In the Mass we are surrounded by many signs and symbols. With some of these we simply go through the motion without placing our mind on what is at hand. What is done in the Mass in word and deed has profound significance and is never done just because. There is nothing that we do here which should be taken lightly because all holds profound significance upon our life. If there is something that you don’t understand take it upon yourself to ask questions and to study the faith in order that your entering into these Sacred Mysteries may be entered into through their fullest degree.
In our Gospel Christ confronts the scribes and Pharisees who were scandalized by the lack of purification that Christ’s apostles underwent. The scribes and Pharisees followed the Law to its fullest degree, but they failed to allow the Law to meet its God given purpose. It wasn’t about going through the motion of a ritual of purity, but rather it was about letting the ritual remind them of the necessity of purity that they had to undergo as well as live. Not just their hands, but of the whole body including one’s heart and mind.
This ritual was done to remind them of the purity which was needed in order to encounter God. In the words of Psalm 24: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.” These words were the prayer used in order to enter into the Jerusalem sanctuary. It was here that they would come to encounter God and thus they came to profess their need to undergo purification.
It is easy to find ourself gathered in this place and forget about why we are here. We too should desire to be purified in our Lord’s presence just as the Jewish people understood their need to undergo purification. We should not just go through the motions of our faith, but enter into the motions in order that we may be transformed. And thus from the very beginning of the Mass we take up this attitude through the penitential act: “I confess to almighty God...that I have greatly sinned...through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault” as we strike our breastplate as action of penance.
For a tad over a month we spent time with the 6th chapter of Saint John’s Gospel. Here we came to encounter the Bread of Life discourse which presented Christ who is present with us in the Most Holy Eucharist. To fathom that Christ dwells with us here in the Eucharist out of love and yet so many could care less about what they encounter. In the words of Saint Ambrose in his prayer written for preparation for Mass: “Lord, Jesus Christ, I approach your banquet table in fear and trembling, for I am a sinner, and dare not rely on my own worth but only on your goodness and mercy.”
