Family Spirituality
Families
can get more out of Mass
At Home with our Faith
offered a series of 10 short articles on how your family can get
more out of the Mass. We walked through the chronology of the Mass,
from preparation and gathering through the final blessing and
sending forth. Each week for ten issues we suggested ways that you
and your family can better appreciate how the Mass can deepen and
enrich our life together. What follows are the ten installments.
GET BACK ON THE PATH
My friend Tom H., is a
recovering alcoholic. I asked him why he attends AA meetings so
regularly. "There are many reasons," he said, "but the main one is
that my internal moral compass seems to be about 10 percent off. The
longer I go without meetings, the farther and farther I stray from
the path where I belong."
I can relate to his
inner compass analogy. It’s easy for me to meander off to dead ends
of resentment, self-delusion, self-pity, anger, callousness,
rationalization–you name it. Even when I’m involved in good and
important work or doing good things with my family, I can lose a
sense of harmony and serenity at the core of my life. And sometimes
I simply hurt other people.
Thankfully, the
penitential rite at the beginning of Mass gives us an opportunity to
reflect on our life direction and get ourselves reoriented. It’s an
opportunity to tend to our relationship with God and others. After
the opening hymn is sung, we are all gathered around the table of
the Lord, but we may not be united. We’re getting ready to hear the
reading of the Word of God, but perhaps we’re not disposed to hear.
Maybe we’re distracted, scattered, and distraught. And so as we come
to the altar, we stop and quickly examine the state of our souls by
examining our consciences. The point of this reflection is not to
demean or dispirit us. Rather, these opening moments in the liturgy
are signs of great hope and opportunity. It’s a chance to see where
we’ve gone astray, to reset our inner compasses, and to aim
ourselves once again toward the God who loves us.
And most important,
it’s a time to experience God’s mercy. Three times we acknowledge
our shortcomings, and three times we call upon God for mercy. What a
great way to begin the Mass–by dropping the baggage of our recent
mistakes and misjudgments into the hands of God and receiving an
outpouring of divine mercy to wash us clean.
Thus, the distance we
feel between ourselves and God melts away; the distance we
experience between ourselves and the people gathered around us
evaporates as well.
Steps to take: 1)
Explain to your children how this part of the Mass relates to the
rest of their life. Use an example of when they needed to set things
right with a friend or family member in order to show them how they
might also need to get right with God. 2) Respond aloud at this part
of the Mass. Be sure you’re already settled and not fidgeting. Show
by your demeanor that you’re taking this part of the Mass seriously.
3) It’s not wise to suggest things that your child should be sorry
about. Nobody enjoys having their remorse managed for them. 4)
Explain that God is eager to forgive, ready to welcome us back when
we stray. He delights in our arrival like the Good Shepherd.
Most of all, be
grateful not that you sinned, but that you can be sorry. Our
imperfections do not disqualify us from the Lord’s meal. In fact,
these are the first gifts we offer in the order of Mass. And God
welcomes these, and us, with open arms. TJM
