Getting "Into" the Mass

Not too long ago I booked a ticket on a VIA train to Ottawa.  I wanted a window seat so I could look out the window and not be bothered by the movement in the aisle.  Much to my surprise the window seats were already booked.  . . . But it wasn't to look out the window.  Something much more essential was nearby and many passengers knew it. 

A plug.  Very soon the train filled up with university students heading back to the University of Ottawa and to Carleton.  And they came with many appendages, things hanging off their hands and arms!  Laptops, tablets, phones and headphones appeared.  VIA offers Wifi!  And so away we went. 

By comparison what happens when you come into church for Mass?  It can seem mighty passive.  But what is happening is a different language in a sort of a way.  We are conditioned to think that something that is old is not very useful.  We have "better" ways of doing stuff now.  This can apply in many areas of life, but there are areas of life that don't change as much as we might think.  When I do marriage interviews the ingredients that go into good deep relationships seem to be the same as they were 24 years ago when I was a baby priest. 

And so in the midst of our busy techy world, we also still need the anchoring experiences that root us.  So it is true when we come into church we enter into a world that is probably more still than we are used to. 

Our thoughts can be overwhelming almost.  The busy activities we are used to don't give our emotions and our spirit much time to catch up.  We might see this as a barrier to prayer but we can actually start by making these things part of our prayer. 

There will be quite a few more entries on the blog that help to unlock this special language we use when we give praise to God together as God's people at the Eucharist. 

The Pelican feeding its young from its own breast, an ancient symbol of the Eucharist.  Window on north side of St. Gregory's Church, Oshawa