(This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)
These truths of revelation draw us into communion with God in spite of our fears. The key to reconciling these divergent tendencies in our relationship with Almighty God is Christ and the Mass.
In the Old Testament, there are many warnings about violating sacred space. In the presence of the Lord on sacred ground, Moses was instructed to take off his sandals; only the high priest was permitted to enter into the Lord's sanctuary, the Holy of holies; and no one was permitted to look upon the Lord's face and live.
In the spirit of Old Testament reverence, Catholics enter into the Mass with similar acts of devotion: the sign of the Cross with holy water as they enter the church, the genuflection in the direction of the reserved Eucharistic Presence in the tabernacle, the gesture of adoration before receiving Holy Communion, respect for the sanctuary as the center of worship and reverent silence before and after Mass.
When Catholics dare to approach the heavenly Father, they approach him only after an encounter with Jesus Christ: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Christ alone leads us to the Father. At Mass, the prayers addressed to the heavenly Father almost always conclude with “Through Christ our Lord.” Even the canon of the Mass — the Eucharistic prayer addressed to the Father — concludes with “Through Him [Christ], in Him [Christ] and with Him [Christ]…”
All of Catholic prayer directs us to approach the heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, the one mediator between God and man. The exception might seem to be the Lord's Prayer where we pray directly to the Father: “Our Father, who art in heaven….” But even this perfect prayer must be understood “through Christ our Lord.” The Church places the Our Father after the Consecration but before the reception of Holy Communion. In other words, we dare to call God “Father” because Christ, really present on the altar, gives us permission to do so: “Taught by our Savior's command and formed by the word of God, we dare to say…”
If we can only approach the Father in Christ, how are we to approach Jesus Christ? Jesus told his apostles at the first Mass, the Last Supper, that he no longer calls them servants because servants do not know what the master is about. Henceforth, they will be called friends! Jesus reveals the benefits of friendship with him with words that prepare us well for the reception of Holy Communion: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Love, not servile fear, is the reason we ought to approach Mass with awe and reverence. For when we follow Jesus in love and friendship, He directs us to the majesty of the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. At Mass, especially during Communion, we are transformed in the wondrous mystery of the Blessed Trinity! And in the love of Christ, we find peace of soul.
