Faith of our Fathers

While I was in Italy, we celebrated Mass in the Catacombs of Rome, surrounded by the tombs of the early Christians, as well as by where some of the early Popes used to be buried. There were buried martyrs, clergy, families, and children; all Christians who lived the faith even through persecution. We celebrated Mass in a similar way to these early Christians, who celebrated the Mass atop the tombs of the Martyrs, sometimes even becoming martyrs themselves in the process. Even through the centuries of time that have passed between then and now, we share the same faith as the faith of our forefathers.

One of the reasons Mass is still celebrated atop a large, rectangular, solid table is that the altar is both physically and symbolically a tomb of a martyr for the faith, so we too celebrate in the same manner as our fathers in faith. The altar is a visual call-back to a tomb, and embedded within the altar are relics, pieces of bones, of a martyr, so they are with us.

We are custodians of this faith and tradition of those who have gone before us, many giving their very blood to defend our Lord and His Church. So as custodians, we are called to joyfully inherit, protect, and then hand on the unadulterated faith and tradition to future generations. We celebrate the Mass as has been handed on to us from generations before, understanding that the Sacred Liturgy is a physical and spiritual connection to the Church throughout the world and throughout the ages; through it we have in our very presence every Christian, including our own grandparents, who have gone before us and entered the eternal Kingdom.