“Angel on one shoulder; devil on the other. Who are you going to listen to?”
It’s the first day the thermometer is going to hit 80 degrees and, to top it off, the weatherman reports there also will be low humidity. The sun is shining, and there is a light breeze coming from the west. The golfers are polishing their golf clubs after two months of hacking through the mud and wet grass. Families are searching for bathing suits that are lost in the bottom of dresser drawers. It’s a scene that repeats often throughout the summer months. So what’s the problem? Well, it’s Sunday morning. There is a decision to be made.
The devil, securely positioned on your left shoulder, is whispering in one ear: “C’mon, you don’t have to go to Mass today. Look at the weather! You’ll find God in nature!” But the angel, perched on your right shoulder, is whispering in the other ear: “Don’t let him fool you; there is no vacation from your vocation in Christ.”
Then the devil responds: “Skipping Mass a few times during the summer is no big deal. Besides, there will be rainy Sundays, too. Go to church then. Enjoy this while you’ve got it!” Hearing this, the angel responds, “Sun or rain, warm or cold, the sacrifice of Christ is infinitely greater than the sacrifice of Sunday morning golf.”
On the Solemnity of Pentecost in 1998, Pope St. John Paul II published his encyclical letter Dies Domini (The Lord’s Day or the Day of the Lord). He wrote: “Do not be afraid to give your time to Christ. Yes, let us open our time to Christ, that he may cast light upon it and give it direction. He is the One who knows the secret of time and the secret of eternity, and he gives us ‘his day’ as an ever-new gift of his love. The rediscovery of this day is a grace which we must implore, not only so that we may live the demands of faith to the full, but also so that we may respond concretely to the deepest human yearnings. Time given to Christ is never time lost, but is rather time gained, so that our relationships and indeed our whole life may become more profoundly human.” (no. 7)
We have all heard the excuses: “I was traveling so I couldn’t go to church.” But what a great chance to visit another Catholic church and get a sense of what it means to be a part of the universal “Church.” Or: “We had company and we didn’t want them to feel like they had to go.” What a perfect opportunity for evangelization to your guests, witnessing to them. And one of my least favorite excuses: “It’s summer vacation and my child doesn’t want to go.” Ask yourself, when did your child get the option to go or not go to Mass? Who is the parent?
Remember the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’” (Mt 7:21-23) Can you imagine what it would be like to have the Lord say to us, “I never knew you; go away from me”?
We encounter Jesus in our fervent prayers and our constant sense of his presence. But the greatest way to know Christ is by participating in the Mass. And that’s not something we do occasionally; it’s something we’re called to do consistently — whether it’s convenient or inconvenient, 80 degrees or 5 below zero.
I have it on good authority, because the angel told me so.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
• Traveling within the diocese? Check out the diocesan website, www.diokzoo.org, for Mass times at the 59 parishes throughout the Diocese
• Traveling out-of-state: Consult www.MassTimes.org
• Dies Domini/On Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy — download at www.vatica.va