This Series is meant to help us understand why we have the Mass (the Eucharist) and the different parts of the Mass as celebrated on Sunday. We will cover from the beginning of the Mass when the Church gathers for worship through to its ending when the Church is dismissed and sent out to live what we have celebrated in the world, and everything in between.
This series will include history, meaning, relevance to our daily lives, and expressions of the Catholic imagination and culture.
First we must understand why we celebrate the Mass. As one Christian writer once said, "If we understand why we do something then we will understand how we are to do it." The purpose of the Mass is revealed in the names we call this celebration"
The earliest name of the sacred meal celebrated in Christian worship from the time of the Apostles is the Eucharist. The word is Greek, from the times when the early Church celebrated the Lord’s Supper in the Greek language, the common language spoken in the Roman Empire. The word "Eucharist" means "to give thanks" or "thanksgiving."
Every Sunday we gather to give thanks to God for all the good gifts God has given us, especially the gifts of the creation, of God’s saving love (our salvation) and of all our good relationships in life.
Catechism #1329 states the Mass is "The Lord's Supper, because of its connection with the supper which the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion and because it anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem."
From its earliest times as evidenced by the Scriptures, the early Church gathered for worship in order to proclaim the Scriptures and celebrate a religious meal. We worship by eating! By the Word of Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit the bread and wine used in the Mass are changed into the Body and Blood of the Risen Christ. He becomes absolutely Really Present to us in th Breaking of the Bread. (See Luke 24:27-35 HERE)
The Mass is also called the Memorial of the Death and Resurrection of Christ and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. As a Memorial we remember the Death and Resurrection of Christ as a living reality that is past and present. These events of the life of Christ happened historically in the past; but their saving effects are present even now. Thus, the Mass makes present the One Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and his Resurrection, which we also call the Paschal or Passover Mystery of Christ.
Catechism #1330 states: "[The Mass] makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church’s offering." The One Sacrifice of Christ is his Death and Resurrection; the Church’s offering is each of us becoming united to Christ’s self-offering on the Cross. So we are empowered in him to make our self-offering, to give ourselves for Christ’s sacrificial love. Jesus says: "This is my commandment [mandate]: love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:14)
The Mass is also called the Sacrament of Salvation and the Holy Communion. The Mass makes visible the Church which is saved by Christ and our Communion with Christ and his Church.
The Mass could also be called God’s Family Reunion. Families periodically try to gather together, to renew their bonds of love, to tell their family stories and almost always to have a meal together. We see all these elements in God’s Family reunion in the Sunday Mass.
Finally, the name Mass comes from the dismissal of the People at the end of the Eucharistic celebration, formerly in Latin: "Ite, missa est." It could have simply meant "Go, it is the dismissal," like we say "class dismissed." But the subject of the dismissal is implied, so it could mean "Go, [the Church] is sent forth." Of course, the Church is sent forth from the Mass with a mission. The point is that words like "dismissal" and "mission" are related to the word "Mass" (Latin: Missa) meaning to be "sent forth."
Everywhere I go, businesses and committees are always talking about "their mission." The celebration of the Eucharist gives us a real share in the life of Christ, with the God the Father and the Holy Spirit. It tells us we are part of God’s family. It will help us to know what we are supposed to be doing in this life as Church and our "meaning in life."
All these themes of the Mass will be seen in the actual parts of the ceelbration of a Sunday Mass as we shall see in this series.
Next week I will explore why we gather on Sunday.
