Monday, January 6, 2014

Tuesday after the Epiphany, 07-01-14

1 John 4:7-10 / Mark 6:34-44

One of the precepts of the Church is this: "You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor."

The faithful are required to attend the celebration of the Eucharist every Lord's Day (Saturday vigil or Sunday Mass) and the holy days of obligation as established in the liturgical calendar, unless excused for a serious reason [i.e. illness or the care of infants]. This is in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, citations 2041-43.

Yet, we also know that if we skip the Sunday Eucharist without any good reason whatsoever, we are not put into any kind of mortal danger. We won't be struck by lightning or run down by a truck.

We only need to go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and be forgiven of that sin.

But if our Sunday Mass attendance is irregular and sporadic, and we do not observe the injunction to go for the Sacrament of Reconciliation for this fault, we are not exactly in any mortal danger; life still goes on and maybe even it is business as usual.

But spiritually, if we do an honest examination of our lives, then we know that love and peace are slowly being eroded from our hearts, and selfishness and anger are on the rise.

We can only come to realize that if we are honest and sincere with ourselves. And it also makes us realize this: if we have not received, then we can't give.

In the gospel, Jesus received from the crowd the five loaves and two fish, and in turn He gave them a feast.

At every Mass, we offer to the Lord bread and wine, and in return, He gives us Jesus to fill our hearts with love and our lives with peace and joy.

Without the Eucharist, we will have no Good News to proclaim because we have not received any.

If we truly understand what the Eucharist is doing for us, we would want to come for it everyday. And like what happens in the Eucharist, we will be always loving to others, because we know that God has loved us first, and that He wants us to do likewise.