The Liturgy of the Word – The Prayers of the FaithfulFollowing the Creed, we conclude the Liturgy of the Word with the Prayers of the Faithful. They are also commonly called the General Intercessions or Universal Prayer. The priest introduces the prayers. The lector then reads the individual petitions followed by a concluding prayer. To …
The Liturgy of the Word – The Homily & CreedAfter the readings are finished, the congregation sits while an ordained person offers the homily. The homily is to help break open the readings and help people apply them to life in today’s world. The homily should help us form our consciences and daily lives in …
The Liturgy of the Word – Daily Mass ReadingsJust as on Sunday, during the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter the readings for daily Mass are selected to correspond to the themes of the season. At daily Mass there is not a second reading unless it is a special feast or solemnity. With six …
The Liturgy of the Word – How the Readings Are Selected Last week, we read about the importance of the Word of God. Today we take a look at how the Sunday readings are chosen. Every Latin Rite Catholic Church in the world uses the same readings each Sunday. During the seasons of Advent, Christmas, …
The Liturgy of the WordAfter the Collect (opening prayer), we begin the Liturgy of the Word. This includes all the readings, the homily the Creed, and the Prayers of the Faithful (aka General Intercessions). The readings we share are the inspired Word of God. They were written down by human hands and thus are influenced …
The Collect (Opening Prayer) After the Gloria comes the Collect, often called the opening prayer. The priest begins, “Let us pray” and then there is silence. The silence is intentional as a moment to collect our thoughts to bring together our hearts in prayer. It is “usually addressed to God the Father through Christ, in …
The Penitential ActAfter the greeting, the priest may offer a few words on the readings or recalling why we come to Mass. Following that, he says, “Let us acknowledge our sins so as to prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred mysteries. This begins the Penitential Act. This does not take the place of the Sacrament …
The Greeting After the Sign of the Cross, the priest offers the greeting. There are three options for the greeting by the priest. The first one is “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit.” This greeting is not arbitrarily made up. It comes from 2 Corinthians …
The Sign of the Cross The two main parts of the Mass are the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Before we begin the Liturgy of the Word, we have the Introductory Rites. They begin with the procession and music that we have already reflected on. As part of the procession, …
The Importance of Music Music has long been part of how people give thanks and praise to God. We hear of how the people sang in thankful response to God’s action in their lives in Exodus 15, Numbers 21:17, Judges 5, and in 2 Samuel 6:5. The chief document for the way we celebrate Mass …
