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August 11, 2022During this past summer (2022), I wrote a series of bulletin articles for my parish on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I thought it would helpful to publish them here as well. This first online article is a collection of three I wrote on the Opening Rites.
As with anything, it’s important we start at the beginning when the bells ring and we sing our processional/entrance hymn. Bells have always been a sign of something important. Bells ring to let us know the time of day, that someone has entered a space or is waiting to enter, bells even ring to warn us of something or someone coming (like on a bicycle). We ring bells at the beginning of Holy Mass to signal that the Mass is beginning, but we also ring bells during important parts of the Mass, like the consecration of the bread and wine as it becomes the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ.
Congregational singing is a good thing. Many parishes are blessed to have talented singers leading their congregations in song as cantors and in choirs, but we’re all called to sing to the Lord together as an act of worship. The entrance/processional hymn is not a time for the cantor or choir to “show off;” rather, the opening hymn is for all of us to worship God together as we begin celebrating these sacred mysteries. St. Augustine famously said, “to sing is to pray twice.” So, lift up your voice in song! Open up that hymnal book in the pew and sing to the Lord! If you don’t like the way your voice sounds, then sing even louder so God can hear the voice He created for you. Singing as the Body of Christ at Holy Mass isn’t about sounding “good” as much as it is about worshiping God together as the Body of Christ. It’s important that you sing!
We see in the opening procession an altar server carrying the Cross, a reminder of God’s most perfect act of love that we will see again in the celebration of the sacred mysteries; candles following the Cross as symbols that Christ is the light of the world; the Book of Gospels is carried in by the lector or deacon, which is an important book since it holds the exact words spoken by our Lord Himself; and the priest comes in last representing Jesus Christ our eternal high priest. When the priest and deacon approach the Altar, they embrace the Altar with a kiss before going to their chairs. There are two reasons for the priest and deacon kissing the Altar: first, the Altar represents Jesus Christ during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Contrary to popular belief, the tabernacle is not the center of our worship during Holy Mass. Jesus in the Eucharist, who is housed in the tabernacle, is the center of our worship in any Church at all other times except for the celebration of Holy Mass. During the Mass, the Altar is the center of our worship and represents Jesus Christ to us. This is why during the Mass all the liturgical ministers bow to the Altar and why the priest incenses the Altar when incense is used. The second reason for the priest and deacon kissing the Altar is to give honor and reverence to the Altar stone that holds a relic of a saint.
Finally, we end the procession and hymn together by making the Sign of the Cross and hearing a familiar greeting from the New Testament. Our corporate prayer beginning with the Sign of the Cross is important because it reminds us of who we are worshiping (God almighty) and by what means God saved us from our sins (the Cross). The familiar New Testament greeting comes from St. Paul’s letters: “The grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you;” “the Lord be with you,” etc. Your response, “and with your spirit,” speaks to the priest’s humanity and expresses that the Lord be with him (the priest), too. Remember, whenever a priest celebrates a Sacrament, he does so as Jesus Christ and not as himself. By responding “and with your spirit,” you’re expressing that the Lord be with the priest as the priest hopes the Lord is with you.
Following the Sign of the Cross and a brief greeting from the main celebrant (priest or Bishop) we are given the opportunity to seek God’s abundant mercy in the Penitential Rite. Can you remember back to your catechism class when you learned about mortal and venial sins? Venial sins are the “lesser” sins that we commit daily like lying, swearing, stealing, gossip, judging others, impure/lustful thoughts, etc. Every time we receive the Eucharist at Holy Mass, venial sins are forgiven (mortal sins can only be forgiven through the Sacrament of Reconciliation), and this part of the Mass helps us to remember those sins and seek the Lord’s mercy. We’re instructed by the priest or Bishop to pause in silence and call to mind our sins, and then we say a prayer together seeking the Lord’s mercy. There are three forms of the Penitential Rite:
Form 1 - The Confiteor (“I Confess” in Latin): this is where we recite the following beautiful prayer. I highly recommend meditating on the words of this prayer.
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; (striking our chest three times) through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
Form 2 – Have Mercy on us: this form is the least used and least known.
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord
People: For we have sinned against you.
Priest: Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
People: And grant us your salvation.
Form 3 – The Kyrie (“Lord, have mercy” in Greek): either the priest, Bishop, or deacon leads us in three statements that include the following tropes.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Following the Penitential Rite is the Gloria! This prayer has its origin in the Gospel of Luke when the Angels announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20). It’s a chance for us to give Glory to God for this great gift we are preparing to receive in listening to the Word and receiving the Word made flesh in the Eucharist. It is most appropriate to sing the Gloria, but sometimes we recite it.
The opening rites finish with the Collect (opening prayer). This important prayer is called the Collect because it’s meant to collect all our personal intentions and offer them in one singular prayer. When the priest says, “let us pray,” that is not a cue to stand or quiet down; rather, the priest is calling all of us to pause and pray in silence for our own personal intentions. What intentions are you bringing to Holy Mass? Are you offering this Mass for someone who is sick? Do you need God’s help discerning something? What is your intention for this Mass? When you hear the priest say, “let us pray,” that brief silence is meant for you to pray for that intention. After a brief pause for everyone to name their intention in the silence of their heart, then the priest or Bishop offers the one prayer that collects all our intentions and offers them to God our Father.
