Two days later I am still reflecting on things. I sent people far too many photos which may be my narcissism, but was also a reflection of the real joy we experienced.
The sun shone and Rome was busy in a way we have not seen these last two years. The congregation seemed glad to be there celebrating the Resurrection with the Pope. There were lots of young people present – scout groups and school parties. Indeed, on Easter Monday there was a youth event in St Peter’s Square attended by the Pope and thousands of young people from all over Italy and beyond. Clearly the future is not without hope, though listening to the TV news at present is all too grim. We must not give in to pessimism.
The other reflection I have is about the Mass, not that particular one I attended, but leading to reflections on the meaning of the Eucharist in general. The first Eucharistic prayer, also known as the Roman Canon, refers to the Mass as being “a sacrifice of praise.” I reflected that literally thousands of people contributed to this “sacrifice of praise” by singing and praying aloud, of course, and above all by their active participation. But we should not forget the contributions of the clergy, the servers, the musicians, and of all those who did something in a quiet way. Those who arranged the flowers, set out the chairs, printed the booklets, washed the altar linen, the Swiss Guards and the security people, those who cleaned the square, the church and even the toilets. All that is needed and all that is loving service to the Lord. Even cleaning the toilet can be a service to the Lord! Every parish has people who do these sorts of things, the people Pope Francis has called “the saints next door.”
We can consider the sacrifice of the Mass in many ways, but it is surely a dialogue of giving between God and His people. He has given us the fruits of the earth, bread and wine, symbol of His gift of life to us. We give these back to God at the offertory, but He gives us back our gift in an even more wonderful way – the priest prays that the Holy Spirit may come down “like the dewfall” to transform the gifts into the “very blood, soul and divinity of Christ.” The priest offers back the transubstantiated gifts to the Father in satisfaction for our sins, but the Good Lord continues to shower His graces on us. We eat and drink the elements as food for the soul that nourishes us as a pilgrim people as we journey through life. In the same way the Israelites ate manna on their journey through the desert. And notice how, during the Eucharistic prayer, the priest asks for the Spirit to transform the people. Just as the Holy Spirit descended on Mary and God became man, He descends on the Church and we, by God’s grace, become the sign of Christ’s presence in the world.
It is we who are transformed by the Spirit to do His work. That is why we are told to go and spread the Gospel at the end of Mass. If we allow ourselves to be changed by our encounter with God, receiving His Word with our ears and with our mouths, we can help change the lives of those around us for the better. The joy of the Risen Christ is something we cannot keep to ourselves – like the women at the empty tomb we should go out and announce the Good News.