It is not unusual to hear people say that they do not want to go to Mass because it is boring. “I don’t get anything out of it.” The answer that is usually offered is, “perhaps you’re not putting anything into the Mass” because it is false. Those who voice this complaint, young or old, have in fact put themselves there, but have not gotten anything out of the Mass.
If you are not getting anything out of the Mass, it is because you have not opened yourself up to the great gift God wishes to give you. In other words, something is blocking your mind, your heart, or your soul. You obviously have applied too much Son block to either your head (covering your mind), your chest (covering your heart), or to your whole body (covering your soul).
If you have been to the beach, the smart thing to do is apply a generous portion of sunblock before going out. Son block works the same, but in reverse. If we have too much “Son” block on our heads, chests, or bodies, we risk being burned worse than anything the sun could ever do to us. And the burning here is meant both figuratively and literally, both in this life and in the next.
Some of us play an intellectual game at Mass of finding fault with the way the Mass is celebrated. We can be motivated to do this out of a false sense of piety born from a desire for “orthodoxy.” But the Mass is not a place for us to sit back like movie critics and to find fault; rather, it is a place to encounter Jesus Christ.
Some of those who encountered the Son of God during His earthly ministry complained about His lowly estate. “Is not this the carpenter’s son? (Mt. 13:55) or “Can anything good come out of Nazareth? (John 1:46).
When our Lord took on our human nature, as St. Paul says, He “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). Part of this lowering was being raised in Galilee. Galileans were considered not educated by the religious elite in Jerusalem. Recent Bible studies have revealed hints that Jesus was thought of in this way by some of His contemporaries. We also see this in the Scriptures themselves, when our Lord’s Aramaic is not as perfect as the Jews living in Jerusalem would have spoken it. Examples of this are cited in the Lord’s use of “talitha kum” for “little girl, get up”; the words He uses mistakenly mix the masculine with the feminine grammatically. It is also hinted at during His crucifixion when he cries out “Eli, Eli, la’ma sabach-tha’ni?” We are told it means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46). But those residents of Jerusalem who heard Him say it did not understand, and thought He was invoking Elijiah.
This might scandalize some of us who expect that if God were to become human, he would be prefect in every way. But a reading of the Gospels shows us that God truly lowered Himself, from being born in a cave to having “nowhere to lay his head” during His life on earth.
If we are waiting for the perfect priest to celebrate Mass for us, we will miss out on the great graces our Lord wishes to bring to us. The people who experienced Jesus walking on the face of the earth had their excuses. Surely this man was of little consequence. There was nothing special about Him. And so they missed an opportunity of an eternal lifetime-to meet the Son of God.
We, too can miss Him when we play the same game. It might be the priest celebrant, the choir, the church building, the other people present, or just about anything else one can imagine-all or any keeping us from “getting” anything out of the Mass.