Catholic Massterclass: All About Holy Mass

The next part of Holy Mass combines three different actions into one movement: the Fraction Rite, the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei), and the commingling of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Each of them reveals something distinct about what is taking place on the altar, but together they show one single mystery. Let’s take a closer look.

While the Lamb of God is sung or recited, the priest picks up the Eucharistic host and breaks it. Fro...

Following the Lord’s Prayer during Mass comes the Sign of Peace or the Rite of Peace. There are two places where instructions are given in the Roman Missal, once right in the Order of Mass and, before that, in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, paragraph 82. It’s probably better to start with the paragraph from the GIRM.

Paragraph 82 mentions three things about the Sign of Peace: first, it is to be understood as a prepa...

There is much more that could be said about the Eucharistic Prayers in the Roman Missal and in general, but we’ll move on to the next part of Holy Mass, which is the Lord’s Prayer. There are a few interesting points to make about the Lord’s Prayer and the surrounding text, including a surprise statement that many believe to have Protestant origins but really comes from the prayers of the early Church.

The introduction to the Lord...

The final of the primary Eucharistic Prayers, Eucharistic Prayer IV (EPIV) is easily the least used of them all. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if none of you had ever been at a Mass when EPIV was used. It’s a little strange to me why it isn’t used often, but it could be that it sounds a little different from the others and is a bit on the longer end of the spectrum. Here are some unique features of it:

Eucharistic Prayer IV ha...

For many priests and laypeople alike, Eucharistic Prayer III settles as a nice middle ground between the Roman Canon and Eucharistic Prayer II. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) suggests that Eucharistic Prayer III is most appropriately used on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation and many priests follow that suggestion. Here are some unique features of this Eucharistic Prayer:

The very first paragraph after the S...

Last week we looked at the longest Eucharistic Prayer (The Roman Canon) and this week we will look at the shortest Eucharistic Prayer (Eucharistic Prayer II). As I have mentioned the past couple of sessions of our Catholic Massterclass, there is controversy over the reality of options for the Eucharistic Prayer. Nonetheless, we have a variety and each of them has unique characteristics and often rich imagery in the prayers. Here ar...

We’ll spend the next four weeks looking at each of the primary Eucharistic Prayers provided by the Church in the Roman Missal. The first one - Eucharistic Prayer I or the Roman Canon - is the longest and most connected to history. Many of us are aware that the look and sound of Mass was changed in the 1960s, going from Latin to the vernacular language of any given place. In the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), there was one Eucharisti...

After the Holy, Holy, Holy (the Sanctus), the Mass enters its most sacred moment: the Eucharistic Prayer. Everything we have done so far has been leading to this prayer, and everything that follows flows from it. This is the prayer in which Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross is made present to us sacramentally. Although there are several Eucharistic Prayers, they all share the same essential structure. Understanding these common parts...

The Holy, Holy, Holy—the Sanctus—comes directly from Sacred Scripture. In Isaiah 6, the prophet hears the seraphim crying out “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts,” and in Revelation the same hymn resounds in the worship of heaven. This is the song of heaven itself. When we sing it at Mass, we are not merely recalling a biblical moment—we are entering into heavenly worship. The liturgy lifts us beyond time and space and unites us...

Once the gifts are prepared, the priest prays the Prayer over the Offerings. This prayer does not consecrate the gifts; rather, it formally offers them to God and asks Him to receive and sanctify what has been placed on the altar. This reflects a basic rule of biblical worship: offerings are never simply placed before God—they are named, offered, and prayed over.

In the Temple worship, the priest did not improvise a new meaning f...

Every Sunday, after the General Intercessions, something quiet but deeply meaningful happens: the Offertory. Bread and wine are brought forward either by the people or by the servers, a song is sung, and the priest begins a series of prayers at the altar. As usual, there is a nice connection with Old Testament worship that has been brought up through Christian history.

In the Temple, God commanded Israel to bring their gifts forw...

After the homily each Sunday, we stand and offer the Prayers of the Faithful, sometimes called the Universal Prayer or General Intercessions. Many people wonder: Why do we do this? Is this a recent addition to the Mass?

While the form we use today was restored after the Second Vatican Council, the practice itself goes back to the earliest Christian communities. Around the year 155, St. Justin Martyr described the Sunday Eucharist...

Each Sunday, after listening to God’s Word, the Church stands and professes the Creed. It can be easy to treat this moment as routine, something said simply because it is “what Catholics do.” But in reality, the Creed is an important moment in the liturgy. It expresses who God is, what He has done, and what we believe as His people—so that we may worship Him rightly.

Throughout Scripture, God consistently teaches that true worshi...

One of the most familiar moments of the Mass is the homily. After the readings, everyone instinctively leans forward and waits to hear something that will encourage them, teach them, or challenge them. This instinct is ancient. We can see its roots in the Scriptures themselves. In the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4), Jesus stands to read from the prophet Isaiah, and then He sits down—taking the posture of a teacher. St. Luke says, “...

For our Catholic Massterclass today we’ll talk about the readings proclaimed during Mass.The proclamation of the Word of God has always been part of Christian worship. St. Justin Martyr, who lived in the 2nd century, mentions that something is always read from what we would call the Old Testament and also from the “memoirs of the apostles”, which is the New Testament. The exact structure of the Biblical readings has had a few diffe...

After the Sign of the Cross and the greeting, the priest says, “Let us pray.” Then there’s a pause — a quiet moment easily overlooked. But in that silence, something profound happens: the whole congregation is invited to pray silently, offering up their personal intentions, gratitude, and needs to God.

When the priest then prays the Collect (pronounced KAH-lekt), he “collects” all those individual prayers and unites them into one v...

After the Sign of the Cross and greeting, the Mass continues with the Penitential Act, a moment of humble preparation to enter the sacred mysteries. We begin not by pretending we are worthy, but by admitting that we are not — and trusting in the mercy of the God who calls us here. Maybe you remember last Sunday’s Gospel about the Pharisee and the tax collector. The tax collector stood off at a distance, beat his breast, and said, “...

What most people would understand to be the official beginning of Mass is the Sign of the Cross, something all Catholics are taught to do from as early an age as possible. Interestingly enough, almost no other Protestant denomination makes the Sign of the Cross, even while they may begin “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” When we trace the Cross upon ourselves and invoke the Father, Son, and Holy Spi...

When the priest enters the sanctuary at the beginning of Mass, one of his first actions is to bow to the altar and then reverence it with a kiss. (Whenever the tabernacle is in the sanctuary, the bow to the altar is replaced by a genuflection.) This gesture is rich with meaning, even though it is often quiet and unnoticed.

The altar is the central symbol of Christ in the church. It is not just a table where bread and wine are pla...