Why are we here?
“God, […], in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1) He created us “to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” (Baltimore Catechism, no. 1, q. 6) Amazingly, we are able to “take part in a foretaste” of that happiness on this earth when we worship God in the liturgy. (Sacrosanctum concilium 8) The same liturgy strengthens us to know, love, and serve God more fully, so not only is the Sacrament “a treasure of heavenly riches,” but as a Sacrifice, it also enables us “to make some return to God for the immense benefits bestowed upon us.” (Catechism of Trent, II, Eucharist, The Mass) That is: we love God by worshipping Him, in response to His love for us.
In fact, the Sacred Liturgy is much more than our work. CCC 1069 teaches us that the liturgy is the “participation of the People of God in ‘the work of God.’” The Mass is God’s work, and through His Church, God gives us a real part in that work. God, then, defines this work. We must be humble and receive this form of prayer, even—especially—when it is unfamiliar to us. When we participate in the liturgy with our voices, our postures, our hearts, and our minds, we allow God to form us for eternal joy and humbly offer ourselves to Him in the process.
This humble offering is at the core of our participation in God’s work at Mass. St. Paul urges us “to offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom 12:1), and this is how we can do that. Even more concretely, there is a moment at Mass when we are called to very intentionally make this offering: the offertory. As the priest prepares the offering of bread and wine, you should prepare to offer yourself—prayers, works, joys—alongside the bread and wine. That’s why the priest says, “Pray, brothers and sisters [Orate, fratres], that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.”
Then, at the Consecration, Christ offers Himself to the Father through the priest. He joins the offering we make of ourselves to His own sacrifice made on the Cross. We truly and really offer ourselves with Christ in this way. (SC 48; Mediator Dei 99-104)
Our unity, as the Church, is what allows us to make this offering alongside Christ at Mass. This unity is expressed in our common practices of worship and even, sometimes, in the use of our Church’s ancient and common tongues of Greek and Latin. Vatican II, while allowing the use of other languages, insists we should know certain parts of the Mass in Latin. The US Bishops suggest these are the Kyrie/Lord have mercy, Creed, Holy, Holy, Holy, Our Father, and the Lamb of God. (SC 54, General Instruction of the Roman Missal 41, Sing to the Lord 74-75) This unity as one Church is part of our participation in God’s work to unify humanity and give us everlasting joy.
In January, Pope Leo encouraged us to read and reflect on the documents of Vatican II and not trust “‘hearsay’ or interpretations that have been given.” (General Audience, January 7, 2026) What we find in the liturgical documents is what I have tried to lay out today: Worship is about God. We participate in it and benefit greatly from it. However, when our personal preferences or activity become the center of our worship, we lose sight of God and cannot fully share in His life, because only He can fulfill us. We cannot fulfill ourselves.
So, let us strive to offer ourselves humbly as we participate in this great work that God has invited us to join Him in doing. Today, take one part of your life and place it on the altar. Ask the Lord to accept that sacrifice, now in the priest’s hands, “for the praise and glory of His name, for our good, and the good of all His holy Church.”