The Messenger - December 2007 - Christs Mass
By Bernard McGuckian, SJ - 01 December 2007
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: Each month, Fr. Bernard McGuckian answers some of the questions you ask about the faith and its practice.
It is a law of the Church that Catholics attend Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation. As Christmas is one of these Holy Days, attendance on Christmas Day is not an optional extra. Why does the Church insist so much on the Mass?
Seán
It was getting towards 12 o’clock on a very stormy Christmas Day on one of the smaller of the Irish-speaking Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. A group of the island dwellers were looking out to sea in the hope that the boat carrying the priest from Inis Mór, the largest island, would arrive in time to say Mass. In those pre-helicopter days, to add to the difficulty, Mass could only be said before midday.
As the likelihood of the priest’s arrival became increasingly remote, one of the older women appeared to become more and more disconsolate. Her comment to the others goes a long way towards explaining her upset. ‘Ní Nollaig gan Criost agus ní Criost gan Aifreann’ (there is no Christmas without Christ and there is no Christ without the Mass).
I would be surprised if the lady who made that remark had read many theology books but her intuition took her to the very heart of Catholic faith. Like the Church, she knew that Christ is inseparable from the Mass.
Mysteries
In the New Testament we learn that ‘Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be forever’ (Heb.13:8). The Jesus in question is the man who was conceived at Nazareth, born in Bethlehem and baptized in the Jordan; he who was transfigured on Tabor, shared his Body and Blood with his disciples in the Upper Room, was crucified on Calvary, rose from the dead in Jerusalem and ascended into heaven from Mount Olivet.
Each one of these events, known in our tradition as mysteries, has left its imprint on Jesus as he now is, just as the vicissitudes of the years leave their imprint in the rings on the trunk of a tree. One example, for instance, would be the wounds in his side, hands and his feet. These resulted from acts of cruelty inflicted during his lifetime and recorded in the scriptures. Like other events of this kind they have passed and are now part of history. After the Resurrection, however, the marks were still there as is evident from the invitation to Thomas.
The effects of Jesus’ voluntary sufferings were still living on and producing their salutary effects. In this sense there is something here that will indeed remain for ever. It was by touching the place of the wounds that Thomas was led to his great act of faith: ‘My Lord and My God’ (Jn.20:28). Even at a distance of 2000 years we too, can be helped by them. This is clear from the words to Thomas: ‘You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe’ (Jn.20:29).
The Giver and the Gift
Whether the celebration is at Christmas or on any other feast day, the Jesus we encounter in the Mass is the one who sits in heavenly glory at the right hand of the Father. In instituting this sacrament he was making an ongoing gift of his very being to both the Father and to humanity.
It may be possible to distinguish some gifts from their giver but not if the Gift and the Giver happen to be the same. Jesus is inseparable from what we call the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Gift first offered to us and to the Father at the Last Supper, realized in suffering on the Cross and finally ratified and accepted in the joy of his Resurrection.
Bizarre Possibility
It is only with the commercialization of festivities in the 20th and 21st centuries that the bizarre possibility of a Christmas without Christ has emerged. If there is any evidence of anyone entertaining such a preposterous proposal in earlier times, agnostic, atheistic and anti-religious as many of them have been, I have never come across it.
The old lady’s observation about the link between Christ and the Mass may not be universally acceptable but surely no Christian could disagree with her assert-ion that there is ‘no Christmas without Christ’.
God is not a spoilsport. He wants us to enjoy the Christmas season, especially in our families. A little prayer beforehand to the Prince of Peace, whether alone or in the family, would go a long way towards ensuring peace among family members when they all come together.
We are only too well aware of the famous ‘shopping days’ to Christmas. They can also be ‘praying days’ as well. The Twelve Days after Christmas provide us with further opportunities for attending Mass. One hour over the period with God and his people is hardly asking too much from us.
Spiritual Communion
The heart of the old lady on the Aran Island was in the right place. Since there was not going to be Mass she knew that she would not have an opportunity to eat the Bread of Life on that Christmas Day. She could, however, have taken comfort from the truth that ‘God is not bound by his sacraments’. Her friends could have recommended that she make a ‘spiritual communion’ since actual sacramental communion was impossible.
One of the great saints of the Eucharist, St Margaret Mary encouraged this practice among all her friends. She believed that it can be even more spiritually beneficial, if accompanied with deep faith and desire than actual sacramental communion where it is only received through routine but with no great fervour.