Seeing Sunday worship anew
A reader of my column Pause for Reflection once asked me to stop the pretense and admit that I am a Catholic writer. It was not secret. He was unfamiliar with my work which has often quoted Catholic priests including two of my brothers.
As a lay minister I do not have the full training of a priest, but for the better part of fifty years I have worked with the local ministerial association. I have been impressed with the authenticity of God’s ordained ministers. Faith continues to grow and be shared among all our churches here.
Real Christianity is surviving. “How many have laughed at the church, announcing that she was passe, that her days were over and that they would bury her?” said Rev. Scott Emerson in a 2021 Mass. He concludes, “The church has buried every one of her undertakers.”
What motivates churchgoers to continue with weekly and even daily worship? Venerable Fulton Sheen spent his life bringing others to Christ. His secret? He spent a holy hour each day getting in touch with God. It is like exposing the body to absorb the sun’s rays, he said.
For most of us our holy time is the Sunday worship in our respective churches. That is something we can work on. Why not experience Sunday worship anew?
This challenge inspired three Catholic Irish teens to pursue a unique Mass ritual. They turned going to church into an adventure. The idea came from a “Twelve pubs of Christmas” ritual where they would instead visit twelve different churches.
Since November 2024 the three teens have visited fifty different churches. The idea was so different that it endured. Along the way surprising things happened. They shared what they experienced.
One of the three says homilies need to be short - less than six minutes to be effective. I believe in a bit more latitude - up to twelve minutes. They even suggest a short Mass. Thirty minutes of reflection; you’re with your thoughts.
The smiles of parishioners and priests helped shape a sense of welcome. The many churches still left them with a sense of connection. The Mass is something local but part of something much larger. Changing slightly from place to place, yet it remains recognizably the same, offering continuity that is both grounding and reassuring.
These teens discovered that rather than seeing worship as something static, it is something to discover, to experience, even to compare. Approaching faith with openness, a bit of creativity and just enough humour can make it feel real. (from Aletia).
Making Sunday worship real is the challenge we all face. We want deep worship. We want powerful prayer. We want deliverance and healing. We want bible teaching. We want passionate worship, strong preaching, and tight fellowship.
Remember all the time that the priest or minister is clothed with God. Like Jesus, he or she intercedes for us before God’s throne. We need to pray for our ministers and support them.
Look for the presence of God in your church. Look for the greatest miracle on earth to happen in your church. Heaven touches earth. Angels worship. Jesus is present in the word, in the brothers and sisters around you, and in the Eucharist.
Before you go searching elsewhere, consider that you might have what others are looking for. There is a global unity of faith that Christianity is built on. Our Father’s House, the Church, has a banquet. Grace abounds. Once we understand that, nobody can drag us away.
Make Sunday worship your excuse to skip everything else!
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