Mass Comments
Last we were able to gain a lot from Fr John Edwards’ very clear commentary upon the Mass. He will be back on the weekend of Sat 3rd and 4th December for a whole eight days to lead our Centenary Advent mission. By way of reinforcement, or if you missed it, here are some of the key points he covered.
The Mass has two main parts: the Liturgy of the Word, where God in Christ humanly speaks to us, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where God in Christ becomes present for us by the power of the Holy Spirit. In both these parts we offer up ourselves to God (through the Introductory prayers before the Readings and through the Offertory) and then He comes down to us (in the Readings and the Eucharistic Prayer).
In the Introductory Rites we prepare ourselves through repentance and praise to listen to the Word of God. As the readings from the Sacred Scriptures are read, especially the Gos-pel wherein Christ is present in his own words, and in the living commentary of the Gos-pel, we should expect to hear a word for us that deepens our knowledge and love of God.
At the Offertory we offer the joys and sorrows of our lives to God, through money, which flows directly from our time, sweat, skill – and Bread and Wine.
The priest prepares the altar & places a small drop of water (representing us) into the wine (to become the blood of Christ) praying quietly “By the mystery of this water & wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.
In Eucharistic Prayer we are obeying Christ’s command to “Do this in Memory of Me”. Through u s Christ prays and offers to the Father actually becoming truly, physically present in the form of bread and wine. That which was bread and wine becomes one with the Body of Jesus, offering Himself to the Father. Physical matter is always changing. This is the highest vocation matter can have – to be actually part of the Body of Christ.
The Doxology, where the priest says “Through Him, with Him, in Him…All glory & hon-our is yours almighty Father ..” sums up magnificently this prayer & action of God for us.
We then stand to say the Our Father and receive back the peace Christ has won for us, as represented by the Sign of Peace and actualised by Holy Communion. (Fr John highlighted that if we are aware of deliberately and knowingly having done something seriously against Church moral teaching we should as a way of moving forward, wait until we can express it in Confession before receiving Holy Communion.
We come up to come I into physical and spiritual (i.e. human, personal) Communion with Christ that He through his Holy Spirit may work and suffer and love through us.
The Mass has two main parts: the Liturgy of the Word, where God in Christ humanly speaks to us, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where God in Christ becomes present for us by the power of the Holy Spirit. In both these parts we offer up ourselves to God (through the Introductory prayers before the Readings and through the Offertory) and then He comes down to us (in the Readings and the Eucharistic Prayer).
In the Introductory Rites we prepare ourselves through repentance and praise to listen to the Word of God. As the readings from the Sacred Scriptures are read, especially the Gos-pel wherein Christ is present in his own words, and in the living commentary of the Gos-pel, we should expect to hear a word for us that deepens our knowledge and love of God.
At the Offertory we offer the joys and sorrows of our lives to God, through money, which flows directly from our time, sweat, skill – and Bread and Wine.
The priest prepares the altar & places a small drop of water (representing us) into the wine (to become the blood of Christ) praying quietly “By the mystery of this water & wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled himself to share in our humanity.
In Eucharistic Prayer we are obeying Christ’s command to “Do this in Memory of Me”. Through u s Christ prays and offers to the Father actually becoming truly, physically present in the form of bread and wine. That which was bread and wine becomes one with the Body of Jesus, offering Himself to the Father. Physical matter is always changing. This is the highest vocation matter can have – to be actually part of the Body of Christ.
The Doxology, where the priest says “Through Him, with Him, in Him…All glory & hon-our is yours almighty Father ..” sums up magnificently this prayer & action of God for us.
We then stand to say the Our Father and receive back the peace Christ has won for us, as represented by the Sign of Peace and actualised by Holy Communion. (Fr John highlighted that if we are aware of deliberately and knowingly having done something seriously against Church moral teaching we should as a way of moving forward, wait until we can express it in Confession before receiving Holy Communion.
We come up to come I into physical and spiritual (i.e. human, personal) Communion with Christ that He through his Holy Spirit may work and suffer and love through us.
posted by Saint Mary Magalene Church at 8:40 am