Parish Mission

On Monday night, the parish mission (presented by Fr. Jim Kubikni) focused on the Eucharist. There were two points that really struck me. First was his discussion on remembering Jesus in the mass. Fr. Kubikni presented it this way…At the end of mass, he might ask parishioners how mass had gone that day. The typical responses would possibly be oh the choir was great, the kids were a bit noisy, and mass went a little long today. Where is Jesus? We celebrate the Eucharist at mass, and Jesus did say, do this in remembrance of me. So where is Jesus? This weekend as I sat in mass I found myself thinking about that and considering how I could see Jesus in the mass and in the Eucharist. As I took Jesus in, how was He trying to change me and make me a better person in order to serve God? This simple question was an easy way to make the routine of mass and the Eucharist a new experience again. I will continue to use this thinking as I attend mass so that when I am asked about mass, I can describe where I found Jesus that day.

The second point that really caught my attention was Fr. Kubikni’s discussion about living the Eucharist. In order to live the Eucharist, we should go out and live the sacrifice. Fr. Kubikni pointed out that Col 1:24 states, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.” Fr. Kubikni talked about how the only thing that is lacking in Christ’s suffering for our sins is our participation. Jesus “thirsts” for us to know His love and sacrifice. It was suggested to us that when we have things that we have to do - whether we like those things or not - that we should “offer it up.” We were all encouraged to think of one person that we could offer up our sacrifices for. So the next time you are in a hurry but have to wait in a long line at the grocery store, stop and offer that time up for someone in need of your prayers. The thought of doing this actually brought some peace to my mind. I frequently find myself in a rush or having to do little things that I don’t necessarily want to do, but when I thought about how I could offer up those things as sacrifices for the person that I was thinking about, it makes all of those things seem so minor and not such a hassle. It was one of those ah-ha moments when the simplest of ideas can make such a difference in how we handle ourselves and how we respond to the people around us. Offering up our small sacrifices brings us a little bit closer to being able to truly celebrate the joy of Easter. So I encourage you to take a couple of minutes to sit quietly and think of one person who could use your prayers and sacrifices…when you have that person, write their name on your heart, and every time something unpleasant comes up in your daily life, stop and offer it up for that one person who is written on your heart. Instead of being frustrated, I believe we will feel a peace and a sense of connection to our Lord. Rather than being upset, we can rejoice because we are sacrificing not for ourselves but for another – just as Jesus did on the cross.