Today, all of our readings challenge us to really live our Faith.  Anybody can go through the motions.  Anybody can call themselves a Catholic Christian.  Anyone show up and just sit here for an hour or so, on Sunday, and never quite get around to letting God change your hearts.  Our Faith has always got to be more.  Our Faith always calls us to more.  We are to build our homes on the firm foundation of rock.  We want what lasts forever.  We’re not interested in temporary games.  This is true when it comes to many different parts of our lives.  We don’t want to be hypocrites.  We’re not in this to play games.  We’re not trying to put on a show.  We ARE trying to live out our Faith.  People can be a fake co-worker or employee or boss.  People can be a fake spouse, or a fake son or daughter, or a fake parent.  People can even be fake sports fans, or music fans, or political devotees.  But you can’t be a fake Catholic Christian.  There’s too much on the line, first of all.  And secondly, it’s going to come out, when we’re NOT living our Faith.

       There is perhaps nothing that we do to live out our Faith more, than coming to Mass.  It’s what we do as Catholic Christians.  It is our weekly, even daily action, showing our love and Faith to and in God.  We need to be committed to coming to Mass every week, at least on Sunday.  And yes, even during the summer months, even when we are traveling, even when its not convenient, especially when its NOT convenient, we need to get ourselves to Mass.  It is how we authentically live out our Faith and keep it real.  It is simply not possible to begin to understand how to “take time off” from God.  What if God did that in His relationship with us?   Can you imagine how messed up our world could get if God took the summer off from us?  No matter where we are, we need to get ourselves to Mass.

       We need to make getting to Mass on time a priority in our lives.  We don’t go to movies late.  We don’t go to ballgames late.  Try showing up at your mother-in-law’s house for dinner late.  Yeah, uh-huh!  We know what time Mass starts.  We need to get here before the priest walks down the aisle.  I’m supposed to be the last one to get Mass.  Isn’t it funny that the person who is supposed to be the last person to get to Mass is the one who lives right across the street from the church?  If some of you don’t start getting here on time, I’m going to have you move in with me!  There are some people who’ve never heard the beginning of Mass before, because they miss it every week.  Let me tell you, you might be missing some of the best lines of the whole Mass, when you miss the beginning!   Little things can happen all of the time to make us late once in awhile, but there’s something wrong when we’re late every week. 

       And here goes, you ready, you knew this was coming… Everybody is supposed to stay until the end of Mass, the last note of the closing song.  Fr. Larry Richards talked about this two years ago.  Fr. Stan Fortuna talked about this past year at our Lenten Mission.  It is a terrible insult to God to leave Mass early.  It is a sacrilege.   We might as well just spit on the Body of Christ.  This is not just a Fr. Kevin thing.  This is a whole Church thing.  Nobody should be leaving Mass early unless you are really, really sick.  I bet that it just breaks Jesus’ heart, Jesus who died on the Cross for all of us, when He sees people leaving the one hour that He asks of us each week, early, and many times still chewing on His Body and Blood.  Those of you doing this have no idea how hurtful this is to God.  It’s got to stop.  Let me warn you now, let me promise you, if you keep leaving Mass early, you are going to deal with a very upset God on Judgment Day.   You can take the hint now, from one of God’s messengers.  Or you can pay the price later on.  But the reality is, nobody is supposed to be leaving Mass early.

       How about going to Communion.  We need to say “Amen”.   You don’t say “Amen”, you’re not supposed to get Communion.  Guys, this is the Body and Blood of Christ.  If it is what we say we believe it is, Padre Pio used to say that we should be on our faces in front of Jesus.   A respect is demanded.  You are supposed to consume the Host right away.  You don’t carry Jesus back to your seat with you.  You put Him into your mouth and consume Him right away.  One of our neighboring parishes, just recently had a terrible situation with the sacrilege and desecration of the Eucharist.  That was because, a young man took the Eucharist out of church.  In 2008, all of us,  ALL OF US, have to become vigilant, not just the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, when it comes to those individuals not consuming the Eucharist.  Nobody should be taking the Eucharist back to their seat.  If ANY OF US sees this happening, all of us have a responsibility to stop the individual.  In 2008, that’s the only way that we can protect the Eucharist.  We need to bow before receiving Holy Communion.  We need to say Amen.  We need to consume the Eucharist.  It’s simple enough.  And we need to do it with love and respect.  We don’t grab the Eucharist.  We pay attention to what we are doing.  We come up close enough to the priest or Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.  We go to them.  They are not supposed to come to us.  

        Finally, we don’t want to forget the changes that we made to the Mass a few years ago.  We ALL bow during the creed when it comes to the part about Jesus becoming a man.  We don’t just bow our heads.  We bow our whole bodies   We all cup our hand over our heart, in the Confietor, at the beginning of Mass, when we pray “through my own fault”.   These things are not options.  It’s how we are supposed to be praying together now.

        The Mass is how we show our Faith and live it out, first and foremost!  Let’s work together to continue to pray Mass well, as God’s people.  We’ve got to live it out.  We can’t just go through the motions.

May God bless us today and everyday, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti…Pray for us !!!