Want to grow in faith? Make daily Mass a habit

When people ask how to grow in their Catholic faith and in their life of prayer, my advice is: start going to daily Mass.
 
I attribute my vocation to the priesthood in no small measure to my regular attendance at daily Mass beginning in Lent of my freshman year in college. I essentially never stopped attending Mass each day until I began celebrating Mass upon my ordination in December 1984. Now I have the joy of offering the Holy Sacrifice every day.

When I was a student at my parish grammar school, I became an altar boy. We were assigned to serve daily Mass and funerals. That was my start. During Lent, my mother told me to go to daily Mass even when I was not serving at the altar. It was a great way to observe Lent and gave me the opportunity to receive Holy Communion more frequently.

When I was a second grader, my father mentioned that he went to Mass before work. It made a great impression on me. I was surprised and said, “You only have to go on Sundays.” He replied that he liked to go to Mass during the week.
 
His answer points to what it means to have a truly living faith: religious practice is understood as more than simply an onerous duty we owe to God. Praying and receiving the sacraments are appreciated as the way to be united to God in our everyday life.
 
Daily Mass and Holy Communion start your day on the right foot. Inspired and strengthened by the Lord, work and family duties take on a new meaning. We belong to the Lord, and He equips us with His grace to live out our faith as we use our talents and abilities to please Him and to serve those we love.
 
As a parish priest, I have noted with sorrow the decline in Sunday Mass attendance. I also have noted an even more evident decline in daily Mass attendance. What lies behind this is the weakening of faith, or even more sadly, the loss of faith by members of each succeeding generation of Catholics. When faith is weak, prayer largely disappears, and the desire to receive the sacraments is no longer felt. What has happened?

The decline in Catholic school enrollment over the last 50 years resulted in many Catholics having no experience of attending Mass with their school classmates. Those who did not have the advantage of being taught by members of religious communities and dedicated practicing Catholic lay teachers probably never heard why daily Mass attendance is a great way to live out one’s faith.

One of the accomplishments of Catholic high schools and colleges in the past was the cultivation of the practice of daily Mass attendance among students who learned the Catholic faith in the classrooms and then lived out the faith in worship and charitable living. God bless those schools and colleges where that spirit is still strong.

So, what can we do now to change the picture in our parishes? Why not invite your friends who are Sunday Mass-going Catholics to join you at daily Mass? If you are involved in various apostolates and ministries in your parish, you can become a promoter of daily Mass as the spiritual engine to strengthen and motivate your friends and colleagues who are doing good works. Praying every day at Mass for God’s blessings upon the good works you are doing will bring many graces.
 
The small sacrifice of taking time out to pray and receive Holy Communion every day is worth more that we can imagine. God is good. Let us spend more time with Him at Mass.