Sunday Mass not enough to be a good Christian, says Argentinean bishop

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jan 25, 2008 / 18:55 pm

Bishop Ruben Oscar Frassia of Avellaneda Lanus, Argentina said this week that mere attendance at Sunday Mass is not enough to be a good Christian in today’s world.

Reflecting on a passage from last Sunday’s gospel, “A people in darkness have seen a great light,” Bishop Frassia said, “It is important that we all discover that we are called to the light, to the truth and to what is good.”  “We must heed that call, because whoever listens well will respond well.  Whoever covers his ears, especially his heart, will not listen.  And because he will not listen well, he will not respond well,” the bishop said.

“We must be converted,” he went on, “but we all should be converted—the priest, the bishop, the religious, the laity, because we are all journeying.”

“Therefore,” the bishop continued, “it is important we realize that we must cultivate and develop a personal and profound spiritual life.  But if we do not do so, just going to Sunday Mass will not fix it or be enough.”

“The encounter at Sunday Mass, which it is important that we participate in, must give us the strength for the entire week, for every day of our lives.  It’s not supposed to be, ‘I came, now I’m gone,’ or I went to Mass and ‘that’s it,’ ‘see you next week’.  It is the constant and permanent presence of the Lord in our lives,” he added.

“God demands our response,” the bishop said.  “And if someone is afraid, insecure and thinks he will not be able to respond, I would say, Don’t waste any time! Look at the Lord who gives his grace, who gives his love so that one can respond and knows how to.”  Those who refuse to respond should be honest and admit that they are lacking in love and convictions and are incapable of responding.  “This is the truth,” he stressed.