A Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
Last Sunday's remarks concluded with this:
Did we learn to temper our appetites for food and drink when we fasted and gave up some items that particularly delighted our taste buds? If so, do we really want to give over our new-found temperance to our former intemperance? Having gained some new measure of self-mastery by denying ourselves, does it make any sense to indulge our appetites as we once did, allowing our sensory urges to regain control over our thoughts and actions? We know the answer; now it's time to act on that knowledge. Sunday provides us with that respite from our busy lives to think about this, to pray, through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, for the grace we need that God freely gives. Our attendance at Mass on Sunday serves as a door that opens to this day of rest, this time to bolster our spiritual lives before we begin again our "normal" schedule on Monday.
Recalling our two posts this past week on the importance of worship, we know that the liturgy serves as the center of our worship. And for most of us, liturgy means Holy Mass. Sunday may well be the one day of the week we attend Mass, although some of us may attend Mass during the week, even daily Mass. Whenever we attend Mass, if we are worthy, we may receive Holy Communion - the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Take a moment to consider this. Go ahead; it's Sunday; you have the time now. Do you know the graces that Our Lord bestows upon us when we attend Mass and receive Him in Holy Communion? Of course you do. Another question: Do you live your life with the burning desire to obtain those graces at every opportunity?
I can answer for myself here: Sometimes. Oh, I go to Mass on Sunday. And I do try to get to Mass during the week - most days. But what of it? Am I on fire with love of God from the moment I rise in the morning until the moment I close my eyes to sleep at night? Sadly, no. So I ask myself, what, after all was the purpose of the prayers, fasting, and almsgiving of Lent if not to be more open to the graces that God freely gives us, graces which help us grow closer to Him? Shouldn't that enkindle in me the fire of His love?
But enough about me. What about you? Maybe some one of you can answer with an unqualified "Yes!". For the rest of you, why not join me today in keeping the Lord's Day, starting with our Sunday worship at Mass. Let's together open our hearts to the graces He freely gives us. Just as the first Easter taught us of the glory that awaits us as a result of Our Lord's Resurrection, so does each Sunday, a "little Easter," remind us of that future glory. And so each Sunday can be a new beginning, week after week, year after year, throughout our journey in this world.
So now we thank God for the graces he bestowed on us to help us persist in our Lenten discipline, and to desire to build on whatever progress we made in Lent. May Easter and this Easter Season serve as a source of continued grace to strengthen our souls and advance our spiritual progress.
As we continue with our Sunday respite, some of us may spend some time to focus on and prepare for the week's work to come. But all of us can turn to the Prayer for Saturday in Easter Week in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to re-focus on the entire purpose of our lives:
We can and should make this Sunday, and all Sundays, a day of rest, a special day. We can refresh mind, body, and spirit to press on with our daily struggle to lead holy lives, to grow closer to Our Lord. By God's mercy and through His grace, eternal happiness in Heaven awaits us if we do.As we've seen, Easter should mark a new spiritual beginning for all of us. Our special Lenten discipline was intended for this. And so it's no time to slacken our efforts to grow ever closer to God, the entire point of our spiritual lives. With the arrival of Easter, we don't go back to the lives we led when Lent began. We pick up wherever it is that our Lenten discipline took us and continue our journey.
Did we learn to temper our appetites for food and drink when we fasted and gave up some items that particularly delighted our taste buds? If so, do we really want to give over our new-found temperance to our former intemperance? Having gained some new measure of self-mastery by denying ourselves, does it make any sense to indulge our appetites as we once did, allowing our sensory urges to regain control over our thoughts and actions? We know the answer; now it's time to act on that knowledge. Sunday provides us with that respite from our busy lives to think about this, to pray, through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, for the grace we need that God freely gives. Our attendance at Mass on Sunday serves as a door that opens to this day of rest, this time to bolster our spiritual lives before we begin again our "normal" schedule on Monday.
Recalling our two posts this past week on the importance of worship, we know that the liturgy serves as the center of our worship. And for most of us, liturgy means Holy Mass. Sunday may well be the one day of the week we attend Mass, although some of us may attend Mass during the week, even daily Mass. Whenever we attend Mass, if we are worthy, we may receive Holy Communion - the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Take a moment to consider this. Go ahead; it's Sunday; you have the time now. Do you know the graces that Our Lord bestows upon us when we attend Mass and receive Him in Holy Communion? Of course you do. Another question: Do you live your life with the burning desire to obtain those graces at every opportunity?
I can answer for myself here: Sometimes. Oh, I go to Mass on Sunday. And I do try to get to Mass during the week - most days. But what of it? Am I on fire with love of God from the moment I rise in the morning until the moment I close my eyes to sleep at night? Sadly, no. So I ask myself, what, after all was the purpose of the prayers, fasting, and almsgiving of Lent if not to be more open to the graces that God freely gives us, graces which help us grow closer to Him? Shouldn't that enkindle in me the fire of His love?
But enough about me. What about you? Maybe some one of you can answer with an unqualified "Yes!". For the rest of you, why not join me today in keeping the Lord's Day, starting with our Sunday worship at Mass. Let's together open our hearts to the graces He freely gives us. Just as the first Easter taught us of the glory that awaits us as a result of Our Lord's Resurrection, so does each Sunday, a "little Easter," remind us of that future glory. And so each Sunday can be a new beginning, week after week, year after year, throughout our journey in this world.
So now we thank God for the graces he bestowed on us to help us persist in our Lenten discipline, and to desire to build on whatever progress we made in Lent. May Easter and this Easter Season serve as a source of continued grace to strengthen our souls and advance our spiritual progress.
As we continue with our Sunday respite, some of us may spend some time to focus on and prepare for the week's work to come. But all of us can turn to the Prayer for Saturday in Easter Week in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to re-focus on the entire purpose of our lives:
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that we, who have reverently celebrated the Easter solemnities, may, by them, deserve to arrive at everlasting joys...We close with an exhortation that can help us keep the forty days of our Easter Season a vibrant source of inspiration to grow ever closer to Our Risen Lord.
Happy Easter!
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