Why Sunday matters #2

 

Last Sunday I reflected on how our experience of Mass might be enriched. Today I turn to a related question: what makes our Sunday celebration come alive?

From time to time it does us good, I think, to step outside our own parish and savour a different atmosphere or approach. Earlier today I attended Mass in my local “Mother Church”: the Cathedral of the Assumption in Carlow, a town of some 30,000 souls in the South East of Ireland. The Cathedral serves one of the town’s three parishes.

I was not disappointed.

Rays of light and truth

 

Yesterday evening I was kindly invited to join Muslims at their centre in Kilkenny to share an iftar meal.  The iftar is the meal Muslims share beginning precisely at sunset each day of Ramadan. It was a privilege for me to join the event.

Of course, as a Christian I did not participate in the religious rituals and prayers used by Muslims.   I remained in my place quietly and prayerfully as others recited the prayers including the various postures used throughout the world. It was a humbling experience to be welcomed and to show solidarity with those who share a common humanity and a common belief in the One, Merciful and Almighty God.  Though we understand and relate to God in different ways we are called to live in friendship and mutual care according to the precepts of good religion.

A child-friendly Eucharist

 

My late uncle, a Columban missionary priest, served in China and Burma at various stages between 1946 and 1966.   I recall his stories about children playing at an open-air mass in some very basic conditions in a village mountains.  This was a far cry from the fine architecture and marble church of Dalgan Park where he completed his seminar training in the early 1940s.  For Fr Michael, children were always of central importance in any family gathering. And, on those occasions when mass was celebrated, devoutly and properly, on the kitchen table there was a job for everyone including the smallest.

Introducing children to the mass takes time and patience especially when they are not used to the surroundings, actions and sights associated with mass.  If a kind, calm and warn environment is created this can help to put children at ease and lead them in curiosity to a place of encounter.  

Bringing the children to mass

 

When I was a child, going to Mass was simply what families did. In this part of Ireland, well over 90% of households attended every Sunday. When I stopped going as a teenager in the 1970s, it was unusual enough to be noticed.

About thirty years ago, I first became aware of a real shift. Sunday congregations were suddenly older. Families still came, but in smaller numbers, and the age profile was unmistakably changing.

The full armour

 

Continuing on from yesterday's blog, I consider once again the grounds for the practice of first Holy Communion in the Roman Catholic Church. The present-day sequence is as follows:

Baptism → Holy communion → Confirmation

This sequence, which has been in place since the early decades of the last century is a relatively modern practice and was fairly unique among the main branches of Christianity up until recent times.

Welcome little children

 

At this time of year, most parishes across the world in the Roman Catholic Church are preparing children for the reception of first Holy Communion. It is a special moment on the spiritual journey undertaken by families who wish that their children be admitted to full eucharistic communion with the worldwide church.  It is no small thing to receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Jesus once told his disciples:

‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs’  (Mark 10:14)

Hopefully, all of these children will continue to experience the blessings of attending Sunday Mass on a weekly basis wherever they are.  It is, of course, a family choice and parents are the guardians and the exemplars. If the Eucharist means a huge amount to us then we will take the time, effort and trouble to make it a top priority every weekend no matter what.

As one sent only for today

 

Sunday 15 March 2026

 Lectio Divina:*

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Psalm 23(22)

Ephesians 5:8-14

John  9:1-41

 

Meditatio:

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day” (John 9:4)

 Commentary:

What? A blind man presents himself to Jesus in the presence of the disciples. Immediately the question arises: Who sinned? Who was to blame? You see (pardon the pun), a condition like blindness—or poverty, or any of the many burdens known to modern humanity, from divorce to exclusion—must surely be someone’s fault. It couldn’t simply be. It must have a cause rooted in someone’s bad behaviour, or in the failings of their parents. If we are honest, we may even detect traces of this warped thinking in ourselves.