The Holy Mass – The closer we come to this understanding, the more the light will shine for immeasurable love
The Holy Mass from my grandfather's prayer book (Men in prayer). No human spirit likes to fathom the great mystery of the Holy Mass. And yet we should and want to come as close as possible to understanding. Above all, God has given us the gifts of the Spirit. And the closer we come to this understanding, the more the light will dawn on us for the immeasurable love that God shows us through this holy sacrifice.
A good Holy Mass requires two things above all:
- We must be aware that what happens on the altar is essentially the same as what happened on Calvary: Jesus Christ lays down his life for us. The more clearly we realize this, the better the fair will be for us.
- And further it is necessary that we include ourselves completely in this sacrifice. It is meant to be a total surrender of all that we are and have. Only then will the sacrifice of Jesus become effective in us in all its fullness.
The best way to attend Holy Mass is to pray with the priest from the Church Missal. Here we want to delve into the basic ideas of this most holy sacrifice in prayer and meditation.
Only in the Holy Mass does man reach the climax of his Christian dignity on earth. He is never greater than before the altar. Tell me how you feel about Mass and I will tell you what you are. (Pastor Mäder)
During the Mass imagine the suffering of our Lord. You should consider this with heartfelt compassion and thank him that for your sake and for the sake of our sins he wanted to become man, live and die a shameful and bitter death. And with that thou shalt sacrifice thyself, and all thy need, and all that is for the benefit of Christendom, as Christ did when he died.
We begin Holy Mass with a
Preparatory Prayer for Holy Mass
My Lord and God! Let me now attend this Holy Mass with good devotion. I join the prayers of the priest who offers you this sacrifice on our behalf. I enclose myself in the sacrifice of your divine Son, who gives himself bloodlessly to you for all of us, in praise and thanksgiving, in prayer and in atonement. With this Holy Mass I want to thank you as best I can for all your goodness.
Make me sincerely repent of my sins to be blotted out by this holy sacrifice. Avert the punishments I justly deserve. Take them also from the poor souls, for whom I want to pray especially. Finally, I want to include in this Sacrifice of the Mass all concerns of all Christianity, that your word go out into the whole world, teach those who go astray, reconcile the peoples and unite all people in you, who are the father of all people. Amen.
The priest begins Holy Mass on the steps of the altar. This relay prayer focuses on the confession of sins and the request for forgiveness, so that priests and people can celebrate Holy Mass with a pure heart.
Relay Prayer
King of kings, Lord of heaven and earth! From your hand the whole world came out with a word. I am not worthy to come to you, or even to call your holy name. I'm so small in front of you. So I invoke your great mercy: Look at me and have mercy on me! You have been so good to the right thief on the cross and to Mary Magdalene. I openly admit all my sins. In pride, sloth, anger, and impurity have I failed.
Let me therefore participate in the great cleansing graces of this Holy Mass and in all the good works that are done. You descended from heaven to us sinners; I call you Heal me sick, raise me dead, for by your hand I was created. You can forgive more than I can ask, give more than I can desire. Help me to a happy ending and true regret. Amen.
In holy reverence the priest goes up to the altar and kisses the tomb of the holy bones. In the opening hymn, the festival secret of the day is sung and prayed by the priest. In remembrance of the solemn entry, the priest then prays the beginning of a litany with the ancient Kyrie eleison: Lord, have mercy on us. Then he raises his voice to the great song of praise, to the
Gloria
How glorious are you, great God! From an unworthy mouth I praise and praise you; you are so good, so holy and merciful. I kneel before you and adore you: You are my Lord and God! The whole world and all of our lives are in your hands. I thank you for this! You show us your immeasurable mercy, you give us your dear son as a sacrifice; Have mercy on us. I bow to you that you will graciously hear my request. You alone shall be my lord! You be praise and glory before all the world! Amen.
From the missal, the priest now performs the church prayer with raised hands. It summarizes all the prayers of the believers. In a nutshell, all of our concerns are included.
Church Prayer
You, my God, teach me how to ask. Let me ask what is most dear to you. My heart wants to look for you wherever it can find you. Take from me what separates me from you: take me to you so that I may do your will in joy and in the cross. Amen.
In the epistle, the priest reads a passage from the letters of the apostles or from the Old Covenant. They are selected teachings written down by his holy messengers from the rich abundance of divine wisdom.
Epistle
Your messengers, divine Master, have gone out into all the world to preach the good news and to teach them all that you have commanded them. What a rich stream flowed out into the world! The will of God was made known to all, and those of good will were allowed to have your peace. And when the world rose up against your saints, and when their blood flowed in torrents for you, a wonderful thing happened: This blood became the seed from which your kingdom arose ever more glorious.
Lord, open our ears to these divine teachings! Let us hear your voice through the mouths of your initiates. Let us bear the suffering that awaits everyone who wants to follow you. In suffering for you we want to help build your holy kingdom on earth. So be everything renewed in you, divine Master. Send us all your Holy Spirit of Wisdom! Amen.
The acolyte carried the book to the gospel page. The gospel tells us an event in the life of Jesus Christ. We stand up and sign ourselves with the triple cross so that thoughts, words and works may be blessed by the Word of God.
Gospel
O Lord, every word out of your mouth is precious, more valuable than all gold. And each of your deeds outweighs all the good works of men. It is a divine word and a divine deed. You have taught a truly glad tiding, Divine Master. Once you start delving into it, you can't get away from it.
For in your word is all happiness and all peace. Plant your Word of God in our hearts like a living seed. It should give up in good soil like a vigorous tree. And this tree should bear diverse fruit for each of us. In holy joy I will receive your words and be a good gardener to them. And everyone should know that you make me good and happy. Amen.
We have heard the word of God. We believe it and profess that faith by the creed, praying the creed with the priest. This concludes the preliminary mass and leads to the first main part, the sacrifice. Bread and wine are the meaningful offerings. They are our gift to God and mean that we want to give everything to Him.
Sacrifice
Almighty God! From your kind hand I have received my life. Everything I have I owe to you. And I want to give you everything back. I know that this sacrifice is very imperfect and lacking. You gave me talents and powers, set me tasks and created work for me so that I can appear before you again with a valuable sacrifice. Accept graciously the little good that I now offer you through the priest! I place it with the Sacred Host and the Priest's Chalice.
I give myself to you I transform, as soon as this host and this wine will be transformed into your holy flesh and blood, that I am no longer mine, but entirely yours. This shall be my sacrifice of life to you, Father in heaven. Amen.
The priest's handwashing signifies the final cleansing of the soul before the Lord comes to the altar. Great joy fills our hearts as we remember that we may now experience the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This joy is expressed in the preface.
Prefation
We beg you, O Lord, mercifully accept our poor sacrifice that we have now offered. It is a human gift tainted with so many human weaknesses. But now we may offer you a sacrifice that will gladden your father's heart. It is your only begotten Son who wants to come among us so that we may celebrate a worthy, perfect sacrifice.
He helps us to offer you praise and thanks. So we unite with the blessed spirits of heaven in a glorious chorus, in praise and glory of your goodness and glory. With all creatures of the earth we raise our voice in praise of God: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Heaven and earth are filled with your glory!
In holy silence we prepare for the great mystery. But let's not only think of ourselves! We also include the concerns of those for whom we owe special prayers. The breastfeeding fair gives us some time to do this.
Mass
Jesus Christ, our Savior! It wasn't enough for you that you gave yourself, covered in blood, for us on the cross. Your love found even greater miracles. You want to come back into the world to us poor sinners. You want to accomplish what no human being is able to fathom, a testimony of your great love: You come into this poor earthly house yourself!
You come as an offering to your heavenly Father for the forgiveness of our sins. We have so much poverty and need. We bring to you the concerns of all caring, distressed and suffering people. All fathers, mothers and children, all the sick and dying, the concerns of your holy church, its bishops and priests, the great concerns of the Holy Father.
Even now we commend especially those entrusted with the weal and woe of our homeland and those who carry the heavy burden of government on their shoulders around the world. Look upon them all with great mercy, and help us and them carry, sacrifice, suffer and worry. They shall do it for you and with you, innocent sacrificial lamb. Amen.
The incredible miracle happens; The Lord comes to us. The priest fulfills his holy office, his words bring us the Lord in the holy consecration. We worship him with reverence:
Conversion
We salute you, true body of Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, sacrificed on the cross for us all. True God and man, have mercy on us! We salute you, holy blood of Christ, shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. Wash us clean from our sins and heal our sick souls! True God and man, have mercy on us! Good Father in heaven! Now you look at this altar with joy. Here is the body and joy on this altar. Here is the body and blood of your much-beloved Son, a sacrifice undefiled, pure, holy and perfect.
With this sacrifice, accept our gratitude for all the goodness we have experienced from you throughout our lives. May it redeem us from all evil! In this sacrifice we also include our prayers for those who preceded us in death but are still atoning at the place of purification. Give all poor souls eternal rest! Especially my dear relatives and friends, those who have done me good and to whom I owe a debt of gratitude.
Jesus Christ does not want to be our victim, but also the wonderful food of our soul. With the priest we prepare for his coming. At least spiritually may he come, if we do not have the joy of really receiving him. So we do a short preparation for communion with the priest. First we reverently pray the Lord's prayer: Our Father. Then we profess faith in the mystery of Holy Communion.
Only begotten Son of God! You went among your people as a friend and benefactor, as a healer of the sick, as a god among men, and yet you were hated by many and rejected by many. Few believed in you, others blasphemed you. You should die shamefully and painfully for the sins of men. You went to your death voluntarily and generously.
And so that we do not forget this death, you left us an unforgettable memory: your holy body and your holy blood for the nourishment of our souls. Your suffering and your death shall be unforgettable to me. I would like to absorb your holy body, drink your holy blood, so that your life becomes effective in me and always remains effective. you died for me; live me that I live for you. Amen.
The priest enjoys the holy body and blood of Christ. In spirit we absorb the Lord into our soul and pray.
Communion
O Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; but speak to me a word, and my soul will be healed. The body of our Lord Jesus Christ will keep my soul unto eternal life. Amen. Jesus Christ! What you once said also applies to me: "Come to me, you who are laden down with toil and burdens, and I will give you rest." Truly this is now the food in which is contained all strength to bear every toil and burden.
All life flows from you! Because "whoever eats of this bread will not die". It contains everything we need in this life and at the same time it is the food for eternal life, for resurrection. Lord and Saviour, because it comes from your hands, because you yourself are the river of my life, I no longer live - Christ lives in me. Amen.
The priest cleans the chalice and prays the short closing prayers. Before leaving, our prayers are summarized again by the priest, especially our thanks for the Holy Sacrifice of Mass and Holy Communion.
Final Prayer
You made us experience this great mystery of your sacrifice, good God. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. With this strength we go back to our work. May it be done in holy joy because you are with us. Don't leave us if we should forget you; don't leave us alone when temptation comes again. Amen.
At the end the priest gives us the blessing and reads the Gospel of St. John.
Blessing
Lord give us your blessings! Everything depends on your blessing. You yourself draw your holy cross as a sign of suffering and victory on our foreheads and in our souls. Both are consecrated and sanctified in the name of the Father who created us, in the name of the Son who redeemed us, and in the name of the Holy Spirit who sanctified us. Amen.
It is clear that praying along with the Holy Mass makes certain demands that one should fulfill as best as possible. It is easier to pray along with a "Devotional Mass" than to follow the priest exactly in the missal. And yet there must be an effort to achieve this goal. A few more comments:
Of course, it is not enough to find everything in the Missal that the priest does and prays at Holy Mass. That would only be the technical side of the Holy Mass. Yes, one would not have fulfilled one's duty even if one knew the historical, linguistic and content explanation and the liturgical meaning of all Mass texts. All this has not yet been prayed for. But there is a good way to do it. And whoever has the opportunity should go this way. He will get a deep inner joy at the Holy Mass. Because it contains so many and so precious treasures that we cannot fully exploit it throughout our lives.
The need to continue to contribute to the individual parts and prayers of the Holy Mass arises naturally if we pray this first devotional service attentively and take care of what the church wants to tell us with its rich sign language (symbolism). For this purpose, we have also included a detailed measurement explanation here. It is easiest to follow her at high mass. The high mass is supposed to be the Sunday mass, which one attends if possible.
It is the parish service to which the pastor calls his parishioners together. And the better everyone can follow the holy office, the more profit we get from it for the whole week. We then combine prayer and work in the way God wills. In this way we ourselves will be the co-sacrificers at Holy Mass and will no longer be able to do without them.
I have not yet spoken to you about the sun of prayer exercises; from the holy sacrifice of the Mass. It is the center of the Christian religion, the heart of worship, the soul of godliness, an unspeakable mystery. In this abyss of divine love, God in all reality unites with us and bestows upon us his graces. The prayer performed in connection with this sacrifice has a special power. (Francis de Sales)
