Mass and Football

Why I Stopped Going to Football Games….

• Every time I went, they asked me for money.
• The people who sat next to me didn’t seem very friendly.
• The seats were hard.
• The coach never came to call on me at home.
• The referee made a decision with which I could not agree.
• Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home.
• The band played some songs I had never heard before.
• The games are often scheduled on weekends when I have other things I should be doing.
• My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
• Since I read a book on football once, I feel that I know more than the coaches anyhow.
• And I don’t like to take my kids, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best when they grow up.

-          Author Unknown

Do any of these excuses sound familiar from other areas of life? I doubt that these excuses have been used as frequently in reference to sports events as to Sunday Mass. In the order of priorities for any weekend, attending Mass for Sunday and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist should make the top of the list. Unfortunately, however, it is one of the first things to disappear from the agenda. Why?

St. Josemaría Escrivá wrote several meditations to those who asked for his spiritual help concerning Mass. One that struck me particularly was this: “A [person] who fails to love the Mass fails to love Christ.” Ouch! How much would I say that I love Christ? How does that love show in my love of the Mass?

When I was dating my wife, I remember how fast time flew and how much I desired more hours in the day to spend with her. I’m sure that many of you have similar memories of times you wanted to spend eternity with that which you loved. That is the kind of love we ought to have for Jesus and that love is what should bring us to Mass every week.

Do you love of Jesus? How much?