date night. It would be too expensive, there would be too many calories, and repeating it so often would sort of take away from how special it is. 

 

Much of marriage is doing the dishes, driving junior back to Creighton, sitting together in silence while one reads the paper and the other does a crossword puzzle — and there is a beauty to that ordinariness.

A relationship with God is no different. So, when Catholics come to Mass, it’s the same concept — there’s a beauty to the routine that isn’t always fireworks and flare. 

 

He bought it. However, his question didn’t and still doesn’t sit well with me. I think there’s a tiny bit of truth to my response, and was that really a random sample of the Catholic population? Did he have an accurate read on the situation? Who knows.

 

But the challenge is the same — to engage in worship with full, conscious, and active participation; to be present, prepared, intentional. When we consider what the Mass really is, this allows us to engage more fully in it. When we understand what’s happening better it can increase our “Eucharistic amazement” which Pope Francis recently asked us to fan into a flame (Desiderio Desideravi 23).

 

Over the next few columns I’d like to present the what, why, and how of what we believe as Catholics. 

What. We believe that the Mass is the re-presentation of Christ on the Cross. That we travel back to the future, so to speak, and participate in our own redemption and the redemption of the entire human race. All the graces of redemption flow through the portal, the channel, of the Divine Liturgy, the Mass (Mystici Corporis 82). 

 

Padre Pio reminded us that it would be easier for the world to exist without the sun than without the Holy Mass. If the Mass ceased being offered in time, salvation would cease being offered in time. 

 

This doesn’t mean that non-Catholics who don’t attend Mass can’t go to heaven; what it means is: anyone who makes it to heaven has the graces of the holy Mass to thank.

 

Pope St. John Paul II taught us that the Mass is many things: a banquet, a celebration, a meal, a wedding. He also said, more than any of those others, we must consider it a sacrifice (Ecclesia de Eucharistia 12). It is the one perfect and eternal (timeless) sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross which we now join in for ourselves and the whole human family. 

 

Big stuff. Important stuff. I’m a liturgist so I certainly care very deeply about beautiful vestments, functional sound systems, beeswax candles, elevated music, etc. But we have what we call thin liturgy and thick liturgy.

 

Thin liturgy is those things I just mentioned. Thick liturgy is our fascination and awe at the mystery being carried out for our salvation and that of the whole world every time we come to Mass.

 

This month I invited you to be amazed at what is happening at Mass! Adoro Te Devote!