Truth & Mercy Series - August 30th 2026

Truth and Mercy series (The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass)

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3: 16-17). 

As I mentioned at the 9:00am Mass on August 23, 2026, it will be great to begin a series of catechesis on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. At no other time in our lives do we experience the personal LOVE of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit than at the sacrifice of the Holy Mass. It is at the Holy Mass that we are called to experience in an intimate manner the self-sacrifice of Jesus Himself. His self-emptying and self-surrender was made manifest in concrete terms. How can we live our entire lives without understanding this mystery and diving into its power to deliver us from sins and all its effects in our lives. 

The entire Christian religion is a revelation of God’s unfathomable love for each one of us. It is God falling over Himself and showing to us that no one can love us as He can. No one can demonstrate LOVE in its preeminent fashion than He. His Love is the example for us to know what it means to love. Hence, He said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11: 29). The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the icon of His loving presence in our lives. The Holy Mass is an extension of God’s love made manifest by an approved rite the Church offers us. The Good Lord seeing His creatures and sheep like sheep without a shepherd offers himself to be their Shepherd. He offered to bring them the eternal solace they need. He walks with us. He takes up from us all those burdens and anxieties, cares of life. This is done at every Holy Mass we participate in since at the Holy Mass, Christ acts through the person of the priest to take away our sins and all the effects of sin.

The Lord Jesus invites us to the feast of Love. He invites us to the Divine banquet. He invites us to the Sacrament of His saving Love. It is a banquet for all, even though only a few accept the invitation. Jesus has more than enough to give. It is like a football game, the more you understand the rules, the more you enjoy and take in the game. This is why I do not enjoy any American football game since I do not know the rules. I do not know what is going on. How beautiful will it be to discover that the Holy Mass is for all, both saints and sinners like. How wonderful it will be to realize that some sins, especially venial sins are forgiven at every Holy Mass. How liberating will it be to find out that the Holy Masses we participate in while on Earth will plead our cause on judgement day. Is it not going to be a win when we understand how to get more from the Holy Mass than previous experiences? Yes, we deserve to know that the Holy Mass is the saving sacrament. It is the highlight and highpoint of our week to be present fully at the Holy Mass, and returning with the graces we need to carry out our weekly or daily duties. Through the Holy Mass, burdens are lifted. Through our daily reception of the Holy Communion, we made one every day with Our Lord. The Divine plan of God is that we become one like Him. It is at the Holy Mass that this takes place, so that we can love like our Father, Who loves. We end up being able to love because He gives us the grace to do so. We are given the grace to SERVE like Him. 

In union of prayers,

Fr. Nicholas Akindele, JCL,