"But Mass is so boring!" Part 3

So, we’ve told the Lord that we’re lost, in trouble and need His help – “Lord, have mercy!”

We’ve thanked Him for our blessings – “We worship you! We give you thanks! We praise you for your glory!”

Now that we have done these things, we can find Christ present to us as the word – the Word – is proclaimed.

The readings from the Old Testament, especially the prophets, and the New Testament Letters, encourage us, exhort us, remind us of the Lord’s promises to His people.

On Sunday, January 21, 2007, the Third Sunday of Year C, Nehemiah the Prophet speaks to the people of Israel: “…Today is holy to the Lord your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep…Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared. For today is holy to our Lord…for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength.”

Rejoicing! We just rejoiced as we sang the Gloria. “The Lord inhabits the praises of his people,” and rejoicing in the Lord must be – will be – our source of strength. Try praising, thanking the Lord in a more enthusiastic way – help someone “who had nothing prepared” - and watch for Him to act in a new way in your life.

The second reading, from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians: “All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit…You then are the body of Christ. Every one of you is a member of it.” Do you feel alone, unappreciated, pushed out, abandoned? This word tells you that you belong to God, to the Lord, to His Blessed Mother, to all of us gathered here. Rejoice that this is true, and feel the truth start to work in new ways in your life.

The Gospel, from St Luke: Jesus quotes Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me…he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, and release to prisoners.” And so he does – when we ask His help, which we did in the Penitential Rite – and when we thank Him for what He has done, which we did in the Gloria.

Remember: there is a word in these words for you. The Word inhabits these words and speaks them to you, to your heart – just what you need to hear, when you need to hear it. But, of course, you must be listening. Catch the word as it flies by. Let your ears, your mind, and your heart be fertile to receive and nourish the word that the Word speaks to you in this Mass.