Chapter 23: We Celebrate the Mass
Opening Prayer: Hail Mary
Background: What are some ways you welcome people?
We Gather to Worship to God
Each week, we gather as a parish for Mass to praise and give thanks to God.
The mass is the Church’s greatest celebration.
Mass has two major parts: The Liturgy of the Word and The Eucharist
The mass begins as we stand sing and welcome one another
The priest begins with the sign of the cross
Then we ask God and others for forgiveness
We listen to God’s Word
The bible is the book of God’s Word.
During the Liturgy of the word, we listen to three readings from the Bible:
First reading is from the Old Testament and it’s about God’s people who lived before Jesus Christ was born.
The second reading is from the New testament and it is about the teachings of the Apostles.
After the first and second reading, the reader will say “The Word of the Lord.” and we answer, “Thanks be to God.”
The third reading is the Gospel reading and the reading is taken from one of the four Gospels in the New Testament. During this time we stand and sing words of praise (Alleluia). The Gospel is the Good News about Jesus Christ and his teachings. This reading is done by a priest or a deacon.
After the gospel, the reader will say “The Gospel of the Lord,” and we respond with “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.”
After the Gospel, the priest or deacon will give a homily. The Homily helps us to apply God’s words to our everyday lives.
After the Homily, the priest walks back to the Altar and we all stand. Then we recite the Nicene Creed.
We end the first part of the mass (Liturgy of the word) with the Prayer of the Faithful for the church and the world.
The response for each Prayer is, “Lord hear our prayer.”
Our gifts of bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ
The second part of the Mass (The Eucharist) begins as the altar and the gifts are prepared. Usually two or three parishioners offer these gifts to the priest by bringing them up to the altar
The altar is the table of the Lord.
The priest along with the altar servers prepare the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist.
After everything is prepared, the priest says the Eucharistic prayer. During this prayer the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.
In Order for this to happen the priest says:
Priest takes the bread and says the word of Jesus: “Take this all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be give up for you” (At this point the host becomes the Body of Christ)
Pries takes the chalice which has the cup of wine and says the word of Jesus “Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins, do this in memory of me” (At this point the wine now becomes the blood of Christ)
We grow closer to Jesus and one another
We prepare ourselves to receive Jesus by:
praying the Our Father
sharing the sign of peace
Asking Jesus for forgiveness and peace
Now the priest invites us to share the Eucharist (Communion)
The people who have received the sacrament of first Holy Communion receive the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Priest says “The body of Christ” and our response is “Amen”
The priest says “The blood of Christ” and we respond with “Amen”
When you say the word “Amen” you are saying “I believe”
Before receiving Jesus in the Eucharist we make sure that our relationship with him is strong (Free of sin)
While everyone is receiving communion, we sing songs of thanks to show that we are joined with Jesus and the church
After receiving Communion everyone quietly returns to their seats and we quietly pray.
To conclude the mass, the priest gives us the blessing and we are sent out to love as Jesus’ followers.
Closing prayer: Our Father, Glory Be
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