Should I go to mass today?

ANY of us ask that every Sunday. And countless baptized but lapsed Catholics don’t even Scripture and other traditional pillars of our faith. Rather, let’s just seek answers in our everyday life with the light of one’s common sense and true feelings.

Let’s look for God and know Him with our own eyes, mind and heart.

Do you need God?

For starters, let’s assume all is chance, and no all-knowing, all-powerful being rules all and sundry, and takes an interest in you and me and the rest of humanity.

Many people actually think and live like there’s no one up there. Not Manny Pacquiao, though, judging from his habit of crossing himself thanking, and seeking grace and mercy from the Almighty.

To believe or not to believe, that is the question that underlies this article’s headline. Your yes or no answers both queries. And in answering the question, make sure it’s your own reply, even as you listen to other voices on all sides.

Do you need to be saved?

Next question, especially for those who do believe in the Creator: Do I need God to save me?

Sure, He’s up there, but maybe one doesn’t need to bother God with our problems. After all, tens of millions health, modern technology, and other bounties of the 21st century.

Well, in fact, many a successful, comfortable soul fear things could go south just like that. Accident, cancer, family tragedy, financial ruin, calamity, or some other misfortune can befall anyone. So even the hale and happy go to church for divine protection.

And even the most gilded, troublefree life will succumb to age and illness. So we pray that the end isn’t too painful, and what comes next is heavenly, not hellish.

In sum, things can go wrong, espe-

Yes, there are many who have mobilized resources and systems to make and keep life divine. But in the end, we are all human. We all need to be saved. And the mass is precisely God’s way of constantly repeating His supreme act of saving humankind.

The last question is an extension of the second: Can you save others?

We all have people we care for, and we wish that they, too, keep safe and find joy in life. And it would be truly heavenly to be together in the next life with the people we care about, and others we encounter in our threescore and ten. all just end when hearts stop beating: the joy, the love, the memories, everything.

Maybe not for those who believe and pray at mass: May the Body and Blood of Christ bring us to everlasting life. Amen.