Weekly Reflection 2/16/20

REFLECTION

Sixth Sunday In Ordinary Time

February 15-16, 2020

     Our lives are so strictly defined by time. Twenty-four hours in a day, six of school, eight of work, one or two for sports practice or a club, thirty minutes to get someone to and from somewhere and dinner has to get made, then homework and housework, and just like that, the hours have run out. To bed, and do it all over again tomorrow.

     How much time are we in the habit of leaving for God?

     I never felt like I had the time. There was always a place to go or something else to do. My parents always put it this way: Mass is one hour of your whole week. Jesus gave up his life for you, so you can give up one hour of your entire week for him.

     So I went. Not altogether willingly, but I went. As I grew older, mass became a place of peace. Rather than one hour “wasted” out of our weekend, it is a time that we have to sit, be quiet, and be with God. We leave our worries at the door, except the ones we offer up to God (in which case we often leave the church much lighter).

     More than that, Jesus is with us in the Eucharist, every mass, and we are filled with God’s grace every time we receive it. After Communion is the best time to pray because it’s when God is the closest to you. There are only two sacraments we can receive every day, and Communion is one of them. Saint Josemaría Escrivá went to Mass every day, seeking sanctity through ordinary life. Mass is a miracle, but it is a habitual one. Perhaps that is why we often forget to see it for what it is. We can sit through it with our minds on other things; going through the motions, with our mouths and hearts a little closed off.

     So why go to Mass, if it’s a waste of an hour of your weekend? It’s not. Mass will only be a waste of time if you let it.                 

                                                                                                                                                                                              Isabel C. Sans