May 22 Thu
How does the Mass begin?
The Holy Mass is celebrated normally in a building set aside for the cult; thus, the church building is sacred. It deserves respect. No matter how grandiose the building is, how ancient and venerable, or how modern, the church is never a museum or merely a work of architecture to be admired. It is always an icon of the living Church where the people of God is gathered.
The church building is a space for communion among the faithful and, above all, with Jesus Christ. We go there to find God, to adore Him, to praise Him, to talk to Him, and to listen to the teaching of the Church through the legitimate pastors. In it, we are strengthened by the Eucharist, our faith is renewed, and the Gospel becomes life in our souls.
The introductory rites of the Mass have twofold purposes: to make the faithful come together and take on the form of a community, and to help them prepare themselves to listen to God’s word and celebrate the Eucharist properly. These parts are integrated by the following elements: Entrance Song, Veneration of the Altar, Greeting of the Congregation, Penitential Rite, Kyrie, Gloria, and the Opening Prayer or Collect.
The celebration of the Mass begins with the entrance of the priest and ministers. This procession toward the altar symbolizes the journey of the pilgrim Church toward heaven. The symbolism is still clearer when the cross and the Book of the Gospel are brought: Christ, Redeemer and Teacher, assures us a safe arrival. The standing attitude of the faithful manifests both respect for the priest, the minister of Christ, and the desire to participate in the celebration.
Let us reconstruct one of the Sunday gatherings of the fifth or sixth century in Rome. The people have taken their places in the church. The service is about to begin. The door of the secretarium (where the Roman pontiff and his suite vest themselves) is opened. The procession moves down the nave, while the schola sings the psalm of entry: the Introit. The pontiff is preceded by a solemn procession of his attendant clergy, deacons, and acolytes. A subdeacon walks at the head of the procession swinging the censer. Then in front of the celebrant and the deacons come seven acolytes, each holding lighted candles. These seven flames are a reminder of the visions of St John recorded in the Apocalypse, in which the apostle calls Christ “He who walks amidst the seven golden candlesticks.” A young cleric reverently carries the Book of the Gospels, which is placed on the altar.
Psalms are chanted by alternating choirs—in antiphonal style, as it is called. These psalms are specially chosen for their consonance with the underlying intention of the day’s Mass. They are joyous in Advent; on a saint’s day, they acclaim his glorious triumph; and when the Epiphany and the Transfiguration are being commemorated, their theme is the royalty of Christ. This was how the Introit became an entrance song or introduction.
In our time, there is but a vestige of this impressive rite; by a few brief words, the entrance song states the theme or point of emphasis of the Mass formulary, which it opens. It intensifies the unity of the gathered people, leads our thoughts to the mystery of the season or feast, and accompanies the procession of the priest and ministers.
In Masses with a congregation, the priest and ministers may go to the altar in this order: a server with a lighted censer, two servers with lighted candles and between them a server carrying the cross, other ministers, a reader with the Book of the Gospels, and the priest.