The Mass in its entirety



All About the Mass or Everything you ever wanted to know about the Mass in living color! GENERAL INSTRUCTION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL

INTRODUCTION

	I.	Luke 22:14-20

		A.	Jesus institutes the sacrifice of his body and blood.

		B.	The Church regards this command of Christ as directions about preparation of the sentiments of the worshipers, the place, rites and texts for celebration of eucharist.

		C.	All taken from the intent of the Vatican Council II.

		D.	Evidence of the great care, faith, and unchanged love the Church shows towards eucharist.

		E.	Further evidence of adherence to tradition amid the introduction to some new elements.

	II.	Witness to Unchanged Faith

		A..	The sacrificial nature of the Mass--Council of Trent--1562.

		B.	Vatican II--affirms this teaching–"At the Last Supper our Savior instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of the his body and blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the centuries until he should come again and in this way to entrust to his beloved Bride, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection.--Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. #3,28; Decree on the ministry and life of priests. #2,4,5.

		C.	The Council*s teachings formulated in the Sacramentary is that "the work of our redemption is carried out whenever we celebrate the memory of this sacrifice;" accurately brought out in the eucharistic prayers.

		D.	In the memorial the priest, addressing God in the name of the people, offers in thanksgiving the holy and living sacrifice: the Church*s offering and the Victim whose death has reconciled us with God.

		E.	The priest prays that the body and blood of Christ may be a sacrifice acceptable to God, the Father, bringing salvation to the whole world.

		F.	The Churchs rule of prayer corresponds to the Churchs rule of faith--Christ instituted the Last Supper and instructed his Apostles to do the same in memory of him are one and same differing only in the manner of offering.

		G.	The Mass is at once a sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving, reconciliation and expiation.

		H.	The celebration of Mass proclaims the mystery of the Lord*s presence in the eucharistic elements bread and wine. That is why the people of God are invited on Holy Thursday and the feast of Corpus Christi to honor this wonderful sacrament in a special way by their adoration.

		I.	The priest is the minister (presbyter) who offers the sacrifice in the person of Christ and presides over the entire assembly.

			1.	Priesthood established by Christ on Holy Thursday.

			2.	Through the laying on of hands does the priest become Christ like.

			3.	It is the continuation of the power of Christ, High Priest of the New Testament.

		J.	Priesthood puts into its proper light the royal priesthood of all believers.

			1.	Through the priesthood the people*s spiritual sacrifice to God is brought to completeness in union with the sacrifice of Christ, our one and only Mediator.

			2.	The celebration of the eucharist is the action of the whole Church; in the eucharist everyone should do only, but all of those parts that belong to them in virtue of their pace within the people of God.

			3.	In this way greater attention will be given to some aspects of the eucharistic celebration that have sometimes been neglected in the course of time.

			4.	We are a people of God, purchased by Christ*s blood, gathered together by the Lord, nourished by his word.

		K.	We are called to offer God prayers for the entire human family, a people giving thanks to Christ for the mystery of salvation by offering his sacrifice.

		L.	We are a people growing together into unity by sharing in Christ*s body and blood.

		M.	We are holy by our conscious, active, and fruitful participation in the mystery of the eucharist.

III.	A Witness to Unbroken Tradition

	A.	Vatican Council II directed that all rites be restored "to the vigor they had in the tradition of our Fathers". This is a direct quote from St. Pius V in 1570 in his Apostolic Constitution on the Tridentine Missal.

	B.	The fact that the same words are used in reference to both Roman Missals indicated how both of them, although separated by four centuries, embrace the one and same tradition.

	C.	The older missal was written at a time of great difficulty for the Church. The Church was being attacked on the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the ministerial priesthood and the real presence of Christ under the eucharist elements.

	D.	Pope Pius V was concerned about preserving the sacred traditions laid down in the Roman missal of 1474 which in turn followed the missal instruction laid down by Pope Innocent III in 1198-1216.

	E.	Early Vatican library officials did not allow research into "ancient and approved authors* to extend beyond the examination of a few liturgical commentaries of the Middle Ages.

	F.	Today the story is different. Countless studies of scholars have enriched the "tradition of the Fathers". The result was the discovery of ancient Roman, Ambrosian, Spanish, and Gallican liturgical books with prayers of profound spirituality that had been unknown in times past.

	G.	Traditions dating back to the first centuries of the Church that formed the Eastern and Western Churches were also discovered.

	H.	The Patristic fathers were studied as well as their theology. Fathers such as Irenaeus, Ambrose, Cyril of Jerusalem, and John Chrysostom.

	I.	The "Tradition of the Fathers" does not require just merely preserving what has been passed on to us. There must be some understanding and study of the Church*s entire past and all the ways in which its single faith has been expressed in quite diverse human and social forms prevailing in Greek, Semitic and Latin cultures.

	J.	In the broader view, the Holy Spirit endows the people of God with a marvelous fidelity in preserving the deposit of faith unchanged, even though prayers and rites differ so greatly.

IV.	Adaptation to Modern Conditions

	A.	The Roman Church*s rule of prayer (lex orandi) bears witness to and hands down the deposit of faith from earlier councils and the New Roman Missal marks a major step forward in liturgical tradition.

	B.	The Council of Trent felt bound to maintain the Churchs traditional teachings concerning the Latin Mass because of the times they were up against with the Protestant Reformation. Voices were made to make the Mass more accessible to the people by putting it into the vernacular, but they maintained that the faithfuls part in it does not affect the efficacy of it. They said, "Although the Mass contains much instruction for the faithful, it did not seem expedient to the Fathers that as a general rule it be celebrated in the vernacular."

	C.	Consequently, they "anathemized" (condemned to hell) anyone saying the Mass in anything other than Latin.

	D.	They did ask pastors to explain events at the Mass giving frequent instructions about the mystery of this sacrifice.

	E.	Vatican Council II ordered obligatory homilies on Sundays and holydays.

	F.	Above all the Fathers fully endorsed "that more complete form of participation in the Mass by which the faithful, after the priest*s communion, receive the Lord’s body from the same sacrifice.

	G.	Thus they also encouraged communion under both species, though never rejecting the earlier council’s instruction that Christ is fully present under the bread alone.

	H.	The Church remains faithful in its responsibility as teacher of truth to guard the "things old"; i.e. the deposit of tradition, at the same time it fulfills its duty to bring forth "things new ". Matthew 13:52

	I.	Ritual Masses combine the traditional with contemporary occasions.

	J.	New----Prayers of the Church, involvement of the laity, sanctification of human work, the community of peoples, certain needs proper to our era.

	K.	Conclusion:

		1.	The liturgical norms of the Council of Trent have been completed and improved in many respects by those of the Vatican Council II. The faithful have been moved closer to the liturgy.

		2.	The celebration of the Mass is the action of Christ and the people of God. It is our worship of Christ God that sanctifies us adoring God through Christ, his Son, that we offer to the Father. The mysteries of redemption are recalled in the Mass and made present. All other liturgical rites and works of Christian life are linked with the eucharistic celebration, flow from it, and have it as their end.

		3.	It is very important that the celebration of the Mass, The Lord*s Supper, be so arranged that ministers and the faithful receive all its benefits.

		4.	This is best accomplished if it is so planned in such a way that the faithful participate in body and spirit that is conscious, active, full and motivated by faith, hope and charity. It is the Christians right and duty to expect no less than this from the celebration.

		5.	The presence and active participation of the faithful brings out the ecclesial nature of the celebration. Even when the faithful cannot participate the eucharistic celebration retains its effectiveness and worth because it is the action of Christ and the Church, in which the priest always acts on behalf of the people*s salvation.

		6.	The celebration of the eucharist involves the outward use of signs that foster, strengthen and express faith. This must be chosen wisely.

		7.	The following instructions are guidelines for planning eucharistic celebration. Each bishop has the power to lay down norms for its own territory that are suited to the traditions and character of peoples, regions and various communities.


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