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The Mass, the principal and indeed essential worship service of all the ancient Christian Churches, was known in the early days of Christianity as the eucharist (a word meaning “thanksgiving”), the breaking of bread (cf. Acts 2:42,46; 20:7,11), the Lord's supper (cf. 1 Cor 11:20). (For other names, see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1328-1332.) The usual name in most Western European languages (in English, “Mass”) is derived from the phrase with which the celebration concludes in Latin: Ite, missa est, where “missa” is late Latin for earlier “missio”, so that the phrase means: “You may go, this is the dismissal.” Because of its origin in the Latin language, the word “Mass” is normally used only of the eucharistic liturgy as celebrated in the Latin rites, principally that of Rome.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1998 CD edition) says of the Roman Catholic Church that it “is not primarily an organization, nor is it a school of doctrine. It is the place where God approaches humanity through grace and where humanity approaches God through worship. Hence the focus of Roman Catholic piety is the Eucharist, which is both a sacrament and a sacrifice. Other forms of corporate worship and of private devotion radiate from this point of central focus.”
No attempt is made here to present the theology of the Mass. For that, the reader is referred to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,[1] 1322-1419. What follows is merely a brief summary of the outward form of Mass in the Roman rite.
The Roman Missal contains the prayers and rubrics. In the United States and Canada, the English translation is called the Sacramentary; but even there this term is likely to be abandoned soon, when a new official English translation of the Missal, now in preparation, is published.
The Mass Lectionary presents passages from the Bible arranged in the order for reading at each day’s Mass. Before the Second Vatican Council, the then far less numerous Scripture readings in use were included in the Roman Missal.
A Book of the Gospels is recommended for the reading from the Gospels, but the Lectionary is very often used instead.
Within the fixed structure outlined below, the text of several prayers and of the Scripture readings vary from day to day.
An exchange of greetings between the priest and the congregation follows an entrance hymn and the priest’s veneration of the altar. Then, in the Penitential Rite, all reflect on the thoughts and words, deeds and omissions by which they have fallen short of the Christian code of conduct and pray for mercy in the Confiteor and Kyrie eleison (= Greek "Lord, have mercy"), or in an alternative prayer, and the priest invokes God’s forgiveness on all.
On Sundays, except during penitential seasons, and on important feast days, the Gloria, a joyful song of praise, is next sung. Then the priest says the variable collect, concluding the introductory part of the Mass
Two or, on Sundays and on the major feast days known as solemnities, three readings from the Bible are heard, and a psalm with a repeated response is sung or recited after the first reading. When there are three such readings, the first is from the Old Testament, except in Eastertide, when it is taken from the Acts of the ApostlesThe Acts of the Apostles (Greek Praxeis Apostolon is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. Abbreviated in Bible citation: Act . The author names it "treatise" (1:1). It was early called "The Acts", "The Gospel of the Holy Ghost or the Book of Revelation, known also as the Apocalypse, and the second is from the letters of the apostles, mostly St. Paul’s. The final reading is from one of the Gospels, the first four books of the New TestamentThe New Testament sometimes called the Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus Christ. The term is a translation of the Latin Novum Testamentum which translates the Greek Η &Kappa: ( MatthewThe Gospel of Matthew is one of the four Gospels of the New Testament. The gospels are traditionally printed with Matthew first, followed in order by Mark, Luke and John. Synopsis The book is divided into four parts: # Containing the genealogy, the birth,, MarkThe Gospel of Mark is the second in the most usual sequence of printing of the New Testament Gospels. The commonly accepted range of dates for the text in its existing form are ca. AD 65, the traditional date for the death of Peter, to ca. AD 80, a termin, LukeThe Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus Christ's life, death, and resurrection. Although the text does not name its author, the modern consensus follows the traditional view that th, JohnThe Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the usual sequence of the canon as printed in the New Testament, and most agree it was the fourth to be written. Like the other three gospels, it contains an account of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of John is th). These four books are given special respect, and the reading from them is reserved for a deacon or priest and is preceded by ceremonies that generally include singing Alleluia or another acclamation and perhaps incensing the Book of the Gospels or Lectionary.
The Sunday readings are arranged in a three-year cycle, so that a particular passage of Scripture returns only after three years. On weekdays outside of Lent and Advent, a two-year arrangement governs the first reading, while the Gospel readings form a single-year cycle.
A homily, a sermonA sermon is an oration, usually given by a member of the clergy, that preaches and teaches Christianity. Sermons are usually, but not always, delivered in a church. Most churches have a pulpit or an ambo, an elevated architectural feature from which sermo by a priest or deacon elucidating some aspect of the readings or another part of the liturgy, is obligatory on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, and is recommended on other days.
On Sundays and solemnities the Creed is recited by all. The formula traditionally used is the Nicene Creed, but use of the shorter Apostles Creed is now permitted.
The Liturgy of the Word concludes with the Intercessions, called also the Prayer of the Faithful or the Universal Prayer. The last of these names recalls the recommendation in 1 Tim 2:1-2 that prayers be offered for all. There is no fixed formula for this: after an introduction by the priest, a number of intentions are proposed, to each of which the congregation responds with a short prayer; the priest then concludes with a general prayer.
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