More Than We Either Desire or Deserve . . .

I love to go to Mass.  And as a priest I certainly love to say Mass.  To me the Mass is beautiful.  I wouldn't miss it.  Sundays are not Sundays if I do not begin the day by going to church; hearing the Word of God; and receiving Our Lord's Precious Body and Blood at Communion time.  There is just so much in the Mass to pay attention to because it is just chock-full of meaning.  In other words, every action by the priest has a purpose.  Every prayer whether uttered aloud or said silently means something.  And because there is so much richness of meaning in every single Mass, it is understandable that sometimes we miss out on something very meaningful.  For example, I would imagine that very few people pay attention to the "Collect" near the beginning of Mass.  What is the Collect?   The Collect could be described as the gathering prayer by the priest right before the readings begin.  The Collect directs our intentions for that particular Mass and addresses it to God.

Most people probably focus on the readings appointed for Mass that day.  And this is understandable.  Whether it be one of the Epistles from St. Paul, for example, or the Gospel of the day telling us a story about the life of Our Blessed Lord.  But as I say the other prayers in the Missal are not only beautiful they are very rich in meaning if we would only pay attention to what they say.  A very good example of a Collect rich with meaning would be as follows:

 "ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen "  (Collect for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity)

This Collect really knocked me for a loop, so to speak, when I read it.  In particular, the first part really struck home for me.  "Almighty and everlasting God, Who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve . . . . "  It would be so easy to gloss over this if you heard it being said at Mass.  But, in my opinion,  we could spend the rest of our life focusing on the reality and truth of what was just said:  God is more ready to listen than we are even to pray in the first place.  And that He is ready to give us even better things than we have ever imagined or dreamed of.  And the fact that He is ready and willing to give to His children when we do not even deserve to be rewarded to begin with.   As I stated, this Collect is so rich with meaning we could spend the rest of our lives pondering these words.  These words speak to the wonderfulness of Our Heavenly Father.  "The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion . . .  " (Psalm 145:8)

Everything that we have, everything that we possess comes from Our Heavenly Father.  Whether it be the life we have been given . . . the air we breathe . .  . the roof over our head  . .  . the food we partake . . . the talents and abilities each of us possess . . .  everything we have has been given to us by Our Heavenly Father.  St. Paul recognized this fact and it was a common theme he presented throughout the Epistles he wrote to the various churches.  For example, in the Fifteenth Chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes:  "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed" (I Corinthians 15:9-11)   Yes, it is true that St. Paul, in this passage, states "I am what I am" but it is so important to remember that he preceded this statement with "But by the grace of God . . . ."  Thus:  "But by the grace of God I am what I am."  (I Corinthians 15:10)  All of us could make this our motto in life.  Who are we if not for God?  What would we have if not for the goodness of Our Heavenly Father?  Who would I be if not for God?  St. Paul is the first to acknowledge all the things he done in life.  For example, he goes on to say " . . . .  but I laboured more abundantly than they all . . .  "  This would sound almost like a boast coming from St. Paul, wouldn't it?  And yet St. Paul always puts his "boasting" into proper context when he continues:  " . . . yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (I Cor. 15:10)  Again, St. Paul emphasizes that any strength that he possesses or any skill or ability which he can boast of, is due to the grace of God being with him.  As I like to say, each one of us has skills and abilities which only we possess.  And each one of us should use our specific skills and abilities for the glory of God.  But we should imitate St. Paul in acknowledging where these gifts and abilities come from.  "But by the grace of God I am what I am."  (I Cor. 15:10).  We are who we are, yes, but we are who we are by the grace of God.   He has created us.  He has given us life.  He nourishes us and sustains us.  And He loves us.

Again, St. Paul continues on this train of thought when he writes his Second Epistle to the Corinthians.  We hear in the Third Chapter of this Epistle:  ". . .  not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God . . ." (II Corinthians 3:5)   God is the One Who provides.  He is the One Who sustains us.  But we must do our part as well.  We need to be open to God's holy will.  We need to also recognize that God is the One to Whom we owe everything.

 "Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven for you."  (I St. Peter 1:3-4)

God, through His abundant mercy, St Peter tells us, not only has begotten us but has given us hope of everlasting salvation through the efforts of Our Blessed Saviour.  It was through the efforts of Our Blessed Lord taking our place on the Cross at Calvary.  But He not only carried our sins on His shoulders He also rose again on the third day in order to defeat death and afford us with the opportunity to enjoy eternal life with Him.

Our Lord stated plainly:  "I go to prepare a place for you."  (St. John 14:2)  It is there where we will be in the Presence of Our Heavenly Father.  The riches and the glory of this world pale in comparison to the glory of Our Heavenly Father.  Our Lord promises us that He goes to prepare a place for us.  He is doing this because of the love He has for us.  God willing we will all end up there and if we do, please God, it will not because we were deserving to be there.  It will be because Our God is a merciful God.  He is a forgiving God.  He is a loving God.  God loves us so much that He gave His Only Begotten Son to die on the Cross.  Not for His sake,  . . . . He died for our sake.  He died for you and for me.  God gives us more than we could ever dream of . .  . ever imagine.