It’s okay, but you don’t get “more Jesus” or additional graces by doing so.
I have to disagree with you there. Saying you don’t get additional graces from attending Mass devoutly is like saying you don’t receive graces when you pray devoutly. The Mass of course is the pinnacle of all prayers, or as the text says below “the prayer par excellence And of course it’s not for us to say who does or does not get additional graces that are in Gods hands and I believe to a very large extent in the hands of Our Lady also. Having said that, the mere fact that I can attend Mass is sufficient for me; and we shouldn’t be there merely for our own benefit. The remaining text is not my words, but I think it’s appropriate here.
“Many of the graces that we have received are due to the intercession and prayers of other Christians who have interceded for us.
In the celebration of Mass, which is the prayer par excellence, we intercede for one another, for the living and the dead, and for the whole world. In the Eucharistic Prayers there are a series of prayers through which we unite ourselves to the Church in heaven, in purgatory, and on earth. These prayers are called intercessions. Through them we intensely live the mystery of the Communion of Saints.
These prayers are called intercessions because in them, we place the Virgin Mary and the saints as intercessors. The intercessions, “By which expression is given to the fact that the Eucharist is celebrated in communion with the entire Church, of heaven as well as of earth, and that the offering is made for her and for all her members, living and dead, who have been called to participate in the redemption and the salvation purchased by Christ’s Body and Blood.” (GIRM, no. 79)
In the 3rd Eucharistic Prayer, for example, we pray for:
- First, help from heaven, from the Blessed Virgin Mary and from the saints, “on whose constant intercession we rely for help.”
- Next we pray for the world, asking for the salvation and peace “of all the world” as well as for “your pilgrim Church on earth”, especially for the Pope and the bishops, but also, with a missionary vision, for “all your children wherever they may be.”
- Lastly we entrust the souls in purgatory to the goodness of God, that is to say, we offer the Eucharist for “our departed brothers and sisters, and all who have left this world in your friendship.”
Christian charity endlessly expands in the Mass reaching all mankind. We boldly trust in the mercy of God: “Welcome into your kingdom our departed brothers and sisters, and all who have left this world in your friendship. We hope to enjoy for ever the vision of your glory.”
The memory of the deceased in the celebration of the Eucharist demonstrates the active charity of the Church on behalf of her children. She, like a good Mother, daily reminds us of the deceased in the Mass and in the last of the intercessions of Vespers, as well as recommending the offering of Masses for those who wait to be purified in order to reach the vision of God. This is a great work of charity towards them.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: “The Eucharistic sacrifice is also offered for the faithful departed who ‘have died in Christ but are not yet wholly purified,’ (Council of Trent) so that they may be able to enter into the light and peace of Christ: ‘Then, we pray [in the anaphora] for the holy fathers and bishops who have fallen asleep, and in general for all who have fallen asleep before us, in the belief that it is a great benefit to the souls on whose behalf the supplication is offered, while the holy and tremendous Victim is present… By offering to God our supplications for those who have fallen asleep, if they have sinned, we . . . offer Christ sacrificed for the sins of all, and so render favorable, for them and for us, the God who loves man.’ (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)” (CCC 1371)
Our charity, together with the Church, reaches out to all mankind through prayers for the living and the dead, knowing that we have a vital communion with them in Christ. We pray for those whom we most love and we also pray for those who do not love us, for our enemies, as Jesus taught us from the Cross. After all, the Mass is the memorial of the death and resurrection of He “who died for the unjust.” Christ, while we were still enemies “reconciled us to God.”
"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun to rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5 : 43-48)
“Christian charity endlessly expands in the Mass reaching all mankind.”
2 Cor 13:13
Eddy Barry
