Men are born to live; Christ was born to die.
He was born in Bethlehem to give his life for our salvation, in fulfillment of
his priestly mission. Christ wants us to remember him for his death. He himself
gave us the fitting memorial to it, to reactualize and make present the very
sacrifice of Calvary, to remind us that He died so that we may have life, so that
we may be freed from the tyranny of sin. He told us the exact way He wanted
us to commemorate His death, His resurrection, and His ascension to heaven.
The memorial He gave us is the Mass.
It is a mistake to think that the Mass is a memorial service like that on
Memorial Day, or a sort of imitation of the Last Supper, or a collection of
prayers. The Mass is not just a collection of prayers, no matter how beautiful or
moving they may be. Our Lord becomes present in the Mass, doing something
deeply supernatural: performing a sacrifice.
THE MASS
I. INTRODUCTORY RITES
Entrance
Veneration of the Altar
Greeting
Penitential Rite
“Lord, Have Mercy”
“Glory to God in the Highest”
Opening Prayer
II. THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Scripture Readings
Homily
Profession of Faith
Prayers of the Faithful
III. THE LITURGY OF THE
EUCHARIST
Preparation of the Gifts
Prayer Over the Gifts
Eucharistic Prayer
1. Preface
2. Acclamation Sanctus
3. Epiclesis
4. Consecration
5. The Mystery of Faith
6. Anamnesis
7. Offering
8. Intercessions
9. Final Doxology & Amen
Communion Rite
1. Lord’s Prayer
2. Rite of Peace
3. Breaking of Bread
4. Communion
5. Prayer After Communion
IV. CONCLUDING RITES
Announcements
Blessing
Dismissal
Veneration of the Altar
Personal Thanksgiving
WHERE DOES THE TERM “MASS” COME FROM?
It is very possible that you may not know what “Mass” means. After all, you
probably have always heard the Mass said in your own language. But “Mass” is
derived from the way the Mass was ended in Latin.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
“Mass” is an English rendering of the Latin term “missa.” In Latin
the Mass ends with “Ite missa est,” which translated into English
means “Go, it is sent,” the “it” being the Church. From the Latin
word “missa” comes the English word “dismiss.” So “Mass”
means “dismissal.” The celebration takes its name from the sending
forth that occurs at the end of every Mass.
Because of the familiarity of the ending, the celebration of our Lord’s
Supper eventually became known simply as the “Mass.” There were actually
two dismissals in the celebration -- one in which catechumens (people who
were not fully Catholic yet but wanted to be) were dismissed right after the
sermon, and the dismissal at the end, when all the fully initiated Catholics, the
faithful, were dismissed. There were two “Masses,” namely the Mass of the
Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful.
The fact that we call this greatest of Christian prayers the “dismissal” points
to the essence of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Our Lord calls
us to Himself and through His saving act invites us to a unity with God the
Father through the power of His Holy Spirit. Jesus makes communion with God
possible. But following Jesus does not stop with this communion, for once He
has united us to Himself, He then sends us forth with a mission (a dismissal).
“Go” is one of His final words to His disciples as He ascends into heaven in
the Gospel of Matthew’s account. Hence, the way every Mass ends with “go”
is at the heart of what we come to the Mass for -- to be empowered by God
and sent forth again.
The “go” that is the very meaning of the word “Mass” receives its meaning
from our communion with our Lord Jesus Christ during the Mass, where we
believe and come to know Him!
#2 in a series of 40 inserts researched and compiled for the parishioners of
St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, Lincoln, Nebraska. (c)2005.