[The Mass Explained to Children] [Previous] [Next]
When the priest actually begins to celebrate Mass, he stands upright at the foot of the three steps, with his face turned towards the altar.
The boy who serves him kneels at the left of the priest .
Then both of them, together with all those present in the church who are going to take part in the Mass, make the Sign of the Cross.
The Sign of the Cross.-Let us remember what the Sign of the Holy Cross meant at the beginning of Christianity.
It was the gesture through which a believer in Christ was recognized by his brothers. It was the sign used by a member of a persecuted society, when the very fact of belonging to it might be punished with cruel death by the powers then ruling.
The password, the word of recognition, was whispered in secret, as an act of faith in the One and Triune God: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And a sign was made with the right hand, in the form of a Cross, the standard of Christianity: which signified the sacrifice of Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
For almost two thousand years now, Christians have been repeating this sign of victory, and when we make it in our turn we are impressed by its sacred dignity.
So the Mass begins like that; and this great action unites everyone together at the foot of the altar, the officiating priest and the farthest away of those present.
"In the Name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Ghost."
The Mass begins and continues as an act of homage and an offering to the Most Holy Trinity.
The Closed Gate.-When he has made the Sign of the Cross, the priest begins to speak and the boy answers him: you can hear their voices alternating for some minutes.
You would think they were going up the steps any moment, because the phrase is repeated: "I will go unto the altar-I will go unto the altar of God."
But all the same, he does not go.
They are reciting in a low voice some verses of a beautiful psalm, the forty-second, each of them saying a verse in turn. That is why it sounds like a dialogue to those who are listening.
"lntroibo ad altare Dei," says the priest (I will go unto the altar of God).
It is no use going up to the altar with an exterior offering, if the heart is not first prepared by an interior offering.
Something like that is taught us by this marvellous Psalm which the priest and the boy (who answers for the people) recite in a dialogue at the foot of the three steps which separate them from the altar.
In that prayer the Psalmist expresses his determination to approach the altar of God. He is sad, but he knows that all joy comes from the Lord. He feels he is persecuted, and he asks justice from God:
"Distinguish," he says, "my cause from the nation that is not holy; deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man."
But his sadness is not lifted. Then he asks God:
"Give me thy light! It will lead me near to Thee and then I shall be happy. I will sing for ever Thy praises, O God of my salvation."
But still his soul is disconsolate:
"Why art thou sad, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me?"
Repentance.-One would think the priest and the boy were rooted there at the foot of the steps, as though something were holding them back.
No proud man, who thinks he is better than other men, can go up those steps; neither his invocation to the Divine Light nor his promise of praise avail him in the least.
There is only one man who can approach God, and that is the humble, repentant man, who bows down his head and says in sorrow:
"I confess I am a sinner: have mercy on me! "
So all at once the priest is seen to change his attitude. He had been standing upright, but now he bows low down, with his face to the ground, beating his breast with his clenched right hand. Turning towards the boy (who represents the people), he speaks.
"I confess before all," says the priest in effect, "not in secret, but in a loud voice before the public, that I am a sinner; that it is through my fault, through my most grievous fault; and I implore all to help me in invoking the mercy of the Most High . I confess to Almighty God, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the Angels, to the Saints, to all men."
Then the boy and all those present bow down their heads too, and likewise confess aloud; and the priest turns to the people as to his brothers, and all the people turn to him as to a father, and they beg each other to pray one for the other, to invoke the Divine mercy and pardon.
The Ascent.-And now at last the priest goes up to the altar. He walks up the three steps of the theological virtues : Faith, Hope and Charity.
The Meeting with the Saints.-His first encounter is with the holy relics. Moved by reverence and love, the priest bends down and kisses the altar over them.
"By the merits of thy Saints, whose relics lie here, O Lord, pardon all my sins." The repentant man may pass freely. At last he has reached the altar and has achieved his desire: "I go unto the altar of God, to that God who rejoiceth my youth."
The Open Book.-Turning to the right, he bends over the open Book. The first thing he reads is the "Introit", some verses of a Psalm which are different for every day.
The Kyrie.-At first the priest had simply asked for forgiveness and help, like a man full of sorrow. But now that his desire of going to the altar of God has been granted, his soul is moved and, in the impulse of his heart, he prays aloud a threefold prayer, like a solemn invocation to the Most Holy Trinity: each time he cries out, the boy answers him.
"Lord, have mercy on us!
Christ, have mercy on us!
Lord, have mercy on us!"
The Song of Joy.-Now the priest joins his hands and moves back to the middle of the altar.
He is pervaded with inexpressible joy, with that "joy of youth" which he had first implored at the foot of the steps. He is happy in God, as the shepherds were that Christmas night when they saw a great light around the stable of Bethlehem, and heard the music of angels proclaiming the birth of the Redeemer.
The same hymn which they sang bursts from his heart:
"Glory be to God in the highest!
And on earth peace to men of good will!
We praise Thee,
We bless Thee,
We adore Thee,
We glorify Thee,
We give Thee thanks,
For Thy great glory.
O Lord God, King of Heaven, God the
Father Almighty!
O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus
Christ,
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the
Father,
Thou, who takest away the sins of the
world,
Have mercy on us!
Who takest away the sins of the world,
Receive our prayer.
Who sittest at the right hand of the Father,
Have mercy on us.
For Thou only art Holy,
Thou only art Lord:
Thou only, O Jesus Christ,
With the Holy Ghost,
art most high in the glory of God the
Father. Amen."
The Reading - Now the priest is silent.
He must read the Epistle, together with the prayers and verses of the Psalms which are proper to the Mass of the day.
But before he begins this special part he turns to the people and addresses them, standing erect at the middle of the altar, to which he turns his back for a second.
"The Lord be with you."
And the people answer him, through the boy's voice:
"And with thy spirit."
Then the priest goes to read out of the holy book, and turns to the right parts for that day.
The Prayers .-First there are short prayers, which are called the "Collects." This word means the prayers collected together. They vary in number according to the feast of the day.
Everyone should listen attentively, with expectant heart, to what is going to be taught him.
Just as a master calls his pupils' special attention before beginning to teach them some- thing difficult and valuable, so the priest bids the congregation to join together, united in heart around him, while he, in the Collects, offers to God the prayers of all those present.
The Epistle.-The next thing read out is called the Epistle, because what was usually read in olden time was some extract from the letters (epistles) written by the first Apostles of Christ, particularly St. Paul and St. Peter. The first Apostles sent instructions and advice to the early Christians who were at a distance from them and who needed to be supported in the Faith, instructed in the Christian virtues, and encouraged to good works; because they needed great perseverance in those days of heavy sacrifice, when the Christians were few, scattered, and often cruelly persecuted.
But often now, under the title of "Epistle', the "Acts of the Apostles" are read out, that is, the story of the heroic or wonderful deeds done by the first followers of Christ, after His death.
And lastly, under the same title, extracts from the Old Testament are often read, referring to the prophecies foretelling Our Lord Jesus Christ, the long-expected Messias, who had already been described in detail by the prophets of Israel, centuries before the Incarnation.
The Scriptures are thus read to us, a little every day, during the whole year. It is like having a teacher, who is at the same time our dear mother, who gives us short, interesting little lessons, always different, to help us to penetrate into holy things. This loving mother and wise teacher is the Church, who has thus arranged what her children are to be taught, dividing it up through the whole liturgical year.
The Gradual.-When he has read what is called the Epistle, the priest reads the Gradual. In ancient times this used to be a hymn from the Psalms, to which the people responded with cries of joy: "Alleluia!" meaning "May the Lord be praised!" The word "Gradual" is taken from the Latin word for step, "gradus"; and the hymn was so called because the early Christians, inflamed with faith, used to come up to the steps of the altar to sing it.
The Gospel.-Now we have come to a very solemn moment.
We have almost come to the words of God; in a few moments we shall hear the teaching of Christ Himself.
Now the religious expectation in our hearts should be intense.
There is a great stir when we are about to hear the divine words. This is the final part of the Mass of the Catechumens. You can imagine them saying: "We have come to listen to the words of the Divine Master! Let us stand up to hear."
The Book, which was at the right side of the altar, is carried to the left, to show how different is the voice of God from that of men.
The priest feels unworthy of this task of transmitting the words of Our Lord. He would wish to be worthy, to be made pure. So you see him stop at the middle of the altar, with his head bowed, to address to God that most ardent and beautiful prayer, the Munda Cor Meum ... "Cleanse my heart and my lips, O Almighty God, who didst cleanse with a burning coal the lips of the Prophet Isaias!" Then he goes to the left.
Now he stands before the Book, open at the Gospel which the Church has ordered to be read on that day.
Then the priest speaks to the people to call their attention; but they are already standing and filled with the great solemnity of the moment, waiting to make the Sign of the Cross three times with the priest.
"The Lord be with you," says the priest.
"And with thy spirit," they answer.
Then he commences reading:
"The continuation of the Holy Gospel "
He makes the Sign of the Cross on the Book and then a little Cross on his forehead, on his lips and on his breast, to sanctify his thoughts, words and actions before reading the Gospel for the day. The people, too, make these three crosses, and the boy says: "Glory be to Thee, O Lord." When the priest finishes, the boy's voice is heard exclaiming: "Praise be to thee, O Christ!" while the priest devoutly kisses the Book, saying: "By the words of the Gospel may our sins be blotted out ! "
The Creed.-After the preaching of Christ, what should we do?
Proclaim our faith in a loud voice. The priest goes to the middle of the altar and begins to recite the Creed, and all those present, standing, follow his words.
Only at the sentence: "And was incarnate," priest and people go down on the right knee and remain devoutly kneeling until the words: "And was made Man," when they stand up again until the end of the Creed. The final Amen this time does not mean the usual invocation "So be it", but it is an affirmation of the truth: "So it is". And now the priest, with a Dominus vobiscum, announces that the Mass of the Catechumens is over.
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