{"id":230215,"date":"2026-06-18T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/?p=230215"},"modified":"2026-06-19T13:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T11:37:56","slug":"santa-misa-y-plenitud-de-los-tiempos-consejos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/santa-misa-y-plenitud-de-los-tiempos-consejos\/","title":{"rendered":"The Holy Mass, the Fullness of Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this meditation by Father Ricardo Sada, he explores how the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/partes-de-la-misa-catolica-explicada\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"167732\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Holy Mass<\/a><\/strong> It renews the significance of Christ's sacrifice, revealing our identity as children of God and becoming the very heart of every Christian's life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00abWe know that the Bible is the word of God; it is not merely human words, even though they were written by the sacred writers, but rather it is the revealed word, the word of eternal life.\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And St. Paul teaches us: \"When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the fullness of time had come\u2014the pivotal moment in human history, when several thousand years had passed (we do not know exactly how many) since the Fall, and the people of Israel had been chosen so that the Messiah might be born among them, when everything was already in place\u2014God sent His Son. His only Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Born of a woman, He took on human flesh in a woman\u2019s womb and is therefore truly human, while at the same time being the true Son of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And why? St. Paul says: \"So that we might attain the fullness of sonship.\" It is not something that remains merely in God\u2019s Word; rather, it affects us deeply. And so the Church says: \"Christ reveals man to himself.\" Christ reveals to us the profound mystery of man. What is man? Who are you? Or who am I?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Holy Mass\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Z5tToqMcIlI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"la-misa-elevados-al-orden-divino\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Mass, Elevated to the Divine Order<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We are a spirit incarnate, made for union with God forever, to live in intimacy with God because God unites us to His Son and gives us the life of His Son. And so He tells us, \"This is who you are\u2014you are a spirit dwelling in the flesh.\" But it is not just that; you are not merely body and soul, but because you have a soul, you are capable of being elevated to the divine order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so I think it\u2019s important that we always adjust our understanding of what it means to be human and our understanding of who we are. You are not your body; you have a body. You are, above all, a soul; you are a spirit. You are a spirit. If you didn\u2019t have a body, you would be an angel. But since you have a body, you are a human being. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But what matters isn't so much your body, even though we see, for example, that there are major\u2014well, I don't know\u2014medical advances, right? It's great that they bring relief to our bodies. But anyway, in the end, all bodies are going to\u2014well\u2014die; they\u2019re going to decay and die, for one reason or another, but the soul lives forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And just as we often worry about our physical health and go to the doctor, who prescribes medication, and we follow a treatment regimen and all that, well, we can't think that the soul is any less important\u2014quite the opposite, in fact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That we are, above all, a spirit\u2014a spirit in the flesh\u2014but that spirit and that flesh, raised to the reality of the children of God, are divinized by grace, sanctifying grace. Grace is the life of Christ communicated to us as if it were a blood transfusion that, instead of blood, infuses us with divinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"meterse-en-el-misterio\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Delving into the Mystery of Love<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, let\u2019s value ourselves properly. We are so much more than we seem to be. We were saying yesterday that man should be like birds because he flies and sings; well, here God tells us, \"Look, there\u2019s no limit to your ability to fly\u2014your spirit can always fly.\" Just as the body is very limited\u2014because it gets tired and can only lift so many kilograms or run at a certain speed\u2014your soul is not; your soul can always rise higher and higher and higher and higher\u2014you have no limits. You have no limits in love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, that\u2019s the mystery\u2014the mystery of every person\u2014and that\u2019s why, during a retreat or a moment of prayer, what we\u2019re always seeking is\u2026 let\u2019s see\u2026 to go deep within yourself; that\u2019s where the truth lives. God dwells within you; that\u2019s where you have that encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, Christ reveals man to himself and leaves us the sacraments. He is a sacrament. What is a sacrament? A sacrament is something tangible that possesses\u2014or rather, contains\u2014an invisible grace. And Christ is a mystery because the people who saw him saw a man who spoke, who made certain gestures, who performed miracles. But those who had faith also saw in him the Son of God, a sacrament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And then He says, \"I will leave you sacraments\u2014as signs of my presence\u2014so that you will not forget me, but will always remember me.\" And He leaves us the seven sacraments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I wanted us to talk a little bit about the Eucharist, but not the Eucharist as in the consecrated host, but rather the Eucharist as in the celebration of the Mass. What is called the <em>Eucharist in Progress<\/em>, that is, in the act itself, which is the sacrifice of the Mass, the holy sacrifice of the Mass. May our faith and our love grow as we reflect a little on the Mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Priestly Heart: An Interview with Father Ricardo Sada\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gUtey43CsYU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"el-amor-de-cristo-en-el-calvario\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Love of Christ on Calvary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because it's a reality that, if we look at it superficially, can seem really boring. It's always the same. Like, \"I could be doing much more interesting things.\" I\u2019ve got, I don\u2019t know, a whole world of fun on my phone and stuff, but this is so slow and I\u2019m starting to doze off\u2014plus, maybe I got here, I don\u2019t know, there wasn\u2019t any room, and I don\u2019t like the way this priest talks or the way he preaches.\" And we say again, \"Try to go deeper; try to get to the very heart of it.\u201d And what are you doing when you\u2019re at Mass? You\u2019re taking part in Christ\u2019s sacrifice on Calvary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And all of us are called to strengthen our faith and also to pray, for example, for the priests. It\u2019s very important because we priests celebrate many Masses. Yesterday a priest called me to ask if I could help him because he had so many Masses. I told him, \"Hey, I\u2019m sorry, but the other priest won\u2019t be here, so I can\u2019t make it\u2014but let me know again.\". <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maybe I was going to celebrate four or five Masses on a Sunday or a day when Mass is obligatory. We say, \"Hey, after the third Mass, or the fourth Mass, doesn\u2019t your faith start to waver a little? Don\u2019t you feel tired? Or don\u2019t you start to feel a little annoyed about celebrating Mass? Maybe you\u2019re already losing your voice and it\u2019s getting hoarse because you\u2019ve talked a lot and given a homily at every Mass. And besides, since so many people have gathered, you\u2019ve had to stand for a long time.\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And I don\u2019t know if we should pray that this priest never loses sight of the fact that he is making present the sacrifice of Christ. And that the most important thing is not the Liturgy of the Word\u2014or, I don\u2019t know, the series of parish announcements they\u2019re giving us\u2014but rather the double consecration. That moment when the bread and wine are consecrated separately, symbolizing the bloody separation of Jesus\u2019 body and blood on Calvary. And divine wisdom has found a wonderful way to make that moment present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"el-mes-de-nisan\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Month of Nisan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">None of us were there on the 14th day of the month of Nisan in the year 33, in Jerusalem, from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. No, we weren\u2019t. But it says, \"Look, now I\u2019m going to give you the opportunity to be there. You\u2019re going to be present at the sacrifice on Calvary. You\u2019re going to set out with your faith as if you were boarding a spaceship that transports you through time and space and places you in Jerusalem on that day and at that hour. And your faith will tell you, 'Here you are.'\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\"Here you are, and there is no other Christ who dies 'in the fullness of time.' When the Earth's axis begins to make everything revolve around the cross of Christ, everything is resolved there.\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is why the priest, after performing the double consecration, says: \"This is the sacrament of our faith.\" A mystery. Sacrament means mystery. A mystery\u2014I see one thing, but there is so much more. \"Of faith,\" because we are not creating special effects. We\u2019re not playing a video or the sounds of the hammer as they nailed Christ to the cross, or the shouts of the soldiers or the crowd, or the seven words of Jesus, right? We\u2019re not saying, \"The blood is falling; right now, well, I don\u2019t know, he\u2019s saying this word or that one,\" right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But faith tells us that in the double consecration, the body and blood of Christ are separated. Therefore, Christ is dead; he has just died. He has just died; he is dead. The recipient says, \"This is the sacrament of our faith; we proclaim your death.\" Yes, you are dead. And the mystery is so profound that it then leads us to say, \"But we proclaim your resurrection.\". <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He is risen. The risen One is the same One who was dead; that is why the risen One appears with the marks of the nails and the wounds in His hands and in His side. And we conclude by saying, \"Come, Lord Jesus.\" You are coming to establish Your kingdom, Your definitive kingdom. It\u2019s already here\u2014your kingdom has already begun\u2014but come and establish it in its fullness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"que-pasa-en-la-misa\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happens during Mass?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s why it\u2019s so good that we hold the Mass in such high regard. I mean, let\u2019s try to understand it\u2014I\u2019m not saying we\u2019ll ever fully understand it, but at least a little better. With God\u2019s help, and the Holy Spirit\u2019s, let\u2019s understand the Mass a little better and see it as an enormous, enormous sign of God\u2019s love\u2014an explosion of love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And may we also understand how much this might resemble Christ\u2019s suffering when we do not appreciate Mass or simply when we do not attend it\u2014when we do not regard it as an absolute priority that gives meaning not only to Sunday but to the entire week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What happens during Mass? Well, as we were saying, Christ dies, and therefore the gates of heaven\u2014which had been closed because of the sin of our first parents\u2014are opened to us. Once again, we can enter heaven because Jesus has paid the price for our redemption with his infinite love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And besides, we save souls from Purgatory. That\u2019s why this custom is so wonderful: whenever someone passes away, we always, always try to have a Mass celebrated, and then perhaps\u2014if possible\u2014a novena of Masses, or if not, once a month, or if not, once a year, because every Mass rescues souls from Purgatory. Perhaps that person\u2014this relative of ours, whoever it may be\u2014is still in Purgatory. Well, \"I\u2019m going to offer you, Lord, this Mass for my deceased grandfather.\". <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019m going to help him get out of purgatory, or I\u2019m going to help other souls get out of purgatory. And when I go to my judgment, perhaps there will be saints there who will say, \"We\u2019re going to speak very highly of you because you helped us get out of Purgatory.\" Because you also offered the Mass for us, the departed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/santa-misa-eucaristia.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-230221\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.4992888417882142;width:747px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/santa-misa-eucaristia.webp 1000w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/santa-misa-eucaristia-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/santa-misa-eucaristia-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/santa-misa-eucaristia-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/santa-misa-eucaristia-18x12.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mass\u2014one Mass is worth more than individual prayers. Isn\u2019t that right? Let\u2019s not lose our sacramental awareness of the Mass; the Church is sacramental. And often people say, \"No, but I already went, for example, to the Tepalcingo fair.\" Well, you went to buy things\u2014or whatever it was you went for. \"No, I went to see Jes\u00fas Nazareno.\" Well, but did you go to Mass or didn\u2019t you? \"I went to the procession.\" But did you go to Mass or didn\u2019t you? Because everything else\u2014we\u2019re not trying to say it isn\u2019t\u2014isn\u2019t the act of Christ, isn\u2019t the action of Christ, which is of infinite value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A book on the Mass says: \"After the consecration, just as on the cross, everything has been fulfilled. He becomes incarnate in the priest\u2019s hands, just as He did in Mary\u2019s womb. We are all filled with grace, and the Lord is with us.\" There is Jesus, doing good, healing all kinds of ailments, performing all manner of wonders, giving sight to the blind, multiplying the loaves, calming the waves of passions and sorrows, and raising the dead to the life of grace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Giving himself entirely as in the Upper Room, surrendering himself as in the Garden of Gethsemane, remaining silent as in Jerusalem, ascending as on Calvary, shedding his blood as on the cross, glorious and alive as on the day of his victory, pouring out his blessing upon all flesh, His Spirit and His grace. Oh, the depth of God\u2019s mysteries! Who would not be overwhelmed at the very thought of this sacrifice, in which God never ceases to work what He once accomplished on Calvary, making Himself the temple, the altar, the priest, and the victim?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"dios-lo-da-todo\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">God gives everything<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God gives in a way that befits who He is, doesn\u2019t He? God gives infinitely. God performs miracles that are truly incredible. Not only because He remains present in the bread with His body and blood, His soul, and His divinity, but also because He makes His sacrifice a reality. Just how miraculous is that? If we stop to think about it, for example, how many tabernacles are there? I mean, here in this house there\u2019s this one, there\u2019s the one at the administration office, there\u2019s the one at the school, and there are the ones at the retreat house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, and in all those tabernacles there\u2019s a ciborium that holds many hosts? And Jesus is present in each host, and He\u2019s also present in every piece of every host\u2014if you break the host, He\u2019s present in each piece. Well, what if you multiply that by all the tabernacles in the world? That right there\u2014what a miracle! I mean, what an incredible miracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, all of that, you see, comes from the great miracle of God\u2019s love. And we could say the same thing right now, right here where we are, at this latitude, at this hour\u2014there must be, I don\u2019t know, 10, 15, 20 thousand Masses being celebrated at this very moment. And in an hour there will be another 10, 15, 20\u2014where? Well, I don\u2019t know\u2014in Africa, in Australia, in Japan, or maybe even here, because there might be an evening Mass, and well, there must be many Masses being celebrated right now in Mexico, since it\u2019s the evening Mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"el-sacrificio-del-calvario\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Sacrifice on Calvary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And what a miracle, isn't it? That the sacrifice on Calvary is being made present here and there, a hundred times, a thousand times\u2014and who can do this? Well, only the power of God\u2014a miracle of the highest order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And so we\u2019re going to say, \"I can\u2019t just\u2026 how can I put it\u2026 diminish God\u2019s gift,\" right? It would be very sad if you saw it, for example, as a mere obligation. \"I just have to go.\" It\u2019s not that you\u2019re doing God a favor by going to Mass; it\u2019s He who is doing you a tremendous favor by inviting you. There\u2019s an invitation, He says, \"Come to my sacrifice; join me.\" Don\u2019t be like Peter and the other apostles who left\u2014they weren\u2019t present at the sacrifice; only Mary, John, and the holy women were there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The apostles\u2014all the others, well, Judas had already gone off to hang himself, but the other ten ran off in fear. And Jesus tells us, \"Come on, I\u2019m coming again; I\u2019m calling you again; I\u2019m with you again; I want you to accompany me again; comfort me; take advantage of all the graces I\u2019m going to pour out in this Eucharist.\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First of all, because you\u2019re going to join in the praise I\u2019m offering to the Heavenly Father, and therefore you\u2019re fulfilling your first duty as a creature, which is to glorify God. \"But I can pray just as well at home.\" Yes, but who are you praying with? You\u2019re praying with Christ, united to Christ, together with the whole Church. And what you pray is a personal prayer. This is the moment of redemption, the fullness of time. This is where all blessings and graces are poured out upon the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Serving the Church: Liturgical Objects and Ornaments 2\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RMf7z2-QDbU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, help us, Lord, to understand just a little bit; help all the faithful Christians, help all the priests, so that we don\u2019t turn the Mass into something trivial, superficial, or purely human, right? As if it were a show where the priest is the main focus, right? The priest isn\u2019t the main focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the priest were what mattered, then we\u2019d do what Protestant pastors do\u2014who, when they finish their\u2026 I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s called\u2014their Sunday service or their psalm readings and hymns, they go to the church entrance and start saying goodbye to all the parishioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No, the point here is that \"I didn\u2019t go to see Father So-and-so.\" No, no, I didn\u2019t go to see the priest\u2014he doesn\u2019t have to come out to greet me\u2014I went to see Christ, to be with Christ. And so, the priest is the least of it. \"It\u2019s just that I don\u2019t like his tone of voice\"\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter. As long as he\u2019s a validly ordained priest, he\u2019s making Christ\u2019s sacrifice present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let this be the opportune moment, the greatest treasure. There is an author who says: \"At the hour of your death, your greatest consolation will be the Masses you have devoutly attended throughout your life. Every Mass you attended will accompany you to the divine judgment seat, and there it will intercede on your behalf so that you may receive forgiveness.\" Indeed, your greatest consolation. Not so much\u2014I don\u2019t know\u2014a single act of charity I performed, right? Because I am present at the very moment when Jesus is offering himself to the Father, and I joined in, participating with devotion. How wonderful that we have this awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, let\u2019s hope we can say, \"Mass is the center of my life.\" That\u2019s how St. Josemar\u00eda liked to put it: \"In other words, let it be the center of your life.\" There\u2019s nothing more important\u2014not today, not tomorrow, not even when you finish college, or anything else\u2014than being at Mass. Make Mass the center of your Sunday. \"I just didn\u2019t have time to go to Mass.\" Well, put it first, and you\u2019ll see that you\u2019ll always have time. If you put it first\u2014that is, at the center\u2014everything else revolves around Mass, just as the planets revolve around the sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s try to break out of the routine and participate with enthusiasm. Maybe\u2014I don\u2019t know\u2014I don\u2019t have to sing, or I don\u2019t have to, I don\u2019t know, respond too loudly, but what I do have to do is be mindful of what I\u2019m doing. Pay attention\u2014inward attention. Outwardly, too\u2014I\u2019m not going to be spacing out, right? But I might just be staring off into the distance and having my head in the clouds. I\u2019m going to try to, uh, truly participate, to take part in the sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Make sure you\u2019re prepared and on time. Right? I mean, I thought about what I\u2019m going to do, where I\u2019m going to be\u2014I\u2019m going to the sacrifice of Christ, I\u2019m going to unite myself with Him, and I\u2019m going to get there early. Man, because a lot of times if I\u2019m late, I can\u2019t find a place to sit, and then I\u2019m going to be really uncomfortable. No, get there early\u2014don\u2019t be late\u2014because you\u2019ll end up way back there, among the crowd of people in the back, and people keep arriving late, so you\u2019ll get distracted. Well, I got there early and ended up with a good spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mystery of Love and Faith | St. Josemar\u00eda on the Eucharist\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/174dYbx4edQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I can also attend with a specific intention, saying, \"Jesus, I\u2019m going to offer this Mass to you for this need I have, for this person, or for the Church, or for the Pope, or for the souls in purgatory, or for this family member who has died.\" So, with the intention of offering it, we try, therefore, not to miss Sunday Mass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s what Mass is all about\u2014that is, the importance I\u2019m giving to God, right? And the importance that every Christian gives as well. Well, Mass is for me, for you, for each one of us; it\u2019s your Mass\u2014it\u2019s the Mass in which you unite yourself with Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Pope Saint John Paul II liked to say that what happened on Calvary also happens at every celebration. Not only Christ\u2019s death, but also, for example, Mary\u2019s presence. Mary is on Calvary; Mary is at every Mass; she is the only one who never misses Mass. There might be nothing more than an elderly woman at Mass, or perhaps no one at all; or maybe there was one person there, but they were a tourist and left. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, but there\u2019s Mary\u2014she\u2019s always there at every Mass, just as she was at Calvary and beyond. The Pope also says that there Jesus repeats the words he spoke to John: \"Behold your mother, and to her I entrust you.\" Between the consecration of the bread and the consecration of the wine, Jesus is crucified, but he is not yet dead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s when He says those words: \"Woman, here is your son\" and \"here is your mother,\" because that\u2019s when she\u2019s giving it to me\u2014right now I\u2019m receiving it, and I have this joy\u2014and I\u2019ve tried to live this celebration with reverence, from the depths of my heart, because I\u2019ve prepared myself; because maybe as early as Saturday I\u2019m already thinking, \"What time am I going to Mass tomorrow?\" and \"How can I hurry up so I have enough time and don\u2019t have to rush?\". <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And \"I\u2019m going to try to get there a little early and say a few prayers,\" or I can say, \"I\u2019m going to have a missal or look online to see what tomorrow\u2019s Mass is, what tomorrow\u2019s Gospel is, and what the proper prayers for tomorrow are; I\u2019ll reflect on them a little, and I\u2019ll pray a little using those prayers.\". <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00bbBut first and foremost, I am going to attune myself to the heart of Jesus, who offers himself to the Father and saves us. You are no longer purely earthly; you are no longer even purely psychological\u2014you are of a divine nature, because when Jesus died, he gave us the ability to be children of God as well.\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ricardo Sada Fern\u00e1ndez<\/strong>, a Mexican priest of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is a computer engineer and holds a doctorate in theology. Ordained in 1981 and with extensive experience as a preacher and spiritual director, he is the author of several books and is known for his website <a href=\"https:\/\/medita.cc\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/medita.cc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">www.medita.cc<\/a>, which publishes daily audio meditations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><p><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#la-misa-elevados-al-orden-divino\">The Mass, Elevated to the Divine Order<\/a><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#meterse-en-el-misterio\">Delving into the Mystery of Love<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#el-amor-de-cristo-en-el-calvario\">The Love of Christ on Calvary<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#el-mes-de-nisan\">The Month of Nisan<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#que-pasa-en-la-misa\">What happens during Mass?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#dios-lo-da-todo\">God gives everything<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#el-sacrificio-del-calvario\">The Sacrifice on Calvary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MONTHS WITHOUT THE EUCHARIST, THE TESTIMONY OF HUGUES PAUL\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wwKuOuDSI7g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ricardo Sada reflects on the Holy Mass as the very heart of the Christian life, where Christ\u2019s sacrifice is made present. The priest urges us to participate in it with faith and punctuality so that we may rediscover our spiritual identity, for we are God\u2019s dearly beloved children.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":230218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[424,7,425,426,120,293,6],"class_list":["post-230215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-meditaciones","tag-oracion","tag-plenitud-de-los-tiempos","tag-ricardo-sada","tag-sacerdote","tag-santa-misa","tag-vida-cristiana"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230215"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":230572,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230215\/revisions\/230572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fundacioncarf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}