“Behold, I Stand Knocking…” Will You Answer? (Rev. 3:20)

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We have been discussing prayer these past few weeks, especially as we wonder if God hears us and actually intervenes. (That will be next week’s topic.) Remember: You know that deep in your heart, you cannot be happy or totally at peace without living an intentional spirituality, that is, the field of your being moving deeper into God. We each have to actualize our faith in a prayerful way. I hope it is helpful if today we look at one form of prayer that is the core of our faith and that is the prayer of the Eucharist, or Mass, in the Catholic tradition. Much of what I will say about this can also be applied to other faiths as well, even non-Christian ones.

I will discuss the theology of the Eucharist only in so far as it applies to the believer’s need to pray through Eucharist. The celebration of the Eucharist is the consecrating of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, an action which takes more time and theology to explain than I can give here. I’m interested in today’s post only in trying to explain the need we have to pray the Mass.

Today, many people ask – especially young people – why is congregational prayer, the Mass, so important and does it contribute to our personal spiritual lives? Congregational prayer is mostly liturgical prayer, meaning the Mass and other types of collective prayer in which a congregation participates on a regular basis. Many of us grew up with the intensely guilt-laden idea that we ‘had’ to go to Mass every Sunday or suffer the consequences of mortal sin. Which meant if we didn’t attend Mass, we were in the state of mortal sin – skating the edge of hell and if we died, well, boom! we tumbled into those sulfurous flames forever!! If choosing not to go to Mass was based on the rejection of God, a recalcitrant ‘no’ to his love and mercy, a disbelief that he, in fact, cannot exist in our mind or soul or exist at all – well, that’s a different story. Most people fall in the first category, just too lazy to attend, or too busy, or too out of touch with the meaning of attending. But in the latter category there is some reason for concern. Again, that’s another topic.

In the book Prayer Takes Us Home, Gerhad Lohfink writes that in congregational prayer, the Mass, the congregation stands before God to praise God and to pray for our intentions by saying, “we cannot do this by ourselves. We cannot live rightly. We cannot create a community. Of ourselves we are not capable of anything good.” We need each other. And when what we need is satisfied, the whole community is made complete. It takes my prayer and the prayer of everyone present, even if I do not know them, to lift the petition and the praise in love to our God. We attend Mass because we cannot deprive our fellow worshippers of our support for their need as we accept their prayer for ours. According to Lohfink, “Every prayer, especially that of the assembled community, is a real encounter with God.” The relational connections between us and others and God in such prayer makes it holy and genuine. Even though I have been using the word, ‘attend’ so far, we do not ‘attend’ Mass; we participate in it, we share its graces after presenting our needs; we partake of Eucharist because Christ cannot share his person with only one individual but to a whole community participating with us. Lohfink argues that “a society that lives in a community of trust and unanimity will receive the revelation of the true triune God.” (p.19) That is the purpose of the parish community in all faiths and the liturgical celebrations of that community. As Lohfink confirms,”Every prayer – especially every prayer of the assembled community – is a real encounter with God.” (p.9)

If you have been away from ‘church,’ not participating in Mass or praising God through and with others, you might want to consider a return. Just show up. Swallow your pride and take some humble steps toward the door. We can eventually talk about the quality or lack of quality in the preaching; we can disagree with the pastor’s opinions on many subjects, but we cannot deny the need to be in relationship with a God who wants to connect all of us into a loving community. John, the Evangelist, has given us the most profound description of God ever written and it is based on the relationship God wants with all of us. All faiths believe this description: “God is love and those who abide in love, abide in God and God in them.” (1Jn 4:15)

Reflection

Take a long, prayerful examination of John’s quote. Think about it carefully.  God is not a judge. God is not a disciplinarian. God is not angry with you or anyone you know and may be angry with. God is simply Love. You and I love more fully and grow closer to God so much so that we can truly be his image when we love enough to be part of the community of worship to which we are called.

In the Book of Revelation, we have another quote very appropriate for this discussion. Jesus stands at the door of every person who is afraid to join the faith community. You may be standing behind that door, but he will seek you out. “Behold I stand at the door, knocking. If one of you hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in and dine with that person…” (Rev. 3:20)

Dining with him means enjoying the riches of a fuller, happier, more meaningful spiritual life. Don’t be afraid. 

Open the door.

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends. And, if possible, I hope you will find joy in sharing some of your bounty with others – and that bounty includes your blessings.  S. MAF