Saturday, November 7, 2015

Live the Mass

"Long before the New Testament books were written - before any churches were built, before the first disciple died as a martyr for the faith - the Mass was the center of life for the Church. St. Luke sums it up in the Acts of the Apostles: "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers"" (Acts 2:42) (Hahn, pg. 36).

Thousands of years later, we celebrate the Mass everyday. But do we live the Mass?



2nd Pillar of the Catechism:  How Catholics Worship

1.  Review what happens at Mass. Go to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's web site at: archmil.org. In the Search box located in the upper right corner of the home page, type in "C4 Mass videos." Click on the C4 - What Happens at Mass? and watch the video by Bishop Hying. This is where you can watch short clips on many questions of the faith and sacraments. You can even search C4 Confirmation videos.

2. Reflect on why and where we worship. Watch the C4 - Why Go to Church? video by Bishop Hying. Also, find out the mission and Mass times of our parish by visiting the St. Lawrence web site, and then, scan our bulletin. Click on the Weekly Bulletin tab. Then, click on the Current Week tab to read today's bulletin. How are the Confirmation candidates of St. Lawrence living the Mass? See page three for their project mission.

3. Spend some time exploring the Mass. Click on the Our Faith tab on the Archdiocese of Milwaukee's web site. You may want to look at our Liturgical Calendar or Holy Days, investigate the Items used at Mass, or the Sacraments.

"The Church is heavenly, and is nothing else than heaven," St. John Chrysostom.

Final Thoughts

As we close this area of study, consider the question many people ask: why go to Mass? 

  • First, do you have it all figured out? Does your life make perfect sense? Or, are you struggling to make sense of your life? "The homily during Mass is meant to help us make sense of our lives. It is through the homily - the reflection offered by the priest following the Gospel - that we reinterpret our lives in light of the Scripture readings. And because we, the people of God, have a responsibility to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ when we leave the church, homilies exist to help us. A successful homily is measured on its real impact on people when they leave church and return to their homes and schools. Even though the homily is one of the few times at Mass when the words and gestures have not been predetermined, it can transform our lives. In the history of the Church, a single homily could bring countless numbers to repentance, stop rioting, and most importantly, change hearts. And this is what we should expect from a homily at Mass: transformation" (Fr. Grassi, J.Poprocki, pgs. 49-51). His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan recently talked about the invitation that Christ gives us. Will you accept His invitation and come to Mass to be transformed? Listen to his homily: To Whom Shall We Go?  
  • "Church history is full of living homilies: Thomas Kempis, St. Francis of Assisi, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, and many others who walked the streets smiling, sharing alms, embracing the lonely, and serving others, making it possible for people to consider an alternate vision of reality" (Fr. Grassi, J.Poprocki, pgs. 55-56). Who is a living homily for you? Are you a living homily for others? To start your work as a living homily imitating Christ, you must first receive Christ. Then, you can live the Mass by using your life as an example of an alternative to despair, hatred, dishonesty, gossip, and selfishness. Explore Thomas Kempis' book, The Imitation of Christ. Choose one link in Book Four: The Invitation to the Holy Communion.

With our communities being so diverse, it is the living homily, centered on the truths of Scripture and Tradition of the Church, that will speak to people. I pray you grow to love the Mass, learn to give yourself in unity with Christ on the cross during Mass, and join with Jesus in being a living homily of love to the world every day after Mass. 

As you expand your knowledge of the Mass, you may question: "When did the Church begin?" Or, "Did Christ want us to go to Church?" To find out when the Church began and how Christ brought together people in community, watch Bishop Hying's video:  Jesus is Everywhere, Why Church.

References: Signs of Life by Catholic Scholar, Dr. Scott Hahn, and Living the Mass by Fr. Dominic Grassi and Joe Paprocki.

Faith Opportunity:  Want to find a Mass time?

25 comments:

  1. Hannah Klink

    I picked How Do Catholics Worship and with this I can now go to church and understand why we go to church in the first place. This can get me closer to god because it will remind me god is always in my life.

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  2. I read if Jesus is everywhere. Why Church? It stated that when you go to church you get Jesus as you receive the body and blood of Christ. I think this will remind us that we have a better chance to get into his kingdom if we are with him through church. This is the only way he can fully be apart of us. Also it said we should remember that Jesus is watching us do right and wrong things, so let's think about him before we do our actions.

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  3. The resource that stuck out to me the most was the C-4 videos on The Archdiocese of Milwaukee website, specifically the video, "Does God Exist?" (http://www.archmil.org/c4video/C4-02.htm) The videos on the website were easy to understand and the man made them actually make sense. I chose to bookmark this website so that anytime I have a question about my faith I can watch an understandable video that explains the answer to my question. This should strengthen my knowledge of our faith. ~ Sam Strachan

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  5. I chose the video Why Go To Church because it really helped me understand why I should go to church and how I benefit from it. I was also able to easily connect with the video and understand what it meant. This will help me follow Jesus because now I know that going to church and actually receiving the body and the blood of Christ means a lot more than just praying at home. I bookmarked the page so that I can easily access it any time that I might have a question. -Jack Strachan

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  6. I booked marked the C4-what happens at mass. I picked this option because its helpful to me to see a visual, in this case a video about the church. The video helped to make sense of the questions people ask themselves about the church every day. Bishop Hying gives lots of good basic information that can confer you connection to Jesus. I know that this video will always be there if I ever need guidance. This resource and many others will bring me closer to Jesus. -Alaina Bernarde

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  7. I chose the C4-"why go to church" because it helped me understand what other people think about participating in a church. This video/writing allowed me to learn what church really means. Also it showed me how you don't go to church for yourself, you go for the people in your community and share the experience with them. This source showed me that if I don't go to church I am not only letting down God, but also the people around me.

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  8. I decided to watch the 'What Happens at Mass' video. I found it really interesting, because it took a deeper look into what we should be getting out of mass, and the purpose of attending mass. My goal is to, when I attend mass, really focus on how what is being said could relate to or impact my own life. I feel that this will help deepen my faith, as it will allow me to better connect with God and what he wants me to achieve throughout my life. -Hannah Strachan

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  9. I found this article very meaningful. God is with us everywhere we go. Going to mass, we will learn more about His lifetime and important events. You get more out of it by going to church. By going to church, God will be closer to you.

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  10. Derek Erdmann

    I found video, "Why We Go o Church" interesting because Jesus wanted us to Mass as a group of people. When he was teaching, he would have a group of people following beside him.

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  11. I watched the What happens in mass and it really taught me something. It taught me what and why we do things in mass. I believe that this video will really help me because now I feel like I can understand mass much better. I think that because I watched this video I can understand my religion better and become closer with God.
    -Nicholas Storrs

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  12. Hannah Pfeifer

    I found "Why do I need church?" video really interesting. It taught me about how important the church really is. I think these videos will help me get closer to God and understand the church a little more.

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  13. Sean S.
    I Liked the video Why we go to church. It mad me realize what and why we go to church and what we learn about in church.

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  14. I realized that Mass can be only expressed in church and that we offer ourselves for church.

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  15. I realized that Mass can be only expressed in church and that we offer ourselves for church.

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  16. We go to mass to praise and glorify god and thank him for Jesus Christ.We offer our lives and lay that on the altar to become the body and blood of Christ.

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  17. We go to mass to praise and glorify god and thank him for Jesus Christ.We offer our lives and lay that on the altar to become the body and blood of Christ.

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  18. I liked the video Why We Go To Church. When you watch the video it makes you realize that the Church is more important than anything else.

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  19. I liked the video Why We Go To Church. When you watch the video it makes you realize that the Church is more important than anything else.

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  20. Sydney Dulak I like the to video's about why we should go to mass. It's important to go to mass because we are closer to Christ and we listen to how we should live out Christ mission and we pray to God to help us carry out his mission

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  21. I learned that even though Jesus is everywhere we should still go to m,ass to receive the grace of God and to be forgiven. I also liked that the videos talked about you should still go to mass and why you should try to live more like Jesus.

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  22. I learned that even if i don't think i get anything out of church oi really am from all the people around me them sharing there faith and me sharing my faith with them.

    Colton doll

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  23. I learned that we should go to mass because we cant carry out our faith journey alone. We pray for each other and we help each other. When we share our faith we build each other up. Instead of saying "I'm not going to church because i don't get anything out of it", Say " I'm going to church because the people at church need me."

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