Why must we go to Mass?

As the Diocese of Camden and the Church in the United States celebrates the three-year National Eucharistic Revival, I ask myself: “Why must we go to Mass on Sunday?” “Why is the Sunday Eucharist central to our Catholic faith?”

Accounts from the four Gospels speak of the Resurrection of Jesus occurring toward or at dawn on “the first day of the week” “after the Sabbath,” that is, early Sunday morning (Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-10). For the Christian, each Sunday is a “little Easter,” a weekly remembrance of the Lord’s Resurrection. The Acts of the Apostles note how the early Christians regularly celebrated the Eucharist (Acts 2:43-47 and 20:7-12). These “little Easters” have their apex annually at the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday.

In addition to the Last Supper accounts from the Gospels, Luke speaks of another celebration of the Eucharist by Jesus on the afternoon of His Resurrection while on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets,” Jesus “interpreted to them in all the Scripture the things concerning himself” and “when he was at table with them, he took bread and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.” Luke continues, “And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.” 

Theologians Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch comment, “The structure of the Emmaus episode reflects the structure of the eucharistic liturgy, where Jesus gives himself to the Church in word and sacrament, in the proclamation of Scripture and in the eucharistic Bread of Life.” The “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” commenting on the Eucharist and the Emmaus episode, speaks of “the Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord” (nn. 1346-47).

Thus Sunday (“the first day of the week”) is considered “the Lord’s Day.” For the Catholic, it is the preeminent feast day, the feast day above all others, the day to commemorate and celebrate today in our faith community the Lord’s Resurrection through the holy Sacrifice of the Mass (“Sacrosanctum Concilium,” n. 47; “Dei Verbum,” n. 21). The Second Vatican Council eloquently teaches in “Sacrosanctum Concilium”: “Hence the Lord’s day is the original feast day, and it should be proposed to the piety of the faithful and taught to them so that it may become in fact a day of joy and of freedom from work. Other celebrations, unless they be truly of greatest importance, shall not have precedence over Sunday, which is the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year” (n. 106).

Sunday is the day when we refrain – as much as possible – from work as we also remember how God the Creator rested and made the original Sabbath a holy day (Genesis 2:2-3). The first Christian community recognized Sunday as the “new Sabbath,” a day in which the Christian community gathers for “the breaking of bread,” a day that celebrates God’s re-creation of the world and of humanity through Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. Sunday had become, therefore, a day of rest and of gathering with others, a day of great joy. It is a day that is underlined by “the four Fs of life”: faith, family, friends and food.

These “four Fs” focus primarily on relationships: with God who created us out of love, with the family that we are born into or form over time, with the friends we treasure (Sirach 6:14), and finally in the sharing of food, that is, the sharing of blessings with others. The early Christians recognized the importance of celebrating the Eucharist first and then celebrating afterward the agape, that is, a feast of love and fellowship. “The four Fs of life” emphasize that it is not the passing things of this world that make us happy; rather, true happiness and joy are found in healthy and loving relationships that feed us, sustain us and build us into a community, the People of God, both in time and in eternity.

We gather on the Lord’s Day because, imperfect as we are, we need to form a sacred assembly to worship God, connect with others and foster, as needed, healing in our community. At Sunday Mass, we do not choose who gathers; rather, it is the Holy Spirit that gathers us as we respond with our personal “yes” to the Spirit’s invitation. We gather with those we love, respect and admire. We also gather with those who might have hurt us or those we might have hurt. We gather with those with whom we get along and with those we avoid. We gather with those we have forgiven and with whom we have not yet forgiven.

In the Prayer of the Faithful, we pray together for those we know and for those we do not personally know: in the Church, in the world, in our nation, in our communities and in our parish. There are also moments of silence during Mass because we unite the silent prayers of our hearts with the spoken prayers of the celebrant. Both in voiced prayer and in silence, we gather as the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:1-27) and as a family of faith.

We gather each Sunday because, as the Venerable Father Patrick Peyton, CSC, used to say, “The family that prays together stays together.” People sometimes say, “I can pray on my own at home, or at the beach or in the woods.” This is to be commended and encouraged. However, it is not the same! We must gather each Sunday. Sunday is the preeminent day in the Church’s calendar, the highpoint of the week for the family. It is the day that we must gather as a Christian family. By not gathering, we become disconnected; we are impoverished by the absence of others, and our bonds weaken as we fade away, forget one another or are forgotten by others.

Our Sunday gathering places Jesus at the center as we worship the Father through Him, hear God’s Word proclaimed and are nourished by His very Body and Blood. We cannot experience these graces praying at home or elsewhere. As Jesus said, when we gather in His name, He is present among us (Matthew 18:20).

Faith is a personal response of the heart, but it is fully celebrated and shared in community. It is our baptismal faith that forms us as Church, the Body of Christ, the People of God. In salvation history, faith has principally been an experience of the community: beginning with Adam and Eve and their family, continuing through the patriarchs and their descendants, in the people of Israel, and in the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, to the calling together of the 12 by Jesus, and finally to the Church at Pentecost (Acts 1:13-14 and 2:1-4). So it is with the Church today. We gather each Sunday – and at other significant times – as a community (family) of faith to worship, listen and pray together, and to be fed by risen Jesus present both in the Word of God and eminently in Holy Communion.

Finally, life changes from week to week, bringing a different context to each Sunday Eucharist. For better or for worse, our life situation changes. At each Sunday Mass, we bring to the altar of the Lord our changing life situation in our dreams, challenges, joys and sorrows. Each week, we pray for our loved ones, and we are called upon to pray for others. Hopefully, in turn, we are nourished and supported by our brothers and sisters who gather with us. At each Sunday Eucharist, we even remember our loved ones and fellow parishioners who may have been alive the week before, but are now departed.

We gather each Sunday because the risen Jesus walks with us and shares with us the Good News and feeds us with His very body and blood, His very life, as He did for the two disciples of Emmaus. At the Eucharistic liturgy, Jesus truly is Emmanuel walking with us week to week (Matthew 1:23). He encourages us and brings us great joy. In turn, hopefully, we bring that Good News, joy and hope to others in our families, communities and world (Luke 24:33-35), especially to those most in need.

Father Matthew R. Weber is pastor of Holy Cross Parish, Bridgeton.