It is amazing what a new coat of paint or putting new carpet into a room does for the feeling of a place. We all know they are but cosmetic fixes but they do bring a renewed sense of beauty and wonder. The parish (St. Lucy) has been experiencing these blessings as we have replaced the carpet in our church building and have put a fresh coat of paint on the exterior of many of our parish school buildings…and it looks wonderful. The truth is the underlying structures and functions of the buildings remain the same but these small changes uplift the spirit.
I use the preamble as a way of reminding us, we as Christians, are an interior and exterior faith. We express our faith in the interior holiness of seeking God’s presence in our life and at the same time revel in the beauty of the art, architecture, music and worship we celebrate in our weekly Eucharistic feast. The interior and hidden part of our spiritual life is often expressed in the outward and joyous gifts we share with the community around us as we gather to blessed and sent forth to proclaim the love of Jesus Christ.
While the interior disposition and search for holiness is vital it always must be accompanied by the exterior works of grace. It does no good to put new paint on a building and never look at the structural integrity and in the same way the beauty of an interior will begin to degrade quickly when the exterior is left to be ravaged by the elements of weather and time.
Before I entered the seminary I was a parishioner at St. Martin of Tours in San Jose. Each Sunday morning I would rise early and attend the 7:00 a.m. Mass. Because I didn’t own a car at the time I would often ride my bike the mile or so I lived from the parish. I would often feel tempted, especially if the weather was in-climate or on those hot mornings to forgo the slacks and collared shirt I normally wore for Mass. But the temptation was usually overcome by a deeper desire to honor God and to remember where I was going and what I was going to do there. It wasn’t that the clothes (exterior) automatically made my soul and prayer (interior) holier or more presentable to God rather for me it was an outward reminder of who I was made to be.
In “Sacrosanctum Concilium: The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy” from the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) the Church speaks about the dignity and the reality of what occurs at the Eucharistic Liturgy and why we should be attentive to how we celebrate…
Why do we come? The first sentence of Chapter 1 is very plain and direct where the Church proclaims, “God who “wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of he truth” (1 Tim 2:4) (#5) We are invited into an act of not only relationship but a growing in the knowledge and love of God. The understanding the truth that proclaims “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 Jn 4:8)
Entering into this love and mercy is a work of grace shared by all members of the Body of Christ, This is why coming to celebrate is such an important moment each and every week because as we are reminded, “To accomplish so great a work Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebration.” (#7)
The unity we seek with Jesus is found most fully in the interior act of prayer and the exterior action of worship united as one when we are gathered in communion. When we absent ourselves from this grace the exterior begins to weaken and our interior strength begins to wane. Just as climbing a hill to see the vista of wonder takes work and sweat, we know the celebration of God’s love is also the metaphorical mountain top, “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the fount from which all her power flows.” (#10) it is where we can proclaim in a voice that has echoed throughout salvation history, “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. (Ps 951-2) See you in the Eucharist.

God Bless
Fr. Mark