By Fr. Nnamdi Moneme, OMV, Catholic Exchange, June 7, 2023
Fr. Nnamdi Moneme OMV is a Roman Catholic Priest of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary currently on missionary assignment in the Philippines. He serves in the Congregations’ Retreat Ministry and in the House of Formation for novices and theologians in Antipolo, Philippines.
I have had the great privilege of offering Mass several times in the many convents of the Missionaries of Charity sisters. So, I am used to seeing these words in a prominent place in the sacristy where priests prepare for Holy Mass: “Priest of Jesus Christ, celebrate this Holy Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass.”
There is a double invitation in these words to all the faithful, particularly to the priest, if we are going to experience the powerful transforming power of each Mass. Firstly, we must prepare ourselves well for the Mass. It is not enough to just show up for the Mass without due preparation. Secondly, we must allow the Eucharistic sacrifice to transform us from the inside out. If the Mass will transform us, we cannot hold on to our selfish and self-centered ways of thinking and acting after as at before the Mass.
Let us now reflect on how we respond to this double invitation so that we experience the power of the Mass in our daily lives. …