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The Mass Explained

The Mass Explained . Big Picture. Before we look at the mass through a magnifying glass I want to give you the big picture of what is happening in the Mass.

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The Mass Explained

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  1. The Mass Explained

  2. Big Picture Before we look at the mass through a magnifying glass I want to give you the big picture of what is happening in the Mass.

  3. First the mass is the, “center of the Church's life” (CCC 1343). It is where we as a Church meet Christ in the Eucharist. The CCC says that the Eucharist is the, “source and summit of the Christian life” (1324). What are we participating in when we go to mass? We as Catholics believe that we are taken right to the moment of the victory of the cross. We are there with John (the beloved disciple) and are given the chance to give ourselves with Christ on the cross as a gift to the Father. This is the beauty of the mass. That we can participate in a un-bloody sacrifice of self with Jesus at Calvary.

  4. The Parts of the Mass Introductory Rites I. Liturgy Of The Word II. Liturgy of the Eucharist

  5. Introductory Rites We start our Mass with the “Sign of the Cross” • The sign of the Cross is more than just a way to start prayer it is a prayer in and of itself. • Tertullian (160 A.D.- 225 A.D.) says this about the sign of the Cross, “In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross” - The Sign of the Cross is, “a powerful safe guard... for it is a grace from God, a badge of the faithful, and a terror to the devils” (St. Cyril)

  6. The Sign of the Cross When we sign ourselves with the Cross we also say, “in the name of The Father and The Son and The Holy Spirit”. • We do this because we believe that the name of God is powerful. The bible says “at the name of the Lord every knee shall bend”, and, “Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps 124:8)

  7. The “I Confess” The propose of the “I Confess” is to admit our faults and to prepare ourselves to approach the Lord's table. I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. The biblical source of the I confess is in 1Corinthians 11:28 • Here St. Paul says, “let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup”.

  8. Lord Have Mercy After admitting our faults three times we call on God's mercy three times. “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy”. The mercy that God shows is best exemplified in the story of the prodigal son. • The son realizes his sins and goes to his father to beg forgiveness, and to ask that the father keep him as a slave. When the father sees his son he runs out to meet him. He embraces him and welcomes him home as his son. In other words we are weak and we need God

  9. “Consequently if must constantly be kept in mind that the word of God, read and proclaimed by the Church in the liturgy, leas to the Eucharist as to its own connatural end” (Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis)

  10. Part I The Liturgy of the Word In the Liturgy of the Word we get to hear the Word of God. • It can be easy to mistake the Bible as words about God instead of the actual Word of God. • We encounter the living God in a special way when we hear His word spoken through the scriptures. It is a chance to know God as He presents Himself to us. Through Revelation we learn that God is Trinity. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

  11. The Bible The Liturgy of the Word is various readings of the Bible set up in a very deliberate way. This set up is called the liturgical calendar. The bible is unique in when compared to other religions scriptures. It is the only story of God seeking man instead of man seeking God. God is constantly seeking out ways to bring His people to Him. The incarnation is the culmination of all the previous covenants made with man brought to perfect completion in the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

  12. Readings The First reading is taken from the Old Testament. The Psalms are beautifully composed poetry that praises God • The Second Reading is taken from the New Testament and is either from Acts, the Epistles, or Revelation. • The Gospel Reading is taken from one of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).

  13. The Homily I know where heaven is! The Homily is where the Priest gives explanation of the readings and makes them coherent and understandable. The word Homily literally means “explanation” The Catholic Church does not believe in individual interpretation of scripture. The meaning of scripture is interpenetrated by the Church. This does not mean that you can't read the Bible and get a personal revelation from what you read.

  14. The Creed After the Homily the congregation stands up and professes their faith. They say the Nicene Creed . • The Creed is a succinct summary of beliefs. All of the essentials of the Catholic faith are summed up in the Creed. I would try to walk through the creed with you but that is a whole other session in itself.

  15. The Liturgy of the Eucharist This is the part of the Mass where Jesus actually becomes present in the appearance of bread and wine.   “by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all in all” (CCC #1326)

  16. The Offertory It is this part of the mass where people bring up the “gifts” as well as the bread and wine that will be used. This is also the part of the mass that people give money in the collection basket. • The offertory is possibly one of the most misunderstood parts of the mass. We are asked by the Church to give 10% of what we have but that is only a small part of the offering that we can give to God.

  17. During the offertory we can put our very selves on the alter to be offered up to God. The gifts are visible signs of a deeper spiritual reality that is going on at this part of the mass. We are able to offer God anything that is burdening us, anything we are thankful for and anything that gives us joy. This is one of my favorite parts of the mass because I can give myself to Jesus in reciprocation for Him giving Himself for me.

  18. Eucharistic Prayer The priest continues the mass by saying the Eucharistic prayer. • The prayer gives thanks to God, and calls us to lift our hearts up to the Lord. • The lifting up of hearts means to detach ourselves from the things of this world and to give our full attention to what is happening on the alter.

  19. Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) This part of the mass marks the climax of the celebration Were Jesus reaches down from heaven and allows Himself to be made present in the Eucharist. • The origin of the Sanctus is Isaiah 6:3 In that passage Isaiah has a vision of the throne room of God and there is an army of angels singing in communion, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord” When we sing this we are joining in the choirs of heaven, who are in perfect union with God, and praising the Lord God!

  20. The Words of Consecration “TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT, FOR THIS IS MY BODY, WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU... TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT, FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT, WHICH WILL BE POURD OUT FOT YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME”

  21. These are the words that Jesus said at the last supper. He called the disciples to, “do this in memory of Me”. • Jesus started the mass at the last supper and finished it on the Cross. • The word memory does not mean what many of us commonly think of when we hear it with 21st century ears. In the original Hebrew the word memory is better translated, make present. We are literally making the last supper through to Calvary Present when we celibate the mass.

  22. Jesus is now present in the appearance of bread and wine. • The term for the transformation from regular bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus is transubstantiation. • The Latin root of the word substance is sub = under and statere = to stand The underlying substance of the bread and wine has changed but not the accidents of them.

  23. The Great Amen The Great Amen is when we sing, or say, Amen to what the priest has just said. • When we say Amen it means more than just, “I believe”. It means that, “I stake my life on it”. It is the strongest assent that we as Christians can give.

  24. Our Father We pray the Lord's prayer together because that is how Jesus Himself taught us to pray. • I would go into the meanings of all that we say in the Lord's prayer but in the interest of time I will not.

  25. Sign of Peace The sign of peace is a chance for us as the congregation to move around and talk during mass..... NO! The sign of peace is our chance to show a visible sign of our unity before we all receive the actual source of our unity. Also we show one another that we are in good standing with each other so as to prepare to receive Jesus.

  26. Lamb of God Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace. This language is easily said without understanding what we are saying. • To a 1st century Jew these words would have deep meaning.

  27. In the Jewish religion at the time of Christ they would bring sacrifices to the temple. These sacrifices would be an unblemished lamb as a, “scape goat”, for their sins. To elevate the host and to say that it is the lamb of God would mean, to a Jew, that the bread is their sacrificial offering to God. We call Jesus the Lamb of God because He did take all of our sins and brought them on the cross. He was, and is, our scape goat.

  28. Communion Right before we receive the Eucharist we say a prayer. The prayer goes, “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”. This prayer is asking that we be healed, not only of our spiritual wounds, but of our physical wounds as well. If we say these words with conviction, and we receive worthily the body and blood of Jesus, we can be healed of any affliction.

  29. This is the moment in the mass when we encounter Jesus in a truly intimate way. We, the bride, receive the bridegroom into our bodies. I use this language because that is the language that JP2 used in his teaching, “The Theology of the Body”. I cannot express to you what it means to receive the Eucharist. It is the most important thing that you will ever do in your life! That is why the Catholic Church doesn't let just anyone come in and receive. This is why you are in RCIA. So that you can come to the table of life and be fed!

  30. Questions?

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