I like posting on Mondays. Why? Because Mondays follow Sundays, and Sunday is when I get a lot of inspiration.
See, in my life, I have found that God uses two main “vehicles” to deliver me inspiration. The first is my wife. She has a way of drawing out the best ideas in me, challenging the not-so-good ones and providing me more support than someone like me deserves. She rocks.
The other is the Mass. Bright ideas and flashes of inspiration are surprisingly common for me while in prayer at Mass – even with my son crawling all over me and chewing anything he can get his hands on. And it doesn’t really matter what church or who the priest is or even what country I’m in: I remember one of my favourite ideas coming to me while in Mass in Australia on my honeymoon!
Why is this? Well, have you ever actually sat back and thought about the way the Church has structured that one little hour we give God every week? In my opinion, the whole experience is just geared up to provoke thought and point your mind towards Heaven. Take the church building itself. Historically, they were the tallest buildings in the land. You could spot a church (especially a cathedral) from miles away – have a look at some early photos/drawings of Auckland City circa 1900 if you don’t believe me. And, even if you couldn’t spot the cross that adorned the highest spire, you would hear the bells as they rang at all sorts of times of the day to remind you that they were there, as is God, and that you should not forget that.
Even with the decrease in traditional church architecture nowadays, every modern or ancient Catholic church building always has a number of similar elements, right? Easy examples you may be thinking of are the altar, the tabernacle and the pews, but there’s also the Stations of the Cross, the baptismal font and the stained glass windows, to name but a few. While we don’t always notice these items, they are there, and they add a fantastic depth to the tapestry of any church building in my opinion. Each one can be a source of inspiration in and of themselves.
But say you’re not one for architecture and interior decorating. Well, look at the Mass. The Mass is a brilliant example of simplicity and structure at its finest. There is a mixture of prayer and song, silence and preaching, participation and observing, community and solitude, ceremony and symbolism – it doesn’t get any better than that! Oh, but yes it does. The culmination of the Mass is an experience you cannot get anywhere else – a personal encounter with Christ Himself that is literally beyond comparison.
Just brilliant. Is it any surprise that after attending Catholic services for many years, and spending quite a bit of time with the Pope, Tony Blair is reportedly considering coming into the fullness of the Faith? Not surprising to me at all.
And if you are guilty of taking the Mass for granted (as most of us are from time to time), and you’re in Auckland, I reckon you should come along to the Send-Off for the World Youth Day Cross and Icon this Friday 29th. It’s a free event that starts with Mass with the bishops and many priests, and ends with a bit of a party. It should be an inspiring event.
Otherwise, if you’re still left looking for inspiration, have a chat with my wife. 
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