The Virtual Mass

Roman Catholic worship on a typical Sunday

The Roman Catholic Mass is an unfolding drama, repeated every day of the year except the t ime from Good Friday to the Resurrection.

This is Karlskirche in Vienna, Austria. This city was the site of Mozart’s f irst Mass, composed when he was just 12. Selctions from Mozart’s Requiem Mass are being used for this presentation.

Tradit ion holds that the Mass makes the physical Jesus Christ present in the now – not as a historical event, but as a real experience for the believer.

As Catholics enter the nave (the seating area), they dip their r ight f ingert ips into the font of water by the door and make the sign of the cross on themselves, touching f irst the forehead, then the breast, the left shoulder and the r ight shoulder, f inally drawing their f ingers to their l ips. This is a reminder of their baptism, the means by which they became part of the people of God.

A Roman Catholic church is r ich with sensory experience: the smell of candles and incense burning, colorful images in stained glass, hushed echoes of people in the pews, and the visual imagery of crucif ixes, statues and painted art. Along with the water at the entrance and cei l ings that soar upward to draw the mind toward heaven, it al l creates a sacred moment,

set apart from the daily world outside, so as to allow the re-creation of the worshipper.

On the left and right walls of the nave (the main seating area) are the Stations of the Cross. Sometimes painted, sometimes sculpted from wood or stone, these images lead the worshipper through the f inal day of Jesus’ l i fe.

The presence of so many f igures in the church is a reminder that the Christ ian is part of a larger community – one that includes all the faithful, in al l the world, in all t imes.

Chartres Cathedral

Contrary to public thinking, the mass is not the same every week. There are basics that are appropriate for any given Sunday – a joyful celebration (l ike Easter) wil l include very dif ferent pieces from a sorrowful celebration (l ike Good Friday).

The order of these basics (called “rubrics”) is set out in the Missal.

Benedictine missal.

The Kyrie is the opening conversation between the priest and the gathered congregation. In it is the recognit ion that regardless of the dif ferent posit ions they might take in the mass, all share the need for God’s grace if they are to stand as part of God’s people.

Though the mass was conducted in Latin for 1500 years and is now conducted in the language of the local community, the Kyrie has always been spoken in Greek – the language of the Orthodox churches – point ing to a deeper community that includes al l the Church of the great Councils of the 4th-, 5th and 6th centuries.

P: Kyrie eleison (“Lord have mercy”)

C: Kyrie eleison

P: Kyrie eleison

C: Kyrie eleison

P: Christe eleison (“Christ have mercy”)

C: Christe eleison

The colors on the altar, pulpit (from which the homily is given) and priest reflect the t ime of the church year. Advent begins the year, fol lowed by Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. Certain high holy days are symbolized by red.

Epiphany (when Jesus made himself known) and Pentecost (after his ascension) are represented by green.

Advent, the t ime of preparation for the coming king, is symbolized by purple.

Easter and other key days (like Ascension Sunday) are represented by white.

The cry for mercy is immediately fol lowed by the Gloria Patri (“Glory to the Father”). I t is the celebration of the very redemption the Kyrie seeks:

Glory to God in the highest,

and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,

we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,

Lord God, Lamb of God,

you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;

you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.

For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,

You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,

with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Passages from the Bible are usually read by the laity (the members of the congregation). The order is typical ly an Old Testament passage, Psalm, and a passage from a New Testament letter (also cal led “epist les”).

The f irst act of the drama (the entrance ri te) ends and the second act (the Service of the Word) now begins.

Each day of the year has appointed readings – a part icular reading from the Gospels, along with Old Testament, epist le, and Psalm passages. The schedule is on a three-year cycle, and a great port ion of the Bible is publicly read in that t ime.

Lectionary from Rome, 16 th century

The psalm comes between the Old Testament and Epist le readings. A poem of praise from the Old Testament book by that name, i t is typically chanted – each l ine sung with the same musical phrase. Tradit ionally this was done by a boys choir or monks aff i l iated with the parish. Now more often a music leader alternates l ines with the congregation. This is called “antiphonal singing”.

Following the Old Testament and Epist le readings, the congregation sings “Alleluia” (Hebrew for “Praise the Lord”). The priest then announces and reads a passage from the Gospels.

The homily – the priest’s message that seeks to connect the Gospel reading with the here-and-now experience of the faithful – is usually brief.

In this unfolding drama, the proclamation of the Gospel to those who have been claimed by God draws the response of l i fe l ived as sacred. Thus, the Creed of the Church is proclaimed by the community – a declaration of unity (i t begins with the word “We”).

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth …

We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord …

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church …

The prayers of the community are then gathered and voiced, including the prayers for all who have gone before in the faith, and all who now serve to make that faith known to the world.

The drama’s second act – the Service of the Word – ends here.

Jordan Lockhart, St. John’s Catholic School in Churchtown, GA

In the final act – the Eucharist – the action moves to the altar. From the medieval era unti l 1965 the altar was against the wall, and the action there carried a sense of the people’s sacrif ice. Vatican II moved the altar away from the wall, symbolizing once again a celebration of a divine feast.

St. Luke’s Parish, Middleburg, FL

The offerings are received, including the offering of bread and wine for use in the meal. No special bread or wine is required -- a simple loaf or the commonly used unleavened wafers, and a simple red wine are typical.

The priest speaks the words of inst itut ion – voicing the words that Jesus spoke at his last meal with his fol lowers: In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks,broke it and said,‘Take and eat, al l ofyou. This is my body. Do this in remembrance ofme.’

Although Da Vinci’s Last Supper is the most famous depiction of the event, it is hardly the oldest. This fresco from Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna dates to the 500s (900 years before Da Vinci). Note the fish being served.

(PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THIS DETAIL!)

As the words of institution are completed, the bells are rung, announcing the miracle of transubstantiation – what looks l ike, and tastes l ike bread or wine has, through a divine act, become the body or blood of Jesus Christ.

All who participate in the communion take into themselves the Christ himself, and thereby become “Christ” to the world.

Unti l Vatican II, the wine had been withheld from the laity for over 700 years. Today, as in the first 1000 years of the Church, the faithful both eat and drink at the feast. To each, the priest declares, “The body/blood of Christ,” to which the believer simply responds, “Amen.”

The mass seems to end abruptly. As soon as the whole congregation has received the bread and wine, a benediction is spoken over them by the priest, and they are dismissed with the words, “Go in peace

to serve the Lord.”

The mass is the way, not the goal. The faithful are being transformed and strengthened to do the work of the Christ in their world. In this way – as the saying goes –

The mass never ends.

Hymns (the many different songs sung in praise of God as part of congregational worship) do indeed exist in the Catholic tradit ion, but they do not play the central role here that they do in many Protestant churches. Catholic congregational singing more l ikely involves the l i turgical settings – the set pieces of the mass.