Boston, Mass., Nov 24, 2011 / 07:16 am
Weekly Mass attendance for Catholics should be a "commitment of love" like the celebration of Thanksgiving dinner, said Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley of Boston.
"The Thanksgiving meal of our Catholic family occurs every Sunday," said Cardinal O'Malley in a Nov. 20 pastoral letter on the importance of Sunday Mass.
He observed that Americans are willing to endure traffic jams and crowded airports in order to share Thanksgiving dinner with the people they love and because their presence matters."Our presence is a sign to each other of the gift and the importance of family in our lives," he said.
Jesus eagerly desires to celebrate a meal of Thanksgiving with us each Sunday, said the cardinal, explaining that the word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek word for "thanksgiving."