Second of Advent Year A
December 2007
We saw last week how the Mass (which is the re-presentation of the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth) has this objective, absolute value, irrespective of the understanding, knowledge or participation of those who are actually present.
This does not mean that the understanding or participation of those present does not matter. Of course it matters.
It matters like it matters if you are invited by a friend to a very good film or show and sleep right through it.
It matters like it matters if you go to live in a foreign country and you don’t understand the customs or a word of the language.
It matters like it mattered to those Japanese soldiers who appeared out of the jungle thirty years after the war was over, thinking that the war was still on.
Yes. It matters.
It matters to me if I am ignorant of, or don’t bother to find out about, the most important event to happen in the history of the human race.
It matters greatly to God that his children should know him and appreciate how much he loves and cares for them.
It matters greatly to God if his children know nothing about him, do not have any understanding of how much he loves them, or actually question his very existence.
Yes it matters greatly how much we appreciate, understand, and participate in the Mass.
It matters to me.
Does it matter to you?