Getting to Mass More Often

Getting to Mass more often–it’s a good practice to embrace, in or out of special seasons like Lent. It will change your life!

Making Time for Mass

Can you find time to attend daily Mass once or more during the week? Excluding the time to get to and from the church, a daily Mass might require a commitment of about thirty minutes of your time at some parishes. Does a nearby parish offer Mass early enough in the morning that you can attend on your way to work? Or perhaps, a noon Mass you can fit into your midday routine? Maybe an evening Mass, after work?

Have you considered juggling your schedule a bit to make room for one or two weekday Masses? There may be some creative ways to carve out a bit of time needed to do so. Rearranging some commitments may be just the ticket for you. It’s worth thinking about.

Finding a Mass

If you aren’t sure where to find a Mass close to you that fits your schedule, not to worry. As the cliché goes, “there’s an app for that!” There may be many such apps, but the one that we use in our household is MassTimes. Punch in a zip/postal code or address, and it will generate a list of Catholic churches near you, giving you estimates of distances from you, with a summary of Mass times, confession, adoration and the like for each parish listed. It also provides you with links to the parish websites. This allows you to see updated times for Mass and confessions in case they’ve changed from what the summary in the app shows.

Quick Search: Two Examples

The information you need to plan for your liturgical experience is there at your fingertips. This is so, whether you’re looking near your home, or travelling and looking for Mass in a different location. Take, for example, Kemmerer–a small, western Wyoming city, with a population of about 3,000 or so. MassTimes shows one parish there, and about thirty more in Idaho, Utah or Wyoming within about a 90-mile drive.  On the other hand, if searching for Masses within a zip code near Chicago, in Libertyville, IL, one can find about twenty parishes within ten miles or less. It’s reasonably easy to find a Mass somewhere that might work for you, especially in or near more populated areas.

Not Getting Much Out of It?

Some might say, “Our priest’s homilies leave something to be desired,” or “I don’t get much of Mass. I’d rather stay home and pray.” Of course, spending time in dialogue with God, in mental prayer, is an incredibly important habit to develop. The Mass, though, is the source and summit of our faith. It’s our most powerful prayer. Mass is where Jesus Christ brings Golgotha to us, where we’re brought to the foot of the cross, at every consecration. Jesus Christ, in His Real Presence, is there, on the altar at every Mass–for you, for me. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, comes to us humbly in Communion at every Mass.

Fr. Jeremy Driscoll, OSB reminds us:

…by means of bread and wine, we come into contact with something that now would otherwise be beyond reach…the risen and glorified body of Christ…The sacrament is a middle term between us and the transcendent body of the Lord. I can touch and hold another person in my hands, make contact with another through touch…With Christ I touch the sacrament of his body and thereby make contact with his body through my body…

When we receive Communion, we’re receiving Jesus Christ Himself, Who offered Himself for us–for you and for me. (cf. CCC 1382) When we receive Communion, we are incorporated into Christ–and sanctifying grace is increased in our souls. This is true regardless of how inspiring or uninspiring the priest’s homily may be.

More Masses: More Blessings

Indeed, there is more to Mass than meets the eye, or the ear. For one thing, the Holy Spirit has a message for each of us, customized to us individually. He has something to tell that we need to hear from the readings and/or from the preaching. Sometimes we receive in Mass, sometimes it’s working on us in the silence of our hearts, but He’s speaking to each of us at each and every Liturgy of the Word.

For another, daily Mass and Communion strengthen us for the spiritual battles we face. Pope St. Pius X, in Sacra Tridentina, reasserts the Council of Trent’s exhortation that Catholics avail themselves of frequent reception of Holy Communion:

the desire of Jesus Christ and of the Church [is] that all the faithful should daily approach the sacred banquet…being united to God by means of the Sacrament…[to] derive strength to resist their sensual passions, to cleanse themselves from the stains of daily faults, and to avoid these graver sins to which human frailty is liable…Hence the Holy Council calls the Eucharist ‘the antidote whereby we may be freed from daily faults and be preserved from mortal sin.’

Moreover, the Catechism states that, “…the Eucharist strengthens our charity…and this living charity wipes away venial sins.” (CCC 1394) More frequent Mass and Communion, in other words, strengthens our interior life, gives us grace to continually build virtuous habits and helps us grow closer to Christ. As well, one may at times, experience spiritual consolation upon receipt of Communion or even at some other time during the celebration of the holy liturgy, although seeking consolations is not a reason to attend Mass.

Making Mass a Time of Grace and Joy

But, what if you or someone you know are just not that “into” the Mass? Many of us have received insufficient catechesis in the beauty of the source and summit of our faith. We may not understand the various parts of the celebration. We simply don’t know how to get more out of it. We may not have a good feel for how to really dive into it and experience the blessings and the joy available to us. A great book that I use in our adult formation classes and recommend to others is A Devotional Journey into the Mass by Carstens. At about 120 pages, it’s a short and sweet explanation of the spiritual meaning behind what’s happening in the Mass.

Consider also a message received from Jesus and Mary by Catalina Rivas, a laywoman originally from Bolivia. Her account tells what Jesus and Mary revealed to her during a Mass she attended. This message has an imprimatur from her bishop and provides a mystical explanation of what’s going on in the Mass. Consider taking this message with you to a Catholic church at least 30 minutes before a Mass will begin. Prayerfully read it in front of the altar. See if it doesn’t change the way that you approach every Mass you attend.

Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. (cf. Jn 10:10) Take advantage of daily Mass to experience a more abundant life. Try it for a while–see for yourself.

For each Mass we hear with devotion, Our Lord sends a saint to comfort us at death (Revelation from Christ to St. Gertrude).