In This Issue:
February, 2009
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
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*
(*continuation featured in this issue)
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
Eucharistic Prayer II
Continuing the series by Paul Turner on the 4 main Eucharistic Prayers
For many a churchgoer, the "shorter is better" principle has made Eucharistic Prayer II the preferred heart of many a Mass. Impatient worshipers who finish singing the "Holy," and hear the words, "Lord, you are holy indeed, the fountain of all holiness," know that it won't be long till the Great Amen. Over a dozen eucharistic prayers enjoy use in different parts of the Catholic world, but Prayer II remains most popular for its direct approach and brevity.
For hundreds of years, our church offered only one eucharistic prayer, which earned the name "Roman canon," since it was the "canon" or the one way of doing things. One of the most dramatic reforms of Vatican II (1962-1965) was to rename it Eucharistic Prayer I, and to add on several more prayers never before heard in Roman Catholic churches.
The first of these "new" prayers, Prayer II, is actually a rewrite of a very old one. The original version is attributed to Hippolytus, a priest, exile, antipope, martyr, and saint. (There's hope for all of us!) The text, dating from about the year 215, records a eucharistic prayer for any bishop who wondered how it was done. Hippolytus believed a bishop should be able to pray spontaneously, without a written text, but he supplied one in case the bishop needed help. The work which includes the text, "The Apostolic Tradition," thus became a forerunner of liturgical magazines which offer helpful suggestions to parishes.
The version of this prayer that we use today makes a few changes. For example, the original third century prayer did not include a "Holy." We added one to lend uniformity to all our eucharistic prayers. That caused the insertion of a new transitional phrase, the one we hear before the story of the Last Supper begins. For clarity, we also rewrote the intercessions at the end of the prayer, which prays for the church, the deceased and the living, while praising the glory of Mary and the saints. Prayer II offers us much more than brevity. It offers antiquity. To pray it is to repeat prayers which have been part of our tradition from the very beginning. It introduces us to the communion which is ours in faith, with Christ, and with our ancestors.
Alleluia. The Hebrew “Hallelujah” means “Praise Yahweh”, or praise God. This ancient liturgical form of jubilation appears at the beginning or end of certain Old Testament Psalms which are considered to have been intended for use in the Temple liturgy. The only occurrence in the New Testament is in the Book of Revelation (19:1-9), where it is part of the victory hymn sung by the redeemed in heaven. It is now used in the Divine Office and the Eucharistic liturgy – except during Lent. It is best known in the Easter chant and in the alleluia verse at Mass.
QUIZ
(TRUE/FALSE)
Q. A priest may not omit the homily on Sundays and Holy Days.
(Click here for answers, or scroll down)
That all four Gospel writers show that Jesus’ last meal was not only the hour which he had looked forward to with longing but also an hour which belonged in a most special way to his followers. When Jesus told them, “Do this as a remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), he was asking them – and through them, us – to take on the attitude and commitment he was to show in his final confrontation with the powers of darkness.
When you and I gather for the breaking of the bread and do what Jesus did, we are expressing our commitment to do the will of the Father, to trust the Father in all circumstances, to face down the power of evil in us and around us and to serve one another.
If we read the fuller expression of Jesus’ attitude and commitment in John 14-17, we will know who we are called to be. We are friends, servants of one another, brothers and sisters of Jesus and of each other, children of a loving Father. Each Eucharist is a birthday party at which we give thanks for the common life we have and at which we affirm and proclaim our identity as Christians who are Catholic.
Fr. Gerard P. Weber
ORDINARY TIME
From after Evening Prayer on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord until Ash Wednesday – the beginning of Lent - the Church celebrates the first (and smaller) section of Ordinary Time. The second section will resume after Pentecost and last until the next Church Year, which begins on the First Sunday of Advent.
The Bible has a lot to say about time. God the Creator, who is above, beyond, before and after time, steps into time to help humans, to be with humans, and to bring humans beyond time, to eternity. God created time (Gen. 1:1-5), and, as we read in Revelation, God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (22:13).
Scripture teaches us that between these two poles of the creation of time and the end of time, we are to use time well (Sirach 4:20), as we praise God for the wondrous passing of time as designed by God (Sir. 43:1-8). The Church teaches that time that is ordinary is especially sacred, the longest in the Church Year, when we grow in faith and live Jesus’ love for others in simple yet very important ways. In the passing of ordinary time, we focus on the joy of ordinary things, like sunshine and rain, laughter and tears, sunrise and sunset, the smell of new-mown grass and autumn leaves, a good meal and a good night’s sleep. We reach out to help a friend or neighbor, to play with a child, or to fix a meal for our family, this is what day-to-day ordinary life is like. What the church wants us to celebrate during Ordinary Time is the growth of our faith in our ordinary and routine lives.
Feast Days of Saints
FEBRUARY 2009
Feb. 2 Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (also called Candelmass)
Feb. 3 St. *Blaise; St. Ansgar (traditional blessing of throats today)
Feb. 5 St. Agatha
Feb. 6 St. Paul Miki & Companions
Feb.10 St. Scholastica
Feb.11 Our Lady of Lourdes
Feb.14 Sts Cyril & Methodius
Feb.22 When not on a Sunday, celebrated as The Chair of Peter
Feb.23 St. Polycarp
Feb.25 Ash Wednesday, Lent begins
*St. Blaise. Little is know with certainty about this Saint except that he was Bishop of Sebastea, Armenia and was martyred in 316 under the persecution of Emperor Licinius. There have been pious stories about his charity, goodness and miraculous cures. He became a hermit living in a cave during the early stages of Christian persecution, but was brought before the governor of Cappadocia, Agriolaus, by hunters, accusing him of curing sick and wounded wild animals. There is a story that while in prison, a mother brought her son who had a disease of the throat, which Blaise cured. Another version was that the boy had a fish bone stuck in his throat and he was chocking.
After suffering torture, Blaise was beheaded. Numberless churches and altars were dedicated to him and many localities claimed to have some of his relics. He was also one of the Fourteen Holy Martyrs.
On his feast day, a blessing of throats in his name is given, using two consecrated candles held in a crossed position touching the throat of the one receiving the blessing. The prayer, “May God at the intercession of St. Blasius preserve you from throat troubles and every other evil”. Some dioceses add, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” while the priest makes the sign of the cross over the faithful.
In the Latin Church, his feast is Feb. 3; in the Oriental Churches, it is Feb. 11.
ANSWER:
A.
True. A priest may not omit the homily on Sundays or Holy Days
of Obligation.
(GIG - Code of Canon Law #767)
Featured book of the month
WITH BURNING HEARTS
Henri M. Nouwen
BX2169N68 95 pages hardcover
With Burning Hearts seeks a fuller understanding of Eucharist through the story of the disciples on their way to Emmaus from Jerusalem after the crucifixion (Luke 24:13-35). Their story models the order of the Eucharistic celebration: the coming together in our brokenness before God, the hearing of the Word, a profession of faith, the offering of the meal, and the going forth as Jesus bid them, to renew the face of the earth.
Brought to you monthly by The Envision Priority Area Team:
Understanding The Mass and Eucharist