October 11: Preparing to Celebrate Sunday’s Mass / Preparándonos para Celebrar la Misa Dominical

The Church will offer us a reading from the Second Book of Kings this Sunday. It will be the first reading in the Liturgy of the Word and, well, it is a little strange. Or perhaps we should say it has a strange feature. A Syrian general named Naaman is told to bathe in the Jordan seven times, he is healed of a skin disease, and then he responds by hauling away a pile of dirt! What was so special about that dirt? 

We have to remember that Naaman was a Gentile, a pagan,  and in those days people connected a deity and his power with a particular locality. You were closest to the deity (or god) and his power when you were in his territory. Naaman had experienced the power and the mercy of “the God of Israel” and he came to believe that this was the only God, the universal God. He wanted to give thanks and praise for his cure by offering in his own homeland a sacrifice on an altar built atop soil from Israel. This would be a sign of his unity with the land of Israel where God was present in a special way. So, Naaman was concerned about “the proper place” to find the presence of the Lord and give Him thanks.

Later, Jesus would teach us that worshiping God “in spirit and truth” is more important than where we worship Him. In fact, the Church has consistently taught that the place to find the presence of God is in the person of Jesus Himself: wherever Jesus is, that is the place to encounter the healing and reconciling presence of God and that is the place we should give Him our praise and thanks.  

God’s mercy and His other countless gifts are not limited by the barriers which we humans set up. Be sure to pray before coming to Mass this weekend. This could be a  way to start: “Lord our God, may we follow the example of Naaman the Syrian. Remind us of the many gifts we have received from your hand. May they inspire us to give you thanks and praise for all you have done for us. Gathered around your Table, help us worship you in spirit and in truth, through Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen.”

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Vamos a celebrar el Día del Señor para compartir entre todos, como siempre, la alegría de la fe, reunidos alrededor de la Mesa del Señor en la Eucaristía dominical.

Las lecturas nos van a recordar que Dios ofrece su salvación a todos, sin distinción. Las mismas lecturas nos van a recordar que Dios quiere curar nuestra “lepra” espiritual – nuestro pecado. Jesús mismo nos va a enseñar la importancia de la fe, pero también la necesidad del agradecimiento; nos va a manifestar cómo Él se complace en las personas que son agradecidas, que sienten la alegría de dar gracias, virtud propia de la persona humilde, la persona que reconoce que todo lo que es y todo lo que posee es un don de Dios.

Antes de venir a Misa, reflexionemos en la necesidad que tenemos de volver permanentemente al Señor para darle gracias, porque nos ha sanado, nos ha bendecido, y constantemente nos ofrece su gracia y su amor.