Today I was saying Mass at a Veteran's home for the Catholic
residents there, and 10 minutes before Mass was over, someone in the
dining hall outside the chapel started playing a piano. Not, lightly
playing a quiet tune; no. It sounded like the pianist was physically
banging on the keys as loud as possible (being someone who likes to play
piano, I am sure that it is going to need a tuning, and probably some
repairs after that). The "music session" that they have out there is
scheduled to wait until 10:00am when we are done, for the very reason of
making sure that they do not disturb the Mass.
Now,
this is not a complaint about the mistake that was made in their
timing. I can let that go; the Vet's home is not a Catholic institution
so I do not expect them to understand Catholic priorities. This is a
recognition of the enormous disconnect that was being experienced there.
In one room, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is going on. Fifteen
Catholics are present before the (temporary) altar preparing to receive
the very body and blood of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of the
Universe. While 15 feet outside the door to the chapel some "dance
hall" style ragtime tune was being pounded out.
A
few of the residents rolled their eyes; most of whom are old enough to
remember when there was only the Traditional Mass in Latin. It was the
look on one face that stood out to me. It was not a look of anger, or
resentment (though I could have understood if it had been). No, rather,
it was a look of "they just don't get it, do they?" That is really the
point. The world, "just doesn't get it" when it comes to the Mass. Some
think of it as a "support group" session (this was spoken to me personally once); some think it is a worship
service, just like any protestant group would have; some think of it as
"smells and bells" and are just confused by it. Few, however, realize
that it is the re-presentation of the same Sacrifice that occurred on
Calvary 2000 years ago.
It is not just a
memorializing of that Sacrifice, as though it were a trip down memory lane. It is also not like a "replay" of that
event. It is the "traveling through time" of the actual Sacrifice
brought here to the present. In that event of Jesus' offering Himself up
to God, He is also being offered to us so that we may partake of all
the benefits. As someone who did not believe in the real presence of
Christ in the Sacrament once said, "if I believed that was actually divine body and blood, I would crawl
hands and knees on broken glass to partake of that just once." If we
really grasped what we are taking part in when we are in the Mass, we would be changed forever.
The tiniest crumb of the divine flesh of Christ has more eternal significance than
anything we can imagine.
I recall years ago
someone mentioning to me how moved he was when I was doing the
ablutions after Mass (the cleaning of the vessels used for communion).
He said "every single crumb has to be accounted for, and that is
awe-inspiring". This should be in our minds in every Mass and for us to
think of the ablutions and just "cleaning up" misses the point
completely. Another person once complained about a Bishop doing the
ablutions after Mass and said "washing dishes is not part of the liturgy" (insert very heavy sigh here); I
pray that he can learn to respect every single drop of Precious Blood
and crumb of the Body of Christ. Even just a little bit of Jesus, is
still Jesus.
