Sharing the Love

I would like to share a story with you about my father. Dad was a physician and an agnostic for most of his life. It was not until he retired from his medical practice at the age of 73 that he started to embrace his Catholic faith.

During his retirement, my father went to Mass every day with my mother. He prayed the Rosary, attended Bible study, joined the church choir, and was a member of the parish council. One day I asked, “Dad, what are you doing? Why the change?” He replied: “I’m cramming for my final exam.”

From that time on, my father shared the love he discovered in his Catholic faith. Even after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Dad never turned away from the love of our Lord. He held onto his Rosary and said every day, “Jesus, help me.” I think he passed his exam.

Healing Grace

Before my father died of cancer, he wrote “The Anatomy of the Mass.” He wrote it because as a physician, Dad knew what it meant to heal. Dad also realized, as he embraced his faith, that participating in the Mass does more than fulfill a Catholic duty and obligation.

At Mass, my father found what it means to be open to our Lord’s healing power. Therefore, my father hoped in writing “The Anatomy” that explaining the structure of the Mass would instill a love and desire for faithfully partaking in this holy celebration. “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners,” said Jesus [Mark 2:17].

Do we hear Christ’s call? All who participate in the Mass encounter the True Presence of Jesus Christ—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. We witness the miracle that occurs every day in all parts of the world. We witness the Transubstantiation—the changing of our gifts of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In the Eucharist, our Lord comes to us.

Therefore, being open to our Lord enables us to receive His healing graces. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day,” said Jesus [John 6:54]. Christ feeds our body, mind, heart, and soul with his love for our healing and salvation. What an incentive this is to love the Mass and to savor the fruits of Holy Communion!

Go in Peace

Consider this: We are brought into communion with the Holy Trinity through the Liturgies of the Word and Eucharist for the sake of our healing. “The Father who dwells in me is doing his works,” said Jesus [John 14:10]. In this healing work, the loving gift of the Holy Spirit, increased by the loving gift of the Holy Eucharist at Mass, is with us always.

And when we heal, we are at peace. Therefore, for peace in our world and for this healing to spread, we are called to partake in our Lord’s mission of redemption and salvation. Using the gifts and fruits we receive at Mass by way of the Holy Spirit, may we go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God!

Author’s Note: To pick up where my father left off, in the coming weeks I will share more excerpts from “Anatomy of the Mass.”