Find Meaning in the Mass with Dr. Edward Sri’s New Podcast
- Guest Contributor
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Leila Joy Castillo
Do you sometimes come out of Mass discouraged at how easily you were distracted? Have you ever asked yourself why the Eucharistic liturgy is structured the way it is and why we say the words we say during it? Do you wonder how the saints managed to enter into the Mass so fully?
If you are facing these questions and challenges, 31 days could completely transform how you experience the most extraordinary part of the Catholic faith. The Mass in a Month is a new podcast hosted by author and theologian Dr. Edward Sri, launched by Ascension on May 1. The Mass in a Month is designed to equip you to better understand and fully participate in the Eucharistic liturgy and will be exclusively available in the Ascension app for free.
Many Denverites are familiar with Dr. Sri. Together with Curtis Martin, he is a founding leader of FOCUS, where he currently serves as senior vice president of apostolic outreach. He lives with his wife Beth and their children and grandchildren in Colorado.
Listeners of Ascension’s popular “In a Year” podcasts journeying through the Bible, the Catechism and the Rosary will recognize The Mass in a Month as a mini version of those. The Mass in a Month is a 31-day series “designed to walk with you moment by moment, mystery by mystery, through the entire Mass — helping you prepare for each Sunday, understanding what’s happening in the liturgy, and encountering Jesus in a deeper way,” Dr. Sri shared in the introduction episode. “In just one month, you can begin to see the Mass with new eyes, the eyes of the angels and experience it with a renewed heart.”
To experience this renewal, we must understand that the rite of the Mass is meant to guide us toward a deeply personal relationship with Jesus. In each short daily episode of The Mass in a Month, Dr. Sri will unpack how Scripture, Tradition and liturgical practice combine in the Mass to lead us into this deeper communion with God. This knowledge will help listeners grasp the deeper meaning of the Mass rather than simply going through the motions.
“When we begin to understand what’s happening, everything changes: Mass becomes more prayerful, more meaningful, more personal,” Dr. Sri observed. “Many of us come to Mass carrying a lot: stress, distractions, worries about our families, our work, our future — and sometimes we just go through the motions. But God wants to meet you there: he wants to speak to you in his Word and nourish you with his very life in the Eucharist."
Through The Mass in a Month, Dr. Sri hopes to help Catholics recover a right disposition towards the Sacred Liturgy.
Yet rediscovering a meaningful approach to the Mass requires more than simply listening to a podcast; it must also be lived practically. A Pocket Guide to the Mass, a booklet coauthored by Dr. Edward Sri and Father Mike Schmitz, can assist with this next step. Recently published by Ascension, A Pocket Guide to the Mass helps Catholics follow the Mass step by step while offering insight into how to prepare and pray. This little book, the newest title in Ascension’s popular collection of pocket guides, teaches us how to step out of autopilot mode with the Mass, into more intentional participation.
“From the outside, it might seem like just a bunch of rituals: people standing, sitting, kneeling, crossing themselves and reciting certain prayers in unison," said Dr. Sri. "But the Mass invites us to look deeper … to encounter the profound invisible realities to which those sights, sounds, smells and gestures are pointing."
With The Pocket Guide to the Mass, a new perspective on the Eucharistic liturgy can accompany you into the pew each Sunday.
Along with these Mass resources, Ascension recently released Catholic Mass101, a teaching Mass video featuring Father Mike Schmitz with nearly 1 million views. In an engaging 39 minutes, Father Schmitz thoroughly delves into what is happening and why it matters, walking new converts and cradle Catholics alike through every detail of the Eucharistic liturgy.
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Leila Joy Castillo studied at Ave Maria University in Florida and is now a freelance writer and homeschool literature tutor, passionate about bringing Christ to others through the written word. Leila contracts for Ascension, writes blog and devotional pieces for Blessed is She and enjoys creating for Instagram (@leila_joyinthejourney). She takes great delight in the saints, Catholic travel destinations, her three younger siblings and the works of Jane Austen.
