27. RCIA The Mass

The Mass

The chief act of communal worship is the liturgy of the Eucharist (which means thanksgiving in Greek). It is also known as the Divine Liturgy, and in the West is commonly referred to as The Mass. This is an English derivation of the words said by the priest at the dismissal at the end of the liturgy, in the original Latin text, 'Ite missa est'. Throughout the centuries the Mass has always been the central form of Catholic worship. 

Where does it come from?

The very first Christians were still Jews. Jewish worship was made up of three parts, the devotional (prayers and praise), the didactic (scripture), and the ritualistic (animal sacrifice to atone for sin). The first Christians still attended the synagogue but Christ's instructions at the last supper couldn't really be added to a synagogue service, so they met in each others homes on the first day of the week's Sunday, the day of the resurrection, to fulfil Christ's instructions. As the Mass developed it kept the devotional part, prayers and praise, the didactic part, the reading of scripture, and of course the animal sacrifice is no longer necessary because Christ the spotless lamb is the sacrifice that perfectly atones for the sins of the world. And this sacrifice makes up the third part of our liturgy. At Mass you are present at the actual crucifixion and the actual resurrection of Christ, not constrained by time or space. The eternal sacrifice happens for you, right there on the altar, and then His resurrected body is offered for you to consume in the Holy Eucharist. 

As far back as the Acts of the Apostles and letters of St Paul we find descriptions of the first Christian community gathering to celebrate the Eucharist. In the catacombs under Rome the tombs of the martyrs were used as altars making a link between Christ's sacrifice on the cross, its re presentation in the Mass, and the strengthening of the faith and courage of those present. That is also why there was always a relic fixed into every altar right up until fairly recently.

In circa 150 St Justin wrote the following description of a new Catholic being received into church and receiving the Eucharist for the first time. 

'After we have thus washed (i.e baptised) the one who has believed and assented, we lead him to where those who are called brethren are gathered, offering prayers in common and heartily for ourselves and for the one who has been illuminated, and for all others everywhere, so that we may be accounted as worthy. Having concluded the prayers, we greet each other with a kiss, then there is brought to the presided of the brethren, bread and a cup of water and wine. Taking them he gives praise and glory to God the father of all, through the name of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and gives thanks at some length in order that these things be deemed worthy. When the prayers and thanksgiving are completed all the people call out their ascent shouting, 'amen, amen', in the Hebrew language so be it. Then those whom we call deacons give to each one present to partake of the Eucharist, and to those who are absent they carry away a portion. We call this food Eucharist; and no one else is permitted to partake in it, except one who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration, and is therefore living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread or drink do we receive these; but since Christ our saviour was made incarnate and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him (1 Cor 2 23-26/Luke 22:19) and by the change of which our own fresh and blood is nourished, is both the flesh and blood of the incarnated Jesus'.

The Mass as a Sacrifice

Very early on the church saw the Mass as a mystical reality in which the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is renewed. Responding to protestant sects denying that the Eucharist is anything more than a memorial, the council of Trent (1545-63) declared that 

'The same Christ who offered Himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is present and offered in an un-bloody manner in the Mass, 

This does not mean that at Mass we sacrifice Christ again, but rather the original sacrifice of Christ at Calvary is made present to us once more. We, stand at the foot of the cross in Calvary as Christ was being crucifed, whenever we attend Mass. 

Because Christ is really present in his humanity both in heaven and on the altar, he is capable now just as on Good Friday of freely offering himself to the Father. 

Mass as a Memorial

Whilst the Mass is much more than a memorial, it is a memorial of the Last Supper. We remember that Christ asked us to do this in memory of Him, and the faithful participate both through their prayerful presence, their role in the liturgy, and through receiving Holy Communion, the body and blood of Christ. It is significant that the priest must use the exact words of Christ. Why? Because only the words of God can 'do' what Jesus has asked - transform the bread and wine into his body and blood. The word of God has the power to deliver what it promises.

Sadly, many Catholics today only understand the Mass as a re-enactment of the last supper when the reality is so much richer than that. Because of this many Catholics no longer truly understand what is taking place on the altar, and this often results to a casual approach to what really demands our utmost reverence and awe. 

(n.b whist it is not necessary to receive communion in order to fulfil our Sunday Obligation, the church does recommend frequent reception alongside frequent sacramental confession).

Mass as an application for the merits of Christ 

Fr Hard on in the Pocket Catholic Dictionary writes the following,

'Christ won for the world all the graces it needs for salvation and sanctification'.

In other words in His sacrifice on the cross Christ reversed Adam's sin. In order for us to see that reversal in our lives we must first accept Christ's offer of salvation and begin to grow in holiness. Our participation in the Mass, and our frequent reception of Holy Communion, brings us the grace that Christ merited for the world through his sacrifice on the cross 

Mass and the Heavenly Banquet

The Mass is foreshadowed throughout the Old Testament but it is also fundamental in the book of revelation. 

Every Mass parallels the worship offered to God in the choirs of angels ad saints. We join with them, they with us. At Mass Heaven and earth meet before our very eyes.

At the start of the Eucharistic prayer the priest says 'Lift up your hearts'. Often this would imply offer yourself. However in the Mass it isn't used as figure of speech, our hearts are actually going somewhere. We lift our hearts to heaven, our feet may be planted firmly on the ground in a parish church, but we are entering into Heaven itself. We take our place amongst the angels and the saints. Our liturgy on earth is a part of the eternal Heavenly liturgy. The Mass in other words is literally heaven on earth. 

This becomes obvious when you look at the book of revelation in the light of the Mass.

 

1) John's vision takes place on a Sunday, the Lord's day (rev 1:10)

John is caught up in the spirit and he sees an altar (Rev:8:3) candles 1:2 incense ( 5:8), priests dressed in robes (4:14), bread (2:17), and chalices of blood.

He sees heavenly worshippers angels and saints crying 'holy holy holy' (4:8), singing a hymn to God's glory (15:3), Shouting Alleluia (19:1,3,6), and making the sign of the cross on their foreheads (14:1). He also hears readings from scripture.

The first 3 chapters begin with a sort of penitential rite. When the word of God has been proclaimed the Son declares 'if anyone hears my voice & opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him'.

The heavenly liturgy of the word gives way to the heavenly Eucharist. John is invited to 'come up here' (4:11), as we too are invited to lift up our hearts and join with singing with the angels and the saints. This is not sentiment; there is a 'sacramental realism' at work here. If you carefully follow the words of the Mass you will start to see it.

We have gathered around the altar, not just the earthly one, but the heavenly one a well. We have made our way to mount Zion, the New Jerusalem, where a feast is taking place with Jesus and the believers.

These scriptures show us that the Mass is the summit of salvation history told us in scripture, and lo and behold, the prayers of the Mass tell us the same thing.

Why must we go every Sunday?

In the 3rd commandment, we are told to remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. Christians celebrate the Sabbath on a Sunday, the day Christ rose from dead. The church teaches that we have an obligation to refrain from all unnecessary work and to participate in the Mass in order to fulfil that commandment. It is one day of the week where our spiritual life should be our primary focus, and other things should be secondary. 

Whilst we can and should of course engage in private worship of God throughout the week our primary form of worship is both public and communal.