The Good News

Welcome to The Good News Blogspot! The Good News is real and alive in my own life. Jesus has fulfilled in my life His promise of fuller and more abundant life (John 15), a quality of life I could not have created for myself. I invite you to share experiences with me so we can all grow into the life He offers us all.

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Catholic by call, Jesuit by nature, a preacher/spiritual conversation partner by choice. Learning about getting older, learning to live in the present moment, one day at a time. Learning to let go and laugh.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

"But Mass is so boring!" Part 1



This post is the first in a series of five, which follow immediately. These posts recognize that some people find the Mass boring, irrelevant, or pointless. So, if you feel this way, please keep reading.

The Mass – The Most Holy Eucharist of the Roman Catholic Church - isn’t a spectator sport. You’ve got to make it your own.

Or, more precisely, if Christ is really present in the Mass – which He is, since that is what the Real Presence is - then you have to be really present too!

How can you to do that?

Just listen to the Penitential Rite, which begins each Mass just after the priest’s greeting:

“Lord Jesus, you healed the sick. Lord, have mercy!
Lord Jesus, you forgave sinners. Christ, have mercy!
Lord Jesus, you give us yourself to heal us and bring us strength.
Lord, have mercy!”

Is any part of you sick – your body, your thoughts, your habits?
Are you plagued by worry, by angry thoughts?
Do you use the internet to view pornography? Do you drink too much?

Do you need strength and courage to face the challenges that confront you?
Do you have problems with your supervisor at work, with your children, with money?

If so (and we all do), hold these realities vividly in mind, and then say, “Lord, have mercy!” as a cry for help: “Lord, have mercy on me! These problems are too great for me to bear alone!”

“Lord, have mercy!” is your cry for help – and your statement of faith.

“Lord Jesus, you raise the dead to life in the Spirit. Lord, have mercy!
Lord Jesus, you bring pardon and peace to the sinner. Christ, have mercy!
Lord Jesus, you bring light to those in darkness. Lord, have mercy!”

Is any part of you dead because you haven’t been loved or cared for?
Are you wandering in darkness, not knowing how to cope with problems in your life?

Feel these feelings deeply, and say, “Christ, have mercy! Have mercy on me and help me find a way to feel alive again so I can love and be loved. Help me find my way! I feel so lost and alone!”

The Mass is in part about asking for Jesus’s help with the things in our lives we can’t control. We ask Him because He holds ultimate power over all creation. We ask Him in faith because He has promised us His help in love.

13 Comments:

Blogger Linda said...

Father Hawley--
Thank you for this lovely posting! Actually, I do not find Mass boring at all, but it took me most of my life to realize this! Mass has become to me the highlight of the day and a most sacred time. I have so much to learn, such a long way to go, and this message on the Good News is very enriching and helpful.

God Bless you with your work. Thank you so much for sharing.

10:11 PM  
Blogger Adoro said...

Thanks for this post. I am constantly begging for mercy, and I used to pray all the time for God to never give up on me. (my reversion took a long time and I missed the fact that I couldn't do it alone...and didn't).

God will never give up on us; his mercy is infinite.

1:18 PM  
Blogger teresa_anawim said...

Lately I have been realizing more and more with my present busy lifestyle that it is not at all selfish to pray for personal needs, spiritual rest and just have a little heart-to-heart talk with the Lord. Some feel we are to pray for others' needs only and what we need will be takebn care of automatically. I consider Him a true friend and confidant!
I rather like the point you brought out in this blogging (pt 1) that our asking for His help is a statement of our faith.
I look forward to reading and pondering more to take to Mass with me.
thanks for this site!

1:53 PM  
Blogger Sandy, csj said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

4:49 PM  
Blogger Sandy, csj said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. Good job on the reflections on the Mass. You must be taking a break from all that writing last Tuesday...

BTW, you might get more comments if you remove the restriction that folks have to have Google/Blogger accounts to post them...

4:53 PM  
Blogger April Camus said...

Hi Father!

I will try to read everything, but I need more time.

God bless you.

sipmac

6:04 PM  
Blogger JR Orbeta, SJ said...

Thank you very much Father for dropping by my blog!

I am not from Manila so I do not Know Fr. Hyde. Though I know a number of American Jesuits working in the Philippines Like Fr. Wolf, Fr. MacGarry, Fr. Clark, and a whole lot more!

Thank you once again and may God bless us all!

7:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You Christians are so full of it. Ultimately, this taking refuge in comfortable fairy tales will be revealed for what it is: conscious self-deception, escapism and making a choice not to think for oneself any more.

Repent! Admit your foolishness and selfishness! Try to learn to think again! Get out before your religion collapses into rubble and its followers are laughed at and ridiculed by those with some common sense.

9:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

why do some people find mass so boring?

3:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually Jesus DOES call us to worship Him, but not in the way of what we know as Mass. In Matthew's Gospel he tells us that when we pray, we should do so alone. "Go into your room and close the door. Then pray to your Father in these words..." which is what we know as the Our Father. Not only does Matthew record what Jesus said about praying, he also relates what Christ said about how NOT to pray. "Do not be like the hypocrites who stand in the public houses of prayer...mouthing their hollow platitudes..." It seems more and more people are taking Matthew at his word! Brett Page - Melbourne, Australia.

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