Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20 / Matthew 13:10-17
Much has been said about the attitude of some Catholics who come for Mass on Sundays.
Besides being late, some come in all sorts of dressing that would make others blush and some would busy themselves with other activities other than pray.
With such attitudes, we wonder what is the understanding of the Eucharist and what is the House of God being turned into.
In the 1st reading, God told Moses - I am coming to you in a dense cloud so that the people may hear when I speak to you and may trust you always.
God also told Moses - Go to the people and tell them to prepare themselves today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothing and hold themselves in readiness for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will descend on the mountain of Sinai in the sight of all the people.
When the day came, there were peals of thunder on the mountain and lightning flashes, a dense cloud, and a loud trumpet blast, and inside the camp all the peoples trembled.
The people had to be prepared to meet the Lord as He comes to them. And the Lord made His presence felt with enough of signs to make the people tremble.
How we wish that such signs would be present at every Eucharist. Then all those inappropriate attitudes would certainly disappear.
But if we prepare ourselves well enough, we will see the signs of God's presence. We wash not just our clothes but we cleanse our hearts so that God will come and dwell in our hearts and make His dwelling in our hearts.
As Jesus said - Happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear. I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.
Yes, we will see, and we will hear, as long as our hearts are prepared.