One of the things I miss the most in the pandemic lockdown is the experience of going to a live concert. I miss the energy, the musicianship, the community of music lovers gathering to hear an artist we all love in common. I miss being face-to-face with the musician that you just don’t get by listening to Spotify. When I’m riding out the pandemic on my apartment couch, I don’t get to sing along with the crowd. I don’t get to cheer for the musicians to come back on at the end of the concert for an encore performance.
I’ve found there is something similar in this to the return to Mass after almost three months of YouTube liturgies.
And for most of my life, I didn’t value Mass as I do right now. Attending Mass, in the past, felt like a passive experience. I would tune out much like I would tune out to the radio in the car. I didn’t get a “live” experience.
In the past few months, I’ve come to discover that God means for us to experience the Mass much like I’ve come to appreciate live concerts.
There’s deep, solemn energy, and a loving gathering of the community. But like the lead singer of a concert, there’s a deep, face-to-face conversation that happens. God is engaging and talking to us in Mass.
The first way God does this is through the Liturgy of the Word. Each Sunday Mass, we are given a thoughtfully-arranged set of Bible passages that communicate a message, centred on the Gospel readings. There’s a particular order to the way we are given Bible scriptures even over a particular season of time.
For example, over Lent, we’re given Scripture passages that are about repentance and fasting. Over Advent, we’re given Scripture passages that are about preparing for Jesus coming.
The readings also often relate to one another in ways that shine new meanings than if they were read separately. As I’ve sat in the pew on Sundays, I’ve quietly asked the Holy Spirit to open the Scriptures to me and grant me the grace of being able to listen intently.
Now that I’m a father of a very wriggly 4-year old girl, I’ve lowered the expectations of my own ability to listen to every word, and I’m just asking God to help me take away a keyword or phrase that will help deepen my relationship with God. Every week, I always get a nugget of wisdom or peace that applies to my daily life. Most recently, it was “try to grow perfect; help one another” from the Second Reading at the Mass for the Holy Trinity. Because I’ve prayed at the beginning for God to speak to me through the readings, whatever jumps out at me, I pray with faith that it’s God directly speaking to me.
Secondly, God talks to us through preaching. I’m grateful for the Homily. I trust that the Holy Spirit is moving through the priest. I imagine the priest prayerfully preparing his homily for that week, asking God to speak through him. I love hearing deeper insights about how certain words or phrases in the original translations of the Bible bring a new angle that I’d never considered. I love hearing the priest talk about Jesus and what He says in this particular Gospel reading. But I especially love when the priest breaks down how to apply the Gospel reading in my daily life, practically.
I feel like Jesus is speaking to me directly, giving me instructions on how to be more like Him.
One of the ways I’ve grown to listen intently through the Mass is through bringing a small journal and a pen. I’ll try and note down three key takeaways from the readings and the preaching. In one year, I hope to have fifty-two “notes” from God speaking to me, all archived in a journal.
Lastly, I believe God talks to us through the Eucharist. To me, it’s the most intimate time with God. It’s when I get to be the most physically close with Him. As I leave the pew and walk up to the front of the altar, in my heart, I pray a prayer to recommit myself to Him, and I invite Him to be at the centre of my life.
I say to Him, “Jesus, I believe that You know me and that You love me. I have not always chosen to love You, and I’ve broken my relationship with You through my sins. Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus who proved Your love for me on the Cross by dying on the Cross for my sins. I open the door of my heart and I invite you to be at the centre of my life, to be my Saviour and My Lord. Direct me by Your Holy Spirit to live the Gospel with my whole life.” And by the time I get to the priest, who then says, “The Body of Christ”, I wholeheartedly respond “Amen.”
As I return to the pew and kneel, I’m simply listening. Some weeks, I’m having a full-on mental conversation with Jesus and we’re just catching up about the week and looking forward. Other weeks, I’m silently filled with His peace and love. But above all, I know what He’s saying to me at this time. It’s simply, “I love you.”
Though I’ve shared just three ways God talks at Mass, I know there are countless ways God can and will talk through Mass. It can be hard, especially if we’re stuck with watching Mass on a screen for now. I know asking for the Holy Spirit’s help and grace to hear from God at Mass makes a big difference. That’s what makes the experience of Mass become a “live concert” experience. Something more deeply engaging and exciting, but also deeply reverent and transformative. And often, what He says, in so many different ways, is simple. “I love you.”
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