Do You Celebrate Christ

I know that as Catholics sometimes we can get caught up in rituals of the Mass, especially if you are one that attends daily Mass. Yes it is beautiful, and meaningful but for those of you that are cradle Catholics and have witnessed the same event every Sunday or daily, you can have a tendency to lose the spark of what it all means. I often tell cradle Catholics that I consider myself lucky in the sense that coming into the Church as an adult, I have a better understanding of what it all means, I can appreciate it more than those who have been a Catholic their whole lives because, as a cradle Catholic, the Catholic Church is all you know. When you come into the Catholic Church after having been affiliated with different denominations, you can see what you have been missing, and I feel that for a lot of us converts to the Church, it helps us to have a deeper passion for the Mass.

Now I am not saying that converts are better than cradle Catholics. What I am saying, is if you have gotten to the point in your life that the Mass is more of a routine, then you need to spice up your Church life. I often times will tell people that I consider myself an evangelical Catholic, and I am sure that you are giving the screen the same confused look that people often give me when they hear me say that. See I grew up in a Baptist church, and so it was not uncommon for someone to be "filled with the Holy Spirit" and shout or raise their hands when they felt overwhelmed with love for God. Now I am sure that if I was to do that during a Mass, I would probably get some very strange looks. But there are times during the Mass that I do get that overwhelming love for God, especially when I partake of the Eucharist. And there are times that I have to bite my tongue to keep from expressing the over abundance of love that I am feeling.

One thing that I have done that has helped me to keep that fire for Christ burning ever so bright is spending time in worship here at home. I know that this sounds silly but some of my most Spirit filled moments happen when I am cleaning my house. I turn on some praise and worship music full blast, and I sing along as I am cleaning, there have been many times that a song will strike a cord and I stop whatever I am doing and lift my hands up in the air and spend time just praising the Lord. I can be so deeply ingrained in praying my Rosary, focusing on the different mysteries, and I have caught myself stopping, lifting my hands and praising God. Or if I watch a movie on TV, I have caught myself tears streaming down my face, praising God, this happened to me just last night. I was watching the movie Facing The Giants, I could not hold back the tears, not because the movie was sad, but because it was so profoundly moving. Things like the examples I have given are all ways that I celebrate God.

God is not only just present in the Mass, He is present all around us, each and everyday, no matter where we may be, if we look for Him we can find Him. So how do you celebrate Christ? Just during the Mass? Or do you seek a relationship with Him at all times? Where does God stand in your life? Think about these questions, be honest with yourself, and if you find that you are not celebrating Christ each and everyday, then you need to spend some time in prayer, and ask God to become the center of your life again, not just during the Mass but each and everyday.