The Catholic Mass

20th Sept 2016 SFX RCIA Class

 Learning objective:

To know about Mass, and how it is linked to God.

 Learning Outcome:

To be able to know what is Mass.

Mass is Based On Jesus Last
Supper
 IMPORTANT
VOCABULARY!
Priest:
An ordained minister in the Catholic Church who
has the authority to oversee the celebration of certain
sacraments (including the Eucharist)

Rite: A religious ritual

Congregation: A group of people who are assembled

for religious worship

Liturgy: The official ritual worship of the Church

 Parts of the Mass

There are two main parts of the Mass:

The Liturgy of the Word

The part of the Mass when we read

Scripture

The Liturgy of the Eucharist

The part of the Mass when we receive

the body and blood of Christ.
 Parts of the Mass

These two main parts are framed by two other

rites:

The Gathering Rites

The Concluding Rite

 Parts of the Mass

Which means that there are 4 parts altogether:

Liturgy of Liturgy of the

the Word Eucharist

1 2 3 4
 The GATHERING Rites
Entrance Procession: The priest enters the Church from
the back, reverencing the altar (everyone bows; the
priest kisses the altar). The Congregation stands and
remains standing throughout the gathering rites.

Greeting (the priest says a few words)

Penitential Rite

Sometimes we say the Confiteor (I confess to

Almighty God)

We always say the Kyrie (Lord, have mercy)

After the Gloria (which is a hymn of praise to
God) the Priest leads the congregation in an
Opening Prayer by saying, Let us pray

This is followed by a brief period of silence,

followed by an Opening Prayer recited by the
Priest (this prayer is different at every Mass).

After the Opening Prayer, everybody sits.

The Opening Prayer leads us directly into the

first MAJOR part of the Massthe Liturgy of
the Word.
 IMPORTANT
VOCABULARY!
Old Testament: Also called the Hebrew Scriptures. The
stories of the Jewish people (remember, Jesus was
Jewish, and so these stories are very important for
Christians as well).

Psalms:
Poetic prayers that are part of the Old
Testament.

New Testament: The Christian Scriptures, including

stories about Jesus life, the letters of St. Paul, etc.

Gospel: The stories about Jesus life, death and

resurrection that are part of the New Testament.
 Liturgy of the Word

During a typical Sunday Mass there are 3

readings.

The first reading comes from the Old Testament.

Reflects the continuity between Israel and

Jesus, who came to fulfill the promises made
by God to Israel.

Following the first reading, there is a

Responsorial Psalm, typically set to music.
 Liturgy of the Word

The second reading is from the New Testament.

Usually from one of the epistles (letters) in

the New Testament.

Response to both the first and second readings:

Thanks be to God
After the second reading, we STAND and sing
Alleluia! It heralds (or welcomes) the Gospel
reading, which comes next.
 Alleluia!

Alleluia means Praise the Lord!

During the Alleluia, the Priest raises the Gospel.

This introduces the most important part of the
Liturgy of the Word.

During Lent, we never say Alleluia, because it is

an exclamation of praise to the Risen Lord.
 The Gospel Reading
PRIEST: The Lord be with you

RESPONSE: And also with you.

PRIEST: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to

RESPONSE: (While making the sign of the cross on your

forehead, lips and heart) Glory to you, Oh Lord

READING by the PRIEST

PRIEST: The Gospel of the Lord

RESPONSE: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 Profession of Faith

Following the Homily, the congregation stands

and recites the Nicene Creed.

We believe in one God

The Nicene Creed summarizes everything that

the Church has taught for the past 2,000 years.
 General Intercessions

From the chair, the priest invites the people to

pray.

LECTOR: let us pray to the Lord.

RESPONSE: Lord, hear our prayer.

Repeated after each prayer petition.

 IMPORTANT
VOCABULARY!
Altar:The place of sacrifice, as well as the table from
which Christians are fed. It is the central focus of the
Liturgy of the Eucharist.
 Liturgy of the Eucharist

The second major part of the Mass.

The Liturgy of the Word focuses on Scripture, but

the Liturgy of the Eucharist focuses on the altar.
 Preparation of the Altar
The gifts of bread and wine are placed at the back
of the church before the service.

Collection basket is passed around; sign of support

for the ministry of the church.

In procession, people bring the gifts (bread and

wine) forward to the priest. This is called the
offertory procession.

This act echoes offerings of early church, when

people would bring the bread and wine (and other
stuff) they made in preparation for the Lords
Supper.
 Priest accepting the gifts of the
1. TAKEN community that are brought forth

2. BLESSED

3. BROKEN

4. GIVEN
 IMPORTANT
VOCABULARY!
Paten: A small plate,
usually made out of silver or
gold, used to hold Body of
Christ (the consecrated
bread).

Chalice: A standing cup,

usually made out of silver or
gold, used to hold the Blood
of Christ (the consecrated
wine).
 Preparation of the Gifts
Priest pours the wine into the chalice, and adds a few
drops of water, symbolizing the union of the humanity and
divinity of Christ.

When he receives the gifts, the priest recites prayers

based on those used during the Jewish Passover meal.

The priest lifts the paten of bread above the altar.

PRIEST: Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,

through your goodness

The priest does the same thing with the chalice of wine.
 Eucharistic Prayer
After washing his hands the priest invites the
community to prepare for the Eucharist with him.

o The Preface Dialogue (Lift up your hearts)

The Sanctus (Holy, holy, holy) The community

prays the prayer to Christ from the Book of
Revelation

The priest then chooses one of several Eucharistic

Prayers to recount the story of the Last Supper
 The Consecration
During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the priest is acting
in persona Christi (as the person of Christ).

At the moment of the consecration, the priest is

Jesus.

The priest takes the paten and says, This is my

body

Then he elevates the host for the congregation to see,

and genuflects in front of the altar.

He takes the chalice and says, This is the cup of My

Blood
Eucharist as the presence of
God
When the bread and wine are consecrated by the
priest, they are transformed into Jesus body and
blood.

Therefore, this is THE MOST SACRED part of

the Mass.

This transformation is called Transubstantiation.

The Eucharist is the most personal encounter

with God.
 Priest accepting the gifts of the
1. TAKEN community that are brought forth

The consecration of the bread

2. BLESSED and wine during the Eucharistic
Prayer

3. BROKEN

4. GIVEN
 After the Consecration

The community recites together the Memorial

Acclamation (Christ has died is the most common)

Prayers for the entire Church, now joined together as

one through the Eucharist, are spoken.

The Eucharistic Prayer ends with a Doxology

(Through him, with him, in him)

Community responds with a Great Amen (I believe!)

 Communion Rite

The Communion Rite opens in the model of

Jesus with the Lords Prayer.

While holding hands, we either sing or recite the

Lords Prayer (Our Father).

The Lords Prayer is followed by the Sign of

Peace.
Sign of peace was once used to resolve conflicts with a
neighbor before receiving the Eucharist
 Breaking of the Bread
The priest breaks the bread and prepares the
Eucharist for the Communion procession.

Congregation recites the Agnus Dei or Lamb of

God, recalling the Passover sacrifice of a lamb
to save the life of Gods people

Priest holds up consecrated bread and wine to

the congregation, who publically declares its
unworthiness to receive it (Lord, I am not
worthy)
 Priest accepting the gifts of the
1. TAKEN community that are brought forth

The consecration of the bread

2. BLESSED and wine during the Eucharistic
Prayer

The breaking of the bread by the

3. BROKEN priest, following the sign of peace

4. GIVEN
The Communion Procession
Priest or Extraordinary Minister: The Body of
Christ

RESPONSE: Amen

Saying Amen is another way of saying

Yes, I believe that this is truly the Body of
Christ.

After receiving Holy Communion, we go back to

the pew, kneel (or sit) and pray silently for a few
minutes, or sing the Communion song
 Priest accepting the gifts of the
1. TAKEN community that are brought forth

The consecration of the bread

2. BLESSED and wine during the Eucharistic
Prayer

The breaking of the bread by the

3. BROKEN priest, following the sign of peace

4. GIVEN The Communion Procession

 Who May Not Receive
Communion?

Who should not receive Communion?

Non-Catholics

Catholics who have not fasted prior to

Communion

Catholics who havent made their First

Confession and First Communion.
 Bread and Wine

Bread and Wine are the two species of Eucharist

Usually everyone takes the bread

The wine is optional

Wine was once reserved for those celebrating and
helping

Wine is sometimes not offered for practical reasons

Some parishes allow you to dip host in wine

 Concluding Rite and
Dismissal
After a closing prayer, the priest blesses
and dismisses the people
The name Mass comes from the Latin Ite, missa
est (roughly translated as Go, you are sent
forth), the priests final words

Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord

and one another
The Community united by Eucharist is called to
be a community OUTSIDE of the Mass.