Understanding the Dynamics of the Mass
As mentioned in an earlier post, very few Catholics understand how to consciously participate in what happens at Mass. Many Catholics are devout spectators, but are unaware of the role they are to play in the Mass.
First of all, the Mass must be understood as a SACRIFICE. It is a re-presentation of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So we should think of ourselves at Mass as being at the foot of Calvary.
Secondly, the faithful at Mass are PRIESTS. There is the ministerial priest, the ordained priest, who is the representative, but not the replacement, of the faithful. Then there are the members of what is called the common priesthood of the faithful. As stated in 1 Peter 2:9 and repeated twice in the Book of Revelation, the baptized are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.”
What does a priest do? He offers sacrifice. So the role of the laity who are present as the common priesthood of the faithful is to offer sacrifice as well. In the Catholic Catechism, Section 1368, we find the following explanation: “The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church. The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head…In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ’s sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations to be united with his offering.”
Perhaps the part of the Mass that receives the least amount of attention in relation to its importance is the bringing up of the gifts of bread and wine. At weekend Masses, during the bringing up of the gifts, a collection is taken up and an Offertory song is sung, distracting the faithful from the presentation of the gifts.
I recommend to people that they do more than just make a general gift of themselves at Mass. I suggest they think of some specific aspect of their life to put on the altar at each Mass, some trial, challenge, need or blessing, and prayerfully put that on the altar. I’ll give an example of such a prayer below.
The bread and wine placed on the altar at Mass represent the lives of the faithful, their sacrifices. As water is poured into the chalice with the wine, the priest or deacon says “By the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”
The priest then says a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine, representing the lives of the faithful, into the Body and Blood of Jesus. The most common example of this, from Eucharistic Prayer II, states as follows: “Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body + and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
When the priest then elevates the bread and the wine, saying the words of consecration, the same exact words Jesus used at the Last Supper, the Holy Spirit unites the lives of the faithful with the life of Jesus, and the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus. In the following prayers, the entire sacrifice of the faithful and of Jesus is offered to the Father along with a request for His blessing.
The gifts of the faithful, like the loaves and fishes in the Gospels, may not seem like much, but the faithful can pray that Jesus will accept the gifts, multiply them, unite them with His sacrifice and redistribute them to those in need. The faithful should prayerfully be thinking and praying, as all this takes place,
Here’s an example of a prayer I used at a healing Mass for a friend of mine named Kevin, who was suffering with cancer: “Lord Jesus, I give you my sufferings, my trials, my challenges, my fears and anxieties. In Your mercy, please accept them. Multiply them, just like the loaves and fishes, and distribute them to those most in need. Especially at this Mass, unite them with Your sacrifice and use them to bless and to bring strength and healing to my friend, Kevin.
When we offer ourselves as a sacrifice at Mass, our lives are united with the life of Jesus, and when we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus into our very selves, the highest amount of grace possible this side of heaven is made available to us. There is nothing on earth which can be more transforming than the reception of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Many Catholics are unaware that, while Jesus is truly present in every Eucharist, the power of His presence depends on our disposition. To the extent that we are just going through the motions without any expectation that the presence of Jesus in us is going to transform our lives, Jesus is present but His presence is not fruitful. It’s like the situation in the Bible when Jesus said He could work no miracles in a particular area because of the people’s lack of faith. If you want to confirm this, check out Sections 1072, 1131 and 2111 of the Catechism.
What happens before we enter into the Church for Mass has everything to do with what happens when we participate in the Mass. I think of Simeon, who showed up at the presentation of Jesus in the temple as described in Luke 2. In verse 27, Luke says about Simeon: “He came in the Spirit into the temple.” Simeon knew from the Holy Spirit that something special and powerful was going to happen when he entered the temple that day. That is exactly the attitude Catholics need to have when they enter church for Mass. We should be thinking, “How is the Holy Spirit going to speak to me in today’s readings from the Bible? What is my gift to put on the altar at this Mass? And how am I going to be blessed when I am united with Jesus Christ, the Creator of the universe, the Savior of humanity, when I receive Him in the Eucharist?”
Do we come to Mass with a hunger for Jesus, with an expectation that receiving Him is going to change our lives in a powerful way? In Ephesians 1, Saint Paul prays that the Ephesians will receive “the riches of glory” and “the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe.” The full potential of us to experience what Saint Paul prays for exists every time Jesus becomes fully present at Mass.
The Eucharist, more than anything else on earth, has the potential to transform humanity faster than any other means available to us. It only requires that we participate in the sacrifice of the Mass knowingly, willingly and with an expectation that being united with Jesus will overwhelm us with His grace.