Pastor’s Keyboard: From the Last Supper till now unto the end of the world the church has recognized that there is no higher prayer, no higher way to praise the Lord then to pray the Mass and especially the Sunday Mass.  Yet today, I fear many do not know this, or recognize it, or believe this truth.  How do I know this?  Because the weekly Mass attendance rate has plummeted to the lowest percentage since Catholics first came to these shores over two hundred years ago.  And because many young adult Catholics and younger have checked out of the faith in even greater numbers than their parents and grandparents.

Now there are many reasons for this. Certainly, the rapid growth of secularism, the clergy abuse scandals currently being brought to light, and the fact that many were not raised with God and worship as a priority, along with the predominance of sports.  These are but some of the reasons.  Yet the truth of the gospel and the need for God and the worship of the Lord are even more needed today.  So, what can we do to reverse this trend?

First, strive to become Saints ourselves.  How?  By attending Mass as many days, a week as we can.  There are many, many Masses through the county at different times every day.  If your retired, you should especially make Mass a priority, for you now have more years behind you then ahead of you and you want to really receive all the graces you can before your final judgement (lessen purgatory time).  Next, read and meditate on the word of God and when possible go to Bible study, you can’t live what you don’t know.  Third, have a prayer schedule and stick to it.  We should talk to the Lord at set times of day and whenever we are doing monotonous tasks.

Next, we need to go after our realities and friends who have dropped out or have yet to begin to give their lives to Jesus.  Not by bugging them to death but by inviting them and by our willingness to go out of our way to help them to come.  I know a couple at St Peter Claver who every week drive far out of their way to pick up their great nephews to bring them to Mass.  How many of us have grandchildren, nieces and nephews, godchildren whom we could offer to bring to Mass?

Then we need to ourselves strive to appreciate much more the gift we have in the Mass.  We should strive to come early to pray in silence before the Blessed Sacrament to prepare mind, body, and soul to worship the Lord. We should strive to meditate on the Sunday readings and to give ourselves fully to the prayers of the Mass.

These are but a few of the many ways we can grow to love the Lord through the Mass and to lead others to Him.  We are offered many blessings through the Masses we attend every week and through those offered for us every day.  Let us share the good news and make sure this endless treasure is not only valued but adored by all those we love.

 Your Father and Brother in Christ,

Fr Scott