The Liturgy

The Spiritual Reality behind the Mass

 The Meaning of the Mass: Source & Summit

Our corporate worship redeems the world. “Through the Liturgy [especially
the Mass], Christ our Redeemer & High Priest continues the work of our
Redemption IN, WITH & THROUGH His Church” (Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 1069)
I. 4 REASONS FOR THE INCARNATION

1. To save us from our sins; to redeem us. Heaven came to earth to bring earth back to
heaven.
2. To show us what love is; that love is more than a feeling; more than an idea; more than
a song lyric. Love requires sacrifice; love thinks about the other; love works for the others’
salvation and God showed us in the flesh what love looks like.
3. To model holiness for us; to show us what it really means to be holy; that holiness is
living and breathing and active. Holiness serves. Jesus takes a basin and a towel and he
washes the feet; Jesus heals the blind; he reaches out to people that no one else would
reach out to. He teaches us what holiness looks like, in the flesh, every day.
4. To make us partakers of the divine nature. Literally, God took flesh so that we could
take part in his divine nature. God became man so that man could become like God. We
have a God who loves us so much that he wants to give us his divine life that we call
“grace.” EuCHARISt - Charis = Grace. God’s divine life in us. The Eucharist is how God puts
His grace – His divine life (His sacrificial love) - inside of us in order to strengthen us in
Charity so that we can love him & others above ourselves. “The Love of God has been
poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
II. TWO REASONS FOR STANDING AT THE BEGINNING OF MASS
A. Priest “In Persona Christi”
B. We are on a journey; a pilgrimage. We are headed somewhere – to the altar of God.

III. LITURGY: original meaning: a work or service; a public work done in the service of
another. Christian meaning: The participation of the people of God in the work of God.
A. 1st thing – Liturgy is public.
B. 2nd thing – It is a work, an action

C. The Liturgy of the Word

Be receptive: What is it that God is trying to tell me in these readings? Where is it that God is
trying to lead me through these readings? What is it that God is trying to show me through his
word?
D. Liturgy of the Eucharist – All about offering. It is all about offering up the Eucharist, the
thanksgiving of the Son to the Father.

POSSIBLE PRAYER TO PRAY SILENTLY DURING CONSECRATION

This is from the Divine Mercy Chaplet:
Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved
Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IV. PASCHAL MYSTERY

The greatest event in the history of the world is the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. By this event, which we call the Paschal Mystery, Jesus saved us from sin, death and the
power of the devil.

The Paschal Mystery is all the events that took place between the Last Supper on Holy
Thursday and His Ascension into heaven. All those moments: the last supper, his suffering
& death on Good Friday, the descent to the dead on Holy Saturday, his glorious resurrection
on Easter Sunday, all the way to the Ascension.
Those events, in the Mass, the Holy Spirit makes present at Mass – not in our memory, not in a
figure of speech, not in our imagination – those events are truly made present at Mass. The Holy
Spirit makes those saving events present so that his victory can continue in us and in the world.

“In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the
offering and intercession of Christ” (CCC 1370).

When we walk through those wooden doors and the Mass begins, we are at the event of Calvary; it
is here, so that it can continue to take place in us; and Jesus can continue his victory over sin and
death in us. The suffering, death and resurrection are made present on this altar so that what took
place in him can continue to take place in us.

V. RELATIONSHIP
The Mass is also about a relationship with God. I give myself to God in the Mass and he gives
himself to me in the Eucharist. The Mass is an exchange of hearts.

VI. STRUCTURE OF THE MASS

A. Liturgy of the Word
1. Gathering Song
2. Readings
3. Homily
4. General Intercessions
B. Creed = Doorway
C. Liturgy of the Eucharist
1. Presentation of the Gifts
2. Consecration
3. Communion

VII. STEP-BY-STEP THROUGH THE MASS

A. Penitential Rite

***Note about The Penitential Rite - Just before we are about to enter into the Sacred Mysteries –
where we will encounter Christ in the Scriptures and in the Blessed Sacrament - we are invited to
purify our hearts by repenting of any sin as we pray together: “I confess to almighty God…” In this
prayer, everybody, including the priest and deacon, acknowledges their sinfulness to God and to
each other, and we all ask for each other’s prayers. This reminds us that sin is never just my sin. Sin
is always social, it has an impact on the community. It affects our relationship with God and with
each other.
The Penitential Rite does not grant absolution for mortal sins. (Going to the sacrament of
Reconciliation is necessary for that.) It does help us to receive forgiveness for our less serious sins,
venial sins, which are forgiven if we are sorry for them when we receive Holy Communion with
humility and love. (GIRM – General Instructions for the Roman Missal, 51)

B. Gloria

C. Liturgy of the Word

1. 1st Reading

2. Psalm (responsorial psalm)

3. 2nd Reading

4. Gospel

***Suggestion: Read the scripture readings for the day and then talk to God about them. How do
they apply to your life? Ask questions write them in a journal. Look forward to how God will
answer them in the future.
“Let the liturgy of the Church form and fashion your prayer life. Let the Church be a mother guiding
you by her liturgical worship. In this way the liturgy will animate your interior life and anchor you in
Christ. Be mindful of the Church’s liturgy and draw from it. It will be a fountain of grace for your
soul. God will speak to you through the Church’s liturgy. Listen for the Lord’s voice.”

D. The Creed (Apostles or Nicene)

E. Liturgy of the Eucharist

We are coming to the moment when Jesus will make his sacrifice present on this altar. The
suffering, death, & resurrection will be made present right here. By his sacrifice, he offered
himself to the Father, and Jesus makes his sacrifice present so that we can join in; so that we can
 give ourselves to the Father through Christ. Here in the Mass the altar represents the cross
because that is where Jesus makes his sacrifice present. That is why we bow to the altar.

1. Offertory

Before the consecration, the bread and wine actually represent us and if the altar represents
the cross, and the bread and wine represent us, then when the gifts are placed on the altar, it
signifies us placing ourselves on the cross with Christ.

A certain attitude we should have:

“Father, I give my whole self to you – my prayer, my work, my suffering, my joy. I place myself
on the paten. I pour myself out completely into the chalice. I want to offer myself to you,
Father, through Jesus and his sacrifice made present here.”

This is the attitude we bring to the Mass. We give ourselves to the Father through the sacrifice
of Jesus, and then the Father gives Himself to us through the Eucharist.

***Note: if we cannot make it to Mass more than on Sundays, we can pray the following prayer each day:

The Morning Offering

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day
for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,
in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the intentions
of the Holy Father. Amen.

2. Mixing of the Water & Wine

The wine represents Christ.

The water represents us.

The Great Exchange = We are the one drop. We are offering ourselves to Christ. He will then
give us his divine life in the Eucharist and we are transformed.

By the mystery of this water and wine (2 Macc. 15:39; John 19:34) may we come to share in the
divinity of Christ (Rom. 5:2; 2 Pet. 1:4) who humbled himself to share in our humanity (Phil. 2:8).

3. The Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy)

4. Epiclesis (invocation upon)
In the epiclesis, the priest prays with his hands palm side down, making the sign of the
cross over the bread and wine, asking God the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the fire of
the Spirit, down upon the gifts to change them from ordinary bread and wine to become
the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. The fire of the Holy Spirit is coming. That is
why when the priest places his hands palm side down, the bells ring. Not to wake you up.
Something spectacular is happening.
5. The Consecration (Transubstantiation)
The moment when the priest says: “Take this all of you and eat of it, for this is my body.”
At this moment, the bread is entirely changed to the body of Christ and the wine is entirely
transformed into the blood of Christ. This is transubstantiation.

No matter what we think or believe, the bread and wine, after the words of consecration,
are gone. Jesus Christ is truly present – body, blood, soul and divinity. This is why the
Catholic Church teaches that by the consecration of the bread, there takes place a change
of the entire substance of the bread and the whole substance of the wine to become the
body and blood of our Lord and we will be in the physical presence of Jesus Christ.

6. Sign of Peace

“If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something
against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother,
and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

7. Holy Communion
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Rivers of Living Water = God’s Love poured into
our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5)

The Eucharist is the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1368

“The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is
offered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the
sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise,
sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new
value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with
his offering.”

Romans 12:1 “I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.”

1 Peter 2:5 “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Col 1:24 “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in the sufferings of
Christ for the sake of his body the church.”

Mark 12:30 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your
strength and your neighbor as yourself.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
8. Dismissal ITE MISSA EST – two meanings:
A. (To be sent) = Mass - to be filled with God’s sacrificial love and to explode with
that love in the world
B. It is sent! – The victim and the sacrifice have been sent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9. Everything is an Opportunity – Matthew Kelly

The Church teaches us that the Mass and the Eucharist is the “Source & Summit” of our lives. It’s the place
where we draw all our strength from to serve God and it’s where we bring all that we are back to God every
time we go so that He can unite it with the offering of Christ and give it an eternal value. This greatly increases
the value of our works because they are now filled with the presence of Christ and have become channels of
his grace. The saints lived like this. They lived from Mass to Mass. Will you?

***In Conclusion:

When we gather to worship at Mass, we enter into the throne room of God. He lifts us up into the throne
room of heaven. We are there worshipping alongside the saints and the angels because we are all called to be
saints. You may be thinking that you could not possibly be a saint. That is also what many of the saints thought
as well. Saints are not born saints. That is why we hear 5X in the Mass: “The Lord be with you!” Those are
words spoken throughout scripture right before David battles Goliath; before Joshua take Jericho; when the
angel comes to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We need the Lord with us; we need the Lord within us, if we are going
to be able to respond to the call to sainthood; if we are going to be able to effect a change in the world -
because YOU have the power to change the world. That power flows out of the sanctuary – flows from the
altar. The power to change the world flows from the Church and from her sacraments.

You are part of a legacy. You are part of a Church 2000 years old and 2000 years strong! When people question
you about your Faith; even attack you about your Faith and your legs start shaking – remember that the
Catholic Church, 2000 years old, that rock of the Church, is not shaking beneath you. You are building your life
and your Faith on a rock that is unshakeable and unmovable! When we come together as a Church, great
things happen! Are you ready to respond to this call?

For 2000 years in basilicas, and on battle fields and in castles and in jail cells and on planes and boats – the
same Mass, the same readings, the same words of consecration, the same once and for all sacrifice; the same
readings and prayers that the saints heard – we hear.

God loves you. He believes in you. He wants to fill you with his life. The question is: Will you let him?

What will I offer up as a sacrifice this week? What area of my heart will I work on with the Lord this week?
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Appendix
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Paragraph 1085: In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ
signifies and makes present. During his earthly life Jesus announced his Paschal mystery by his
teaching and anticipated it by his actions. When his Hour comes, he lives out the unique event of
history which does not pass away: Jesus dies, is buried, rises from the dead, and is seated at the right
hand of the Father "once for all." His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it
is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past.
The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he
destroyed death, and all that Christ is - all that he did and suffered for all men - participates in the
divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all. The event of the
Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life.

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary rosary beads of five decades. The Chaplet is preceded by two
opening prayers from the Diary of Saint Faustina and followed by a closing prayer.

1. Make the Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. Optional Opening Prayers

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the
whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out
upon us.

(Repeat three times)

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You!

3. Our Father
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against
us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil, Amen.

4. Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art
thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy
womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us
sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen.

5. The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven

and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who
was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was
buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose
again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is
seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from
there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I
believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the
communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

6. The Eternal Father

Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus
Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

7. On the Ten Small Beads of Each Decade

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

8. Repeat for the remaining decades

Saying the "Eternal Father" (6) on the "Our Father" bead and then 10 "For the sake of His sorrowful Passion"
(7) on the following "Hail Mary" beads.

9. Conclude with Holy God (Repeat three times)

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

10. Optional Closing Prayer

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us
and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but
with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.
What is LITURGY? (The Mass is the most important part of the Liturgy) –
DAVID TORKINGTON

CCC 1069 The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work" or a "service in the name of/on behalf of the
people." In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in "the work of God."

ORIGIN OF THE WORD “LITURGY”

In Ancient Athens

There were no taxes at all for citizens

They invented a unique method of public service that expected every citizen to be responsible for financing
one major public work, once in their lifetime.

- Maybe erecting a statue

- Maybe building a temple or a battleship to defend their shores

When they had done that they were free of any other financial responsibility for life.

THIS ACT OF PUBLIC SERVICE, PERFORMED BY ONE PERSON FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY
WAS CALL THEIR LITURGY.

So when the Greek converts to Christianity were told what Jesus had done throughout his life on earth they
said: “WELL THAT IS THE GREATEST LITURGY THAT ANYONE HAS EVER PERFORMED!”

It was the greatest public service performed by one person, not just for the good of a single city or even a
whole nation but the whole world.

HOWEVER, THEY DIDN’T JUST WANT TO BE BYSTANDERS, MERELY ADMIRING WHAT HE HAD DONE OR
PASSIVELY RECEIVING IT, THEY WANTED TO BECOME PARTICIPATORS BY CHOOSING TO SHARE IN HIS UNIQUE
ACT OF SELF-SACRIFICE. THEREFORE, THEY LEARNED HOW TO WELCOME INTO THEIR LIVES THE LOVE ALREADY
GIVEN TO THEM IN BAPTISM, TO ENABLE THEM TO BE ABLE TO RETURN THAT LOVE IN KIND. IN THS WAY THEY
COULD MAKE THEIR LIVES INTO A CONTINUAL SACRIFICE BY UNITING THEIR HUMBLE LITURGY TO THE GREAT
LITURGY OF CHRIST.

Each Sunday when they came to participate in the Mass (the sacred mysteries), readings from Scriptures were
chosen according to the time of year that showed how Jesus had prepared to celebrate his GREAT LITURGY ON
CALVARY and the effect it had for him and for others.

This recurring cycle in which the believer was continually nourished by Christ’s every word and deed and by His
body and Blood came to be called THE LITURGICAL YEAR (see below).

In this way they could see & experience for themselves how Jesus tirelessly gave himself to God and to others
so that they could receive the strength to do likewise.

So each passing year they could enter more fully into HIS LUTURGY, into His priesthood for their own spiritual
benefit and for others too.

What does this mean for us, practically speaking?

There is only one true priest and that is Jesus Christ who made the most perfect sacrifice anyone can make, the
sacrifice of themselves – his liturgy. But, we, too, are priests to the degree in which we share in his Priesthood
– participate in his liturgy – and this doesn’t mean merely singing, saying the prayers of the Mass, ushering,
lecturing, etc. All of those are good things to do but participating in his liturgy is so much more!
Throughout his life he offered himself unconditionally to His Father and for the people that his Father had sent
him to serve. We share in his Priesthood (in his Liturgy) when we, too, offer ourselves to the Father, in, with
and through him and offer ourselves to the same family of man that he came to serve.

Our whole life can be (with God’s Love filling our hearts), a continual selfless sacrifice for others (family, co-
workers, pets, neighbors, etc.). Every day of our life and every moment of our day can be given for others in a
hundred and one different ways through which we exercise our priesthood.

Selflessness and Sacrifice

When we go to Mass (the Liturgy) each Sunday, we have much to offer with Christ to the Father – a thousand
and one acts of self-sacrifice made for others during the previous week. This means that we will receive to the
measure of our giving, for it is in giving that we receive (see Luke 6:38). Living this way increases our capacity
to love and give and it enables us to receive God’s love into our hearts in ever-greater abundance with each
passing week. This gives us the help and strength we need to go on giving in the forthcoming week, to go on
sacrificing for others. So you see, the Mass is not only a sacrifice, the place where we offer ourselves in, with
and through Christ to the Father but something further. It is also a sacred sacrificial meal where we receive,
from the One through whom we have offered our sacrifices, the love that he is endlessly pouring out on to,
and into, all who are open to receive it. This is how we can love like God loves us. This is how we can forgive
and serve without expecting anything in return. His love is operating in our hearts; we love others with his
love.

An example in Motherhood

Motherhood is a self-sacrificing vocation and for each mother, it can be her way of participating in the central
mystery of our faith – the Liturgy of Christ. If a mother unites her daily dying (sacrificing) to the dying of Christ,
it opens her to receive the love that raised him from the dead on the first Easter Day, empowering her to share
what she receives with the family for whom she is giving everything.

We are not on our own. When God asks us to love like him, this is the way he gives us to be able to do that.

Luke 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be
poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

“The whole purpose of the Mass is that our whole lives become the Mass, the place where we are continually
offering ourselves IN, WITH & THROUGH CHRIST to the Father” (Karl Rahner).

The Mass is meant to overflow into our lives. We hear in the Mass:

THROUGH HIM, WITH HIM & IN HIM, IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, ALL HONOR AND GLORY ARE YOURS,
ALMIGHTY FATHER. FOREVER AND EVER.

St. Justin Martyr tells us that when those words were read out in the very early days of the Church, the AMEN
wouldn’t be a murmur – it would nearly raise the roof!

Why? Because those words embodied the offering not just that they were making at this Mass, they embodied
their very lives. This is what their lives were about. They knew their lives were sacrificial offerings and they
lived to make a gift of themselves each day.

They knew that more was happening in their lives than merely what could be seen on the natural level. With
the offering of their lives, united with Christ’s offering, their many acts of self-sacrifice were elevated to the
supernatural level. These acts were now being used for the salvation of souls - to increase the flow of God’s
grace in the world, even for people they may never encounter directly.
LITURGICAL YEAR

The liturgical year is made up of six seasons:

• Advent - four weeks of preparation before

the celebration of Jesus' birth
• Christmas - recalling the Nativity of Jesus
Christ and his manifestation to the peoples
of the world
• Lent - a six-week period of penance before
Easter
• Sacred Paschal Triduum - the holiest
"Three Days" of the Church's year, where
the Christian people recall the suffering,
death, and resurrection of Jesus
• Easter - 50 days of joyful celebration of
the Lord's resurrection from the dead and
his sending forth of the Holy Spirit
• Ordinary Time - divided into two sections (one span of 4-8 weeks after Christmas Time and another
lasting about six months after Easter Time), wherein the faithful consider the fullness of Jesus'
teachings and works among his people

The mystery of Christ, unfolded through the cycle of the year, calls us to live his mystery in our own lives. This
call is best illustrated in the lives of Mary and the saints, celebrated by the Church throughout the year. There
is no tension between the mystery of Christ and the celebration of the saints, but rather a marvelous harmony.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is joined by an inseparable bond to the saving work of her Son, and the feasts of all
the saints proclaim the wonderful works of Christ in his servants and offer the faithful fitting examples for their
imitation. In the feasts of Mary and of the saints, the Paschal Mystery of Christ is proclaimed and renewed.

Seasons, saints, and celebrations during the liturgical year are laid out in a yearly liturgical calendar.

Original Source:
http://www.usccb.org/prayer-
and-worship/liturgical-
year/index.cfm

LIVING THE LITURGICAL YEAR

HELPS US TO MATURE AS A
DISCIPLE OF CHRIST

Through the liturgy we are able

to relive Christ’s life each year
and so be nourished by the many
mysteries of His life.

As we know, repetition is
essential if someone wants to
master a particular task, job or
sport. As the saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” If we do not sit at our Lord’s feet each year and learn what
He wants to teach us, we will never grow in holiness. This is the beauty of the liturgical year, as it gives us a
chance to follow Christ throughout His life on earth and learn from His example.

In a certain sense, the liturgical year is similar to an apprenticeship. An apprentice who wants to learn from
his/her master must walk in the master’s footsteps and carefully observe whatever the master is doing. This
takes time and for many professions it requires years and years of accompaniment before the apprentice can
take over and imitate the master perfectly.

So too in the spiritual life.

Becoming a disciple of Christ never happens overnight. We must walk in Jesus’ footsteps, carefully observing
His every move. This takes a lifetime to master and so the Church provides for us the liturgical year, which
repeats Christ’s life and allows us to grow deeper in our knowledge and love of Jesus.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 1163

“Holy Mother Church believes that she should celebrate the saving work of her divine Spouse in a sacred
commemoration on certain days throughout the course of the year. Once each week, on the day which she has
called the Lord’s Day, she keeps the memory of the Lord’s resurrection. She also celebrates it once every year,
together with his blessed Passion, at Easter, that most solemn of all feasts. In the course of the year,
moreover, she unfolds the whole mystery of Christ. . . . Thus recalling the mysteries of the redemption, she
opens up to the faithful the riches of her Lord’s powers and merits, so that these are in some way made
present in every age; the faithful lay hold of them and are filled with saving grace.”

Pope Pius XII wrote, “By commemorating the mysteries of the Savior, the sacred liturgy strives to bring all
believers to participate in them in such a way that the divine Head of the Mystical Body may live in each of His
members with the fullness of His holiness” (Mediator Dei, #152).

The Hundredfold
When our minds and wills are perfectly free from every created attachment
[especially to ourselves], they are immediately filled with the gift of God’s love: not
because things necessarily have to happen this way, but because this is his will, the
gift of his love to us.

“Everyone who has left his home or his father, or his mother, or his wife for my sake
shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess eternal life” (Matthew 19:29).

We experience God in proportion as we are stripped and emptied of attachment to

his creatures. And when we have been delivered from every other desire we shall taste the perfection of an
incorruptible joy.

God does not give his joy to us for ourselves alone, and if we could possess him for ourselves alone we would
not possess him at all. Any joy that does not overflow from our souls and help other people to rejoice in God
does not come to us from God. (But do not think that you have to see how it overflows into the souls of others.
In the economy of his grace, you may be sharing his gifts with someone you will never know until you get to
heaven.)
Practical Advice - Just start with the plates...
There may be a lot of clutter in our hearts and the task might seem a bit overwhelming. Just start
with the plates. Let me explain...

Last week we had a closet cleaning day

at work. My closet was a wreck. It was
so full of junk - so much junk that I
couldn't even tell you everything that
was in there. Things had been
accumulated over an eight-year period
and because we are busy, I hadn't taken
the time to clean it out - so more and
more items were just stuck in there. As I
walked into the closet and looked at it
that morning, I felt completely
overwhelmed and thought: "I can't do
this!" Almost immediately a thought
crossed my mind, "Just start with the
plates."

With that thought I felt a sense of peace and direction and so I did just that. As I finished the plates, I
was a little energized and ready to tackle the next item; and so on, and so on, and so on...all of a
sudden, two hours flew by and I was halfway into the closet. It felt so good! At this point I was really
energized so the heavier, more labor intensive items didn't intimidate me any longer. By the end of
the day, I had finished the closet.

I know through this experience God was reminding me that there are many situations in life where it
is better not to look at the whole picture all at once as if I have to tackle everything at the same time.
Clutter in our hearts is one of them. Just start with something and work on that - maybe a hardness
of heart towards someone or a feeling of jealousy. Spend time with the Lord in prayer (especially
Eucharistic Adoration) and let him love you! Let him fill you with his love for you. His love is
incompatible with hate, a critical spirit, jealousy, etc. From there he will inspire you to work on a
virtue that will help you with the area you are working on. For example: Gratitude to combat
jealousy; acts of love to combat hardness of heart, etc.

Every time a negative thought about yourself or another

person comes up, see it as a shield - as in putting your
hand out to prevent or block His love from entering your
heart - and fight against it - put your hand down. Tell him
you do not approve of your negative thinking and ask him
to help you. That will go a long way. You keep doing your
part and fighting the negative thinking and God will do the
rest.
The Teeter Totter
We are all born with the effects of Original Sin in our souls which leave
their mark by a proclivity to sin. We can see that most clearly in our
disordered desires. Some examples would be: desiring junk food, over-
eating, over-sleeping, over-drinking, spending too much money on
frivolous things, gossip, base humor, feelings of superiority, judging other
people, need for attention and admiration, lust, etc. All of this is further
compounded by our personal sins which lead to sinful habits.

As we cooperate with the grace we receive from the Mass and the
sacraments - especially in receiving the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Holy
Communion (on a regular basis, in the state of grace and with an open
heart) our disordered, worldly desires slowly but surely - gradually -
change into God’s desires. Eventually, we don’t like sin anymore and we
desire holiness and goodness.

Eventually, our good desires become stronger than our disordered

desires and it is our good desires that draw God’s grace into our souls
more fully.

But...even the graces from Holy Mass and the sacraments can’t be
enacted without the regular (daily) practice of mental prayer. Mental
prayer - Christian Meditation - prepares our hearts for a fruitful
reception of Holy Communion and it allows the grace we receive in Holy
Communion to work more efficiently - to change our desires. It
actualizes the grace we have received. It stirs it up so to speak.

How does this happen? Spending time with God in prayer allows him to
show us our disordered desires so that we can work on them together. In
prayer God inspires us to make resolutions to practice the virtues that
will change our hearts and our desires. As we go about our day, his grace
helps us to complete the resolutions we have made and when we fail, it
helps us to get back up and try again without giving into discouragement
One thing we should keep in mind, however, is that we never completely
lose our sinful desires while we exist on this side of death. But, we can
make great strides in this battle, strides that exceed by far what the
human will can accomplish on its own. We can become heroically
virtuous people due to the effects of grace, especially the grace that we
receive from Holy Communion combined with mental prayer.
Struggling to fight a sinful, disordered desire is very pleasing to God even
if for the rest of our life we have to struggle with it - fighting manfully to
overcome it. This struggle can be the very means for a deeper union with
God as St. Paul taught us:
“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a
thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I
pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12: 7-9).