To the house of the Lord

Bishop Scott Bullock
The First Sunday in Advent
November 30, 2025

It’s been nearly 10 years since the death of my mother, the primary teacher of me and my siblings in the way of the Catholic faith. Since my father was not raised in the faith, though he was baptized as Catholic the day before he married my mother, it fell to her to raise us in the faith, because primarily, being a cradle Catholic, she had a strong sense of what this would involve. My dad unquestionably was supportive of her, of course. But at the very center of her efforts was the insistence that we attended Mass every Sunday and every Holy Day of Obligation. She would rouse us from our sleep on Sunday mornings, make us presentable, and, too often, deal with our protests about having to go to Mass. She was unyielding and not ready for a negotiation. The center of her responsibility — that we be raised in the faith was that she was going to take us to Mass! Among all the blessings bestowed on us through the patience and love of my mother, the gift of faith that she shared with us through hard effort is perhaps the most cherished gift from my mom.

In this spiritual instinct, Mom joined an essential part of the life of faith that has been shared from our ancestors from time immemorial, succinctly expressed in the words of the psalmist that we have used today, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” This is our most sacred and central act as persons of faith — to go and give thanks to the Lord in his house.

For Catholics, this spiritual obligation is taken up by that which my mother insisted upon: weekly attendance at Mass. The Eucharist, the word literally means thanksgiving, is our perfect fulfillment of our obligation to “go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” It is the same instinct that the Prophet Isaiah speaks about in today’s first reading, when he says to the people of God in his time, some 27 centuries ago: “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” 

We are obliged then to stop our normal, everyday activities, and observe the sabbath of the Lord’s Day by going to his “house,” the Church, when we join with other believers, “two or three gathered together in his name, and meet the divine presence of Jesus, give him thanks, and receive his very life in the True presence of the Eucharist for which there really is no substitute.” 

This is the norm for the life of Catholic Christians, so beautifully taught and reinforced by my mother — and I imagine by your own parents and other family members as well! And yet at this very moment, you have tuned into a TV Mass to experience some degree of your weekly obligation while at home to participate in the Eucharist, this great act of our “going to the house of the Lord” and giving God a gift of thankful rejoicing for all God has done for us, including, supremely, the sending of his Son for our life and salvation. 

As you might have heard, our production and broadcasting of this TV Mass will conclude at the end of December with the Mass of the Feast of the Holy Family on the weekend of December 28. As you might also have recalled, our providing this TV Mass began with the pandemic restrictions and the barriers that that difficult time imposed upon our abilities to “go to the house of the Lord” and attend Mass. In that difficult time, our friends at KNBN/News Center 1 agreed to generously provide the airtime needed to broadcast the Mass. We are so grateful for the five years that they have provided this service to our Catholic community!  

Since that time, however, it has become increasingly difficult for the station to provide this service without cost, which is entirely understandable. The station must look out for its fiscal well-being of course. Besides the fact that our diocese and its limited resources would need to take on a significant part of the cost of production and airing of the Mass, for me, the more important issue is that obligation to “go with thanksgiving to the house of the Lord” and give thanks among the people of God in that great act of thanksgiving, the Eucharist. Furthermore, it is only in this attendance at Mass that we can do something that cannot happen over the TV — receive the strengthening, life-giving gift of Holy Communion, by which we complete our observance of Jesus’ own command, “Take and eat. Do this in remembrance of me.” 

Whatever good spiritual fruit is gained from a virtual participation in the Mass, the Lord intends and desires MORE for us than can happen over the TV airwaves: He wants to give his very self — his very life—to us in Holy Communion. There simply is no substitute, therefore, to attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion.

The pandemic restrictions that gave rise to this TV Mass are, happily, behind us. Many of us have been able to return to our parishes and feed on the Eucharist. At the same time, there are some who legitimately need to rely on the TV Mass since they are truly homebound. Fortunately, there are a number of other options, both over the air through cable TV, and online to participate virtually in Mass. If this is your situation, I would also invite you not to hesitate to contact your parish to arrange for Holy Communion to be brought to you in your home.  

While I am aware that a good number of folks have come to appreciate and cherish this TV Mass, I pray that you will find other options, when needed, to connect your faith and its center, the Mass. Whether at home or through attendance at your parish, I hope you are able to make every effort to participate and practice your faith through a regular attendance at Mass and reception of Holy Communion, by “going to the house of the Lord and giving thanks.” 

While this is my hope as your bishop, more importantly, let’s remember that this is Our Lord’s hope and wish for you and all God’s children. We know this to be the will of the Lord because of Advent. That is this season gets its name from the Latin word adventus, which means a coming toward. In the coming of Jesus Christ, God has come all the way from heaven to meet his people, and to give his life for us. May we all respond, to the fullest of our capability, to respond to the divine adventus by going out to meet the Lord where he said he could be found — in the Eucharist, where he is certainly and reliably waiting for us, to give us the fullness of life.