Prayers of the Church
The Mass is the quintessential prayer of the Church. The word comes from the Latin missa, meaning sent. It is also commonly referred to as "The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass". While these terms do convey a wealth of information about the content and purpose of this prayer of the Church, they are often misunderstood. For example, a common objection is often phrased such: “How can they re-sacrifice Christ when the Bible says He was sacrificed once for all?” As sacrifice, it is not a new sacrifice, but a re-presentation of Christ's once and for all sacrifice. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) says the following with respect to these terms.
[It is called] "Holy Mass (Missa), because the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (missio) of the faithful, so that they may fulfill God's will in their daily lives. " (CCC ¶ 1332)
"...The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church’s offering. The terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, ‘sacrifice of praise’, spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice are also used, since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. ..." (CCC ¶ 1330)
There are many other names, each focusing on a certain aspect of the liturgy: The Eucharist, The Lord's Supper, The Breaking of Bread, and others focus our understanding on the central point of our lives as Christians: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” (Jn 6:54) The whole of the mass recalls to us all of salvation history through Jesus Christ, and prepares us for that focal point. It is a prayer, because in its many parts we speak to, listen to, and in a most intimate and profound way, communicate with God.
We begin with the sign of the Cross, and a greeting from the celebrant that invites us into the prayer.
In the Penitential Rite, we are reminded of the sin of Adam, our sins, our baptism, and our need to repent. We ask those present and the entire communion of saints to pray for us. In this way, we expand the congregation (so to speak) and join our prayer with the whole of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ; the Church Millitant (those here on earth), the Church Suffering (those in purgatory), and the Church Triumphant (those brothers and sisters who have died in Christ and see Him face to face, and who take our prayers through Christ before the throne of God). After we have asked God’s forgivness, and still joined with the Mystical Body, we give praise to God which is His due, in the Gloria.
In the Liturgy of the Word, we are fed by the living word of God. Through readings from the Old and New Testament, a Psalm or canticle, and finally through a reading from the Gospel by the priest or deacon, we are brought once again into the mystery of salvation as told in the Bible. Christ did not just fulfill a certain”checklist” of prophacies. He is the fulfillment of the entire word of God – He is the Word of God. The Liturgy of the word continues with a homily, which is followed by a brief moment of reflection, after which we profess our faith using the Nicean Creed or optionally the Apostles Creed if children are involved in a special way. We close the first part of the Mass and introduce the second with prayers of intercession, where specific intentions are brought before the Lord.
Note Bene... The Bible tells us that it alone is not the fulness of God’s word to us. I say this to stress a point: the Word is not just the Bible, available only to the literate. The Catholic Church has consistently taught that Sola Verbum Dei (Only the Word of God) is the rule of Faith, rather than Sola Scriptura (the Bible alone). The Word is that which is spoken, not just the book that it is read from. In the spoken word, the Church includes the Tradition of the Apostles and the teaching authority of the Magestarium to interpret that written word and apostolic teaching. Because as John said in the conclusion of his Gospel “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books written.”, and as Jesus said in the “Great Commission” (Matt 28:20) “…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” and again, as Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:15 “…Hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” It becomes obvious that the Bible alone is not the full repository of the faith that Christ commanded His Church to teach.
But being fed by the Word of God has a double meaning for Catholics... And so we pass from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
Liturgy of the Eucharist ….
In the Liturgy of the Word, we consume the Word of God with our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts. In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we consume the Word of God with our whole bodies, bringing the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus into our very being as he called us to do. (c.f. Jn 6:51-58) The word eucharist is from the Greek, and means “thanksgiving”. Thanksgiving is a feast, and as Paul says, "Let us celebrate the feast!"