Recently I heard an interview with Cardinal Timothy Dolan and he was asked about the crowds who come to mass on Christmas but disappear by Epiphany. He said that although it was disappointing not to see all those people every week, it was good that they came once a year so they could be open to the graces of the mass. When asked why they didn't attend regularly, Cardinal Dolan said that many people complain they "don't get anything out of it."
I know for so many years as a teenager I felt exactly the same. Truthfully, sometimes I still walk out of Sunday mass feeling I didn't get anything out of it. I have to remind myself that I'm not there to be entertained, but to give God the worship and praise He deserves. I get "entertained" everyday looking at the beauty of God's creation. Shouldn't that be enough for me? Why do I think I should be entertained at mass?
I remember the years when I wasn't quite so faithful about attending mass every Sunday. Before my husband converted we attended a congregational church where he worked as an organist. The people there were wonderful, the pastor was a great friend and their services were very nice. No matter how nice, friendly and wonderful the church was, I was missing something. It took me a while to recognize it, but it was the Eucharist. No matter how reverent they were, the bread and grape juice the congregational church passed around every month or so could not replace Jesus in the Eucharist. I needed the grace I received from the True Presence (body, blood, soul and divinity) of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. I longed for Him even if I didn't "feel" it every Sunday.
So on Sunday when I might not "feel" it as I approach the altar to receive Communion, I will tell myself I'm getting the most precious "something" out of mass. I'm getting an encounter with Jesus Christ in the most intimate way possible.
What more could I want?
CC
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