Father Stiles' Bulletin Article, published July 10th & 11th... "Welcome Back!"
"It is with great joy that I welcome you back to the Holy Mass! Last weekend (July 3rd and 4th) was the first official weekend we Catholics of this Archdiocese were obliged to attend Mass since March 2020. Henceforth, with the usual exceptions still applicable, all Catholics are obliged to attend the Holy Mass on the weekend. This is truly a time to give thanks to God for the opportunity and freedom we have to come together and worship our Lord. Yet, after all the “virtual” Mass-going we did throughout the year, you may ask, “Why is it important for us to come together in person to worship God?” Here are a few reasons:
1. We are social beings, communal by nature.
a. As human beings, we so often do the important things in life together. We celebrate birthday parties together, we work together, we establish and maintain cities together, we have fun together, we weep together, etc. It is only reasonable that we would worship our God together because this is the most important thing we do as human beings.
2. Jesus founded a Church, and we are its members.
a. From the earliest stages of forming and developing the Jewish people, God made it clear that he wanted a people to follow him. He wanted an assembly of people, not just individuals. Indeed, God forms a covenant (sacred familial bond) with the Israelite people (cf. Ex 24).
In the same way, Jesus intended to found a Church, an assembly of people, to follow him (cf. Mt 16). He prayed that his followers would be one, even as He and God the Father are one (cf. JN 17). Moreover, Jesus specifically chose 12 Apostles to signify that he was establishing a new Israel, a new chosen people. Just as God had formed the Jewish people from 12 tribes, so God formed His Church starting with 12 Apostles.
3. We, as Church, are called to worship.
a. Hearkening back to the Old Testament when Moses was pleading with the Egyptian King (Pharaoh) to let the Hebrew people free from slavery, it wasn’t simply to be set free from slavery. Their liberty was oriented toward worship. Consider these words of Moses to Pharoah: “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness...” (Ex 7:16). The fuller context of these words makes it clear that this “serve” is ultimately about worshiping God. Indeed, God wanted to lead the Hebrew people out of slavery not only to give them the Promised Land, but primarily to teach them how to worship the one, true God.
So, too, Jesus, who is a new Moses, wanted to set us free from slavery to sin by teaching us to worship the one, true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We, as members of this Mystical Body of Christ we call the Church, worship the Holy Trinity most perfectly when we celebrate the Holy Eucharist together.
4. The family that prays together stays together
a. I know it sounds cliché, but how true it is! We as members of the Church, are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are the family of God! There is no doubt that when we pray together (e.g. during the Mass), we are united more firmly in our familial bond. I wrote above that Jesus desired that His followers would be one (cf. Jn 17). When we pray together at the Mass, great grace is given to us by God to heal any wounds in our community, fresh grace is given to desire deeper unity with each other, and we are often blessed with creative ideas on how to further cultivate our unity.
Again, welcome back! I pray you rediscover the blessing of worshiping our Lord together each weekend. Please, pray for me! God bless you!