what is the Catholic mass?

Question

what is mass in Catholicism?

Answer 1

What is the Mass?



How many people understand what the Mass really is? For many, missing Mass on any given Sunday is quite acceptable. Many attend Mass simply out of habit, for family or social reasons, or simply to avoid mortal sin.

How many people really live their Mass? Many who attend pay attention to what is going on around them and little attention to what is taking place before them. And how many, after leaving Mass think little more about it?

If we are to live the Mass, we must enter into the Mass. If certain Catholics attend Mass simply to avoid serious sin, then they have little love for the Mass. It is, most likely, because they do not understand it, do not take part in it, do not live it. For these people the Mass is simply an obligation and they remain indifferent witnesses and passive spectators. We can say that the Mass is the centerpiece of Catholic spirituality, but what is the Mass?

The Mass is the reenactment of the Last Supper, when Our Lord ate the Passover meal with His disciples for the last time. Jesus sat at table with His twelve Apostles. He had gathered them together for a final meal as a father might gather his family together to address them prior to his death and tell them of his last will and testament. His desire was to give them a precious gift – the gift of Himself in the form of consecrated bread and wine. He took bread and changed it into His body; He took a cup of wine and changed it into His blood. And then He gave them both to His apostles to eat and drink. Finally, He said “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Lk 22:19). And so this command of Jesus is still being carried out around the world, at every minute of every day, in every country. No moment passes without the Mass being offered somewhere on the earth. For Catholics, Mass is the fulfilling of that command, “Do this in remembrance of Me”.

What did Our Lord mean by these words? To begin with, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a living memorial or commemoration. What Jesus did at the Last Supper is done again at the Mass. The priest who has been given special gifts and powers during the rite of ordination, calls upon the power of the Holy Spirit to change ordinary bread and wine into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our precious Lord, Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus held himself in His own hands at the Last Supper, the priest now holds Jesus in his hands, almost two thousand years later. The Mass is not a dead memorial, it is a living commemoration. When we celebrate this commemoration, the Lord really comes among us; He becomes truly present under the appearances of bread and wine.

Just when does the actual change of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ take place? The Church's teaching is that the form of the Eucharist is in the two-fold consecration when a validly ordained priest, with the proper intention says over the proper matter, "This is my body" and “This is the cup of my blood”.


'-)

Answer 2

The Catholic Mass is the liturgy of the Eucharist. Mass is the Catholic service where there are readings, a homily, and the consecration of the Eucharist.

God Bless You

Answer 3

http://www.victorclaveau.com/Doc's/what_is_the_mass.htm is a great article that explains in detail what the sacrifice of the Mass is all about.

http://www.stjames-cathedral.org/kids/mass/themass.htm is a shorter explanation, but not as in depth.

In a nutshell, the Mass is the re-enactment of the Last Supper. It includes readings from scripture (the liturgy of the Word) and Holy Communion (the liturgy of the Eucharist). As Catholics, we believe that during the Mass, Jesus becomes truly present among us in Body and Blood.

The Mass is our highest form of worship.

Answer 4

The Mass:
+ Is the principal sacramental celebration of the Catholic Church
+ Was established by Jesus at the Last Supper
+ Renews the mystery of our salvation through participation in the sacrificial death and glorious resurrection of Christ

In the Mass, we:
+ Gather as one family
+ Admit our sins, ask God for forgiveness, and the saints and each other for prayer and support
+ Glorify God
+ Listen to, ponder and reflect on His Word from the Scriptures
+ Pray for the Church, the world, those in need, and ourselves
+ Celebrate the Eucharist (Holy Communion) in obedience with Christ's command to "do this in memory of me."
+ Are sent out into the world to love and serve the Lord and one another

It is called "Mass" (from the Latin missa) because of the "mission" or "sending" with which the liturgical celebration concludes.

Here is an outline of the Mass:

+ Introductory Rites
. + Entrance
. + Greeting
. + Act of Penitence
. + Kyrie Eleison (Latin for "Lord have mercy")
. + Gloria
. + Opening Prayer

+ Liturgy of the Word
. + First Reading - usually from the Old Testament
. + Responsorial Psalm
. + Second Reading - usually from a New Testament Epistle
. + Gospel Reading
. + Homily
. + Profession of Faith (the Nicene Creed)
. + Prayer of the Faithful (prayers of petition)

+ Liturgy of the Eucharist
. + The Preparation of the Gifts - the bread and wine are brought forward and placed on the altar, our monetary offerings are also collected at this time
. + The Prayer over the Offerings
. + The Eucharistic Prayer - during this prayer the bread and wine change into the Body and Blood of Christ
. + The Lord's Prayer
. + The Rite of Peace (We offer each other a sign of peace)
. + The Breaking of the Bread
. + Communion - non-Catholics are requested out of respect not to receive Communion, they may approach the altar with their arms crossed over their chest to receive a blessing

+ The Concluding Rites
. + Announcements
. + Blessing
. + Dismissal
. + Procession

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

1)The Mass is a true Sacrifice: Christ, as the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, offers the graces of His once and for all Sacrifice on the Cross to us sacramentally under the appearances of bread and wine through the ministry of His ordained priests

2) Christ's ordained priests offer Christ to the Father under the appearances of bread and wine. Christ is really and truly present, under the appearance of bread and wine, in every way: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

3)Christ is not recrucified; the Sacrifice of the Mass is unbloody -- after the order of Melchizedek. Christ died once at a finite point in History; but God is outside of time and His offering of Himself is eternal. The Grace Christ offers in the Divine Liturgy and what He offered on the Cross are of the same sacrifice; therefore, in no way can the liturgical Sacrifice be a "repetition" of the Crucifixion. His sacrifice is re-presented ("made present again in some way"). As the Council of Trent put it, "The fruits of that bloody sacrifice, it is well understood, are received most abundantly through this unbloody one, so far is the latter from derogating in any way from the former."

Answer 6

The Catholic mass is the highest form of prayer and worship. It is when God is made present for us in literal form, in the Blessed Sacrament. Heaven touches down on earth during the Mass.

A great book on the subject is The Lamb's Supper, by Scott Hahn. Here's a good link also: http://catholic.com/library/Institution_of_the_Mass.asp

Answer 7

It is simply celebrating the Last Supper-prayer and song leading up to the priest recreating the body and blood of Christ in the Host(piece of flat white unleavened bread ) and wine and the people eating and drinking the Host and the wine(just a sip) but those who do not drink for whatever reason can just eat the host.again prayer and song.People of the Catholic Faith and even those who are not but anyone who comes into the Church pray and sing praising,thanking and asking of God then redoing-celebrating the Last Supper------we as a Group of same Faith(not necessarity Catholic but Christian faith) celebrate and show our Love for God,Jesus Christ. There are also readings from the Bible esp the various Epistles and the Gospels of the Apostles-Matthew,Mark,Luke and John

Answer 8

We call it the Holy Sacrifice of the mass. From your question it seems to me that you know very little of the mass. So what I am going to do is download the teaching on this subject. I hope you don't mind.

IN BRIEF

1406
Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).

1407
The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church.

1408
The Eucharistic celebration always includes: the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship.

1409
The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action.

1410
It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.

1411
Only validly ordained priests can preside at the Eucharist and consecrate the bread and the wine so that they become the Body and Blood of the Lord.

1412
The essential signs of the Eucharistic sacrament are wheat bread and grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked and the priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper: "This is my body which will be given up for you. . . . This is the cup of my blood. . . ."

1413
By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651).

1414
As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.

1415
Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.

1416
Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.

1417
The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion when they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year.

1418
Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is . . . a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord" (Paul VI, MF 66).

1419
Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.

Peace and every blessing!

Answer 9

The re-presentation of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary.

Answer 10

The mass is the weekly ritual. It is very beautiful.