So much of what we do every day is routine. We get up at roughly the same time, eat the same breakfast, read the same newspaper, take the same route to work, do the same things, go to bed again at about the same time as the night before. Having a routine is good. It gives a regular pattern and order to our lives. Without it, we would be disorganized. We would get little done. But the problem with a regular routine is that we can follow it without having to think about it very much. It becomes so much a part of us that we do it automatically. It can be almost like we are on automatic pilot.
The same can happen with going to church. When we go to Mass every Sunday (or more often), the words and rituals become so familiar to us that we might not think a lot about what we are doing. We know when to stand and sit, we know the responses to the prayers, our minds can be a million miles away and yet we know exactly where we are and what part of the Mass the priest is at. We do not have to focus very much, or to engage at all.
Despite this we must try to remember that what happens at every Mass is an extraordinary event. Paul tells us that whenever we eat the body and drink the blood of the Lord, we proclaim his death until he comes. Every time we celebrate Mass, we celebrate the great event of our salvation. Eucharist comes from the Greek word “Eucharistia,” which means “thanksgiving.”
A common phrase used by many people, is “thanks be to God,” coming from the Irish “buíochas le Dia” Every time we celebrate the Eucharist we say “thanks be to God” in the most profound way. What do you have in your life to give thanks to God for today?
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