Hebrews 9:15, 24-28 / Mark 3:22-30
When we come for Mass, we come to worship God and to give thanks.
We also pray for God’s blessings, for guidance and for protection.
We also offer to God our needs and petitions.
We go through a set of rituals to express contrition and to ask for forgiveness.
We listen to Word of God, and unite ourselves with Christ in His sacrifice on the Cross.
But the Mass is not a re-enactment of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.
As the 1st reading says, Jesus Christ does not have to offer Himself again and again.
He offers Himself only once to take the faults of many on Himself.
And He enters not a man-made sanctuary but of heaven itself, so that He could appear in the actual presence of God on our behalf.
This may be beyond human comprehension, but the fact is that when we come for Mass, we enter into a deep and profound mystery.
It is a divine mystery that reveals and keep revealing itself to us.
And it is by faith that we enter into this mystery, and we can only give thanks to God for letting us participate in this mystery of His great love for us.
That is why the Mass is also called the Eucharist. Eucharist means thanksgiving.
Let us always give thanks, and with that we will also enter deeper into the mystery of God’s love for us.