"I Hear You Cluckin', Big Chicken"

People who make their living on stage or in public speaking will often say that they feed off of the energy of the audience.  While would not go so far as to say the experiences are the same for a priest, there are times when it is clear to me that the people are "plugged in"; they have truly united themselves in their own sacrifice of praise to the sacrifice I offer at the altar.  Rather than feeling as though I am dragging the congregation along with me, it become apparent that they are holding their own right at my side.  These are incredible, powerful moments when it is almost as though there is an electric tingle in the air.  One of my professors often remarked that in the Mass, it is as though the space between heaven and earth has been pinched together so that whatever separates them is very thin.  In these moments I am trying to describe, that space is even thinner than usual.  In these moments, I am filled with deep satisfaction as I recognize that today they really get what is going on here.  They give more, and I find myself giving more.  God is working on the hearts of his people and on the heart of this priest.  They are rare, these moments, and precious.  One can only respond, inadequately, "Thank you."