Musings of a Catholic Convert

You may remember way back in the day when I posted an article about Catholic Ninjas.  You know, the people who are in and out of Mass before they are noticed?  The past two weeks in Mass I have noticed a decrease in Catholic Ninja activity.  Normally, I know that we have been Ninjafied when I at Mass.  There are always two significant occurances.

1.  During Father's collect prayer after the Penitential Rite, my eyes are closed.  When I open my eyes, where there were empty seats I now see people standing.  It's like magic!  No, you fool, it's Catholic Ninjas.  Abra Cababra and all that jazz.  The only thing missing was a puff of smoke, but maybe that happened when my eyes were closed as well.

2.  After Communion, I kneel to pray with my family.  When we finish praying, sometimes the Blessed Sacrament has not yet been reposed in the Tabernacle.  As I look toward the altar again, I notice that many previously occupied spaces in the pews are now vacant.  Where did those people go?  They were not people.  They were Catholic Ninjas.  You have been Ninjafied!  Again, no smoke bomb or flash powder, just disappearance.  It would be a really awesome trick if it weren't so sinful.  

I haven't seen as much Catholic Ninja activity the past two weeks.  People are still appearing after the penetential rite but I'm not seeing the vanishing act after communion.  Now, to be frank with everyone, I'm sure that there are still Catholic Ninjas practicing their dark arts.  However, it does appear that either they are appearing in another section of the Church or they are decreasing their activity.  I'm hoping for the latter.

If Catholics knew the significance of the Mass, and especially of the Eucharist, we would not see Catholic Ninja activity.  We would not see people chewing gum, or parents feeding their kids sandwiches during Mass.  We would not see people yawning or looking at their watch.  We would see and hear people participating in the Mass.  We would see people concerned about proper gestures (bowing during the recitation of the Incarnation in the Creed) and not concerned with improper gestures (holding hands during the Our Father) during Mass.  We would see people  concerned with the state of their heart and not the status of their cell phones.  We would see lives changed.  We would see an increase in holiness.  We would see an increase in vocations to the consecrated life and to Holy Orders.