Pope: When we go to Mass, it is as if we were going to Calvary
The celebration is "entering" in the passion, death, resurrection, ascension of Jesus. It is not time to chat, take photographs, comment. "Every celebration of the Eucharist is a ray of sun without sunset, that is the Risen Christ Jesus. Participating in the Mass, especially on Sunday, means entering the Risen One's victory, being illuminated by his light, warmed by his warmth. "
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - When we go to Mass, it is as if we were going to Calvary, "it is the same", it is "entering" in Christ’s passion, death, resurrection, ascension. Pope Francis continued to dedicate his catechesis for the general audience to Mass, emphasizing the true meaning of participating in the celebration of the Eucharist.
Speaking today to the 15,000 people in St. Peter's Square – among whom he toured in a white jeep onto which he climbed some children – the Pope reflected on the Mass "memorial of the Paschal Mystery of Christ." It therefore "makes us part of his victory over sin and death, and it gives full meaning to our lives. Therefore, in order to understand the value of Mass we must first understand the biblical meaning of 'memorial'. It "is not merely the memory of past events, but it makes them in a certain sense present and actual". "Jesus Christ, with his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, has completed Easter. And Mass is the memorial of his Easter, of his 'exodus', which he accomplished for us, to take us out of bondage and to enter into the promised land of eternal life. It is not merely a memory, it is more, it is making present what has happened twenty centuries ago."
"The Eucharist always brings us to the summit of God's salvific action: the Lord Jesus, breaking bread for us, pours upon us all his mercy and his love, as he did on the cross, so as to renew our heart, our existence, and our way of communicating with Him and with our brothers. The Second Vatican Council says: " As often as the sacrifice of the cross in which Christ our Passover was sacrificed, is celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried on" (Lumen gentium, 3). Every celebration of the Eucharist is a ray of the sun without sunset that is the Risen Christ Jesus. Participating in the Mass, especially on Sunday, means entering the Risen Lord's victory, being illuminated by his light, warmed by his warmth. Through the Eucharistic celebration, the Holy Spirit makes us part of divine life that is capable of transfiguring all of our mortal being. In his passage from death to life, from time to eternity, the Lord Jesus also carries us with Him to make Easter. Mass is made for Easter. In Mass, we are united to Him. Indeed, Christ lives in us and we live in Him, as Saint Paul states: " For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me"(Galatians 2: 19-20). His blood, in fact, frees us from death and fear of death. He frees us not only from the domain of physical death, but from spiritual death which is evil, sin, which takes us every time we fall victim to our sin or others. And then our life is polluted, loses beauty, loses meaning, withers."
"Christ, on the other hand, gives us life again, is the fullness of life, and when he has faced death is annihilated forever: "By rising from the dead, he destroyed death and restored life. (Eucharistic Prayer IV). Christ's Passover is the ultimate victory over death because He has transformed his death into supreme act of love. And in the Eucharist, He wants to communicate this passionate, victorious love. If we receive it in faith, we too can truly love God and neighbor, we can love how He loved us, giving life. If the love of Christ is in me, I can give myself to the other, in the inner certainty that if the other were to be hurt I would not die; otherwise I should defend myself. Martyrs have given their own lives for this certainty of Christ's victory over death. Only if we experience this power of Christ, the power of his love, are we truly free to give ourselves without fear."
"And this is Mass: to enter into this passion, death, resurrection, ascension of Jesus. And when we go to Mass, it is as if we were going to the Calvary, it is the same. But think about it: it is as if we go to Calvary – imagine it - at that moment, and we know that man there is Jesus. Would we permit ourselves to chat, take pictures, put on a little show? No! Because it is Jesus! We would surely be silent, weep and even know some joy that we have been saved."
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