Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Let me share something with you that I rarely say aloud: even for me, after years of celebrating Mass, there are days when I arrive at the altar and realize I have let the mystery of God’s love slip past me. The words are familiar. The gestures are routine. And yet, somewhere between arrival and the final blessing, distracted by the issues of life, I have gone through the motions rather than reflecting consciously on the sacred mysteries celebrated. I suspect I am not alone in this. While the sacrament is still effective in these cases, we do not spiritually profit from the encounter as if we were attentive.
