Faith

The Roman Missal is our book at Mass. It unites our prayer by giving us the church's words, actions, and postures for our prayer.

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

The second principal part of the Sunday Mass is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Some readers may recall that this was once dubbed the "Mass of the Faithful," while the Liturgy of the Word was called the "Mass of the Catechumens." The faithful or the baptized were to attend both "Masses" each Sunday, while those who were preparing for baptism left at the end of the Mass of the Catechumens. We see this still with dismissal of the catechumens (and only the catechumens) after the homily.
If a sacrament or sacramental is celebrated during the Mass, it is inserted into the Mass at some point towards the end of the Liturgy of the Word and concludes with the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This may not happen often, or even ever, at a Sunday Mass, but the Sacrament of Confirmation could be an occasion for this. In some places, it is not unusual for the Sacrament of Matrimony to be celebrated at a Sunday parish Mass, but that is quite rare in most of our country.
There are different ritual moments during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, not unlike there being different ones in the Liturgy of the Word.

Similarly, there is music, and a lot more of it is expected of the assembly in this part of the Mass. The minimum for a Sunday Mass would be the response to the preface, usually called the "Holy, Holy, Holy," the Memorial Acclamation and the Great Amen -- responses in the Eucharistic Prayer, the Lamb of God, which accompanies the Breaking of the Bread, a Communion antiphon, and Communion Processional. Encouraged would be the antiphon or hymn for the Preparation of the Gifts and a Communion Meditation, after all have been seated following the distribution and reception of Holy Communion. The Lord's Prayer may always be sung, since it is a prayer of the whole assembly; it cannot be replaced by an operatic solo.
Not a few readers have asked questions, made observations, reported things they deem unusual at a parish Mass, or inquired about dilemmas they seem to face at Mass. Most of these occur during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Some priests have asked other questions, and I'll try to answer them in the coming articles.
A few reminders or warnings as we move forward:
My guides for this series, as you have read, perhaps many times, are The Roman Missal (2011) with its texts and rubrics, and The General Instruction on the Roman Missal (2011). I am using the English Translation of both as approved by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and confirmed by the Holy See. If, in coming articles, you see RM or GIRM followed by a number, it refers to the place in either document where this reference may be found.
Next, as I noted above, there are texts and rubrics. If you open a Roman Missal, you will see that there is text of prayers usually in extra-large font size, and smaller text in red for the rubrics. The rubrics tell the bishop, priest, deacon or other minister, and in fact, the whole assembly what to do at a specific point of the Mass. These are not options unless it specifically says so in the rubric.
The rubrics should be observed as they contribute to the unity of the praying community. Remember, we celebrate the Mass together, admittedly with variation of duties or offices. It is ordered or arranged so we know what is coming next. The unity is expressed by the use of the same words by the assembly, and the same postures and gestures as specified for us in the rubrics.
Let me give a scenario that will, I think, help get the point of this.
You are seated in the TD Garden for a Bruins game. Let's say the Canadiens are in town. You are a row or two behind the Bruins bench. You probably dropped a few hundred dollars for this seat. You are bedecked in the Bruins shirt of your favorite player. You are surrounded by other Bruins fans. The Canadiens score. Would you, honestly, stand up, applaud, shout out the scorer's name? NO. You would observe the "rubric" that you are a Bruins fan, in a Bruins "seat," and you would follow the fan reaction to the Canadien's goal.
The Roman Missal is our book at Mass. It unites our prayer by giving us the church's words, actions, and postures for our prayer. Doing or saying whatever I want at Mass fractures the unity of the prayer. It also says to others, "I know better than the church."
We priests must be especially careful in this regard as we are leaders of the church's prayer, which we make our own by praying the words and observing the rubrics. The Sunday assembly has the right to the celebration of the sacraments, and especially the Mass, according to the church's practice.

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