Why Daily Mass?

Over at Catholic Voices USA (which I am a director of), Elise Italiano mentions Servant of God Catherine de Hueck Doherty, who founded Madonna House. The passing reference had me hungry for her riches, and Magnificat today did not disappoint. The passage is titled “How Christ Comes to Heal Us” and follows:

The Mass is the very breath of our spiritual life. There we are, face to face with the Lord of Hosts. There we become one with him. Then, refreshed and strengthened beyond our understanding, we once more can face whatever the day may bring. In the Mass we find bread and wine for the soul. We find Love bending down to us, Love lifting us, ever higher, to himself, until all things are right and well with us. For we have our being in him already on this earth. The Mass is the sum total of all our prayer life! Vocal: “With my voice I praise you.” Mental: “My mind is slowly absorbed in his, and I begin to see, to understand.” Contemplative: When we are unable to speak or think, we just “rest” in him.

All things come together in the Mass, for humanity comes together in God, and in God all things have their being. The Mass is a mighty bridge which brings the entire Church — living on earth now and those gone on to eternal life — together in an unbreakable unity. In doing so, it brings us peace, strength, and joy. For in the Mass we realize as through a glass darkly, that there is no loss of our Beloved, that we are not alone, that we walk in a goodly company of saints and martyrs. Life changes utterly and begins to make true sense to us when we participate in Mass daily. Our horizons become wider than all the universe, for they span time and eternity. Love grows within our soul until finally its eyes see Christ in all. Slowly, but oh, how surely, our whole person turns to God! Then the spirit of the evangelical counsels –- of poverty, chastity, and obedience – of the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments becomes simple and clear. We become free. How free cannot be told; it has to be experienced.

It cannot be told, it has to be experienced. We cannot share it unless we live it. Our love must be real, so that it might be contagious. As the title of the passage explains, “Christ comes to heal us.”

You’ve missing a treasure if you do not have Magnificat as a staple in your life. You can remedy that here.