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Liturgy

Critical Moments: How should Catholics pray before and after Mass?

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It happens every Sunday. Parishioners scurry into their pews moments before Mass begins. A few sneak in during the opening song or even the first reading, hoping that no one…

It happens every Sunday. Parishioners scurry into their pews moments before Mass begins.

A few sneak in during the opening song or even the first reading, hoping that no one will notice. After Communion, the church is noticeably emptier than it was only minutes before. Several members of the congregation have slipped out the door to hurry off to their next activity. Many others bolt to their cars after the final blessing or file into the parish hall for coffee, donuts and friendly conversation.

Catholics who neglect to arrive early at Mass and hesitate to stay late are missing out on critical moments they could be using to cultivate their spiritual lives and grow in their relationship with God. Taking a few minutes for silent prayer before and after Mass can help Massgoers focus their attention, prepare their hearts for worship, express their gratitude and carry their experience of God back into their daily lives.

Zeroing in on God

Human minds wander. At one moment, a person is devoutly focused on singing the praises of God in the Gloria. In the next, she is thinking about what she would like to have for lunch. These lapses in attention happen to everyone from time to time, but they can be minimized by designating a few minutes before Mass to quiet the mind and zero in on God.

Begin by simply greeting God and reciting a few familiar prayers — perhaps the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be — to direct the mind toward the divine. Set before the Lord anything that is troubling or burdensome, and surrender it to His all-powerful care. Examine your conscience and repent of any sins that might be weighing heavily upon it. Lift up family, friends and acquaintances to the Lord and place them in His loving protection. Let go of anything that might distract the mind from offering God full praise, devout prayer and reverent worship over the next 60 minutes.

Now that the mind is focused on God, it is time to prepare the heart to worship Him. Focus especially on what is about to happen in the Mass. Recall that the lector and deacon or priest will be reading from the inspired and inerrant Word of God. Remember that Jesus is going to be really present — body, blood, soul and divinity — in the Eucharist. Recollect that this Eucharistic Jesus will come in a highly intimate way to each and every person who receives Him in holy Communion during the next hour.

Most importantly, ask God for help. Ask Him for the attention and devotion necessary to pray and worship well during Mass. Ask Him for the grace to receive Him worthily in holy Communion. He will always respond graciously and powerfully to an open, longing, loving heart.

Moments of Thanksgiving

When Father says, “Go forth, the Mass is ended,” do not take that as a cue to dash out the church door as quickly as possible. Instead, when the closing hymn ends, remain in the pew for a few minutes to bask in the intimate presence of the Eucharistic Jesus and to thank God for the great gifts He has just provided in the Mass.

Express heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to worship with the saints and angels; to hear God’s Word solemnly proclaimed; to witness the sacred moment of consecration when Jesus became truly present on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine; and to receive the Lord of heaven and earth in holy Communion.

Do not rush through these moments of thanksgiving. God has given His very Self to His people in this Mass; the least His people can do in return is give Him thanks.

Before returning to the activities and cares of daily life, spend a few moments placing these in God’s hands. Beg Him for a share of His overflowing love and the courage to spread it everywhere throughout the coming week. Ask Him for grace to avoid sin. Tell Him about difficulties at work or at home, and ask Him for solutions. Talk to Him about troubled relationships, and ask for His guidance toward reconciliation. Recall and obey the comforting command of 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.”

Practical Tips

For many Catholics, taking time to pray before and after Mass requires some adjustment and effort, at least at first. The following suggestions might help:

1. Get up 15 minutes earlier on Sunday mornings or start getting ready for Mass 15 minutes earlier on Saturday evenings. Then, be ready to leave for Mass 15 minutes earlier than normal.

2. To avoid feeling rushed, do not schedule any activities until at least a half-hour after Mass.

3. Make a firm commitment. Spiritual growth requires discipline, but God rewards His people’s efforts thirtyfold, sixtyfold and even a hundredfold (see Mt 13:8).

4. Invite others to pray. Sharing a prayer commitment with family, friends and fellow parishioners provides necessary motivation and support.

5. Do not fret about distractions during prayer before and after Mass. Gently guide the mind back to prayer whenever it wanders.

Pope Paul VI once called the Mass “the most perfect form of prayer.” Indeed, during holy Mass, God deepens and broadens His intimacy with His people as He speaks His Word to their hearts and nourishes their souls with the Eucharist. Is it not fitting, then, that Catholics should prepare carefully and thoroughly for this tremendous encounter with God? And is it not fitting that Catholics should express their gratitude for such an encounter? By spending time with God in prayer during those critical moments before and after Mass, Catholics will better appreciate the great gift of this most perfect prayer and, more importantly, grow ever closer to the Giver.

Amy Troolin is a freelance writer from Minnesota. She holds a master’s degree in theology and Christian ministry from Franciscan University of Steubenville.

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2 min read
Liturgy

Bells at the Consecration

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Catholic worship excites the senses with movement and color, incense and music — the “smells and bells” of tradition. This is because we bring the entirety of ourselves to prayer:…

Catholic worship excites the senses with movement and color, incense and music — the “smells and bells” of tradition. This is because we bring the entirety of ourselves to prayer: body and soul. Posture marks the solemnity and reverence of certain moments — for instance, standing at the proclamation of the Gospel and kneeling for the consecration. Music enhances our participation as well, bringing the assembly’s voices together in unity as the People of God come together in divine worship.

Three factors historically led to a certain distance or disconnect between the actions of the priest during parts of the Mass and the actions of the people: language, posture and acoustics. Over the centuries Latin became increasingly less understood by most people. The priest stood at the altar facing the same direction as the people and, in some churches, monasteries and cathedrals where the altar was a good distance from the pews, acoustics simply did not allow the congregation to hear the words spoken at the altar.

People were still active in prayer during the Mass, but very often, especially in more solemn celebrations, the choir sang extended settings of the acclamations — the Sanctus and Agnus Dei, for example — while the priest had already moved on to other texts. And sometimes the congregation was involved in private prayer (reciting the Rosary or prayers from the missal) even as the choir sang and the priest prayed the Mass parts.

Bells were rung to alert the people to what they could not easily see or hear, so that they could attend to the important and solemn action at the altar. Today, use of the bells is optional, since language, posture and acoustics generally permit the congregation to follow the action of the Mass. Still, many parishes continue ringing bells to underscore and draw attention to the solemnity of certain moments of this great prayer: the epiclesis (or calling down of the Holy Spirit upon the gifts of bread and wine) and the consecration.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal has this to say about the practice: “A little before the Consecration, if appropriate, a minister rings a small bell as a signal to the faithful. The minister also rings the small bell at each elevation by the Priest, according to local custom” (No. 150).

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1 min read
Sacraments

Consecrated Host Fragment At Mass

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The priest breaks off a small part of the consecrated Host during the Agnus Dei, which is after the Lord’s Prayer and the sign of peace, but before holy Communion….

The priest breaks off a small part of the consecrated Host during the Agnus Dei, which is after the Lord’s Prayer and the sign of peace, but before holy Communion. The rubrics specify: “Then he takes the Host, breaks it over the paten, and places a small piece in the chalice, saying quietly: ‘May this mingling of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.’” The celebrant breaks the bread because that is what Jesus did at the Last Supper, and on that very night Jesus said, “Do this in memory of me.” Furthermore, the priest drops that little piece of the consecrated Host into the chalice with the Precious Blood to signify the unity of the Church. As the General Instruction of the Roman Missal explains: “The gesture of breaking bread done by Christ at the Last Supper, which in apostolic times gave the entire Eucharistic Action its name, signifies that the many faithful are made one body (1 Cor 10:17) by receiving Communion from the one Bread of Life, which is Christ, who for the salvation of the world died and rose again” (No. 83).

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4 min read
Liturgy

Why are Liturgical Rules Important?

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4 min read

On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called His would-be-disciples to a deeper, fuller conversion. To follow Christ is not merely external obedience, but a matching obedience of the heart….

On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus called His would-be-disciples to a deeper, fuller conversion. To follow Christ is not merely external obedience, but a matching obedience of the heart.

Our external piety and the motives of our heart should be directly connected. As the Catechism explains:

“Jesus’ call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before Him, does not aim first at outward works, ‘sackcloth and ashes,’ fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance” (No. 1430).

Jesus addressed this matter directly in His teaching on prayer, almsgiving and fasting: “Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 6:1, RSV).

For those who sincerely want to grow closer to Jesus, who are striving by grace to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48), this can pose a sticky conundrum.

When we attend Mass, the most vivid occasion when we “practice our piety before men,” what do we do when the practices of people around us differ from what we believe is right? What should we do when few of the people around us are genuflecting, kneeling, bowing, crossing themselves or showing reverence to Our Lord in the tabernacle?

On the other hand, what should we do when the people around us seem to be going overboard in their piety, in ways that seem far too showy, extravagant or self-promoting?

In either situation, when expressing our piety in public requires being different from those around us, how can we be sure we’re doing it for God’s sake rather than as a statement to others?

Some, in the name of “freedom,” dismiss liturgical rules and rubrics as a straightjacket to spiritual expression. They protest: “It really doesn’t matter how you pray or what you do with your body; all that matters is uniting your heart with God. We should be free, and that means being spontaneous!”

But the devil laughs at such a notion, for in our striving to be “free” we find it nearly impossible to focus on God when the overpowering motive is to be different and separate from those around. Too often in these circumstances, the underlying motive is not to please others or even God, but to feed the ego of self.

How do we avoid this problem? Herein lies the beautiful freedom of the liturgy. In her wisdom, the Church insists that liturgical rules and rubrics free us from the tyranny of trying to please others or ourselves. The Church teaches in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

“The gestures and posture of the priest, the deacon, and the ministers, as well as those of the people, ought to contribute to making the entire celebration resplendent with beauty and noble simplicity, so that the true and full meaning of the different parts of the celebration is evident and the participation of all is fostered.Therefore, attention should be paid to what is determined by this General Instruction and the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God, rather than private inclination or arbitrary choice” (No. 42).

Consider: When is a railroad train the most “free”? When it remains on the tracks, where it can roam full-steam ahead within trustworthy limits.

And when are we most free to worship God without the inner conflict of mixed motives? When in willing obedience we simply worship within the guidelines of our loving mother, the Church. For then we can be confident that our Father who sees in secret will reward us (see Mt 6:4).

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1 min read
Liturgy

What is the Mass?

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Catholics of a certain age will remember learning the Mass is “the unbloody sacrifice of the Cross.” While concise and accurate, this definition may require additional explanation. In such a…

Catholics of a certain age will remember learning the Mass is “the unbloody sacrifice of the Cross.” While concise and accurate, this definition may require additional explanation. In such a case, we may turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches: “The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s Passover … not merely the recollection of past events.… In the liturgical celebration of these events, they become in a certain way present and real” (Nos. 1362-63).

“Recollection” and “remembrance” are weak words in our modern vocabulary, because memories are what we put up with when the “real thing” is not at hand. But this is altogether the opposite meaning of these words in the Scripture and the liturgy. There, memory and recollection have immense power. At the first Passover, God told Moses, “This day will be a day of remembrance for you” (Ex 12:14). It is still so for Moses’ descendants today, and when they gather for their Passover meal, they relive the terror of a people in flight, and the relief of a nation saved. Likewise, when we gather for the Mass, Jesus’ words, “Do this in remembrance of me,” open a window onto eternity, and allow us to stand at the foot of the cross.

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Liturgy

What is a Mass Intention?

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From the days of the early Church it has been common practice to offer Mass for the dead, as well as for others. Archaeologists have discovered epitaphs on tombs in…

From the days of the early Church it has been common practice to offer Mass for the dead, as well as for others. Archaeologists have discovered epitaphs on tombs in the Roman catacombs, asking for prayers for the departed one. Numerous early Church Fathers witness to this practice. Recall from St. Augustine’s “Confessions” St. Monica’s one dying request, “that you remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be.” Countless Christians have made this same request of their survivors.

In his encyclical Mirae caritatis (1902), Pope Leo XIII situated the offering of Mass for others in the true context of our concern for others, the Communion of Saints. “For faith teaches us, that although the venerable Sacrifice may be lawfully offered to God alone, yet it may be celebrated in honor of the saints reigning in heaven with God who has crowned them in order that we may gain for ourselves their patronage. And it may also be offered — in accordance with an apostolic tradition — for the purpose of expiating the sins of those of the brethren who, having died in the Lord, have not yet fully paid the penalty of their transgressions” (No. 12).

Father Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D., was an adjunct professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.

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