When I was growing up in the 1950s, the pastor would rail against parishioners who would arrive late or linger in the vestibule. When parishioners left Mass after Communion, he threatened to send altar servers to accompany them with lighted candles to the parking lot — because they had so recently received the Eucharist.

In this month when the Church celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi — the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ — you and I should take another look at what is lost by arriving late for Mass and leaving early. I’d also like to suggest a remedy for this problem.

When we arrive late for Mass, we forfeit almost any opportunity to put ourselves into a good frame of mind and heart for the Eucharist. We miss the chance to speak to the Lord in private prayer before Mass begins. We pass up the chance to recollect ourselves and to ask forgiveness for our sins that hinder us from opening our hearts to the redeeming love Jesus wants to share with us in and through the Eucharist.

Even more seriously, we may deprive ourselves from listening to the Word of God. If we were invited to a talk given by our favorite athlete or author, we’d make sure we didn’t miss a word. Yet when the Lord comes to us in the power of the Holy Spirit to speak to us the words of eternal life, we find ourselves a few blocks away from church, perhaps with music or news bombarding our senses.

Thankfully most of the congregation remains for the presentation of the gifts and the eucharistic prayer. At the same time, participation in the eucharistic prayer requires attentive listening to the Word of God. The Mass, after all, is not like a football game with two parts interrupted by a half-time show (the homily). Rather, the Mass is a single act of worship. By listening to the revealed Word of God in Scripture and by reflecting on its meaning for our lives, we are prepared to enter, heart and soul, into Christ’s ultimate act of love for us — his saving death and glorious resurrection. We are prepared to experience, all over again, the depth of his love for us and for the whole Church to whom his love unites us.

Alas, as mentioned earlier, some begin leaving church as soon as they have received holy Communion. If we think of the Eucharist as the banquet of Christ’s sacrifice, people who leave early choose not to linger with their “host” and fellow guests. Instead, they rush back into the rough and tumble of daily life with little or no opportunity to adore the one whom they have received, the one whose Spirit unites us to the Father and to one another.

So, what to do? Unlike the intrepid pastor of my childhood, I do not propose teams of altar servers with lighted candles to escort offending parishioners to their cars. Rather, I propose increased opportunities for eucharistic adoration. Far from detracting from the celebration of the Eucharist and far from privatizing the Eucharist, eucharistic adoration increases our capacity to believe in the eucharistic mystery, to participate in its celebration with devotion and joy, and to go forth in charity to serve the needs of others.

But this objection shouldn’t deter us. After all, in the Eucharist the Son of God comes to us under the appearances of bread and wine to share with us his saving love. He becomes for us “the bread of life.” Eucharistic adoration prolongs the joy and gratitude we should feel at every Mass and gives us the opportunity to deepen our friendship with the Savior who loves us so profoundly.

If more Catholics spent more time in eucharistic adoration, I think two things would happen: Many who have abandoned the regular practice of the faith might well rediscover it. And those who have acquired the bad habit of arriving late for Mass and leaving early might want to linger instead — to spend time with the Lord who thirsts for our love.