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THE MASSBy Fr. Mike Haney, O.F.M., St. Paschal
Church, W. Monroe, LA
Some months ago, several church members were talking about how many people arrive late for Sunday Mass, leave early, do not participate by means of singing or responding to the Mass prayers, and behave during Mass in a variety of inappropriate ways – like talking, walking around, or even how they dress. They made the observation that perhaps this behavior is due to the fact that many people do not understand the Mass, and have never had the opportunity to have the Mass explained to them or to learn what the various parts of the Mass mean. So the recommendation was made that I should prepare some information and write some reflections that would help our parishioners to better appreciate Sunday Mass. The following is the fruit of that effort.
But first, some general observations. 1) Mass
is not an obligation, but a celebration. Many
people, unfortunately, still see Sunday mass as an obligation – “I have to go to
Mass on Sunday.” It is the sin that I
hear confessed most often – “Father, I missed Mass on Sunday”. But I don’t think it is the sin that is
committed most frequently! Hopefully, we will
be able to see Sunday Mass as an opportunity, a celebration – not an obligation. 2) The
celebration of Mass is the action of the entire community, not of the priest alone. For centuries, the priest was the actor, the one
who prayed, the one who did everything at Mass, and the congregation were spectators who
watched. Today, we realize that the Mass is
the prayer of the entire community that is gathered in worship. 3) The
Mass, the way we know it today, has not always been this way. Since the time of Jesus, the style and manner of
celebrating Mass has been evolving and changing, and still continues to do so.
The Mass, obviously, had its origins
in the Last Supper that Jesus celebrated with his disciples. On the night before he died, he broke the bread
and shared it with them, and he blessed the cup of wine and passed it to them, reminding
them: “Do this in memory of me!” For the first 100 years or so after Jesus’
Death and Resurrection, the Mass remained this kind of simple meal, where small groups of
people gathered, shared the bread and the cup and remembered Jesus. Gradually, the meal was preceded by a scripture
service, wherein the Word of God was proclaimed. These
celebrations took place in a “house church”, so called because that’s what
it was – a “house”, or a “home”, in which the people gathered to
hear God’s Holy Word and to celebrate the Sacred Meal.
Gradually, the Mass began to be
celebrated in larger buildings because they provided the space that was necessary for the
growing crowds of people. And with larger
buildings came more ceremony – like processions, like more assisting ministers, and
like the use of vestments to make the ministers stand out from the congregation. By the year 700, sacristies were in use – a
sacristy is the room where ministers get dressed before the celebration.
With the use of large buildings, and
with the coming of large crowds, came also the use of an entrance processional song, to
bring the congregation to its feet, and to begin praising God with the music of a song.
With large crowds and big buildings,
things got a lot more formal. In place of the
family table that was used in the “house church”, a large altar was used,
usually made of stone, to remind the people that Jesus is the cornerstone and the
spiritual rock of the church. Relics
containing tiny bones of a saint were placed in the altar, and the kiss of the altar was a
way to greet and honor the saints. This same
large altar was frequently blessed with incense, a sign of honor, just as emperors had at
one time been welcomed with incense. The Old
Testament high priests had begun their services with incense. Incense rises heavenward just as our prayers rise
to God.
Christians began the use of the Sign
of the Cross already in the second century. But
the use of the Sign of the Cross at the beginning of Mass did not begin until the Middle
Ages, when the priest prayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, which originally he
prayed silently while walking into church.
For centuries, the Mass had no penitential
rite. Eventually, the penitential
rite became a common proclamation that all of us are sinners before God. Sometimes the penitential rite is replaced by a
sprinkling rite with water, reminding us of the life-giving waters flowing from the font
of Baptism. The Kyrie Eleison, or Lord Have
Mercy, was the people’s response to a long litany.
To shorten the Mass, the Lord Have Mercy is now said three times, to remind
us of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Glory to God, or Gloria,
was a song sung only by the priest and only at the Easter Vigil, until the 11th
century, when it began to be sung at all Sunday Masses.
The Glory to God is meant to be a song for the whole assembly to sing,
emphasizing the festive and special character of the Sundays outside of Advent and Lent,
when it is not used.
The Opening Prayer has
also been called the “Collect” because for centuries, after a long period of
silence in which the people prayed silently, the presider summed up and “collected”
all the silent prayers into one spoken prayer. The
Opening prayer always has three parts: 1)
addressing God the Father, 2) stating the petition or the request itself, and 3) asking
for the intercession and mediation of Jesus Christ.
Many of the first Christians were
actually converted Jews who asked for and received Catholic Baptism. As Jews, part of their Jewish synagogue service
was the reading of the Old Testament Law and Prophets. This Jewish tradition as well as the conviction
that all the Scriptures are God’s inspired word resulted in the presence of at least
one Old Testament reading in the early Christian Liturgy of the Word. The style of the morning prayer service held in
the Jewish synagogues had a strong influence on the formation and development of the
Christian Liturgy of the Word. It is also
interesting to note that often the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist
were celebrated independently. In other
words, sometimes there would be Scripture readings, but no sharing of the bread and the
cup, or vice versa. In the sixth century, the
fusion of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist occurred, and has
remained since. It is also interesting to
note that, for centuries, and for reasons unknown, the reading of Old Testament selections
at Mass was dropped. They were restored only
recently, as a result of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s, when the world’s
bishops said that “…the treasures of the Bible (should) be opened up more
lavishly, so that a richer fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God’s
Word”. (Const. of Sac. Lit., #51.)
Now, on Sundays and on major feasts,
there are always three readings. The first is
usually taken from the Old Testament. As a
rule, the Old Testament readings are chosen to prepare for and coordinate with the Gospel,
following the same theme or idea.
On weekdays, there are only two
readings at Mass. During the seasons of
Advent and Lent, the first reading is always from the Old Testament and is related to the
Gospel. During the remainder of the year,
Bible selections from both the Old and new Testaments appear, but no attempt was made to
harmonize this first reading with the Gospel.
Following the First Reading comes the Psalm
Response, or Responsorial Psalm. Continuing
the practice of the Jewish synagogue, Christians traditionally respond to a scriptural
reading by singing a psalm or biblical canticle. Some
of you are old enough to remember that this used to be called the “Gradual”,
because the cantor stood on one of the lower steps (“gradus”) of the pulpit to
lead this psalm. Today, the Psalm Response
holds a place of special importance. Normally,
it is sung, and the whole assembly participates by singing the repeated refrain. Very frequently, the psalm has a textual
relationship to one of the readings.
For centuries, the Church has called
the Second Reading, or the reading before the Gospel, the “Epistle”. Our brothers and sisters in the Eastern Rite
Churches call this reading the “Apostle”, because all of these readings were
written by the apostles, like Paul, John, and Luke.
The text for this Second Reading is made quite independently from the other
two readings, although on most Sundays of the year the Second Reading represents a
continuation of the same passage that we had heard on the previous Sunday.
Following the Second Reading comes the
Alleluia or Gospel Acclamation. The
Hebrew word “alleluia” means “Praise Yahweh” or “Praise God”. Historically, St. Augustine writes that the
Alleluia was being sung every Sunday during his lifetime in the early 400’s, but by
the end of the fifth century the Alleluia was used only on Easter. Eventually, the Alleluia was sung on every Sunday
during Easter time, and finally on every Sunday of the year except during Lent. The words of the acclamation in the Alleluia are
linked to the Gospel, and often the Alleluia is accompanied by a procession with the
Gospel Book.
From earliest times, the importance of
the Gospel has been emphasized by special signs of respect and honor. For example, while a lector proclaims the First
and Second Readings, only a deacon or priest may proclaim the Gospel. Furthermore, the proclamation of the Gospel is
often accompanied by candles and incense. And
the congregation, seated during the first two readings, stands during the Gospel as a sign
of alertness to the presence of the Risen Lord. The
sign of the cross on the book, forehead, mouth and heart is a sign of openness to God’s
Word, and the kiss of the book is a sign of respect.
The book from which the Scriptures are
proclaimed is called the Lectionary. The
Lectionary arranges the Sunday readings in a 3-year cycle:
Year A is based on Matthew, Year B on Mark, and Year C on Luke. John’s Gospel occurs on the first Sundays of
Lent, during the Easter season, and on certain Sundays during Year B. For weekdays, there is a 2-year cycle; the Gospels
remain the same each year but the First Reading varies.
Year 1 runs with the odd-numbered years, like 2001, and year 2 runs with the
even-numbered years, like 2002.
There is evidence dating back to the
year 150 that bishops exhorted and instructed the people in a Homily at Mass
to imitate the things they heard in the Scripture Readings.
God’s Word needed to be applied to the concrete life situations of the
people. In fact, when several priests were
present at Mass, each of them would preach a homily – aren’t you glad we don’t
do that anymore!
The General Intercessions
conclude the Liturgy of the Word. One of the
components of the ancient Jewish synagogue liturgy was a series of 18 blessings containing
requests for individual and universal needs. From
very early on, the Catholic Mass incorporated very similar prayers. These prayers are called “General
Intercessions” because they extend beyond the needs and concerns of the local
assembly, to the universal church and to the changing events of our world.
There are two major parts to the Mass
– the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The pages before this have dealt with the Opening
Rites and the Liturgy of the Word; now we begin our treatment of the Liturgy of the
Eucharist.
The Last Supper, which Jesus
celebrated with his apostles on the night before his crucifixion, was only a small part of
a much larger and more elaborate Jewish Passover Meal.
Very early in the history of the Catholic Church, we experienced certain
practical difficulties in serving a regular meal every week to an increasingly larger
number of people. As a consequence, the
Eucharist was gradually disengaged from the meal: the
bread and cup rites to which Jesus had attached a new meaning in reference to himself were
at first celebrated either before or after the meal, and eventually completely apart from
it.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist begins
with the Preparation of the Altar. Although
in past centuries this used to be a much more elaborate rite, today it consists simply in
placing the corporal, chalice, purificator and sacramentary upon the altar. This is usually done by a deacon or altar server. If it is not already there, this is also the time
when the altar cloth is placed upon the altar.
Then comes the Presentation of
the Gifts. Sometimes this is
incorrectly referred to as the “Offertory”; but the real offertory is later in
the Mass, when the bread and wine are offered during the Eucharistic Prayer. The gifts that are presented are the gifts of
bread and wine, along with the financial donations of the people. Years ago, the people supported the church and the
priest, not with financial donations, but with gifts of meat, fruit and vegetables. Because these gifts were often dirty, the priest
washed his hands immediately after receiving them – and we still see that hand
washing ceremony today, but for a much different reason.
Years ago, the wine was often very strong, so some water was added to make
the wine more drinkable. Today the mingling
of water with the wine represents the union of Christ with the faithful – just as the
wine receives water, so Christ takes us and our sins to himself. Nowadays a song often accompanies the procession
with the Presentation of the Gifts, but this song is not always necessary or even
desirable. The priest offers a prayer to
praise and bless God for these gifts of bread and wine, and the assembly may make the
response: “Blessed Be God Forever”! Although it may be used at any time, on certain
special occasions incense is used to bless the altar, the bread and wine, the priest and
the people, uniting all of us as we present ourselves and our gifts to God.
The Prayer Over the Gifts
was at one time called the “Secret”, because it was prayed silently by the
priest. Today the priest prays it aloud,
asking God to accept and to be pleased with our gifts of bread and wine.
Then comes the Eucharistic
Prayer, the first part of which is the Preface. The origins of the Eucharistic Prayer are
found in a series of table prayers required at every Jewish meal. The Preface begins with an initial dialogue
between priest and congregation: “The
Lord be with you…” The body of the
Preface is a statement of the special reason for praising God, especially God’s work
in creation and redemption. There are a
variety of more than 80 prefaces that can be used at Mass, and all are concise statements
of praise addressed to God through Jesus.
The Preface concludes with the Holy,
Holy, Holy Lord, a text inspired by the vision of Isaiah and sung in the morning
office of the synagogue. From there, it made
its way into the Eucharistic Prayer through the influence of Jewish-Christians.
One of the first elements in the
Eucharistic Prayer is a formal petition that the Spirit come upon the community and upon
the bread and wine. This invocation is
technically known as the Epiclesis, which means “calling down”. As the priest makes this petition, he extends his
hands over the bread and wine in the ancient gesture signifying the giving of the Spirit.
Another part of the Eucharistic Prayer
is the words of institution, sometimes called Consecration. For centuries, theologians tried to pinpoint
exactly when and how the consecration occurred. Now,
we understand the dynamic and unified character of the entire Eucharistic Prayer. The elevation of the host dates back to the early
13th century, a time when the faithful received communion only rarely, and
consequently took great satisfaction in seeing the consecrated bread since the priest
celebrated Mass with his back to the people.
Following the words of institution
comes the Memorial Acclamation. The
“mystery of faith” to which the priest refers in his invitation (“Let us
proclaim this mystery of faith”) is the paschal mystery, the mystery of Christ dying,
rising and present among his people. It is
the whole plan of God realized in Christ’s saving love. Our response to the priest’s invitation shows
that we do recall the death, resurrection and second coming of Christ.
Another important part of the
Eucharistic Prayer are the Intercessions.
Modeled after the ancient Jewish blessing prayer, they request God to show
mercy upon all the people of Israel. Today,
they mention the Church, the Pope, the local bishop, the assembled faithful, apostles and
martyrs, all the saints and all our beloved deceased.
The Eucharistic Prayers concludes with
the Doxology, a solemn statement of praise and thanksgiving in the
Trinitarian form mentioning Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The bread and cup are raised on high in a gesture of final offering, and the
Amen of the congregation is a sign of approval and support.
Like every “Amen”, it means “Yes”, “We Believe”,
“That’s Right”.
Although it is a long prayer, and
there are many approved forms of it, the overall purpose of the Eucharistic Prayer
is to recall the many wonderful ways in which God has been a part of our glorious history,
and to offer ourselves and our gifts of bread and wine to God as a sign of our
thankfulness and appreciation.
In the earliest celebrations of the
Eucharist, in the first centuries after Jesus’ Resurrection, once the bread was
broken and the wine was blessed, the ministers and the faithful immediately received the
Body and Blood of the Lord. But by the fifth
century, the growing desire to express love, unity and forgiveness resulted in the
expansion of a few rites before the reception of the Eucharist, namely the Our
Father and the Greeting of Peace. Praying
the Our Father was seen as an ideal preparation for Communion. In fact, the Our Father was even expanded, to ask
the Lord to grant perfect peace. That prayer,
offered by the priest, is called the “Embolism” – “Deliver us, Lord,
from every evil…” In the early
centuries, the Our Father was such an important part of the Church’s prayer life that
adults were not allowed to pray the Lord’s Prayer until they were baptized. In some churches, it is now customary for the
congregation to hold hands while the Our Father is prayed or sung, and often people say
that holding hands is such a wonderful sign of unity and togetherness. Actually, the real sign of unity and togetherness
at Mass is receiving the Lord in the Eucharist at Communion, and the Our Father is simply
a preparation for that important sharing.
Among early Christians, the Greeting
of Peace was seen as a seal placed on prayer.
To omit this gesture was considered a declaration of hostility. St. Paul himself had reminded the early Christians
to “greet one another with a holy kiss”. We
are all invited to share peace with those around us.
Again as a sign of our unity and togetherness in preparation for Communion. It should be noted that peace is meant to be
exchanged with persons nearby, and not by attempting to greet everyone in the
congregation. Since the Greeting of Peace is
symbolic, the real importance is not how many people we greet, but rather how sincere our
wish for peace really is.
Conforming to the rite of the Passover
meal, Christ took bread into his hands, pronounced the prayer of praise, and then broke
the bread. Primitively, this Breaking
of the Bread was the only rite which occurred between the Eucharistic prayer and
the communion. In fact, the Eucharist itself
was once called “the breaking of the bread”.
The bread is broken for two reasons; 1) because Jesus did it at the Last
supper, and 2) because the one large loaf which had been consecrated needed to be divided. Individual “hosts” began to be used only
when the congregations became so large that breaking the one loaf became impractical. The gesture is seen as a sign of unity –
participating in the one bread which is broken, all form one body in Christ. The mixing of a small piece of the consecrated
bread into the chalice of Christ’s blood symbolizes the resurrection, reuniting the
body and blood of Jesus before Communion, a kind of symbolic re-enactment of the Lord’s
resurrection. For a time, it was the custom
of the Pope to send a small portion of consecrated bread to the churches in his
neighborhood for use in this gesture. As the
church grew farther and farther away from Rome, individual priests began to use this
gesture in Mass simply “because the Pope did it”.
During the Breaking of the Bread, the Lamb
of God is sung. The words “have
mercy on us” and “grant us peace” link it to the Greeting of Peace. The Lamb of God is a song of the congregation, not
of the priest, who is engaged in the action of breaking and preparing the bread for
Communion.
In the first centuries, it was quite
usual for members of the community to take home portions of the consecrated bread, to
consume during the week or to bring to those unable to attend the service, as our
Ministers to the Homebound do today. By the
13th century, communion by the faithful, other than at the moment of death, was
on the point of disappearing. Theologians and
preachers reacted by stressing the need for frequent Communion, and
eventually the church relaxed its laws regarding fasting before Communion, so that
virtually everyone could receive the Eucharist. We
hear the words “The Body of Christ” and “The Blood of Christ” as
reminders of the meaning and significance of what we are doing – receiving the very
flesh and blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our
“Amen” is a tiny but significant profession of faith. The song during Communion is expressive of the
unity and joy in which we are sharing.
The vessels used for communion are
cleansed or purified, usually after Mass, in the sacristy, by the sacristan and the
Eucharistic ministers. The vessels are the
chalices, which contain the Blood of Christ, and the plates or bowls, called ciboriums or
patens, which hold the bread. Private prayer
after Communion has long been a recommended practice.
So normally after Communion there is some quiet time in which we can
personally and privately thank God. This
private prayer time is concluded by the public Prayer after Communion, prayed
out loud by the priest, and summarizing the thanksgiving of the congregation.
In the earliest centuries, the
celebration of the Eucharist seems to have ended with the distribution of Communion. (For some people, it still does today!) But nowadays the Mass does have a few important
and brief concluding rites. They are the Announcements,
making the community aware of important upcoming events; the Blessing by the
priest, until the time when we will be fortunate enough to reassemble in the Lord’s
name; the Dismissal, a final word of encouragement before we depart; and the
Kissing of the Altar, to conclude Mass the same way it began, with the
Kissing of the Altar. Finally, just as we
sang ourselves into church with a processional or entrance song, we sing ourselves out of
church with a recessional hymn. That
recessional hymn is an expression of our joy and gratitude for all the Lord has shared
with us and given to us; the song also tries to energize and excite us to go out and live
the Christian life that we have just celebrated and in which we have just been renewed.
It is worth mentioning that the word
“Mass” comes from the word “Dismissal”. The Dismissal Rite has always implied far more
than it states. People were dismissed to go
out to live their faith. The
Dismissal, then, signified not the end of the Mass, but the beginning of its lived
presence in the community. It is in this
sense that we are now reminded to “go forth in joy, to love and serve the Lord”. |
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