"Why do we kneel? When do we bow? Does Jesus care if I sing or not?  Find answers to these and many other questions about the Catholic Mass in coming weeks. Throughout this Year of the Eucharist, the Worship Commission will be running short articles about the liturgy. We'll help you explore what we do, why we do it, and how we can do it even better! 

 Why strive to learn more about the Mass?

A beautiful little gem comes from the new Instruction REDEMPTIONIS SACRAMENTUM. It states:
"Let all Christ’s faithful participate in the Most Holy Eucharist as fully, consciously and actively as they can, honoring it lovingly by their devotion and the manner of their life."

So therefore my friend in Christ
Prepare and Participate Fully
Prepare and Participate Consciously
Prepare and Participate Actively
Prepare and participate with due Honor
Prepare and participate Lovingly
Prepare and Participate with Heartfelt Devotion
Prepare and Participate so that it becomes Life Changing

How do we do all that? Well, that is your life’s journey --striving to become better and better. It will take time. It will take forever. It will be gradual.

Just look at Our Holy Father --  84 years of age and still learning about the wonder and mystery of such a sublime gift. ..still learning how to fall deeper in love with the presence of Christ.

 

---

We hope that in this little column you’ll gather information and suggestions on how you can best fully participate in the sacred mysteries of the Mass.  By knowing more about the Liturgy and preparing well for each Mass, we will be more able to fully and actively participate in the Mass.  Full and active participation in the Mass will enhance our experience and graces received from attending Mass forevermore. 

 We often use the terms Mass and Liturgy and Eucharist interchangeably. Next week we’ll discuss the meanings and origins of these words.  Below is a “meditation” on the word Eucharist and its many connotations from Sister John Vianney’s talk on the Eucharist in September of this year.

 

Words...

Eucharist—Bread of Life—
Pan in most romance languages means bread.
Pan de Vida. (Spanish).
Pan (Greek) means universal / all.
Pan (Slavic) connotes Mister or Lord.
Panis Angelicus (Latin) means Bread of Angels.
Pain (French) means bread.
Pain (English) is suffering.
Through Jesus suffering He became our Redeemer and left us His presence—the bread of life—Eucharist.

 

Our Mass is the highest form of worship to God. In the Mass, we encounter Christ as He is truly present in the Word and in the Eucharist! The word Mass comes from the Latin word “missa” meaning “sent out.” We are sent out to be the compassionate presence of Jesus in our world.

 The Greek word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work" or a "service in the name of/on behalf of the people." In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in "the work of God." Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church. (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1069). Catholic liturgy renders praise and adoration to God without expecting anything in return, simply because He is God. 

Eucharist comes from the Greek word “Eucharistein” which means the action of giving thanks to God. It is important to note here that Eucharist is a VERB not a noun.  So when we celebrate the Eucharist on Sunday it should be an activity, our prayerful action of thanking God as a community.  Later in this series, we’ll elaborate much more about Eucharist as sacrament.

The Holy Father encourages the Christian community "to rediscover with new intensity the meaning of Sunday: its mystery, its celebration, its significance for Christian and human life."  To fully participate in the Sunday Mass, it is helpful to prayerfully prepare to enter into the celebration.  Ponder the weekly Scriptures before Sunday Mass.  See the bulletin for Bible chapter and verses of next week’s Scripture or visit http://liturgy.slu.edu/  Reflect on the readings with your family after Mass by discussing the questions posed in the Family Faith Formation column in our bulletin.  

What’s my part?

Our Sunday Mass is our community worshipping together.  We each are involved in the prayer, song, and worship of God during the Mass. What do we mean, though, by more actively participating?  What about those who aren’t playing a major role in the liturgy (altar servers and greeters, choir, etc.)?  What “activities” are the general congregation of faithful Catholics engaged in?  Over the next few weeks, we’ll elaborate on a suggestion or two as we describe the major parts of the Mass.  The suggestions for fuller participation in the liturgy will focus on the three major actions of our Sunday Mass:

1.  We come together
2.  to hear the Word of God,
3.  and to share Eucharistic in obedience to the Lord's command: "Do this in memory of me."

 The Mass is about daily living!  By actively participating we’re learning how to live a better life and to serve God!

 IT’S ABOUT BELONGING

Entrance Rite             (welcoming and gathering the people of God)
Penitential Rite          (acknowledging our sinfulness we ask pardon and forgiveness)
Gloria                         (Ancient hymn of praise in which, together, we glorify God)
 

IT’S ABOUT LISTENING
Liturgy of the Word
Old Testament           (God, the Father speaks to us)
Responsorial Psalm (we respond)
New Testament
Alleluia Acclamation
Gospel                        (God, the Son speaks to us)
Homily                        (God, the Holy Spirit speaks to us through the priest)
Sacred Silence         (we listen with all our hearts to God’s message for us this week)
 

(To be continued…)

 

What’s my part? (a continuing column on how we can more fully participate in the Mass)

 #1 ingredient in participation is being there.  Your presence makes a difference. Your presence is needed if the picture is to be complete. Your presence is needed not just to fulfill a moral obligation but to witness to the community that you care enough to get out of bed and come to church. Your presence says that you believe enough to plan your weekend so that you can be there to proclaim the death and resurrection of the Lord. This sign, this witness, strengthens the faith of those who see it.

 Prepare by arriving at church on time. – with a few minutes extra to place yourself in a presence of God.  Eagerly anticipate hearing the word of God and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist.  One practical suggestion is to get to church a little early. Even five minutes can give you time to dial down, unwind and focus before Mass begins. Arriving unrushed and in a timely manner says that you put Sunday liturgy as a priority.  Of course, family life sometimes can course our best laid plans to change, but God knows your intentions.

 

 

The Holy Mass and daily living

 

IT’S ABOUT CARING

General Intercessions (prayers and petitions for the church and the world)

 

IT’S ABOUT CELEBRATING

Offering of Gifts         (what gifts do we offer to the Lord, our King?)

 

IT’S ABOUT GIVING THANKS FOR CREATION AND NEW LIFE

Eucharistic Prayer    (Eucharist means “Thank You”)

Great Amen               (We give our “yes” to our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus just made present in at the hands of the priest as he said the “words of  institution” in the Eucharistic Prayer – “This is my body” – “This is my blood”)

Our Father                  (we pray for our daily needs both bodily and spiritual and for the grace to forgive that we might be forgiven)

 (To be continued…)

 

Liturgy 101

What’s my part? (a continuing column on how we can more fully participate in the Mass)

 Dress for the occasion.  Consider where you’re going when dressing for Mass.  Choose modest and respectful clothing to wear to God’s house.

 Prepare by fasting. The church has a discipline of a “Eucharistic fast”. For Catholics, this means an obligation to abstain from all food and any drink but water for one hour before receiving Communion. This minimal requirement reminds us that we must prepare our bodies to receive the Lord in the Eucharist.  Make this little sacrifice into a prayer by offering it up to Jesus in preparation for Communion.  Consider fasting from TV, radio or computers for an hour before Mass to prepare our minds to be free to fully hear the word of God and to enter into the sacred mysteries of the Mass.

 The Holy Mass and daily living

 IT’S ABOUT MAKING PEACE
Sign of Peace           (God asks us to reconcile before coming to the altar)
 

IT’S ABOUT SHARING A MEAL
Lamb of God             (we ask for mercy and peace)
Communion               (we share Communion with others as we are each united with Jesus through His Precious Body and Blood)
Sacred Silence         (quietly talk with Jesus – heart to heart)

 

IT’S ABOUT GOING FORTH TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD

Final Blessing            (After receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, we are “mission”ed to go and serve the Lord and tell the Good News)

(To be continued…)