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 month 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.
Your mission, should
you choose to accept it
Back when I was
teaching high-school religion I described for my post-Vatican II
seniors what Sundays were like when I was growing up. We weren’t
supposed to do "servile work" like washing the car, cleaning the
house, and so on. The students liked that idea. Then I mentioned
that all the stores were closed on Sundays. They were aghast. "Like,
what else was there to do?" a number of them asked. Interesting
question. Is there life beyond the mall? I should hope so.
At the end of Mass, the
priest gives us a direct command about what else there is to do: "Go
in peace, to love and serve the Lord and one another." This is more
than encouragement to "be nice"; it’s a loaded statement. After all,
as we watched the bread being broken and the wine poured out, we
came to know a little bit about what it means to love and to serve.
In the week to come, we
are sent (the Latin missa, from which we get the word
Mass, means "sent") to carry Jesus’ unique brand of peace with
us and to pour our own selves out in loving and serving others in
large and small activities at work, at home, and in the
neighborhood. This is a direct command, our mission should we choose
to accept it.
How can we best begin
that week? Perhaps the best thing is to create and savor a sense of
Sabbath. Consider it a rebalancing day. It’s a day for you and your
family to detach from ordinary concerns. Rest. Pay attention to
relationships (with family, with community, with God). Cultivate an
awareness of the fact that everything we have is a gift, to be
appreciated and enjoyed.
By reinstituting the
concept of the Sabbath, you create "a time apart" that is a haven
for you and your family. Here are some elements of a Sabbath
observance that might appeal to you:
A meal together, after
church or later in the day (where everybody helps prepare the meal
and clean up) can be the centerpiece of the day. Start the meal with
prayer. Light a candle. Share stories and concerns from your week
with one another. Include extended family and "adopted family."
Plan fun, but not
frantic, activities as a group.
If you’re tempted to
overdependence on an activity or substance, lay off it for the day:
shopping, drinking alcohol, work, sports watching or betting,
surfing the Internet. Instead practice paying attention to your
family members, to the promptings of God in your heart of hearts.
Sharing time in the
great outdoors helps many people connect to God and one another.
Rest and breathe
deeply. Be open to the possibility that God loves you immeasurably.
TJM
