Family
Spirituality
Families can
get more out of Mass
At Home with our Faith
offered a series of 10 short articles on how your family can get more
out of the Mass. We walked through the chronology of the Mass, from
preparation and gathering through the final blessing and sending forth.
Each month for ten issues we suggested ways that you and your family
can better appreciate how the Mass can deepen and enrich our life
together. What follows are the ten installments.
GET BACK ON THE PATH
My friend Tom H., is a
recovering alcoholic. I asked him why he attends AA meetings so regularly.
"There are many reasons," he said, "but the main one
is that my internal moral compass seems to be about 10 percent off.
The longer I go without meetings, the farther and farther I stray
from the path where I belong."
I can relate to his
inner compass analogy. It’s easy for me to meander off to dead
ends of resentment, self-delusion, self-pity, anger, callousness,
rationalization–you name it. Even when I’m involved in good
and important work or doing good things with my family, I can lose
a sense of harmony and serenity at the core of my life. And sometimes
I simply hurt other people.
Thankfully, the penitential
rite at the beginning of Mass gives us an opportunity to reflect on
our life direction and get ourselves reoriented. It’s an opportunity
to tend to our relationship with God and others. After the opening
hymn is sung, we are all gathered around the table of the Lord, but
we may not be united. We’re getting ready to hear the reading
of the Word of God, but perhaps we’re not disposed to hear. Maybe
we’re distracted, scattered, and distraught. And so as we come
to the altar, we stop and quickly examine the state of our souls by
examining our consciences. The point of this reflection is not to
demean or dispirit us. Rather, these opening moments in the liturgy
are signs of great hope and opportunity. It’s a chance to see
where we’ve gone astray, to reset our inner compasses, and to
aim ourselves once again toward the God who loves us.
And most important,
it’s a time to experience God’s mercy. Three times we acknowledge
our shortcomings, and three times we call upon God for mercy. What
a great way to begin the Mass–by dropping the baggage of our
recent mistakes and misjudgments into the hands of God and receiving
an outpouring of divine mercy to wash us clean.
Thus, the distance
we feel between ourselves and God melts away; the distance we experience
between ourselves and the people gathered around us evaporates as
well.
Steps to take: 1) Explain
to your children how this part of the Mass relates to the rest of
their life. Use an example of when they needed to set things right
with a friend or family member in order to show them how they might
also need to get right with God. 2) Respond aloud at this part of
the Mass. Be sure you’re already settled and not fidgeting. Show
by your demeanor that you’re taking this part of the Mass seriously.
3) It’s not wise to suggest things that your child should be
sorry about. Nobody enjoys having their remorse managed for them.
4) Explain that God is eager to forgive, ready to welcome us back
when we stray. He delights in our arrival like the Good Shepherd.
Most of all, be grateful
not that you sinned, but that you can be sorry. Our imperfections
do not disqualify us from the Lord’s meal. In fact, these are
the first gifts we offer in the order of Mass. And God welcomes these,
and us, with open arms. TJM
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