Connecting the Dots

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I was sitting in Mass one day and three women and a child were in front of me.  I noticed they started sort of huddling together and then I realized they were passing around hand sanitizer before receiving Holy Communion.

I get that.

But, what was so very sad to me was that they were doing all of this fussing, which included a quiet exchange about the smell of the sanitizer, during the Lamb of God prayer.

They were 100% clueless of the prayer that was being prayed because they were focused on the smell of their hand sanitizer.  For those of you who do not know this prayer that comes at a significant time during the Mass, it goes like this:

Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

I would like to refer you to a blog (To Jesus Sincerely) that gives some more information about the significance of the prayer itself, particularly that Jesus is the Lamb of God.  It is Jesus who takes away our sins, and it is Jesus who gives us mercy. It is Jesus who grants us peace.

In this resource, you will learn more about its tie to the Old Testament as well.  Be sure to check it out, it is an easy, yet informative, read.

So anyway, when all the fuss in front of me concluded because the cleanliness-next-to-holiness group were on their way to receive communion, a terrible realization came to me:  

I, too, had been distracted during the prayer as I was watching what they were doing!

Shame on me as well, right?

Oh the humanity of it all!

I do really hope that you will jump over to Sara’s blog and read her article Behold the Lamb of God: My Favorite Part of Mass which, I think, will connect some of the dots, which is so important for us to do.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com
janetcassidy.blubrry.net

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