Church Attendance?
Posted:1/27/2008
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Every Sunday there is a battle at my house. I find Mass boring and meaningless. Do I have to go?
Jackson T., Brownsville, TN
 "Have to"
"Want to"
Things you can do:
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"Have to"
It may help to trace the origins of the Church law that requires Sunday Mass attendance. It begins with the earliest people who believed in powers greater than they were and sought to please these powers. They longed to make sense out of life and searched for deeper answers to the mystery of how the world worked. This search took a big step forward when God joined the Israelites and human history.
God made a covenant promising to protect them forever in return for their faithfulness which was spelled out in the Ten Commandments. The third requires: "Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day." That law, and many rituals that go with it, merely said what humans have known for ages: It's natural to set aside time for our relationship with God.
"Want to"
In the end, each of us must make an adult choice. Observing the law because we want to can be a loving act when we understand what we are doing and choose to do it as a response to God, who has loved us first.
The Israelites believed that God picked a special day when creating the world to simply sit back, rest and appreciate creation! Jesus knew this and shared a very intimate relationship with "Abba." Over the centuries, the way we have expressed this relationship—our worship—has changed, but the intent is the same. We want to set aside time to be with God, be in awe of creation and respond to God's love with love. Mass is the formal time and space for us to do this.
Things you can do:
1. Treasure the "best" Masses. Most likely, there are times when the liturgy has been particularly meaningful for you, times when you felt particularly close to Jesus and God. Remember them.
2. Get in touch with what you like and what you don't. If possible, share your experience with your parish priest. He may appreciate having some constructive ideas about how to make Mass more meaningful for young people.
3. Become involved in your parish worship. When you have a stake in what is going on, you can increase your ability to influence it.
4. Don't give up. Not every parish is perfect; but as you get older and can explore other parish communities, you may find one that is a better fit for your spiritual life.
5. Begin where you are. Start with your parish: You may be just the spark to get things rolling. |
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