One Mass

In the beautifully written and illustrated children's book, The Weight of a Mass, the faith of the subjects in the kingdom has grown cold. The king and his bride are to be wed in the evening at a Mass in the cathedral; yet, the people do not plan to attend. 

In the kingdom's bakery, preparations are being made for the royal feast, including the prized wedding cake. A beggar woman enters the shop, and says,

If you give me crust of bread, I will offer the Mass tonight for you.

The baker is indignant; though, his son insists he listen to the woman. Instead, the baker taunts her by writing "one Mass" on a torn off piece of tissue paper. He places it on the balance and flicks in a dried out crust of bread. Miraculously, the bread does not cause the balance to be weighed down. So, the baker adds more items - fresh donuts, cakes, and breads - yet there is no change. The people are incredulous. Finally, the baker puts the wedding cake on the scale. 

Nothing.

As the bells toll to call the people to the wedding Mass, those in the shop process into the streets. The baker, his son, and the beggar woman follow. In the end, the baker apologizes to the woman for not having faith. She, too, apologizes, for she only wished for a crust of bread in exchange for one Mass. They realize that they did not know the weight of the Mass...

Read the book - it's beautifully told and illustrated!

I read this book to my 7th graders, and then they did some reflection using post-its to answer questions around the room based on the book and its symbolism. I have included some of their responses below; though, you may have to click on the photos in order to actually read the writing, as it is very small. My apologies. Many of them really seemed to get the story, and I hope they keep this story at the forefront of their minds as we begin our next unit on the Catholic Mass.

Q: What is the role of the beggar woman in the story?

Q: Why is the story set in a bakery?

Q: What is the last item weighed against the Mass? What does it represent?

Q: Who experiences a conversion of heart in this story?

Q: How much does a Mass weigh?

I feel like adults would very much benefit from this story too, as it is easy in today's society to forget the weight of the Mass.

P.S. - I got a BONUS this weekend by getting to head to Notre Dame for the day to meet the new ACE Chicago teachers (and to spend time with some of the current ones). Even though it was a short visit, I tried to make the most of it (rotten weather and all):

Grotto visit

Golden Dome selfie

Touchdown Jesus!

post-dinner smiles with the crew

It's hard to believe that the next time I will be on campus is going to be this summer for the final wrap-up, presentation, and graduation. Love thee, ND!

On My Knees

Latin. The All Souls' Mozart Requiem Mass was all in Latin (except for the homily). I couldn't understand the words.

But there were two things I did understand: the Eucharist and the gestures of the priest.

Isn't it amazing how no matter where you go for Catholic Mass that it is all the same? The universality of it - isn't it wonderful?

The Mass last night was done in the traditional way, which meant that we had to approach and kneel at the Communion Rail when the time came to receive Jesus' most precious body. I had never received (to my knowledge/memory) at the rail before, so I didn't know what to expect. But there was something absolutely humbling and incredible about getting down on my knees and receiving the Eucharist on my tongue. It was impossible to just go through the motions when I was required to do this.

For lack of a better phrase, It was SO COOL!

My takeaway from last night was getting myself back to the reverence of it all. The traditional Mass helped me do that.

Wow...

Give me your tired, your weary...

Tonight at evening Mass I was taken aback when, during the spoken-from-the-heart intercessions that all are encouraged to share, there were many intentions for people who are hurting and broken. I was surprised because on the outside, everyone around here always seems to be smiling and positive. I was surprised because no one ever seems truly sad.

And then I was reminded of the words of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: "You ask me whether I am in good spirits. How could I not be so? As long as Faith gives me strength I will always be joyful!"

These intentions I witnessed were offered at Mass, the very foundation of our livelihood and faith. No wonder these people carry on (and carry on so with joy) - their eyes are completely on God. How beautiful, how true.

Thank you, God, for this special insight today. May my eyes remain directed towards You above all else. Amen.

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Unrelated but worthwhile reading (2 short articles of note):

A) Cardinal Dolan on recent immigration issues

B) "The Virtue of Unread Books"

That's a First...

Today was my sister's students' big day - First Communion...

They were all decked out in their finest - the girls in dresses fit for a Quincinera, and the boys in little suits and ties. The girls had their hair up in fancy do's, and each one had a veil.

And when I walked into the room where they were gathered before heading over to Church, I felt like a magnet. "Miss Kelly!" they all called - and then they clumped. From my vantage point, it was pretty darn cute.

I'm glad I went (even if it was a nearly 3 hour service) - the kids were genuinely excited to receive Jesus. (I wonder where, as teenagers and adults, our excitement for receiving Jesus' body and blood goes? ) And it was nice to spend time (for the second day in a row) with my sister and her co-workers.

Alleluia! He is Risen! And He is present each time we receive the Eucharist. (We would all do well to remember that...)

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On an unrelated note, I made some no-bake cookies tonight - the only differences to the recipe were that I substituted unsweetened almond milk for the whole milk and that I used cocoa swirl cookie butter instead of the original kind.

One of the first things I did after they cooled (besides taste them, of course!) was to transfer the recipe onto my "food I've actually made" Pinterest board. We have success!