Never take the gift of Holy Mass for granted, says US priest at Divine Mercy Conference

By Klysha Best

A visiting priest has called on faithful to reconsider what happens at every Holy Mass and why missing it casually breaks his heart.

Speaking at the 13th Annual Divine Mercy Conference at the University Inn and Conference Centre, St Augustine, Fr Daniel Klimek MIC, delivered a stirring homily at the opening Mass on the Gospel of the Prodigal Son, weaving together the mysteries of divine mercy, the supernatural reality of the Eucharist, and a powerful call to recognise the sacred.

“Beautiful, the prodigal son returns,” Fr Klimek began. “What an exquisite Gospel for this conference on divine mercy. It speaks to the heart of who the Father is.”

The assistant director of evangelisation at the US National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, drew conference attendees into the heart of the God’s mercy, mercy that does not dwell on sins or scars, but declares, “You are still my son. You are still my daughter. Remember your sacred dignity. Remember your identity.”

Fr Klimek said: “Mercy in its most beautiful, powerful expression comes from the blood of Calvary. It comes from the sacrifice of Christ. It is in His Passion that our wounds find healing.”

In a personal moment, he opened up about what pains him most in the confessional. “In the confessional, we hear every sin. There’s nothing you can give us that we have not heard,” he said with gentle honesty. “But there’s one sin when it comes up, to be honest, it breaks my heart.” That sin, he revealed, is when someone casually admits to missing Sunday Mass without a grave reason.

“When a person says too casually, ‘Father, I missed Sunday Mass a few times. My girlfriend was in town. I didn’t really feel like going’, I hate that sin with all my heart, soul, and mind.”

He explained why: “They have absolutely no idea, as they dismiss it as if it was nothing, of what happens at this altar.”

To illustrate the supernatural reality of the Mass, Fr Klimek shared two extraordinary testimonies.

The first came from an eight-year-old boy in Chicago whose grandmother insisted the priest speak with him. “The boy revealed  that during Mass, he sees angels at the altar. He sees Mother Mary standing beside the priest at the altar. If it’s a saint’s feast day, he will see that saint at the altar.”

Then came the question that revealed the boy’s depth: “Where do you see Jesus?

This eight-year-old boy said something to me that unfortunately many Catholics wouldn’t even know. He said that at Mass, at that altar, the priest becomes Jesus.”

Fr Klimek explained the theological reality of in persona Christi, that in certain sacramental moments, especially at the consecration and in absolution, “the priest becomes Christ. It is Jesus who works the miracle.”

The second testimony came from Fr Chris Alar MIC on pilgrimage with Fr Klimek. Fr Alar once celebrated Mass at the US National Shrine of Divine Mercy, livestreamed on YouTube, when a special needs child in the congregation began crying loudly.

“Fr Chris was thinking, ‘This may be tough for the livestream’,” Fr Klimek recounted with a smile. But when the procession began, the child went quiet through the entire Mass. The moment Fr Alar gave the final blessing, the child erupted again.

After Mass, the mother explained: “Father, that’s because he tells me, when the Mass begins, he sees angels and he points them out to me where they are.”

“That’s the sacred reality,” Fr Klimek declared. “That is why my heart breaks when somebody says, ‘I missed Sunday Mass a few times.’ You missed that supernatural mystical encounter where angels are present, where the mother of God is present, where Christ Himself is present, where Heaven meets Earth.”

Drawing on the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a reflection shared by Fr Patrick Gonyeau CPPS in the car ride to the conference, Fr Klimek illuminated the mystery of God’s relationship with time.

“God experiences everything in the eternal now,” he said. “What happens is the sacrifice of the Mass. Time is transcended.”

He continued, “When He died on that cross, He didn’t just see our beautiful Holy Mother. He didn’t just see the Magdalene and John the Beloved. He also, in that moment, saw you. He saw every Mass that would be celebrated, every soul that would attend the Holy Liturgy, that wanted to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. And in that moment, as difficult as it was, as excruciating as it was, He died happy, knowing that He was dying for you.”

The homily circled back to its beginning, the prodigal son, and the boundless mercy of the Father. “No matter how great your sins have been, no matter how much shame you have felt, no matter how much woundedness has been present, one drop of His blood purifies it all,” Fr Klimek assured. “He still saw you at Calvary. He still saw you at that moment when He was dying. And since that moment, He has loved you.” He urged the congregation never to take the gift of the Mass for granted.

“Do not ever, dear brother and sister, take for granted what a gift it is that we have this sacred liturgy. It’s really Jesus who is here. Jesus in the Eucharist is here. I would pay millions of dollars for that.”

Other speakers at the conference, hosted by The Missionaries of the Divine Mercy, were Fr Gonyeau, Fr Justin Cinnante O Carm, and Fr Martin Scott, a regular presenter.

Saturday’s Healing Service was led by Fr Jesse Maingot OP and Fr Gonyeau, who was in Trinidad for the Eucharistic Congress last May. Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon was the chief celebrant at the closing Mass.