The advantage of coming early to Mass
For us Christians, particularly Catholics, Sunday is the most important day in the week. It is the Lord’s day. It is the first day of the week. It is the day on which God said, “Let there be light”, and “there was light” (Genesis 1: 3). Jesus is the light of the world (John 8: 12). The sun is the biggest light in creation. Therefore, the Lord’s day is the “Sun-day”.
At the heart of Sunday is the celebration of the Eucharist, the Holy Mass. We gather to celebrate the mystery of the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Christ, and our hope in his final coming in glory. Through Christ, and in communion with the Holy Spirit, we give glory to God the Father. In this celebration, God feeds us with his word, and the body and blood of his Son Jesus Christ. Our gathering for the celebration also affords us the opportunity of communion with one another.
The Holy Mass consists of various parts, and one of them is the penitential rite. This is the part of the Mass which affords us the graced opportunity of reconciliation with God and one another. This reconciliation is required for a fruitful celebration of holy sacrifice of the Mass; Christ said to his disciples, “If you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, you should leave your gift there, go, and first be reconciled to your brother, then, return to offer your gift” (Matthew 5: 23-24). We acknowledge and confess our sins of actions and omissions against God and our fellow men and women, and then ask for forgiveness. The priest prays to God to have mercy us and forgive us our sins. In this way, those gathered to celebrate the Eucharist becomes a reconciled community.
Those who join the community after the penitential rite fall short of the reconciliation mediated through the process. The unreconciled situation of one person in the community affects the whole body. Just as Israel suffered defeat in war against a very small community called Ai on account of the of one man, Achan, (Joshua 7), so can the unreconciled state of one or more people who join the Mass after the rite of reconciliation negatively affect our worshipping community.
Therefore, it is a thing of great advantage to us as a community that everybody comes early to Mass. May God bless us all for our worship of him in spirit and truth.
-Fr Bona