Once “the Mass is ended” and we go on our way, you might feel that there is more. What else should we think about? The Mass is only ended in terms of a particular parish family gathering coming to a temporary halt. As some of our favorite authors for this series have taught us, the Mass continues.
During our review of the Mass, we have seen how God speaks to his people. We have reflected on the great gift of Jesus, who has given himself in sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. We have prayed through the great gift of the Mass that unites us to Our Lord’s saving sacrifice and invites us to participate. We have meditated on the Eucharist as our true source of unity with God and one another. We have prepared to go forth, recognizing that our mission is to share the fruits of the Mass out in the world. Along these lines, Charles Belmonte teaches about the mission of the Mass: “The Lord does not want us removed from our surroundings, our work, or our social relationships. He wants us in the world so that we might sanctify and improve it, and place at God’s feet all souls and institutions, all political life and all activities in general. Blessed Josemaria Escriva points out for us, ‘Your ordinary contact with God takes place where your fellow men, your yearnings, your work and your affections are. There you have your daily encounter with Christ. It is in the midst of the most material things of the earth that we must sanctify ourselves, serving God and all mankind.’ Therefore, the Mass should not be taken as a kind of escape from our duties” (Understanding the Mass, p. 198).
Similarly, Fr. Guy Oury writes, “What remains after [the Concluding Rites of the Mass] is to go and live the Mass we have celebrated and the Communion we have received: to live it in abiding union with the Father’s will and in union with one another. Mass does not end at the Church door. There is no line of demarcation between worship and life” (The Mass, p. 124).
Seeing unity in our life inside and outside Mass, Belmonte writes (including some words from Pope St. Paul VI) that “we should turn to our daily occupations to find God also in these pursuits. Thus, we will avoid leading a double life: ‘on one side, an interior life, a life of relation with God; and on the other, a separate and distinct, professional, social, and family life, full of small earthly realities. No! We cannot lead a double life… There is just one life, made of flesh and spirit. And it is this life which has to become, in both soul and body, holy and filled with God. We discover the invisible God in the most visible and material things. There is no other way. Either we learn to find our Lord in ordinary, everyday life, or else we shall never find him’” (Understanding the Mass, p. 198).
For me, as this series draws to a close, I am struck by how rewarding and enriching this step-by-step journey through the Mass has been! No doubt, there are others who are more scholarly or more original. Likely, there are some spiritualities and blessings of the Mass that could have been reviewed in more detail. Hopefully, these reflections have been helpful for all of you. I hope they have been an invitation to learn more about the wonderful gift of the Mass. I pray they have been a jumping-off point for more prayer and learning in the years ahead!
With a thankful heart, we go forward. We recall the great truths and gifts shared along the way. The Mass truly is an encounter with the Lord Jesus, in his Word, through the priest and assembled community, but most especially in his very Body and Blood in the Most Holy Eucharist. As we know, the Mass isn’t just a once-a-week kind of activity, not just something we “turn on” and then “turn off” when we are finished. Rather, the Mass changes us and makes us more like Christ, perfects us, and prepares us for heaven. This change is not just internal but must be lived out in the world so that others may be brought to the fruits of the Mass, both in this life and in the eternal Banquet of the Lamb in heaven. I pray that you will always be able to find Christ truly present in the tabernacle, on the altar, and in the midst of living life. I pray that you will always find him! I pray that the fruits of the Mass will be with you out in the world, and I pray with great hope for the joy of all being joined together in perfect worship of God, joined together at the great Banquet of Heaven!
1. With gratitude, reflect back on your participation in Fr. Luke’s series. Which parts of the Mass or themes stand out the most to you? How have you shared what you have learned with others, or how could you do so as the series concludes?
2. Pray for deepening integration of your interior life, and continue to approach the Eucharist and the Mass as the source of unity for every aspect of your life. Pray also for Fr. Luke and all who have shared the journey of this series with you!
Header image by Devin Rosa
