Whys of the Mass Part IV
By Mike Lambrecht
Last week we left off with the reading of the Gospel. This week we will finish exploring the Liturgy of the Word and begin the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
As we all know, the homily follows the Gospel. This is an opportunity for the priest or deacon to explain the readings to us and to relate them to our lives. (Lay people are not permitted to preach the homily at Mass.)1 It is a chance for us to listen attentively to the words of the preacher and to experience God’s voice at work in our lives. In fact, the homily is such an important part of the Mass that the Church teaches us, “There is to be a homily on Sundays and holy days of obligation at all Masses that are celebrated with the participation of a congregation; It may not be omitted without a serious reason.”2 Because the Church places such emphasis on the preaching of the homily, we should give it our respect and remain alert throughout the preaching.
After the homily, we stand to profess our Creed. The Creed that we say at Mass can be traced back to the council of Nicea almost 1700 years ago (A.D. 325). It is a simple and yet eloquent summary of our beliefs as Catholics and was formulated as a direct response to the heresy of Arianism which denied the divinity of Christ. This is especially clear in the phrase, “God from God, light from light, true God from true God” when referring to the person of Jesus. During the Creed we profess our firm belief that God is one, that God took on flesh in the incarnation of Jesus, and that the Holy Spirit is God and proceeds from the Father and the Son. During the creed, we are called upon to make a bow at the words “…by the power of the Holy Spirit, he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”3 This highlights the importance of the incarnation in salvation history. The Creed reminds us of the key doctrines of the Church and by reciting it, we are declaring our agreement as full members of the Church.
You may have noticed that, on special occasions, the Creed may be replaced with the renewal of the baptismal promises. This happens primarily at baptisms, during the Easter Vigil, and on Easter Sunday.
The General Intercessions conclude the Liturgy of the Word. (They are also known as petitions or prayers of the faithful.) The intercessions usually follow a set pattern of praying for:
1. the universal church
2. the salvation of the world and those who govern it.
3. the afflicted.
4. the needs of the local church.
In praying for the needs of others, we are exercising our priestly role by virtue of our baptisms and asking for God’s help for those in need.4 We are not only asking for our own needs, but for the needs of those around us. In doing so, we are practicing true charity.
Next, the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins with the collection. “Giving in the collection is a symbolic but very real way of dying to ourselves. It proclaims that our faith is ultimately in God, not in our material wealth.”5 By giving, we are also recognizing that everything that we have is a gift from God.
While the collection is taking place, the servers prepare the altar by bringing over all of the sacred vessels that will be used. We also sing a hymn of praise while this is taking place. The gifts are then gathered and brought forward by members of the congregation. The priest and the servers receive the gifts and take them to the altar.
The gifts are then prepared and blessed by Father. When he is done the priest bows to the altar and the servers wash his hands as he prays with a humble and contrite heart for God to cleanse him of his sins. At the priest’s invitation, we pray that God will accept the sacrifice that is being offered to Him.
Join me next week as we continue our study of the Mass with the prayers of consecration.
1-2 General Instruction of the Roman Missal paragraph 66
3 General Instruction of the Roman Missal paragraph 275b and The How-To Book of the Mass p. 143.
4 The How-To Book of the Mass p.153.
5 The How-To Book of the Mass p.157.