You will notice that the two Christmas trees that had been filled with almost 300 tags for women’s and children’s gifts at Mercy Hospice are gone – so are all the tags! Over the past few weeks, so many of you have so generously taken the tags and returned with gifts for these needy women and children whom you will probably never meet; in their name, I want to thank you! Let me also thank those of you who filled the school cafeteria last Saturday with gifts and food baskets for needy families both in our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres, as well as our own parish. And, I just received a letter from Msgr. James Beisel, the archdiocesan director of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, acknowledging your very generous financial support for the missionary Church; our Mission Sunday collection brought in $4,691.00! These are just three recent examples of your great generosity throughout the year and especially at Christmas time toward those here in our own neighborhood, throughout our archdiocese and around the world, in response to our God’s great gift to us – his Son, whose coming we eagerly await during this Advent Season. While he was with us, Jesus offered himself to us under the forms of bread and wine in the Eucharist and to the Father in expiation of our sins on the cross. This is why it is so important to join regularly in the Eucharist Celebration. Through this sacrament, we are reminded of God’s great generosity to us and are, in turn, strengthened and encouraged to share of ourselves with those around us. I’ve been edified to see so many parishioners return to our Eucharistic celebrations as we all learn to live with the coronavirus. I’m sure you have found spiritual strength and encouragement as you receive our Lord at Mass both through his sacred Word and his life-giving Body and Blood.
In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council remind us that our Lord, who came once in history to accomplish his great work of salvation and will come again at the end of time to lead all the faithful to our heavenly Father, remains in our midst, especially through the sacraments:
To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, “the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross”, but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in all the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matt 18:20).
Our generous outreach to those in need around us comes from our worship of God and leads us back to worship God as well, as the Council of Fathers remind us so well:
Christ indeed always associates the Church with Himself in this great work wherein God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. The Church is His beloved Bride who calls to her Lord, and through Him offers worship to the Eternal Father.
Rightly, then, the liturgy is considered as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy the sanctification of man is signified by signs perceptible to the senses, and is effected in a way which corresponds with each of these signs; in the liturgy the whole public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and His members.
From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.
Yes, our coming together to worship God is the most sacred action we can perform as we gratefully acknowledge all that God has done for us, especially through his Son, Jesus. It guides and directs our daily lives in imitation of Christ’s great work. As we continue this sacred Advent Season, let us encourage each other by coming to Mass regularly so we can give ourselves time to meditate on this great mystery and so prepare ever more deeply to receive our Lord at Christmas!