Musings of a Catholic

Do what ever He tells you (Jn 2:5)

    The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

Introduction

The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes from Lumen Gentium (a document of The Second Vatican Counsel) stating that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is “the source and summit of the Christian life.”  Nothing is more important to our life as Catholics then the Mass. Everything we do as Christians is bound up in the Mass. It is the efficacious sign of our communion with the Body of Christ. The Mass is the most important activity we can participate in during our entire Christian life. Yet fewer than twenty-three percent of those who call themselves Catholic attend Mass every Sunday according to a recent survey conducted by Georgetown University for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. More than two-thirds of the respondents to the survey indicated they felt they could be a good Catholic without going to Mass every Sunday. Only 57% of the adult Catholics asked indicated they believed in the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.

It seems to me these findings show how little the average Catholic understands how important the Mass is to their Christian life. It is my hope and prayer that through this course on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass more Catholics will come to understand the Mass and then to participate in it every Sunday, if not more frequently. 

The first lesson will be an overview of the Mass along with information concerning the proper etiquette of the Mass. The second lesson will provide a detail look at the first part of the Mass - the Liturgy of the Word. The third lesson will be concerned with the second part of he Mass - the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The forth lesson will look at the history of the Mass. Lesson five will delve into the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.The more we know about the Mass the more important it becomes to us.

Before starting the course it would probably be good to clarify the various names used when speaking of the Mass. As we look at the various names used for the Mass you will start to see how rich the sacrament is, and why it is called the source and summit of the Christian life.

The Lord's Supper

It is called the Lord's Supper for two reasons:

First, because it refers to the meal Christ shared with His apostles the night before His death when He instituted the Eucharist.

Second, it looks forward to the wedding feast of the Lamb. 

The Eucharist

It is often called the Eucharist because it is an action of thanksgiving to God. Before Christ broke the bread at the last supper He gave thanks. Eucharist means thanksgiving.

The Breaking of Bread

This name comes from three different episodes in Jesus life:

1. When Jesus broke bread at the Last Supper,

2. His breaking of bread when He revealed Himself to the disciples on the road to Emmaus,

3. When He multiplied the loaves and fishes to feed the multitudes.

The Holy Sacrifice

It is called The Holy Sacrifice, the Holy sacrifice of the Mass, sacrifice of praise, or spiritual sacrifice. All these terms refer to the sacrifice of Christ our Savior which is made present and re-presented in each celebration of the Mass.

Holy Communion

It is often called Holy Communion because by this sacrament we are united to Christ. He makes us sharers in His Body and Blood to form a single body.

The Holy and divine Liturgy

It is called this according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church “because the Church's whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the celebration of this sacrament.”

The Mass

This is probably the most common name used.  It comes from the conclusion of the celebration when the Priest sends the faithful forth -missio.

The Sacramental Sacrifice

As you will see in the lesson on the history of the Mass it has remained in a form whose substance has not changed since the time of the apostles.  It has been and remains Thanksgiving, Memorial and Presence. When we participate in the Mass we are giving thanksgiving and praise to the father; we are participating in the sacrificial memorial of Christ and His body; and we are in the presence of Christ by the power of His word and Spirit.