Unpacking the Rosary: A 30-Day Journey into the Heart of the Rosary
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Today, during Mass, I received something of an epiphany. I'm a little slow, and most of you probably already caught on to this, but I wanted to share it for those who - like me - are just getting there.
If this is a TL;DR moment for you, I wrote a song to summarize it: https://youtu.be/N31FvhivaqM
When Jesus prepares His disciples for His ascension, He tells them, "And though I do go away, to prepare you a home, I am coming back; and then I will take you to myself, so that you too may be where I am." - John 14:3
This is bridal language. The Jewish tradition of Jesus's time was that, after the Bride price was paid, the groom would go to prepare a home for his bride and would not come back to get her until it was ready. It was her job to spend that time apart from him preparing herself to be a wife. She would weave the cloth to make the sheets and blankets and other items that made the house a home. She never knew exactly when he would return, so she had to be ready to go at a moment's notice.
When he returned to claim his bride, they would notify all the invited guests to come. Then, they would hold the wedding feast and, during this feast, the marriage would be consummated. After, the Bride and Groom would depart for their new life together as one.
Christ paid the ultimate price to claim us as His bride. That's how much He loves us. That's how far He's willing to go to show us what we're worth to Him.
We've all been invited to Christ's wedding feast. The Mass is where we gather to celebrate that feast.
A marriage is not a contract. It is a covenant. In the Abrahamic tradition, it required both parties to make a sacrifice in order to seal it. That sacrifice usually needed to be of equivalent value, but in God's case, His sacrifice is so much greater than our own that nothing we could ever offer would come close to being of equal value. However, we should make our best effort. What we put in that collection plate or send in an online donation should reflect the value we find in the sacrifice Christ offered on our behalf. It should be a reflection of our love for Him and our gratitude for the gift we're receiving.
During the consecration, it isn't just the gifts being set apart for Christ. It's us, too. We're agreeing to enter into this bridal union and to keep ourselves set aside for Christ. Note that this setting apart is one reason that, historically, the Church encouraged sexual abstinence on Sunday in keeping with the sexual abstinence God required for the Israelites on the Sabbath day.
The moment the priest transubstantiates the Host, that is the moment Christ descends to reclaim His bride. In that moment, Christ pours His body and blood into the form of bread and wine so that He can feed us with His love and give us new life.
The moment we receive the Eucharist, we are consummating our union with Christ.
Nothing in our wedding feast is done until the Father blesses our union with Christ and sends us out to live with Him in the world. Once we leave those doors, we are fully united to Christ and "pregnant" with His new life. We're called to carry this new life out into the world, just as Mary did when she carried the newly conceived Christ to Elizabeth.
Nothing but Christ matters when it comes to the Mass. We aren't there for the music, the priest, the homily, or the fellowship. We're grateful those people are there, but they aren't the reason we're there. Jesus is. It is a great gift when the music is uplifting and the priest's homilies are thoughtful and inspired, but as long as we receive Christ, nothing else truly matters.
When looked at in this light, it's so important to be sure that we're receiving communion worthily. How much we hurt Jesus when we betray Him with a kiss by failing to confess our sins and reconcile with Him before receiving Him this way. Our mortal sins are moments where we chose our selfish desires over His love. To then come looking to join ourselves in an intimate embrace with Him adds insult to injury.
You don't need to wait for your death to begin enjoying the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Those who are waiting are missing out! If you haven't been to confession for a while, go first. Then go to the nearest Catholic Mass and receive Christ like you've never received Him before.
Award-winning international speaker and author, Brandy M. Miller is a Catholic revert. Raised in a culturally Catholic home, she left the faith at 16 in search of the truth and returned 12 years later when she found it right where she left it. Today, she is convinced that the Catholic Church is the cure to society's ills and is eager to help share the Gospel truth to those who have ears to hear it. When she isn't writing for or about the Catholic Church, she offers her writing talents to Catholics who would like help sharing their witnesses of Christ's work in their lives.
