“The Mass is the greatest wonder in the world. There is nothing on earth equal to it, and there is nothing in Heaven greater than it." 

-Father Paul O'Sullivan

“The Church stands and falls with the Liturgy...The true celebration of the Sacred Liturgy is the centre of any renewal of the Church whatever.”                                                                                                                                                                                    -Cardinal Ratzinger, 1997

         The Church and specifically the Catholic liturgy, along with the sacraments, remain the key to the restoration we seek-of the person, family, Church and culture. A restoration of the Church whose primary function is to carry on the work of Christ’s salvation through the graces of the sacraments is what is most needed. All too often the liturgy has been infected with innovation, and with it a loss of the sense of the sacred, as the sacred liturgy meticulously preserved for thousands of years, has become almost superfluous, such that about 70% of Catholics don’t even bother to attend.

       The Second Vatican Council, which has become the scapegoat for the liturgical abuses that followed in her name promulgated by her enemies within, did not intend to violently rupture this sacred liturgical tradition, driving the faithful away in droves.  In fact, the Council properly pronounced “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the font from which all her power flows” (Sacrosanctum concilium, 10). Any authentic renewal, any acts of evangelization, and any attempts to restore a Christian culture, must flow from the font of the Mass, to unleash her incomprehensible spiritual power upon a culture in need. For the Mass is the extension of the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and Pentecost, filling us with the divine presence of God, so that we can go forth in humility, zeal, joy, and love into a world where all are in short supply, bringing the presence of Christ to others. In fact the Mass, or “Misa” in Latin which means to “go forth”, and contains within it the same root word as “mission”, equips us with spiritual sustenance and sends us out to do His will, for our sake and that of the whole world.

II. Restoration Of The Church

Restoration of The Liturgy

       This is why the Sacred Liturgy needs to be the main and most basic function of the Church, with its primary identity as an Ecclesial Community. For today it seems the Church is more known as, or concerned with, acting as a mere social service agency, more focused on quality of life than eternal life. For Christ commanded His Church to celebrate the Mass (Luke 22:19), to make disciples, to baptize, and to teach all He commanded (Matthew 28:19). He never commanded the Church to become a Non-Governmental Organization or large secular bureaucracy, more concerned with material comfort in this world than eternal happiness with Him in the next. The liturgy and the sacraments are the lifeblood of the Church, with the Eucharist as its heart, and the Holy Spirit its breath. It is through the Mass and the sacraments, and the graces they provide, that leads to conversions of persons and families, who in turn, renew the Church and the culture. It is here that we are filled with His word, His graces, and His body, blood, soul, and divinity, so that we can go out and live our mission in the world, which likely does include, among other things, our personal obligation to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

        For the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and we, all Catholics from the time of the apostles through the end of time, are the cells. We comprise this divine human institution, and have been created for a specific purpose, role and mission to ensure the vitality and growth of the Church to the ends of the earth. God equipped us with certain talents, blessings and aptitudes, which if put into practice benefit not only ourselves in terms of personal joy and fulfillment, but the entire mystical body in terms of helping her to become a fully functioning, healthy organism. The reason why the Church seems sick, frail, and vulnerable is that too few of her cells are performing their intended functions, and that in her compromised condition, she is exposed to the attacks from without and the infections within. Without the daily sacrifice of the Holy Mass, the Church would have ceased to exist more than a millennia ago, for the Liturgy has ensured that Christ’s promise would be fulfilled, and she alone remains the oldest institution in the history of the world. But what could she be if more people fulfilled their mission in life, or even more people attended Mass and frequented the sacraments with their families? We could not imagine the type of spiritual healing and power that would be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world and its prince. 

        A great priest once said: “The Mass is the greatest wonder in the world. There is nothing on earth equal to it..The next greatest wonder is the indifference and ignorance of Catholics regarding Holy Mass. How is it that so many Catholics do not go to Mass?” It is this second greatest wonder that needs to be addressed, and can be accomplished, at least in part, by a realization of the first.