I begin today more reflections on the three-year Eucharistic Revival that is happening in our nation as Catholics. Last year I spent time sharing with you the wisdom and teaching of Pope Francis on the mystery of the Eucharist. Beginning today, I want to provide three insights from the late Pope Benedict XVI followed up by a multi-part series on the meaning of the Mass. I hope you enjoy these teachings that it may revive your own belief in and love for the Holy Eucharist.

In his writing Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI “articulates the centrality of the Eucharist to the very identity of the Church. The Eucharist is not reducible to just another religious practice but is instead the privileged way that the Church encounters the mystery of love in Jesus Christ. God is love, and from the beginning of time, has revealed Himself as the Beloved. And in the Eucharist, he dwells with us. As the Church remembers Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross at Mass, the Word once again becomes flesh and dwells among us...

This is the heart of the Eucharistic faith of the Church, one where our Sunday assembly is not the result of good strategic planning, or an innovative business strategy given to us by smart consultants. Nor for that matter is the Church the assembly of those who have earned their salvation through the virtue of her members. This assumption remains the American sin par excellence, a form of Pelagianism where we imagine if we are just good enough, just nice enough, and pleasant enough, then God will love us.

Not so, Benedict interrupts. He writes: ‘The Eucharist is Christ who gives himself to us and continually builds us up as his body. Hence, in the striking interplay between the Eucharist which builds up the Church, and the Church herself which ‘makes’ the Eucharist, the primary causality is expressed in the first formula: the Church is able to celebrate and adore the mystery of Christ present in the Eucharist precisely because Christ first gave himself to her in the sacrifice of the Cross’ (Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 14)…

The sacrifice of the altar is the very meaning of the Church, and the presence of Christ in every tabernacle is a prophetic interruption summoning each of us to recognize that we are convoked first by the God who is love. Pastoral accompaniment in the Church, as Pope Francis has reminded us, is in fact a consequence of this Eucharistic identity of the Church. We are not the distributors of a self-authored salvation. God saves (as Pope Benedict reminded us in Spe Salvi), and it’s our job to invite every person on this earth to personally know this fact.” (Benedict XVI and the Eucharistic Revival: Part I, Dr. Tim O’Malley) ~Fr. Robert F. McKeon

For us to have a deeper Eucharistic revival in our hearts, we need to more fully understand and appreciate the Mass. Over the next number of weeks I will offer reflections and teachings on the Mass to highlight our individual and communal response to the Lord’s command at the Last Supper, “Do this in memory of me” and to assist the revival of our faith in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I also offer these reflections so that we all can enjoy the richness of theology contained in the Mass and the Eucharistic mystery.

One of the insights that the late Pope Benedict XVI had regarding the new English translation of the Roman Missal is that the liturgy of the Church must have continuity with past generations and union with the mind of Christ for the Church. Let’s look at two examples that reveal the continuity of the Last Supper with Jewish theology and our liturgical practice.

In the three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and especially in Luke the context of the Last Supper is the feast of the Passover. “In Luke 22:7-13 he gives, to begin with, a detailed account of the preparation for Passover meal. Then he makes use of an ancient bit of tradition (22:15-18) so that he may introduce the ‘first cup’ of the Passover meal, with its blessing of the ‘fruit of the vine,’ and make the explanatory words concerning Passover parallel with those Jesus uses in his new act of institution. Luke thus describes the Passover in the manner prescribed by the haggadah, or liturgical ritual for Passover.” (The Eucharist: Essence, Form, Celebration, Johannes H. Emminghaus, page 12). Thus, we see that Luke is the most explicit in showing the continuity of the “new act of institution” at the Last Supper with the Passover tradition. Remember how important the Passover event was and is in the Jewish faith and how God freed His people from the slavery of Egypt. It is at Passover that the spotless lamb was and is sacrificed and consumed. Jesus Christ is the New Lamb of the new Passover who has freed us from the slavery of sin and brought us to the promised land of salvation.

The second example of continuity with Jewish theology and liturgy is the connection of the words of Jesus over the cup at the Last Supper and the theology, with its related liturgical expressions, of covenant. In Exodus 24:4-8 there is a detailed description of Moses celebrating a liturgy to ratify the covenant between God and His people. “Moses’ words about the covenant blood are taken over verbatim into the account of the (Last) Supper. Evidently, then, there is a parallelism between the old covenant and the new covenant now mediated by Christ. As Moses mediated the old covenant, so Christ mediates a new covenant.” (ibid, page 6)

Next week we look at one more, clear example of Jewish temple worship and how it influenced the development of the Mass.

Today we look at another foundational influence on the Mass from the Jewish tradition. It is more related to the development of what we call the Liturgy of the Word (commonly what we know as the first half of the Mass). One clear reference to this influence can be found in a Gospel passage where Jesus is asked to stand up in the synagogue, read from the sacred scroll and reflect on it (Luke 4:16-22). The setting for this story is a synagogal service familiar to Jesus and the early Christians. The components of the synagogal liturgy consisted of a greeting and a reflection; a first reading from the Torah (commonly known as the first five books of the Old Testament); singing followed by a reflection; a second reading from the prophets; a sermon; prayer, blessing and a dismissal. It was the second reading and sermon that Jesus was asked to give in the story found in Luke chapter four. Thus, from these roots we can see why the Liturgy of the Word developed from the liturgy of the Jews, resembled it and found its way into the Sacred Liturgy of the Church.

Another clear influence on the structure of the Catholic Mass comes the Gospel story about the “Road to Emmaus” (Luke 24:13-35). In this story, it says how Jesus took the time to explain the events of redemption to the two disciples. Verse 27 says, “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he (Jesus) interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.” Later in the story Jesus it says, “(Jesus) took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to them.” The two disciples who were with Jesus recognized him in the “breaking of the bread.” “Every Jewish meal, especially one with special orientation (in worship of God), as, for example, the meal on the eve of the Sabbath, characteristically began and ended with a thanksgiving, that is, with a prayer of praise over the bread at the beginning of the meal and over the wine at the end. Of the two blessings, the one over the bread was much shorter and simpler…The blessing spoken over the cup at the end of the meal was more extensive and solemn.” (The Eucharist: Essence, Form, Celebration, Johannes H. Emminghaus, page 24) “The disciples at Emmaus, after all, recognized Jesus by the manner in which he broke bread…The breaking of bread referred, among the Jews, not so much to the physical act of dividing the bread as to the words of thanksgiving spoken during the physical act.” (ibid, page 25-26) From this influence of the post-resurrection encounter and the regular and solemn Jewish meal tradition, we see the Last Supper, the meal with the disciples in Emmaus and the early form of the Mass continuing the tradition that became part of the new covenant sacred meal, the Eucharistic banquet.

Next week we will begin to study the individual parts of the Mass to see how they are rooted in Scripture and what they mean in the context of the liturgy. ~Rev. Robert F. McKeon

Today we begin to study the Mass as we know it on a given Sunday. The Novus Ordo Missae, as our present Mass is termed, is from the Missal of St. Pope Paul VI and is a direct result of the work and effort of post-Vatican II bishops, scholars and St. Pope Paul VI himself. It was first published and promulgated in 1969 and is now the ordinary form of the Mass used universally by the Roman Catholic Church. To understand, love and appreciate the Mass better, it is important that we learn more about the liturgical form and meaning of the Eucharist we celebrate as Catholics.

The basic structure of the Mass can be broken into four parts: Introductory Rites, Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist, and Concluding Rites. In this reflection, we will begin to look at the Introductory Rites in detail so we all can understand the reasons why we do what we do in the beginning of our Eucharistic celebration.

The Introductory Rites can be broken down into nine distinct sections: Entrance and Opening Song, Homage to the Altar, Sign of the Cross, Greeting, Introduction to the Celebration, Penitential Rite broken into two parts – General Confession of Sins and the Kyrie, the Gloria and the Collect. Let’s study these nine parts one at a time. The Entrance and Opening Song go together and address two aspects of the gathering of the People of God for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. One aspect is the truth that we are a pilgrim people who are on a journey of faith toward our final homeland of heaven.

The entrance procession highlights this fact as the priest and ministers physically move in procession to the sanctuary of the church which represents the heavenly sanctuary. Note in this action how the priest enters last to remind him and the people that he is meant to be the servant for and of the people as Jesus “came, not to be served by others, but to serve.” The second meaning of the Entrance and Opening Song is to gather and unify the People of God as they begin the act of worship. Until the beginning of Mass, the people gathered pray individually in church or chat with each other in the vestibule of church. Once the Opening Song begins, the people are unified in the act of singing, with one voice, the same song. This reflects the unity of the act of worship and the oneness of the Church as the Body of Christ.

We’ll continue our study next week.

Before continuing from where we left off last week, I want to communicate one more teaching about the importance of music and song during the Mass. As I wrote last week, the song that accompanies the Entrance Procession serves to unify the people at Mass. Thus, singing is an integral part of the Mass and expresses not only our unity but our faith. As the General Instruction of the Roman Missal states, “The Christian faithful who gather together as one to await the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apostle Paul to sing together psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (cf. Col 3:16). Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy (cf. Acts 2:46). Thus St. Augustine says rightly, ‘Singing is for one who loves.’” (GIRM, #39) I highlight this teaching to encourage all of us to grow in our confidence in singing during the Holy Mass.

Continuing with the Introductory Rites, the Entrance Procession concludes as the priest and deacon reverence the Blessed Sacrament and the altar. This is done by genuflecting to Jesus Christ, truly present in the tabernacle and by bowing to and kissing the altar. Genuflecting is the proper bodily gesture used in the United States to express reverence and honor to the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist. Kissing the altar is a gesture that may go unnoticed by many members of the congregation. The act of kissing the altar is a gesture of brotherly love. The altar represents Christ and so the priest as presider of the Mass greets the head of the house, so to speak, who is Jesus Christ, the King and Savior. The actual “greeting” of the altar includes placing hands on the altar as it is kissed harkening back to the Eastern form of fraternal embrace, a greeting that is still used in many families today.

Next the priest presider arrives at the chair and begins the Mass with the sign of the cross and the greeting of the people. The sign of the cross is an ancient gesture that proclaims our belief in the Holy Trinity and the redemption of the world by Christ’s death on the cross. Tracing the cross on the body highlights how God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, loves the whole person and the truth that Christ has redeemed the whole person, body and soul. As we all know, this physical gesture is the common form of beginning and ending prayer and so reminds us that the Mass is a prayer, liturgical and sacramental.

The greeting that the priest gives to the people and their subsequent response renews the bond of love and respect between the people and the priest. The greeting formulas are all rooted in Sacred Scripture and begin to reveal how much of the sacred writings of the Bible are contained in the words of the Mass. Two of the three options for the greeting come from the words of St. Paul (2 Cor. 13:13 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you”; and Romans 1:7 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”) and the third option comes from the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:28 “The Lord is (be) with you.”). The response of the people is an ancient Semitic one and is contained in a number of places in the writings of St. Paul.

Next week we will continue our close look at the Introductory Rites of the Mass.

Part of the Introductory Rites of the Mass is the Penitential Rite. This rite speaks to the reality of humility, sorrow for sin and the seeking of mercy from God as we enter into the solemn prayer of the Mass. The simple form of the rite calls for a general confession of sins and uses the Kyrie eleison, “Lord, have mercy!” This phrase, found in many places in scripture, is used to express the truth of our stance before God. “At the moment when we come before God to offer him the sacrifice of his Son, there is a preliminary sacrifice that God requires of us, a penitent heart.” (The Mass, Rev. Guy Oury, pg. 50) God always welcomes the humble and receives the sinner who is willing to acknowledge his or her sin. The Kyrie reiterates the truth of the words of St. Paul to Timothy, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost.” (1 Tim. 1:15) It also reflects the heart of a true disciple who knows that he or she needs to seek the mercy of God before entering into the sacred presence of God at the Mass. The Penitential Rite concludes with the conferral of the mercy of God upon his people.

Following the penitential rite is the Gloria in excelsis Deo used during the seasons of Christmas, Easter and Ordinary Time. This prayer is inspired by the scripture story where the angels visit the shepherds at the time of the birth of Christ and proclaim, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14) The prayer is a communal expression of praise that glorifies God who not only has allowed us to receive his mercy but has given us all good things, allowing us to be in his presence. This prayer is either said or sung and highlights that the Mass is a prayer of praise to God.

To complete the Introductory Rites, the priest celebrant, holding his hands in the orans position, leads the congregation in the Collect or Opening Prayer. This prayer is called Collect because the priest celebrant gathers together all the petitions and intentions of the congregation in one unified prayer which is addressed to the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “All, together with the priest, observe a brief silence so that they may be conscious of the fact that they are in God’s presence and may formulate their petitions mentally. Then the priest says the prayer…through which the character of the celebration is expressed.” (GIRM, #54)

Next week we begin our look at the second part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word.

Last week we completed our look at the Introductory Rites of the Mass so now we are ready to begin our study of the Liturgy of the Word. Beginning with the readings from Sacred Scripture and ending with the Prayer of the Faithful, the Liturgy of the Word highlights the covenantal and dialogical nature of the Mass. God has made a covenant with us and, as in every covenant, two parties are involved who communicate with each other and make promises or vows to each other. Thus, the Liturgy of the Word begins the proclamation of the history and content of the covenant promises God has made to his people and the responses we have made to him in faith. In the proclamation of the Word of God, God speaks to us, “When the Sacred Scriptures are read in the Church, God himself speaks to his people, and Christ, present in his own word, proclaims the Gospel.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, #29)

This teaching expresses the theological truth contained in the words of the Second Vatican Council, “He (Christ) is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church.” (SC, #7) It also articulates the theology of faith stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “God, who ‘dwells in unapproachable light’, wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his sons in his only-begotten Son. By revealing himself God wishes to make them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him and of loving him far beyond their own natural capacity.” (CCC, #52) “The structure of the liturgy of the word corresponds to the process of faith, that is, to the fact that God alone can initiate man’s salvation.” (The Eucharist: Essence, Form, Celebration, Johannes Emminghaus, pg. 135) In response to God’s initiative, we communicate with Him by our response of faith in word and song. As God inspires us by His love, we are invited to give a response of love in faith. “By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, ‘the obedience of faith’.” (CCC, #143)

A good image that captures this covenant dialogue for faith and salvation is captured in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” (Is. 55:10-11) In the context of the Mass, this beautiful dynamism of the process of faith is taking place. The structure of the Liturgy of the Word reveals the open and loving dialogue between God and man with our salvation as the goal.

Next week we will look closely at the choice of readings at Mass.

Now that we are immersed in our study of the Liturgy of the Word in the Mass, it would be good to say something about the choice of readings for Sunday Mass. Of course, the readings we use at Mass are taken directly from Sacred Scripture and the English translation we use is from the New American Bible. However, what you may not know is that the readings we use are presented to us on a three year cycle. This allows the majority of Sacred Scripture to be proclaimed to God’s people over a three year period. After the third year of the cycle, the readings begin to repeat from the first year of the cycle. This three year cycle of the proclamation of the sacred Word of God allows us to come to know God’s Word better and put it to memory as we hear it over our lifespan as a Catholic.

This process of proclaiming the Sacred Scriptures in a manner that is purposeful, comprehensive and not arbitrary goes back to the earliest days of the Church and her liturgy. “(Saint) Justin, Martyr, informs us that as early as the year 150 there were already several readings from ‘the memoirs of the apostles’ and ‘the writings of the prophets’ or, as we would put it today, after the establishment of the canon of Scripture, sections or periscopes of the New and Old Testaments. The choice of readings, even at an early date, was not left simply to the pleasure of the presiding celebrant, but served the Church’s desire to present, as far as possible, all the writings and all the truths of faith within a certain period of time.” (The Eucharist: Essence, Form, Celebration, Johannes H. Emminghaus, pages 136-137)

In the Church’s teachings and guidelines on the Liturgy of the Word in Mass we are told that on Sundays and Feast Days there should be three readings: usually one from the Old Testament writings, one from the New Testament writings and one from the Gospels. “By these, the Christian people are brought to know the continuity of the work of salvation according to God’s wonderful plan.” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, #357)

Next week we continue our study of the Liturgy of the Word

I want to say one last thing about the structure of the readings at Mass and how they show forth the gift and call to faith. As we saw in one of the earlier reflections, the story in the Gospel of Luke commonly called the “Road to Emmaus” expresses a model for the early liturgy, including the Liturgy of the Word. At the heart of this encounter between Christ and the two disciples walking on the road is the call to faith. Jesus uses the Old Testament Scriptures to explain all that was meant to happen to Him, the Messiah. The two disciples express how their faith was inspired and reaffirmed as they profess in Luke’s Gospel, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32) Their faith that had been shaken was reestablished, deepened and strengthened by the resurrected Jesus who accomplished this partly through the sacred Word of God.

Another component of the structure of the Mass, including the Liturgy of the Word, is the dialogical nature of the faith contained in the Eucharistic celebration. God inspires, invokes and establishes faith in the human person but it takes acceptance and a free response of the person to assure faith is planted in the soul and embraced by each of us. God, by His grace and love, elicits faith in us but He also awaits our choice to receive and reply to the personal offer. Thus, the Liturgy of the Word is set up to allow God to speak to us and for us to respond to God in faith and love. Following the first reading from either the Old Testament or (during Easter season) the New Testament, there is the “Responsorial” Psalm. It’s time for us to speak (usually in song) as a first response to our loving God. Then there is a second proclamation of God’s Word from the New Testament followed by our response expressed by all of us standing and our Gospel Acclamation with the sung phrase “Alleluia” (meaning Praise be to God) or (during Lent) “Glory and Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.” After the Gospel and homily, we respond more in faith to God who inspires faith in us as we proclaim the Creed and offer to Him our petitions. In this dialogic exchange is the relationship between God and His people based in faith.

Next week we’ll look at the Homily, Prayer of the Faithful and the Creed that conclude the Liturgy of the Word.

On this Easter Sunday, we continue our study of the Mass by looking at the three components that conclude the Liturgy of the Word: the homily, the Creed (or Profession of Faith) and the Prayer of the Faithful. The homily, given by the bishop, priest or deacon, provides an understanding of the Scriptures just proclaimed and an application of the Word of God to today’s experience. This component of the Mass hearkens back to a reference I made earlier in these reflections. Recall the scene in Luke chapter four when Jesus was invited to proclaim the Scriptures in the synagogue and to provide a comment on them. His simple “homily” is this, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Bringing the sacred Word of God into the present day reinforces the truth of the living nature of God’s Word and its relevance for every time and generation.

The Profession of Faith is commonly called the Creed which is an English word deriving from the Latin word Credo meaning “I believe.” It is a direct response of faith to God’s Word and reinforces the nature of the Mass as a dialogue between God and us; He sharing His Word and we responding in faith. On Easter Sunday we, together, renew our baptismal promises which includes the Apostles Creed. On other Sundays we use the Nicene Creed deriving from the profession that was developed at the Council of Nicea in 325. Here I can indicate one of the minor changes that happened when the new Roman Missal translation began to be used a few years ago. The Profession of Faith no longer uses “We believe” but the direct translation from the Latin word Credo, “I believe.” This minor change says something meaningful to us about faith and our profession of faith. Faith is both communal and personal and this simple change in words makes this truth evident. As we say the Creed communally, we use the words “I believe” to proclaim the fact that the profession of faith being prayed by all is also “my faith.” Next week, I will take the time to provide more detail of the theological meaning of the Creed so we can appreciate all the more the beliefs we hold so dear.

The final component of the Liturgy of the Word is the Prayer of the Faithful. Two of the earliest written documents we have about the Mass, the Apologia written by St. Justin the Martyr between 147 and 161 and the Apostolic Constitutions written around 380, clearly mention this type of prayer in the liturgy. Thus, from the beginning of Catholic liturgy, the Church has been offering prayers of petition in the communal setting of the Mass so that we can ask God to send his grace and blessings upon our particular needs in the context of our experience and history. As a traditional form of prayer, petition and intercession on behalf of others reflects the priestly nature of the Church and provides a good transition from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen!