Daily Mass

The last day of the month is traditionally the most important day of the month in my business. It gets so crazyhectic here that you’re on the go when you punch in until you punch out; your phone rings repetitively; and you’re bombarded with crises that you didn’t create but have to clear up as soon as possible – which means drop everything immediately now! Normally, I’d order from a deli, have my lunch delivered, and eat at my desk, but today I just threw my hands up in the air and decided to take my full lunch hour off-site.

I went to daily mass at the church a few blocks down the road. It’s the first time I went since my first heart surgery back in November (how fickle we imperfect humans are!). I’ve gone quite frequently in the past and received great comfort and benefit from it, but like most things in my life, I’m highly inconsistent. I’d go ten times in one month, then not go for three or four months. I think my attendance peaked around the time of the birth of my first child (how fickle we imperfect humans are!). And yes, I know, we go to mass not to get something out of it, no matter how comforted or benefitted we are, but to pay homage to Our Lord.

I enjoy daily mass so much more than our obligated Sundays. For one, there’s none of the horrible singing so prevalent in the Catholic liturgy. And there’s no monkeying around with – horror of horrors! – saying the pronoun “He” or “Him.” (Ex. We are thankful to God that He gave Himself … becomes We are thankful to God that God gave Godself – yuck.) The church is only filled with a handful of worshippers, who are genuinely more reverent than all but a small percentage of Sunday Catholics. The homilies are intimate, shorter, to the point, and more often than not actually expand on Catholic teaching. Yes, I need to make this a more consistent habit.

Does this affect me the rest of the day? You bet. I meditate on the Eucharist, what it really is, what it really means, as I walk out those doors and walk back to my office, once again, back into the breach. Which is real and which is not? That’s what we need to remember.