The Catholic Peace Weekly Peace Column gives the readers some idea of what a life centered on the Lord means to a Korean working in a Public Research Center in the States.
One morning before work, he suddenly felt like going to Mass. It is not easy to stop by the church on the way to work. When he woke up one morning, his mind was filled with things that would happen at work, and had no appetite, so skipped breakfast. In times like this, it takes a lot of will to go to church and participate in Mass. No, this cannot be done without the help of the Holy Spirit.
He checked the Mass time and went to the 8 a.m. Mass. He was excited because he was going to a weekday Mass for the first time in several years. On the one hand, he felt good. He was about to enter the church thinking: 'Am I doing well in my religious life now that I go to Mass on a weekday?’ But no, the church door was locked.
He didn't feel well. He tried to do something ambitious but failed. He realized that it would be more difficult to come to attend Mass on weekdays next time. But an old woman was passing by. She told him that when the children were on vacation, there was only a 7 a.m. Mass and no 8 a.m. Mass. He thanked her and was about to turn away when she opened the church door and asked him if wanted to enter the church to pray. She was probably a frequent visitor to the parish and knew the password. He entered the church.
As he walked into the large church with the lights off, he felt a sense of awe for some reason. Although he was sitting alone in a large, empty church, he didn't feel he was alone. He knelt in front of the tabernacle in the front row of the church for the adoration of the Eucharist. It was so quiet that it felt awkward, but he started praying the rosary. Unlike his usual rosary prayers, he felt closer to Jesus.
As he was leaving the church and heading to work, the grandmother who had opened the door was outside and they had a brief conversation. She told him that she had lost her husband five years ago and that she had received much healing while praying in the church. She said she wanted him to experience the beauty of the morning Mass. She gave him the password to the church and showed him the location of the Adoration Room where he could worship the Blessed Sacrament. When he told her about how he felt as he entered the church and prayed, she smiled and said that it was only natural since Jesus was with him.
It was a strange morning. Although he could not participate in Mass, he felt much closer to God with all that transpired that morning. Maybe more so than leaving after attending Mass.
A few days later, he went to participate in weekday Mass again. He was a person who left home in a proud mood after messing up once and having a hard time, but when he participated in the Mass, he felt embarrassed. There were so many people, and those who participated in the Mass were people who came every day, not just once in a while like him. He felt embarrassed for thinking he was doing something special. He ended the Mass by praying that participating in Mass and being close to Jesus could become a daily routine like these people and that it would not be a special event.
And what happened after that? He did not participate in daily Mass and it has not become a part of his daily life. He still has a long way to go. Still, the memories of those days remain clearly in his heart, and it is God's great grace that he is still able to pray like this every now and then. He ends the column with the words: “Please help me make my daily life, not my daily life, but a daily life for you, Lord. Amen!"
