Jesus Came to End Death and to Build a Church

When I taught religious education classes, I had one very important requirement for each student. I told them that if they are present in class, they must be fully present. That meant that I expected them to participate in the conversation. It also meant that if they did not have anything constructive to add, they should respect the opinions of their fellow students. It caused me to think if there should be the same sort of conviction and request before each Mass. I think that having folks who are fully engaged and participatory would make the Mass much more beautiful. I typed in the words "seven habits of highly effective Catholics" and an article from U.S. Catholic popped up. The article explains the seven habits of highly effective mass goers. You can view it here but I thought I would give you the list of seven items that David Philippart suggests. He recommends that we: enter into mystery, sing for your supper, listen (it's hard work), be a beggar, give it up!, sing, walk, eat, drink, and go to do likewise. If you think about what he is saying, it basically follows the order of the mass and that is why the article is so clever. I was talking with my spiritual adviser last week and we both bemoaned the fact that the singing in church is usually filled with soprano and alto voices. For some reason, the men just don't sing as loudly or often. I mentioned that I found it so beautiful each year when I attend retreat to hear a church full of men singing their hearts out. What is it that makes us turn mute when we go back to our home churches? We are taught at an early age that singing is another form of praying. If you don't think you sing well remember that God gave you that voice so give it back to Him. Also, remember that the only way to get better at something is to practice, so sing out. Philippart suggests that we play the part of a beggar. What he means by that is linked to the part of the mass set aside for the general intercessions. As you may know, we are asking God for assistance or as Philippart says, "we are begging for help from God." It is the time that we bring the needs of the world, community and ourselves and place them at God's feet. Then we must be prepared to be used as God's instruments in order to realize the aid. If we ask, we should also be ready to act. So we are also preparing ourselves to accept the burdens of others. Stopping and focusing on this responsibility is an excellent habit and makes us fully present. One last thing that Philippart offers in his essay brought me comfort. Often after receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, I find myself staring at the folks who follow me up to receive communion. I was never sure why I did this and sometimes felt like I should not, that maybe I was being intrusive. Philippart encourages just the opposite. He says that we should look into the faces of our fellow communicants. We are actually drawn to them by the transformation they experience after receiving our Lord in Holy Communion. I agree with him and it caused me to realize that perhaps that is why I was driven to do it all these years. We are celebrating after all and part of that is seeing the joy and happiness it brings to our brothers and sisters in Christ. So the challenge for this Sunday and all to follow is to go to Mass and be fully present.