“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her (Luke 10:41-42).”
Sunday, July 21, 2019 – The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
The words of Our Lord to Martha clearly help us to set our priorities. We must put the Lord first in our lives, and then we can go from there. Many times He taught us: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness (Mt. 6:33).” Did He not solemnly warn us: “For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Mt. 16:26).” When Jesus confronted the devil after His time in the desert, didn’t He manifest that service to God and love of Him come first of all. “Man cannot live on bread alone (Mt. 4:4)” Jesus scolded Satan and all those in league with him.
Therefore, from the beginning of the Church (Acts 2:42) Christians have set their life of prayer high on the list as absolutely essential, particularly regular attendance at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Even before it was legal to set up church buildings, Christians faithfully gathered for Mass. Nowhere else on earth is the Lord closer to us. The obligation to assist at Mass comes from the Lord Himself who solemnly proclaimed: “Do this in memory of me.” Early Christians did so even at the risk of their lives. This is still true in many parts of the world like communist China, where it is now forbidden for children to come to Mass. To celebrate the “breaking of the bread” is essential, not optional, in living the Catholic Faith. The unity of the People of God with the Body of Christ at the Holy Mass down through the centuries has always been a living sign of those who are steadfast in faith, steadfast in Jesus Christ and His Church. Vatican II would call the Eucharistic Sacrifice “the source and summit of the Christian life.”
Until the early 1970’s and even later large numbers of Catholics in the United States were known for their regular attendance at Mass on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. Unfortunately, and very sadly, your priests know that this is no longer the case. Nevertheless, the Church has always taught and will always teach that this obligation is what moral theologians call “grave matter.” The moral and spiritual upheaval among some in the Church and in society has gradually eaten away at this solemn obligation. It’s a consequence of the loss of reverence for God, which is integrally linked to the loss of the sense of sin. In fact, the position of the Church has never changed on this matter and cannot change. The Sacred Scripture, Most Holy Tradition, the official Catechism of the Catholic Church, the revised code of canon law, the encyclical of St. John Paul II on the Lord’s Day, and the
auctores probati (approved moral theologians) maintain as “grave matter” the obligation to assist at Holy Mass on the days of obligation. Those who say otherwise are in error.
How would the Lord respond to the present rather lax attitude of so many, who really should know better? He would probably speak just like He did to Martha. We know that Jesus would finally get through to Martha after the death of her brother Lazarus. Slowly through her personal encounter with Him she comes to faith. Yes, the Lord is very patient with souls and so should we be without putting aside the Truth. Yes, Truth in Charity. Let each of us be faithful, and then humbly encourage others to come to Mass; and, also, pray for those we know, who for some reason do not. Martha would become one of the first to understand the meaning of the death and resurrection of the Lord and then joyfully proclaim: “Yes, Lord; I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into the world (John 11:27).”