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I have
always gone to a Catholic school and now that
I am graduating, my teacher wants us to know
more about the Mass and respond during the
Eucharistic celebration. We go to Mass
every Friday as a school and from that, I
just have a few questions.
What is the Profession of Faith?
What are the general intercessions?
What happens during the Eucharistic Prayer?
In what part of the Mass is the Lord's
Prayer said?, and
What are the Precepts of the Church?
Thank you,
Mandy
{ Can you explain to me what (these parts of the Mass) and the precepts of the Church are? }
Mike
replied:
Hi, Mandy —
Thanks for the questions.
You said:
What is the Profession
of Faith?
It is the Creed: A formal statement
of religious belief.
The Profession of Faith is the public "Prayer
of belief of the Church" said
by members of the Church. It reminds the (parishioners/believers)
saying the Creed, of the covenant
oath they have taken to be good Catholic
Christian witnesses to the world.
Side note: The word sacrament comes from a Greek word
which means "to take an oath".
When we partake in the sacraments
of the Church we are saying to God,
I promise to be faithful to you through
this sacrament and I ask for your
divine help.
God swears an oath, as well, to help
us. If we keep our oath we receive
blessings, if we break our oath we
receive crosses.
The word we say during
Holy Mass, "Amen", is
our pledge to make this oath. I recommend
Scott Hahn's book: Swear
to God: the power and promise of
the Sacraments. If I had known
the contents of this book when I
was instructed in the faith as a
teenager, I would have been a better
Catholic.
During weekday Masses, except on
Holy Days, you usually won't hear
the profession of Faith. During every
Sunday Mass you will, or something
is wrong!
Here is the text for the Catholic
Profession of Faith as it was drawn up at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.:
The Nicene Creed also known as the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of Heaven and Earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from Heaven,
(We should bow here out of respect and awe for God becoming one of us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our missalettes in the pew also direct us to do this.)
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
(we should return to the standing position.)
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into Heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the Resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.
Amen
Note: Implied in the term "Virgin Mary" is her "Virgin Birth": the fact that this was truly a miraculous birth as Mary was a Virgin, before, during, and after she gave Divine birth to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
You said:
What are the general
intercessions?
Within the context below, the general
intercessions are petitions or prayers
to God for help.
At this time in the Mass, we ask
Our Lord to intercede for us and
assist in our needs, petitions and
painful crosses if it be His Will.
The Catechism tells us:
The Mass of all ages
.
. 1346 The
liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds
according to a fundamental structure
which has been preserved throughout
the centuries down to our own
day. It displays two great parts
that form a fundamental unity:
the gathering, the liturgy
of the Word, with readings,
homily and
general intercessions;
the liturgy of the Eucharist,
with the presentation of the
bread and wine, the consecratory
thanksgiving, and Communion.
The liturgy of the Word and liturgy
of the Eucharist together form "one
single act of worship" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 56);
the Eucharistic table set for
us is the table both of the Word
of God and of the Body of the
Lord. (cf. Dei Verbum 21)
You said:
What happens during
the Eucharistic Prayer?
During the Eucharistic Prayer, what
appears to be normal, wheat bread
and grape wine, through the words
of the priest, are changed into the real Body
and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus
Himself. We call this Transubstantiation.
The Catechism tells us:
The movement of the celebration.
.
.
1353 In the epiclesis, the Church asks the Father to send his Holy Spirit (or the power of his blessing) (cf. Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer I (Roman Canon) 90) on the bread and wine, so that by his power they may become the body and blood of Jesus Christ and so that those who take part in the Eucharist may be one body and one spirit (some liturgical traditions put the epiclesis after the anamnesis).
In the institution narrative, the power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine Christ's body and blood, his sacrifice offered on the cross once for all.
There are other [words/prayers] said
before, and after, the institution
narrative as well.
All these words make up the Eucharistic
Prayer. There are four main Eucharistic
Prayers the Church uses. In addition,
the Vatican has approved about nine
other Eucharistic Prayers for other
occasions.
After the priest says, "This
is my Body" the wheat bread
host may look, taste, and smell like
wheat bread, but
it is not! It is the Body,
Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord
Himself. The same is true with the
grape wine. After the priest says, "This
is the cup of my Blood" the
grape wine may look, taste, and smell
like grape wine, but
it is not! It is the Body,
Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord
Himself.
You may ask:
How can the Precious Blood of
Christ also be in the Consecrated
[Host|Body] of the Lord?
How can the Consecrated [Host|Body]
of Christ also be in the Precious
Blood of the Lord?
For short, how can something
solid in nature, also have something
liquid in it, and
How can something liquid in nature,
also have something solid in it?
The Answer: With God everything is
possible. Remember His Job Description :
)
I believe one of the most scandalous
things that occurs in our Church
is when people are talking immediately
after Holy Mass in
Church, right in front of the Blessed
Sacrament.
One non-Catholic Christian minister
said to my pastor,
"Fr. Tom, If Christ is truly
present in the
Eucharist, why don't your
parishioners act as if they
believed it?"
I thought the Protestant minister
had a good point.
You said:
In what part of
the Mass is the Lord's Prayer
said?
It falls within the Communion Rite.
See below.
The Church celebrates the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass two ways:
the Novus Ordo, celebrated by
most Catholics in the Roman Rite,
and
the Tridentine, also know as
the Extraordinary Form of the
Mass.
Below is an outline of the various
parts of the Mass; they are roughly
similar no matter which Mass you
attend.
I've highlighted the Our Father or
Lord's Prayer part below in
blue:
— Liturgy
of the Word
— Gathering and Entrance
Procession
— Greeting
— Penitential Rite
— Opening Prayer
— Prayer of Praise (Glory
to God, except
during Lent)
— Liturgy of the Word:
— First Reading (usually
from the Old Testament)
— Psalm Response
— Second Reading (usually
from an epistle in the New Testament)
— Gospel
— Homily
— Creed or Profession of
Faith
— Prayer of the Faithful
or General Intercessions
— Liturgy
of the Eucharist
— Preparation and Offering
of the Gifts of Bread and Wine
— Preface Prayer of Praise
and Thanksgiving
— Eucharistic Prayer
which includes:
the words
of consecration and
concludes
with the
faithful's Great
Amen).
— Communion
Rite:
The Lord's
Prayer
Sign of Peace
Reception of Holy Communion
Prayer and Meditation after receiving
the Blessed Sacrament
—Concluding Prayer
Blessing
Dismissal
Note on the Dismissal: When
the priest says "Go the Mass
has ended,", he's implying:
Go and preach the Good News
of Jesus to the world, not you
can go back to your old ways.
In the Extraordinary Form of the
Mass "Ite missa est", in Latin, means: Go it is the dismissal.
The understanding is that originally
the people were not dismissed on
such days, but stayed in Church for
further prayers after Mass, suitable
to fasting days.
2041 The precepts of the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the very necessary minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the growth in love of God and neighbor:
2042 The first precept (You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor) requires the faithful to sanctify the day commemorating the Resurrection of the Lord as well as the principal liturgical feasts honoring the mysteries of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints; in the first place, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration, in which the Christian community is gathered, and by resting from those works and activities which could impede such a sanctification of these days. (cf. Code of Canon Law, canons 1246-1248; Corpus Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, canons 881 § 1, § 2, § 4)
The second precept (You shall confess your sins at least once a year) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues Baptism's work of conversion and forgiveness. (cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 989; Corpus Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, canon 719)
The third precept (You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season) guarantees as a minimum the reception of the Lord's Body and Blood in connection with the Paschal feasts, the origin and center of the Christian liturgy. (cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 920; Corpus Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, canons 708; 881 § 3)
2043 The fourth precept (You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church) ensures the times of ascesis and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart. (cf. Code of Canon Law, canons 1249-1251; Corpus Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, canon 882)
The fifth precept (You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church) means that the faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability. (cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 222; Corpus Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium canon 25; Furthermore, episcopal conferences can establish other ecclesiastical precepts for their own territories (cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 455))
The faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the Church, each according to his own abilities. (cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 222)
Important note on the second precept:
This should be understood
within the context of CCC paragraph
1385:
"Take this and eat it, all of you": Communion.
.
.
1385 To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience:
"Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself." (1 Corinthians 11:27-29)
Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to Communion.
You said: . . . . my teacher wants
us to know more about the Mass and
respond during the Eucharistic celebration.
This is very important.
We practice our universal priesthood (that we received at Baptism) as lay
parishioners went we participate
at Holy Mass every Sunday and during
daily Mass when we can attend. The
more we participate in the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass by saying our parts whether
by
speaking
praying
singing
or whatever
the more we exercise our universal
priesthood as Jesus
expects us to. During Holy
Mass the universal priesthood
of the faithful, us, dialogue
withthe ministerial
priesthood of the priest celebrating
the Mass. This dialogue represents the whole
body of Christ worshipping
God in union with the
saints in Heaven as he wishes!
Hope this helps,
Mike Humphrey
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