From a very inspirational and insightful teachings by Rev. Fr. Lucas Binnah Junior, C.S.Sp titled Encountering Jesus Christ in the mass, we take a look at some excepts, captioned as :WHAT MASS IS AND IS NOT.
WHAT MASS IS AND IS NOT
- From the Greek word “Eucharistia,” Mass simply means “Thanksgiving.”
- It is the celebration of the sacrifice of Christ on the altar of the Cross. Be that as it may, it is not crucifying Christ again and again, but a re-enactment, an active remembrance, a memorial of what Christ has done for us. Consequently, the Holy Mass is celebrated in obedience to Christ’s injunction to us: “Do this in memory of me” (Lk. 22:19).
- It is not symbolic or a representation, but the Real Presence of Christ! When the Holy Spirit is invoked (epiclesis) on the bread and wine, they change (transubstantiation) to become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the Catholic faith.
- The Eucharist is not ordinary food, but the Flesh and Blood of Jesus Christ who is God.
- Holy Communion is not the invention of human agency, but Christ’s own institution.
The Eucharist is so foundational, fundamental and central, such that, with the exception of very few instances and circumstances, the celebration of the other six sacraments, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, Confession/Penance/Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders usually revolve around it. Now, let us turn our attention to the parts of the Mass.
PARTS OF THE MASS
The Mass is made up of two main inseparable parts:
- Liturgy of the Word
- Liturgy of the Eucharist.
In Catholic terminology, liturgy means public worship. So, liturgy and worship are synonymous. The first part begins with the Introductory rites (Entrance, Kyrie, Gloria and Collect/Opening
Prayer) and continues with the Scripture Readings, Homily, Credo/Creed/Profession of Faith, General Intercessions/Prayer of the Faithful and the Collection (financial contributions). Thesecond part begins with the Offertory (bringing of bread and wine and other material gifts),
Eucharistic prayer, Consecration, The Lord’s Prayer, Sign of Peace, Communion, Thanksgiving and the Concluding Rites (Final Blessing and Dismissal). Through theseintegrated parts, we come to recognise and know our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ mystically.
We enter God’s house with joy acknowledging his presence as the triune/trinitarian God with the sign of the cross. We acknowledge our sins and plead for mercy praying the Kyrie. Thus forgiven, we are filled with joy and therefore, burst into praise and worship through the Gloria. The Opening Prayer collects all the intentions for the mass,so that when the priest says: “Let us pray,” all thesepersonal and communal intentions are gathered into one, and presented to God as the reason for coming into his presence. Mass Intention is very important. We should never attend Mass without an intention (kept in our hearts or made known through writing), and we should also try to make a commitment by giving a token. Also, when the Readings are proclaimed, it is God speaking to us. Therefore, partial listening or inattentiveness must be avoided. The Homily helps us to import the mind of God regarding our individual and collective life situations, after which we profess our faith (Creed) and address our problems to God who has assembled us before him through the General intercessions.The Collection helps to sustain the Church in its mission of evangelisation.
On the other hand, the Offertory presents the bread and wine to be consecrated, as well as material gifts to enable the Church in its charitable work among the poor and needy and the upkeep of the priest. The high point of the Mass is the Consecration, of which various Eucharistic prayers are used depending on the occasion. Through the Our Father and the Kiss of Peace, we are reconciled with God and one another, so that, we become liberated and readied for Jesus to unite himself with us through Holy Communion. Thus blessed, with the sacramental indwelling of Jesus, our souls are ennobled and our hearts enabled to offer appropriate Thanksgiving to Jesus who comes to live in us. Finally, we receive Blessings and are Sent forth to go to the world to offer same to all around us. In effect, Mass continues with us as we share Christ with others in our public and social life.
St. Luke’s Gospel uses the Emmaus encounter to teach us about the structure of the Mass. In fact, the risen Jesus ‘celebrated’ the Mass with the two disciples first by undertaking the ‘Liturgy of the word’ whereby he summarised and explained the Scriptures (Moses [Law or Torah]) and the
Prophets [Nebiim]) to two disciples of his (cf. Lk. 24:27). Jesus’ homily begun thus: “O foolishmen, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!… And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself (Lk. 24:25, 27). So, through a new reading and interpretation of Scriptures with the aid of Christ, their hearts are inflamed and minds attuned to the spiritual frequency of God.
By Rev. Fr. Lucas Binnah Junior, C.S.Sp
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