About the Mass

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About the Mass
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What is the Mass?

• A Sacrifice
• As part of a Covenant, Jesus provided a new
  understanding of our relationship with God.
• A Celebration
• Of the Word of God through reading the Old
  Testament, Letters in the New Testament and the
  Gospels.
• A Meal
• Bread and Wine becoming Jesus body and blood
  that nourishes our mind, body and souls.
• A Sacrament
• The Eucharist is celebrated every day in our
  Church. The Mass also has a penitential and
  baptism components.

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Parts of the Mass

• Entrance Procession Gathering Song
• As the priest and other ministers enter in
  procession, we stand and sing a gathering song.
• Greeting
• We make the Sign of the Cross. The priest
  welcomes us. He says, The Lord be with you.
  We answer, And also with you.
• Penitential Rite
• We think about our sinfulness. We ask for Gods
  forgiveness and the prayers of the community.

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Parts of the Mass

• Gloria
• We sing this hymn of praise to God.
• First Reading
• The lector reads a story or a lesson from the Old
  Testament.
• Responsorial Psalm
• We sing the responses to a psalm from the Bible.
• Second Reading
• The lector reads from one of the letters in the
  New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles, or the
  Book of Revelation.

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Parts of the Mass

• Gospel Acclamation
• We praise Gods word by singing Alleluia or
  another acclamation as the priest or deacon gets
  ready to read the Gospel.
• Gospel
• We stand in reverence while the priest or deacon
  reads the Gospel for that day.
• Homily
• The priest or deacon explains the meaning of the
  Gospel and the other readings.
• Profession of Faith
• We recite the Nicene Creed to proclaim our belief
  in what the Church teaches.

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Parts of the Mass

• General Intercessions
• We pray for the Church, the pope and bishops, our
  country, peace in our world, for the needs of all
  Gods people, and for the needs of the members of
  our parish community.
• Preparation of the Altar and Gifts
• We bring our gifts of bread and wine as the table
  is prepared. We may also give gifts for the
  poor.
• Eucharistic Prayer
• The priest begins with a prayer of praise and
  thanksgiving. We sing, Holy, holy, holy . . .
  The priest recalls with us the story of the Last
  Supper using Jesus own words, This is my Body
  and This is my Blood. Then we proclaim the
  mystery of faith, Christ has died. Christ is
  risen. Christ will come again. At the end of
  the prayer, we say, Amen.

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Parts of the Mass

• The Lords Prayer
• We pray together the prayer that Jesus taught us,
  the Lords Prayer or the Our Father.
• Sign of Peace
• We share a sign of peace and friendship with
  those around us.
• Breaking of the Bread
• We sing the Lamb of God Prayer as the priest or
  deacon and eucharistic ministers prepare the
  bread and wine to become Jesus Body and Blood
  for communion.

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Parts of the Mass

• Communion
• We receive the Body and Blood of Christ. We say,
  Amen.
• Blessing
• We make the Sign of the Cross as the priest
  blesses us.
• Dismissal
• The priest or deacon tells us to go in peace to
  serve God and others. We sing a song of thanks
  and praise.