Letter to the editor: To be a good Catholic, you should attend Mass

In response to the June 30 article ("Less time to pray") about the limited number of Masses happening in Massillon and how 73% of Catholics between the ages of 18 to 35 feel you can be a good Catholic without attending Mass.

I am a 38-year-old man. I absolutely love being Catholic. I have been attending Mass not just on Sunday but even daily for more than half my life. On the days I can’t get to daily Mass, I don’t get as much out of my day.

I love the Mass and the Catholic faith so much that when I was younger, I even considered becoming a priest before deciding my vocation was somewhere else. What has happened in the church over the past 20 years with the priest sexual abuse scandal is not the reason I didn’t become a priest. I just felt God was calling me to lay action.

I strongly disagree with those young Catholics who feel you can be a good Catholic without the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist is Jesus himself body, blood, soul and divinity under the appearance of bread and wine. It truly is the Lord Jesus himself and not a symbol. With that in mind, why deny yourself weekly his body and blood and not even go daily when able?

Eucharistic devotion has changed my life. Going to Mass every Sunday and weekly when possible, adoration, benediction, and Corpus Christi processions have changed me over the years. The best way to fall in love with a person is to spend time with them. The best way to fall in love with Jesus is to spend time with him.

Jesus waits for you in the Holy Eucharist. How will you respond? Amen.

Paul A. Crowley, Waynesburg

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Letter to the editor: To be a good Catholic, you should attend Mass