Dear Parishioners,
The theme from today’s Mass readings—discovered by noticing how the First Reading and the Responsorial Psalm foreshadow the Gospel—is that God intended from the beginning to extend His steadfast covenantal love (Hebrew: “hesed”) for His chosen people, Israel, to ALL of humankind. Jesus’ proclamation that “People will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:29)” is the same message given in Isaiah 66:18 (1st Reading) 700 years earlier: “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory” and also the same message as in our Responsorial Psalm: “Praise the Lord, ALL you nations; glorify him, ALL you peoples! For steadfast is His kindness (hesed) toward us, and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 117, the shortest chapter in the Bible, for which Mozart and Bach composed beautiful music).
In the Old Testament and the New, we can easily see how God miraculously demonstrated his loving kindness toward His chosen people: first Israel, then the Church. But the question is: after the early Church—and today— how does the world know and experience God’s faithful love (hesed)? The answer lies in the refrain of today’s Responsorial Psalm from Mark 16:15: “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.” The Great Commission that Jesus gave His apostles is shared by you and me. You and I participate in the miraculous demonstration of God’s love for ALL people when—through prayer and God’s grace—we “fulfill (our) prophetic mission by… the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life” (Catechism, paragraph #905). The Catechism goes on to say (as have all the popes for the last ~60 years) that living a good Christian witness of life is NOT enough: “the true apostle [one who is sent, particularly the laity] is on the lookout for occasions of ANNOUNCING Christ by WORD [emphasis mine], either to unbelievers… or to the faithful.”
This means that we are called (or sent) to lovingly share the good news of Christ with our family and friends, share our Catholic faith, invite them back to Mass or a parish ministry you’re excited about, etc. If you and I don’t do this, who will? How will people that God has put in your life and mine know and experience the hesed love of God unless they see it and hear it from you (and me)? This is the point when the deacon or priest proclaims at the end of Mass, “Go, and announce the Gospel of the Lord (…to your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, etc.)!”
The word “mass” is derived from the ecclesiastical Latin formula for the dismissal of the congregation: “Ite, missa est” (“Go, it is the sending [dismissal]”). When God sends us, He doesn’t want us to do nothing! Thus, one take-away from the theme of today’s Mass readings is: Don’t merely go TO Mass, go FROM Mass… and announce the Gospel of the Lord to someone you know and love… before next Sunday’s Mass!
Peace in Christ,
Father Jim
