For the last two weeks of September I would like to reflect on Ten ways to getting back into the habit of going to Sunday Mass.
                I was driving down the road one morning when I saw a sign in the front yard of the Church that read “Without the Bread of life You Are Toast!!!”  I hope that you have or at least coming closer to the same conclusion. 
 
1.            Just Go
                I can share with you a million reasons, why I have never been a big fan of exercise.  The number one reason is that for a majority of my life, I have felt that the people who have told me that I need to exercise and lose weight were also people who I felt never took the time to get to know me as a person.  This made it seem like all they cared about was my outward appearance.  Today, I realize that I have to stop worrying what other people think of me and I have to exercise for own health.  I also know that the longer I stay committed to an exercise routine the easier it is to take the time each day to exercise.  Go to Mass because it is what best for you and don’t worry what other people are going to think of you.  You will discover the longer you keep committed to going to Church the less other people’s opinions will matter and the less excuses you w ill have not to go.
 
2.            Go with Somebody and Share Your Experience
                A priest classmate of mine spent some time in England in college before entering the seminary.  While he was England he made some really good friends, whom he invited to the United States for his ordination.  My classmate desiring to give his friends from England a true American experience took his friends from England to a baseball game.  Later he shared with me that his friends from England enjoyed the game a lot but had difficulty understanding why a ball hit out of the ballpark was called a home run even if the visiting team hit it.  In their mind if a visiting team player hit the ball out of the park then it should be called a “visitor’s run” and not a “homerun.”  It was therefore good for them to have my classmate there to explain to them the real meaning of the word “homerun.” 
                In the same way it is good to start going back to Church with another person who can help you understand better what is going on.  If this is not possible do not be afraid to ask the priest questions after Mass.  The priest might not be able to answer you right away but he should be able to get back to you and help you understand what is going on in the Mass better. 
                Finally when Jesus sent His apostles and disciple’s out, He did so two by two and I have come to see there is a real wisdom behind this.  Having someone do something with me gives me someone who is going to hold me accountable and someone to share my feelings with. 
 
3.            Pray with the Scripture Ahead of Time
                I normally make it a person rule in life not to watch a movie sequel until I have seen the original movie.   The thought is that the original will help me understand the sequel better.  The Church gives us a three year cycle of Scripture Readings for us to pray over at Mass. Sometimes these passages go in order and sometimes they are more random depending on what we are celebrating as a community.  I have discovered that taking ten minutes before Mass and reading the Scripture Passages I will hear at Mass plus a little bit of the Scripture before the Mass reading and a little after so that I can get the context.  I might even go and look up certain characters in a Scripture commentary or dictionary so that I can better understand the readings that I will hear at Mass.                                       
                One mental game that I used to play with myself before I became a priest at Mass was I tried to guess what the priest or deacon was going preach about.  I would give myself some mental points if I guessed correctly or even more imaginary points if I thought my insights were better.  Either way I found myself paying attention to the Scripture Readings at Mass. 
 
4.            Study the Mass
I remember watching a news report one day about the United States sending an aircraft carrier to an island nation in the Pacific that had been hit by a typhoon.  The reporter was questioning the Navy spokesman about why the United States would send such a weapon into an area that was devastated by this natural disaster.  The Navy spokesman responded that yes the aircraft carrier was primarily used as weapon but beyond that it was also a floating hospital, a water purifying plant, and I believe also its own power plant.  The Navy spokesman went onto talk about all the good the United States was doing by providing medical care to those in need, clean drinking water, and power to the devastated area.  I thought to myself that the reporter could have saved himself some embarrassment if he had learned more about aircraft carriers before asking his questions.  In the same way the more I learn about the Mass the more I am amazed at all that is going on in this Divine Mystery.