In This Issue:
March, 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 III
Continuing the series by Paul Turner on the 4 main Eucharistic Prayers
The heart of the Mass is the eucharistic prayer. We have a variety of prayers to choose from but they all begin withthe prefacedialogue (“The Lord be with you ... Lift up your hearts”) and end withthe great Amen. Theassembly sings several acclamations, the Holy, Holy, Holy, the memorial acclamation and the great Amen. But therest of the prayer is verbalized by the priest. Even though the priest alone speaks the words out loud, all in the assembly join their hearts together in prayer with him.
For many centuries, the Roman church used only one such prayer, which we now call Eucharistic Prayer I. Immediately after the Second Vatican Council, we added three more prayers to the repertoire. More have followed since. Of those first three new prayers, IIand IV were based on texts from the first few centuries after Christ. However, Eucharistic Prayer IIIwas a new composition based on the old forms.
Eucharistic Prayer III has no preface of its own between the opening dialogue and the Holy. More than 80 different prefaces – which the priest may choose - may be used to open the prayer. After the Holy is sung, Prayer IIIstarts withthe words, “Lord you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise.” The entire opening of the prayer - the preface, the Holy and these first lines - all give praise to God. The rest of the prayer follows a traditional outline. We pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and Wine. We remember the mightydeeds of God, especially the events of theLast Supper. We sing the mystery of our faith. We offer our gift to God. We pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit over theassembly. We pray intercessions for thechurch’s ministers, for the living and the dead. We conclude the prayer with a doxology and Amen.
We often use Eucharistic Prayer III on Sundays and on feasts, especially because the interchangeable prefaces can identify thesignificance of the day of celebration.
PREFACE (Latin Praefatio) prologue; literally, a saying beforehand -means “a speaking before (God and People)”. In early Roman usage, it designated the entire eucharistic prayer, but later came to mean only the opening section of that prayer. It is the act of thanksgiving, which begins the Eucharistic liturgy. By it the priest, in the name of all the people of God, offers praise and gratitude to God the Father for the whole work of redemption or for some special benefits commemorated in the liturgy.
QUIZ
(TRUE/FALSE)
Q. An individual who is not a priest, deacon or bishop may not give the homily at Mass.
(Click here for answers, or scroll down)
That the “40 days of Lent” are an ideal? In the Roman Rite, Lent originally began on the Sixth Sunday before Easter. That made for a forty-day season, which ended on Holy Thursday evening. However, Sundays were not considered fast days, so Lent only had 34 fast days. In the 5th century, Good Friday and Holy Saturday became separated from the Paschal Triduum and was included in Lent. This increased the number of fast days to 36. In the 6th century, Lent was beginning on the Wednesday before the 6th Sunday before East – what we now call Ash Wednesday – and Lent had its forty fast days. In the 20th century, with the reform of Holy Week and the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, Good Friday and Holy Saturday were restored to their place in the Triduum (3 days). However, the church leaders did not think it would be pastorally wise to eliminate Ash Wednesday in order to begin Lent on the 6th Sunday before Easter. So in our current reckoning, Lent has 38 days if you do not count the Sundays (for fasting) and 44 days if you do. Biblically, 40 signifies a long time, often a time of trial. The scriptural significance of the number 40 may be this: change - giving up comfortable old ways for new, perhaps risky ways - takes time. To change from alienation, sin, to an intimate life with a kind and loving God definitely takes time.
"Put your sins in the chalice for the precious blood to wash away. One drop is capable of washing away the sins of the world. The Eucharist is connected with the Passion. If Jesus had not established the Eucharist, we would have forgotten the crucifixion. It would have faded into the past and we would have forgotten that Jesus loved us. To make sure that we do not forget, Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a memorial of his love.” Mother Teresa
LENT
There are two themes or emphases of the season of Lent: baptism and penance (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 109). The Lenten season has a double character, namely to prepare both catechumens and faithful to celebrate the Paschal Mystery. The catechumens both with the Rite of Election and Scrutinies, and by catechesis, are prepared for the celebration of the sacraments of Christian Initiation (through the R.C.I.A.); the faithful, ever more attentive to the Word of God and prayer, prepare themselves by penance for the renewal of their baptismal promises (Circular Letter 6, quoted in Ceremonial of Bishops 249).
Lent is the principal time of reflection for all the faithful on their own baptism as well as on the mysteries of conversion, repentance, and reconciliation. This penitential or ascetical emphasis is symbolized by the Lenten Fast. The three traditional disciplines of Lent are Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, or works of charity.
Changes over the years have lead to some confusion about when Lent begins and ends. Both Ash Wednesday and the First Sunday of Lent have texts and rites which mark the beginning of Lent: Lord, protect us in our struggle against evil. As we begin the discipline of Lent, make this day holy by our self-denial (Opening Prayer, Ash Wednesday). Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends just as the Triduum begins with the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening. There is no other Mass celebrated on that day.
Ash Wednesday is a day that we need to honor. Christ’s own example shows us that our life and death are connected to something greater. Death is not the end but only the transformation to a new way of relating to God, a relation that is not limited by our bodily existence. The crossed ashes we receive on our foreheads are a stark reminder both of our death and its connection to the life-giving cross of Christ. Now is the time to take stock of our lives and ask the most challenging question of all: How would my life change if I knew I were to die today?
Feast Days of Saints
MARCH
1 First Sunday of Lent
3 Katherine Drexel
7 Sts Perpetua & Felicity*
17 St. Patrick
18 Cyril of Jerusalem
19 St. Joseph (5:30 Mass celebrated by Daniel Cardinal DiNardo
And Blessing of St. Joseph Altar following Mass)
25 The Annunciation of The Lord
*Saint Perpetua and St. Felicity (both died 203). Perpetua was a matron of noble birth in Carthage (North Africa) with one infant child. Under the persecution of Christians by Roman Emperor Severus (who had issued a decree forbidding his subjects from becoming Christians under severe punishment) she was arrested, along with fellow catechumens, Revocatus and the pregnant Felicity, both slaves, and Saturnius and Secundulus, and imprisoned in a private home. They were all baptized by their instructor, who had joined them and were later moved to a prison. There, Secundulus died and Felicity gave birth to a daughter 2 days before her death. Under Roman law, a pregnant woman could not be executed, but after delivery, the child was taken to raise by a Christian woman.
Perpetua’s mother and brother were Christians, but not her father, who tried to persuade her to renounce her faith and escape death.
The 5 Christians were scourged in the amphitheater and exposed to wild beasts. When the two women survived the vicious attacks, they were put to the sword. Their names entered the calendar of martyrs venerated publicly in the 4th century at Rome and a magnificent basilica was later built over their tombs in Carthage. Their names appear in the Eucharistic Prayer I in the Mass.
ANSWER:
A. True. Only an ordained minster – priest, deacon or bishop – may
give the homily at Mass. (Code of Canon Law 766)
Featured book of the month
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE LITURGY
Fr. Jean Lebon
BX1970L3513 147 pages paperback
Going back to its essentials, the first part explores the nature of signs and symbols, sacraments and rites from their earliest appearance. The second part then traces the development of Christian liturgy from the first gatherings to the elaboration of places and forms of worship, and the music and dress which goes with them. The third part turns to the Eucharistic Liturgy.
Brought to you monthly by The Envision Priority Area Team:
Understanding The Mass and Eucharist