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In Mark Hart’s book, “The ‘R’ Father,” he goes through the Lord’s Prayer part by part. If you have the chance, go read it (if you’re in Morgan Hill you can borrow my copy).
Here’s a quote from the book that really struck me.
Originally they were seen as opportunities to rejoice, to celebrate the great things that God had done (and continues to do) throughout salvation history. Sadly, they’re now often seen as archaic, and these special days, hallowed and set apart for good reason, are viewed through a lens of inconvenience and irrelevance.
Man. That’s some truth right there. There are so many people who are just looking for a good reason (FYI other than illnesses and emergencies, there are no good reasons) to skip out on Mass. Why? The only thing I can think of as to why people would feel this way is that they aren’t sincerely grateful for Jesus’ death on the cross.
I’m not trying to judge, because I know that I make excuses when it comes to making time to pray. I make excuses when it comes to putting others before myself. We all make excuses to weasel our way out of our obligations as Christians. The quote above applies to all of that. We see being kind, serving others, prayer – all as inconvenient.
And if you do see all of the things that God is calling you to do as an inconvenience, then it’s a telltale sign that your relationship with God needs work.
Shout out to my wife who was on a work trip to Germany last week – she flew out on Saturday afternoon and landed there on Sunday afternoon. When she realized she couldn’t go to a vigil Mass here nor a morning Mass there, she was very disappointed. But after a bit of searching around, she was able to find an evening Mass that she could get to. The excitement she had made me so grateful that I married someone who saw Mass as an opportunity to rejoice – because an extra 30-minute taxi ride (not including the way back) is definitely not convenient.
