A Familiar Routine

Sometimes when I’m driving to work, or to any other place I regularly drive to, I end up at my destination only to realize that I’ve arrived but don’t really remember much of the drive.  When you take the same route to go to work every single day, week after week, it’s easy to zone out.  The roads, landscapes, and landmarks are all familiar.  The drive has become a routine and, oftentimes, nothing stands out.  Our daily commutes are not the only situation we can find ourselves spacing out during.  The Mass is another experience we are all very familiar with.

Do you ever get to the end of mass and find that you really don’t remember much of the last hour?  Maybe you don’t have the slightest idea on what any of the readings were about or don’t recall a single part of the homily.  I know I would be lying if I said I’ve never experienced this when attending mass.  For most of us, we’ve been attending mass our whole lives, which means that it is something we are very familiar with.  We probably sometimes disengage, spend time in distracted thought, and mindlessly recite the memorized responses and prayers.  It is so easy to allow the mass to become a routine rather than a prayer and the greatest form of worship we can partake in.

What if we showed up at every mass we attended with new eyes and a renewed faith?  This past Sunday at mass, there was a girl receiving her First Communion.  I noticed the excitement in her eyes and the smile on her face as she walked back to the pew after receiving the Eucharist for the first time.  She was finally able to join her family and everyone else in the pews in partaking in the most sacred and precious gift we have been given, which we so often take for granted.  What if we all attended mass as if it were our first time experiencing it?
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We all get distracted and sometimes allow ourselves to watch the mass instead of pray the mass.  We’ve all mindlessly stood up, sat down, and kneeled at the appropriate times without thinking about what is happening in front of us.  If we ask God to open our eyes and ears to what we are seeing and hearing, and expand our hearts and minds so that our faith would be increased, He will help us.  My prayer is that we would all allow mass to be the greatest single experience of our week, and not just a familiar routine.