The Mass is not about fancy words added on whim

…it is deeply rooted in Scripture.

 

 

The words the priest speaks during a mass aren’t words written by some old spiritual man of some old forgotten days. The Holy Mass (and the missal therein) draws deeply from the Bible, some verses are taken as is, others are derivations but it all has one single root, The Holy Scriptures. Let us go through a regular mass and see where these words come from. The text of the missal is in normal font, the biblical references are in hyperlink:

 

Sign of the Cross

All make the Sign of the Cross as the Priest says.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (Mt 28:19)

The people reply:

Amen. (1 Chr 16:36).

Greeting

Then the Priest greets the people:

Either: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2Cor 13:14)

Or: Grace to you and peace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Or: The Lord be with you. (Ruth 2:4)

The people reply:

And with your spirit.

Penitential Act

The Priest invites the faithful to the Penitential Act.

Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins, (James 5:16) and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

A brief pause for silence follows, and then one of the following Penitential Acts:

All say:

I confess to almighty God

and to you, my brothers and sisters,

that I have greatly sinned,

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

And, striking their breast, they say:

through my fault,

through my fault,

through my most grievous fault;

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,

all the Angels and Saints,

and you, my brothers and sisters,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

 

The absolution by the Priest follows:

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. (1Jn 1:9) Amen.

 

The Kyrie

The Priest or another minister says invocations naming the gracious works of the Lord to which he invites the people to respond, as in the example below:

You were sent to heal the contrite of heart:

Lord, have mercy.

The people reply:

Lord, have mercy.

 

The Gloria

When indicated this hymn is either sung or said.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. (Luke 2:14)

We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you,

we give you thanks for your great glory,

Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father.

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,

Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,

you take away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, (Jn 1:29)

receive our prayer;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father,( Mt 26:64, Acts 2:33, Rom 8:34, Col 3:1)

have mercy on us.

For you alone are the Holy One, (Lk 4:34)

you alone are the Lord,

you alone are the Most High, (Lk 1:32)

Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit,

in the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

The Collect

The Priest says:

Let us pray.

And all pray in silence with the Priest for a while. Then the Priest says the Collect prayer, at the end of which the people acclaim:

Amen.

The Liturgy of the Word

First Reading

To indicate the end of these readings, the reader acclaims:

The word of the Lord.

All reply:

Thanks be to God.

Psalm

After the First Reading the psalmist or cantor sings or says the Psalm, with the people making the response.

Second Reading

On Sundays and certain other days there is a second reading. It concludes with the same responsory as above.

Gospel

The assembly stands to sing the Gospel Acclamation to welcome the Gospel. They remain

standing in honour of the Gospel reading, the high point of the Liturgy of the Word.

At the ambo the Deacon, or the Priest says:

The Lord be with you.

The people reply:

And with your spirit.

The Deacon, or the Priest:

A reading from the holy Gospel according to N.

He makes the Sign of the Cross on the book and, together with the people, on his forehead, lips, and breast.

At the same time the people acclaim:

Glory to you, O Lord.

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

After the proclamation of the Gospel the congregation is seated.

The Homily

At the end of the Homily it is appropriate for there to be a brief silence for recollection. The congregation then stands.

The Creed

On Sundays and Solemnities, the Profession of Faith or Creed will follow. During Lent and Easter Time, especially, the Apostles’ Creed may be used.

 

The Prayer of the Faithful (Bidding Prayers)

After each intention there is a pause while the faithful pray. The minister says:

Lord, in your mercy.

All reply:

Hear our prayer.

The Priest concludes the Prayer with a collect. When the Liturgy of the Word has been completed, the people sit.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist

The Offertory

When he has received the bread and wine for the celebration, the Priest offers prayer of blessing quietly at the altar. Sometimes these prayers are said aloud. If the priest says the prayers aloud the assembly’s acclamation each time is

Blessed be God for ever.

The Priest completes additional personal preparatory rites, and the people rise as he says:

Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God,

the almighty Father.

The people reply:

May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good

and the good of all his holy Church.

Then the Priest says the Prayer over the Offerings, at the end of which the people acclaim:

Amen.

THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER

Extending his hands, the Priest says:

The Lord be with you.

The people reply:

And with your spirit.

The Priest, raising his hands, continues:

Lift up your hearts.

The people:

We lift them up to the Lord. (Lam 3:41)

The Priest, with hands extended, adds:

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

The people:

It is right and just.

The Priest continues with the Preface.

The renewal of all things in Christ

The following Preface is said in Masses that have no proper Preface, and for which a Preface related to a specific liturgical time is not indicated.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord. In him you have been pleased to renew all things, giving us all a share in his fullness. For though he was in the form of God, he emptied himself and by the blood of his Cross brought peace to all creation. Therefore he has been exalted above all things, and to all who obey him, has become the source of eternal salvation. And so, with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominions, and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your glory, as without end we acclaim:

The Priest concludes the Preface with the people singing or saying aloud:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest. (Is 6:3; Mk 11:9-10).

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. (Mt 21:9)

Hosanna in the highest.

The Priest alone recites:

To you, therefore, most merciful Father, we make humble prayer and petition through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord: that you accept and bless these gifts, these offerings, these holy and unblemished sacrifices, which we offer you firstly for your holy catholic Church. Be pleased to grant her peace, to guard, unite and govern her throughout the whole world, together with your servant N. our Pope and N. our Bishop, and all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the catholic and apostolic faith.

Remember, Lord, your servants (N. and N.) and all gathered here, whose faith and devotion are known to you. For them, we offer you this sacrifice of praise or they offer it for themselves and all who are dear to them: for the redemption of their souls, in hope of health and well-being, and paying their homage to you, the eternal God, living and true.

In communion with those whose memory we venerate, especially the glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ, and blessed Joseph, her Spouse, your blessed Apostles and Martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, (James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Jude; Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian) and all your Saints; we ask that through their merits and prayers, in all things we may be defended by your protecting help. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

Therefore, Lord, we pray: graciously accept this oblation of our service, that of your whole family; order our days in your peace, and command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those you have chosen. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge, and approve this offering in every respect; make it spiritual and acceptable, so that it may become for us the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the day before he was to suffer, he took bread in his holy and venerable hands, and with eyes raised to heaven to you, O God, his almighty Father, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you.

In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took this precious chalice in his holy and venerable hands, and once more giving you thanks, he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying: Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me. (Mt 26:26-28)

After the words of Consecration the priest says:

The mystery of faith.

The people continue, acclaiming:

Either:

We proclaim your Death, O Lord,

and profess your Resurrection

until you come again.

Or:

When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup,

we proclaim your Death, O Lord,

until you come again. (1Cor 11:26)

Or:

Save us, Saviour of the world,

for by your Cross and Resurrection

you have set us free.

Then the Priest alone continues:

Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the blessed Passion, the Resurrection from the dead, and the glorious Ascension into heaven of Christ, your Son, our Lord, we, your servants and your holy people, offer to your glorious majesty from the gifts that you have given us, this pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim, the holy Bread of eternal life and the Chalice of everlasting salvation. Be pleased to look upon these offerings with a serene and kindly countenance, and to accept them, as once you were pleased to accept the gifts of your servant Abel the just, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the offering of your high priest Melchizedek, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim. In humble prayer we ask you, almighty God:

command that these gifts be borne by the hands of your holy Angel to your altar on high

in the sight of your divine majesty, so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar

receive the most holy Body and Blood of your Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

Commemoration of the Dead : Remember also, Lord, your servants N. and N., who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace. Grant them, O Lord, we pray, and all who sleep in Christ, a place of refreshment, light and peace. (Through Christ our Lord. Amen.)

To us, also, your servants, who, though sinners, hope in your abundant mercies, graciously grant some share and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John the Baptist, Stephen,

Matthias, Barnabas, (Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia) and all your Saints; admit us, we beseech you, into their company, not weighing our merits, but granting us your pardon, through Christ our Lord. Through whom you continue to make all these good things, O Lord; you sanctify them, fill them with life, bless them, and bestow them upon us.

At the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer the Priest takes the chalice and the paten with the host and, raising both, he alone says:

Through him, and with him, and in him,

O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

all glory and honour is yours,

for ever and ever. (Rom 11:36)

Amen.

The Communion Rite

The eating and drinking together of the Lord’s Body and Blood in a Paschal meal is the culmination of the Eucharist. The themes underlying these rites are the mutual love and reconciliation that are both the condition and the fruit of worthy communion and the unity of the many in the One.

The Lord’s Prayer

The congregation stands and the Priest says:

At the Saviour’s command

and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say:

Together with the people, he continues:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil. (Mt. 6:9-13)

The Priest alone continues, saying:

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ

The people conclude the prayer, acclaiming:

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. (Mt 6:13)

Then the Priest alone says aloud:

Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you, (Jn 14:27)

look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will. Who live and reign for ever and ever.

The people reply:

Amen.

The Priest adds:

The peace of the Lord be with you always. (Jn 20:19)

The people reply:

And with your spirit.

The Deacon, or the Priest, adds:

Let us offer each other the sign of peace.

And all offer one another the customary sign of peace: a handclasp or handshake, which is an expression of peace, communion, and charity.

Breaking of the Bread

During the breaking of the host the following is sung or said:

(Jn 1:29)

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

grant us peace.

After the Lamb of God, the people kneel.

Invitation to Communion

After his private prayers of preparation the Priest genuflects, takes the host and, holding it slightly raised above the paten or above the chalice says aloud:

Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. (Rev 19:9)

And together with the people he adds once:

Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. (Mt 8:8)

Communion

After the priest has reverently consumed the Body and Blood of Christ the communicants come forward in reverent procession, and make a preparatory act of reverence by bowing their head in honour of Christ’s presence in the Sacrament. They receive Holy Communion standing.

The Priest says:

The Body (Blood) of Christ.

The communicant replies:

Amen.

After the distribution of Communion, if appropriate, a sacred silence may be observed for a while, or a psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn may be sung.

Prayer after Communion

Then, the Priest says:

Let us pray.

All stand and pray in silence. Then the Priest says the Prayer after Communion, at the end of which the people acclaim:

Amen.

The Concluding Rites

The brief Concluding Rite sends the people forth to put into effect in their daily lives the Mystery of Christ’s Death and Resurrection and the unity in Christ which they have celebrated. Their mission is to witness to Christ in the world and to bring the Gospel to the poor. Any brief announcements to the people follow here. Then the dismissal takes place. Sometimes this takes a more elaborate form than that given below.

Blessing

The Priest says:

The Lord be with you.

The people reply:

And with your spirit.

The Priest blesses the people, saying:

May almighty God bless you,

the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The people reply:

Amen.

Dismissal

Then the Deacon, or the Priest himself, says:

Either: Go forth, the Mass is ended.

Or: Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

Or: Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

Or: Go in peace.

The people reply:

Thanks be to God.

 

Note: The order of mass was take from : http://www.universalis.com/static/mass/orderofmass.htm. Also, these are my own findings and it may not be exhaustive or even accurate. I would welcome feedbacks from those who are more knowledgeable than me in these matters

5 Surprising reasons why you cannot memorize that verse

You just cannot memorize that Bible verse! You’ve tried everything from pasting a print of it on your bathroom wall to writing it multiple times. But no, each time you need to quote it out of your memory you fail. Just how do those preachers and teachers commit so many verses to their memory? And why can’t I? Sounds like a familiar situation? Read the following and you will know why can’t you memorize bible verses (or for that matter any other text that you are trying to learn by heart.).

 

 

You cannot memorize it because:

1. You are trying to memorize it: Since you are trying to memorize a particular verse all you are trying to do is pressurize your brain somehow add this particular verse permanently in your memory. The problem is, you just cannot inject things like that into your memory. Try to learn from the verse, try and know what it speaks to you. Simply trying to mug it up will never help.
2. You are committing it to short term memory: You take a verse, read it 5 times, close your eyes and repeat it exactly without seeing it! And you are happy you memorized it, and never ever go through that verse/text again. A few weeks later, when you need to reproduce that verse out of your memory, you are lost. So what just happened? Hadn’t you successfully memorized it? Well actually, yes you had memorized it, but only for a short term. When we see a something and remember it to be recalled only a few minutes/hours later, it goes into a short term memory. So the verse that you did memorize went to that short term memory, and then you never even refreshed it by reading it more often.
3. It has no personal relation with you: The things that we remember till our death are the ones that are very personal and close to us. The same is for Bible verses, if its just a piece of text you want to memorize so that you can impress your friends then you better not expect to remember it for a lifetime. On the other hand, if this verse touched you in a personal way, helped you out of a tragedy, strengthened you in the times of trouble, you are more likely to remember it without any efforts.
4. You do not use it frequently: Even if you do manage to get it into your head, the Bible verse may not be used by you frequently enough and slowly it slips out of your memory, sometimes without leaving a trace behind. Once you have memorized a verse try and use it as frequently as possible, in your prayers, in your conversations, etc.
5. You are not reflecting on it: How do you expect you learn something by heart, that you don’t know the meaning of? It is difficult to memorize a bible verse, if you haven’t got a clue of what it means and what is it trying to say. So sit and reflect before trying to cram it!

Now you know the big why! So stop memorizing and start personalizing the biblical verses that you want to learn by heart.

Pentecost is not the “Happy Birthday” of the Holy Spirit…

…it’s the “Happy Birthday” of our spirituality…

Catholic Church celebrates Pentecost as a solemnity, a day to commemorate the descend of the Holy Spirit upon Mother Mary and the apostles

The upper room wasn’t exactly a nice place to hangout before the Resurrection! No. It was a refugee room for those who were afraid, lost, didn’t believe, lacked courage, who were hiding from the Roman centurions. It was a dark and dead place.

 And then, Jesus appeared to them in the same upper room! What joy it must have been for the apostles and the women and most of all for Mother Mary! The upper room was now a place of prayer, worship and deep fellowship.

This was what I call the ‘Jesus-encounter’ of the apostles. Do you remember your own ‘Jesus-encounter’?

For the next forty days Jesus stayed with them, teaching them, encouraging them, guiding them, and making them understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). On the day of Ascension, he commanded the disciples to wait, for the promised Gift of the Father, which would empower them to bear witness to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:4-8). And whoosh! He was taken up to heaven.

So what did the disciples do? They waited. And they prayed in one accord till the day came for them to receive the Holy Spirit. On the glorious day of Pentecost the Spirit of God descended upon them like great tongues of fire, they began speaking in strange tongues (some even thought that they were drunk!), and Peter stood up before all those people (3000 actually) and spoke boldly, bravely of Jesus and what a speech he made (yes that fisherman dude), people actually heard him and asked him what should they do! He asked them to repent and to get baptized. And guess what, all those 3000 people sold their property, turned from their sin and really did get baptized (now that’s what I call mass conversion!) and took Jesus as their Saviour.

So why didn’t this feat happen at the Resurrection? Or at the Ascension? Why didn’t Jesus directly ‘convert’ these Jews? And why didn’t Peter begin his ministry right after he saw the resurrected Lord?

Because, Jesus wanted the disciples to carry on his work, and the disciples needed the Gift to carry out the work!

You need a ‘Jesus-encounter’ to believe, the belief turns into faith with more such encounters and learning and deepening the faith, your faith becomes your spirituality, and your spirituality is incomplete without being a witness to the faith. To complete that spirituality you need the Gift.

So, it’s a day when your spirituality was complete! Happy Birthday! :)

Spiractuality

Spirituality. A word often used by many to convey different concepts. Right from following a specific religion or worshiping a certain god, to different precise practices within the same religion, spirituality encompasses these all and more.


But if I add another word to ‘spirituality’, it takes up a whole different meaning. The word I would like to add is ‘Catholic’.


Catholic Spirituality: The beautiful means of combining the inner search for God with our actions. The pathway to know, show and grow in Faith by, through and in union with the Holy Spirit.


Catholic Spirituality is a rich well to draw from. A search in Wikipedia will give you some 18 different forms of Catholic Spirituality. And I am sure there are more.


You as an individual may follow one or more of these spiritualities. Some may be Benedictine, others Carmelite, or Charismatic, Ignatian, Franciscan or a combination of these, whichever suits you the best! All of these forms aspire to achieve the same goal. A Faith bound union with God.


A week or so ago, I asked myself a question. Do I just use my ‘spirituality’ during the time of prayers and worship evenings? Does being a Charismatic mean only to shout ‘Hallelujah’s’ in prayer meetings?


Yes, spirituality does mean praying in a certain way, a specifically drawn path to reach out to the Higher Being during our hours of prayer and meditation. But that does not mean that the spirituality we follow is only restricted to our ‘prayer life’.


As St. James truly said:


“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

Do you actually make your spirituality a way of your life? Is your Dominican /Benedictine /Francisan /Charismatic /Carmelite /Ignatian /Whatever spirituality reflected in your daily activities that you do in life? Do you drive like Charismatic, speak like a Carmelite, work like a Franciscan?

We, who are not suffering from bipolar disorder, should stop living a double life and let our faith inspire our action. Let your SPIRITUALITY be SPIR’ACTUALITY’.

So tell me, which spiractuality do you follow?

Happy Meal.....

Nothing better than a delicious meal together with the family......

And I enjoy my happy meals every once a week..... sometimes more than once.....

I have my entire extended family together.... and the meal is a celebration...

It fills me up to the brim.... refreshes me, energizes me, and I get to spend time with my loved ones.... and dine with them.

We all sing too, at the feast..... and express our joys..... everyone brings something to offer and we all unite in one accord...

And the Hosts of this Feast always sends out such loving invitations, its hard to resist

"Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world."Jn6:32

Try saying no to that.....

And having all the family together in such busy times.....

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart."Acts 2:42 and 46

The Holy Mass is indeed a Happy Meal... a royal celebration, a loving sacrifice.

I cannot do without my Happy Meal, can you?

My Blue Jeans

I have a pair of blue jeans. Everyone does. I've had it for years now. Its old and rugged, lost its color a bit, and is almost white at knees. But I love wearing it.

We all know that jeans has this almost magical quality of getting better with age(hope we all did!). The more I wear my blue jeans the better it becomes, to the extent that I am more comfortable in it now than I was on the day I bought it.

I am attached to it. It is my comfort wear. In the coming years it might start fraying at the hemlines; but I am still going to love it. Blue jeans is definitely the one old piece of clothing which we don't feel like throwing away or donating.

There is one more thing in my life that has the qualities of a blue jeans. The more I use it, the more it seems to fit me better. The older it gets, the dearer it becomes. Its my Bible.

Okay, may be my bible doesn't have dog-eared pages, but hey, its not brand new either! When I first acquired the current one, it wasn't much fun. As the time progressed, I started loving it, the touch, the feeling of turning those ultra-thin pages and of course the messages within.


Now with the bible also it all depends on the 'blue-jeans-principle'. The Blue Jeans Principle states that:

"The comfort and fitting of the blue jeans is directly proportional to the amount of time you spend in it"

So the 'The Bible Principle' will be somewhat like this:

"The understanding,acceptance and relevance of The Word is directly proportional to the amount of time you spend with it "


So, dear friends, if you are not very comfortable with your bible, if finding the right book in it is almost an impossible task, try "The Bible Principle". It always works!


PS: If anybody knows where to find a jeans cover for my Bible, do let me know. I am looking for one.