Mom is an excellent cook! Family meals were always a highlight for us, especially during the holidays. Although Thanksgiving is not observed in Mexico, she learned about cooking a turkey and all the customary fixings, because she didn’t want her kids to miss out on what all our classmates at school were experiencing.

As children, we couldn’t wait to sit down and eat. We were never allowed to taste test any of the food she were preparing. Nor did she ask for, or accept any help. All we had to do was to show up. But, as my siblings and I grew into adulthood, everything changed. We began to participate more  by everyone committing themselves to bringing a side dish. My annual Thanksgiving Day contribution is the sweet potatoes. It’s less work for Mom, but there’s something more going on here.

As adults, it is eminently clear to us that her cooking and feeding us is the way she shows her love for us. It's her "love language!" And while it is humbling to be treated to a feast without having to do anything, we realized we were missing out on something: loving our mom in return. The act of everyone bringing a dish is more than lightening the load for Mom. It’s about increasing the love! My sweet potatoes will never be as good as Mom’s, but the opportunity to show my love for her, in the language of love she uses, more than makes up for any shortcomings in my sweet potatoes.

As people of faith, every time we gather for Mass on Sunday is a thanksgiving as well. The word Eucharist comes from a Greek term meaning “thanksgiving.” Our Sunday worship at the Eucharistic feast is our act of giving thanks to God for everything we are, and everything we have received from God. We gather at the table of the Lord with grateful hearts and we partake of the food Christ gives us, his Body and Blood. 

There was a time in the life of the church when all that believers had to do was to show up at Mass for the weekly thanksgiving. The priest did everything. In its goal to rediscover the origins of the church’s worship, the Second Vatican Council made various changes to the church’s liturgy. These changes called upon the faithful to participate actively in each and every liturgy, for the work of the liturgy is not just the work of the priest. The word liturgy itself comes from the Greek term which means “the work of the people.” Our renewed understanding of the liturgy calls us to actively participate, to be fully engaged in the prayers, responses and hymns, and to participate in liturgical ministries that are appropriate to the laity, such as lectors of the Word of God, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, greeters to welcome and assist the faithful, etc. The end result of a greater level of participation by the laity at Mass is that Eucharist becomes less a thing to be receive and instead it becomes more a participation in the great mystery of the Mass. The Eucharist is the "love language" with which God communicates His commitment to us. In turn, our active participation in the Eucharist is our way of speaking the same "love language" of God.

One of the many tragedies of the pandemic is that for a short while we had to return to the model of the priest doing everything at Mass. This was done out of necessity with a genuine concern for the health and safety of all. Thankfully, now that we have begun to return to some normalcy in our lives, we have once again relied on the active participation of the faithful at Mass. But just like not everyone has returned to attending Sunday Mass in person, so too not all of our liturgical ministers have returned to assist at Mass.

All of this is to say, we need more people to actively participate at Mass as liturgical ministers. If you’ve been noticing the same lector or small group of lectors always doing the readings at Mass, now you know why. I invite you to be part of something truly wonderful. I promise you that we will train you well. You don’t even need to be an extrovert to get up there. Look at me, your introvert pastor gets up there every week! More than anything, I can promise you an increased sense of satisfaction, and an overabundance of grace that comes from being more actively involved at the liturgy. If you would like more information about being a liturgical minster, whether it be as a lector, minister of communion, or greeter, please just ask either myself, Mr David Heimann, or any of the priests or deacons at Saint Andrew. 

In closing, I would like to thank all the mothers, both those here with us, and those who now stand closer to God, for all of their love, for all they have given us, and for all they have taught us. May we show always our love and appreciation for our mothers by following their example and may we always speak the same "love language" they speak. Happy Mothers’ Day!

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