Appearing Now

If the headline in the local newspaper stated, “Appearing in Person, Jesus”, and the following story gave the time and place, you would probably call all your friends and plan a big group party. After all, this was promising to be a “happening.” Since we always strive to be a part of the “in crowd”, we would immediately start planning what we were going to wear, the location for pre-event supper, and after-event drinks.

Well, guess what, gentle reader, that is exactly what happens every Sunday in our Catholic Churches. At least the part about the appearance of Jesus happens. As for the rest of the hoopla, well, you can just forget that.

The centerpiece of our Catholic faith, the Holy Eucharist, has for many of us become a ho-hum event to which we drag ourselves every Sunday. There is no excitement, no special preparations, and no special family meal to celebrate the day. We don’t even bother to dress up, which is a human way to show respect and honor to an event.

I’m just as guilty as the next person for slipping into this mindset. One of the ways we can combat this human deficiency might be to start treating Sunday Mass as we would any other big event in our life. As we always prepare for a party or secular holiday, preparation would be the first step here as well. Take out your missal (I do hope you have one), and go over the readings for the day. Lay out your Sunday clothes the night before. Plan a special family meal for after Mass and invite some friends. Turn Mass into the event it deserves to be. After all, Jesus will be there, “live and in person”.