3 March 2004

Each year many Catholics begin their lenten observance by making resolutions that will help them grow in holiness. Sometimes those resolutions will remain in force beyond the forty days of Lent. At the top of the list of lenten resolutions for most Catholics is the intention to participate in Mass more often during Lent, even daily. It is not surprising that this is perhaps the most popular lenten practice. After all, we know well that the Mass is the central act of worship of the Church. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, in accord with the constant Tradition of the Church, declares that in the celebration of Mass "is found the high point both of the action by which God sanctifies the world in Christ and of the worship that the human race offers to the Father" (#16).

It is in the light of this marvelous teaching on the meaning of the Eucharist that I find it almost incomprehensible that at this time fewer Catholics attend Mass every Sunday than at any other time in modern history. Each year the statistics released by the dioceses of the United States indicate that the total number of Catholics continues to grow, even as fewer and fewer participate in the Sunday Mass, the central act of our lives as Catholics. How can one embrace the Catholic faith and at the same time participate in the sacrament of our salvation only occasionally, if at all?

I would suggest that one reason for this lamentable fact is that we do not understand and appreciate the Eucharist as we should. Two recent papal documents summarize beautifully the rich teaching on the mystery of the Eucharist: Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter Dies Domini (The Lord's Day) of 1998 and his most recent encyclical letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia (The Church from the Eucharist) given last Holy Thursday. What a difference there would be in our love and devotion for the Holy Eucharist if every Catholic were to ponder the teachings contained in these two brief magisterial documents!

The Holy Father's encyclical reiterates the ancient faith of the Church in Christ's unique (real) presence in the Eucharist under the signs of bread and wine. We believe, of course, that the Lord is present to us in many ways and in many signs. Only in the Eucharist, however, is He present in the very substance of His body and blood. For this reason the Eucharist is rightly called "the source and summit of the Christian life" (Lumen Gentium 11). "The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it" (Presbyterorum Ordinis 5). Clearly the Eucharistic liturgy holds first place in the life of the Church.

Christ's presence in the Eucharist means most especially that He is present in His paschal mystery. In other words, it is not only Jesus' body and blood that are present at every Mass, it is His saving death and resurrection that are made present so that we can enter into them. At every Mass our salvation is taking place. When we enter fully and fruitfully into the Mass by receiving Holy Communion we enter into the death and resurrection of Christ. Is it any wonder that Jesus Himself announced to His disciples and those who were in the crowd following Him: "Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (Jn. 6:52)? So often some Catholics will say that they do "other good things" rather than go to Mass every Sunday. But no amount of "other good things" will ever substitute for participating in the Mass.

Because the Mass re-presents Christ's saving death and resurrection, Christians from the earliest days held the celebration of Mass on SUNDAY, THE LORD'S DAY, the day of His resurrection to new life, as the principal and indispensable celebration for every member of the Church. Pope John Paul writes in Dies Domini: "Since the Eucharist is the very heart of Sunday, it is clear why, from the earliest centuries, the Pastors of the Church have not ceased to remind the faithful of the need to take part in the liturgical assembly.Even if in the earliest times it was not judged necessary to be prescriptive, the Church has not ceased to confirm this obligation of conscience, which rises from the inner need felt so strongly by Christians of the first centuries.The present Code [of Canon Law] reiterates this, saying that 'on Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to attend Mass' (can. 1247). This legislation has normally been understood as entailing a grave obligation: this is the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church [no. 2181] and it is easy to understand why we keep in mind how vital Sunday is for the Christian life" (##46, 47).

In these words the Holy Father reminds each and every one of us that we are bound in conscience to attend Mass each and every Sunday and holy day of obligation under pain of serious (i.e. mortal) sin. The teaching of the Church could not be clearer. Unless there is a serious reason that makes it very difficult or impossible to attend Mass on Sundays or other days of obligation, we must do so because this is the center and heart of our lives as Catholics. Each and every time a Catholic absents himself or herself from Mass without serious reason he or she commits a mortal sin and may not return to the reception of Holy Communion without first going to confession.

So often in hearing the confessions of young children I am told by them that they do not go to Mass every Sunday because their parents do not. Parents who have presented their children for baptism into the Catholic Church are reminded of their most serious obligation to see to the raising of their children as Catholics. This means FIRST AND FOREMOST that children who have made their First Holy Communion must have the opportunity to fulfill their obligation to celebrate Sunday Mass. Parents who neglect this obligation must answer to God not only for themselves but also for their children.

As Pope John Paul has said in Dies Domini, in the first centuries of Christianity there was no need for a law to command the faithful to attend Sunday Mass. It was seen as a privilege and a necessity for salvation. Only in time, as Catholics became more lax, was it necessary to create a law to remind them of the centrality of the Mass in the Christian life. Could you imagine telling a couple anticipating marriage that it is a law of the Church that they must love each other? They would think you were crazy. A law to love each other? And yet that is exactly what we have come to with regard to the Eucharist. We need a law to bring us to the greatest gift we could ever receive - our salvation. And, sadly, many (studies suggest more than 50 %) Catholics now ignore the law and do not participate regularly in the Sunday Eucharist. How can we expect to grow in holiness as a Church or as individuals if the Eucharist is not at the center of our lives?

May Lent be a time of renewed love for the Eucharist, in particular the Sunday Mass. May I suggest that every Catholic take the time to invite another Catholic who has grown lukewarm in the faith to return to the celebration of Mass every Sunday. There could be no greater act of charity.