We Are Never Alone at Mass
We are never alone! That is never more true than at Mass. We know that God is always present and that at Mass, Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, makes his presence available to us by the change of the bread and wine into his body and blood. That is not all! At Mass, we are surrounded by all the saints, including Mary and Joseph. Also present are our loved ones who are in heaven. The Letter to the Hebrews opens Chapter 12 with these words: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us.”
We are never alone! That is never more true than at Mass. We know that God is always present and that at Mass, Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, makes his presence available to us by the change of the bread and wine into his body and blood. That is not all! At Mass, we are surrounded by all the saints, including Mary and Joseph. Also present are our loved ones who are in heaven. The Letter to the Hebrews opens Chapter 12 with these words: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us.”
Finally, there are the angels. They, too, are witnessing the renewal of Christ’s sacrifice of himself to the Father. We see this especially in the two angelic hymns we sing at Mass: the Gloria and the Holy, Holy.
The prophet Isaiah had a vision of the Lord God in the Temple in Jerusalem; in this vision, he saw angelic Seraphim, one of whom cried out: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory.” (Is 6:3) Isaiah records: “At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke.” (6:4) We sing out these same words, these angelic words, as we prepare for the mighty presence of the Lord Jesus, coming in flesh and blood.
This great angelic hymn was used in Jewish worship and was soon part of the Christian practice as we see in the Book of Revelation:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.” (Rv 4:8) What is happening is not just that the angels are present with us as we worship, but we are actually lifted to the heavenly realm to join with the angels as they continually worship God.
This is really a meeting of heaven and earth here each Sunday around our parish altars.
Earlier in the Mass, we sing another angelic hymn, the Gloria. After they completed their mission of announcing to the shepherds the nearby birth of the Messiah, a multitude of angels breaks out in praise: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Lk 2:14)
Of course, this hymn was expanded by the early Church. In particular, the praise was directed to the Father as well as to the Son, and finally “with the Holy Spirit” toward the end. Nonetheless, this hymn remains another indication of the heavenly nature of our eucharistic celebration.
We are indeed not alone, especially at Mass. Let us join with all our living brothers and sisters and with all the angels and saints as the Lord Jesus offers himself to our heavenly Father.
Bishop Earl Boyea is the fifth bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lansing @BishopBoyea
