Luke 9:11b-17

The Eucharist is essentially and of its very nature a community action in which every person present is expected to be an active participant We are here, on the one hand, recalling what makes us Christians in the first place - our identification with the life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus And that identification with Jesus is expressed not through a one-to-one relationship with him but in a community relationship with him present in all those who call themselves Christian We relate to him through his Risen Body, which is the whole community bearing his name There is no place in Christianity for individualism It is a horizontal faith: we go to God with and through those around us.

Every Lord's Day we come together as that Body, as a community, to say thanks to him and hence the name ‘Eucharist' which means ‘thanks' It is regrettable, then, if we are only in church to ‘keep the Third Commandment' on a purely private, individual, devotional basis With that mentality, it will not be surprising if we think it does not matter if we are late or leave early Because, with that mentality, ‘going to Mass' is a private affair for me and all the others who ‘happen' to be there, too.

Some even resent that there is too much going on They wonder why they cannot be ‘left in peace to say their prayers' It is true some Mass celebrations can be overactive or over-intrusive but, on the other hand, it is ot a time for contemplative prayer. One can do that much better at home The whole point of being at Mass is to celebrate together with one's fellow-Christians as a community of the disciples of Jesus.