In the sacrifice that we communally offer, we give ourselves over to God because, knowing God, we cannot but love Him, and loving Him, we cannot but strive toward Him and toward unity with Him. But sins encumber us and so we likewise seek forgiveness and reconciliation with our God. It was revealed to us by God Himself, by the Person of Jesus, that the offering of our lives to God is the only way that we can quench our thirst for God. In our sacrifice, we seek the One for whom we cannot cease to seek, for “God created us for Himself, and our hearts will not rest until they rest in Him.
In saying all of this, it is important to understand that all of us might not be aware of this thirst for God. But, if we, when we come and pray the Liturgy together, think about this, we will find that to some degree and in some measure we begin to see that we do have a thirst for God and that our prayer helps quench this thirst.
How would I describe this thirst? This thirst is our desire to find a true meaning and purpose of our lives. Life here on earth, with all its challenges, can be quite upsetting. We desire to know why we are here and why we have to go through all the things that we do in life. I truly believe that if you listen closely to the words of the prayers that we offer and become deeply aware of the actions (rituals) that we engage in, you will come to see that the Liturgy does give us many clues with regard to the meaning and purpose of life.
Why do I say this? Because in conjunction with our prayers and actions, we are always reminded how Jesus lived. The more we become attuned to truly realize WHO Jesus is and HOW He lived, the more and more we will come to understand the meaning and purpose of our lives.
Again, this requires that we join ourselves with Jesus in offering ourselves to our Heavenly Father, ABBA, in thanksgiving for His love and His many gifts, one of them being life itself. The Liturgy has the power to help us transform our lives and have the courage and strength to embrace the Jesus WAY OF LIVING.
Again, this requires that we are not mere observers of the Liturgy but whole-hearted participants. It requires us to not just unconsciously go through the prayers and actions but to attune ourselves to what is being prayed and done. You are encouraged to make the prayers your own.