This and That:
“Liturgical Minute” Becomes “Catholic Update”
Because of several requests, we are resuming the custom of having a “Liturgical Minute” before each Mass on the 4th Sunday of the month. Many have found it a helpful way to get caught up on different aspects of the Liturgy. In addition to my offering them, Sister Mary Therese (Assistant Pastor) and Jack Buchner (Director of Religious Education) will also take turns in presenting. Since we will not limit ourselves to Liturgy, we are renaming the monthly offering “Catholic Update” and broadening the subjects to include Faith Formation, Evangelization, as well as Liturgy.
A part of this week’s column is based on the “Catholic Update” I presented before all the Masses on the weekend of November 29th regarding Liturgy and fuller participation at Mass. It deals with some initial thoughts about the Mass, the power that gestures play during that one hour together, as well as some other related items – all ideas on making the Mass more meaningful for yourself.
Fondly,
Father Nicholas
Initial Thoughts
The Power of Gestures:
➢ Gestures add or enhance what is being said, e.g. the placing of the right hand over our heart at the Pledge of Allegiance
➢ Asking someone to marry you and the way you gesture in opening the ring box and placing the ring on her finger
➢ Similarly each gesture at Mass is meant to highlight a deeper reality
Preparation for Mass:
➢ When going to a movie, it enhances your enjoyment if you know what it is about
➢ You read the jacket of a book to have a sense of its contents
➢ Preparing for Mass can similarly enhance our experience of it. The following are ways to do that:
o Get the reading citations from the bulletin for next Sunday’s Mass and look them up in your own Bible
o Go to the parish webpage on a Thursday and get the text of Father Nicholas’ homily for the coming Sunday
o Go to the webpage the week after the homily and get a voice recording as an mp3 file
➢ Approach the Liturgy of the Word asking, “What is God wanting me to hear today?”
➢ Hearing the celebrant conclude Mass with the words, “Go the Mass is ended,” ask yourself, “What am I taking with me?”
Gestures During Mass
The following gestures all help express the deeper understanding of what we are hearing or what we are doing. They appear in bold type.
Opening of Mass:
➢ Sign of the Cross only at beginning, not after Penitential Rite. The Mass begins and ends with this important gesture.
Gospel Introduction:
➢ The 3-fold signing of the cross on forehead, lips, and heart
➢ In doing it, our thoughts are: “Lord enlighten my mind (+ on forehead) to know your truth; help me to speak (+ on lips) that truth to others; give me a love (+ over heart) for your Word”
Consecration:
➢ Bowing after the elevation of the consecrated Bread and again after the elevation of the Wine help your body express what you believe, that this is the flesh and blood of the Lord, himself
Lord’s Prayer:
➢ Hands in the “orans” (opened and upright) position to do as the early Christians did
Receiving Communion:
➢ Singing as you come forward in the Communion Procession and hearing the support of your brothers and sisters in their singing while you receive
➢ Bowing as you step forward to receive acknowledges what you are about to do
➢ Making a throne with your hands creates a sacred place in which to receive your Lord and Savior
➢ Receiving in the hand is safer hygienically than on the tongue where there is a risk of saliva passing to the hand of the Minister of Communion
➢ Saying “Amen” to “Body of Christ” is an acknowledgment that yes, indeed this is the Body of Christ!
➢ Remain standing and singing in support of others receiving
Other Related Items
Chapel:
➢ Where we celebrate daily Mass and where the tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament is located. It is there that the Communion Ministers go with the extra Eucharist after the Assembly has received Communion
➢ Reserved Sacrament is kept in the chapel for private prayer and for taking to the sick outside of Mass
➢ It is proper to genuflect when entering and leaving the chapel as a sign of respect to Christ present in the tabernacle
Children’s Participation:
➢ The nursery, located just off of the foyer in the church is open during the 9:00 and 11:30am Masses each Sunday. There is a TV monitor there that carries a signal of the Mass going on in the Worship Space
➢ CLOW (Children’s Liturgy of the Word) is for children from 3 to 10 years of age. They are sent forth after the Opening Prayer and return during the General Intercessions
➢ All children are invited up to make their contribution at the Offertory time
➢ We encourage children to use their own envelopes. Extra envelopes are always available on the table in the foyer
Personal Versus Public Piety: The following are expressions of personal piety and not part of the Roman Ritual.
➢ Making the Sign of the Cross at the Penitential Rite could easily be confused with the Sign of the Cross in the Sacrament of Reconciliation when the priest absolves our sins. The two are not the same and therefore it is better not to make the Sign of the Cross at the Penitential Rite
➢ Blessing oneself before receiving Communion does not seem appropriate as a gesture for receiving whereas the bow and the hands placed as a throne to receive is. The Sign of the Cross is reserved for the opening and closing of the Mass. All other Signs of the Cross were dropped in the renewal of Vatican II
➢ Genuflecting before the reception of Communion is one of the two gestures that is approved. However each parish for the sake of order follows its own custom in this regard. Most parishes, as do we, use a bow
➢ Sitting after you come back from receiving communion is not our custom. After we have received we stand and sing while others receive, as they stood and sang in support of our receiving. After Communion all sit for quiet reflective time
Things to come:
➢ Over the years we have reserved the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle in the chapel. In the future, when the church interior is repainted – the present paint is the original of 20 years ago – consideration will be given to placing the tabernacle in the Sanctuary
➢ Kneelers for kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer, as is the custom in most Catholic Churches in the US, will also be considered when new carpeting and painting the interior of the church is considered
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