Holy Mass

The Holy Mass is an invitation for us to celebrate a great feast. Jesus is inviting us to celebrate the Holy Mass with Him because we are His beloved friends. Jesus Himself is present in the Holy Mass in the person of the priest. We are so happy that we are invited by Jesus to this great celebration. We respond with a "Yes" to the invitation and participate in the celebration. We join in all the activities during the Holy Mass. We also behave properly while the Holy Mass is going on.

Structure of the Holy Mass or Holy Eucharist

  1. Introductory Rites
    1. Entrance
      We begin the Holy Mass when the altar servers, the lectors, the lay ministers, and the priest enter the church.
      We all stand and join in singing the entrance song to show our joy and respects.
      Through the priest, Jesus welcomes everyone to the Holy Mass.
    2. Sign of the Cross and Greeting
      We make the Sign of the Cross as a sign of our faith in the presence of God, the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
      Then by means of Greeting the priest signifies the presence of the Lord to the community.
    3. Penitential Rite
      After the introduction, the priest invites us to recall our sins and asks God's forgiveness for the times we have hurt Him and other people. We pray the Confiteor.
      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, 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.

      Alternative
      Priest says: "Have mercy on us, O Lord."
      Answer: "For we have sinned against you"
      Priest: Show us, O Lord, your mercy
      Answer: And grant us your salvation


      Absolution by the Priest
      Priest: Lord have mercy
      Answer: Lord Have mercy
      Priest: Christ Have Mercy
      Answer: Christ Have Mercy
      Priest: Lord have mercy
      Answer: Lord have mercy
       
    4. Gloria in Excelsis (Glory to God in the highest)
      We then recite or sing the Gloria

      Glory to God in the highest
      and on earth peace to people of good will.
      We praise you, we bless you,
      We adore you, we glorify you,
      We give you thanks for your great glory.
      Lord God, heavenly King
      O God, Almighty Father.

      Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten So,
      Lord God, Lamb of God
      Son of the Father,
      You take away the sins of the world have mercy on us;
      You take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer
      You are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
      For you alone are the Holy One,
      You alone are the Most High.
      Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
    5. Opening Prayer
      The priest recites an opening prayer and the people responds with AMEN.
  2. Liturgy of the Word
    We all sit down and listen to God's words.
    1. The First Reading
      A reader or a lector reads from the Lectionary the reading for the day. The first reading is taken from the Old Testament of the Bible. At the end of the reading, the lector says: "The word of the Lord" and we answer, "Thanks be to God".
    2. The Responsorial Psalm
      The Responsorial Psalm follows. Here, the lector reads (others would sing) several verses from the Lectionary and we respond by reciting the response for that verse.
    3. The Second Reading
      The second reading follows. The reading is taken from the New Testament of the Bible.

      At the end of the reading, the lector says: "The word of the Lord". and we again answer. "Thanks be to God."
    4. The Acclamation before the Gospel (Alleluia or verse)
      We all stand to welcome the Lord who is about to speak in the Gospel. We sing Alleluia or recite the verse before the Gospel.

      We then stand to listen to the priest as he reads the Gospel. The Gospel reading tells about the life of Jesus.
    5. The Gospel
      We then listen to the priest as he reads the Gospel.

      The priest begins by saying: "The Lord be with you" and we answer: "And with your spirit"

      Then he says:  "A reading from the Holy Gospel according to ________ (Luke, Mark, Matthew, or John)." And we answer: "Glory to you, O Lord" while making a small sign of the cross on our forehead, lip and chest.

      At the end of the gospel reading, the priest says: "The Gospel of the Lord" and we answer: "Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ."
    6. The Homily
      We then sit down and listen to the priest as he gives his homily.

      The priest explains the readings so that we will fully understand and put into practice the messages of Jesus.
    7. The Profession of Faith
      After the homily, we all stand and pray the Apostles' Creed to profess our faith

      Apostles' Creed

      I believe in God, the Father Almighty
      Creator of heaven and earth.
      and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
      who was conceived by
      the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary,
      suffered under Pontius Pilate,
      was crucified, died and was buried;
      |he descended into hell;
      on the third day He rose again from the dead;
      he ascended into heaven,
      and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
      from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.
      I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church,
      the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins,
      the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

      Amen
        
    8. The prayer of the Faithful
      The Prayer of the Faithful follows. Here we lift up to God our prayers for government leaders the church and church leaders, for people who are sick and for everyone who needs our prayer.
  3. Liturgy of the Eucharist
    Eucharist      is a memorial of Christ's death and resurrection; a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, and bond of charity. Eucharist means "thanksgiving". During the Holy Mass, we thank Jesus for giving Himself for us. He sacrificed Himself and died for us so that our sins may be forgiven.
    1. Offertory Procession
      We begin this part of the Holy Mass with the Offertory. People bring their gifts to the altar.

      Some would offer flowers, others would offer fruits or any other food or whatever gifts they would want to offer.

      The most important offerings are the bread and wine.

      Aside from the bread and wine, it is also important to offer ourselves to Jesus, that we may always be worthy of Jesus' love.
    2. The Prayer over the Offerings
      The priest prays over the gifts offered. We pray that God will accept our gifts and prayers.

      The priest says: "Pray brethen, (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father." and we answer "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His holy Church."
    3. The Eucharistic Prayer
      This is the most sacred part of the Holy Mass. During the Consecration, the bread and the wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus. He is truly present among us.

      We kneel while the priest recalls what Jesus did during His Last Supper with His disciples. The priest raises it after he says: "Take this all of you and eat of it. For this is My Body which will be given up for you."

      Then the priest says over the cup:
      "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 pored our for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me." 

      We look at the cup and then bow our heads.
    4. The Communion Rite
      We prepare ourselves to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Holy Communion.

      Before we receive Jesus in the Holy Communion we need to be cleansed. We prepare ourselves to receive Jesus, by being sorry for our sins, asking for His forgiveness.
    5. The Lord's Prayer
      We all stand and prepare ourselves to receive Jesus in our hearts. We pray or sing the prayer Jesus taught us, the Lord's Prayer.

      The Lord's Prayer

      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 bu deliver us from evil.

      AMEN
    6. The Sign of Peace
      The priest invites us to share the peace of the Lord to everyone. He says: The peace of the Lord be with you always.

      And we answer:  "And with your spirit" or "Also with you"

      We share this peace to everyone inside the church. We greet everyone and say to one another: "Peace be with you."

      We ask God's mercy for our sins and to grant us peace. We pray: "Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, grant us peace."
    7. Communion
      We kneel and prepare ourselves to receive Jesus. The priest lifts up the Holy Bread and says: Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb." 
      And we reply: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."

      We are now ready to receive the Bread of Life through Holy Communion. When we receive the consecrated bread, we receive Jesus. The priest gives us the bread, saying: "Body of Christ" and we reply, "Amen".

      Amen means Yes. Saying "Amen" means we believe that we are receiving Jesus.
  4. The Concluding Rites
    This is the last part of the Holy Mass.

    The priest says: The Lord be with you.
    And we answer: And also be with you

    The priest blesses us and tell us to go in peace and to love and serve Jesus through other people. 

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