According to the Catechism, our duty to attend Mass is primary: “We must attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.” Furthermore: “To knowingly break one of the commandments of the Church in serious matter is a mortal sin.” Attending Mass is thus of vital importance for a Christian. From the fact that the
Church requires this minimum obligation under pain of mortal sin, it is clear that the holy Mass in order to sustain our spiritual health.
In 1973 Pope Paul VI wrote: The observance of the Sunday and holy day Mass precept more than ever retains its gravity and its fundamental importance. The Church has granted faculties to make this observance possible. The one who is conscious of the content and of the purpose of this precept ought to consider it not only a primary duty, but also a right, a necessity, an honor, and a good fortune which no intelligent and aware believer can set aside without grave reasons.
Holy Mass is the renewal of the sacrifice of Calvary in an unbloody manner. Without the merits of Christ we can neither save our souls nor sanctify our work. Nor can we give to God the glory that is due him or do apostolate. We need the Mass, for “as often as the sacrifice of the Cross in which Christ our Passover was sacrificed is celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried on.” We should not, therefore, be content with the minimum necessary for supernatural life; the personal call to sanctity and the duty of apostolate demand more of us — daily Mass and Communion.
This point is essential: we have been born to give glory to God, and the fullest glory we can give him is through Jesus Christ: “Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.” Through holy Mass we give all the glory to God. A PLAN OF LIFE 9 HELPING YOU FIND GOD WHEREVER YOU ARE
Holy Mass “is the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ,” and in the Mass we find the ends that are proper to every sacrifice: the end of latria or adoration of God the Father; thanksgiving for the redemption and all the benefits we have received; reparation for the sins we have committed; and petition for all our necessities. Little reflection is required in order to see the need we have for all of these. Without them our lives are narrow, lacking meaning and overwhelmed by the weight of our sins and our needs. To the extent that we feel the obligation of apostolate and realize that without grace all our efforts are in vain — “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) — we are fully convinced of the need for the Mass. It is for this reason that St. Josemaria has noted, “[A] very important characteristic of the apostolic man is his love for the Mass.” In it priest and laity are united in the most sublime of tasks, namely, the world’s redemption. For this reason, “the Mass should be the center of the entire life of the Christian community.” On it rests our interior life, the sanctification of our work — in short, our redemption and eternal life.
How, then, should we live the Mass? The first condition is our presence. Athletes often say the same sort of thing about the Olympic Games — the most important thing being there. Next, we must have a dignified posture, the correct responses, an alert mind, a heart in love, and firm resolution of the will. We go to learn, to adore, and to receive: to learn through the liturgy of the word from the scriptural readings and the homily; to adore in the sacrifice, where he is really present through the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into his body, blood, soul, and divinity; and to receive Christ himself in Holy Communion, which “is the most perfect participation” in the holy Mass. After this we add a few minutes of personal thanksgiving, recollected in holy silence following the Mass.