“Could you not watch one hour with me?” – Matthew 26:40Mass begins. The choir sings the entrance hymn. The priest processes reverently to the altar.
The Sign of the Cross opens our sacred encounter with heaven... and… we're not there yet.
Maybe we’re rushing up the path, breathless and distracted. Maybe we’re just leaving home, thinking, “I’ll miss the beginning, but at least I’ll make it for Communion.” Maybe it’s become a habit. A harmless little habit - so we think.
But what joy is there in being regularly late for Mass?
No Ordinary Gathering
Let’s remind ourselves what we’re walking into when we attend Mass.
It’s not a club meeting or a lecture. It is the Holy Sacrifice. Christ offers Himself, through the hands of the priest, for the forgiveness of sins and the life of the world. Heaven breaks through. Angels surround the altar. The veil between this life and eternity is lifted.
And we are invited - not merely to observe, but to participate.
To be late is to step in halfway through a miracle!