“I think the Mass is the most important thing that anyone could ever do on the surface of the Earth,” said Father Tom Margevicius, director of the Office of Worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. “It involves not only one’s individual piety, but the whole drama of the salvation of the human race.”
Everyone wants to get to heaven no matter “who we are, where we’re from,” Father Margevicius said, and God has chosen the Mass as the most fruitful way to make that happen.
Father Margevicius made those remarks back in June on the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, for the first in a series of 10 “Mass Classes” explaining features of the Mass.
The series, which invited questions and feedback from listeners, debuted June 3. Father Margevicius’ 10th and final Mass Class begins airing 9 p.m. Dec. 9 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
For his final Mass Class installment, Father Margevicius told “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley that he loved his time describing the Mass and hearing comments from listeners, but the series had to end at some point. The fullness of the Mass is inexhaustible, he said. Numerous saints have spent years of their lives just contemplating this mystery, he said.
The liturgy is woven from signs and symbols, Father Margevicius said. Any one item or element within the Mass has multiple ways of drawing meaning from it, he said. For example, what does the sign of peace mean? On a human level, “we want peace between members of this gathered assembly,” which is an important value. But it means more than that, he said. “Unless the peace of the risen Jesus is the primary motivator in what we do, then our efforts are going to always fall short,” he said.
Conley asked if there ever is a point at which the faithful could not enter even more deeply into the Mass. “Is there ever a point when we have arrived?”
“The moment any of us thinks we’ve got it figured out is the moment that each of us should go back to the drawing board,” Father Margevicius said. Ask the Lord to open new ways by which one can be open to the truths always being revealed to the faithful, he said.
“We never arrive; we’re always pilgrims, … always on the way toward God,” Father Margevicius said. That is why the Church has taught that the ultimate sacrament at the end of life should be the Eucharist, even more than anointing of the sick, he said.
“We give people the body and blood of Christ under the term viaticum, which is Latin for ‘with you on the way,’” Father Margevicius said. “We are all on our way toward our heavenly home and the Eucharist is the most perfect accompaniment to bring us there. So, until we arrive there, we celebrate the Eucharist, we keep journeying, we celebrate well, and we long for the day when that which is present to us in sign and symbol is going to be reality face to face.”
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Dec. 10 and 2 p.m. Dec. 11. To listen to any of the nine previous sessions of “Mass Class,” search a podcasting platform for “Mass Class” or visit PracticingCatholicshow.com.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Jeff Cavins, author, radio show host and creator of the Great Adventure Bible Study and the Bible in a Year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz, who discusses the School of Discipleship; and Josh Marshall, a parishioner of St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park, who describes his conversion story.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.
