I am a person of routine. I always eat before I brush my teeth in the morning. I slip on my left shoe before my right. I take the same route through a grocery store every time. I wait until the garage door is completely shut before I turn off the engine. I’ve done these things so many times that they’ve become mindless to me, like second nature.

Unfortunately, Mass also feels routine at times, since we do the same things week after week. Sometimes I catch myself singing along to the songs and reciting the prayers, but I am completely checked out mentally. Even though I listen to the readings and hear the homily, I do not leave the church any different than when I came because I didn’t understand any of it. What a waste! This is surely not what God wants for us.

Recently, I have been trying to be more engaged physically, mentally, and emotionally. The result is night and day! When I truly mean what I say when I pray The Penitential Rite in the beginning of Mass, I actually feel God’s love and mercy, as if He is telling me “it’s okay, come to Me as you are.” Sometimes the homilies are so powerful and moving that I have to fight back tears in my eyes. And when I receive Holy Communion fully aware that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, I just feel so safe and protected from harm – because I know He is with me. There is nothing ordinary about that! I used to feel obligated to go to church on Sundays, now I actually look forward to it.

How might your life change if you made a conscious decision to not let Mass become routine? Perhaps He will transform you in ways you have never imagined. He did for me.