Thoughts on the Mass

The Virgin of the Lilies

by William Bouguereau (1899)

I found this picture on the web today when looking for my daily picture to honor Our Lord's Mother. It's really beautiful, not just for the sake of the art, but for the feeling it conveys.

When I look at Mary, with her eyes closed, she is the model of humility. While the humility of Christ is obvious in His image as a child, His eyes seem to stare into my soul and give me a sense of love and peace. Do you see this as well?

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I got my new issue of the Word Among Us today. Mom got the subscription for me for Christmas this year. I love it. The articles and daily meditations are right down my alley, and the edition I get also has the daily readings and propers of the Mass. I "never leave home without it".

There is an article this month that compares the story of the two travelers on the Road to Emmaus to the Mass. I'll try to break it down to keep tonight's blog brief.

Imagine what the two travelers were feeling and talking about on their way to meet other disciples immediately after Jesus' crucifixion--sadness, despair, abandonment--some of the same feelings we all may experience every day of our lives. They had already forgotten that Jesus told them He would rise from the dead. How could they forget? Had they not witnessed first-hand some of the miracles and healings He had performed? Then they "happened" (through God's Grace and divine plan) upon the Risen Christ, but didn't recognize him in their grief.

When He asked them what they were sad about, they began to tell His story from the only perspective they know, that of lost sheep. He expresses a little frustration with them. "How foolish your are!", He cried. "How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!" (Lk 24:25) Then He begins to explain the gospel to them, pointing them to the future full of hope that he made possible by his Passion and death. Beginning with Moses and going through the whole story of Israel, He showed them how everything pointed to His cross and resurrection. He didn't just explain it to their minds, though. He spoke to their hearts, stirring them with a burning desire to hear more. Compare our Lord's recitation of scripture and revelation to these disciples to the Liturgy of the Word we hear each day at Mass. Don't we listen with the same awe and anticipation that the traveler's felt? I know that since I've been going to daily Mass, I am excited to wake up every morning, knowing that I'm going to get to listen to yet another example of God's love and His plan for me and all of those whose hearts are stirred by faith.

They still didn't recognize Him, however. I guess they they thought He was just a very good scriptural scholar, but they were so moved and hungry for more of His interpretations of the fulfillment of the scriptures that they invited Him to have dinner and stay with them a while. It was only after He blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to them that they recognized Him. This is comparable to the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Just think: If the two disciples did not believe after Jesus had spoken, the bread that He broke would have done little for them.