Ways to keep your thoughts off "bad stuff" during the Mass

[Eucharisted]

So you don’t like the NO Mass, but you gotta go anyways out of love for Jesus. Or, you don’t like the EF Mass, but you gotta go anyways out of love for Jesus. Well, here are some ways to take your mind off the “bad stuff” you don’t like. You don’t have to do all these ways at the same time, unless you really want to.

1. Think of Heaven. Think of Jesus in Heaven, together with Mary His Mother praying for mankind, and all the angels and saints. Think of Him in splendid glory, wrapped in a garment of white, the Wounds shining like five stars or giving off a wonderful fragrence. He, your Lord and God, is there with you at Mass under the appearance of bread and wine. As you would prepare for His Second Coming, so prepare yourself for His coming into your heart at Communion. But do not hallucinate or dream; rather, contemplate the Lord, gaze at Him with pure love. The Holy and Divine Liturgy at which you find yourself is a mirror of the Heavenly Liturgy, which Jesus is the center of, and together with you is the whole Church Triumphant.

2. Think of the Resurrection. Think of Jesus at the tomb, all the righteous souls who had been denied Heaven surrounding him, and Mary there in spirit as she unites herself to Him in prayer. Think of Him triumphant over the last enemy, death, wrapped in splendor and glory, and in whose risen Body and Blood we have the promise of rising again on the last day. The Risen One is present with you at Mass under the appearance of bread and wine. As you would praise Him on the last day when you rise from the dead, so praise Him in your heart at the Mass. But do not hallucinate or dream; rather, contemplate the Lord, gaze at Him with pure love. The Holy and Divine Liturgy at which you find yourself is a remembrance of the Mystery of the Resurrection, which Jesus is the center of, and together with you is the whole Church Suffering.

3. Think of Calvary. Think of Jesus on the Cross, Mary His Mother standing before Him as she prays and suffers in silence, together with the apostle John. Think of Him in terrible agony, naked and like a worm, shedding His Blood for your sins. The Holy Sacrifice is present at Mass in light of Jesus being present in the Holy Eucharist, but rather than His Precious Blood being shed, it is already shed, so it is unbloody sacrifice, and you will soon consume His Blood and His Body under the appearance of bread and wine. As you would conduct yourself before the Son on the Cross, so conduct yourself before the Son on the Altar. But do not hallucinate or dream; rather, contemplate the Lord, gaze at Him with pure love. The Holy and Divine Liturgy at which you find yourself is a re-presentation of Calvary, which Jesus is the center of, and together with you is the whole Church Militant.

4. Think of the Last Supper. Think of Jesus at the Table, the Holy Apostles seated around Him, and Mary there in spirit as she unites herself to Him in prayer. Think of Him instituting the Blessed Sacrament, of how the Word Incarnate turned bread and the cup into Himself with His commadment of remembrance, and how He held Himself in His hands and was the first to consume Himself at the first Mass. The Lord God is present with you at Mass under the appearance of bread and wine. As you would celebrate the Mass in the Upper Room, so celebrate the Mass there where you are. But do not hallucinate or dream; rather, contemplate the Lord, gaze at Him with pure love. The Holy and Divine Liturgy at which you find yourself is a mirror of the Heavenly Liturgy and a remembrance of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection and a re-presentation of Calvary, which Jesus is the center of, and together with you is the entire Catholic Church throughout the ages, just as when God gave Moses the Commandments at Siana every Jew throughout the ages was spiritually present there.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Zundrah]

I am so distracted by the statues of Mary, Jesus and all the apostles that I am almost commencing in my own little biblical education when I’m not listening to the priest!

I start thinking about the rosary prayer, you know the Hail Holy Queen. I get so engrossed into it that I’m practically in my own dimension. I get carried away in my own prayer and soon realize that I have missed pretty much everything that the priest has said!

 

[hansard]

I’m a little confused. What, exactly, is the “bad stuff”?

 

[japhy]

1. Think of Heaven.
2. Think of the Resurrection.
3. Think of Calvary.
4. Think of the Last Supper.

Sounds like a person could meditate on the mysteries contained in the Rosary! Just sayin’…

 

[Claire_from_DE]

I’m a little confused. What, exactly, is the “bad stuff”?

The stuff that annoys you, it could be abuses or not. Like if I go to the EF mass, I get bothered when the choir is still singing the Agnus Dei when the priest has already gone on to something else. I feel like it’s a performance and it is distracting. Or if I go to the OF mass and the visiting priest ad libs parts of the prayers to make them more ‘meaningful’. There’s nothing you can do about it right then and there’s no value in getting angry about it. You are there to worship God. So Eucharisted is giving ways to do that rather than sitting there and working yourself up about it.

 

[hansard]

Perhaps one should accept the authority of the Church.
If that seems simplistic, it’s no more simplistic than the glib answers often posted around here.

 

[japhy]

Perhaps one should accept the authority of the Church.

Who here is suggesting otherwise?