June 2018 SPECIAL EDITION July 2016 Issue | Page 8

JULY 2016
Continued from page 1

I say: “The Mass is ended. Go in peace to love and
serve God through each other.” That’s it, the Mass is
over. Courtesy may dictate that the celebrant be the
first to leave; but, technically, once I’ve said Mass is
over, everyone is free to go.
Having said all of the above, though, let me
add one more thought. It is said tongue in cheek; but,
as you will quickly see, it does have its serious side.
Number five deals with the Judas Shuffle.
Let me ask you who was the only person to
leave the first Mass early? I strongly suspect you
know the answer. It’s JUDAS! Judas shuffled out of
the Last Supper/First Mass to formally begin his act of
betrayal. So, fifth, we shouldn’t leave Mass early
because it puts us into a category founded by Judas
Iscariot.
Here’s a modern fable. Agnes was ecstatic.
She was holding a letter that said she had won an
audience with Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain. All
expenses paid!
Three months later, Agnes was being escorted
into the queen’s throne room. Agnes was wearing
shorts, a halter top and flip flops. She was ten minutes
late, but she was there. Queen Elizabeth was the
center of a beautiful, carefully choreographed
ceremony. Those attending were told the ceremony
would last approximately one hour. And, they were
told the Queen would end the ceremony with a
blessing and a formal dismissal. But, fifty-five

minutes into the ceremony, Agnes unceremoniously
left. She later told her niece that she wanted to beat
the traffic.
Re-read the story. Be honest. How many
times were Agnes’ actions rude, even implicitly
insulting? Give Agnes’ actions a grade.
Okay, I suspect you see where I am going
next. The Son of God is infinitely more important
than Queen Elizabeth. So, if we show-up for Mass
late, are not exactly dressed as the dignity of the
ceremony would seem to demand, and leave early so
that our day isn’t delayed by sitting two or three
minutes in traffic, what kind of grade should we
legitimately expect from Jesus for our actions?
Those of you who are somewhat familiar with
Scripture may be saying to yourselves right now,
“Father, Jesus says don’t judge lest you be judged.”
That’s true. However, when Jesus said that, he was
telling us to never judge an act as sinful. Subjective
sin is always in the intent, in the heart. It cannot be
seen by anyone other than God. Well, I am not
making a subjective judgement. I am judging the
ACTION, not the PERSON. And it is my judgment
that those who leave Mass early are objectively guilty
of doing the Judas Shuffle.
I love you all. I truly do. You make my life a
happy one. All of that is true whether you leave Mass
early or on time. But, with my tongue still in my
cheek, I urge you to avoid the Judas Shuffle.

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