MASS: 

WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 8^th Tuesday in Ordinary Time is, “Mass: What’s Going On Here?

From time to time our doors here at St. Mary’s open up and a complete stranger walks in.  I see them at times from up here because I’m looking towards the back. Sometimes it’s a wedding. Sometimes it’s a baptism. Sometimes it’s a funeral.  Sometimes it’s this morning Mass.  I see them standing in the back - sort of with a big question mark - on their face. I hope and pray that those who walk in here will become complete - stranger or a regular.

Are they saying, “What’s Going On Here?

The title of my homily is, “Mass: What’s Going On Here?

I don’t know about you - but I have all kinds of thoughts going on inside my mind during Mass. Years ago I heard a talk from Eugene Kennedy and he freed me from distractions during Mass as a sin. He said something like: to  be human is to have distractions.

A Jesuit Spiritual director added: “Turn your distractions into prayers.” In other words:  if prayer is conversation with God, tell God everything you’re thinking about. Makes sense to me. Sorry if that’s your only sin to confess. Sometimes others say something and they become like the Lamb of God and take away some of the supposed sins of our world - for example distractions.

Now of course, as in any conversation, we need to pay attention - to the person we’re listening to - in this case God - or the readings about God or the Prayers to God.  Of course, we try to worship and praise God - while praying - while celebrating Mass here.

TODAY’S FIRST READING

Today’s first reading - Sirach 35: 1-12 - got me thinking about all this. It got me thinking about attitudes and thoughts while worshipping God. So that’s where the title and theme of this homily came from: Mass: What’s Going On Here?”

Of course - Ben Sirach - is talking about Jewish worship - somewhere around the year 180 BC.  Of course we’re continuing that Jewish worship through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I thought this section of Sirach is remarkable because it gives sort of a list of what we could be thinking while we come in here to  St. Mary’s for morning Mass. So I re-read Sirach 35: 1-12 several times and came up with a sevenfold list - because the reading uses the word sevenfold. So here are seven things we can come here for Mass to do or think:

1) Peace Offering: we’re here to make a peace offering to God.  What a nice way to begin one’s day. Peace God. I’m making a sacrifice being here and I want to be in peace - unity - connection - with you.

2) Works of Charity: After Mass and throughout the day I’ll be doing works of charity - so right now I’m offering those moments to you as gift and worship now. Sirach says works of charity are like offering fine flour to God. Yep that’s what today’s first reading says. What a nice connection between one’s day and this Mass. The priest lifts up the bread at least 5 times and that’s a rich gesture of offering up a sacrifice of fine flour, good bread to God, so too doing acts of charity each day to and for each other.  They are interconnected.

3) Avoiding evil during the day pleases God and others. One practical way is with our mouth.

4) Sirach says, “Appear not before the Lord empty-handed.” Well sometimes we feel that way when we come to Mass. Then look up and see the bread - which becomes Christ in our hands as he’s eternally offering himself to God his Father and then put in our hands and our mouth at communion.

5) See ourselves and all those here like incense or sweet smoke rising up to God in this temple.

6) We only have collections on Sundays - and lots of them - well, on Sunday’s put our two cents in - or an Andrew Jackson in the basket or poor box or whatever - with a joyful heart as Sirach puts it.

7) Don’t come here to try to bribe God.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Mass: What’s Going On Here?

My message: Listen to what’s going on in our mind today and make it our prayer.