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By Father Jerry Pokorsky
Special to the Rappahannock News
The search for meaning in the daily routine can be elusive.
People often lose interest in a job, even a marriage, and find themselves merely “going through the motions.” If this aimlessness is not addressed, it leads to bitterness and estrangement. Jobs and friendships are lost; marriages are destroyed.
The same can be said about , the Mass. People often say they “get nothing out of the Mass.” The comment usually expresses frustration rather than a bitter complaint. In any case, it reveals a spiritual sickness that needs immediate attention. When the integrity of prayer breaks down, friendship with God deteriorates. Christ directs us to the solution when He exhorts us: “Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”’
What is the connection between mercy and sacrifice? A sacrifice is an outward expression of obedience to God. A true sacrifice reflects, in a religious expression, a desire to please God in obedience through acts of mercy and generosity. Without obedience, there cannot be a true sacrifice. Without mercy, there cannot be true religion.
The struggle to integrate sacrificial worship with generous and merciful hearts is a main theme of the Bible. In the Old Testament, the Law of Moses prescribed various sacrifices. Animal sacrifice was a bloody business. It is easy to imagine priests, over time, sim
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