Dear friends today I am going to begin a 5 week reflection on our Mass. It is my hope that the time that we spend reflecting on what we are doing as we gather to celebrate God's love for us during these trying times will help all of us have a better understanding of the importance of what is happening and therefore a better appreciation of this wonderful gift. I want to begin this reflection on: "Rediscovering the Gift of Our Eucharist" by saying Thank You. I thank you for being here today. For taking time during your busy schedule to reflect on what the Lord is offering to us as we gather as a Eucharistic community. I know that it is not always easy. I know that your lives are busy and that there is very little free time to spend with family or just to relax. I hear this from members of my family and many others, but it still saddens me when people do not put coming to Mass or spending time nourishing their relationship with God- on top - of their priority list. It saddens me because it might be a sign that the Eucharistic Celebration - is becoming less and less important - to a greater number of people. And at the same time, I am not always sure that the importance of what we are about in our Mass is fully understood and appreciated. My personal relationship with God helps me to face each day with the realization that regardless of what happens, even during this pandemic, that God is there, and that I am loved. All that I want for you - is to know and experience - the goodness of this same God. I believe that our participation in our Eucharistic Celebration is an important part of the equation. I also believe that taking this time out during our busy day and week is vital. We need to take this time to assess where we have been and where we are going in light of our faith. I would like you to keep these points in mind as we spend this time reflecting on our Mass. The topic of my first reflection is: "Seeing our Mass as a Gift." As I mentioned earlier I am not always sure that we see our Mass in this light. This being the case, I think that at times we approach the Mass more out of duty than out of desire. It is a question of how we prepare ourselves for this important celebration. As the old saying goes: "We only get out of something what we put into it." The same is true with Mass. I know that our reasons for being here today are many but is our main reason for being here today because that is what we were told we have to do? Or do we come because we realize that we have a need and a desire to gather with others before God? (*** Repeat* **) Our answer to this question will make a world of difference on how we value what we are about as we gather to celebrate the Eucharist or to watch it livestreamed. If we come only because we have been told that we have to, then I am going to ask you, from the bottom of my heart, to be open to looking at our celebration differently, seeing it as a Gift. Jesus wants to share himself with us. This is something that is worth getting excited about. Now going back to our attitude, I believe that the main feelings that we should have as we gather is of thankfulness with the realization that we need what God has come to offer to us. I know that a lot of people may wonder what they have to be thankful for and that our world is pretty divided. I also know that there is a lot of painful things that people are carrying around. This could even be you, however this is one more reason that we need to be united as One with God. I also believe that if you reflect on your whole life, and not just on the difficult parts, you will realize God's goodness and the goodness of the people around you. No this does not mean that our life is perfect, but it recognizes the fact that God has not abandoned us and that God continues to help us through our difficult situations. It recognizes that we know that God has accepted us where we are. As we gather to celebrate the Eucharist we need to do so recognizing that we are gathering with our best friend. When we get together with a best friend, we are excited about being able to see each other again. The same is true with our friend Jesus. We should be excited. As I have mentioned before our relationship with Jesus needs to be like our relationship with our best friend. We need to spend time sharing and listening to one another. If we do not, then the relationship will not be all that it can be. Jesus wants us to be a part of our daily lives. I believe that we have a great need to experience this kind of intimate friendship. In our Eucharistic Celebration we are celebrating God's love for us. In many ways we are reminded of the ultimate act of love that God shares with us, the death and resurrection of his Son, and we are reminded that God has come to offer us forgiveness. Because God has accepted us and because he continues to help us, we need to respond with thankfulness. Gathering as a parish community for our Mass is one of the best ways to do this. I truly believe that if our attitude was one of thankfulness as we walked through our church doors, then our celebration would take on a totally different flavor. I challenge each one of us to make this a reality. The Lord be with you — And with your Spirit. Lift up your hearts — we lift them up to the Lord Let us give thanks to the Lord our God — It is right and just. May we all see our celebration as a way of giving God thanks and praise. I am going to end here for today, but I would like to leave you with some questions to reflect on: What is your attitude about attending Mass? What are you thankful about? Do you show God that you are thankful? (These questions can be found in today's bulletin) ? Next week we will reflect on preparing our hearts and minds for the gifts that our Mass offers to us.