What I Hear at Mass

Maybe it’s just me, but I get irritated when I hear Mass referred to as a “service” by Catholics. That term sounds bland and banal to me, and it misses the point of the Mass. The Mass is not simply a remembrance of a past event or something the attendee “does” to show their respect to God, like visiting an aged relative out of a sense of family obligation; although neither of these things are without merit.

The Mass is not primarily a “performance” where the priest speaks, teaches, and acts well to bring the hearts and minds of the attendees back to their recollection of God; although speaking, teaching, and acting well are also all laudable actions.

Any Catholic worth their [blessed] salt knows that the Eucharist is a really big deal. Most Catholics can remember their First Communion quite well. In many cases there was significant diligent preparation and much fanfare and celebration associated with this fundamental step on the road to Christian maturity. Though most children could not process the theology and metaphysics behind the sacrament, they did know that something profound happened, and they sensed the intimacy associated with consumingChrist and having Him take refuge in their very bodies.

Indeed, these very bodies that receive Christ for the first time as children transformed almost unrecognizably over the following decade to become what they would be for most of the rest of their lives. As these bodies changed they would swing back and forth through selfishness, generosity, self-awareness, self-loathing, self-esteem, and selflessness. The bodies would expand and contract and be used to bless and to curse. Some of these bodies would find athletic excellence and fitness and others would decay with disease and neglect.

Those of us who have advanced beyond the early stages of life, hopefully, gain perspective on the ideal of the body. Perhaps never has it been harder to properly value the human body. On one hand, everything from the fitness industry to pornography, both compounded by the pervasiveness of media “glorifies” unrealistic and often unhealthy physical expectations. On the other hand, abortion and euthanasia belie our culture’s true contempt for inconvenient and expensive bodies, both young and old

So, beyond our obsession with our own bodies, that Church has taught much more about another body. While Catholics recognize the “body of Christ” in the Eucharist, there are some who fail to recognize another “real presence.”

“God, however, does not make men holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased Him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness.” (Lumen Gentium #9)

This is the concept that brings me back to the title of this piece. Think for a moment: If you were to read a transcript of everything every participant said at a mass, what phrases would be the most repeated?

I think the two answers are “The body of Christ” and “Amen.”

Think about it, if there are 200 communicants, the phrases have been repeated 200 times. I understand that the phrase, “the body of Christ is immediately directed at the consecrated host, but upon reception of that host by the communicant, “the body of Christ” has found another of His homes.

The “body of Christ” is the boy with Down’s Syndrome who lurches towards communion in front of his father who smiles and gently restrains his arms from reaching for a host. The “body of Christ” is the woman with Schizophrenia who wanders towards communion in pajama pants and appears oblivious to all around her. The “body of Christ” is the whole lot including the alcoholic, rosary-rattler, the divorced, the adulterer, the nun, and the suicidal.

Like a famous cartoon once said similarly, “We have met the Body of Christ, and it is us.” Frankly Jesus could have done a much better job of it. I certainly would have been much more discriminating had I been in charge of choosing His body. Where’s the distinction for the really good if everyone gets a trophy? Indeed.

Listen up, people.