Perhaps it is because I grew up during the Cold War when there was great anxiety about the arms race and the possibility of nuclear war breaking out between the West and the Soviet block. Maybe it was because so many movie and TV shows described missiles with warheads being locked in on western cities like Paris, London, Rome, New York and Washington, D.C. It seemed that during my childhood and early adulthood, “missle-lock” was a horrifying part of daily language. I still shudder when I think of it.
I also knew another kind of “missal-lock” that had nothing to do with death but rather with life: eternal life. From the time I received my First Holy Communion, I never left our house for Mass every day without being “missal-locked,” without having a missal in my hand that contained all of the prayers for Mass and other beautiful devotional prayers. I thank God that I have been “missal-locked” for almost 60 years. As a matter of fact, praying from the missal, even when I am not offering Mass, is part of my daily routine to this day.
Every day I pray over the scripture readings assigned to the Mass, but I likewise pray and meditate on various prayers of the Mass especially the Eucharistic Prayers, those amazing prayers that contain the words of consecration that make Jesus truly present on the altar. Certainly, the Roman Canon (the First Eucharistic Prayer) is a favorite source of rich inspiration for me. I also love the Third Eucharistic Prayer. Toward the end of this prayer the priest prays the following words. “May this Sacrifice of our reconciliation, we pray, O Lord, advance the peace and salvation of all the world, Be pleased to conform in charity your pilgrim Church on earth…”
These words are a wonderful source of meditation and real fuel for prayer. They underline that what happens on the altar at Mass is not just a prayer service or a meal that reminds us of the Last Supper. What happens on the altar is a
sacrifice. As a matter of fact, it is the Sacrifice that the Lord Jesus offered on the Cross for the salvation and peace of the world – for the redemption of us all. It is the Sacrifice of Jesus that reconciles us to the Father by His shedding His Blood for the peace of the whole world. At Mass, we find ourselves at the Banquet of the Lamb of God. No ordinary food is provided at this Banquet. Instead we are given the Body and Blood of the Savior, the fruit of His Sacrifice, to strengthen us and help us to grow in holiness.
This passage also reminds us that the Church is on pilgrimage throughout the ages, and while the Church is in the world, it is not of the world. This means that we, as members of the Body of Christ, the Church, have our eyes and our hearts set not on the things of this world, but, rather, on heaven. We are on “missal-lock,” destined for God’s presence in heaven. We are Kingdom-bound.
The Church, and each one of us, is like the Prophet Elijah about whom we hear in the First Book of Kings. “Elijah went on a day’s journey into the desert until he came to a broom tree and plopped down beneath it. He prayed for death saying: This is enough, O Lord. Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers” (1 Kgs 19: 4-5). He fell asleep under that broom tree. Then an angel roused him from his sleep and told him to eat the hearth cake and drink of the jug of water he found at his head. He slept again but the angel persistently awoke him. Elijah regained his strength and walked for forty days and forty nights to Mount Horeb to meet the Lord.
Sound familiar? We, too, can become exhausted on our journey through life. We may even become despondent and think that death may be a relief. The best remedy for our fatigue and desperation is for us to go on “missal-lock”: to come to Mass. There, we will not be under a broom tree. At Mass we will be beneath the arbor vitae – the tree of life – the Cross. There we do not eat earthly food like hearth cakes given to Elijah. At Mass we receive the Bread come down from heaven – the very Body of Jesus Christ.
At Mass we are drawn into the Mystery of Our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. There we are roused by all of the angels and saints of heaven to see with eyes of faith the majesty of the Sacrifice of Christ present on our altar and His Body and Blood given to us as heavenly Food for the journey of life. We need to be revived from our sleep induced by the cares and the negative news of the world and become fully conscious of what happens at Mass and why we need to be there. We need to be on “missal-lock” and rediscover the beauty of the prayers of the Sacred Liturgy of the Church. They speak the truth to us of the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist and tell us who we are and what our life is all about.
As the Second Vatican Council so beautifully told us, the Church is a pilgrim and we, as members of the Church, are pilgrims on the way as well. (
Lumen Gentium, chapter VII) As St. Therese of Lisieux put it, “The world is thy ship and not thy destination.” How do we walk our pilgrim way with integrity and charity? How do we reach our destination?
An important way to navigate this pilgrimage is to be “missal-locked”: to have your hand missal, your edition of
Magnificat or
The Word Among Us in hand to prepare for Mass and to pray from at Mass. It is a compass that always points true north – to Christ’s Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist and to the Kingdom of God. The prayers of the Liturgy and the words of Scripture provide a great pilgrim’s compass for the journey, an outstanding heavenly GPS for our way through life.
I myself prefer a hand missal because it speaks of the permanence and beauty of the Liturgy of the Mass. I also love
Magnificat because of the beauty of the art and the extra liturgical and devotional prayers found in it. But whatever you prefer, get “missal-locked” and pray and find inspiration in the texts of the Mass and the readings of Holy Scripture. It will help you to see more clearly your companions on the way, Our Lord, Our Lady, the angels, the saints and one another. It’s a great crowd to be part of! We never walk alone!
Most Reverend William J. Waltersheid
Auxiliary Bishop of Pittsburgh