THE ORDER OF MASS
The Introductory Rites
The Introductory Rites help the faithful come together
as one, establish communion and prepare themselves properly to listen to the
Word of God and to celebrate the Eucharist worthily.
All stand. The Priest approaches the altar with the ministers
and venerates it while the Entrance Song is sung
Sign of the Cross
All make the Sign of the Cross as the Priest says.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
The people reply:
Amen.
Greeting
Then the Priest greets the people:
Either: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and
the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.
Or: Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Or: The Lord be with you.
The people reply:
And with your spirit.
The Priest, or a Deacon, or another minister, may very briefly
introduce the faithful to the Mass of the day.
Penitential Act
The Priest invites the faithful to the Penitential Act.
Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us acknowledge our sins,
and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.
A brief pause for silence follows, and then one of the following Penitential Acts:
All say:
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,
And, striking their breast, they say:
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.
The Priest says:
Have mercy on us, O Lord.
The people reply:
For we have sinned against you.
The Priest:
Show us, O Lord, your mercy.
The people:
And grant us your salvation.
The Priest or another minister says invocations naming the gracious
works of the Lord to which he invites the people to respond, as in the example
below:
You were sent to heal the contrite of heart:
Lord, have mercy. Or: Kyrie,
eleison.
The people reply:
Lord, have mercy. Or: Kyrie, eleison.
The Priest:
You came to call sinners:
Christ, have mercy. Or: Christe,
eleison.
The people:
Christ, have mercy. Or: Christe,
eleison.
The Priest:
You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede
for us:
Lord, have mercy. Or: Kyrie,
eleison.
The people:
Lord, have mercy. Or: Kyrie, eleison.
The absolution by the Priest follows:
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and
bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
The Kyrie
The Kyrie, eleison (Lord, have mercy) invocations may follow:
V. Lord, have mercy.
R. Lord, have mercy.
V. Christ, have mercy.
R. Christ, have mercy.
V. Lord, have mercy.
R. Lord, have mercy.
| Or:
| V. Kyrie, eleison.
R. Kyrie, eleison.
V. Christe, eleison.
R. Christe, eleison.
V. Kyrie, eleison.
R. Kyrie, eleison.
|
The Gloria
When indicated this hymn is either sung or said.
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 Son,
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 Lord,
you
alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of
God the Father.
Amen.
The Collect
The Priest says:
Let us pray.
And all pray in silence with the Priest for a while. Then the
Priest says the Collect prayer, at the end of which the people acclaim:
Amen.
The Liturgy of the Word
By hearing the word proclaimed in worship, the faithful
again enter into the unending dialogue between God and the covenant people,
a dialogue sealed in the sharing of the Eucharistic food and drink. The proclamation
of the word is thus integral to the Mass and at its very centre. It is appropriate
to have a brief time of quiet after the readings for those present to take the
word of God to heart and begin to prepare a prayerful response to what they
have heard.
All sit
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First Reading
To indicate the end of these readings, the reader acclaims:
The word of the Lord.
All reply:
Thanks be to God.
Psalm
After the First Reading the psalmist or cantor sings or says
the Psalm, with the people making the response.
Second Reading
On Sundays and certain other days there is a second reading.
It concludes with the same responsory as above.
Gospel
The assembly stands to sing the Gospel Acclamation to welcome
the Gospel. They remain standing in honour of the Gospel reading, the high point
of the Liturgy of the Word. At the ambo the Deacon, or the Priest says:
The Lord be with you.
The people reply:
And with your spirit.
The Deacon, or the Priest:
A reading from the holy Gospel according to N.
He makes the Sign of the Cross on the book and, together with
the people, on his forehead, lips, and breast. At the same time the people acclaim:
Glory to you, O Lord.
At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:
The Gospel of the Lord.
All reply:
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
After the proclamation of the Gospel the congregation is seated.
The Homily
At the end of the Homily it is appropriate for there to be a
brief silence for recollection. The congregation then stands.
The Creed
On Sundays and Solemnities, the Profession of Faith or Creed
will follow. During Lent and Easter Time, especially, the Apostles’ Creed
may be used.
The Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven
and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus
Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God
from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial
with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
At the words that follow, up to and including ‘and
became man’, all bow.
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered
death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the
Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom
will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is
adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one,
holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness
of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the
world to come. Amen.
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and
earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
At the words that follow,
up to and including ‘the Virgin Mary’, all bow.
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.
The Prayer of the Faithful (Bidding Prayers)
After each intention there is a pause while the faithful pray.
The minister says:
Lord, in your mercy.
All reply:
Hear our prayer.
Prayer for novel coronavirus
God our Father
we come to You in our need
to ask Your protection against the 2019 N-coronavirus
that has claimed lives
and has affected many.
We pray for Your grace
for the people tasked with studying the nature and cause
of this virus and its disease
and of stemming the tide of its transmission.
Guide the hands and minds of medical experts
that they may minister to the sick
with competence and compassion
and of those governments and private agencies
that must find cure and solution to this epidemic.
We pray for those afflicted.
May they be restored to health soon.
Grant us the grace
to work for the good of all
and to help those in need.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son
who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever. Amen.
The Priest concludes the Prayer with a collect. When the Liturgy
of the Word has been completed, the people sit.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
For Catholics, the Eucharist is the source and summit of
the whole Christian life. It is the vital centre of all that the Church is and
does, because at its heart is the real presence of the crucified, risen and
glorified Lord, continuing and making available his saving work among us.
The Offertory
During the Offertory Song the faithful usually express their
participation by making an offering, bringing forward bread and wine for the
celebration of the Eucharist and perhaps other gifts to relieve the needs of
the Church and of the poor.
When he has received the bread and wine for the celebration,
the Priest offers prayer of blessing quietly at the altar. Sometimes these prayers
are said aloud. If the priest says the prayers aloud the assembly’s acclamation
each time is
Blessed be God for ever.
The Priest completes additional personal preparatory rites,
and the people rise as he says:
Pray, brethren (brothers and
sisters),
that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable
to God,
the almighty Father.
The people reply:
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.
Then the Priest says the Prayer over the Offerings, at the end
of which the people acclaim:
Amen.
THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER
The Eucharistic Prayer, the centre and summit of the entire
celebration is a memorial proclamation of praise and thanksgiving for God’s
work of salvation, a proclamation in which the Body and Blood of Christ are
made present by the power of the Holy Spirit and the people are joined to Christ
in offering his Sacrifice to the Father.
Extending his hands, the Priest says:
The Lord be with you.
The people reply:
And with your spirit.
The Priest, raising his hands, continues:
Lift up your hearts.
The people:
We lift them up to the Lord.
The Priest, with hands extended, adds:
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
The people:
It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
For he is the true and eternal Priest,
who instituted the pattern of an everlasting sacrifice
and was the first to offer himself as the saving Victim,
commanding us to make this offering as his memorial.
As we eat his flesh that was sacrificed for us,
we are made strong,
and, as we drink his Blood that was poured out for us,
we are washed clean.
And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim:
You are indeed Holy, O Lord,
and all you have created
rightly gives you praise,
for through your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
by the power and working of the Holy Spirit,
you give life to all things and make them holy,
and you never cease to gather a people to yourself,
so that from the rising of the sun to its setting
a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.
Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you:
by the same Spirit graciously make holy
these gifts we have brought to you for consecration,
that they may become the Body and ✠
Blood
of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ,
at whose command we celebrate these mysteries.
For on the night he was betrayed
he himself took bread,
and, giving you thanks, he said the blessing,
broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying:
Take this, all of you, and eat of it,
for this is my Body,
which will be given up for you.
In a similar way, when supper was ended,
he took the chalice,
and, giving you thanks, he said the blessing,
and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying:
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 poured out for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Do this in memory of me.
At the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer the Priest takes the chalice
and the paten with the host and, raising both, he alone says:
Through him, and with him, and in him,
O God, almighty Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honour is yours,
for ever and
ever.
Amen.
The Communion Rite
The eating and drinking together of the Lord’s Body
and Blood in a Paschal meal is the culmination of the Eucharist. The themes
underlying these rites are the mutual love and reconciliation that are both
the condition and the fruit of worthy communion and the unity of the many in
the One.
The Lord’s Prayer
The congregation stands and the Priest says:
At the Saviour’s command
and formed by divine teaching,
we dare to say:
Together with the people, he continues:
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,
but deliver us from evil.
The Priest alone continues, saying:
Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,
graciously grant
peace in our days,
that, by the help of your mercy,
we may be always free from
sin
and safe from all distress,
as we await the blessed hope
and the coming
of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
The people conclude the prayer, acclaiming:
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours
now and for
ever.
Then the Priest alone says aloud:
Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave
you, my peace I give you,
look not on our sins,
but on the faith of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity
in accordance with your will.
Who live
and reign for ever and ever.
The people reply:
Amen.
The Priest adds:
The peace of the Lord be with you always.
The people reply:
And with your spirit.
The Deacon, or the Priest, adds:
Let us offer each other the sign of peace.
And all offer one another the customary sign of peace: a handclasp
or handshake, which is an expression of peace, communion, and charity.
Breaking of the Bread
During the breaking of the host the following is sung or said:
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.
After the Lamb of God, the people kneel.
Invitation to Communion
After his private prayers of preparation the Priest genuflects,
takes the host and, holding it slightly raised above the paten or above the
chalice says aloud:
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 together with the people he adds once:
Lord, I am not worthy
that you should enter under my roof,
but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.
Communion
After the priest has reverently consumed the Body and Blood
of Christ the communicants come forward in reverent procession, and make a preparatory
act of reverence by bowing their head in honour of Christ’s presence in
the Sacrament. They receive Holy Communion standing. The Priest says:
The Body (Blood)
of Christ.
The communicant replies:
Amen.
When Communion is ministered under both kinds the minister of
the Chalice raises it slightly and shows it to each of the communicants, saying:
The Blood of Christ.
The communicant replies:
Amen.
After the distribution of Communion, if appropriate, a sacred
silence may be observed for a while, or a psalm or other canticle of praise
or a hymn may be sung.
Spiritual Communion Prayer
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never
permit me to be separated from You.
Prayer after Communion
Then, the Priest says:
Let us pray.
All stand and pray in silence. Then the Priest says the Prayer
after Communion, at the end of which the people acclaim:
Amen.
The Concluding Rites
The brief Concluding Rite sends the people forth to put
into effect in their daily lives the Mystery of Christ’s Death and Resurrection
and the unity in Christ which they have celebrated. Their mission is to witness
to Christ in the world and to bring the Gospel to the poor.
Any brief announcements to the people follow here. Then the
dismissal takes place. Sometimes this takes a more elaborate form than that
given below.
Blessing
The Priest says:
The Lord be with you.
The people reply:
And with your spirit.
The Priest blesses the people, saying:
May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, ✠
and the Holy Spirit.
The people reply:
Amen.
Dismissal
Then the Deacon, or the Priest himself, says:
Either: Go forth, the Mass is
ended.
Or: Go and announce the Gospel
of the Lord.
Or: Go in peace, glorifying the
Lord by your life.
Or: Go in peace.
The people reply:
Thanks be to God.