INTRODUCTION TO THE MASS
“Do this in memory of me.”
In his book The Shape of the Liturgy, famous liturgist Don Gregory Dix, OSB, writes:
Was ever another command so obeyed? For century after century, spreading slowly to every continent and country and among every race on earth, this action has been done in every conceivable human circumstance, for every conceivable human need, from infancy and before it, to extreme old age and after it, from the pinnacles of earthly greatness to the refuge of fugitives in the caves and dens of the earth. People have found no better thing than this to do for kings at their crowning and for criminals going to the scaffold; for armies in triumph or for a bride and a bridegroom in a country church;… for the famine of whole provinces or for the soul of a dead lover. …And best of all, week by week and month by month, on a hundred thousand Sundays, faithfully, unfailingly, across all the parishes of Christendom, priest and people continue to work together in order to carry out this command, “Do this in memory of me.”
For 2,000 years, Catholic tradition has believed and taught that participation in the Holy Eucharist is a central aspect of our faith. It is the way for us to obey the Third Commandment, which calls us to “Keep holy the Lord’s Day.” The Mass is the way we commemorate and make present all that Jesus did for us when he suffered, died and rose again. At the Last Supper, Jesus said to his Apostles (and to us): “Do this in memory of me” (1Cor 11:23-34). The early Christians obeyed this command of Jesus by gathering together on the Lord’s Day to listen to the teachings of the Apostles, sharing fellowship and sharing in the breaking of the bread (Acts 2:42-43). In this article, I will briefly explain the parts of the Mass.
Structure of the Mass
The Mass, like a good drama, has a beginning, a middle and an end. The beginning is more formally called “Introductory Rites,” the middle is “Liturgy of the Word” and “Liturgy of the Eucharist,” and the end is “Concluding Rites.” Let us look at each of these parts of the Mass.
Introductory Rites
The Introductory Rites consist of everything that happens before the readings (Liturgy of the Word), namely, Entrance Song/Procession, Greeting, the Act of Penitence, Gloria and Collect (formerly called the Opening Prayer). The purpose of the Introductory Rites is to unite all those gathered into a praying community
and to prepare their hearts to listen to the Word of God that will be proclaimed in the readings and homily. The first thing we are asked to do at Mass is to open our hymnals and participate in the Opening Song. We can choose to participate or not. But we should be aware that our behavior at Mass is contagious and affects those around us in a positive or negative way. When we sing with enthusiasm, pray devoutly, listen intently, show warmth and hospitality to everyone, place our money offering in the collection basket, and receive the Body and Blood of Christ with love and faith, we impact the worship atmosphere in a very positive way. A powerful example of how our active participation at Mass can impact those around us is given in the Confessions of St. Augustine. Prior to his conversion, Augustine would come to church to listen to the homilies and the singing. Concerning the chanting of songs, Augustine writes: “How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through your Church!”
Liturgy of the Word
“When the Sacred Scriptures are read in Church, God himself speaks to his people.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal #29)
The part of the Mass that we call the Liturgy of the Word consists of the three scripture Readings, sung Psalm, Homily, Nicene Creed, and General Intercessions.
In general, the Scripture speaks to us about God’s involvement with his people, his love for them, humanity’s sin, man’s redemption, and God’s constant desire to draw his people closer to himself.
While all the readings proclaimed at Mass are important, the Gospel reading is the most important because in it, Jesus speaks directly to us. The importance of the Gospel is underlined by a gospel procession and sometimes by the use of incense. In the three-fold sign of the cross on the forehead, lips and heart, we ask that God be in our minds so that we may understand his Word, on our lips that we may speak his Word, and in our hearts that we may love his Word.
The First Reading, usually from the Old Testament, is chosen to connect in some way with the message of the Gospel. Sometimes the connection is quite obvious, but other times it is not. During the six weeks of the Easter Season, the First Reading is from the Acts of the Apostles.
The Second Reading is always a passage from one of the New Testament Epistles. It may be a teaching, a spiritual exhortation, or it may address some pastoral issues in the early Church.
In the Homily that follows, the homilist seeks to draw out the meaning of the readings and show how they connect to our daily lives. Sometimes the readings comfort us, sometimes they challenge us. They always instruct us on what it means to be a faithful disciple of Jesus.