One of the many legacies of our former summer seminarian intern, John Hager, is a beautifully illustrated companion to the Mass, “All the Company of Heaven.” On the front cover, John has sketched the west facade of the church building. In the sky to the right of the church is Our Lady, cradling the infant Lord, keeping prayerful watch over the earthly company that gather and worship in the Church of the Good Shepherd. The Blessed Mother is part of that heavenly host of saints who have gone before us. Also watching over us, although not visually depicted in John Hager’s drawing, are the angels and archangels. This whole company of heaven is somewhat easy for us to forget about when we are at Mass, and yet, the words leading into the Sanctus remind us that our song on earth is joined with “all the company of heaven.” At that moment in the Mass, heaven is brought down to earth and earth is brought up to heaven.
Do we need a more powerful reminder of the centrality of the Mass in the Christian life? Our mystical union with God and the company of heaven is something that we can fail to appreciate, perhaps because of its regularity, and yet it is available to us on every Lord’s Day, and even on weekdays. This principal act of praise and thanksgiving is far more than a perfunctory obligation or casual add-on to our daily lives. It is the source of our life in Christ. There is never a time in our existence when we don’t need the Mass. It is, of course, not something to be used or received as an injection of holiness. It is a priestly act of God’s people, offering themselves to God in thanks and praise, being sanctified therein, and then offered back to the world for its transformation in Christ.
At Mass, God assures us that the nearness of the kingdom of God is more palpable than we often realize, and the world’s transformation is not a fading pipedream but a very real prospect. Apart from the Mass, we live as if hope is lost or as if we alone are responsible for changing the world. And this is a vicious cycle of disappointment. But with the Mass at the center of our lives, the kingdom of God is brought nearer to us, and our earthly efforts towards justice, peace, and reconciliation are aided by the prayers of the entire company of heaven. In the Mass, we live and breathe God’s paradigm of abundance, which is a countercultural movement of resistance against the world’s paradigm of scarcity.
For many these days, church is one more choice in their busy lives, like a pizza topping or a gift wrapping option when shopping online. To put the Mass at the center of our lives takes work and intention. It means prioritizing the Mass especially when our lives are filled to the brim with alternative ways of spending our time. It means living into a consistent rhythm of feasting at the heavenly banquet on every Lord’s Day, whether we’re traveling or caught up in an all-consuming work assignment. There will be many times in which we don’t “feel” like attending Mass, but that is no indication that we shouldn’t be at worship with all the company of heaven. There is no more transformative antidote to the world’s scarcity mindset than to return weekly to the feast in which God assures us of his abundant provision. There is no more powerful counter to the world’s thanklessness than, with all the company of heaven, to give thanks weekly to the God who created us, redeemed us, and continues to sanctify us as his holy people in the world.
When the Mass becomes the center of our lives, we begin to live as a Eucharistic people, offering ourselves, sanctified by God, to a broken world, and then returning to worship with the company of heaven to offer the world’s brokenness back to God for healing and salvation. In the Mass, we learn to live into our true vocation as a priestly people, always at prayer and always seeking the wholeness of creation. In short, at Mass, with all the company of heaven, we learn to become Christ for the world.
The original intention of John Hager’s exquisite companion to the Mass was to help children learn to participate more fully in the ritual and beauty of the Mass. But as the little booklet evolved, it became clear that this Mass companion was for all ages. In the Godly Play curriculum that we use with young children at Sunday formation, we hear that the Holy Communion (second) part of the Mass takes us where words and thinking about them can’t take us. [See “The Circle of the Holy Eucharist” lesson in The Complete Guide to Godly Play, vol. 4, by Jerome Berryman, New York: Church Publishing, 2018, pp. 131-142.] In other words, we enter into mystery. Whether or not we feel like being at Mass on a particular day or whether or not the Scripture readings on a given day speak to us, there is always a point of engagement in the glorious beauty of the Mass. John Hager’s companion booklet is intended to draw all of us into the mystery of worshipping with all the company of heaven.
As we close out the summer months, I encourage you to give renewed consideration to putting the Mass at the center of your lives. To do otherwise is, in some sense, to reject God’s eternal gift of his Son in bread and wine and to reject the countless opportunities for us to present ourselves—our souls and bodies—for transformation “for the life of the world.” When you’re at Mass, pick up a copy of “All the Company of Heaven.” I suspect you will learn some things about the Mass. If you have children with you, assist them in engaging with the Mass. For just over an hour each week, we have a magnificent opportunity to leave our cell phones and worldly distractions at the church door and enter into thanks and praise with all the company of heaven. Or, should our cares and distractions be too much, we can bring them with us to God’s altar and offer them up for God, who sets us free. I will look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we continue our never-ending worship with all the company of heaven.
Yours in Christ,
Father Kyle