Unit 6 The Mass of the Faithful The Communion; The Our Father Lesson 1

Priest: Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation.
Altar Boy: But deliver us from evil.
Priest: Amen.

The Communion part of the Mass begins with the Our Father.

During the Offertory and Canon we give to God. In the Communion of the Mass, God gives to us. He gives us Himself. Our Lord wishes to give us in Holy Communion the blessings He obtained for us in dying on the Cross.

Holy Communion is a part of the Mass. When we do not recieve Holy Communion, we are not receiving all the graces that Our Lord obtained for us in His sacrifice on the cross.

In the Mass, the Our Father is introduced with these words: Let us pray. Instructed by Thy saving commandments and following Thy divine directions, we presume to say, Our Father…

You know why we have these words in the Mass. One day, when Our Lord was on earth, the apostles said to Him: “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Our Lord replied: “When you pray, pray thus.” And then He gave them the Our Father.

In the Mass, the Our Father is the first step in our preparation for Holy Communion. This prayer asks God to give us our daily bread. Our Lord Himself told His followers that He is the “bread of life.”

Taken from The Kingdom of God series The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by Ellamay Horan. I am not the Author merely the distributor. God Bless BJS!!

The Last Prayer of the Canon Lesson 7

Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, is to Thee, God the Father Almighty, in the union of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory world without end. Amen.

This is the last prayer of the Canon of the Mass. It is a prayer of praise. The Preface, the prayer that introduces the Canon, is also a prayer of praise. The first purpose for which the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered is to give to God the honor that should be given to Him.

This short prayer speaks of honor and glory for the Most Holy Trinity. Our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross, which is continued in the Mass, makes it possible for us to give worthy praise to the Most Holy Trinity.

The priest holds the Sacred Host in his hands as he says this prayer. With it he makes three crosses over the chalice and two crosses before the chalice. Then he raises both chalice and Host. As he does these things he is saying the last prayer of the Canon of the Mass.

The people can hear the last words of this short prayer of praise. The priest raises his voice as he says “per omnia saecula saeculorum.” In English per omnia saecula saeculorum means “world without end” or “forever and ever.” All the other prayers of the Canon, after the Preface, have been recited silently. The Amen is said by the altar boy. He does so for all the people in the church. Amen means “So be it.”

The offering part of the Mass ends with this last prayer of the Canon. During the Offertory, priest and people offered bread, wine, and themselves to God. At the Consecration, Our Lord offered Himself to His Father, just as He did at the Last Supper and on the Cross. Immediately after the Consecration, we joined with the priest and offered Our Lord to God the Father.

Taken from The Kingdom of God series The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by Ellamay Horan. I am not the Author merely the distributor. God Bless BJS!!

The Mass of the Faithful: The Cannon; The Preface Lesson 1

It is indeed meet and just, right and profitable unto salvation, always and everywhere to give thanks to Thee, holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God, who with Thine only begotten Son and the Holy Ghost art one God, one Lord; not in the unity of a single person, but in the trinity of a single nature. For that which we believe from Thy revelation concerning Thy glory, that same we believe of Thy Son, that same of the Holy Ghost, without difference or discrimination. So that in confessing the true and everlasting Godhead, we shall adore distinction in persons, oneness in being, and equality in majesty. This the angels and the archangels, the cherubim, too, and the seraphim do praise; day by day they cease not to get out, saying as with one voice:

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts! Heaven and earth are filled with Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!

The Canon is the Consecration part of the Mass.

The Preface is the introduction to the Canon. It is a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to the most Blessed Trinity–to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

Before the priest says the Preface, he speaks to the people with the words: “The Lord be with you.”

The altar boys answer: “And with thy spirit.”

Then the priest says to the people: “Lift up your hearts.” And what does that mean? His words say: “Pay very special attention. Let it be loving attention.”

Again the altar boy answers in the name of the people: “We have lifted them up to the Lord.”

Next the priest says to us: “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.”

And again the boy answers for the people: “It is meet and just.” He means that it is the right thing for us to do, to give thanks to Almighty God.

Then the priest recites the Preface. He says it aloud. As he does so, his hands are extended outward. They show that he is begging God to listen.

In the Preface we speak our thanks to God. Our gift of thanksgiving we give to God immediately after the Consecration when we offer Our Lord to God the Father.

The word eucharist means “giving thanks.” To thank God for His many favors is one of the four chief purposes for which the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered.

The Preface, given at the beginning of this lesson, is the one used on almost all Sundays. At certain times parts of the Preface change.

The short prayer after the Preface is called “The Sanctus.” Sanctus is the Latin word for holy. In the Sanctus we use words of the angels in giving praise to our Blessed Lord. He will become present on the altar at the Consecration. At that time He becomes our Gift to God. He becomes the victim of sacrifice.

Taken from The Kingdom of God series The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by Ellamay Horan. I am not the Author merely the distributor. God Bless BJS!!