internal participation

To celebrate and to offer the Holy Mass with greater fruit, we should consider that:

• The Mass is the most important event which happens to mankind each day.

• The Mass is the center of Christian life. All the sacraments, prayers, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, devotions, mortifications offered to God as well as apostolate, have the Mass as their central point of reference. If the center were to disappear and if attendance at Mass were consciously abandoned, then the whole Christian life would collapse.

• The Mass is the most pleasing reality we can offer to God. Every member of the Mystical Body of Christ receives at Baptism the right and duty of taking part in the sacrifice of the Head of that Body. Our Mother the Church wants us to assist at the Mass, not as strangers and passive spectators, but with the effort to understand it better each time. We participate in the Mass in a conscious, pious and active manner, with right dispositions and cooperating with divine grace.

• Pray on the way to Mass. Whether you drive to a distant chapel, or walk down the street to a cathedral, turn your attention to the coming celebration. Pray for the priest, that he will minister to the needs of the parish. Pray for the congregation, that they will open their minds and hearts to what is being taught at the Mass.

• Offer this sublime sacrifice in union with the Church. Live the Holy Mass feeling part of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, the people of God. Be united to the bishop of the diocese where the Mass is being offered and to the Pope, the Vicar of Christ for the Universal Church.

• Be united to the Sacrifice of Jesus who is the only Victim. Through him, we also offer to God the Father with the Holy Spirit, all the sacrifices, sufferings, self-denials and tribulations of each day.

• Have the necessary preparation for Communion. If you are going to receive Holy Communion, you need–besides being in the state of grace–to have the right intention and keep the eucharistic fast.

These should be our thoughts and intentions at every Mass that we attend, uniting ourselves with Christ and making his desires and sentiments on the cross our own.

As immediate preparation, excite in your soul lively sentiments of faith, humility, and desire. Ask yourself:

• Who becomes present?

• To whom does He becomes present?

• Why does He become present?