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Heaven on Earth: The Order and Meaning of the Mass
My journey seeking God has been dominated by long periods of simply surviving punctuated by brief spasms of striving until an unimagined leap was triggered by an innocent Lenten attend daily Mass.
One Mass, a strange thing happened on the way to Communion . . . an elderly woman hobbled to the altar, struggled to prostate herself before receiving the Eucharist on her tongue and after laboring to stand and return to her pew, she held her face in hands entwined with a rosary.
Conversely, I strolled to the altar mindlessly, extended my hands robotically, received the Eucharist unemotionally, placed it in my mouth perfunctorily, performed the obligatory Catholic two-step, signed the Cross carelessly, walked to my seat quickly, knelt to offer an insincere prayer, and waited impatiently for the Priest’s dismissal so I could return to the really important things in my life.
Sleeping uneasily that night, I pondered, At Mass, my mind wanders aimlessly, and I don’t get anything out of receiving Communion except it means we’re near the end. But I’m receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Creator of the universe! I sure don’t act like it . I resolved to change.
Step one in my journey entailed learning about the Eucharist and, fortunately, I found two CDs in the literature rack at church, “Seven Secrets of the Eucharist” by Vinny Flynn from Mary Foundation and “I’m Not Being Fed” by Jeff Cavins from Lighthouse Catholic Media.
Listening to Vinny and Jeff left me dismayed at how little I knew about the Eucharist and, simultaneously, embarrassed by how much less I knew about Mass.
Step two, my ignorance prompted me to create a cheat sheet to follow Mass. Researching the sequence or “order” of the Mass, I was astounded at the myriad parts . . . over 60! Can you say “ Anamnesis ”?
Step three, Catch 22 - the more I studied the “order,” the more I realized how little I knew, the more I desired to learn, which expanded my search to include the “meaning” of the Mass. Do you know what “Anamnesis” means? it’s the inspiration for Mass.
Step four, evaluating the information, I discerned that Mass was, in effect, Heaven on Earth. Impelled to share my discovery, I asked my pastor, Fr. Marc Montminy, if I could offer “The Order and Meaning of the Heaven on Earth” workshop to the parish. He, readily, agreed.
Step five, reaction to the first workshops convinced me I had it “Heaven on Earth” should be the title and “The Order and Meaning of the Mass” relegated to sub-title.
Step six, conducting the workshop, again, demonstrated how little I knew but how eager Catholics are to learn more, which whet my appetite to publish this book.
Step seven, unknown. By no means does the book signify completion of my journey. As you will learn, the end of Mass, the Dismissal, is just the beginning of our journey to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”
One Mass, a strange thing happened on the way to Communion . . . an elderly woman hobbled to the altar, struggled to prostate herself before receiving the Eucharist on her tongue and after laboring to stand and return to her pew, she held her face in hands entwined with a rosary.
Conversely, I strolled to the altar mindlessly, extended my hands robotically, received the Eucharist unemotionally, placed it in my mouth perfunctorily, performed the obligatory Catholic two-step, signed the Cross carelessly, walked to my seat quickly, knelt to offer an insincere prayer, and waited impatiently for the Priest’s dismissal so I could return to the really important things in my life.
Sleeping uneasily that night, I pondered, At Mass, my mind wanders aimlessly, and I don’t get anything out of receiving Communion except it means we’re near the end. But I’m receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Creator of the universe! I sure don’t act like it . I resolved to change.
Step one in my journey entailed learning about the Eucharist and, fortunately, I found two CDs in the literature rack at church, “Seven Secrets of the Eucharist” by Vinny Flynn from Mary Foundation and “I’m Not Being Fed” by Jeff Cavins from Lighthouse Catholic Media.
Listening to Vinny and Jeff left me dismayed at how little I knew about the Eucharist and, simultaneously, embarrassed by how much less I knew about Mass.
Step two, my ignorance prompted me to create a cheat sheet to follow Mass. Researching the sequence or “order” of the Mass, I was astounded at the myriad parts . . . over 60! Can you say “ Anamnesis ”?
Step three, Catch 22 - the more I studied the “order,” the more I realized how little I knew, the more I desired to learn, which expanded my search to include the “meaning” of the Mass. Do you know what “Anamnesis” means? it’s the inspiration for Mass.
Step four, evaluating the information, I discerned that Mass was, in effect, Heaven on Earth. Impelled to share my discovery, I asked my pastor, Fr. Marc Montminy, if I could offer “The Order and Meaning of the Heaven on Earth” workshop to the parish. He, readily, agreed.
Step five, reaction to the first workshops convinced me I had it “Heaven on Earth” should be the title and “The Order and Meaning of the Mass” relegated to sub-title.
Step six, conducting the workshop, again, demonstrated how little I knew but how eager Catholics are to learn more, which whet my appetite to publish this book.
Step seven, unknown. By no means does the book signify completion of my journey. As you will learn, the end of Mass, the Dismissal, is just the beginning of our journey to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.”
193 pages, Paperback
Published October 23, 2022
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