 I recently read a short story that contained a scene in which two teenage boys were riding their bikes past their neighbor’s house as he was looking up at the top of a tree. Mystified, they asked the neighbor, Mr. McGilicutty, what he was looking at, to which he replied, “I see God.” One of them, Billy, scoffed at the man as he rode away. But the other boy, Ravi, remained and said to Mr. McGilicutty, “It is beautiful.” Later, Ravi had occasion to talk with Mr. McGilicutty and asked about what he had seen that day. The man said he didn’t really know, but he “saw something different… divine.” But then he mused: “Most of the time we aren’t paying attention, are we?” Ravi admitted that he had in fact felt something as he had looked up. As the conversation continued Mr. McGilicutty explained that sometimes he struggled with faith, to which Ravi exclaimed, “But you go to Mass!” Again, Mr. McGilicutty’s response was interesting: “I do go to Mass, but I can’t tell you why. It is a habit now and it makes me feel good…. I need that ritual.” After a pause, he went on to say, “…this world isn’t just all the things we can see and touch. It is all the things we can’t see, the things we choose to believe.” *  The dialogue between Mr. McGilicutty and Ravi is full of important insights. First, it really gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to our faith and how we choose to engage it. Mr. McGilicutty was able to ‘see’ the Divine because he attended worship regularly, and even if he did not know how, he knew the ritual was essential for him: “I need that ritual.” Going to Mass regularly helped him to realize there is something beyond what we see and touch, and that the Divine is all around us. Thus, he chose to believe because he chose to go, and in so doing, he saw God more readily in the world. Second, the author highlights the gift received through worship with Mr. McGilicutty’s observation: “Most of the time we aren’t paying attention, are we?” Indeed, our lives are often filled with activities that cause us go from one thing to the next, distracting us from recognizing the presence of God.  The most important thing said by Mr. McGilicutty is that he needs the ritual of the Mass. Even though he cannot say why (beyond that it makes him feel good), deep within he recognized that there was something there that was indeed good for him because it was feeding his heart. While he is but a character in a story, there is truth here: we need the ritual of the Mass because it is good for us. There we meet God in a singular way through our worship and through fellowship with the community: it is our home. Scripture makes it clear that the people of God are a community, a family, a “people uniquely His own.” (1 Peter 2:9) Attending Mass helps us to experience and to recognize that God intended His people to be a unity as One Body, and together we are destined to eternal life in Heaven. We are a community forever as our worship joins Heaven to earth, extending from this life to the next. **  The ritual of worship opens our hearts to immerse in the Divine, that is, to become attentive; as Mr. McGilicutty discusses in the story, built into our lives we have that which teaches, reminds us to pay attention, and supplies the grace to do so. This is what Pentecost reveals: the Risen Lord who ascended back to the Father, sent the Holy Spirit, who brings God’s presence into the world through grace and power. The Ascension and Pentecost were not random occurrences, but rather they highlight the intention of God in securing our salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who though ascended, did not leave us alone. To celebrate this reality and to be continually connected to the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have the rituals celebrated in the Mass. We may sometimes feel that it has become routine and struggle with attentiveness, an honest recognition of our humanness, but we do need to work with the Spirit. We need to put effort into attentiveness and participation, but also to expect the Lord to speak to our hearts in some way during Mass. If we seek, we will indeed find, and through the gifts of the Eucharist and the liturgy as a whole, our faith, hope, and love will be enlivened.  To consider: perhaps Mr. McGilicutty enjoyed the ritual of Mass because it was familiar, a time where he could just be himself before God. Perhaps the ritual taught him to listen and therefore, to see and hear the Divine beyond the doors of the Church. It seems that he saw beauty in little things that most would miss, a result of the working of the Holy Spirit enabled by participating in the graces of Mass. It would be good to reflect upon these things as we celebrate Pentecost and the Holy Trinity. We can ask the Spirit to open our eyes and hearts to see the Divine more readily so we might rejoice in seeing beauty in unexpected ways. If we begin to do this, we will begin to realize more clearly that “…this world isn’t just all the things we can see and touch. It is all the things we can’t see, the things we choose to believe.”  May we choose to be more attentive by calling upon the power of grace! May we allow the Holy Spirit to expand our vision so that we might see the Divine in new and unexpected ways! And may the Holy Spirit open our hearts to the wonders, graces, and beauty of the Mass! Let us meet in the heart of Jesus! Peace!
©Michele L. Catanese Notes: * The short story is Abscond by Abraham Verghese. I read it on Kindle and so the page numbers for the quotes will vary based on font size. ** At every Mass the Eucharistic prayer contains sections that highlight the connection between heaven and earth in our worship. For example, in the first Eucharistic prayer the priest prays: “…command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son….” Also, we see that we are one Body, gathered in this way by the Spirit in each of the Eucharistic prayers. Thus, in Eucharistic Prayer 2 the priest prays “… [that] we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.” Eucharistic Prayer 3: “…by the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy, and you never cease to gather a people to yourself….” Eucharistic Prayer 4: “...grant in your loving kindness to all who partake of this one Bread and one Chalice that, gathered into one body by the holy Spirit, they may truly become a living sacrifice in Christ, to the praise of your glory.” This is why we should be attentive to these prayers the priest is praying with and for the community; we do give assent through our “Amen” when he finishes them. (All of the prayers of the Mass reflect what we believe!) Images: 1. My photo; oldest live oak tree in Texas, Rockport, TX. 2. Painting; Fields by Camille Pissarro. (1830-1903) 3. My photo; the earth meets the sky outside of Taos, New Mexico. 4. Image; inset of The Holy Spirit by Fr. William Hart McNichols. This is part of a larger work of icons and images, Viriditas Finding God in All Things. You can find this at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/viriditas-finding-god-in-all-things-william-hart-mcnichols.html 5. Photo; Fr. William Hart McNichols praying one of the Eucharistic prayers while celebrating Mass. 6. My photo; bluff on the ocean near Grand Wailea Resort, Maui, Hawaii. Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. Comments are closed.
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Heart Speaks to Heart
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