Bishop Gruss: We cannot stand silent as the world mocks the greatest gift from our Lord Jesus
I would be remiss if I didn’t speak to the horrific, public mockery of the Mass during the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics on Friday night.
I did not see it because we were celebrating the Healing Mass here in the Cathedral. But obviously, I read about it.
A week ago, I returned from one of the most amazing events of my priesthood, the National Eucharistic Congress, where 50-60,000 people gathered to worship our Lord Jesus and his real presence in the Eucharist.
It truly was a great gift to the Church in the United States. The presence of Jesus and His Holy Spirit was palpable in so many ways. I hope you were able to watch some of it.
Public mockery of the Mass
Here we are, just one week later, countless numbers of people – men, women and children, in person and through live telecast, witnessed the public mockery of the Mass, the depiction of the famous DaVinci masterpiece "The Last Supper" – mocking it in heinous fashion. (Nearly 29 million watched on TV alone)
Utter shock, sorrow, sadness, and righteous anger. We have a right to be angry. Words cannot describe the evil that was on display for the whole world to see. As I have said before, the Enemy is the enemy, not people. The Enemy has used the fallen nature of other human beings, sinful men and women, in order to mock Jesus, to mock "The Last Supper" and to mock Christianity. It was not a mockery of another religion; it was a mockery of Christianity.
We believe that The Last Supper, where Jesus gave us his Body and his Blood, and lived it out completely on Calvary the next day – these were the most sacred moments of his life – all because of the depths of his love for us. This is when Jesus offered his life for us so that we could share in his divine life forever.
Prayer and fasting
As one bishop expressed, “Jesus experienced his Passion anew Friday night in Paris when his Last Supper was publicly defamed. As his living body, we are invited to enter into this moment of passion with him, this moment of public shame, mockery, and persecution. We do this through prayer and fasting. And our greatest prayer—in season and out of season—is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”
What is our response? Some people have said, “Boycott the Olympics.” You can do that if you want. But the athletes, most likely, had nothing to do with this. They are there to compete.
Instead, in the midst of this travesty, you and I, all Christians, are invited to enter into the heart of Jesus, as we pray for healing and forgiveness for all those who participated in this mockery. Let us commit ourselves this week to greater prayer and fasting in reparation for this sin.
Stand with Jesus
Perhaps you could attend Mass once more this week or do an extra Holy Hour or pray an extra rosary? Let us stand with Jesus in this moment through our love and charity, but also speak out against this evil with firmness.
Inspired by the many saints and martyrs who shed their blood to witness to the truth of the Mass, we cannot stand silent as the world mocks the greatest gift from our Lord Jesus.
Through our prayer and fasting, we ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us with the virtue of fortitude so that we may preach Christ—our Lord and Savior, truly present in the Eucharist—for the Glory of God and the salvation of souls. This morning, strengthened by Christ in this Eucharist, may we go out into the world and be the Eucharistic Missionaries we are called to be.
