A lot of people have asked me, “so are you going to continue to celebrate Mass on the radio?”
It’s a question that I have wrestled with. Broadcasting this Mass actually is difficult for me. It’s not like we are broadcasting the regular Sunday Mass live, I have to record it in advance, so it really messes with my preparations and my schedule and I have to find people to help... it isn’t easy, let's just say that.
That being said, it is really good for people who cannot go to Mass, people who are shut-in or laid up temporarily. It is really very good, really worth the extra effort, and I’ve been very happy to do it since the original shut-down.
Over these last 15 months, we have become accustomed to being very afraid: to be afraid of each other, to be afraid of big crowds, to be afraid of physical contact, to be afraid of many things we had previously held to be good and normal.
But the problem is that fear is not of God. In scripture, God says 365 times, in several different ways, “Be not afraid.”
And that also goes for going to Mass, we should not be afraid of going to Mass. God wants us to be in the Church, in His house, worshipping Him together in community.
So, I want to be very clear… this radio Mass doesn’t in any way fulfill our Catholic Sunday obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days. It simply acts as a way to “keep holy the Lord’s day” for those who are unable to attend Mass in person due to health or safety, whose dispensation remains in effect. This is no substitute for the real thing, for going to Mass in the church and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist.
Just like we need to go to the restaurant or the grocery store to be nourished physically with food, we need to be nourished spiritually with supernatural food.
In the “Our Father,” when we pray, “Give us this day our ‘daily’ bread” this is a special word in Greek which means “supersubstantial” and it is talking about the Eucharist.
And in the Gospel of John, “Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.””
Jesus asks us to eat His body and drink His blood, like actually, not spiritually, you know how I always do a spiritual act of communion on this radio Mass, Jesus didn’t leave us a provision for a spiritual act, you know? Sure, yes, better than nothing but it’s no substitute.
So, If you’re going to restaurants, get-togethers, or any number of other activities that involve passing interactions with others but still not attending Mass in person because of Covid, then I must challenge you. If you’re vaccinated and you’re still not attending Mass in person because of Covid, then I must challenge you. What’s keeping you away?
Out of love for you and out of love for God, I must address this inconsistency. Are you staying away because of fear? Because you've grown accustomed to this new habit? Because you like that you don’t have to leave your own house? These are not good enough reasons.
And so, the answer to the original question is “Yes, I will continue to celebrate this radio Mass, but because it is a service to those people who really need it, and not just for those who are afraid or unwilling to go to Mass in person.”
The Archbishop of Dubuque lifted the dispensation from coming to Mass last weekend, so if people aren't coming back because of fear, then at this time I’m going to renounce the fear, and I’d like you to repeat after me, out loud, as best you can.
It is important that it is done out loud, so I’ll say a couple of words or a phrase and you can repeat it. This is a Renunciation of Coronavirus and Conditions. Here we go:
In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce:
The Coronavirus, fear of Coronavirus, all symptoms of coughing, congestion, runny nose, chills, sore throat, headache, diarrhea, pneumonia, body aches, chest & muscle main, fever, nausea, loss of taste, loss of smell, shortness of breath, breathing difficulty, fatigue, tiredness & confusion.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce:
Sickness, infinity, disease, pandemics, outbreaks, plagues, contagion, ailment, disorder, affliction, frailty, weakness, disability, impairment, immobility, pain & torment.
In the name of Jesus, I renounce:
Isolation, loneliness, abandonment, depression, despair, despondency, discouragement, defeatism, negativism, dejection, hopelessness, morbidness, heaviness, gloom, burden & disgust. Fatigue, tiredness, weariness, sleepiness, exhaustion, laziness & lethargy.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce:
Fear, worry, anxiety, dread, apprehension, perfectionism, control, scrupulosity, paranoia, suspicion, distrust, persecution, nervousness, tension, headaches, migraines, nail-biting, restlessness & insomnia.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce:
Impatience, annoyance, restlessness, agitation, frustration, irritability, intolerance, exasperation, anger, blame, aggression, temper, criticism, verbal abuse, physical abuse, sexual & emotional abuse.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I renounce:
Grief, sorry, misery, loss, mourning, lamentation, anguish, agony, crying, sadness, heartache, beartbreak, guilt, shame, remorse, regret, loathing, unworthiness, embarrassment, self-reproach, death, destruction, loss, poisoning, accident-prone, suicide, euthanasia & mercy killing.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I break the power:
Of everything I have renounced. I command it to leave me now and go straight to the foot of the Cross for Jesus Christ to do with as He will. Amen. (3 times)