Outline of Mass

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OPENING RITE

ENTRANCE SONG: (on hymn board next to piano)

GREETING:
Priest: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.
Priest: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
All: And also with you.

GREETING:
We begin our liturgies with the "sign of the cross" - a symbol of Christ's death and resurrection. As we sign ourselves, we recall that at the core of God is relationship - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In this simple gesture, we call to mind that we are transported into the life of the Trinity through our celebration of this mass.

CALL TO WORSHIP: a message relating to the scriptures

PENITENTIAL RITE:
Priest: petition...
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy
Priest: petition...
Christ, have mercy.
All: Christ, have mercy
Priest: petition...
Lord, have mercy.
All: Lord, have mercy

PENITENTIAL RITE:
Early on in the mass we ask God to forgive our sins. We are dependent on God for everything... even our own desire to be with God in prayer is God's grace. We call to mind that we do indeed worship a merciful God.

GLORIA:
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: recieve our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory to God the Father. Amen.

GLORIA:
Joyful hymn of praise - not sung during Lent.

OPENING PRAYER:
Priest: leads us in prayer
All: Amen.

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LITURGY OF THE WORD

FIRST READING: Lector
Lector: A reading from the...
Lector: reads the reading
Lector: The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.

FIRST READING:
This reading is almost always selected from the Jewish scriptures. Our Catholic liturgy is built upon the Jewish tradition. We pray for a greater unity among God's chosen people.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: join in singing

RESPONSORIAL PSALM:
We pray this psalm together as the community's response to the first reading.

SECONG READING: Lector
Lector: A reading from the...
Lector: reads the reading
Lector: The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.

SECOND READING:
Taken from the New Testament, these letters were originally written to the early Church communities for our inspiration in living out the "Good News" of Christ.

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ALLELUIA/GOSPEL ACCLIMATION IN LENT: join in singing
All: Alleluia! (7x)

The good news of God is heard in the streets.
The silence is broken, our hearts sing!

Alleluia! (7x)

GOSPEL: Priest/Deacon
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Priest: A reading from the holy gospel according to ...
All: Glory to you, Lord.
Priest: proclaims the Gospel...
The Gospel of the Lord.
All: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

GOSPEL READING:
This is the climax of the liturgy of the word. We stand in a posture of attentiveness and reverence to receive God's word. You will notice many members of our congregation tracing a small sign of the cross over their forheads, over their lips, and over their hearts. The silent prayer they pray is, "God be in my thoughts; God be on my lips; God be in my heart."

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HOMILY: Priest or Deacon shares a homily

HOMILY/SERMON:
In the Homily, the priest or deacon draws relavent themes from the readings and applies them to our lives.

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NICENE CREED:
All: We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

NICENE CREED:
Our creedal statement was formulated in 325 A.D. at he Council of Nicea. The core doctrines of the Catholic Christian Tradition are contained within this statement.

GENERAL INTERCESSIONS: response after each prayer
All: Lord, hear our prayer

GENERAL INTERCESSIONS:
We believe that united with Christ, we form a "mystical body" (1 Cor 12:12) that extends beyond time and space. Therefore at this time, we hold the general and specific needs of our world in prayer.

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LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

PRESENTATION OF THE GIFTS:
Priest: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this bread to offer, which earth has given and human hands made. It will become for us the bread of life.
All: Blessed be God forever.
Priest: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have this wine to offer, fruit of the vine and work of human hands. It will become our spiritual drink.
All: Blessed be God forever.

PRESENTATION OF THE GIFTS:
Having consumed the Word of God, we prepare to consume Christ in the Eucharist. We present gifts of bread and wine for transformation into the Body and Blood of Christ. In the same way, we present the gifts of ourselves for transformation.

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS: Not always spoken out loud
Priest: Pray, that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.
All: May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of God's name, for our good, and the good of all God's Church.

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Priest: prays a prayer over the gifts we have offered

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER: prayed by priest
Priest: May the Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
All: We lift them to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give God thanks and praise
Priest: prays a long preface to the Eucharistic prayer.

EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:
During this portion of our Mass, we celebrate profound mysteries that touch the core of our lives. In our Eucharist, we believe that we are transported to the foot of the cross where we are reconciled with our God. In the same way, we become present at the empty tomb and celebrate resurrection. We gather around the table at the Last Supper - our new Passover - to consume the Lamb of God. In consuming Christ more fully into our lives, we choose to live out His pattern of death and resurrection within our own lives. As we stand for the Eucharistic Prayer, these are the realities we stand for...

HOLY: Usually Sung
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!

BODY OF EUCHARISTIC PRAYER:
Priest: Lord you are holy indeed...
Priest: Let us proclaim the mystery of faith.

MEMORIAL ACCLINATION:
All: join in singing
Christ has died! Christ is risen!
Christ will come again!
Christ has died! Christ is risen!
Christ will come again!
Christ will come again!

DOXOLOGY:
Priest: Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighy Father, forever and ever.
All: Amen. join in singing

LORD'S PRAYER
All: Our father, who are in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be sine, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our tresspasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, and deliver from evil. Amen.
Priest: Deliver us Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
All: For the kingdom, the power, and the glory and yours, now and forever.

SIGN OF PEACE:
Priest: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I give you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever.
All: Amen.
Priest: The peace of the Lord be with you always.
All: And also with you.
Priest: Let us offer each other the sign of peace.

THE SIGN OF PEACE:
The Church tradition of extending a "sign of unity" before communion was used until the end of the Middle Ages and later re-introduced. At this time, feel free to extend a handshake or a hug as a way of extending Christ's peace in our world. Our congregation is also called to remember people and places in need of the peace of Christ at this time.

BREAKING OF THE EUCHARIST:

LAMB OF GOD:
All: join in singing

LAMB OF GOD:
This ancient Christian prayer is said as the Eucharest is poured out and broken. We call to mind that Christ was broken open and poured out that we might be made whole.

COMMUNION:
Priest: This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are we who are called to his supper.
All: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed.

COMMUNION:
Communion is a deeper step that involves commitment and faith in the Real Presence - please be conscious of that deeper level of meaning and faith if you choose to go to Communion. You may choose to stay in your seat or come forward, cross your arms over your chest and bow your head for a blessing.

When we say that "we are not worthy", we simply are remembering that the love of God is an utter gift. Nothing we have ever done or will ever do could earn God's gift of creative love. Our response is to simply and lovingly receive our God.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION:
Priest: Let us pray...
All: Amen

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION:
Having received Christ, our congregation rests with Him in quiet reverence and prayer.

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CONCLUDING RITE

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BLESSING:
Priest: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Priest: May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.

DISMISSAL:
Priest: The mass is ended, go in peace.
All: Thanks be to God.

CLOSING SONG: join in singing

Join us for coffee, donuts, and conversation outside (weather permitting) or downstairs.

ABOUT THE MURAL:
The main symbol of the mural is the abstract figure of Christ. The shattered, splintered, fragmented figure on the cross mirrors the somtimes fragmented experience of humanity today. The abstract combines symbols of man with those of a pelican piercing its own breast to feed its young, a symbol of Christ's Sacrifice on the cross and the Sacrament of Eucharist.

On the left is a tulip, the ancient symbol of a woman, Mary Mother of Jesus and a chalice representing the promise of New Life. The moon is another ancient symbol of Mary, reflecting the light of love from her son, Jesus.

On the right is a peacock, an ancient symbol for the mystery of the Resurrection. The Resurrection not only of Jesus, but the hope of new life offered to each of us.

In the center of the mural, a black dot. The dot not only represents the center of the mural, but the mysteries of life and the mystery of faith that believes theat Christ is the Light, the candle lit in the darkness.

Artist: Ed Boccia, Professor Emeritus, Washington University.

FAQ: "Why do Catholics stand, sit and kneel during mass?"
Because God saw to it that all creation is good (Genesis 1:31) and because Christ took on our human flesh (John 1:14), we believe that both our spirits and our bodies are sacred. And so, when we come to God, we come not just with our spirit, we come with our bodies. At different points of the Mass, our bodies posture a certain kind of presence at the sacred events of our liturgy. For example, we stand at the Gospel and Eucharistic prayer - a symbol of Christ's resurrection and a symbol of taking a stand for all that the Gospel and Eucharist imply. We sit for the first and second scriptural readings and the Homily - a posture of listening. You will notice that some people kneel after communion - a posture of humility and reverence before God.

FAQ: "Why do Catholics give standard verbal responses in mass?"
We come to God with our intellects, and so out liturgy contains readings and a Homily (Sermon). We come with more than our intellects as well. Consequently, we provide standard verbal responses to allow our minds not to be "active." In this way we experience that our spirit is free to be with God beyond concepts and beyond the words we use - in contemplation of our God - whose loving presence is beyond words and concepts.

We're glad you could join us today. If you have any questions after Mass about what you have experienced, please just ask one of our community members, or one of the campus ministers - who will be wearing black nametags. May those sacred rituals drop you into the Mystery. May the God of all unity bless and keep you throughout this week.

Sources:
(1) Catholic Student Center: An explanation of the Catholic Mass (printed copies are available in the lobby)
(2) Awakening Fall 2004 Sunday Mass Song Sheet