I attended midday Mass today for the first time in ages. Partly because it's Lent and partly because my wife asked me to meet her there and partly because we have a new priest from Nigeria who is turning a lot of heads with his infectious proclaiming of the Gospel.
Midday Masses are usually rather tame. At my parish it is always the vernacular, or low, Mass, which means that most of the responses are spoken rather than sung. But today was much different. Our Nigerian priest, Fr. Clement Nwonkwo, is quite literally on fire for Christ. I wasn't prepared; for Fr. Clement, for Mass, or for Jesus.
Just to cut it short, Fr. Clement made a very simple yet poignant statement during his homily. He said that we must always remember that after the Eucharist is consumed, we carry within us the Resurrected Christ. Are we bringing Christ to other people? Can people discern that we have been to Mass? I have to admit that in 25 years of my life, I have never heard a better explanation for the Mass and its effect on us than that.
God Bless you, Fr. Clement.
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