In This Issue:
Please note: this will be the final issue of Light for the World.
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July, 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 (continuing feature)
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
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*
(*featured in this issue)
Invitation to Communion
The priest shows the Eucharistic bread to the faithful and invites them to participate in the meal and leads them in an act of humility, using words from the Gospel, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”.
Communion is a gift of the Lord, given to the faithful through the minister appointed for this purpose. It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice; still less than they should hand them from one to another.
The Communion song expresses the spiritual union of the communicants who join their voices in song and makes the Communion procession an act of brotherhood.
Following communion, the vessels are “purified” by the priest, deacon or instituted acolyte. The vessels are later washed thoroughly. The Precious Blood may not be reserved and should be consumed.
Although a hymn of praise or a psalm may be sung by the entire congregation after the Communion, adequate time for deep and silent prayer should not be rare. Such silence is important to the total rhythm of the celebration.
The prayer after Communion is not a prayer of thanksgiving; this is rather the nature of the Eucharistic Prayer, particularly in its Preface. It is a prayer asking for the spiritual effects or fruits of the Eucharist.
THE CONCLUDING RITE
The concluding rite, whose primary elements are the priests blessing and the dismissal, exhorts the faithful to derive fruits from the celebration by going forth to serve one another and all who live in the world.
Announcements should be short, necessary, and generally of concern to the whole community. Since the Ambo is reserved for the proclamation of God’s Word, the announcements are preferably given elsewhere.
To bless God means to praise God for his goodness and wonderful gifts. To bless a person is an action requesting that God continues to extend his generosity. In this final blessing the priest prays that the greatest of all benefits may be given in abundant measure to those who have shared in God’s Word and Christ’s Body. Such an action upon departure is found in the New Testament when Christ, before being taken up into heaven, “raised his hands, and blessed them”. (Luke 24:50)
The dismissal sends each member out to do good works, while praising and blessing the Lord. Day by day the liturgy builds up those within the church into the Lord’s holy temple, into a spiritual dwelling for God, an enterprise which will continue until Christ’s full stature is achieved. The people are now sent forth to carry out the mission of the Church, a mission of healing, justice, and proclamation. All liturgy has a social dimension.
The kiss of farewell at the end of the celebration mirrors the kiss whereby the altar is greeted at the beginning of Mass. Both are gestures venerating the table as the symbol of Christ. A farewell kiss looks back to the Eucharist which has just concluded and anticipates the next occasion when the community will assemble at the table of the Lord.
The use of a recessional song is one means of prolonging the festive character of the celebration. Ordinarily brief and well-known, it expresses praise or reflects the particular day or season. Instrumental music may also serve to provide a joyful concluding atmosphere. Silence, especially on occasions of a penitential nature, may also be appropriate.
SACRARIUM. This is a special sink found in the sacristy (or working sacristy) of most Catholic churches. The drain opens into a pipe that bypasses the sewer and runs straight down into the earth. The basin often has a hinged cover. The sacrarium provides for the proper disposal of sacred substances. Most notably, after Mass, the vessels which held the Body and Blood of Christ are rinsed and cleansed here. In this way, any remaining particles of communion are washed into the Earth. It can be used also for the disposal of other substances: old baptismal water, leftover ashes, and last year’s holy oils.
In the unusual circumstance that a host may be found in a pew after Mass, it is placed into a jar of water for a few weeks until it is dissolved and no longer the Body of Christ, then poured down the sacrarium. Also, if the Precious Blood is spilled, the purificator which wiped it up is rinsed in water until it is diluted and no longer the Blood of Christ, then the water is poured into the sacrarium.
In like manner, the residue in the chalice is first diluted with water until it is no longer the Blood of Christ, then consumed by the priest. Later, the chalice, having already been cleansed in preliminary fashion, can be washed out more thoroughly with pure water, and the water poured down the sacrarium.
QUIZ
(TRUE/FALSE)
Q. Precious Blood which is not consumed during Mass may be
disposed of by throwing it down the sink or sacrarium.
(Click here for answers, or scroll down)
"We must not simply celebrate the Eucharist. We must live the Eucharist or, to put it better, our celebration of the Eucharist should be carried out into our daily lives.
We live the Eucharist and our lives if, from the Mass we “Go to love and to serve the Lord,” to love Him in Himself and in others, to serve him and others… Each one of us could well reflect in the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, which is the continuation of the Mass, how we can do this in the particular circumstances of our daily lives, beginning with our own family life.” Bishop Patrick Walsh
"We must not simply celebrate the Eucharist. We must live the Eucharist or, to put it better, our celebration of the Eucharist should be carried out into our daily lives.
We live the Eucharist and our lives if, from the Mass we “Go to love and to serve the Lord,” to love Him in Himself and in others, to serve him and others… Each one of us could well reflect in the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, which is the continuation of the Mass, how we can do this in the particular circumstances of our daily lives, beginning with our own family life.” Bishop Patrick Walsh
ORDINARY
TIME
Liturgically, July covers the 14th to the 17th Sundays of Ordinary Time and the Gospel of Markis continued throughout the Summer and through the week after The Feast of Christ the King, which will be November 22 in 2009. The First Sunday of Advent will be Nov. 29th and will start a new Church Year when the Gospel of Lukewill begin.
In Mark, however, the gospel readings for early Pentecost tell of the authority of Jesus over storms, over legions of demons, and over death itself. We see him feeding the multitude with five loaves and two small fish and then walking on the sea.
These miracles are not wonders worked to please the crowds, but rather evidences of the presence of the Kingdom. Jesus brings the forces of nature and of evil into conformity and cooperation with the will of God.
The summer gospels also show that the kingdom can be misunderstood and rejected. Jesus encounters disbelief in his own home town, clashes with authorities over the Sabbath Laws, and is accused of being in league with Satan. The presence of the kingdom challenges the preconceptions and traditions of the people.
One of the great “I Am” passages from John’s gospel is the reading for 4 Sundays in late summer. Jesus claims: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
Feast Days of Saints
JULY
1. Blessed Junipero Serra
3. St. Thomas
4. St. Elizabeth of Portugal
6. St. Maria Goretti*
11. St. Benedict
14. Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
15. St. Bonaventure
16. Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
22. St. Mary Magdalene
25. St. James
29. St. Martha
31. St. Ignatius of Loyola
*Maria Goretti (1890-1902) was born in what was then the Kingdom of Italy, the third of six children. By age 6, her family had become so poor they were forced to give up their farm, move, and work for other farmers. Her father, Luigi, died when Maria was nine, and her brother, mother and sisters worked in the fields while she would cook, sew and keep the house clean. While it was a hard life, the family was very close and shared a deep love for God and their faith. The family eventually moved to a building they had to share with another family.
When she was 11 years old, Maria was confronted by the other family’s son, Alessandro, who threatened her with death if she did not submit to his desires. She protested that what he’d proposed was a mortal sin and warned him that his soul would be condemned. At first, Alessandro choked her but when she insisted she would rather die than submit, he stabbed her repeatedly before running away. She forgave her attacker before she died of her injuries.
Alessandro escaped the death sentence because he was a minor but was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Although Alessandro Serenelli remained unrepentant for three years, he eventually had a vision of Maria and turned his life around. After his release, he visited Maria’s still-living mother, Assunta and begged her forgiveness as well.
He was present when Blessed Maria was canonized as a Virgin and Martyr Saint in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, and he reportedly prayed every day to Maria Goretti referring to her as “my Little Saint.” He later became a Capuchin lay-brother, working as a receptionist and gardener, until dying peacefully in the year 1970.
Maria was the youngest saint to be canonized by the church and Mama Assunta was the first mother ever to attend the canonization ceremony of her child. St. Maria Goretti’s feast day, celebrated on the sixth of July, was inserted into the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints for the first time when it was revised in 1969.
ANSWER:
A. False. Any remaining Precious Blood must be consumed by the
priest or attending Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.
(HLS 34, 36, 38)
Featured this month
EUCHARIST OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS
By Willey Rordorf, et al
BV823.9313 paperback
We can rediscover ourselves in the faith and hope of the early Christians. These ancient (first through fourth century) writings describe the richness of the Eucharist as it was experienced and lived at that time.
Included in this volume are excerpts from the Didache, Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus of Lyons, Clement of Alexandria, Tertulian. Cyprian of Carthage, Origen, the Didascalia and the Constitutiones Apostolorum.
Each is commented on by a leading liturgical historian to give the reader greater insight to the period and the work.
Brought to you monthly by The Envision Priority Area Team:
Understanding The Mass and Eucharist