Anology between Thansgiving Dinner and Mass

A good analogy to make these movements more clear, let us look at a traditional
THANKSGIVING DINNER

THANKSGIVING DINNER
Gathering
• welcoming friends and family to your home

Storytelling
• elders sit around and tell stories
• children listen to hear about their ancestry

Meal Sharing
• Setting the table
• Saying Grace
• Eating and Drinking
• continue conversation

Sending Forth – saying good-bye until we meet again

Let us look at the traditional Mass
THE MASS
• Welcome
• Blessing – sign of the cross
• call for forgiveness – Lord, have mercy…
• Gloria
• Opening Prayer

Liturgy of the WORD
• Readings from the Scriptures
• Homily
• Profession of Faith
• Prayers of the Faithful

Liturgy of the Eucharist
• Offertory Procession
• Preparation of Gifts
• CONSECRATION
• Holy Communion

The Concluding Rite
• Prayer after communion
• announcements
• Blessing
• Commissioning – Sending Forth
• Closing Song

A Symphony in Four Movements

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 4, 2010

A FOUR PART SERIES ON A TOUR OF THE MASS
“A Symphony in Four Movements”

I. Our tour of the Mass
1. We begin with two of the followers of Jesus on the road returning to their home village of EMMAUS. They are wondering and perplexed about what Jesus really is. They shared the Last Super meal with him, they watched him suffer and die. It all feels so final. But, was it?

II. Jesus appears and begins walking along with them. Deep in conversation they suddenly realize how late into the evening it was and asked Jesus to dine with them.
1. In the course of the meal they share the bread and drink of the cup, when they suddenly realize who they are dining with.
2. The story concludes with: “…and they came to know him in the breaking of the bread.”
3. This scripture story from St. Luke/s Gospel 24: 13 – 35 reveals to us the four parts of the Mass. The symphony if you will.
4. The mass is like a symphony with 4 movements.
a. Lets look for a moment at the usual Thanksgiving Dinner, it is another analogy for understanding the mass.
b. Luke’s story which we know as: “THE ROAD TO EMMAUS” gives us a road map for our tour of the Mass.

III. Taking a look back…
1. What do we remember of the meaning and structure of the mass as children? We most likely were born and raised in the faith of the Church.
2. Mass was a MUST every Sunday or you committed a mortal sin. Remember mortal sins and what they are?Mass prayers were in Latin – better known among seminarians as the “dead language.”
3. I was lucky as I was able to drop Latin class once I went into the college seminar.
4. I knew Jesus wanted me to be a priest, he got Latin dropped.
5. The priest with only a minimal assistance from the altar boys – boys only please, said or read the mass taking all the parts, in Latin (which no one knew what he was saying, so people remained silent, passive, praying the Rosary usually, until that key moment when the bells would ring to signal our attention, all eyes forward, it was the consecration,, the moment that through the intention of the priest and saying the sacred words of consecration – bread and wine were miraculously changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
6. The theological name for this change is: “transubstantiation.” Not even and easy word to pronounce let along understand. One heck of a big and totally unknown word, and therefore consecration does not have the full impact on our faith as it should. It can’t fully impact us, if we don’t know what it means.
7. So we again return to our individual silent prayers, until once again the bells ring signaling that HOLY COMMUNION was about to begin, but first we must declare our sinfulness in the Latin song: Angus Dei peca torum…” Ushers keep us in orderly lines moving forward to kneel at the “communion rail” to receive the body of Christ, we were not given of the cup to drink.
8. Not sure way not but I suspect from ancient times when hygiene was not in vogue, and strangers drinking from the same cup just wouldn’t have happened.
9. Return to our seats to kneel and say prayers of praise and intersessions to God.
10. The priest, again in Latin: “Oramus…Let us pray…” calls us to stand while he says the final prayer and then finally for the FIRST time turns to face us and gives us the blessing and sends us to go in peace.

IV. This was the structure and the practice of the Mass for more than a 1,000 years. In 1965, near the end of the SECOND VATICAN COUNSEL, called by Pope John XXIII, the document “THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD” was released in dozens of languages ( a first) to be put into practice in every diocese around the world. We were embarking on a new road to Emmaus.
1. So we came to church with a simple, blind faith, that took hold in good soil and has served us for most of our lives. However, todays times are much more complicated, we are bombarded through massive satellite communications; we are instantly put into the heat of a battle, whether that war be in Afghanistan or the Gulf oil spill.
2. Todays problems are complex and call upon us to be imbued with our faith. A faith that we know and understand, one that commits us to the Jesus’ mission among all God’s people.
3. These events challenge us everyday, they tug at our heart strings to see such poverty and war all around us. We live in fear of another 9 – 11 catastrophe, we learn more everyday how corrupt our government, at all levels is. We feel helpless and overcome with these problems that face us everyday.
4. The answer can be found only in our faith in Jesus Christ who’s only goal was to show us how to live in a positive, peaceful way. In order to become Christ’s disciples means putting our hands to the plow, never looking back, but ever forward focused on the Lord Jesus filled with HOPE.

V. That hope comes to us through the Mass now known as the Celebration of the Eucharist. We can no longer remain in the faith of our childhood, the Lord challenges us, as we read in the Easter Vigil prayers, “…go forth with a lively faith singing God’s praises…”
1. The faith of our childhood will not sustain us in this fast and furious whirlwind we live in today and on into the unforeseen future. Our faith must be made our own, not just passed down (that’s the beginning). We need to learn more about the mystery that is at the heart of the Eucharist (Mass). As I said earlier, we need to connect with the Eucharist – make it our own, – with a full and lively faith filled participation in prayer and even more importantly as St. Paul would say, “in action.”
2. In order to grow in our faith, to make the Jesus experience our experience,we will be taking a journey thorough the Mass (Eucharist) to grow more deeply in our faith through understanding, thus making it our own and not just showing up because we feel guilty when we don’t attend.
3. We know to walk in a lively faith, not just attending mass but become active participants in the journey through the Eucharist is necessary to be true disciples of Christ.
4. The center, the pentacle of our faith life is the Eucharist where our Lord God becomes present to us and gives us himself under forms of bread and wine. As someone once said, “life is a mystery to be lived, not a puzzle to be solved,.”

Next week we will journey a little deeper into the heart of the Eucharist (Mass) to deepen our understanding of the rites, rituals and symbols that will help us to grow more fully into our faith, the mystery of the Eucharist.
As we have heard in our First Reading today from the Prophet Isaiah where he so graciously, beautifully, and gently remains us of how much God loves us and protects us: “…Rejoice with Jerusalem(the church), all you who were mourning over her (the old ways) [come] that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort…”
and be renewed and strengthened in our belief. The Church is our mother.