God draws us up to Him

“I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” (Jn 12:32)

In the beginning of his book The Spirit of the Liturgy, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) speaks of how worship is not meant to bring God down to our level, but to instead raise us up to God. God has already come down to us. He did this in the Person of the Son, incarnated in the flesh as Jesus Christ.

God saw our suffering and tribulations. So he came down to us, made our sufferings his own through the cross, defeated death, and made eternal life available to us. He has responded to our pains, anguishes, and laments. He has answered the pleas and lamentations of the Psalms. So now it is our turn to respond to God. He is offering eternal life to us—a life so splendorous that this life is nothing in comparison. What shall our response be? The Liturgy—instituted by Christ and spread by the Apostles. Yes, how we worship is how we respond to God.

But worship is not just a few moments in the day. Rather, it is a life. It appeals to every instance of our day. No matter what we are doing, we can find an answer for it in the Liturgy, whether it be through the Word or the Eucharist. Life is a prayer to God—it is a response to his love. And the highest form of prayer that we have in the Church is the Holy Mass, offered to us and for us daily, calling us up to heaven in everything we do!

Heaven at our fingertips!

So I said that personal prayer is a taste of heaven. This is so true. But this is more fully realized in the Mass, when we kneel at the foot of the cross as Christ gives himself through the Eucharist—blessed by God, broken by man and shared with his disciples. The Paschal Mystery was not a single event, but one that transcends time and is still occurring for all of us as we celebrate. So we truly can say that when we are at Mass, we are at the foot of the cross with Mary and the beloved disciple (Jn 19:25). When we are at Mass, we relive the death and resurrection of Christ. And when we get to heaven, God willing, we will be at the foot of his throne, praising and glorifying his name, just as the Scriptures tell us!

O, what a beautiful gift we have been given through the Mass!! And what makes it even better is that it is offered to us every day!!

All Prayer is a taste of heaven

I have said before that I believe Mass to be a taste of heaven. But this goes for any time of prayer. When we get together, we find Christ in our midst, since he said, “For where two or three have gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst.” And since heaven is in the presence of God, all communal prayer is a taste of heaven.

But can’t the same be said about personal prayer? I especially feel this when I am in a chapel or church praying. I am there in the physical presence of Christ (thanks to presence of the Blessed Sacrament). Also, through prayer, my soul becomes united with God, as we are in conversation with each other through the Holy Spirit.

So every time we pray, alone or with others, we are getting a taste of heaven, the life to come. Who would ever want to pass that up??