To the Band of Brothers: October 27, 2021

Good morning!

Here’s a story:

One night, the Lone Ranger and Tonto are camping in the desert. They set up their tent and are soon asleep. Some hours later, the Lone Ranger wakes his faithful friend. He said, “Tonto, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Tonto replies, "I see millions of stars, Kemosabe." “What does that tell you?" asks the Lone Ranger. Tonto ponders for a minute. “Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Chronologically, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Kemosabe?" The Lone Ranger is silent for a moment, then says, "Well Tonto, it tells me someone has stolen our tent."

I thought of this joke yesterday afternoon after celebrating the Flex Mass for some of the guys in middle school. The thing is I realize we are too often unaware of the reasons why we do certain things in Mass. I guess we have gone to Mass so many times, we become desensitized to their meaning and purpose.

Like the conversation between the Lone Ranger and Tonto, there can be very beautiful and profound reasons for why we do certain things, but do we often realize that many of them may have actually started for very practical reasons. In so many things of our Church, the very theologically or liturgically profound things actually have a very practical origin.

Here’s an example. 

Why does the priest wash his hands after receiving and offering the gifts of bread and wine? Theologically, he does it because before consecration, the very solemn moment he says the prayers that transform simple bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, he washes his hands to symbolize the washing of any sins that make him less than worthy of such a powerful moment. As a matter of fact, at that moment, the priest in silence says this prayer, “Lord wash me from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins.”

But practically there is another story. In the ancient traditions of Israel, the Jewish priest would offer the gifts brought for sacrifice. In those days, the offerings were lambs, goats, and pigeons. When he received them at the Temple altar, he would have to later wash his hands because all those animals were dirty to handle. Since the Catholic Mass is so tightly linked to the Jewish traditions of our religious ancestors, it adopted many liturgical practices, but with a different theological interpretation.

Here’s one more.

Why does the priest place a square, stiff linen called a pall over the chalice? Theologically he does it because it is a symbol of the burial linens used to cover the body of Jesus when he was placed in the tomb. In the Jewish tradition, the dead had to be buried intact, including no loss of blood, so there could be proper respect shown to the dead and to remain intact for the future life.

But practically there is another story. Before the time of air conditioning, churches had to keep their doors and windows open in order to deal with the heat. That meant flies and all kinds of bugs would make their way into the church. These critters could easily find themselves swimming in the chalice filled first with wine and, after consecration, the blood of Jesus. The stiff, white linen kept the content of the chalice bug-free. Now, while it is true that with air conditioning this little detail is not as necessary, we keep the practice going.

So, Kemosabe, while it is true that we can ponder the extraordinarily profound meaning of so many things we do and say at Mass, remember the first Eucharist ever celebrated was a meal shared between friends. Because Jesus presided over it 2000 years ago, that meal was taken to depths that have astounded billions of Catholics throughout history. The Mass is an extraordinary mix between theology and everyday life. The more we understand it, the better we can celebrate it.

Auspice Maria