Do you have the proper posture and reverence in Mass? Read this challenging reflection and self examination by St. Claude La Colombiere.
The Reverence Due to Christ
All the sanctity which the birth of the Son of God communicates to the stable of Bethlehem, all that His Blood communicates to Calvary, and His dead Body to the sepulcher, all of it is found in the churches of Christians, and as soon as I enter them, as soon as I approach the altars, I do not feel myself penetrated by that holy fright with which one is seized when approaching holier places; if I am not touched by the same sentiments, which make such sweet tears run from the eyes of those who have the good fortune to see the Créche in which Jesus was born, if I do not feel those transports of love and of joy which make some people expire in adoring the mountain where God Himself was crucified, or in kissing the footsteps that He left imprinted when ascending to heaven, it is only through a lack of faith or a lack of attention.
It is in our churches, in that tabernacle, that the Body of the Savior reposes; it was in the womb of Mary for only nine months, only forty days in the stable, only three hours upon the cross, only three days in the sepulcher, and it is always in our churches; this is why they are never empty of angels, of archangels, of Seraphim, who do not cease to adore it with respects and humiliations, which would strangely confound us if we could perceive them.
Our churches, if one can speak in this way, are like an annex to paradise; the Creator is adored there, the resurrected Savior finds a Body and a Soul there, the heavenly spirits make their sojourn there, and there they enjoy the same happiness that one tastes above the firmament. It is this adorable place that our libertines choose for exercising coquetry, for producing their pride, for flaunting their vanity and their insolence. “If we had a bit of Faith,” Saint Chrysostom remarks, “would we dare to appear there after having committed in secret the crimes which we come there to commit in the face of heaven and earth?”
One would be strangely shocked if one saw a Christian laugh upon Calvary and cajole in the same place where the Savior was crucified, but how much more horrible would it be if this were done at the time when He was currently dying there!
Self Examination
What do you go to Church to do? Do you go to render your respects to God and to humbly confess that you are naught but a vile slave, but a bit of dust, that you are nothing in His presence? One would say, on the contrary, upon seeing the care that you took in adorning yourself, one would say, upon seeing the air with which you enter that place, that you are the divinity of the Temple, that you aim to snatch God’s adorers away from Him and to draw their worship, as well as their regards, to yourself. Is it to recognize your indigence, to ask from some grace from Him, that you come there? If you have a debt to demand from a farmer, would you do it with more pomp? Would you not do it with more application of spirit? If it is to obtain pardon for your sins, where is that humble and respectful posture, where are those tearful and crushed habits, where are those sobs, those tears, those prayers, with which a criminal is accustomed to appear before his judge? Perhaps you present yourself here with the design of showing some gratitude to Him for so many favors that you have received from Him? Perfidious! Eh! In what manner would you comport yourselves there if you had a design to avenge yourself over an outrage and to insult your Master? My God, how good You are, and how admirable is Your patience!
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This article is taken from a chapter in Seeking the Heart of Christ by St. Claude La Colombiere which is available from TAN Books.
