I can’t seem to pay attention at Mass. Is it worth going?

Yes, it is worth going to Mass.
 
Do we ask this question in respect to all our relationships? Is it worth going home to see our parents? Is it worth going to see grandpa and grandma? Is it worth going to see a dear friend who longs to see us and be close to us; who misses our companionship, our presence in their life? Is it worth going to see someone who has “chosen” to love us, and has expressed and demonstrated that love to us in numerous ways, and numerous occasions? 
 
Yes, there are those days we do not want to invest ourselves in a relationship whether it is with a family member, friend, co-worker, or probably God. We are imperfect beings, and all our relationships, also, are imperfect; meaning there is always room for improvement. 
 
So, what is it then that compels us, nags at our conscience, to continue to invest ourselves in relationships? Could it be that what ties us together are those shared life experiences which lead to shared intimacy?
 
We go to Mass as an individual for personal prayer, with the community, the Church. And, it is within the community that we pray together, sing together, listen to the Word together and, if you will, get bored by the homily together. It is precisely at Mass that we come together as a community, the Church, where we find a common belief—common thread that unites us intimately.
 
During the Liturgy of the Word we listen to Scripture. Scripture is our story. It is not someone else’s story. It is the story of God’s family, His children, us. We hear of God’s love for us throughout salvation history—our family history. At Mass, we come together as God’s family, and are linked to each other in our local faith community, across the world and through the centuries by our common belief.
 
In the Liturgy of the Eucharist we receive the Eucharist, Christ, who chose to join His divinity to our humanity. Christ chose to share in our human experience, a shared intimacy of love. It is precisely at Mass that we recognize and acknowledge how God has loved His children throughout salvation history and how He continues to love us.
 
Often, I hear from parishioners, “Father, I get nothing out of Mass.” My response to that statement is, “Well, what do you bring to Mass?” They look at me with the most quizzical look and state, “I come to receive.” 
 
But, how can we receive if we are not prepared to give? There needs to be an emptying of our very self if we are to receive God’s love, His grace. How can I receive what I am unprepared, unwilling or simply do not know how to give? It is precisely within the Church we learn how to live as a child of God. Within the family of God, His Church, we learn how to be loved, and to love.
 
By “choosing” to attend Mass even though we may be distracted, preoccupied or think we’re just too busy, we are making a statement of belief. We are choosing to reciprocate God’s gratuitous love. Even an imperfect attempt of reciprocating God’s love in attendance at Mass will lead to an awareness of the intimate union between God and us, His children. And, a deepening of the intimacy between a child and his/her Father. The Mass is an act of worship, an encounter with our God, the risen Lord. 
 
Fr. Schuster is the pastor at Church of St. Hildegard in Menoken and Sacred Heart in Wilton. If you have a question you were afraid to ask, now is the time to ask it! Simply email your question to [email protected] with the “Question Afraid to Ask” in the subject line.