Prior to Sunday Mass beginning, a portion of the People of God, the Church, has gathered in the Church building and have prepared themselves in silent prayer. The Mass begins on Sunday with an Entrance Chant (Song).
Entrance Song
Anyone who reads the Psalms (which originally were sung in the Jewish Temple’s worship) or other parts of the Old Testament discover that singing was (and is) an integral part of the worship of God by the People of Israel. The early Church continued this practice of vocal singing and later added the instrumental music, as well. As St. Paul exhorted the Ephesian Church: "address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart." (Ephesians 5:19) The other religions of the time also used singing and musical instruments. The Church was cautious about instrumental music for some time (because of pagan practices; to this day the Orthodox Church does not use instrumentation in worship); but certainly the worship in heaven, described by the Book of Revelation, involves singing and instrumental music continuously. (For example, there will be the music of harps in heaven as described by Revelation 5:8; 14:1-2; 15:2-3 ).
So on Sunday, we begin with an Entrance Song, sometimes described as a "gathering song," because we are being gathered step by step ever deeper into the Church and her relationship with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, which regulates the celebration of the Mass, describes this singing in this way:
"When the people are gathered, and as the Priest enters with the Deacon and ministers, the Entrance Chant begins. Its purpose is to open the celebration, foster the unity of those who have been gathered, introduce their thoughts to the mystery of the liturgical time or festivity, and accompany the procession of the Priest and ministers." (#47)
You may wish to read more about music in the Mass by reading an explanation from our Music Director, Cristina Logn HERE.
Procession
This directive also mentions the procession of the Priest and ministers. This is the usual way to begin the Mass, i.e. with the Entrance Procession. Processions were a part of the Jewish Temple worship (again a reference to the worship conducted in the Temple: Catholic liturgy certainly has elements of this Temple worship):
"These things I remember,
as I pour out my soul:
how I went with the throng,
and led them in procession to the house of God,
with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival." (Psalm 42:4)
At first the early Church met mostly in large homes. There would be no need for a procession. Eventually, after Christianity became a legal religion of the Roman Empire, the Church grew and worshiped in larger buildings. Then a procession was possible, with various degrees of solemnity. When Christianity came to encompass the majority of the Empire, there were even large processions in the city itself, not just in the Church
A Procession signifies a journey from one place to another. In Mass it signifies the journey of Christ with his People, his Body the Church (See my writing on "The Journey of a Lifetime: An Orientation to the Catholic Spiritual Journey," HERE)
Another website describes the meaning of the Entrance Procession well:
"The entrance procession is not just a means to get to the front of the church and the altar; it has deep theological significance, reminding us all of the fact that the entire people of God are pilgrims – we are a pilgrim people on the road from here (the earth) to eternity (to heaven). The entrance procession symbolized that journey – from the world outside the doors at the back of the church, to our heavenly destination, symbolized by the sanctuary at the front of the church. In that journey, Christ is not only our goal, symbolized by the altar, but He also accompanies us on the way in the person of the priest." (Citation HERE)
The People at Mass are processing "in spirit" with their fellow parishioners and Priest who are in the Entrance Procession. Though the ministers may sit in the main seating of the Church building or in the sanctuary, it is highly significant when the Priest and the Deacon (if present) enter the sanctuary, for as quoted above the sanctuary represents heaven and the altar is a central symbol of Christ himself. The Priest and Deacon reverence the altar with a kiss, which is an ancient sign of respect. Later the Gospel will be kissed after it is proclaimed and there is the "Kiss of Peace" which now takes the form of an embrace or a handshake or some other form of exchanging the Sign of Peace before Communion.
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| Reverencing the altar with a kiss |
Sign of the Cross
Once the Priest comes to his chair in the sanctuary, he begins the Mass by making the sign of the Cross and saying "In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The people make the sign of the Cross with him. The invocation of the Threefold Name of God is originally a formula of Baptism. Indeed, I mentioned why we sign ourselves with Holy Water when we enter the Church: to remember our own Baptism since it is by that Baptism that we become members of the Church.
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| Sign of the Cross is traced on the Infant's forehead before Baptism |
We may recall by this act of Signing with the Cross at the start of Mass that we are to be in Communion with one another in our Communion with the Holy Trinity, what the Catechism says is a sharing in God the Three Persons’ "exchange of love":
"But St. John goes even further when he affirms that "God is love"(1 John 4:8,16): God's very being is love. By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange." (CCC#221)
So much significance is contained in these three acts of beginning Sunday Mass: the Entrance Song, the Entrance procession, and the Sign of the Cross.
Next Week: The Introductory Rites continued.
