Things We Love About Mass

[Maria]

I thought it might be nice to have a thread where people could share particular things about Mass that they love. It might even have the effect of having us pay closer attention to the Mass and appreciate it more.

So...
I love that the host is broken in the OF at the Behold the Lamb of God, because then it makes me think of Rev. 5:6, the Lamb standing as though slain, broken yet risen and victorious.

I love the way the Our Father is immediately preceded when the 1st Eucharistic Prayer is used... "Through him you give us all these gifts. You fill them with life and goodness, you bless them and make them holy," and then the doxology, "Through him, with him, and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever." These two passages seem to speak to the two parts of the Our Father, reminding us Who it is through whom the petitions are answered.

I love the doxology. I love the way it reminds me of the relationship between the Father and the Son, and it makes me long to be a part of that. And then it makes me so grateful that I am called to be a part of it.

Just in general, I love the way the whole Mass is Trinitarian.

I love that the Domine non sum dignus (Lord I am not worthy...) is repeated three times in the EF. It seems like I need that 'redundancy' for it to sink in and to mean it.

I love the last gospel in the EF. I love John's Prologue... it's so beautiful. "Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis et vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratiae et veritatis." (And the Word was made flesh...) And heart-rending: "He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him".

I love it when Mass is celebrated so that there's a silence, a stillness, that invites us in to where we can listen to God. And I love that that same stillness is at the heart of chant and polyphony, when it's properly done.

[Nihil Obstat]

I love the prayers at the foot of the altar.


One part of it:

[b][font="Century Gothic"][size="2"]Júdica me, Deus, et discérne causam meam de gente non sancta: ab hómine iníquo, et dolóso érue me.

Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.

S.Quia tu es, Deus, fortitúdo mea: quare me repulísti, et quare tristis incédo, dum afflígit me inimícus?

S.For Thou, O God, art my strength: why hast Thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflictech me?

P.Emítte lucem tuam, et veritátem tuam: ipsa me deduxérunt, et aduxérunt in montem sanctum tuum, et in tabernácula tua.

P.Send forth Thy light and Thy truth: they have led me and brought me unto Thy holy hill, and into Thy tabernacles.

S.Et introíbo ad altáre Dei: ad Deum qui lætíficat juventútem meam.

S.And I will go in unto the Altar of God: unto God, Who giveth joy to my youth.

P.Confitébor tibi in cíthara, Deus, Deus meus: quare tristis es, ánima mea, et quare contúrbas me?

P.I will praise Thee upon the harp, O God, my God: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me?

S.Spera in Deo, quóniam adhuc confitébor illi: salutáre vultus mei, et Deus meus.

S.Hope thou in God, for I will yet praise Him: Who is the salvation of my countenance, and my God.
[/size][/font][/b]


[url="http://irenaeusgsaintonge.blogspot.com/2011/03/prayers-at-foot-of-altar.html"]As I wrote a couple months ago[/url]:

Since the priest has not yet ascended to the Altar, he is still at (almost) the same level as his parishioners, which says to me that he is praying with us (maybe more accurately for us) to be made worthy, and that as he prays to be made worthy of his role, he truly prays to represent his entire congregation.
The entire scene makes me consider standing before God Himself. It makes me think about being before such an amesome and incomprehensible Presence. I think the Mass itself considers the same thing when the priest says "I will go in unto the Altar of God: unto God, Who giveth joy to my youth."
The last thing that strikes me is the action of actually ascending the Altar after the prayers. Without having studied in depth the theology of the Mass, it seems to me that this action represents the priest taking on the role of alter Christus, another Christ. It may not be that exact moment that this is considered to be the case, but it certainly means something significant that the priest is going "in unto the Altar of God", physically rising above the congregation to where Christ is in the tabernacle, to the Altar where the Sacrifice of the Mass will again be offered in worship of God.
[url="http://irenaeusgsaintonge.blogspot.com/2011/03/addendum-to-prayers-at-foot-of-altar.html"][...][/url]
Later in the Mass the priest prays "Let my prayer, O Lord, like incense before You; the lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice." Just like the incense used throughout the Mass, the priest himself brings our prayers up to God and, as Christ became Man and dwelt among us, one like us in all things but sin, the priest also brings God to us via the Consecration.
So the priest, when he ascends the Altar, also in a manner of speaking ascends to heaven in order to bring Christ back to us.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Nihil Obstat

[Lil Red]

http://oxyparadoxy.blogspot.com/2011/06/home-away-from-home.html

[OnlySunshine]

I think my favorite part of the Mass is the singing of Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). I love those three verses:

[i]Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.[/i]

I also love the recitation of this verse:

[i]Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word, and I shall be healed.[/i]

It's full of such humility and love for the Eucharist. With one word from Jesus, we shall be healed. Beautiful.

I don't think there is a part of the Mass that I don't like. I love it all. I wish I could attend more often and I'm trying my hardest to start attending on at least a semi-daily basis. Going every Sunday and Holy Day is not enough for me.

[Maria]

That is so cool, Nihil. I've always loved the line "I will go in unto the Altar of God: unto God, Who giveth joy to my youth," but I haven't really given any thought as to the significance of the prayers at the foot of the altar. In large part that's probably because it's not a part of the Mass I'm very familiar with (I would go to the EF once or twice a week at school, but I'm still not very familiar with the stuff that's only in the EF.)

[Maria]

Sort of in line with what Lil Red linked to, I love the way places and things can have a 'steeped in prayer' feeling to them. And, given that Jesus is there in the tabernacle, and all of heaven with Him, I love it that churches tend to have that feel. Although, of course, some have it more than others. But you can still feel it.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='Maria' timestamp='1309227077' post='2259335']
That is so cool, Nihil. I've always loved the line "I will go in unto the Altar of God: unto God, Who giveth joy to my youth," but I haven't really given any thought as to the significance of the prayers at the foot of the altar. In large part that's probably because it's not a part of the Mass I'm very familiar with (I would go to the EF once or twice a week at school, but I'm still not very familiar with the stuff that's only in the EF.)
[/quote]
I also think that it's quite interesting how many times that particular line is repeated. It's most certainly something to dwell on. There are a few lines like that, I've noticed. Some are repeated only in one particular section, but others are repeated throughout the entire Mass. It's a lot of fun to see how those things fit, and what they mean.

[sixpence]

I Love the Agnus Dei ... and the "This is the Lamb of God; this is He who takes away the sins of the world...." part


side note:: what are you folks thinking.... this thread seems too positive for phatmass....

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='sixpence' timestamp='1309232412' post='2259361']

side note:: what are you folks thinking.... this thread seems too positive for phatmass....
[/quote]
Watch closely and learn.

*ahem*


[img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EFLrU7DpejM/THrNli_b-kI/AAAAAAAAABA/7Z9N6v81Bzo/s1600/BetterInLatin.jpg[/img]

[Luigi]

When I was a kid, I didn't like the fact that the Mass was the same all the time. Now that's the part I appreciate the most.

Whatever is going on in my life - a family member sick, unhappy in my job, an aunt going off to the missions, a friend's dad died - whatever it is, I bring it to the altar. And father says the same prayers, but they mean something slightly different because I listen to them in light of whatever's on my mind. And I get new meaning out of the readings because I'm listening to them through the fiddler of whatever's on my mind.

And then I go to communion, and I know that Jesus is with me, no matter what the situation is.

And I go away comforted if not exactly at peace.

[Cam42]

Two things:

1. Gregorian Chant
2. rubrics

[AccountDeleted]

Two things:

Consecration
Communion

[Maria]

[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1309234013' post='2259374']
Two things:

Consecration
Communion

[/quote]
That was supposed to be included as 'obvious,' because otherwise we'd all be saying it. I mean, it's completely, incomprehensibly amazing. I love the 5th mystery of light.



Cam, you can't just list... you're supposed to share what it is about it that makes you love it. You know, give us insights so that we don't just value tradition, but so that we love what tradition values, because after all, the reason tradition values it is because it's something worth loving...

So, why do you love chant & rubrics? (I have a sudden inclination to answer the second with a "because they're [i]red[/i]! and red is such a pretty colour!")
I love chant (when it's well done) because of its stillness and the way it draws into prayer. I think I find it hard to love 'rubrics;' I'm more likely to by struck by certain particular rubrics as seeming particularly meaningful.

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='Maria' timestamp='1309235577' post='2259390']
That was supposed to be included as 'obvious,' because otherwise we'd all be saying it. I mean, it's completely, incomprehensibly amazing. I love the 5th mystery of light.



Cam, you can't just list... you're supposed to share what it is about it that makes you love it. You know, give us insights so that we don't just value tradition, but so that we love what tradition values, because after all, the reason tradition values it is because it's something worth loving...

So, why do you love chant & rubrics? (I have a sudden inclination to answer the second with a "because they're [i]red[/i]! and red is such a pretty colour!")
I love chant (when it's well done) because of its stillness and the way it draws into prayer. I think I find it hard to love 'rubrics;' I'm more likely to by struck by certain particular rubrics as seeming particularly meaningful.
[/quote]
I think there are good reasons to like rubrics. The one that comes to mind for me is watching the priest remove his cope and vest after the Asperges, before the prayers at the foot of the altar. I think the meaning behind it is quite interesting.

[Maria]

[quote name='Luigi' timestamp='1309233083' post='2259367']
When I was a kid, I didn't like the fact that the Mass was the same all the time. Now that's the part I appreciate the most.
[/quote]
I definitely like that, too. I like knowing it all well enough that I can mentally mouth along, if that makes any sense, while also having it be something that's rich enough that there are always hidden treasures to discover and always something that can speak to whatever I might be going through.

So much so that, even though I liked it in theory, it took me quite a while to start actually liking the EF, just because it was unfamiliar. I figure the change probably started happenning around when I started missing things when I was at an OF Mass.