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Sunday is called the Lord's Day. The Psalmist says "This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:14) Sunday is the Day the entire Church gathers. Last week I wrote on this. Here are some more reasons we go to mass on Sunday:
1. To do what comes first (what is most important) on the First Day of the week.
Sunday is the First Day of our week, not Monday. If Monday, usually the first day of work, was the first day of the week, then we could say work comes first. But going to Mass on Sunday says God comes first in my life as a Catholic.
Consequently, we receive many spiritual gifts at Mass to help us through the week. Sunday Mass is good for one week; then we need to attend the next Sunday for the next week. Sometimes it may not always seem like we are getting much from Mass, but like steady exercise results it will show results over time.
2. To give thanks to God for all good gifts
Therefore, we give thanks every Sunday to God for the gifts of our lives: family, friends, work, health, peace, love, etc. The word "Eucharist" come from a Greek word meaning "thanksgiving" and we need to thank God every week (at least) for what we have. The alternative is to be miserable for what we don’t have!
3. To offer our gifts and ourselves for the service of God in the One Sacrifice of Christ
God gave all to us in giving us Christ and the Spirit. The Mass teaches us to offer our gifts and ourselves to God in union with the one Sacrifice of Christ in his dying and rising. All becomes gift!
We go to Mass to offer sacramentally the One Sacrifice of Christ to God and ourselves in that sacrifice. It is this sacrifice that saves us and is renewed in us every Sunday.
4. To worship with Christ and the angels and saints in heaven to the glory of God
The Mass on earth participates in the worship of Christ in heaven, with all the angels and saints, with Mary the Blessed Mother, and with our deceased loved ones in Christ. The Mass reminds us of heaven, our hoped for destination in life, and that we give glory to God on earth and in heaven.
We also worship and adore Christ in the Mass. The Catholic Church teaches that the Risen Christ is truly, really, and substantially Present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Therefore, we adore and worship him as Lord in the Mass.
5. To renew Communion with Christ (he lives in us) and with his Church (we live in him)
Christ gives us his Risen Body and Blood in the Eucharist as our spiritual food. He gives us his Body so we can be his Body the Church. We pray in the Eucharist, "may we become one Body, One spirit in Christ." Receiving Christ under the appearance of bread and wine, as food, is a strong sacramental reminder that Christ lives in us: we have Communion with him and the Church.
6. To renew our identity as a Catholic and as a member of the Church
Catholics are obliged to attend Mass every Sunday. The "Sunday obligation" is a positive reminder of our responsibility to gather with other Catholics on Sunday, with the Priest, and give thanks to God and offer in the Mass the One Sacrifice of Christ for the salvation of the world. We have this higher purpose in life, this Sunday worship that Catholics do.
God calls us together on Sunday to give witness that we are saved and called to be God’s family together, God’s People, the Church of Christ, the community of disciples. We cannot give witness to this alone, but we do it by gathering together on Sunday. Then we worship together, our higher purpose in life.
7. To be sent into the world with Christ’s peace and justice
The Prophet Micah said, "God has shown you what is good and what is required of you: to do justice [= "right relationships"], to love with mercy, and to walk humbly with God." (Micah 6:8) The Mass teaches us how to do this. The Mass sends us into the world to do peace and justice.
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Next Week: The First Action of Mass: The Gathering
