A Prodigious Love: A Personal Encounter

Being the person the Mass invites us to be can be a real challenge.

In his encyclical letter, Deus Caritas Est Pope Benedict XVI describes part of that challenge when he says, "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction."

The Mass helps us understand that we are is not simply the product of ethical choices or lofty ideals. It tells us that both sacrifice and personal encounter are part of who we are.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the Sacrifice of the Mass as "a sign of adoration, and gratitude, supplication and communion" ( 2099).

Every Mass can be an encounter with a sacrificial event as well as a communion with someone who gave his life for us. It can also be a real encounter and communion with those with whom we worship.

Equally important, the Sacrifice of the Mass can be a personal encounter with ourselves as we try to achieve the goal of "being Christian."