I have a confession to make. . . I like going to Mass in my living room. (gasp)
Hear me out. I am not saying that I don't want to, or will not, go back to Mass at our parish. I can not wait to return to our community of faith, and I will probably openly weep when I can receive Christ in the Eucharist again. That is all true. But it is also true is that I like going to Mass in my living room, and I think God is pouring out grace into our family through it.
Ok, let's banish any images of my family snuggled in pajamas, with coffee cups, as we watch a "movie" of the Church's highest prayer. That is not what happens in our home. If that was the case, honestly, I am not sure it would be worth the exercise.
So, here is what we are doing, and why I think God is moving in this time.
Get Dressed
If we were going to the parish, we would not show up in our comfy clothes. So, we don't do that for at home Mass either. Instead, we dress as we would for Sunday Mass. We gather in the living room and enter into the sacred liturgy together.
The first week it felt a little silly.
In all honestly, my wife was the driving force behind the decision to "make sure the boys' hair was combed." But, she was right. It makes a difference. Getting dressed is a visual and physical cue that the next hour is going to be different. This is particularly important for our younger kids. Asking little people to sit and be, prayerfully respectful is hard enough at the Church. In the living room, it is also a challenge. Setting the tone by getting dressed for Mass makes a big difference.
Set a Time, Stick to it, and Don't Freak Out.
"When are we going to Mass?" Thas is something my wife and I will typically discuss over coffee on Sunday morning. Usually, in a pre-COVID-19 world, we either attended the 11 AM or the 5 PM Sunday Mass. In the COVID-19 world, we have hovered around the 11 AM mark. Typically we plan on going at 11 AM, and we usually end of gathering at 11:15 AM. The scheduler in me wants to rail against that. "If we say we are going at 11 AM, then we should go at 11 AM!" But, the reality is, we are not in ordinary times. So, in favor of my kids not looking back and remembering nothing more than Dad losing it because we started a little late, I am not stressing on the schedule.
Don't Just Sit There.
This is as true for the broadcast Mass as it is for the Mass at your local parish. We are not supposed to watch "Father say Mass." We are called to full, active participation. And that is what we, as a family, are trying to do in the living room. We try to enter into the prayer fully. We respond, sit, stand, and kneel in prayer, just like we would at the parish.
I don't know how to explain it, but there is just something incredibly powerful about gathering our little community that way. To hear the Mass celebrated in our home, and to see my children and wife, participate in it...It is hard not to feel that God is sanctifying our home through this.
Lord, I am not Worthy That You Should Enter Under My Roof.
Each Sunday, as we prepare to receive the Eucharist, as a body, the Church says, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed." That is a reference to the Centurion in Matthew 8:5-13. Here is part of that exchange.
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." (Matt 8:5-8)
My heart aches for the Lord. I want to receive him again physically. But I also know that, like the centurion, I am not worthy of demanding that Jesus come physically. I am not fit to demand anything of the Lord. Instead, I am called to a faith that God can work in whatever way he wants to. He can work, even if, for a time, we are physically separated from his presence in the Eucharist.
Each Sunday, as we have prayed those words, I have been struck by what an honor the Lord has bestowed on our family. Incredibly, he comes into our home each week, through the Mass.
The centurion's prayer was answered. Jesus did heal his servant. And in many ways, I think God has been answering my prayers as well. We are not worthy that he should come into our home, and he, the faithful one, has been doing just that. And in this time of separation, he has brought the Church's highest prayer into our little living room and invited us to draw closer to him spiritually through it. I am in awe of that. I am not worthy that he should do it, and yet he does.
So, yes, I like going to Mass in my living room. It isn't forever. But, I firmly believe there is grace at this moment that will bear beautiful fruit in the days to come. The Lord is sanctifying our home through His sacred liturgy. I, for one, am going to celebrate what he is doing.