Lessons to share about the mass

Sharing the Lessons about the Theology of the Mass

Highlights of the lessons in the book "A Biblical Walk through The Mass" by Dr. Edward Sri:

the Mass has been the central act of Christian worship...it is nothing less than the celebration of the Eucharist that Jesus instituted at the Last Supper, when he commanded his apostles, "Do this in memory of me" (Lk 22:19)
the Mass sacramentally makes present Christ's redeeming sacrifice on Calvary, so that its saving power may be more fully applied to our lives.
Jesus instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death, resurrection and a pledge of his love. The Jewish notion of memorial is that it does not merely recall a past event but makes the event present.
Jesus is uniquely present in the Eucharist - the body and blood,soul and divinity of Jesus Christ is substantially contained. Through the Eucharist, "Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present." (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Jesus is Emmanuel which means, God with us, ... He so desired to remain close to us that he gave us the gift of his sacramental presence in the Eucharist. Christ's presence continues to abide in us as long as the sacred species remain (in the tabernacle).
A communion meal followed the sacrifice, and it was the shared meal that expressed the sealing of the covenant and forge communion between the participants and God... If Jesus is the new Passover lamb who was sacrificed for our sins, it would seem fitting that there would be a communion meal accompanying his sacrifice on the cross - a meal in which we would partake of the true sacrificial Lamb of God, Jesus Christ....To receive communion is to receive Christ himself who has offered himself for us.
the Mass is sacrifice, is real presence and is holy communion.
.The Sign of the Cross. We call on God's name every time we recite that short prayer "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Calling on God's name is a powerful biblical practice. Go read Ps 54:1, Philippians 2:9-11, Mt 18:20 and Jn 14:13
Opening Rites: "The Lord be with you...and with your spirit!"
The Confetior will now include the words "... my fault, my fault, my most grievous fault..." When one says sorry, they don't only say it once, if they really mean it, they say it multiple times. In this prayer that we recite, we express sorrow over our sins - something the Bible calls us to do. Why do we need to confess our sins? Read 1Jn 1:9, James 5:16, Mt 3:6, Proverbs 28:13, Sirach 4:26. It challenges us to consider the four main ways we sin - in our thoughts, in our words, in what we have done and in what we have failed to do.
The Kyrie or our request for God's mercy. The Hebrew word often translated in our Bible as "mercy" is hesed, which describes steadfast, covenant love - a love that is unconditional and totally committed. Read Romans 5:8. One of the greatest examples in the Bible of how to ask for God's mercy is found in Ps 51.
The Gloria has been revised as well as you would notice now when you attend mass at St. Joseph Cathedral. There are many biblical references throughout the song thus we need to stick to the original Latin text. The heart of this prayer tells the story of Jesus Christ, summingg up his saving mission, from his birth to his glorious ascension into heaven. See the next few texts on the Gloria
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will (Lk 2:14)
"Only Begotten Son...of the Father" (Jn 1:14-15 and Jn 3:16)
"Lamb of God...you take away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29 and Is 53:7-12)
"You are seated at the right hand of the Father" (Mk 16:19)
The first reading is almost always from the Old Testament, except during the Easter Season where it is from the Acts of the Apostles.
Our response of "Thanks be to God" is an acclamation of our gratitude for being able to hear God's word spoken through the Lectors/Readers. When we respond, let us be reminded of how thankful we are to hear God speaking to us!
The Gospel Reading is the only reading that we stand with respect, we sing Alleluia before hand, candle bearers are present, the Book of the Gospels is processed, the minister and the people trace the sign of the cross over their foreheads, lips and breasts, the priest says a prayer asking God to cleanse his heart and lips that he may be worthy to proclaim the Gospel, it is only proclaimed by an ordained Minister (like Deacon or Priest) and it is incensed.
The Homily is meant to be used as a time to reflect on God's Word proclaimed and tie it in to our current lives and current events. The Homily is to make sure that the word of God is understood properly, the Levites in Nehemiah not only read from the Book of Law (the Scriptures), they also "gave the sense" so that the people could understand the readings. Similarly, at Mass, the Scriptures are not just read. They are explained by a bishop, priest or deacon - someone who participates in the authority of Jesus gave to the apostles and their successors to teach (see Mt 10:1-8, 40)
The Nicene Creed or Apostles Creed is recited right after a moment of silence after the Homily. We profess our faith, not collectively but individually thus we say "I believe in one God..." and not "We believe in one God..."
The ancient Israelites had their own creedal-like summary statement of faith, found in Dt 6:4-5. It is known as the Shema, a Hebrew word meaning "hear", which is the first word of their statement of faith. In reciting the Shema, the Israelites expressed a different view of the world than was commonly accepted. The nations around Israel believed in multiple deities; the worshiped not the Creator, but the things he created, such as the sun, moon, stars, rivers and animals. Israel's Shem, however, emphasized belief in only one God (monotheism). These are the things the Israelites had to do with the Shema: a) take to heart the words; b) drill them into children; c) speak of them at home and abroad, busy or at rest; d) bind it on your wrist; e) put a pendant on their forehead; f) write at their doorsteps.
The thing written on their doorsteps is called a Mezuzah. The prayer reads: Barukh ata Adonai, Eloheinu melekh ha-olam, asher kiddeshanu be-mitzvotav ve-tziuvanu likboa muzuzah. "Hear O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord..."
The Prayers for the Faithful has always been a part of the Church's tradition of offering prayers for multiple intentions.
The Presentation of the Gifts has been an ancient tradition as revealed in the Old Testament (see Leviticus 26:26, Ps 105:16, Ezekiel 4:16, Ps 104:15, Sirach 31:27 and Sirach 39:26-27). Offerings of bread and wine has been always the preferred choice.
Bread and Wine are preferred as they are fruits of the earth and work of human hands.
Washing of the hands is important as High Priests of the Old Testament would wash before they approach the Holy of Holies (see Ps: 24:3-4 and Ps 26:6-8, Ex 30:17-20)
"Lift up your hearts...we lift them up to the Lord! Let us give thanks to the Lord our God...it is right and just!" As we approach the Eucharistic Prayer, we are called to leave our worries and anxieties and dedicated our minds and hearts directly to God 100% as he is about to reveal himself in the bread and wine offered.
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus... this joyful acclamation of praise and worship is revealed in the Old and New Testaments (Is 6:1-4). It is our way of praising the Lamb seated at the throne. At this point, we are about to join the choirs of angels, saints and those who have died marked with the sign of faith! The Hebrew words that this prayer is taken from reads "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Adonai Tz'vaot M'lo Khol Ha'aretz K'vodo. Baruch K'vod Adonai Mim'komo. Yimloch Adonai L'Olam, Elohayich Tziyon L'dor vador Hall'lujah!" We should be humbled and continue to praise God for allowing us to be in His presence. We are being made clean by the sacrifice of the Lamb that we are about to witness.
During the Words of Institution, pay attention to when the priest says "...for this is My Body, which will be given up for you..." The Greek verb used here for "given up" is didonai, which sometimes has sacrificial overtones and which in the Bible can be translated "offered" or "offered up". Then the priest continues and says "...for this is the Chalice of My Blood, ... which will be poured out for you and for many ..." with these words "given up" and "poured out" having sacrificial overtones, Jesus is clearly referring at the Last Supper to some kind of sacrifice.
"...do this in memory of Me." Read Catechism 1363 to understand the biblical meaning of "memorial" to understand fully the background of why commemorate it at every Mass. Hebrew for memorial is zikaron and the Greek word is anamnesis - which means "making the past present".
The bells are rung during this portion of the mass to alert people of the memorial of the sacrifice.
The Eucharistic Prayer is a formula of prayers - starts with the preface "The Lord be with you..." and continues on with the Sanctus, moving on to the words of Consecration and ends with the Great Amen - that the priest says to turn mystically the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
"Through Him, with Him, in Him...Amen!" The Great Amen is our way of saying, "Yes Lord, I believe!" From this point on, we prepare ourselves to receive the Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
Prior to reciting the Our Father, the priest says the following words: "At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching we dare to say ..." We dare to say the Our Father because are are made pure by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. (Read Catechism Nos. 2777-2778)
Shortly before Communion, the priest breaks the Eucharistic host in a rite known as "the fraction" or "breaking of bread". We are reminded on 1 Cor. 10:16-17 that we are participants in Christ's body. The significance of the priest breaking the Eucharistic host at this moment is in preparation for us to participate in the Wedding of the Lamb.
In the prayer known as the Agnus Dei, the people address Jesus as the "Lamb of God". This image recalls the Old Testament Passover lamb. Each year thereafter, subsequent generations of Israelites celebrated the Passover by re-telling and re-enacting the events of that first Passover. This annual Passover feast included the sacrifice of the Passover lambs.
Shortly before receiving communion in the Mass, the people kneel while the priest holds up the host and says, "Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb." This prayer echoes the words of the angel in the book of Revelation who invited St. John to participate in a great heavenly banquet. (see Rev 19:6-9)
How does the Eucharist be like a marriage feast? It is similar as Jesus is our bridegroom and we, the Church is the spouse, receiving the groom into our lives and live in our hearts. When we walk towards the priest for communion, we are like brides walking down the aisle to be united with the bridegroom.
We respond at the invitation to the wedding supper of the Lamb with "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." in this prayer, the Mass draws our attention to the words of the Roman Centurion who came to Jesus with great faith, asking for his servant to be healed. (Matt 8:5-10) At this point, we should think about how should we imitate the centurion's response to Jesus' desire to come to his house when we are at Mass? Read Catechism Nos. 1385-1386 for more instructions on how we should receive Jesus in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
The liturgy receives its name, "the Mass" from the closing line of the Latin text, where the word missa (Latin for "dismissal" or "sending") is used to dismiss the people. This points to why the Mass ultimately be seen as a "sending forth". (see Matt. 28:19-20, John 20:21-23, Acts 1:8) By reading Catechism No 1332, we find out what we are actually called to do once the Mass is done.
****Most of the notes mentioned out on this particular webpage were taken from the book "A Biblical Walk through The Mass" by Edward Sri 2011.