Why Do We Go to Mass? – Bishop Athanasius Schneider

Interview Organization: Vjerni Bogu II
Date: April 9, 2022
We attend Mass to encounter Christ, the Lamb of God, the true focus of our salvation. The priest’s role is secondary and always connected to Christ. Reverence, such as kneeling for Communion, acknowledges Christ’s majesty. We receive not only the Kingdom of God but the Lord of that Kingdom.
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Transcript:

Why do we go to Mass? For whom, and what is the purpose? We go to meet our Lord Christ, to encounter Him in His loving majesty, in all His love as Redeemer. We go to meet Him, the Lamb of God, with His wounds, who gives us the grace of redemption.

We go to Mass to meet Christ first and foremost, not to meet the priest. We go to meet Christ because He is the true aim of the salvation of our souls. The priest also has his purpose, but it is always in Christ. All is Christ.

I have the impression that we have lost much of the Christocentrism in the liturgy, in our lives, and in Church life. For example, in the manner of receiving Holy Communion, we approach, then stop, then kneel. This is an act of attention and reverence. We recognize why we kneel, because here is someone greater than we are, even in the small Host.

We open our mouths like little children to receive the Kingdom of God, like a child. Even more than the Kingdom of God itself, we receive the Lord of the Kingdom of God.