I’ll be honest—most of my life, I didn’t get the whole Catholic Mass thing.
I knew it was important to some people, but to me, it just seemed like a routine—stand, kneel, sit, say some prayers, sing a song, go home.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
I had friends and family who went every week, and I respected that, but I never really understood why.
What was the big deal?
Why did it matter so much?
Fast forward to age 58—yep, took me a while—and something finally clicked. What I once saw as just a tradition suddenly became something far more profound.
The Mass isn’t just a ceremony.
It wasn’t just a gathering.
It was something sacred.
And at the heart of it all?
The Eucharist.
A Journey of Discovery
Looking back, my misunderstanding wasn’t all that unusual.
Plenty of people, even those raised Catholic, go through the motions without fully grasping the depth of what’s happening.
I was the same way.
Growing up, I thought the Eucharist was just a symbolic gesture, a way to remember Jesus in a sentimental, metaphorical kind of way.
But when I really dug into the teachings of the Church—when I opened up John Chapter 6 with fresh eyes—everything changed.
Let’s talk about John 6 for a second. In this chapter, Jesus straight-up tells his followers, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35) and then goes even further, saying,
“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).
That’s some pretty intense stuff. And guess what?
People back then thought so too.
They were so disturbed by this teaching that many of them walked away. But here’s the kicker—Jesus didn’t stop them.
He didn’t say, “Wait, guys, I was just speaking symbolically!”
Nope.
He let them go.
Why? Because he meant exactly what he said.
That was the moment I realized the Eucharist wasn’t just a symbol.
It was Jesus—body, blood, soul, and divinity.
The real deal.
No wonder the Mass revolves around it.
Saint Peter's Cathedral Matagalpa, Nicaragua
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