What is Mass? What are we really doing?
We as Catholics worship God in a variety of ways, but our chief act of communal worship is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the Western Church we call this service “Mass,” an English word derived from the Latin text of the priest’s dismissal at the end of the liturgy (“Ite, missa est, translated, Go, it is sent!“, the “it” being the Church, the members of the Body of Christ).
The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the Body and Blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass “the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner”. The Church describes the Mass as the “source and summit of the Christian life”, and teaches that the Mass is a sacrifice, in which the sacramental bread and wine, through consecration by an ordained priest, become the sacrificial Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ as the Sacrifice on Calvary made truly present once again on the altar. The Catholic Church permits only baptized members in the state of grace (Catholics who are not in a state of mortal sin) to receive Christ in the Eucharist.
In Catholic teaching, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the fulfillment of all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. In the New Covenant, the one sacrifice on the altar of Calvary is revisited during every Catholic Mass. Jesus Christ merited all graces and blessings for us by His death on the Cross. These merits form an inexhaustible fountain of grace to nourish the supernatural life of souls. At Calvary, Christ not only merited all graces for people but also established certain channels whereby these graces may be obtained. These channels are the Sacrifice of the Mass and the other Sacraments.
The Mass contains the four essential elements of a true sacrifice: priest, victim, altar, and sacrifice. Its Priest, Jesus Christ, uses the ministry of an earthly representative; its Victim, Jesus Christ, truly present under the appearances of bread and wine; its altar; and the Sacrifice is a mystic representation of the blood-shedding of Calvary. Thus, the Mass is offered for four ends: adoration, atonement, thanksgiving, and petition.
We believe that Jesus Christ accomplishes the work of salvation by making Himself present in our world, especially in Sacraments. In baptism we are plunged into Christ’s death and resurrection, becoming God’s adopted and beloved children. As disciples of Christ, we share communion with Him by partaking of His Body and Blood just as it was offered at Calvary every time we receive Him at Mass. For us, liturgy is truly sacred: uniting ourselves to Christ in prayer, worship, and thanksgiving as our most important act as Christians. Although the Church is active in many other ways, the Sacrifice of the Mass is the “summit” towards which all other activity is directed, and the “font” from which all power for ministry flows.
Sunday Mass includes prayers, hymns, readings from the Holy Bible, a sermon (called a “homily”), and the Eucharist. In all this we worship the Triune God: we offer thanksgiving and praise to the Father, in the sacrificial memorial of Christ and His Church, by the power of His word and of His Spirit.
It is easy to find entertainment in today’s world. Mass is something different: a place to contemplate and pray, a place to bring the sufferings and joys of daily life to our Lord Jesus Christ. At Mass, we taste the heavenly liturgy we are already journeying towards. Attending Mass for the first time can be intimidating or even confusing, but don’t worry. Allow yourself to be present in the moment and open to the graces God may wish to bestow on you.