This reflection was prompted by Desmond Zammit Marmarà’s article on the Sunday Mass tradition (September 16).
I work among young people in India and I am asked questions like, should I attend Sunday Mass? Or for confession? Or pray every day?
My first reaction is you should not, and wait for a while to see the reaction. Then, I proceed as follows: Do not make the practice of religion a matter of should and must.
This is the attitude of servants or slaves, our attitude should be that of a son/daughter, who does things from a sense of need, want and love. I practise my religion because I need to do so and so I want to.
We eat every day not because we are compelled to do so. We do so for our own personal benefit. We need and so we want to grow up healthy and strong and live a long life.
As for attendance at Sunday Mass, we need to keep in mind the wise advice of the late Fr Karl Rahner SJ. He says that going to Church five minutes before the priest comes to the altar is already too late. We should be prepared when attending Mass with our daily personal prayer.