Why should I go to Mass on Sunday?

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4. Because going to Mass helps us grow in humility ome people worry they aren’t holy enough to go Mass; some think they don’t need Mass to be holy. But there is an old saying: ‘the Church is a hospital for sinners, not a club for saints.’ If the Church is a hospital, the Mass is her medicine. During the penitential rite at the beginning of every Mass, all those gathered proclaim publicly that they are sinners in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness. We pray: “I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have greatly sinned”. Then we ask Our Lady, all the angels and saints, and everyone present to pray for us to God.

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The Mass reveals and offers God’s mercy to sinners. If we come to Mass like the blind man at Bethsaida, crying Kyrie eleison! (Lord have mercy!), we will grow in humility, recognises that we are in need of help, find the source of that help, and grow in holiness, which is intimacy with God. We cannot heal ourselves, but we can come to Mass and be healed.

5. Because going to Mass deepens our sense of mission ission is at the heart of the Mass. The English word ‘Mass’ is missa in Latin, which comes from missio, meaning ‘mission’ or ‘sending’. In the Mass we encounter God. No one in the Bible has ever encountered God without then being sent on mission. Think of Abraham (Gen 12:1-4), Moses (Ex 3:1-12), Isaiah (Is 6:1-13), Peter (Mt 4:18-20) and Paul (Acts 9:3-6). After we have received the Lord and have given thanks, we are blessed and sent on mission to live and proclaim the Gospel we have heard, sharing with everyone we encounter what has been given to us in the Mass.

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We believe in providing honest and compelling answers to life’s deepest questions. We use the written word to support and encourage people at every stage of their journey. You can rely on us to tackle the important issues of life and faith, and to make the complicated easy to understand.

WHY SHOULD I GO TO MASS ON SUNDAY? The great gift of God’s presence in the Mass

Catholic Truth Society God’s truth, beautifully told. since 1868

www.ctsbooks.org ISBN 978 1 86082 252 0 | LF5 All rights reserved. ©2004 Incorporated Catholic Truth Society. Images: front cover © Mazur/ cbcew.org.uk. p.1: Arturo Verea/Shutterstock.com; p. 2: © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk; p. 3: Aubord Dulac/Shutterstock.com; p. 5: Dziurek/Shutterstock.com; p. 6: © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk.

b. Why should I go to Mass LF5.indd 1

18/03/2022 13:04


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Why should I go to Mass on Sunday? by Catholic Truth Society - Issuu