5th Sunday Ord Time B, Feb 7, 2021; Jb 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39
In that first reading, today, we heard: “months of misery and troubled nights”, which could easily be a synopsis of the past year. But our hope comes from what we hear in the Gospel: how Jesus was there to comfort Peter’s mother-in-law taking her by the hand and raising her up body and spirit, just like Jesus has been doing for all of us. It is one of the reasons we come to Mass: to be healed by Jesus - body, soul, and spirit.
Today our homily offers another monthly installment of explaining the parts of the Mass, during the Year of the Eucharist. Today, we start with the very beginning of the Mass. We often overlook the Entrance Procession but even that serves a symbolic purpose. As the priest and deacon, and, when we get back to normal, the altar servers and lectors too, move from near the doors of the Church to the sanctuary, by the altar, it represents the people moving from the ordinary (the world) to the extraordinary (the sanctuary, which is a symbol of heaven during the Mass). This move can be seen as a move from the secular to the sacred, from the every day to the eternal.
Hopefully, with this understanding, when we see the procession beginning, we will try to unite our minds and hearts in prayer in preparation for our encounter with God that is to come. In the temple of Jerusalem, the Jewish priest would enter the Holy of Holies, which is what happens here as the priest and deacon step up into the sanctuary and immediately reverence the altar with a kiss.
Why a kiss? Well, you may not realize it but the altar itself represents Christ and so, as we reverence the altar with a kiss, we are reverencing the Lord, something each of you can do, in your hearts, when you see us kiss the altar. Of course, the altar also reminds us of the saints and martyrs who gave their lives in the service of Christ. In fact, in the book of Revelation, it says that the martyrs were under the altar in the heavenly liturgy. It is for that reason, that when an altar is consecrated, relics of saints or martyrs are placed within the altar.
After reverencing the Altar, we continue the Mass with the Sign of the Cross, not just an introduction to our prayer but a prayer in itself, which contains the two greatest mysteries of the Christian Faith: The Trinity and the Paschal Mystery. The Trinity, which recalls our baptism and our relationship with God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Making the sign of the cross over ourselves reminds us of the great act of love of Jesus, who willingly suffered and died for our sins to redeem us and offered his very body on the cross as the Paschal Lamb.
Arriving early and quieting ourselves before Mass can help us to prepare our minds and hearts to recognize who we are as the Body of Christ gathered together with Christ, the angels and saints, and our brothers and sisters in the faith, to reach out to God for the healing, calming, and restoring of our souls. For a small moment of time, we leave the world behind to commune with God from the very first moment of the procession. Think about how awesome that is! We get to encounter and worship the very creator of all that is. Then, through that encounter, once restored, and lifted up, we, in turn, can, like Christ before us, reach out to others and lift them up as well.
As our Mass continues, today, let us turn to our loving God and ask for that power, that healing, that peace, and that strength, from God, for the restoration of our souls and the healing and restoration of our world.