In This Issue:
August, 2008
St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church
100 Oak Dr. South
Lake Jackson, Texas
LIGHT FOR THE WORLD
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In This Issue: |
PARTS OF THE MASS continued
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Entrance Procession
Entrance Song
Veneration of the Altar
Sign of the Cross: Greeting: Introduction
Penitential Rite
Invitation/Silence/Proclamation
Confiteor/Kyrie
(or Sprinkling Rite may take the place of the Penitential Rite)
Gloria (Glory to God)
Opening Prayer (Collect)
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading
Responsorial Psalm
Second Reading
Gospel Acclamation
Gospel*
Homily*
Profession of Faith*
General Intercessions*
(*featured in this issue)
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Preparation of the Altar and the Gifts
Presentation of the Gifts
Offertory Song
Prayers At the Preparation of the Gifts
Mixing of Water and Wine
Lord God, We Ask You…
Incensation
Washing of the Hands
Prayer Over the Gifts and Its Invitation
Eucharistic Prayer
Preface
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
Epiclesis
Institution Narrative
Memorial Acclamation
Anamnesis
Offering
Intercessions
Final Doxology
COMMUNION RITE
Lord’s Prayer
Rite of Peace
Breaking of the Bread
Commingling
Lamb of God (Agnus Dei)
(Private Preparation of Priest and People)
Invitation to Communion
Distribution of the Eucharist
Communion Song
Purification of the Vessels
Silent Prayer/Song of Praise
Prayer After Communion
CONCLUDING RITE
(Announcements)
Greeting and Blessing
Dismissal
Veneration of the Altar
Recessional
The Gospel
Although the people were seated for the other readings, as early as the fourth century in the East, they began to stand for the Gospel as a sign of respect and alertness to the presence of the Risen Lord. In the Middle Ages, as a sign of honor, the making of small signs of the cross on the book, forehead, mouth and heart was seen as expressing readiness to open one's mind to the Word, to confess it with the mouth, and to safeguard it in the heart. In eighth century Rome, the book was kissed by the clergy after the proclamation, and around the year 1000, formulas such as "May the words of the Gospel wipe away our sins" accompanied the kiss. By the 11th century, the book itself was incensed, and the Order of the Mass retains these traditional signs of solemnity and veneration. Whether solemn or simple in form, there is a Gospel procession in every celebration.
Special signs of solemnity surround the Gospel proclamation, since this reading is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word. The Good News of salvation, a living word, is proclaimed by the Risen Lord. It is Christ living and present among his own who continues to speak to his people as he calls them to faith and conversion.
The Homily
Writing about the year 150, Justin Martyr says that after the readings the Bishop instructed and exhorted the people to imitate the things they heard. Like the Eucharist itself, the bread of God's word was to be broken, to be applied to the concrete life situations of the people. Numerous homilies have come down to us from the patristic period, but frequently during the Middle Ages, the preacher merely read a homily from one of the Fathers. Often an explanation on the Our Father, the Creed, or the Commandments was given.
The Second Vatican Council underlined the importance of the homily and restored it as an integral part of the liturgy. "By means of the homily, the mysteries of the faith and the guiding principles of the Christian life are expounded from the sacred text during the course of the liturgical year; the homily, therefore, is to be highly esteemed as part of the liturgy itself; in fact, at those Masses which are celebrated with the assistance of the people on Sundays and feasts of obligation, it should not be omitted except for a serious reason" (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 52).
The purpose of the homily is to explain the readings and make them relevant for the present day. It should develop some point of the readings or of another text from the ordinary of the mass of the day, and is given at the chair or at the lectern. It is neither exegesis nor moral exhortation, but a joyful proclamation of God’s saving deeds in Christ. Through the homily, the members of the assembly are called to become a holy people so that they can better celebrate the Eucharist and offer themselves with and through Christ in the Eucharistic Prayer.
Profession of Faith
In early Christianity, the profession of faith was primarily associated with baptism; the candidate was required to confess personal belief by responding to a series of questions dealing with the three persons of the Trinity.
The Creed professed at Mass, however, is a summary of the faith expressed by the Councils of Nicaea (325) and of Constantinople (381) and ratified by the Council of Chalcedon (451). It was used in Spain in the sixth century where it was chanted before the Lord's Prayer. It was not universally used until 1014, when Pope Benedict VII included it in the Roman Mass on all Sundays and those feasts mentioned in the Creed, and in the following centuries its use was extended to other festive occasions.
In the profession of faith, the people have the opportunity to respond and give assent to the Word of God which they heard in the readings and the homily. It is also a time for people to recall the teachings of the faith before they begin the Eucharist; it links the Liturgies of the Word and Eucharist, as the assembly recalls the mysteries of faith which will again be proclaimed in the Eucharistic Prayer.
General Intercessions (Prayer of the Faithful)
These prayers are properly called the general intercessions, since they extend beyond the needs and concerns of the local assembly. They are called the prayer of the faithful, since in ancient times, the catechumens where in some areas dismissed before these prayers; however, the Lord's Prayer is more accurately the prayer of the faithful.
The general intercessions have the following structure:
1. The presiding minister addresses the assembly and relates the intercessions to the mystery being celebrated, to the feast or season, or to some particular aspect of the scriptures which have been proclaimed.
2. The deacon, or in his absence another minister announces a series of intentions with the assembly responding after each intention.
3. After a brief period of silent prayer, the presider addresses the Father, summarizes the intentions, and asks God to look favorably upon the prayers of the assembly which, in turn, responds Amen.
Since the church is both local and universal, at least one intention is usually taken from each of the following categories:
1. The needs of the Church.
2. Public authorities and the salvation of the world.
3. Those oppressed by any need.
4. The local community.
Examples can be found in the appendix to the Sacramentary to serve as models guiding the parish community in composing intercessions which are not only universal and local but also current to the changing events of the world.
The people exercise their priestly function by interceding for all mankind; in Baptism, they were made priests, prophets and kings. The entire people of God form a "royal priesthood" (I Peter 2:9) who, in union with Christ and under the presidency of the priest, make "petitions, prayers, intercessions…. for all" (I Timothy 2:1).
This brings the Liturgy of the Word to a close.
Benediction
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in the Latin Rite, is a service of worship and blessing centered on the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. It began in the Middle Ages as a popular devotional exercise. In recent years the frequency of its celebration has lessened, but it remains in our liturgical books. Some older Catholics remember it fondly; some younger Catholics have never heard of it.
After Vatican Council II, the Catholic Church revised its order of service for benediction along with all the other liturgical rites. The full title, "Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction," helps explain its purpose. The faithful gaze at an unconsumed host from a previous Mass and worship the presence of the risen Christ in that host.
The ceremony has four parts:
· Exposition; the minister goes to the tabernacle and removes a large host reserved there. Placing it in a monstrance, the minister sets the object of our devotion on the altar.
· Adoration; the period of adoration may be lengthy. Prayers, Scripture readings, songs, homily and silence may fill the time.
· Benediction; at the close of the adoration period, if the minister is a priest or a deacon, he blesses the assembly with the monstrance and says a concluding prayer. This blessing is the benediction from which the service derives its name. If a communion minister is presiding, he or she does not give a blessing.
· Reposition; the minister removes the Blessed Sacrament from the monstrance and places it back in the tabernacle, an action called "reposition."
Traditionally, Catholics have sung two popular Eucharistic hymns during the adoration, "O Salutaris Hostia" and "Pange Lingua," but any Eucharistic hymn will serve. A litany of acclamations to God, "The Divine Praises," usually concluded benediction, but the revised liturgy does not specifically include them. Any acclamation or song of praise may close the service.
Benediction enhances our devotion to the Eucharist and whets our appetite for the Mass. The main reason we have Eucharistic Bread is to consume it in communion with one another and with Christ. However, it may also serve as an object of praise, a vision of the great treasure we share at every Mass; “to direct the attention of the faithful to the worship of Christ the Lord”. (1973 Eucharistiae Sacramentum #95).
Adapted from an article by Paul Turner.
QUIZ
(TRUE/FALSE)
Q. A parish may change and revise words in the Creed during Mass as long as they make note of the changes and show these changes in the Sunday Missal which the public uses.
(Click here for answers, or scroll down)
That each Mass consists of an Ordinary and a Proper?
The prayers and Bible readings that make up the Proper, change each day to fit one of the two major cycles of the calendar:
· Temporal (holidays like Easter and Christmas) or
· Sanctoral cycle that commemorates the Saints.
The Ordinary (from the Latin, ordinare, which means to put in order) -sometimes also called Common - is basically always the same.
The parts of the Proper are inserted according to date and season - that is, they are proper to those dates and seasons.
Sometimes the Ordinary (or Common) text is printed once at the beginning of the missile, and the texts of the Propers are in another section, since the latter changes, and the former does not.
"Receive me now, O Son of God, as a partaker in your mystic supper; for I will not give you a kiss like Judas, nor will I reveal your mysteries to your enemies, but like the good thief, I confess you saying, Remember me, Lord, in your Kingdom.” (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom [b. 347-d.407 AD])
ORDINARY TIME
During the month of August, we celebrate the 18th through the 22nd Sundays of Ordinary Time of Cycle A. The Gospel readings continue in Matthew on the responsibilities of discipleship and include the multiplication of loaves and fish, Jesus walking on water, the example of strong faith of a (non-Jewish) Canaanite woman, Peter’s confession of faith in Jesus as Messiah and being given the keys of the Kingdom, and the first prediction of the Passion of our Lord. [Note: The Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord (not a Holy Day of Obligation) is celebrated yearly on Aug. 6th; this year on a Wednesday. However, the Gospel reading of this important event is also read every year on the Second Sunday of Lent.]
The second reading comes from the Letter to the Romans. The first reading is from Isaiah, but we also hear a passage from First Kings and one from Jeremiah this month.
God can reveal himself in soft and whispering silence or with power and reassurance, but there will be those who may choose not to listen.
Feast Days of Saints
August 1 Saint Alphonsus Liguori*
August 4 Saint Jean Marie Vianney
August 6 Feast of the Transfiguration
August 8 St. Dominic
August 11 Saint Clare of Assisi
August 14 Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe
August 15 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Holy Day of Obligation
August 20 St. Bernard of Clairvaux
August 21 Pope Pius X
August 22 The Queenship of Mary
August 27 Saint Monica
August 28 St. Augustine
August 29 Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist
*Alphonsus Mary De Liguori was born Sept. 21, 1696 near Naples, Italy to a noble family. He received his doctorate in both canon and civil law at the University of Naples at 16 and practiced law for 8 years, but was drawn to the priesthood and was ordained in 1726, devoting himself to the most neglected souls. In 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists), devoted to mission work. He also devoted time for writing in his busy schedule and was appointed Bishop of Sant’ Agata dei Goti in 1762 at age 66, and undertook the reform of his diocese.
He was opposed by an anti-clerical Spanish civil government ruling Naples, which imposed a “royal rule” that was rejected by Pope Pius VI. The Pope recognized the Redemptorists in the Papal States as the true order, and replaced Alphonsus with a new superior. He lived in evil times, and for the last few years of his life, he experienced deep spiritual depression in addition to ill health, going through a “dark night of the soul”. This period was replaced with one of peace and light, where he experienced visions, ecstasies and made prophecies that were later fulfilled, and reportedly performed miracles.
Alphonsus died Aug. 1, 1787 in his ninety-first year. He was canonized in 1839 and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871 by Pope Pius IX.
ANSWER:
A. False. No words of the Creed are ever permitted to be changed or revised for any reason or under any circumstances. (Code of Canon Law 838, 846)
Q: When the new Co-Cathedral was dedicated, relics were placed beneath the
altar. Wasn’t this practice discontinued?
A: An article by Paul Turner addresses this question.
The relics of one or more saints are traditionally placed beneath the altar of a Catholic church. It is not obligatory but the custom is preserved wherever possible. Ideally, the relics are those of martyrs, but relics of other saints may be used.
The tradition recalls the practice of early Christians who gathered for the Eucharist at the tombs of martyrs. As Jesus offered himself on the cross, so the martyrs shed their blood for the growth of the church. Whenever the church gathers at an altar, we recall the sacrifice of the martyrs, and we aspire to offer ourselves completely to Christ as they did.
To some, the Catholic custom of venerating the body parts of saints seems macabre, but it is not distant from the respect shown to a lock of hair or death mask from a deceased president, composer, or other public figure.
The altar relic should be large enough to be recognized as part of a human body, and its authenticity should be established. This is especially difficult in the relics of saints from the early days of the church. If the origins of a relic cannot be verified, it is better not to place it beneath an altar.
When a new altar is dedicated, relics may be placed within it. The Bishop places the relics in an opening beneath the table top. Relics are not to be placed on top of the altar. In the past, many relics were set into the table top, but today relics are to be kept below it, out of reverence for the altar. After the Bishop sets the relics in place, a mason may seal them in.
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Featured
book of the month
Also available in the Library are Videos, CDs and DVDs. This one is on the Jewish Passover Feast which was the “Last Supper”.
IT’S THE LORD’S SUPPER - EUCHARIST OF CHRISTIANS
Father Lucien Deiss
B X 2215. 2D4213
The word Eucharist means thanksgiving. Amid the distress of mankind today, amid the whirlpools in the river of history, which increasingly toss us about and yet increasingly carry us closer to God, this book would like to be one of joy and hope.
Father Deiss underlines a few themes deemed essential if we are to believe and understand today: the Eucharist is thanksgiving, sacrifice and presence. He does this by examining what Scripture tells us about the Last Supper and reintegrating that information into the whole body of revelation.
Brought to you monthly by The Envision Priority Area Team:
Understanding The Mass and Eucharist