By Fr. Michel Mulloy
Eucharist — Part III
In the love relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Jesus eternally offers himself to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We come to Mass to join our sacrifices to Jesus’ eternal sacrifice. Jesus
offers himself to his Father through us. Amazing isn’t it — to realize that at
Mass as we join ourselves to Jesus in his sacrifice, we are caught up into the
very life of God.
Priest and people are joined to Jesus Christ in baptism. We
receive the Holy Spirit. Therefore, when we gather for Mass, we are Jesus
Christ present. The priest is Jesus leading his body, the people. He continues
his sacrifice in, with and through us, each in our distinctive roles. The
simplest way to express how we join the sacrifice of Jesus is with the
following phrase. We make room, speak out and believe in what we are doing.
We make room in our lives for each other. That is as literal
as it sounds, but it is also attitudinal.
We are asked to slide down in the pew, to look at each other, to smile,
to greet one another. We come to the Mass from a variety of dispositions,
interests, needs and wants. Being attentive to one another can be
self-sacrificing in that we tend to be self-serving. Making room is both
physical and internal. We also make room in our lives for one another by
wanting to be present and by participating with the community in the action of
the Mass.
We speak out. Through the responses and prayers, we give
ourselves. We pray in a way that manifests our conviction and belief. We mean
what we say. We also speak out to support one another. We encourage others by
our enthusiasm to voice their own prayer if they can hear us. Some might prefer
to pray quietly. There are moments for silence in the liturgy. However, when we
are called to vocalize a prayer, we are self-sacrificing in our willingness to
be heard.
We listen up. There are several times when listening
attentively can be a real sacrifice. We all know the challenge of being
attentive to someone when they are speaking to us. Our mind wanders. We focus
on the proclaimer, the presider or the cantor. We must not only hear what they
are saying but take it in and let it sink into our lives. The effort put forth
to really listen is participation in the self-sacrifice of Christ.
We sing out. Singing is praying. This is an area where many
of us need to be challenged. We think of the music as “extra,” something that
isn’t necessary to the Mass. Singing and music are essential liturgical action.
Our voices joined in song, elevate our spoken prayer and enhance our self-giving.
Some say, “I can’t sing.” They mean they do not have a good
singing voice. We also have different speaking voices and different capacities
for hearing. If my voice is not as pleasing as another’s, should I not speak
the prayers at Mass; if I do not listen as well as another, should I not listen
at all? No. Why then do we decide not to sing if our voice is not wonderful?
For some self-sacrifice means bending our stubborn wills and accepting that
singing is important. Singing, like speaking and listening is essential for
joining our sacrifice to Christ’s.
All this activity at Mass is sacrificial not simply by our
doing it but more importantly by our belief. It is essential that I believe
that Jesus is present, that he is offering himself to God the Father, and that
I am participating in his sacrifice through understanding what is happening and
consciously engaging in the sacrifice of the Mass.
With this basic understanding of what we are doing in the
Mass, I will, in the subsequent months, look at each part of the Eucharist and
explore how we encounter Jesus in his sacrifice during the Mass.
