Please spare me. I really can't take any more. Father Z has it perfectly:
(Even missal guides for the laity have the mass parts of bowing, kneeling, silence, etc written in red.) It's really that simple folks. 'Nuff said!
Perhaps instead I can address a few of the obstacles people face in returning to mass in general:
- I don't need to go to mass to get close to God.
- And I don't need to show any affection to my husband in order for him to know I love him, but is that really how I want to live out our marriage? Our behaviors matter! If I don't behave according to my beliefs, very soon I will belive in the way I behave. Go to mass. It'll reinforce your beliefs.
- I had a bad experience with the church.
- I had a bad experience with my son. At the moment he and I are not happy with each other but we both know we can't fix it by ignoring it or each other. Persevere!
- I don't like the Church's view on...
- I don't like sharing. I never have and probably never will, but it's so much easier when I just get out of my comfort zone, look at it from the other persons' perspective and just do it. Jesus loves everyone no matter what baggage you bring. He just asks we obey his commands and the teachings of the church. Note: He doesn't force us. We are always free to obey or disobey and He doesn't ask us to like any of it.
- I don't get anything out of mass.
- Sometimes I don't get anything out of sexual intimacy with my husband, nothing tangible anyway. I mean if we're not going to have a child, 'Why bother?' (note the dripping sarcasm) Any moment spent in intimacy with my husband is NEVER wasted. It's the same with prayer, and mass is the highest form of prayer.
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