Understanding the Mass & Eucharist Ezine

(Please Note: Audio recordings of the daily Mass readings from the New American Bible are now available for download as podcasts through links on the U.S. Bishops’ Catholic Communication Campaign website:

http://www.usccb.org/ccc/ ).

PARTS OF THE MASS continued

The Liturgy of the Word prepares the assembly and leads them to the celebration of the Eucharist. Thus the two parts of the Mass form one act of worship and may not be celebrated separately, at different times or in different places. The liturgy of the Word, however, is not only a preparation for the celebration of the Eucharist. A profound relationship exists between the two since the Word of God and the bread of life are two aspects of the same mystery. Jesus is the living Word, the revelation of the Father and also the Bread of Life, the nourishment of his people.

Although there is some evidence to suggest that in the early Church, instruction and explanation took place at the Eucharistic meal (Colossians 4:16, Philemon 2, Revelation 1:3) it was only after the separation of the Eucharist from the meal that a more formal scripture service developed. The structure was somewhat influenced by the morning prayer service held in the synagogue, and the general fusion of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist occurred in the East by the early sixth century, although at a later date in the West.

The Liturgical Year, a system of fixed and related readings was gradually established to highlight particular feasts or seasons and to give thematic unity to the readings.

Readings from Scripture and the chants between the readings form the main part of the Liturgy of the Word. The Homily, Profession of Faith, and General Intercessions or Prayers of the Faithful develop and complete it. In the readings, explained by the homily, God speaks to his people of redemption and salvation and nurtures their spirit; Christ is present among the faithful through his Word. Through the chants, the people make God's Word their own and express their adherence to it through the profession of the faith. Finally, moved by this word, they pray in the General Intercessions for the needs of the Church and for the world's salvation.

Just as Christ is present in the Eucharist to give himself as food, so he is present when the Scriptures are proclaimed to offer his message of redemption and to arouse faith in those who hear his message. God’s Word is meant to do something, to have effects. "Faith, then, comes through hearing, and what is heard is the Word of Christ" (Romans 10:17) Other readings, whether from sacred or profane authors of past or present, may never be substituted for the Word of God, nor may only a single Scripture lesson be read (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 3^rd Instruction).

On Sunday and major feasts, there are always three readings. In the weekday lectionary, readings (usually two) are provided for each day of the year. Unless a solemnity or feast occurs, these readings are to be used regularly on the days to which they are assigned. On week days of Advent and Lent, the first reading is always from the Old Testament and is related to the Gospel. In Ordinary Time, daily selections from both the Old and New Testaments appear, but no attempt was made to harmonize this reading with the Gospel.

The First Reading

The first is usually taken from the Old Testament - manifesting the church's firm conviction that all Scripture is the Word of God. During the Easter season, they are instead taken from Acts of the Apostles and show how the early church gave witness to the Paschal Mystery. "In the Old Testament, the New is hidden, in the New Testament, the Old appears". St. Augustine.

After the opening prayer, the reader goes to the lectern for the first reading. All sit and listen and make the acclamation at the end. Silence should be observed at designated times as part of a celebration. At the conclusion of the reading, each one meditates briefly on what he has heard.

The Responsorial Psalm (or Gradual)

Christians traditionally respond to a Scripture reading by singing a Psalm or biblical canticle. In Rome, a cantor or subdeacon approached the ambo after the first reading, standing on one of its lower steps (gradus) and began the chant, which was eventually called the gradual. Today, the Psalm is normally sung and the whole assembly participates by singing the acclamatory response. Frequently, the Psalm has a relationship to one of the readings and at times, they are traditional to certain seasons, such as Easter or Christmas.

The Responsorial Psalm, the only Psalm used in the Mass for its own sake and not to accompany an action, is primarily the assembly's response to the lesson which has just been proclaimed, and stimulates reflection upon God's saving deeds and thus somewhat serves as a prolongation of the reading.(Music in Catholic Worship)

The Second Reading

For centuries, the Roman liturgy used the term "epistle" to designate the reading which preceded the gospel, even when this reading was not taken from a New Testament letter. Today, a New Testament text is always given as the second reading on Sundays and major feasts. Although the choice of the text was made independently of the other two readings, during certain seasons, passages have been selected to correspond with the mystery being celebrated at a particular time of the Liturgical Year.

The second reading before the Gospel is read at the lectern as before; all sit and listen and make the acclamation at the end. In the second reading the assembly encounters the early Church living its Christian faith. The witness of the apostolic community provides an example for all time since Christians of every age are to recall the love of the Father enfleshed in Christ, the Good News of redemption, and the duty of Christian love. All followers of Jesus are to live decently and without blemish, to be tolerant of one another, to be steadfast in the faith. At the conclusion of a reading, each one meditates briefly on what he has heard.

Alleluia/Gospel Acclamation, Sequence

The Hebrew "alleluia" means "praise Yahweh" or "praise God", and this joyful cry 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.

The acclamation was linked to the Gospel and often accompanied a procession with a Gospel book, and this practice has now been restored. The Alleluia is used throughout the Liturgical Year except during Lent, when it is replaced by an equivalent acclamation of praise.

This acclamation of Paschal joy is both a reflection upon the Word of God proclaimed and a preparation for the Gospel; all stand to sing it. The alleluia should be sung or omitted; in its place, a moment of silent reflection may be observed. The cantor or choir sings the alleluia and the people customarily repeat it. Then a proper verse is sung by the cantor or choir, and all repeat the alleluia. During Lent, a brief verse of acclamatory character replaces the alleluia and is sung in the same way.

There are only four feasts when a Sequence is used today, and it is obligatory only on Easter and Pentecost; optional on Corpus Christi and the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. When used, the Sequence immediately follows the Alleluia.

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AMBO, lectern, pulpit – it goes by many names, but it serves one purpose, to mount the Liturgy of the Word. In some denominations, the ambo dominates the worship space. Since the Bible alone governs their system of belief, they give its proclamation primacy of place in the arrangement of the sanctuary.

In Catholic churches, the altar typically dominates the sanctuary, since our tradition has emphasized the Eucharist as the climax of our worship. However, this worthy emphasis sometimes caused us to slight the role of the Word of God, and our ambos have suffered from sapless designs and insignificant placement, For centuries, the priest used to read the Scriptures himself at the altar. Altars had an “epistle side” and a “Gospel side.” Now, the Scriptures have their own place, the ambo. (In Greek, the word originally referred to a platform or stage.)

The ambo’s specific purpose provides a place for the Scriptures, the responsorial psalm, and the Easter proclamation (the Exsulet, proclaimed once a year, only at the Easter Vigil.) It may also be used for the homily and the general intercessions (the Prayer of the Faithful). But that’s it! It is not the place for announcements, for the priest’s opening prayer, for the soloist at the wedding, or the folk choir – unless, of course, they’re singing the responsorial psalm. The priest should pray from his chair, and the songs and announcements belong at a stand in a different location. We reserve the ambo for the Word of God. It demands dignity of place, room for candles, if desired, and a location where all can see and hear the one proclaiming the Word. It is the home for the Word of God and deserves our sacred respect. (article by Paul Turner)

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QUIZ (TRUE/FALSE)

Q. At the conclusion of Mass, the lector or priest may make general announcements for the information of the parish.

(Click here for answers, or scroll down)

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That there are 3 meanings to the word “Host”? In English, all three come from different linguistic roots; one is one who receives guests (even a parasite), another is a multitude. Most Catholics don't realize that our liturgical meaning of the word comes from the Latin Hostia, which means "victim." Its very use is a declaration of our belief in the Real Presence. (Protestants often stay away from the word host altogether and use the term "communion wafer" instead.)

In pagan Rome, the hostia was usually an animal sacrificed to the gods, often a lamb. To us, the Hostia is Christ himself on the altar, body and blood, soul and divinity.

Hosts are unleavened, like the bread used at Passover by the Jews, whose bread did not have time to rise during their escape from slavery in Egypt in the Exodus. In fact, if you compare the prayer over the gifts at Mass and the prayer said by the father of a Jewish family at Passover, you'll find many similarities. Christ is the new Passover, the Lamb of God.

Strictly speaking, the word "host" should be used only of the consecrated bread, but in common use we frequently say "unconsecrated host" or "consecrated host" to be sure we make no mistakes with the "bread of Angels."

Page McKean Zyromski

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"The Church has received the Eucharist from Christ, our Lord, not as one gift-however precious-among so many others, but as the gift par excellence, for it is the gift of Himself, of his person in his sacred humanity, as well as the gift of his saving work."

Excerpt from the encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia by Pope John Paul II

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ORDINARY TIME

In the very early church, Christians celebrated Sunday, the day of Jesus’ Resurrection, as the "Lord’s Day." But there was no church year with feasts and seasons as we know them today. Sometime near the end of the first century or the beginning of the second, the church chose one Sunday to become a special yearly Easter feast day and gradually the faithful added Lent as a time to prepare themselves for the celebration of Easter. Later, recognizing that the beginning of Christ's life was worthy of special celebration, the church added Christmas and its time of preparation, Advent.

The term "Ordinary Time" did not enter the church's lexicon until 1969. As previously noted, before that date, when the church calendar was reorganized, the Sundays between the Advent/Christmas season and Lent were designated as "Sundays after Epiphany", and those that fell between Pentecost and Advent were known as the "Sundays after Pentecost."

Today, the church calls the Sundays "ordinary" because they are not extraordinary in their tone and mode of celebration. Yet, although they do not mark high feast days or "special" seasons, they are not somehow lesser. Rather, Ordinary Time is the celebration of our simple, every day, ordinary Christian lives, where the love of Jesus shines through even there-in our daily routines. We hear proclaimed, the ministry of Jesus after he has selected his apostles and disciples, his healings, miracles and teachings, as he calls us to follow his examples as we read from the Gospel According to Matthew (Cycle A).

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Feast Days of Saints

July 3 - St. Thomas, Apostle

July 11 - St. Benedict II

July 14 - Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

July 15 – St. Bonaventure

July 22 – St. Mary Magdalene

July 25 – St. James, Apostle

July 26 – Sts Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

July 29 – St. Martha

July St. - Ignatius of Loyola*

*Ignatius Loyola was born into a noble Spanish family in 1491, the youngest of 13 children. He entered military service, was wounded in 1521, and while recuperating, was so impressed by the life of Christ and biographies of the saints he read, that he decided to devote himself to Christ. He went on pilgrimage to Montserrat and then spent 10 months on retreat at Manresa, Spain, where he experienced visions and probably wrote the bulk of his spiritual exercises, which were not published until 1548. Ignatian spirituality, the reflection on the relationship between God and the human person grounded in the mystical experiences of St. Ignatius, has its primary expression in his book of The Spiritual Exercises.

He was ordained in 1539 and formed the Society of Jesus, which became known as the Jesuits, in 1540. Jesuits gained international recognition as educators, scholars, theologians and missionaries.

More than 20 retreat houses and spirituality centers in the United States provide a variety of services based on The Spiritual Exercises; one, Manresa House, is located in Convent, Louisiana. The Spiritual Exercises are the only kind of retreat given there, the Rule of Silence is imposed, and the Exercises themselves are structured prayers in the sense that the presentations and accompanying prayer are part of an on-going process of conversion. A quote by Judge Louis Yarrut is used, “The house of silence, and sacred sod, where nobody speaks to anybody, and everybody speaks to God.”

Ignatius died in Rome in 1556, was beatified in 1609, was canonized in 1622, and proclaimed patron of retreats and spiritual exercises in 1922 by Pope Pius XI. His feast day is July 31.

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ANSWER:

A. True. When the prayer after Communion is concluded, brief

announcements to the people may be made, if they are needed.

(GIRM 166)

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Q: If I only receive the Host and not drink from the cup, am I losing some spiritual benefit?

A: The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons, this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. But “the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly.” (1390)

When the words of consecration take place, Jesus makes himself present as he exists now – in his living, resurrected, glorified state.

“Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice, identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unties us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.” (CCC 1419)

“The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion each time they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year. (CCC 1417)

(To submit any question on the Mass (Liturgy) or Eucharist (Sacrament), click here:

Questions will be answered in next month’s issue)

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AVAILABLE IN OUR LIBRARY:

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”.

DVDs

THE PASSOVER

DVD 005.05 30 minutes

Zola Levitt helps make an Old Testament tradition meaningful to New Testament Christians.

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Understanding The Mass and Eucharist