There was once a poor woman who promised God that she would attend a certain number of Masses in order to obtain a special grace she wanted. So on the first day, after coming home from Mass, she placed a bean into a box, planning in this way to keep track of the Masses she went to. Day after day, keeping to her promise, the poor woman slipped one bean after another into her box. Well, one day, thinking her promise was almost completed she peeked into her box of beans to see how many more she needed. To her utter surprise she saw only the one bean sitting in the box! Her surprise turned to frustration at the thought of all the Masses that she’d gone to.
She complained to God and reminded Him of their bargain of which she had kept to her share. Yet God had removed all but one of the beans she had put in her box, as if to say that she had only gone to one Mass! Thereupon, she went to her spiritual director and explained to him what had happened. He agreed that she had been coming to Mass very regularly. But as the woman began to feel justified in her complaint, the priest suggested that there was more truth to God’s count of the Masses than hers. Christ was using her bean box to try to speak to her.
Just going to Mass isn’t enough. Being bodily present isn’t the same thing as participating mentally. Talking to other people and letting herself be distracted was no way to behave at Mass. Because of this bad behavior, the beans that she had put in didn’t count, for she had not truly been to Mass.
As the poor woman walked home she realized that God had done this to show her an important lesson. Think of a “friend” who “visited” you by coming to your house and just sitting. Then, they talk to someone else, or recite a bunch of words out of a book, or just remain silent. But in every case they obviously are not thinking about you at all. As soon a short period of time is up, they punctually leave at the end of their visit, with a promise to return the next day. Would you look forward to that visit? Rather, you would be hurt that this person pretended that they had any real affection for you, merely because they come over so regularly to “visit” you. What visiting?
If you don’t think of what you’re saying when you pray or what the priest is doing during Mass, then you’re not visiting God when you go to Mass. Why should He be pleased? God obviously was not with this woman’s Masses. She realized though, how merciful He was to show her the hollowness of her prayers now, before her judgment. Then it would be too late. But now, she still had time to really participate at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as well as truly grow in her love for God.
As she held the box in her hands, the woman understood the significance of the single bean. If she wanted to gain any merit for herself, or others, she would need to fight her distractions during Mass and really pay attention whenever she prayed. She shook the little bean in gratitude. God had shown her the error of her ways and given her a second chance. She was ready to take advantage of His generosity and fill her bean box to overflowing.