One of the great gifts of frequent and regular attendance at Sunday Mass is the spiritual rhythm of the Mass when it is offered reverently. It is a welcome contrast to our culture which seeks to engage, at almost every moment, in a high-intensity encounter with our senses and our short attention spans. Because Mass is, in that sense, countercultural, it can take some effort on our part to enter into that more quiet beauty.

 

Experience shows that for one who attends Mass, the reactions felt vary across a spectrum. Perhaps Midnight Mass with the family, or attending Mass with a sorrow or a significant need in one’s life makes it easier to be impacted by the readings, the prayers and the reception of the Holy Eucharist. On these occasions we can suddenly be more attentive to and more moved by the words of the homily, the silence and reverence of the raising of the consecrated host and chalice or even the final blessing.

 

But at other times, being at Mass under what we might consider to be more routine circumstances, we might find ourselves experiencing a quiet serenity. The elements of the Mass then do not grow old or repetitive. Instead, there is comfort in the knowledge of what comes next, in the reverence of the readings and the actions and voice of the priest acting in the person of Christ. And by means of that silence we meet the Lord as Elijah did as he stood in the cave and felt the presence of God in the simple whispering sound (1 Kg 19:12).

 

In either case we need to do our part to enter fully into the Eucharist. By our common priesthood of baptism, which is ordered to but different from the ordained priesthood, each of us offers the sacrifice of the Mass by our praise of God and by joining our daily sacrifices to that of Jesus who is offered to the Father for our sins on the altar. To do that well, we need to be aware of the prayers and the different parts of the Mass.

 

For example, we need truly to confess our sinfulness at the beginning of Mass. In the Creed we are to join ourselves to the faith of the whole Church both now and in the time since Jesus ascended to heaven.

 

There is another point in the Mass which also merits our concentration and attention, especially in this unsettled and angry era in which we live. That is the moment immediately following the recitation of the Our Father.

 

When we conclude the Lord’s Prayer, we hear the priest pray for all of us asking that the Lord grant “peace in our days.” That is followed by the celebrant reminding the Lord of His promise to us, “Peace I leave you my peace I give you.” Those words are taken from the Gospel of John (14:27). We then hear the priest pray that that peace of the Lord be with us always. And we have an opportunity to exchange a gesture of peace with others praying with us.

 

Our world is desperately lacking in peace. And by that we mean not the superficial absence of violence or insults. What is promised is more than a release from worries and tensions of family or work. Rather, it is the promise of Jesus’s own peace that gives stability and tranquility to the depths of our hearts.

 

By its very nature, the peace of God exceeds even the best and most peaceable of our human efforts. It is the peace of heaven itself where all time has stopped and sadness will never return. It is the peace that can heal everything from the wounds of war to fraying marriages or other family brokenness.

 

There are countless reasons why we need to be at Mass every Sunday, and during the week when possible. Joined to our worship and adoration of God are so many of His gifts that we receive at that moment. How good it is to recognize especially the gift of God’s peace as a great treasure to be gained from being at Mass.