If you’d like to purchase a copy of Carstens’ book, you may do so here. If you’d like to access the Table of Contents for this series, click here.
Here we are at the end of our book club, just a few days away from Holy Week. I hope that these weekly discussions have been a blessing to you as they have to me. To close out our conversation, I wanted to share some of the insights and comments left by readers over the last few months.
When we talked about the Opening Prayer,
talked about a lovely exercise he did with his faith formation families over the winter:In November and December I had the opportunity to teach my faith formation families about the prayers of the Mass. Learning about and writing our own collects was one of the activities. We used the image of the Sign of the Cross to talk about the four movements of the collect: upward, downward, inward, and outward. So each family wrote a collect in which they (1) called on God by name, (2) spoke of our relationship with God and who he is to us, (3) brought our requests to him, and (4) pledged to walk in faith and trust as a fruit of prayer.
I was inspired by this chapter to do with myself and my family what my wife does with her class before a school Mass: read the collect and take a time to decide on an intention to bring to mind when the celebrant prays it. This would be an easy in-the-car task on Sunday mornings for us.
Writing a family collect? Yes please! What a beautiful call to reflect on our family’s mission, charisms, and goals. I love the idea of writing a family collect and praying it as part of our morning prayer each day.
A few weeks later, when we discussed reception of Communion
shared this:Taking four children with us to receive communion has its challenges. I try to dispose myself by thanking God for allowing me to receive him, for being there with my wife and children, and if I'm very distracted, the Jesus prayer helps me get in the right disposition. When we go back to the pew, the kids know Mass is almost over, they start acting as if they can smell the donuts in the hall, and what has helped me do a better prayer of thanksgiving after receiving is just being the most loving with them, hugging them, telling them I love them, because Jesus is in me, he is close to my children as well. I ask them to pray for me and their mom, and that usually gives me enough time to just remain in silence and try and receive as much grace from the sacrament as I can.
This is the kind of practical advice I’m always looking for—set realistic expectations and hold yourself to a standard of excellence at the same time, but mostly, rely on the Lord’s grace to get you through.
I could probably write an entire essay series about the line
referenced below, because the depth and breadth of garden imagery throughout the Scriptures and the Mass is amazing.Personally, a grace I’ve received during rereading this book is the comfort that these beautiful truths aren’t going anywhere. Even when I am—for lack of attention or lack of fervor—not attentive to them, the Lord is still offering these moments, these opportunities for encounter and grace each and every time I go to Mass. What a consolation! Each time that my mind drifts, even just for a moment, to the themes discussed in the book, the Lord is inviting me “further up and further in”.
In particular, I find myself using the offertory procession as a visual reminder to offer up myself as well.1 For some reason, it’s been latched in my brain probably since the first time I read this book that when I see people walking to the front, I need to be bringing my heart with them. I loved the insight Chris shared last week on our video call about the so-called “Children’s Collection” (when children are invited to the steps of the altar with their family’s tithe), that while it may be chaotic and often a little corny, it can also be a moment for us to recall that we are asked to give everything to Christ—even our precious children, or whatever else holds a special place in our hearts.
Looking forward, as we move through Lent—indeed, into Holy Week, when our preparations really deepen—how can we apply the topics from this book to our prayer of the Mass, especially the Triduum liturgies?
If you’re looking to dive further into these topics of symbolism, fulfillment, and the Mass in general, I’d love to point you to some other top-notch resources:
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Dr. Brant Pitre (Video, Audio, Paperback)
The Fourth Cup by Dr. Scott Hahn (Video, Audio, Hardcover & Ebook)
The Lamb’s Supper by Dr. Scott Hahn (Hardback, Paperback, & Ebook)
A Devotional Journey into the Easter Mystery by Christopher Carstens
The Supper of the Lamb by Dr. Scott Hahn and
The “Red Mass Book” (aka Children’s Interactive Missal) from Ascension Press
Now, that’s not to say that I never get distracted wondering who’s bringing the gifts up, what they’re wearing, whether or not I have cash to put in the offertory basket, whether I’m failing as a mother for not having cash to give my kid to put in the offertory basket. (I kid, I kid.) But in all seriousness, those thoughts are decreasing in frequency as I habituate myself to being attentive in that moment to the way the Spirit is moving in the Mass.
Still playing catch up but thank you for putting this series together. It's been very helpful to me and I'll be sure to come back to it now that I've decided to convert.