Featured Book
Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder of Heaven and Earth, by Edward Sri, 2017
Do you struggle with praying the rosary: finding time in your busy life, difficulty with encountering the mysteries they present in depth, or fighting distractions while trying to pray the rosary? In Praying the Rosary Like Never Before, Edward Sri offers practical suggestions that come from the rosary’s tradition and from such spiritual giants as St. John Paul II.
“Offering God a decade or two in the midst of my daily life gives him something beautiful, even if I give it without my full, relaxed, undivided attention,” says Sri. “I’m giving God some space in my day and filling it with words of praise for him.”
You will find answers to common questions such as the meaning of the Hail Mary, the significance of repetition in prayer, and Biblical insights for praying the 20 mysteries. The book also includes group study questions for each chapter.
Continuing with our overview of the Mass:
The Presentation of the Gifts in the Mass
This was also known as the Offertory and follows the collection. One of the most ancient customs involves the people themselves providing the bread and wine for Eucharist. The people used to bring food for the poor. Now, we offer our monetary resources to assist others. We bring our gifts as well as our intentions to the altar. The procession represents that these gifts come from the people. They are also symbols of the gift we made of ourselves at baptism. It is a renewal of our pledge to live and work as Christ’s body on earth. Since the bread and wine are also symbols of us, they are brought up through the congregation. It is a reminder that we are to live visibly in a way that is obvious to others that Christ is living in and through us. There is often a hymn at this point which should prepare us for the sacrifice to come.
The Preparation of the Gifts in the Mass
The initial text emphasizes the generosity of God, the produce of the earth, human labor and the Eucharist. The priest prays using words that have their roots in the Jewish tradition at the time of Jesus which blesses the bread and wine used in the meals. The next prayer of the priest states: “with humble spirit and contrite heart may we be accepted by you, O Lord…” We offer ourselves.
Water is added to wine. Wine becomes the blood of Christ while the water represents us. The water and wine also represent the divinity and humanity of Christ. Both the water and the wine are joined together by a close union, a spiritual and heavenly sacrament.
The Washing of Hands in the Mass
Sign of inner purity, customary in both Judaism and early Christianity. It is also a sanitary measure. The priest then prays, “Pray, brethren, that my sacrifice and yours.” What are you bringing to the sacrifice?
The Eucharistic Prayer in the Mass
This is the center and high point of the entire celebration. Some priests sing the Eucharistic Prayer. The word “sacrifice” means “making holy”. This is patterned after the Jewish Passover feast which Christ celebrated at the Last Supper. By sharing in this lamb of the sacrifice which had been made holy, the people were made holy; they were conscious that they had been chosen, forgiven, and loved by God. Therefore, the sacrifice is not our gift to God, but God’s gift to us. The Greek word for giving thanks is the origin of the word, Eucharist.
