By Ignatian Spirituality
When I was preparing for First Communion, I remember Sister telling our class that when we go to Mass, we are going before a king—the King of all Creation—so we had better be prepared and presentable.
I took her words to heart, always wanting to be “prepared and presentable” when I went to Mass. I wanted to be so perfect for the King. The fact was, though, I wasn’t perfect. What’s worse, I knew I was never going to be perfect.
Fast forward ten years to my first year of college. The church was full of students; it was 11 p.m.—the “last-minute Mass,” as the students fondly called it. They piled into the church, overflowing the pews out to the walls. It was the first Sunday of Lent. That evening, the Jesuit homilist spoke words that would forever change my spiritual life: “Come, come as you are, just come. Jesus is your friend; he is here for you. He is waiting for you.”
The words echoed in my head for days. They cleared up the misunderstanding that had formed in my eight-year-old brain. I didn’t have to be perfect—perfectly prepared, perfectly dressed, perfectly anything—to go to Mass or to pray. I just had to go into the presence of the Lord.
How freeing! This homily inaugurated a pivotal time in my spiritual journey. It also opened the door for a personal relationship with Jesus—a friendship that would grow over the years. Because, the fact is, few people are really best friends with kings. However, if I simply thought of Jesus as my friend, it would be a lot easier to go to him, even if he were a king. And, if I didn’t have to be perfect all the time, I could talk with him any time.
