This past weekend, I attended a hybrid (mix of Latin and English) Tridentine Mass at a large parish about 20 minutes from me – and one that has become increasingly popular because it offers both Tridentine and Novus Ordo Masses, as well frequent Rosaries, Eucharistic adorations, Spanish language Masses, and many ministries and social outreach programs.
While that wasn’t the first time I have attended a Tridentine Mass, including occasionally attending Byzantine Rite Catholic Mass, something struck out to me about Tridentine Mass format and how I am relating it to the Gospel reading for this week / 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: That while the core of Mass is to commemorate Christ sacrifice and Resurrection for sins – and most importantly with that, to *believe* in and receive the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist – the Mass is also about glorifying God.
In a way, and when compared with the Novus Ordo Mass format (which, of course, also focuses quite a bit on glorifying the triune God), the Tridentine Mass includes a few additional rituals (and often involving incense) to emphasize God’s glory and show our humility before it. This includes the priest leading a brief adoration before the procession; using incense (as a symbol for lifting prayers) just prior to reading the Gospel; facing the apse / the same direction as the congregation (while consecrating bread and wine into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ; and chanting certain prayers throughout the Mass.
Now, although the Gospel reading for this week does not quite relate to Mass formats, it does well relate to our glorifying God. That is, when we embrace the true power of God, we not only strengthen our faith, but it also reminds us to appreciate all that God has given us: We have gifts – the Sacraments, the capacity to know God and build an awe-inspiring relationship with Him, and the gift of life itself – from which we can strive towards the ultimate goals that God has set out for us to achieve: eternal Salvation through Christ and the power to become Saints.
This leads me to a video I watched within the past week, in which Fr. Mike Schmitz, an awesomely charismatic pastor who has a YouTube channel called Ascension Presents (link is below), asks the question: “How often do we gloriously announce the daily works for God?”
When we first ponder this type of question, a common approach is to decide whether we look at life as the proverbial “the glass is half full” versus “the glass is half empty”. Or if we think about the droves of self-help books and quote-filled memes that tell us not to take life for granted, or how to avoid being an all-out curmudgeon, then it should be easy to take time and appreciate God too, right?
And I am not talking only about having a prayer life, going to Mass, and occasionally thanking God when something good happens in your life: I mean, and as Fr Schmitz highlights: How much are we considering God in *all* that we do and experience, *all* that we observe in the world around us, in how we nurture our relationships with family and friends, our how we appreciate our connection with nature?
How much we consider that our entire experience on this planet Earth is ultimately from God? That God – the very definition of being, essence, goodness, omnipotence, and omnipresence? That creation is constantly in-progress, and God is guiding every single aspect of it?
Yes, it may sound a little silly to thank God for the sun every time you look up in sky – but as with all other aspects of progressing through life – this is about quality over quantity. It’s not about being arbitrarily repetitious, nor feeling obligated to special words. It’s about recognizing that God is everywhere. And if we genuinely believe that the definitions listed earlier *are* in fact God, then shouldn’t that help us grow in our selflessness? After all, don’t our current problems in society revolved around being selfish – self-absorbed – in sin?
Therefore, aren’t we now way overdue with re-shifting our focus and appreciation to God? Wouldn’t at least some of this problem be solved if we spent more time acknowledging God in our creation? Wouldn’t we possibly focus even more on loving one another? And wouldn’t that lead to a society based on sincere gratitude and the blessed sanctity of human life?
Going back to the Gospel reading: Think about the woman with hemorrhages who so greatly believed in Christ’s power, that even by just touching His clothes, she recognized him as the one true God. What’s more, this relates to one of many points from the Gospels: That building our faith in God – treasuring all that He has done so that we may know and have a meaningful relationship with Him – means being consistent in how we show our appreciation. And yes, it may be even make you more of a “glass is half full” person in the process!