The worship of God on Sunday is not the end, but the beginning of a week of mission—or a day of mission, for my fellow daily Mass folks! Of course, our worship of God should be primary, and to receive God, to commune and be joined to God, is what our earthly lives are all about. And that is what we do in the Mass. We are not just praying to God. We are not just praising Him. We are entering into Him, or He unto us, being joined at the most profound level of intimacy with God and with each other. Nothing can beat that or replace it. And if it does than we are in grave trouble. For to put anything or anyone above God or in His place is idolatry. So please go to Mass. Make God your priority. As Fr. Larry Richards says: “Don’t fit God into your day, but build your day around God.” Get to Mass!
What Happens Next?
But also remember that after you leave Mass, there is work to be done! We are sent out into the world as the presence of God. We receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist not only for ourselves, but so that we can go out and be Christ’s presence for others. What did Mary do after she received Jesus into her body? She went out “in haste” to tell others!
“We do not come here to get our spiritual fix for the week. We do not just come here so I can get fed. We go here so we can be equipped with God’s Holy Spirit so we can go out and be His ambassadors, so we can go out and want to bring that salvation to all people.”
~ Fr. Larry Richards, Pentecost Homily
Ambassadors don’t stay home where it’s safe. They go to serve in other countries, places that aren’t always very safe as we have seen in recent news. But their service is needed.
As we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost we are reminded of the Church’s mission. The disciples received the Holy Spirit for a reason. That reason: to go out to the nations as Christ commanded them (Mt 28).
We too are being sent. We are called to live the faith. Believing in Jesus Christ, means doing what He has told us to do. And as Christians we should be able to say with St. Paul:
“For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me.”
The Danger of Focusing On Ourselves
I wrote about my experience with self-centeredness and how it almost destroyed me, until I found God. Pope Francis has spoken about this topic many times during his pontificate. He warns us about centering our practice and experience of the faith around ourselves and he calls us to action. He is our Pope and he is rallying us for battle.
“Please do not close in on yourselves! That is a danger. But … we lock ourselves up inside our parish, among our friends, in our movement, with people who think the same as we do … But, what is happening? When the Church becomes closed in on itself, it gets sick. Think of a closed room, a room locked for a year, when you go, there is a smell of damp, all these things here, that’s not right. A Church that is closed in on itself is just the same, it is a sick Church… We cannot become starched Christians, too polite, who speak of theology calmly over tea. We have to become courageous Christians and seek out those who are the flesh of Christ.”
~ Pope Francis, Pentecost Vigil Homily
Christianity is not comfortable! It’s a call to be uncomfortable. Christ on the cross is not comfortable. Christianity is a call to die to ourselves and live for the other.
Where do we get the courage to step out of our comfort zone? The Holy Spirit! Remember, He is God and He empowers us, enlightens us, inspires us, and gives us the courage to boldly live the Christian life!