4th Sunday of Lent (03/15/26): Entering into the Mass, Part 3
In this third installment of our Lenten homily series, we continue reflecting on the Mass and how to enter into it more intentionally. At every Mass, God speaks personally to each one of us—into the reality of our lives, our needs, our burdens, and the graces He wants to offer for the week ahead. But if our minds and hearts are elsewhere, we can miss what our Good Father is saying.
This homily begins with the image of David being anointed: “from that day on, the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David.” We, too, have been anointed in Baptism, and the Holy Spirit desires to fill us and move within us. The invitation is to become more open and attentive to that grace.
The opening rites of the Mass help prepare us for this encounter. Through holy water and the Sign of the Cross, we remember who we are: people chosen by God, marked by the saving Cross of Christ, and called to live in communion with Him. We acknowledge our sins, ask for mercy, rejoice in God’s forgiveness, and gather our prayers together before the Father. In this way, our hearts are placed in the right posture for worship.
From there, we move into the Liturgy of the Word, where God speaks through Sacred Scripture. In the readings, Psalm, and Gospel, the Lord addresses both the whole community and each of us personally. The homily reminds us that Scripture is our family story—revealing who we are, where we have been, and where God is calling us to go. A simple and powerful practice is to ask God, before the readings begin, to open our hearts and ears to hear what He wants to say.
The homily then turns to the Liturgy of the Eucharist, especially the Preparation of the Gifts. This moment is presented as a deeply intentional act: placing our whole week on the altar—the good, the bad, the heavy, the hopeful, the people we are praying for, and even our struggles and weaknesses. Just as bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, we ask God to transform everything we offer Him, including ourselves.
The gifts are brought forward from the community because they symbolize not only bread and wine, but the lives and intentions of the people. When the priest says, “Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable…,” we are reminded that we are not spectators at Mass. We join our sacrifices, prayers, and lives to Christ’s perfect offering to the Father.
Finally, the homily lifts our eyes to the heavenly reality of the Mass. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass unites earth to heaven, joining us to the praise of angels and saints and to the eternal worship of God. In the Preface and the “Holy, Holy, Holy,” we begin even now to participate in the heavenly liturgy.
This week’s reflection ends by inviting us to notice what stood out most, what we want to enter into more fully, and what we want to carry into next Sunday. The Mass is not something we simply attend—it is something we are called to enter, with intention, prayer, and love.
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https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass
The structure of the Catholic Mass helps guide us step-by-step into deeper participation in Christ’s sacrifice.