After reading most of the mail to the press about Sunday Mass non-attendance, I feel I should point out some aspects that were left out.
To start with, our wilful failure to attend Mass on such a holy day is to dishonour the third Commandment. Does Jesus Christ mean anything to you? Is there a place for Him in your lifestyle? Are His teachings no longer applicable in today's world? Who is giving us direction in our life? Are we no longer grateful to God's never ending providence? What happened to our faith?
By going to Sunday Mass we get more than what we ourselves put in. If we participate wholeheartedly by singing and responding to the celebrants' quotes including the "Glory be", the "I believe" and the "Our Father" we will be entering into the spirit of the Mass. Our participation still needs that added interest and attention to the readings, especially to the Gospel and homily.
The Mass is such a wonderful prayer - starting with our asking God forgiveness of our shortcomings; the "Offering" reminds us of Christ accepting the chalice of blood in Gethsemani; the Consecration puts us in place of the 12 apostles around the Last Supper table when Christ institutes the Holy Eucharist while wilfully offering His total being to a death on the Cross just to bring us back Salvation lost by sin making us heirs to the Kingdom through the shedding of His blood, (When we deliberately miss Sunday Mass, it makes Christ's death meaningless - Christ doesn't deserve this.) Then comes our firm belief that Christ has died, Christ has risen, as was foretold and promised to come again. This is followed by the faithful's prayer for all living clergy, the dead and all present in church.
The Lord's Prayer reminds us of our continuous dependence on God. The "Lamb of God" once more begs forgiveness of our unworthiness to receive Him within us - what a holy moment! Mass ends with the Heavenly Blessing.
Now is Mass still boring? To appreciate the beauty and richness of the Mass, one has to be present with the community, thanking and praising the Almighty.
One final comment regarding homilies and the clergy: I feel it is unjust to expect every priest to deliver an interesting homily each Sunday. Priests spend time preparing what to say and try to make it more worth listening to.
On our part, it is also worth to keep in mind that the life we live is the greatest sermon we can ever preach.
I wish everyone luck in their journey searching for what really gives value to Life. St Augustine declared: "Our hearts were made for Thee and they will remain restless until they rest in Thee (God)."