Holy Mass - An Invitation from Jesus

By TOM DENNEHY

At mass we are invited by Jesus Himself to join Him as he offers Himself as a sacrifice to God Our Father in atonement for our sins. He is the sacrificial lamb on the altar being sacrificed for us.

The priest takes the place of Jesus on the altar and by the power of the Holy Spirit the priest transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This is a replica of what happened at The Last Supper when Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it and said, “This is My Body which will be given up for you.” He then took the chalice and said, “This is My Blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant which will be shed for many so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.”

Jesus is the one who invites us as He has asked us to do this in memory of Him. He has made the supreme sacrifice for us by His death on the cross, shedding every drop of blood so that we can live life to the full and have eternal life.

We must ask ourselves, are we listening to the lies of The Devil? He wants nothing but our destruction by putting every obstacle in our path preventing us from attending Holy Mass. He will give us every excuse under the sun not to attend because he knows the graces that are being poured out on us when we do attend.

At Mass we listen to the word of God which is alive and active and gives us a powerful message. It is God speaking to us, through His Word and it is important that we take it to heart and live it.

The Homily by our priest is always uplifting and inspiring and is usually a reflection on the readings.

At the Offertory of the mass, our offering of the bread and wine is joined with Jesus as He makes the supreme offering of Himself to the Father. When the priest puts the drop of water into the chalice, we make our offering of all our intentions.

At The Consecration, the great miracle of the Eucharist takes place when the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. During the Eucharistic Prayer, we pray for the living and the dead.

When we receive the Holy Eucharist we are receiving the living bread which gives eternal life to our souls.

If we are physically unable to attend, we may watch it online but if we are able to attend we should do so as Jesus is making a supreme sacrifice on our behalf. What are we doing on a Saturday evening or a Sunday morning that is more important? There is nothing more important for the life of our eternal soul. As practising Catholics we are obliged to attend mass every weekend. This is our beautiful Catholic faith and is what sets us apart from all other faiths.

Let us be reminded that Jesus has never offended anybody and He is the one inviting you. He has never condemned anyone and is the essence of love and mercy which He wants to pour out on all mankind. He is always there to welcome us back just as He showed us in the beautiful parable of The Prodigal Son.

Our parents and grandparents and past generations made great sacrifices for their faith. This is our heritage handed down from generation to generation. An inheritance so rich it is greater than anything else in this passing world. It’s the faith that contains all the spiritual graces and blessings of Heaven. Many have undergone much persecution and many martyrs have given their lives. Are we going to be the generation that has failed to hand on this rich inheritance?

Carlo Acutis who will be canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday has left a great legacy, especially for our young people. He was concerned that so few people understood the power of the Mass. He developed a website detailing The Eucharistic Miracles to show the power of the Eucharist which he described as his highway to Heaven.

Let us begin again and come back to our Church. The graces and blessings that flow from every church in every community are immense. If only we could see this great miracle through our physical eyes there would not be room in the church to accommodate everyone.

As we approach Easter in this, the Jubilee Year, let us gather in thanksgiving. Let us respond to His gentle invitation.