An Invitation to Experience the Mass
Tuesday, January 10, 2023, 1st Week in Ordinary Time
by Fr. David M. Knight
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Dear Readers: Since the Church is presently engaged in a Eucharistic Revival, we thought it would be helpful to post excerpts from his booklet called Experiencing the Mass, for the next few weeks. (This is not a sales pitch. However, the booklet is available for order on this website for $5 per copy if you would like have a copy.)
From the introduction to Experiencing the Mass:
The acclamations and the responses of the faithful to the [presider’s] greetings and prayers constitute that level of active participation that the gathered faithful are to contribute in every form of the Mass, so that the action of the entire community may be clearly expressed and fostered.
The Christian faithful who gather together as one to await the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apostle Paul to sing together psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy. Thus Saint Augustine says rightly, “Singing is for one who loves.” There is also the ancient proverb: “One who sings well prays twice.” Great importance should therefore be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of the Mass.
The gestures and posture of... the people, ought to contribute to making the entire celebration resplendent with beauty and noble simplicity, so that the true and full meaning of the different parts of the celebration is evident and that the participation of all is fostered.
Therefore, attention should be paid to what... serves the common spiritual good of the People of God, rather than private inclination or arbitrary choice. [1]
Are you ever bored at Mass? Do you know any teenagers who are?
The remedy to boredom is simple: pay attention to the words! The words are exciting. No one who really listens to them will ever be bored at Mass again.
Mass and Baptism both immerse us in the same mystery: the mystery of our salvation. The mystery of dying and rising in Christ. The mystery of becoming Christ to live as his risen body on earth. That’s exciting.
But who is even aware of it at Mass?
If you read this book the words of the Mass will come alive for you. And you will be able to enter into their mystery. You will never be bored at Mass again.
Promises, promises? Try it and see.
[1]General Instruction on the Roman Missal, 2002, nos. 35-42. I have substituted “presider” for “priest” in this Instruction because it is the preferred terminology of Vatican Council II, and of the Instruction itself, although neither is rigidly consistent. All the faithful are “priests” by Baptism and exercise their priesthood at Mass. The role of the ordained priest or “presbyter” is to preside over the assembly’s communal action. Bishop Patrick Dunn of Auckland, New Zealand, explains this in his book Priesthood: A Re-Examination of the Roman Catholic Theology of the Presbyterate: Alba House, New York, 1990, pp. 109-110 and chapter XII.
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
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