JUNE 19, 2017
9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON
SACRED MYSTERIES (YOUTH ROOM)
THE INTRODUCTORY RITES (PART 1 OF THE MASS)
God made us!
God has given us everything! Life, love, family, friends, food ... everything!
God has also given us a way to return to Him the gifts that we have received, through the Mass.
Just like sports, the Mass has rules, and periods. In fact, the Mass has 4 periods, called:
- The Introductory Rites
- The Liturgy of the Word
- The Liturgy of the Eucharist
- The Closing Rites
We'll step through this over the next few days so that instead of a long one-hour "thing," you'll be able to appreciate the Mass for what it is – God's gift to us, to give back to God the gifts He has given us.
During Mass, we come into the church, genuflect, and sit down to wait. Then we stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, sit, stand, kneel, stand, kneel, stand (to get in line), sit, stand, and leave. But Mass is much much more than an aerobic or cardio workout. It is a collection of prayers and songs that allow us to give glory to God.
The Mass begins with a song. It can be a song, or a hymn (and old song), or a chant (an ancient song.) But no matter what the song is, we sing it.
Once the priest and the ministers reach the altar, the very first prayer the priest speaks is the Sign of the Cross. No matter what language it is spoken in: Chinese, Latin, Greek, Spanish, Japanese, Arabic, English, or Aramaic ... or Russian, Ukranian, Slovak, Vietnamese, or Korean; it's the same prayer.
The Sign of the Cross is not only a prayer, it's also how we as Catholics begin our prayers. It's also a Profession of Faith in the Most Holy Trinity, and is how we are Baptized into Christ and His Church. The Sign of the Cross should remind us of our own Baptism – whether we remember it or were to small to remember it.
Let's learn the Sign of the Cross in Chinese. It sounds like this: "EEN FOO GEE ZZZ GEE SHUNG SHUN JRR MEEN. AMEN."
The next piece of the Mass is the Penitential Rite. When we do something wrong, or make a mistake – we naturally feel bad. In the Mass, we bring our weaknesses to God, and tell Him we're sorry. And we know that God is merciful and forgives us. So, we may be sad about what we have done, but we're happy about how generous God is in forgiving us when we admit our sins and ask for His forgiveness.
There are three ways this is done at Mass:
- The "I confess" prayer (called "The Confiteor.")
- A responsory (which is seldom used in my experience.)
- Three verses leading into the invocations "Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord have mercy."
The Confiteor prayer is the third longest common prayer in the Mass. You might already have memorized it without realizing it!
Next the priest prays a short prayer of absolution, reminding us of God's mercy and forgiveness, and our ultimate goal of Heaven.
If either of the first two ways was used, the deacon or priest leads us in a simple "Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy." It can also be done in Greek. The words are "Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison; Kyrie, eleison."
It sounds like this: KEE-REE-AY AY-LAY-EE-SON ... KREE-STAY AY-LAY-EE-SON ... KEE-REE-AY AY-LAY-EE-SON.
Next we sing a song first heard at the Birth of Jesus on Christmas. The angels sang "Glory to God in the Highest," or in Latin "Gloria in excelsis Dei." You may see these words on Christmas cards or decorations. We sing this hymn every Sunday (except during Advent or Lent,) on Solemnities (like Holy Days of Obligation,) and on Feasts (special days for special saints or events.) This song allows us to remember how Jesus came into the world – not with the glory due the Son of God, but with humility as a poor baby born in a manger. The Gloria song is the second longest prayer in the Mass. You should work at trying to memorize it, too.
Finally, we get to ... LETTUCE? What's up with lettuce? Is it snack time? Or is it lunch time, yet?!
Oh, I know. Next, the priest says "Let us pray." That sort of sounds like "Lettuce pray," doesn't it?
At the end of the Introductory Rites is the Collect prayer (sometimes called the Opening Prayer.) The priest says, "Let us pray." And then pauses briefly, and recites the first prayer for the day in the Missal. At the end he says; "Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever." And the response is "Amen. There are alternate endings depending on the prayers, but they all end with "for ever and ever."
We've been standing during this whole part of the Mass. After the Collect prayer, and the "Amen" is said, the people and the ministers sit down.
Here is a link to the 11 x 17 cards in PDF format.
Here is a link to the 11 x 17 cards in PDF format.
