In This Issue:
May, 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: |
INTRODUCTORY RITES CONTINUED
The Eucharist is not just something that Catholics do; rather it is something that makes us Catholic.
The entrance rite should create an atmosphere of celebration and serves to put the assembly in the proper frame of mind for listening to the word of God.
VENERATION OF THE ALTAR
When the priest and ministers come to the altar, they take a deep bow as a sign of veneration. The priest and ordained ministers kiss the altar, and the priest may also incense it.
The altar is by its very nature a table of sacrifice and at the same time a table of the paschal banquet. It is the symbol of Christ as well as of the community.
SIGN OF THE CROSS
After the entrance song, while all are standing, the priest and the faithful make the sign of the cross.
This is the traditional way we begin to pray and is a form of self-blessing with strong baptismal overtones. Every Christian has been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. “When we cross ourselves, let it be with a real sign of the cross…let us make a large, unhurried sign, from forehead to breast, from shoulder to shoulder, consciously feeling how it includes the whole of us… it is the holiest of all signs” (from Sacred Signs, by Romano Guardini).
GREETING
Then the priest, facing the people, extends his hands and greets all present, using one of the forms indicated.
The greeting expresses the presence of the Lord to the assembled community.
The penitential rite has a four-part structure in which the whole assembly, proclaiming itself sinful before a merciful and forgiving God, manifests that it is a community ever converting and ever in need of reconciliation with God and others.
SPRINKLING RITE (A RENEWAL OF BAPTISM)
A rite of sprinkling may replace the usual penitential rite.
GLORIA
The Gloria, also known as the “greater doxology”, is a joyful hymn of praise and “Glory to God in the Highest” were the first words of the angels at Bethlehem.
The Gloria is sung or said on Sundays outside of Advent and Lent, on solemnities and feasts and at solemn local celebrations emphasizing its special character.
It contains a series of acclamations and mentions all three persons of the Trinity; its text may not be replaced.
OPENING PRAYER/COLLECT
Serving as the conclusion and climax of the Introductory Rites and the prayer that has already occurred (rather than a “beginning prayer”), the collect is a prayer of the gathered community whose members are now aware that they are in God’s presence. The assembly is invited to silently express its needs and desires and then the prayers are “gathered-up” - or collected - by the celebrant and presented to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit. All present make this prayer their own by acclaiming, Amen.
ACCLAMATIONS, are brief formulas of greeting, prayer and faith that constitute people’s response to the greeting or invitation of the celebrant or his ministers in any liturgical action. They represent the minimum external requirement for the active participation of the people (Amen, Alleluia, Thanks be to God, Glory to you, Lord, etc.)
The Gospel Acclamation is directed to the Gospel, honoring Christ, who will “evangelize” the assembly.
The Memorial acclamation (there are 4). Each is a paraphrase of the formula of Saint Paul. It is an expression of the Faithfull’s Baptismal Priesthood (1 Cor. 11:26- “As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.”)
QUIZ
(TRUE/FALSE)
Q. If the priest chooses to use the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling, he must
omit the “Lord have Mercy” and the Penitential Rite.
(Click here for answers, or scroll down)
That “it is most desirable that the faithful, just as the priest himself is bound to do, receive the Lord’s Body from hosts consecrated at the same Mass (being attended). GIRM 85 In the instances when it is permitted, they participate in the chalice (cf 283), so that even by means of the signs, Communion will stand out more clearly as a participation in the sacrifice being celebrated.”
This is not a new directive, but it is given in much stronger language and therefore calls for a serious effort.
Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us.
For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
Psalm
95:6-7
In the Liturgy of the Hours, we are daily invited to praise and worship the
Lord because he is the King of creation and we are his handiwork. Our
recognition of him as Creator fills us with sentiments of wonder and gratitude.
He deserves our praise and worship because his creative love is ongoing,
providing all our needs with the loving concern of a shepherd.
In the prologue to his Gospel, John reminds us "He was in the world, and
through him the world was made, yet the world did not know who he was."
EASTERTIDE
It’s still Easter! The Church insists that Christ’s victory over sin and death
is not something to be celebrated in just one day - rather, for fifty days,
beginning on the Sunday of the Lord’s Resurrection, all the way until Pentecost
Sunday, and indeed, continuing unabated on every Sunday of the year, we, God’s
people, ennobled by His sacrifice and sacramental adoption, we celebrate, and
proclaim to all the world, that Christ is risen, and that makes all the
difference not just in our lives, but also in the whole fabric of human history!
For this reason, Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed the theme of “Christ Our Hope”
throughout his visit to the United States.
Christians can never tire of savoring anew that eternal truth: Christ is our
Hope! Even at Ground Zero, which Pope Benedict XVI visited, and wherever it
seems hope has been obliterated, the Resurrection of Christ is the guarantee
that evil never has the last word, for Christ Himself is the everlasting Word!
(The above is from a meditation by Father Rory Pitstick, SSL.)
Easter Season ends with Pentecost, but two important feasts of Ordinary Time occur in May this year:
Trinity Sunday with its gospel of the Great Commission is a day to do more than discuss theological doctrine. Trinitarian faith involves a life of relationship with God, whose nature is expressed in three Persons. It is a dynamic faith!
Feast of Corpus Christi, or Body and Blood of Christ, uses John’s account of the Jesus saying that unless we eat his flesh and drink his blood, we will not have life within us. The following Sunday will be the 9th Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Feast Days of Saints
May 1 Ascension
of the Lord
In the U.S., the Ascension is celebrated on Sunday May 4. The
Holy Day of Obligation is observed on the day celebrated.
May 2 St. Athanasius
May 3 Sts. Philip and James, Apostles
May 11Pentecost also Mother’s Day
May 13 Our Lady of Fatima
May 14 St. Matthias, Apostle*
May 18 Most Holy Trinity
May 25 Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
May 26 St. Philip Neri and Memorial Day
May 30 The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
May 31 The Visitation of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth
* St. Matthias. Little is know about him, and he is only mentioned in Acts 1:21-26, where he is elected to replace Judas. There is an unreliable legend that he preached in Judea, Cappadocia and on the shores of the Caspian Sea, where he endured great persecutions and suffered martyrdom at Colchis.
ANSWER:
A. True. The Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling takes the place of the “Lord have
Mercy” (Kyrie) and the Penitential Rite.
Q: Why do some people sometimes approach Communion with their hands
folded across their chest?
A: Often children who have not yet made their First Communion and Catechumens or Candidates who have not yet been Baptized or received into the Church, come forth thusly to receive a Blessing instead of communion. Sometimes, for whatever reason, Catholic adults who are unable to fully participate in the Eucharist may also do so.
This is a way to more fully take part in the Communion Rite, expressing solidarity and unity with the assembly in anticipation of the day they may fully partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord.
(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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