"And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20
"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." John 6:55-56
At Mass we come together as members of God's family. We listen to God's Word and we gather around the table of the Lord to remember God's gift to us - Jesus. We give thanks and praise to God. The most important part of Mass is not the Homily but the Eucharist (or Communion). Mass was how Jesus set it up almost 2000 years ago so the Church gets its authority from Jesus. He made Peter the head of the Church - our first Pope. Jesus gave Peter and the Church "the keys to the kingdom of heaven." Jesus established a new covenant when He started His ministry of teaching and when He died for our sins. It is then that we became His new people or the Church. The priest at Mass has been given the authority from Christ to be Jesus to us during the liturgy as the priest accepts the simple gifts of bread and wine and consecrates the Eucharist to change it into the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Church houses Jesus Himself in the Eucharist so He is giving His very self to us - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - a kind of self-giving when we receive Him at Communion. The Mass is God's precious gift to us when God comes to us. God has invited us to enter into the Eucharistic ceremony in which the Sacrifice of Christ is offered to the Father through the priest just as Jesus offered Himself to the Father on the Cross.
We repeat the Last Supper when we remember His great act of love for us on the Cross. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me" That is a pretty specific command - "Do this." He didn't just say "Remember me." He told us exactly how to celebrate His passion, death and resurrection for the redemption of the world by taking our sins so that we, if we follow His commandments, can live with Him forever in heaven.
It is because we are baptized into the Body of Christ (the Church) at your baptism, it is important to worship with other members of the Church who are all a part of His one body. So it's not a "Jesus and me" religion. In fact, at each Mass we celebrate with the Church past, present and future. This includes the saints, your deceased loved ones and all who live in Christ are praying together. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass with the whole community of Catholics around the world … and in heaven. So if you're not holding both hands with someone during the Our Father, your other hand is really holding the hand of an angel!
You should not feel like you have to go to Mass even though honoring the Sabbath or the Lord's Day is a Commandment, but you should feel like you want to. We shouldn't treat Mass as an obligation or a duty or something we want "to get out of the way." Mass is not supposed to be entertainment for us, to get something out of it but instead it is what we bring to Mass. We not only go to praise Him but also give Him thanks for all He has done for us and act sorry for our sins. We get our own personal audience with God and get a glipse of Him in Heaven on his Throne.
So we go to Mass to worship our Creator, develop a relationship with God, keep our faith strong, and help build up the Church - the Body of Christ, the Communion of Saints, His family of believers. You can also pray your petitions or personal needs for yourself and others. We all need the sacrament of the Eucharist to remain in the state of grace when our venial sins (or less serious sins) get wiped away off our soul.
In fact, at Mass we find everything else we’ve talked about: celebration, our community, our shared values, and the call to serve others. This is what Catholics mean when they say Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life. This sacrament nourishes us so that we can be the Body of Christ on earth and live like Christ.
You can even look forward to hearing the Gospels by preparing for them (reading them ahead of time online), reflecting on your week and offering it to God, singing, praying, sharing with the other members of the Body of Christ. Mass can then be more of a moving experience if we participate and get involved with the Church. You should come open and willing to be touched by God. If you miss a Sunday, He will truly miss you. The Church should be your second home to celebrate and chill with your extended family. It should give you a sense of belonging when you participate with people of the same faith.
There are two parts to the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Mass is a sacrifice, a perfect and holy sacrifice. It is also a meal. At the consecration, the bread and wine, through the power of the Holy Spirit, become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is called transubstantiation. Not a symbol, but Jesus' real flesh and real blood, under the appearance of bread and wine. With Holy Communion, we get to eat at his table like his apostles did and share in Jesus' body who is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.
When we receive Christ, He lives within us in a special way and gives us the real food for our soul. Holy Communion will strengthen our bond with Jesus, rid us of our venial sins (mortal or more serious sin require forgiveness in Confession), it increases our love of God and neighbor and gives us the grace to avoid sin in the future. The Lord is not wanting to condemn us for our sins but heal us. Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist gives us the strength to go on with our daily lives, get healed of our brokenness and hurts and become whole again so we can follow Him and respond to others....we're lifting all our troubles up to the Lord and carrying him with us every week to go out into the "mission fields" and do Hi work. We should always say thank to God when we go to Mass and pray boldly for yourself and others, asking your favors be conformed to God's will. Your gift of an hour of good attitude and attention is even a way to thank Him. So when you participate, be alive and not say your responses like they are a throwaway word...say the Great Amen with what it means, "Yes, I believe." Afterall, God doesn't need to hear it but we need to say it and God speaks to us directly when we listen to the readings and the Gospel, He's really proclaiming His story.
Jesus wants us to share in His own divine life. You are who we are because of our sharing with our brothers and sisters in Christ. And what we share is Jesus Christ Himself, His special gift to you. You live in Jesus and He in you and you need to give to others in faith, hope and love. This means that you must see Christ in one another. The Body of Christ unites us and strengthens you for the week ahead as you take on the work of being Jesus' hands and feet in the world today. You can do this by performing some works of mercy, e.g., feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and welcoming the stranger. So have a positive effect on other people's lives!
There is proper conduct to follow while you are at Mass. Try and finish your breakfast early to allow an hour before Mass begins so you'll be able to receive Jesus. Respectful silence is to be observed in the church, so don't forget to turn off any cell phones. Dressing appropriately for Mass is simply a matter of showing respect, not only for God, but for others around you. You should wear clothes that are modest and clean and the nicest clothes you have. So just say no to street clothes like t-shirts (especially with any writing on them) and denim. Think about how you would dress for an important event, and then recall we are meeting Almighty God at Mass. It doesn’t get more important than that! You are free to leave once the priest finishes walking down the aisle. The best part about Sundays is that you get to keep holy the Sabbath by making it a day of rest for you … it means no shopping or heavy duty chores for you!
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Faith Lessons for our children to teach God's values and standards. Guidelines for parents in their role as primary educators and gatekeepers of the home when faced by negative pressures by their children and other parents. We need to communicate the Catholic faith to the next generation so it takes hold and endures. Our role is basically to assist the Holy Spirit's transforming work. Our kids deserve the fullness of our Catholic faith (our roots) and wings to allow them to fly!
Ask Yourself These Questions
Do you bring up God in your day-to-day living experiences to your kids? Are we raising kids who are transfixed by handheld devices all the time with no communal activities? Would you invite some of the performers of the music that your child may listen to into your family room? Have you taken the time to teach your children the virtues of purity and that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, or did you instead choose to teach your children about condoms, birth control, and safe sex? Do you, by example and words, stress a Godly attitude towards drinking and drugs, or are you waiting for some school program to give your child a "just say no" lesson? Do you keep your children accountable to you as their parent and guardian, or are you more interested in trying to be their best friend and get them to like you? Does your home live by the words in Joshua "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" or have you left your children to find their own way in this world full of temptations, sins, and evil?
Be different from your parents and don’t skirt the moral questions. It is proven that parents have the greatest impact on whether kids engage in premarital sex, smoke, get tattoos or partake in other risky behaviors. Yet parents often remain mum on these topics. The more that kids are barraged with information from the Internet, from media, and from electronic devices they’re plugged into, the smaller the circle of voices they trust.
The perfect time to talk to your child about drugs is when you think they're too young to talk about using drugs. Talk to your child before someone else does. So too, we must initiate our children at an early age into the mysteries of the faith and teach them the morals and values of our faith. It can be such an awesome duty to help them grow in faith by the witness of a Catholic life in keeping with the Gospel. The great principles of God are to be taught, practiced and cultivated in the home by us, their primary educators.
Let them see how your faith affects every aspect of your life and how Jesus Christ is your compass in making the moral decisions in your life. It means your faith is not just being a Sunday Catholic and not just something that you do but how you live, so much a part of your life so that you can’t help but bring it up at the dinner table. You end up talking about what happened in the news or praying for people who are sick and hurting.
If you want your kids and their friends to be in your company, stock the fridge with food, schedule game or movies nights for them, create an inviting fun atmosphere.
To make Mass more of a time that they get to go to church rather than have to go, try asking your kids what they thought of the Sunday homily. Ask them what they might have said about the Gospel if they’d given the homily that day.
It means not giving into letting a child have a TV or computer in their room but in a common area that is supervised. We also should be attending to what, and how much, electronic entertainment kids consume: TV, movies, music, video games, web activity...there's pluggedin.com and Godtube as alternative tools!
Tell your kids why you refuse to buy their clothing from Abercrombie & Fitch (with their advertising of models barely clothed). at the very least they’ll respect you for your point of view.
We must respect our children's faith journeys. However, while we can do many things for our children, we have to let them find their own way to God, even if means watching them try things we ourselves have tried and know lead to dead ends, even after they leave home. In their very real struggles to find God, the nourishment they need is from you. So live your faith out loud. Live it openly at home so your children catch it, learn it,will ask about, and grow in it. That’s how faith gets in them!
"My son, if your heart be wise, my own heart also will rejoice; And my inmost being will exult, when your lips speak what is right." Proverbs 23:15-16
Be different from your parents and don’t skirt the moral questions. It is proven that parents have the greatest impact on whether kids engage in premarital sex, smoke, get tattoos or partake in other risky behaviors. Yet parents often remain mum on these topics. The more that kids are barraged with information from the Internet, from media, and from electronic devices they’re plugged into, the smaller the circle of voices they trust.
The perfect time to talk to your child about drugs is when you think they're too young to talk about using drugs. Talk to your child before someone else does. So too, we must initiate our children at an early age into the mysteries of the faith and teach them the morals and values of our faith. It can be such an awesome duty to help them grow in faith by the witness of a Catholic life in keeping with the Gospel. The great principles of God are to be taught, practiced and cultivated in the home by us, their primary educators.
Let them see how your faith affects every aspect of your life and how Jesus Christ is your compass in making the moral decisions in your life. It means your faith is not just being a Sunday Catholic and not just something that you do but how you live, so much a part of your life so that you can’t help but bring it up at the dinner table. You end up talking about what happened in the news or praying for people who are sick and hurting.
If you want your kids and their friends to be in your company, stock the fridge with food, schedule game or movies nights for them, create an inviting fun atmosphere.
To make Mass more of a time that they get to go to church rather than have to go, try asking your kids what they thought of the Sunday homily. Ask them what they might have said about the Gospel if they’d given the homily that day.
It means not giving into letting a child have a TV or computer in their room but in a common area that is supervised. We also should be attending to what, and how much, electronic entertainment kids consume: TV, movies, music, video games, web activity...there's pluggedin.com and Godtube as alternative tools!
Tell your kids why you refuse to buy their clothing from Abercrombie & Fitch (with their advertising of models barely clothed). at the very least they’ll respect you for your point of view.
We must respect our children's faith journeys. However, while we can do many things for our children, we have to let them find their own way to God, even if means watching them try things we ourselves have tried and know lead to dead ends, even after they leave home. In their very real struggles to find God, the nourishment they need is from you. So live your faith out loud. Live it openly at home so your children catch it, learn it,will ask about, and grow in it. That’s how faith gets in them!
"My son, if your heart be wise, my own heart also will rejoice; And my inmost being will exult, when your lips speak what is right." Proverbs 23:15-16
Followers
Purpose of my blog
- What are parents to do?
- When I was putting together my webpage, catholicresourcepages, I found that there are no real Catholic devotions online. After finishing Jeff Cavins Great Adventure Bible Study, reading up on the catechism, and other resources, I decided to write posts on catechism topics like sexuality, the deadly sins and heavenly virtues, the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit and other everyday themes of life. When we school our kids in the faith, point our kids toward heaven, pray for them and release them into God's hands, our children will be able to grow into the people they were called to be and less likely fall away from going to Mass and slip spiritually. Fight back with my Faith Lessons so you can teach them the why's instead of just the don'ts...to help parents be armed with talking the faith during family prayer time...your kids will be listening even if you think they aren't since you'll be planting the seeds for them for the future! Thanks for visiting and guiding your child in truth. My hope is your kids will ask for them (when really it is the family togetherness that they are longing for).
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