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Why Go to Mass?

1. To adore God as our Creator.

God created us out of nothing, so how can we ever repay Him? As a perfect sacrifice, the Mass is the ONLY worthy gift we can offer God, for in it we offer to Him His own Son.

2. To thank God for His many favors.

Everything we have is a free gift from God. God was certainly not obliged to grant us so many blessings, yet He did so because He is infinitely good.

3. To ask God to bestow His blessings on all men.

The Mass is the greatest prayer we possess. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you" (Matt 7:7).

4. To satisfy the justice of God for the sins committed against Him.

The Mass reconciles man to God by applying to our souls the fruits of redemption gained for us by Christ on the cross. "This is my blood, which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:28).

5. To participate in Calvary.

The Mass is the unbloody re-presentation of the Christ's sacrifice on the cross. When we attend Mass, we mystically participate in Calvary, because the two events are one and the same.

6. To obey God.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (Jn. 14:15). A Catholic who skips Mass on a Sunday or Holy Day of obligation commits a mortal sin, which must be confessed prior to receiving Holy Communion.

7. To witness a miracle.

Nowhere else on Earth can you witness ordinary bread and wine change substance into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Every time they attend Mass, Catholics have the opportunity to receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of their Savior in Holy Communion.

Based on Bishop Morrow's classic My Catholic Faith, section on "Ends and Fruits of the Mass"