Now, imagine an altar cloth, candles, a sacramentary (this was over twenty years ago), the necessary vessels for Mass, and Fr. Iffert.
One of the most memorable homilies I’ve ever heard was preached by Fr. John Iffert of the Belleville, IL diocese, over twenty years ago. His homily had to do with learning how to pray from the heart. Since this Mass was taking place towards the end of October, Fr. Iffert decided on a Halloween-themed homily. I should probably mention at this point that this Mass was part of a small youth ministry gathering being held in a multi-purpose building in a park. Near as I can remember, Fr. Iffert made the majority of this homily into a prayer, meaning, rather than preach in the traditional sense, he just prayed out loud. He did this to demonstrate for us how to pray extemporaneously. To help illustrate his point, he placed a pumpkin on a sheet pan. He then took out a large kitchen knife and began to pray.
As Fr. Iffert carved out two eyes, he said something like, “Lord, open my eyes that I would see the world as you do.”
As he carved away the nose, his prayer asked for the grace to experience God with all of his senses.
As he cut open a mouth, he prayed for his own words to proclaim God always.
As he carved away the stem, he prayed, “Lord, open my mind” and then proceeded to ask God to take away many of the thoughts and obstacles that cause him to be closed-minded to God’s will for his life.
As he reached his hand into the pumpkin to remove the fibrous strands and seeds, Fr. Iffert asked God for help in removing those things inside him and in his life that are toxic, those things that put a strain on his relationship with God.
Lastly, he took a candle and placed it inside. After lighting it, he invited God to be the light that shines in and through him.
It was amazing. I had never seen anything like it. This one homily helped me finally feel comfortable and confident using my own words to pray.
At this point, I should probably mention that this post is not actually about prayer. My whole reason for sharing that story with you was to highlight where it took place: in a multi-purpose building at a park. This significant moment in my spiritual development took place in a room that featured flyers for upcoming events hanging on the wall, metal folding chairs, and a bar. The altar was set up on a folding table. The vessels needed for Eucharist came out of a kit. Mass-goers were all clad in t-shirts sweatshirts, and jeans. And yet, despite all of this, our Mass was no less significant than the one celebrated at the Cathedral down the street. Our musical offering, no doubt led by guitars, was no less purposeful. Our worship was no less sincere. And, in this most unlikely of sacred spaces, my faith in God and my understanding of God was deepened.
As Christians, I believe we should offer our best to God. I believe we should build beautiful houses of worship. I believe we should dress our best for Mass. I believe we should have sacred music that, as Orin stated last week, “is beautiful” and “can carry the weight of the theological texts it bears”. I think we should always look to offer the best of what we are and what we have to God. I just think that too often we get caught up in making our worship (and the spaces in which we worship) so pitch-perfect that we sometimes need a reminder that God can transcend our offerings. And thank God for that. I think we’d be in a lot of trouble if the worthiness of our offerings were up to us or if God’s love for us was tied to how indefectible we presented ourselves in worship.
God blesses our sincere offerings and makes them enough, even if those offerings are blessed at a folding table.
-Shannon