How long should Mass last?

Homily

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time B2

18 August 2024

St. Ann Catholic Church - Prairie Village, KS

AMDG

How long should Mass last?

Most every Catholic has a very strong opinion on this question, and remarkably, there is great consensus.  The best Mass is the fastest Mass!  It's probably where Catholics are most united!  Mass should only be 45 minutes, and never under any circumstance more than an hour. Everybody remembers their fastest Mass ever, and what priest said it.

I know well the legendary status of Fr. Short Storey just a mile and a half to the south of us here at St. Ann, at our daughter parish Cure of Ars.  Fr. Storey is a classmate of mine. We're ordained only 30 seconds apart.  I have nothing but support, praise and thanks for the awesome work he does.  Yet he is best known for his short homilies, and quick Masses.   People love him for that.  One time I bet him that he couldn't finish a wedding Mass with 22 attendants in 43 minutes, which was his goal.  I lost the bet.

Still, is the fastest Mass really the best Mass?  How long should Mass take?

I'll give you a clue from today's Gospel.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will love for how long?   That's right, not 45 minutes, but forever.

What's the longest meal you've ever savored?  Not the shortest, but the longest?  It's a critical question.  Mine was a Mass that took all day.  It was in Denver, CO when I was 19 years old, a World Youth Day Mass with St. John Paul II.  I reported for this Mass at 5am, and went through security at 7am for a noon Mass.  I was on stage with the choir, so I arrived especially early, but not as early as the other million people, who had camped all night for a vigil anticipation of this special meal with the Pope.  

The unofficial procession started with John Paul II flying over the crowd in a helicopter.  We should try an aerial procession here at St. Ann sometime!  The Mass lasted from noon to 3pm.  It took four hours to get home afterwards.  What was so special about the food that was being served, that I waited all day to get it, and loved every minute of it?

When we really crave something life-giving, or when we are truly in love, time doesn't matter. We stop looking at our watches.

I could have stayed at that Mass with John Paul II forever.  It was truly a foretaste of heaven, which is what Jesus says the Mass is.  To see the Catholic Church, Christ's bride, gathered from every corner of the world, a million of God's beloved children unified and eager to consummate her life with Christ her bridegroom, was something I can never unsee.  I know immediately that this food was the sole hope of the world.  I knew for sure  that this food was worth giving my entire life to.  I never wanted that Mass to end, and I still don't.

I could celebrate Mass forever.  That's the point. That's how long Mass is supposed to lsat.

Most of our families started with our mom and dad sitting down to dinner, their first date, and staying a lot longer than they imagined.  A couple newly in love loses track of time, the food giving way sacramentally to the deeper reality of a relationship and conversation.  For those in love, time is nothing.  Love perseveres, and waits, and endures all things!

What brings us life more than anything else?  It's when we eat in such a way that we wish the meal would never end.  Jesus says whoever feeds on me remains in me.  He invites us to 'trogein' on him - to chew or gnaw on him, and to swish his blood in our mouths, to savor this moment, and to linger in it.  This is not a meal to throw down or a drink to be gulped. Mass is not take-out, nor grab and go.  We know we are truly in love with God and each other, when we stop looking at our watches, and no one wants to leave.

Now I get it.  I'm not an idealist, lost in fantasy and lacking common sense.  I know that if Masses here lasted all day, you would all end up at Cure.  The Eucharist is also our engine of evangelization. An authentic, compelling and personal celebration of the Mass that serves the real life of your family need not take longer than an hour.  So when we've done what we need to do, you will hear Ite Missa est.  Mass is done, so get out of here and do your job!

Still, it would be a waste to believe that the fastest Mass is the best Mass.  With all due apologies to those who own fast food restaurants, too much fast food will kill us.  That's exactly what Jesus says.  If you eat just fast food, you will still die, and sooner rather than later.  Only the one who gnaws on my flesh remains in me. We will lose track of time together, and so passover through this meal to the gift of eternal life.  

So now you know how long Mass is supposed to last - forever!

+mj