The Pope’s Jan. 27th Angelus address reminds us why Sunday rest, and the liturgy celebrated thereon, is so important:
“Before we can speak of God and with God, we need to listen, and the liturgy of the Church is the ‘school’ of this listening to the Lord who speaks to us.”
I don’t know who this little girl is, but this picture is too cute not to use. Photo by niclindh
Most admonitions about keeping Sunday holy fall along the lines of
“In our scattered and distracted era, this Gospel invites us to ask ourselves about our ability to listen.”
We certainly have lost quite a bit of that ability, myself included. Unless it is actively chosen, unforeseen silence is usually seen as a vacuum that needs filling. After a rosary, blank audible spaces in my day usually are filled with Catholic Answers Live or CarTalk podcasts (unless those blank spaces are after I ask my class “Does that make sense?”). Listening requires both silence and attentiveness, a humility that focuses our attention on the other.
Jesus listens to others all the time. In our prayers, of course, but also in Scripture. If ever there was a person who could be a Me Monster, it would be the Second Person. But Jesus has no need of pride and provides the model for us, who don’t need it either. We do, though, need the liturgy:
Exploring the day’s reading from the Gospel of Luke, the Pope recounted how Jesus went to the synagogue in Nazareth on the Sabbath.
“As a true believer, the Lord does not avoid the weekly liturgical rhythm and joins the assembly of his fellow citizens in prayer and in listening to the Scriptures.”
This passage from scripture, Pope Benedict said, “makes us think about our way of life on Sunday as a day of rest and for the family.”
Sunday, he noted, is the “first day to devote to the Lord by participating in the Eucharist in which we’re nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ and his Word of life…”
It’s important to note the symbolism of Sunday as the first day of the week, rather than as the last day of the weekend. The saint’s name escapes me, but I recall someone who spent Monday through Wednesday giving thanks to the Lord for the gift of the Eucharist received the previous Sunday, and Thursday through Saturday spiritually preparing to receive Jesus the following Sunday.
“Every moment can be a ‘today’ moment for our conversion and become a day of salvation because salvation is a story that continues for the Church and for every disciple of Christ,” he said, adding that the “the Christian meaning of ‘carpe diem’ is to seize the day in which God is calling you to give you salvation.”
Thank God we have Mass every Sunday, because I can barely make it a week before realizing I am again in need of conversion and the grace He gives us in the Eucharist. After receiving Him, as long as I don’t have to cajole one or both toddlers into being reverent for just another couple of minutes, I savor the moment of being still with Christ so close to me and to all of us in His Church.