He makes all things New and that includes your mess too!

Have you ever felt like you were so preoccupied with a challenging situation in life that you were unable to focus during Mass?  Maybe you try as best you can to be fully present at Mass but your mind is just too distracted to stay with the prayer.  Don't get down on yourself when this happens because all of us go through these times.  It can be hard to focus your mind when you are dealing with a lot going on in your life.  I have felt this way many times and have often fallen into the trap of feeling guilty for not being able to allow the Mass to nourish me in a difficult time.  Instead of battling to clear my mind of all the distractions, a dear Passionist priest, the late Father Tim Fitzgerald, helped me to see how to take things to the cross in a way that has stuck with me for years.  I paraphrase his suggestions for you now.  

When you feel overwhelmed and like there is too much going on in your mind do the following:  while the priest or deacon is preparing the altar for the liturgy of the eucharist imagine with your mind and heart taking the jumble of things troubling you and placing them in the paten with all the unconsecrated hosts.  Hold them in there and make sure you empty everything into the paten.  Step back and watch how the priest handles the paten, his posture, his facial expressions, his movements and listen attentively to the prayers he recites. Watch intently as everything in that paten is transformed, changed into the Body of Christ.  This includes the jumbled mess you put in there too.  Then, watch as person after person walks up to receive Jesus.  They are receiving your transformed mess too.  You go up and receive that mess back but this time, it's not just a jumble of disorganized thoughts and feelings, it is Jesus.   

When we surrender everything to Jesus and trust Him to change our hearts and minds, he shares himself with us and helps us to experience Him, dwelling within even our jumbled messes.  Suddenly we see first hand that He truly makes all things new.  

Try it the next time you go to Mass and let me know what you think.