Presentation of the Lord, A February 2, 2020
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
Sacrifice. Real love requires sacrifice. But why? Why does love have to hurt? Because of what love is and because Adam and Eve sinned. What is love? I dream of the day every Catholic can answer that question instantly and then be able to explain it. What is love? I’ll tell you as I’ve told you before and will tell you again. Love is to will the good of another. “To will” is an old timey way of saying “to choose freely.” Love means to freely choose to do what benefits another person.
So, why does that require sacrifice? Because of sin. Because of Original Sin, human beings are selfish. You know this. How many times has someone done a good thing for you and you secretly wondered “what’s their angle, what do they want from me?” Left to our own devices, we tend to do good things for people only if it benefits us in some way. I don’t just mean the guy who offers to wash your windows so he can guilt you out of 5 dollars. This includes doing nice things for a cute girl because you want a date. It includes doing good things to make yourself look good. It includes the warm, fuzzy feeling you get from doing something nice. Not that those things are evil. It’s fine if being kind makes you feel good about yourself. But is it as loving as the guy who takes a bullet for you, the nun who secretly fasts for you, or the teenager who donates even though it means he can’t afford lunch today?
There’s just something about love with sacrifice that means more. When we make a sacrifice to love, it’s easier for us and for others to see that we aren’t being selfish… or at least a little less selfish. Thanks be to God, sacrifice and feeling good often happen together. Still, sacrifice defines our entire religion. One reason we use wax candles at Mass is that they “sacrifice” themselves to show us the light of Christ. Because God loves us, Jesus chose to be a human being, chose to die on the cross, chose to sacrifice his life to give us the light of life. He gains nothing; He’s already God and has all he needs to be perfectly happy. But he loves and he gives to us his life as proof of that love.
And it starts when he’s a baby. Here, in the presentation at the temple, Mary is essentially offering Jesus. It’s a ritual from when the first born of the Egyptians died in the plague. The Israelites were spared if they sacrificed a lamb in place of their child. Essentially, the sacrifice of a lamb, or two turtledoves in this case, symbolizes the offering of your child to God. Mary is anticipating the crucifixion of her son. The prophet Simeon is anticipating that as well. Then he points out that Mary will share in that sacrifice. “You yourself a sword will pierce.”
Jesus’ sacrifice is perfect. It’s all we need to save us from sin… well almost all. The only thing missing is our participation. Every Christian, like Mary, has to share in his sacrifice. We have to put some skin in the game, not to earn our salvation, but to get past our selfishness enough to let the grace of Christ’s sacrificial love get into our hearts.
That’s why you are here at Mass. It is not to receive communion. You can go to Mass every day. You have to go every week. You only have to receive communion once a year. If you receive communion but don’t go to a whole Mass on Sunday, it’s still a mortal sin. Communion is good, but you are here to offer a sacrifice. It is called “the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” In this world, real love requires sacrifice. Your sacrifice is the time at Mass, your attention and your prayers, speaking or singing the responses. This is first and foremost.
But there are other ways you participate at Mass, that you share in the sacrifice like Mary did. The offertory. Catholics must support the Church, even if it’s not always financial. The money you give is a symbolic way to unite your livelihood to the life Christ offers on the Cross at every Mass. Then there’s the ability to “have a Mass said.” Some people call it “buying Masses.” What does that mean?
Please pay attention, because there is a lot of confusion about this. At every Mass, the priest has an intention, a primary thing or person to offer it for. A priest can always choose to offer a Mass for your intention for free and they often do. But, it’s good for us to put some skin in the game. So, people usually pay $5 or more when they ask a priest to say a Mass for their intention. That money goes to the priest, just like it did for the Old Testament priests who got to eat the lamb. That money never stays in the parish. If you go to the office and pay for a bunch of Masses, you are not giving it to the Church Parish. It does not replace your donation to the collection.
Now, a priest can only take one intention for one Mass. In the bulletin, every intention after the first one is actually sent to another priest, usually in a missionary country. It’s how those priests can afford to live. So, if there are 100 intentions today, I say Mass for one of them and get $5. The other 99, and the $495, are mailed around the world for Masses to be said later on by other priests. Now, this is a good thing. A Mass is offered for your intention and you help a missionary priest afford to eat and travel. But the money does not help our parish. I have a salary, so the extra $5 a day is not a big deal for me or other priests in the United States. Please keep having Masses said for yourselves and especially for your deceased loved ones. It is a small, but good way to share in Christ’s sacrifice, but it does not replace your obligation to go to Mass and to support the Church. If you have more questions, come to the office. We have pamphlets and I can explain more.
Besides your time, attention, and money, another way to share in the Sacrifice is to serve the Mass in some way. Sacristans, Altar Servers, Lectors, Choir Members, Ushers, Ladies Altar Society – these are all great ways for lay people to make some contribution to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I’m looking for more of each one of these – call the office if you can help with one or more. We don’t currently have a ladies’ altar society, but I’d like to bring it back to this parish. I’ve been taking care of the candles myself. I don’t mind, but I get to celebrate Mass – I’d rather let lay people do the things that lay people can do… to give you a chance to be like Mary and share in Christ’s offering.
Real love requires sacrifice. How do you share in the sacrifice of the Mass, the sacrifice of perfect love? Or how can you help the Church in general… volunteering for non-Mass things like catechism teachers and office help? Your time, attention and participation are essential. For some of you, that really is the most you can give – and God bless you for it! But remember, God has given you everything. Is the one hour a week you’re giving back to him really the best you can offer? Look at Mary as she lifts up her own son and the sword pierces her heart; Ask her what real love means in your life. I promise you; She will show you the way.