Ex 20:1-17; 1Cor 1:22-25; Jn 2:13-25
A survey published in 2023 by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate showed that as many as 94% of self-identified Nigerian Catholics surveyed said they attend weekly or daily Mass. This makes Nigeria the country with the highest number of Catholics attending Mass regularly.
I was grateful to God for this report for many reasons. Despite all the violence against Christians in Nigeria, the many times that worshippers at Mass have been slaughtered by Islamic terrorists, the many burned churches and rectories, and the many Catholic priests who have been kidnapped and killed while the mainstream media remains mute, the faithful still hold on tenaciously to their Catholic faith.
But the report also raised some questions in my mind. If so many Catholics attend Mass frequently, why is the country still plagued with so much corruption, fraud, and injustice? How can one reconcile the fact that the country with the highest attendance at Mass in the world is also the country with one of the highest corruption indices in the world? It appears that the high attendance at Mass has little or no impact on the society. What then is lacking in our worship?
Biblical scholars tell us that thousands of pilgrims passed through the Jerusalem temple on any given Passover celebration. Jesus must have noticed the great throng of pilgrims at the temple. But Jesus is not into statistics. For instance, He is the only shepherd who would leave ninety-nine sheep and go in search of the lost sheep. He is not concerned with surveys about worship attendance but about the quality of the worship.
He found that the temple had become a place of material gain where money and animals changed hands freely and where awe and reverence towards God were absent. He cleansed the temple of the few who were involved in such distracting trade in the temple because they were hindering others from the true worship of His Father, “Take these out of here and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
Jesus also pointed to His body as the new temple, the place of perfect worship here on earth, “’Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up’…He was speaking of the temple of His body.” Through this same body of Jesus, we are to share in His own worship of the Father, the same worship of the Father that led Him to obey His Father, “even unto death on the cross.”(Phil 2:8)
Thus, authentic worship here on earth is found first of all in our communion with the body of the crucified Christ. This communion is achieved in and through the Eucharist. Through our communion with the crucified and risen Christ in the Eucharist, we can enter into Christ’s own worship. Because Jesus Christ “understood human nature very well,”(Jn 2:25), He knew how we could seek only our own gain while pretending to worship Him. Thus, He wisely and lovingly gave us Himself through the Real Presence of the Eucharist.
But sacramental communion with Christ alone is not enough. We must also proclaim Him to the world in word and deed. Our sacramental communion brings us to share in the power and wisdom that God offers us in His crucified Son, “We proclaim Christ crucified…the power of God and the wisdom of God.” By the power and wisdom of God, we have all that we need to also become temples of the Lord in our world, lights shining in the darkness and bringing hope to all. This sacramental communion makes it possible for us to obey all God’s commandments and to perform acts of justice to God and to others, “You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.”(Ex 20:13-17)
This Lenten season, let us reflect on how authentic our worship is. What do we actually seek when we come to Holy Mass? Are we seeking some personal gain for ourselves? Are we there just to fulfill our Sunday Obligation? Are we there to receive something from God like healing and temporal favors? Are we there to be pacified in our struggles in life? Are we there out of habit and routine? Are we there to listen to good homilies or hear good music? These motives are not enough for us to experience the transforming power of the Eucharist. Unless we are ready to also “proclaim Christ crucified” with our lives, we cannot be transformed by the Eucharist.
We cannot proclaim Christ crucified without authentic worship of Jesus. This authentic worship that is offered us in the Eucharist is what brings us out of ourselves and towards God and others. Eucharistic worship moves us to search for the will of God always. It moves us to be more attentive and responsive to the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of others. Jesus begins His cleansing action in our hearts to bring us to participate in His own perfect worship of the Father, a worship that led Him to the cross to reveal His Father’s love for us all.
As we worship through Him, in Him, and with Him in each Holy Mass, He desires that we live in communion with Him and become His living temples in the world, radiating His light to others.
Our communion with Him is important and indispensable, but not enough. It must also lead us to live for Him and for the life and light that He offers to the world through us. This is the only worship that can transform us and our world today.
Glory to Jesus! Honor to Mary!
Photo by Babak Habibi on Unsplash
