When we love God we are compelled towards two things. Firstly, we must love our neighbour out of love for God, who is Creator of us both. Then we must worship God and give Him due honour. This podcast is about the Catholic act of worship, the Holy Mass. But also about much more, what worship means and why it is important and how we engage in it.
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Speaker 1:
Of course we know, don't we? The command of the Lord to love God and love our neighbor. It is distinctively Christian, particularly in the way that our Lord places them both together distinct yet one commandment. It's also obvious that he's not saying Be nice to God and nice to each other. The words of Moses are telling and true. This commandment must not remain in our head, but it must be written on our heart. Indelibly engraved love of God means a number of things for our life. It means keeping his laws and commandments. It means striving to be holy and to grow. In virtue, it means treating each human person as created in the image of God. It also means giving God due and proper worship. I would like to speak about this last one today. Firstly, though we have to address that falsehood, that worship of God is something I can do on my own anywhere that pleases me. What friend could really be counted as a friend if he hardly ever or never went to visit face to face with his friend? Coming to God's house, the church where God lives in the tabernacle is necessary. If we say we love God, Then let's examine the word worship. It has an interesting origin because it comes from the old English word way off, which you can hear sounds like our modern English word worth. With that in mind, it is possible to say just from the meaning of the word, that when we are engaging in worship of God, we are demonstrating that he is worthy of deserves Our presence deserves our time and our attention, and ultimately deserves our love. Worship of God, indifference to prayer can only be public and exterior. It's not something done in the privacy of our room, our home, or on the beach. For example, we as Catholics have many names for our worship given to God. The holy and divine liturgy, the sacred mysteries, holy mass, the holy sacrifice, the Eucharist. Each name captures an aspect about this incredible action that God has given to us, and that last part is important. What we do here on Sunday is not manmade so that it can be changed to suit us. God has told us how it is right to worship him. From the earliest times with the Jewish people, God laid down instructions for the sacred rights. He gave exact directions regarding the arc of the covenant, feasts and jubilee. He established Aaron as high priest and the tribe of Levi to supply the priests. He even gave exact descriptions of the ves they were to wear and how they were to perform their functions. All this is recorded in the book of Exodus and Leviticus in the Old Testament. Jesus himself at the Last Supper and on the cross, took all of this to the next level to a level of fulfillment and conclusion. He left to us through the apostles and their successes, the way to worship the Father in the way of the new and everlasting covenant in his blood. What we know today as holy mass, this Christian sacred liturgy is the perfect and complete way to worship. It exceeds the Jewish sacrifice and ceremonies and it far exceeds anything that the human mind could manufacture. So what are we to do when we come to Mass? Way back in 1,903, popes and Pius the 10th spoke of how to participate in the sacred liturgy. It has been a growing theme ever since Vatican two gave us the term active participation of everyone in the liturgy. Very quickly, though the understanding developed to mean something external, a need for general activity with as many people as possible visibly doing something. This idea forgets the prime means of participation is first in being present. That is being at mass. Then when present, the first response is interior and attention of the mind and a movement of the heart in awe, reverence, and adoration. It has to also be noted that the word participation has within it the word part. Everyone has a part in the sacred action. Each is called to do their part. Phrases like attend holy mass and take part in holy mass, carry real meaning, and we shouldn't stop using them. They're richer than go to mass, which really seems to describe only the journey to the church building. So when you attend and take part in holy mass, you do not come to a theatrical spectacle as an onlooker. Neither do you come to some event that requires noise and activity like a sporting event. You do not need to see everything. You do not need to hear everything. You do not need to do everything. You simply need to be present and give yourself over to the rhythms and cadences of this divine action. This is why silences are important. The older form of the mass is much more silent. Perhaps our Forbes understood better, the great value of silence to awaken the inner movements of the human heart and soul. When all is said and done, we come to mass to show forth our love for God and our gratitude for all that Christ has done for us in gaining our salvation and the hope of heaven. Being at holy mass requires a great deal from us because it is so different from anything else in our lives, but it also promises us more, much more than anything else in our lives.[inaudible] If you would like to listen to the follow up podcast, I'll be reading an extract from the work of Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict the 16th on the liturgy, and you might find it interesting to hear how his insightful mind put some of the ideas around participation and action and activity. My God bless you.