“How great is our God!” Is one of my favorite praise songs. I especially love the “World” version of this song that Chris Tomlin does. In this version, if you haven’t heard it, the lyrics are sung in multiple languages including Malayalam, Indonesian, Russian, Tamil, Spanish, Portuguese, English, Zulu, Hindi, Arabic, Hebrew, Bengali, Marathi, Mandarin. The rhythm of the lyrics and beauty of praises to Our God being sung in so many languages from around the world blows me away and lifts my soul. I find myself trying to sing along – I only understand the English and Russian lyrics but can imitate others just from repetition.
This is also the same beauty of the ultimate praise we can offer to God – the Holy Mass, the Divine Liturgy.
This praise, the Mass, is ‘sung’ out in nearly every language, all around the world. At ant time of the day, you can be assured that Mass is being celebrated somewhere in the world – even during Covid.
The beauty of this is that we can join this prayer of praise in any of these sites and in their language, we can join along. Like the lyrics of the World Edition of How Great is our God, we may not be able to recite the words but there is no doubt what is being “sung”.
Watch Easter Mass from Rome, celebrated by the Pope in Italian, and I bet that you know exactly where they are in the Mass and can probably join in your own language.
When I was in the USAF, when we’d visit another country, one of the first things we my friends and I would do is go to the local McDonalds. We knew that with the local flare on the menu, we could get a Big Mac and fries.
Years later when I found my faith and fell in love with the Eucharistic celebration, these McDonalds visits would come back as a metaphor of the Mass for me. No matter where one would go in the world, you could attend Mass. it would be the same powerful event there as it is at home. There may be some variations brought in by the local culture but it is the Mass and that is the Eucharist.
Go from Pittsburgh to the southern US and if your aren’t Catholic, you will struggle to find a service that is the same as at home. But, a Catholic can find Mass and be home right away.
The Mass brings Heaven to earth. It lifts our lowly human hearts to rejoice and sing with the angels. We sing in perfect harmony, even if we can’t carry a tune, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord…”. And, when the Lord is lifted by the priest in consecration, we see Jesus – no matter where we are located. This is Jesus present there, in that moment.
Mass – the Divine Liturgy, is the song of the Heavens. This is the most incredible offering of praise we can give to God and He gives to us.
Be sure to “sing” with the choir of the Church. Not before a TV but in person (of medically able) and let your soul sing the power and majesty of the Living God when He condescends to come, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity into your soul.
I happened to be in Germany a few years back and sought out church, Good Friday and Easter Sunday! Didn’t understand one word, didn’t matter, we just smiled at one another, they knew we weren’t German, they knew we were Americans, didn’t matter, we were one under God!