Reverence Requires Humility

As I stood in the Terry Center during last week’s school Mass, the word “irreverent” floated into my mind. At the time, I thought maybe it was because I observed some seniors who had dozed off into a nap and had had to remind a few students to put on their blazers and tuck in their shirts as they came into the holy space and other to stop talking during mass.

After re-reading today’s Gospel and meditating on the words of Luke for the fifth time (apparently, I needed extra processing time) over the course of a few days in an exercise known as Lectio Divina, it became clearer to me why I kept reflecting on the word “irreverent.” In today’s Gospel Jesus said to the crowd “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation...The men of Ninevah will stand up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.” Is there some proof we expect before walking into Mass that we are in a HOLY space? It can be a challenge to prepare our hearts and minds for Mass in the short walk we all have from our offices and classrooms to the Terry Center. When Mass is celebrated at the end of a school day, there is all the clutter of the day taking up space in hearts and minds. We are not so easily readied. It takes an effort. Often we are distracted by what fills up our after school to do lists because we know that after Mass is practice, a test in the test center, a shift at work, that paper to start or those tests to grade, for example. Maybe we even are so bold as to think to ourselves “I don’t really need this (Mass) today. I went to Mass just two days ago. I’ve heard enough about God for now and have more pressing tasks to get to.” For some of us this includes a nap.

When embarking on any holy exercise such as the Examen, attending Mass, reading the Bible (Lectio Divinia) or praying the Rosary among others, we must diminish our egos, make contrite (from Hebrew meaning to crush or break into pieces) our hearts, make humble (free from pride or arrogance) our intellects. We must recognize our sinfulness. If we are in a proper state of head and heart, we are ready to receive God’s word and fill our lamps with His light. His light is our fuel! His light burns bright within us and radiates outward making us ready to love, to help others, to serve. When we begin any holy exercise poorly prepared, we are irreverent (from Latin meaning disrespectful; deficient in veneration). We are being “fresh, salty, saucy, cheeky, and impertinent” to put it informally.

I pray that this Lenten season we might all reflect on how we prepare ourselves for holy spaces and holy exercises. I pray that when we gather as a Community we hold ourselves and each other to a higher standard taking the initiative to model reverence in how we present ourselves at Mass and how we actively engage with the Gospel and homily during Mass. There is something bigger than us. Faith does not wait for “a sign."

Author: Madeline Maggard, Language Department