Anw, Ben had a very good point that the mass procedure is the same every week but every mass is different, not only coz the readings and sermons are different but it is what we bring to Jesus that day that is different. It then made me reflect that mass is a communal prayer, of caz we can pray at home and ya,God is everywhere, but that is personal prayer. There is a reason why we are a Church, because we come together as a community to pray. Every week we have gone thru a different thing from the last therefore we bring different prayer intentions to God, we bring different sorrows and pain to ask Jesus to heal.
So just interpretations of some impt words...The word "Mass" comes from the Latin word "Missa" which means send off. This implies that we are sent off to proclaim the Good News of God, to live it out in our daily lives, to be witnesses of Christ.
Consecration unites the past, present, future, the heaven and earth. How beautiful, impossible to us but possible to God.
The word "Eucharist" means thanksgiving. So, we ought to be happy and be thankful during Mass because we get to hear the special msg from God himself. However this might not always be the case...some of us think Mass is a bore and a chore. Aptly, Ben and Bro Con shared with us the deeper meanings and actions in Mass that helped us to appreciate the Mass more.
Did you know...?
All 33 years of Jesus' life is summarized in our 1 hr Mass!
During the blessing of the gifts (offertory) where the priest says, " Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth have given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life." This is Jesus' birth. The Passion and death of our Lord is then reenacted in the Eucharistic Prayer. Interestingly, when the priest breaks the host, he places a small piece back into the chalice together with the wine. This indicates that the body and blood of Jesus is reunited thus resurrected. (In Jewish customs, death is when the blood and body separates.)
Another interesting fact about Jesus. He died before the soldier could break his knees and pierced him by his side. As Br. Con explained, when you are hanging on the cross, to take a breath in one would have to push himself up with his legs so that the rib cage could elevate. Therefore, by breaking their knees, it would actualy kill them by suffucation. However, Jesus was not killed by the soldier, He choose to die for us. He said "Father into your hands I commend my Spirit".
Q&A
1. Why can't we eat 1hr before communion?
This is called Eucharistic Fast. This is to prepare ourselves so that we can be empty and absorb all we can of Jesus. It's just like how you do not drink coke, then eat a sweet...you cant taste the sweetness of the sweet. You do not want other food to interfere with the "taste" of Jesus.
2. What do we say/do when the whole church is kneeling down and quiet after communion?
Yes, it is tempting to take a seat and start talking to the friend next to you or read the bulletin. However, as Br. Con puts it, after a good meal, all you wana do is rest and enjoy the satisfaction. Same with communion, we should enjoy the presence of our Lord in ourselves. No need to have any words for prayers, just plain silence and adoration.
3. Why do we make the sign of the cross?
It is blessing ourselves and also to remind us of our baptism. We were cleansed of our sins at baptism.
4. Why do we make the sign of the cross on our foreheads, mouths and chest before the Gospel is read?
It is to signify that we want God to be in our thoughts whenever we think, on our lips when ever we talk and in our hearts whenever we feel.
We had many more questions during the session and these are just the gist of it. I hope this would help you appreciate the Mass more. If you are interested in knowing more, here are some web sites to check out =) do share with us cool websites and stuff if u find any!
http://www.frtommylane.com/homilies/other_homilies/mass_explanation.htm
http://www.threeinonegod.com/mass.htm
