There have been many aspects of the Catholic Church, that has always fascinated me ever since I was a boy. The decades of reading and research have opened up for me treasure troves upon treasure troves of information about the history, practices and peoples in the Church. It has informed my insights on the wide and deep wealth of traditions in the Church and how, as a human institution, she has developed squarely within the context of human history and human society. Much of this knowledge has been transmitted to children during my ministry as I discovered that I have been blessed with the gift of explaining complicated stuff in simple terms. So in this series, I hope to share what the good Lord has granted that I learn, and in sharing I seek His pleasure.
This is the first in the series and it is on Liturgy
Every Sunday hundreds of millions of Catholics the world over attend mass and tens of millions attend on a daily basis. As they say, Catholics attend mass religiously. There are as many reasons to attend as there are people attending them, each finding different reasons that the mass is attractive to them.
Without taking away the validity of other reasons, for me, it is the richness of the symbolisms and the history contained in the mass. The mass has been handed to us for over two thousand years, stretching back through the times of Jesus to its Jewish origins. In those millennia, it has gathered richness and also some quaint interpretations along the way, because the Church has been rather masterful in interpreting some rather mundane everyday practices in very spiritual light.
When you next attend mass, stop at the various points and see the story & the history behind the actions taking place. I assure you that you will find your experience all the more richer when you realised how they link back to actions of so many others who have gone before us in faith, to take the same sustenance at mass albeit sometimes in very different ways.
One day decades ago, the priest who baptised me as a young man laid out the entire structure of the mass in a single sitting. It was a revelation and for the first time, the mass came to make sense to me. From then on, I read & learnt as much as I could about the mass and that learning walked in step with a love of the mass. So, may I ask you to accompany me in retracing my steps in exploring the mass in hope that at least a little bit of that wonder will touch your soul.
Basic structure
The basic structure of the mass, though it has evolved through the centuries, is actually quite simple. It consists of the two liturgies, the Liturgy of the Word followed by the Liturgy of the Eucharist. To begin the mass, we have the Introductory Rites preceding the Liturgy of the Word, while to end the mass, we have the Concluding Rite. Some breakdowns include the Communion Rite, which the General Instructions to the Roman Missal treats as part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist and I will do likewise.
Introductory Rites
The introductory rites gather the people and prepare them to listen to the word of God and the worship that will follow.
Entrance hymn
Also known as a gathering song, it opens the celebration and accompanies the celebrant and the ministers into the church. The term gathering song reminds us that the Latin word for church means an assembly of people while the Greek word means community. So, a mass is when a community of people assembling to pray.
Greeting
On reaching the altar, the ministers reverence the altar by bowing to it while the priest, and deacon if there is one, kisses the altar and may incense it. The priest directs his kiss to the altar stone, a kiss that many mistaken as a bow.
Each altar has a small box near the middle towards the priest’s position, where a slab of stone, the altar stone, can be fitted. The altar stone is inscribed with five crosses, for the five wounds of Jesus and contains the relic of a saint. A relic is a piece of bone, hair, etc associated with that saint. It dates back to the early days when Christianity was banned and masses were held in the catacombs - among the dead; and of course the community to always prefer to have mass over a body of a devout Christian or martyr - and the practice of celebrating masses over remains of saints continued long after it was no longer necessary to hide in the catacombs.
The priest, or deacon, then greets the community with “The Lord be with you”. This used to be the method of greeting during the Middle Ages in Europe, similar to the “Hello” of today. Through this greeting, the priest declares Jesus’ presence among us. With our response, we all agree that Christ is now present in the gathering.
The priest and the community then make the sign of the cross, to which the community respondwith “Amen”. Amen means ‘I agree’, not ‘I believe' as is so often mistakenly understood. I often tell children that the sign of the cross is a prayer made with hands, asking God to give us wisdom (head), love (heart) and strength (shoulders). This is followed by a short introduction to that day’s mass, or about the saint whose feast day it was.
Penitential rite
The priest then invites the community to a communal confession, after which everybody receives a general absolution. This could be in the form of the “I Confess”, followed by the “Lord, have mercy”, or it could be an expanded “Lord, have mercy” by itself. The “Lord, have mercy” dates back to fourth century Antioch and is unique in that it was the only part in the old Latin mass that retained its Greek language of origin. "Kyrie eleison" is Greek, not Latin. Yes, when you think about it, the first apostles spoke Greek, not Latin and so the early masses were in Greek, not Latin.
The penitential rite answers Jesus’ injunction to reconcile ourselves with our brothers and sisters before approaching the altar (Mt 5:24).
Gloria
This fourth century hymn is used to praise the Father and the Lamb, but is not sung during Advent and Lent. It reflects the songs that the angels sang to the shepherds when Jesus was born.
Opening prayer
The priest then invites the community to an opening prayer, also called the collect, which is specific to the Sunday being celebrated.
Liturgy of the Word
Before the Second Vatican Council, the Liturgy of the Word was seen as the lesser part of mass when compared to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Today, liturgical developments lead us to treat both as equals. Where formerly there were only two readings, one from the Letters in the New Testament and one from the Gospels, there are now three, adding a reading from the Old Testament. Where the readings run in annual cycles, they now run in three year cycles. So, the readings always come as a set and repeat themselves after three years. The exception would be feast days, when its the same reading every year.
The form of this liturgy follows very much that of the Jewish synagogue service, from which it descends. The readings are read by one or more readers, or lectors, from the reading desk, or ambo. The response to the first two readings should be a period of silence to reflect on the readings, but, from experience, I can say that it is rarely achieved.
First reading and the Responsorial psalm
This is normally from the Old Testament, or from the Acts of the Apostles during the season of Easter. The first readings are chosen to relate to the Gospel reading.
The psalms, as a response to the reading, follow a verse-and-response format and are chosen to fit the readings. Psalms are written to be sung but at mass, they are sometimes recited, if a suitable mellifluous voice cannot be found.
Second reading
The epistles have a sequence independent of the Gospel reading and therefore do not relate to the other readings, except during the great feasts and the seasons of Lent, Easter, Advent and Christmas.
Acclamations
The Gospel is greeted by an acclamation. Alleluias (Hebrew for Praise God) are sung except during Lent, when the Glory and Praise is sung instead.
Gospel
As a mark of respect for the Gospel, which represents Christ, we receive the Gospel standing up. In the Greek Church, they even have a little procession to emphasise that.
The introductory dialogue between the priest and the community has much significance. To the priest’s greeting, the community responds: “And with your spirit”. Then, the priest introduces the Gospel and the community responds: “Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ”. Note that the ‘you’ in the two responses are directed at different persons. In the first, it refers to the priest, while in the second, it refers to Jesus. This underlines the presence of Jesus when the Gospel is read. It is no longer the priest we hear, but Jesus.
The sign of the cross we make during the second response is the older form of the more conventional sign normally used. Being less overt, it was a more discreet way of identifying oneself during times of persecution as a Christian to others who know what the sign means. I sometimes tell children that making the sign of the cross is a silent prayer. The one before the Gospel says "Lord, when I hear your word, let me think good thoughts (cross on the forehead), let me say good words (lips) and let me give love (chest)."
Homily The homily by the priest or deacon that follows will explain the readings. The difference between a homily and a sermon is that the homily relates to the readings while a sermon is less restricted in its choice of topic.
Profession of faith
There are two forms of the profession of faith: the shorter ‘I believe’ and the longer ‘We believe’, which we sometimes use at big feast days. The ‘I believe’, or the Apostles’ Creed, is a profession of faith originally developed for baptism, while the ‘We believe’, or the Nicene Creed, was a dogmatic statement of faith promulgated by the Church in the year 325. Because of its association with baptism, the Apostles Creed is more commonly used during the Easter season. Outside of mass, the Apostles Creed is used to start off the Rosary.
The profession of faith is a way the community agrees to the Word of God they just heard.
Bidding prayers
Prayers are said for various intentions of the faithful. Where possible, intentions are called out by individual members of the congregation, and the community lifts them up with a response directed at God. I prefer the term bidding prayers as what many understand as the prayer is really bidding the congregation to join us in that particular petition. Thus, the petition is directed not to God but to the congregation and the actual prayer to God is in the response of the people, “Lord, hear our prayer.”
These prayers are sometimes called the Prayers of the Faithful. This implies that those who are not members of the faithful, i.e., the unbaptised may not participate in it. Indeed, in the early church catechumens were required to pray apart from the baptised at this point. The old terms for the two liturgies were the Liturgy of the Catechumens in the Liturgy of the Faithful. Catechumens were only allowed to attend the Liturgy of the Word as it is part of their catechism but were not allowed to celebrate the sacred mysteries to which they have not yet been initiated, and so were dismissed before the Prayer of the Faithful. Today, catechumens are asked to depart after the prayer of the faithful during the Scrutinies and this is continues to this day in the Greek church every mass, including the eastern Catholics, where the priest or deacon will intone, “Catechumens, depart. All catechumens depart.” This dismissal gave to the word missa, the Latin word from where we derive our English word for mass.
Liturgy of the Eucharist
This is the longest part of the Catholic mass, and if we do not understand the mass, it is easy for the mind to wander at those long prayers that the priests says by himself.
Preparation of the altar
The altar is prepared and the mass sacred vessels and a corporal would already be on the altar. The corporal is a square piece of linen cloth, on which the bread and wine are placed. The word comes from a Latin word, meaning “body”. The sacred vessels for the mass would be a ciborium for the bread and a chalice for the wine. The paten is the small plate that the altar server places under your mouth when you take communion - to catch any bits falling off.
The gifts are brought on: bread, wine, and often, a small jug of water. Getting the gifts onto the altar normally involves a procession. This procession is not the offertory. Symbolic gifts are sometimes presented as well. In the Middle Ages, gifts for charity, the church and the priests are brought up instead of the money that we present today. It is normal then to see eggs, pigs, wheat and the like in the procession.
Offertory
After receiving the gifts, the priest places them on the altar. He mixes some water with the wine to signify the mingling of the human nature with the divine in the person of Jesus and offers up the bread and wine in prayer to God. This is the actual offertory.
The priest then washes his hands with a little jug and a small towel from the side table. It is thought that this practice is a leftover from the days of the priest having to wash his hands after handling the eggs, pigs, wheat and the like during the presentation of gifts. The priest then invites the community to pray over the gifts.
Eucharistic prayer At a normal Sunday mass, there is a choice of four eucharistic prayers. The first is a translation from the old Latin mass, also called the Roman Canon. The second, third and fourth are recent adaptations of a third century eucharistic prayer, the old Latin Canon and a Greek liturgy respectively. The form of the second and third eucharistic prayers, which are the ones more commonly used, is outlined below. The first and the fourth eucharistic prayers differ slightly from it. There are also lesser used Eucharistic prayers, for instance those used for children liturgies.
The eucharistic prayer begins with an introductory dialogue, followed by a preface (Interestingly, preface here does not mean ‘the passage before’ but comes from a Latin word, meaning ‘to proclaim aloud’) before the acclamation Holy, Holy is sung. The Holy, Holy dates back to the third century and has two parts, the first coming from Isaiah and the second from Matthew on Jesus' entry into Jerusalem.
This leads into the institution narrative, the words of which will always be the same for all eucharistic prayers. The institution narrative is a reliving of the saving action of Jesus. The key words of “Do this in memory of me” is a weak form translation of the Latin commemorationem. We are called to experience for ourselves the salvation effects of Christ’s actions. We must remember that in those days there were no photographs or videos and such reliving is the Christian's way of recalling without photos. So, we are not asking Jesus to be sacrificed again: that happened only once in history. We are bringing the act of his sacrifice into our being to strengthen us for the week ahead.
The memorial acclamation is sung by the community to express its faith in the mystery of salvation. After a memorial prayer, the priest completes the eucharistic prayer with intercessions for the Church, for those who have died and for us.
The eucharistic prayer concludes with the doxology (Greek word, meaning praise) “Through him, with him, in him”. Our response is “Amen”, also known as the Great Amen. This ‘Amen’ is our agreement to what the priest had prayed for in the entire eucharist prayer. That is why St Jerome, a papal secretary in about the year 386, said “All Rome quakes when the Great Amen is sung”.
Communion rite
This begins with the “Our Father”, recited or sung by all. The final line in the longer Our Father recited by Protestants is said separately in the Catholic mass. Formerly the Our Father was recited during mass only by priest. In fact, much of the mass responses we have today were said by the priest and the people fulfill their Sunday obligation by merely attending with little active participation. That is why we still have the term “the priest says mass”.
The Lord’s Prayer flows into the prayer for peace. The people’s response in the early church was to exchange the kiss of peace. Nowadays we seem more reticent in public displays than in Jesus' times and the furthest many of us would go is a hug with someone really familiar. In more conservative societies, a handshake may be more appropriate. I think we should have at least a handshake - it makes the fellowship more meaningful. If there is no pandemic around, of course.
After this, the altar is prepared with the bread and wine. The bread must be unleavened and the wine must be fruit of the grape, according to Canon Law. Consecrated bread is brought out from the tabernacle, a little cabinet normally located on the wall behind the altar and where leftover consecrated bread is kept at the end of the mass. A red light is lit at the side of the tabernacle to indicate the presence of consecrated bread in the tabernacle
The bread is then broken in the action that gave the mass its early name, the breaking of bread. A small piece of bread is broken and con-mingled into the wine to represent reunion of Christ’s body and blood after his resurrection. The Lamb of God, a seventh century hymn is sung during the breaking of bread.
The consecrated bread and wine is lifted up for the whole congregation to see that this is indeed the body and blood of Jesus. The reception of communion by all the baptised present is a recent revival from early last century. Formerly, many Catholics receive communion once a year. Sight of the elevated bread and wine was deemed sufficient to receive God's grace. Nowadays we see the mass as more than mere reception of grace, but also a way for the community to express and live our faith.
We respond to the minister’s “Body of Christ” with an “Amen”. For me this is a special moment. When we say “Amen”, we not just mean we agree that this is bread has now become the body of Christ. We are also agreeing that you and me, giving and receiving communion, are part of the same body of Christ. For that one moment, both of us are family. And for me, that is when I know I am home, where ever in the world that I am attending Mass.
After receiving communion, the thanksgiving prayer is said. When everyone has received communion, the priest and his assistants will place any remaining hosts into the tabernacle and consume any remaining wine. Sometimes, remaining bread are also consumed. Clearing the chalice of wine can be rather elaborate, using water to ensure no bread and wine remains.
Concluding rite
To conclude, the priest says the closing prayer and blesses the community. Sometimes, a triple blessing is invoked, especially on feast days or if there is a special occasion like a wedding, a baptism or where a blessing is asked for. After he dismisses the people, he kisses the altar and leaves with the ministers. The mass now is not really ended: it continues on in us as we go out to live our Christian living among the wider community we live in.
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