The Mass is boring.
I grew up Catholic, and when I was a kid, that’s how I felt. And I’ll admit that there have even been times as an adult when I find my mind wandering or glance down to check my watch.
And yet…ever since my youth, despite my occasional lack of enthusiasm for Mass, I always feel better having gone. It turns out that God is generous with His grace despite our indifference.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to understand that there’s a lot more going on at Mass than meets the eye, including disruptions to our perceptions of space and time. Let’s just say…it’s complicated. And that’s to say nothing of knowing when to sit, stand, or kneel.
Wouldn’t it be cool to have a personal tour guide accompany you through the Mass, pointing out what’s really going on?
Wouldn’t it be even cooler if that tour guide was Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus?
That’s exactly what happened to Catalina Rivas. She received messages from Our Lady explaining what’s going on during the Mass in the spiritual realm, and how we should be more concentrated on the great mysteries that are taking place. Her Bishop, René Fernández Apaza, gave his imprimatur (formal support or approval) to her messages. Fr. Daniel Gagnon, OMI, of the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Archdiocese of Mexico, wrote, “I do not find anything against the faith or the customs of the Church. It is not my function to confirm its supernatural character; nevertheless, I recommend it for its spiritual inspiration.”
Good enough for me. I found her account fascinating. You can read it in its entirety here, but I wanted to share a few of my highlights:
In The Beginning: Arriving JustInTime
I often considered it a win, especially when my kids were very young, when we made it to church with everyone fully clothed and in our pew before the priest started up the aisle. And there are times I wondered how late I could arrive and have it still “count” towards the obligation of attending Mass for that week.
Our Blessed Mother is very understanding, but like any good mom, she calls us on the carpet when we deserve it. As she tells Catalina:
Why must you all arrive at the last moment? You should have arrived earlier to be able to pray and ask the Lord to send His Holy Spirit that He may grant you a spirit of peace and cleanse you of the spirit of the world, your worries, your problems, and your distractions so as to enable you to live this so sacred a moment. However, you arrive almost when the celebration is about to commence, and you participate as if it is an ordinary event, without any spiritual preparation. Why?
Yikes, so this is how it’s gonna be. How is it that moms are so good at asking questions you both already know the answer to but you don’t want to admit it?
Offertory: Don’t Make Your Guardian Angel Sad
Then Catalina goes on to explain a curious sight that happened during the offertory. As the bread and wine were being brought forth, she describes a steady stream of young, radiant, beautiful people, dressed in white robes, gliding in procession toward the altar.
Mary told her they were the guardian angels of each person in attendance, carrying their offerings and petitions before the Altar of the Lord. Some were carrying something like golden bowls shining with a bright light. These were the guardian angels of the people who were conscious of what the celebration meant. They are bringing sorrows, pains, hopes, sadness, joys, and petitions to the Lord.
A second group of angels were empty-handed, representing the people who are there but never offer anything, uninterested in living the Mass.
At the end of the procession were other angels, also empty-handed and visibly sad, with hands joined in prayer and eyes downcast. These angels, Mary said, are representing the people who don’t want to be at Mass, or who are only there out of a sense of obligation. The angels go forth sadly because they have nothing to carry to the altar other than their own prayers.
Mary tells us:
“Do not sadden your Guardian Angel. Remember that the Mass has infinite value. Ask for much, ask for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world, for your families, your neighbors, for those who ask for your prayers. Ask, ask for much, but not only for yourselves, but for everyone else. Be generous in offering and in asking.”
While I feel like a heel thinking about how many times I left my guardian angel empty-handed, I am emboldened to think about what an opportunity we’re given at each Mass to help make our lives and world better!
Holy, Holy, Holy: This Place Just Got Packed
When the assembly began singing “Holy, Holy, Holy,” Catalina explained that everything behind the celebrants disappeared and she saw thousands of angels, “small angels, big angels, angels with immense wings, angels with small wings, angels without wings,” with hands united in prayer and heads bowed in reverence. There were also a multitude of figures dressed in similar tunics but colored in soft pastels. They were people of different ages, but they all looked happy, full of joy, and without wrinkles. Mary indicated that these were all the saints of Heaven, including the souls of our relatives who already enjoying the presence of God. Before the altar appeared shadows of people in gray with their hands raised. Mary said,
“These are the blessed souls of Purgatory, who await your prayers to be refreshed. Do not stop praying for them. They pray for you, but they cannot pray for themselves. It is you who have to pray for them, in order to help them depart so that they can be with God and enjoy Him eternally.”
Catalina reports seeing the Blessed Mother herself kneeling a step behind the celebrant, hands in prayer, looking attentively and respectfully at him.
“With all the love that My Son gives Me, He has not given Me the dignity that He has given the priests of being able to perform the daily Miracle with My hands as they do with their priestly hands. Because of this, I feel a deep respect for priests and for the miracle that God carries out through them, which compels Me to kneel here behind them.”
I will never cease to be amazed at the humility of Mary. And it’s cool to think about how full the church becomes, even if there are only a few people in the pews.
Consecration: Stepping Into The Multiverse
One of Catalina’s most dramatic descriptions was of the Consecration. Jesus appeared to take on the body of the celebrant, which was enveloped with a supernatural light as he was saying the words of the Consecration. At the same time, the host began to grow and become enormous, and upon it, the face of Jesus appeared looking at His people. He gazed at each person, with love to the fullest.
Catalina instinctually wanted to bow her head, but Our Lady said:
“Do not look down. Look up to view and contemplate Him. Exchange your gaze with His, and repeat the prayer of Fatima: Lord, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust, and do not love You. Forgiveness and Mercy… Now tell Him how much you love Him, and pay your homage to the King of Kings.”
This is the part I often have a hard time getting my head around, the whole space-time continuum aspect of the Mass. Critics of Catholicism often balk at the idea of crucifying Jesus again and again at each Mass. The truth is that it’s not a repeat of anything, rather it is the entering into the exact moment of His sacrifice.
My parish priest, Fr. Nick, once described the Mass like this (I’m paraphrasing): It’s like being in a theater and opening the curtain to a play, except that the play is already going on. While we are at Mass, we open the curtain for a while and participate in this great drama that exists simultaneously inside and outside of history.
The Virgin Mary said it like this to Catalina:
“This is the miracle of miracles. I have said to you before that the Lord is not constrained by time and space. At the moment of the Consecration, all the assembly is taken to the foot of Calvary, at the instant of the crucifixion of Jesus.”
This is Doctor Strange-level stuff that’s hard for our bird brains to fully comprehend, and yet…How cool is that?!
Before You Go: The Final Blessing
One of the things I enjoyed most about Catalina’s vision is how our Blessed Mother reframed some of the tiniest details, transforming them into moments of great significance.
For example, of the final blessing the priest gives at the end of Mass, she says:
“Be attentive, take care… Remember that this blessing could be the last one that you will receive from the hands of a priest. You do not know when, leaving here, if you will die or not. You do not know if you will have the opportunity to receive a blessing from another priest. Those consecrated hands are giving you the blessing in the Name of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, make the Sign of the Cross with respect, as if it was the last one of your life.”
Yes. Thank you. Good point. And duly noted!
Again, these are just some highlights. I encourage you to read Catalina’s entire account, as I am sure you’ll glean even more that will enrich your experience of the Mass.
I for one am praying for Our Lady to continue as my personal tour guide for Mass, nudging me to notice things I’d otherwise miss and helping me to approach it as the miracle it is. After all, how often do we take the Mass for granted, seeking out other holy sites in faraway places to gain some higher form of spiritual experience? Mary reminds us:
“Now you see it; I am here all the time. People go on pilgrimages, searching for the places where I have appeared. This is good, because of all the graces that they will receive there. But during no apparition, in no other place, am I more present than during the Holy Mass. You will always find Me at the foot of the Altar where the Eucharist is celebrated; at the foot of the Tabernacle, I remain with the angels because I am always with Him.”
There you have it. Jesus himself and the entire host of Heaven, including your Guardian Angel, your deceased loved ones, and Mary your Blessed Mother are always at every single Mass.
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