Before I converted to the Catholic Church, it was just me and my faith. I never really was comfortable with sharing Jesus with anyone. Truth be told, it’s because I did not understand what it meant to be a follower of Christ. What I did understand is that there were many Christians who had many more views on who Jesus was and how He would have wanted us to live our lives as His representatives. Here are a couple of things I heard:
- You don’t need to go to church to be saved, Thai! Just believe, that’s all you need!
- The bible, pray with the bible. God will tell you what you need in there, you don’t need someone in Rome telling you what to believe!
- Jesus is with us everywhere we go, but he certainly isn’t REALLY present in bread and wine!
There were many more statements that would make me clam up and suppress my Catholicity but the one that usually kept me up at night was the one surrounding the Eucharist. In my first experience as a believer (not yet a Catholic) I attended mass with my future sponsor Kathy. As the priest said the words of consecration, I had this overwhelming feeling of peace and joy that I had never felt before. I had attended other church services before and never experienced what I experienced that day. I had found the home I was looking for because of the Eucharist. This revelation came to me before I even understood the full teaching on it!
Inevitably, someone would always say to me, “Why do you Catholics go to church every Sunday?” My first thought is “Is it a terrible thing to want to go or expect ourselves to go?” This question never made sense to me! Why WOULDN’T anyone want to go be with Jesus if they knew he was physically present at church? Digging into the question a little deeper what people are really asking is, “Why do you Catholics believe that its a sin when you miss a Mass?” This is a better question! As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it:
“[2181] The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.”
The very next paragraph is even better:
“[2182] Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God’s holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” (emphasis added)
“not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:25). The person that told me I don’t need to go to church is speaking contrary to scripture and, quite frankly, Apostolic Tradition. Many Christians risked their lives to take communion with one another, many even laid down their lives and became martyrs for their love of the Eucharist. Jesus said that he “eagerly desired to eat this Passover” (Luke 22:15) with us! We can partake every single day but the bare minimum is once a week (and other Holy Days of Obligation)! He tells us in the same chapter in verses 19-20:
“Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me. And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,”This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.”
Jesus is telling us to “do this in memory of me”! Do what? Break bread, duh!
Fr. Ray Ryland wrote an article for Catholic Answers titled ‘Why is it a mortal sin to miss Mass?’ and says that, “For about two hundred and fifty years, from Nero to Constantine (c. 64-312 A.D.), taking part in Eucharistic worship was a crime punishable by death.” Notice how it wasn’t because they were just believers that they would face capital punishment, it was because of their participation of the Eucharistic worship! But Fr. Ryland goes on to tell us how the Church and the State determined who was a Christian or not:
“Ironically, the Church and the state were agreed on one point: the basic test for determining if a person were Christian was whether that person shared regularly in the Church’s worship. For the state, a person who professed Christian beliefs but did not express them in worship posed no danger. For the Church, beliefs not expressed in regular Eucharistic worship were meaningless.” (emphasis added)
So, why do I expect myself to go to Church on Sundays? Because I’m a Christian.
Guys, its time to be real men of faith!
Disciples At The Ready 