There are still Catholics (albeit their numbers are dwindling) who attend Mass on Sunday, even though some of them often complain that Mass is boring and/or that they get nothing out of it.
Let me ask two questions.
When was the last time you really looked at a crucifix? I mean really gazed at one and pondered the realities it depicts.
When was the last time you went to Mass and reminded yourself that you were about to spend time at the foot of Jesus' cross?
If you have never done either of theses exercises or it has been some time since you did, take a few minutes today to read and meditate on the following reflections of Father Raymond and author John Lynch.
Then when you next go to Church, arrive a few minutes earlier than normal. Gaze upon the crucifix and recall what is about to take place at the Altar of Sacrifice.
“You have never looked upon a crucifix and seen what the
early Christians saw. They had seen men nailed!
‘They'd seen them,
twisting, sinking of their own
Weight pulled upon
the nails; with tongues extended,
Heads that swung in
torture side to side,
That lifted up and
cried for death in babbled
Spurts of sound.
They'd seen them. They had seen
Men nailed . . .’
So must we look - until we see! For this is the Mass - the
only important thing in all the world! This sacrilege which wrought salvation.
We must look as Mary looked. We must stand as Mary stood.”
(From God, A Woman and
The Way by Rev. M. Raymond, O.C.S.O. wherein Father includes the italicized excerpt from A Woman Wrapped
in Silence by John Lynch )
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