The Mass is divided into two parts, the
Mass of the Catechumens and the
Mass of the Faithful. Catechumens, those being instructed in the faith, were once dismissed after the first half, not having yet professed the faith. Profession of faith was considered essential for participation in the
Eucharistic sacrifice. This rule of the
Didache is still in effect. It is only one of the three conditions (baptism, right faith and right living) for admission to receiving
Holy Communion that the Catholic Church has always applied and that were already mentioned in the early 2nd century by Saint
Justin Martyr: "And this food is called among us the
Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined" (
First Apology, Chapter LXVI).
Before Mass Asperges (Sprinkling with
holy water,
Psalm 51:9, 3) is an optional
penitential rite that ordinarily precedes only the principal
Mass on Sunday. In the sacristy, a priest wearing an
alb, if he is to celebrate the Mass, or
surplice, if he is not the celebrant of the Mass, and vested with a
stole, which is the color of the day if the priest is the celebrant of the Mass or purple if he is not the celebrant of the Mass, exorcises and blesses salt and water, then puts the blessed salt into the water by thrice sprinkling it in the form of a cross while saying once, "Commixtio salis et aquæ pariter fiat in nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti" (May a mixture of salt and water now be made in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit). After that, the priest, vested in a
cope of the color of the day, while the choir sings an antiphon and a verse of
Psalm 50/51 or 117/118, sprinkles with the holy water the altar three times, and then the clergy and the congregation. This rite, if used, precedes the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar. During the
Easter season, the "Asperges me..." verse is replaced by the "Vidi aquam..." verse, and "Alleluia" is added to the "Ostende nobis..." verse and to its response. Following the Asperges, Mass begins.
Mass of the Catechumens The first part is the Mass of the Catechumens.
Prayers at the foot of the altar The sequence of Prayers at the foot of the altar is: •
Sign of the cross :The priest, after processing in—at solemn Mass with
deacon, and subdeacon, master of ceremonies and servers, and at other Masses with one or more servers—and at Low Mass placing the veiled chalice on the centre of the altar, makes the sign of the cross at the foot of the altar. At Solemn Mass, the chalice is placed beforehand on the
credence table. • Psalm 42 ( MT, i.e. Masoretic numbering), known by its incipit '
, is recited, except in Masses of the season during Passiontide and in Requiem Masses. It is preceded and followed by an antiphon of the same psalm: "'" (Translation: "I shall go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth"), is recited by the priest, alternating with the deacon and subdeacon (if present) or servers. • is recited: : • The double form of a prayer of general confession of sins, known by its incipit
Confiteor (I confess), is recited: : ::(Translation: I confess to almighty
God, to
blessed Mary ever Virgin, to
blessed Michael the archangel, to
blessed John the Baptist, to the
holy apostles Peter and
Paul, to all the
saints, and to you, brethren, that I have
sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore, I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, all the saints and you, brethren, to
pray for me to the Lord our God.) :The servers pray for the priest: "May Almighty God have mercy on thee, forgive thee thy sins, and bring thee to life everlasting." Then it is the ministers' or servers' turn to confess sinfulness and to ask for prayers. They use the same words as those used by the priest, except that they say "you, Father", in place of "you, brethren", and the priest responds with the same prayer that the servers have used for him (but using the plural number) plus an extra prayer. • The following verses are then said by priest and ministers (or servers): ::℣. Deus, tu conversus vivificábis nos. ::℟. Et plebs tua lætábitur in te. ::℣. Óstende nobis, Dómine, misericórdiam tuam. ::℟. Et salutáre tuum da nobis. ::℣. Dómine, exáudi orátionem meam. ::℟. Et clamor meus ad te véniat. ::℣. Dóminus vobíscum. ::℟. Et cum spíritu tuo. Thou wilt turn, O God, and bring us to life: (Ps. 84:7–8) And thy people shall rejoice in thee. Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy. And grant us thy salvation. O Lord, hear my prayer. And let my cry come unto thee. The Lord be with you. And with thy spirit. The priest then says, '
(Let us pray). After this he ascends to the altar, praying silently "Aufer a nobis, quæsumus, Dómine, iniquitates nostras: ut ad Sancta sanctorum puris mereámur méntibus introíre. Per Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen." (Translation: Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech thee O Lord, that with pure minds we may worthily enter into the holy of holies"), a reference to Exodus 26:33–34, 1 Kings 6:16, 1 Kings 8:6, 2 Chronicles 3:8, Ezekiel 41:4, and others. He places his joined hands on the edge of the altar, so that only the tips of the small fingers touch the front of it, and silently prays that, by the merits of the Saints whose relics are in the altar, and of all the Saints, God may pardon all his sins. At the words ' (whose relics are here), he spreads his hands and kisses the altar.
Priest at the altar .In the Tridentine Mass the priest should keep his eyes downcast at this point. •
Introit • The priest again makes the sign of the Cross while he begins to read the Introit, which is usually taken from a
Psalm. Exceptions occur: e.g. the Introit for
Easter Sunday is adapted from
Wis 10:20–21, and the antiphon in Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary was from the poet
Sedulius. This evolved from the practice of singing a full Psalm, interspersed with the antiphon, during the entrance of the clergy, before the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar were added to the Mass in medieval times. This is indicated by the very name of "Introit". •
Kyrie • This part of Mass is a linguistic marker of the origins of the Roman liturgy in
Greek. "Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison; Kyrie, eleison." means "Lord, have mercy; Christ have mercy;..." Each phrase is said (or sung) three times. •
Gloria in excelsis Deo • The first line of the
Gloria is taken from
Lk . The
Gloria is omitted during the penitential liturgical seasons of
Advent,
Septuagesima,
Lent, and Passiontide, in which violet vestments are worn, but is used on feasts falling during such seasons, as well as on Holy (Maundy) Thursday. It is always omitted for a Requiem Mass. • The
Collect • The priest turns toward the people and says, "Dominus vobiscum." The servers respond: "Et cum spiritu tuo." ("The Lord be with you." "And with thy spirit"). The
Collect follows, a prayer not drawn directly from Scripture. It tends to reflect the season.
Instruction • The priest reads the
Epistle, primarily an extract from the
letters of St. Paul to various churches. In his
motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI permitted this to be read in the vernacular language when Mass is celebrated with the people. • Between the Epistle and the Gospel, two (rarely three) choir responses are sung or said. Usually these are a
Gradual followed by an
Alleluia; but between
Septuagesima Sunday and
Holy Saturday, or in a
Requiem Mass or other penitential Mass the Alleluia is replaced by a
Tract, and between
Easter Sunday and
Pentecost the Gradual is replaced by a second Alleluia. On a few exceptional occasions (most notably Easter,
Pentecost, Corpus Christi, and in a Requiem Mass), a
Sequence follows the Alleluia or Tract. • The Gradual is partly composed of a portion of a
Psalm. • The
Gospel reading, an extract from one of the four Gospels • Before the reading or chanting of the Gospel, the priest prays: "Cleanse my heart and my lips, O almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet
Isaias...", a reference to
Isaiah 6:6. In this passage, after being cleansed by the
angel, Isaiah was instructed to prophesy. • The
Homily • The rite of Mass as revised by Pope Pius V (the Tridentine Mass) does not consider a sermon obligatory and speaks of it instead as merely optional: it presumes that the
Creed, if it is to be said, will follow the Gospel immediately, but adds: "If, however, someone is to preach, the Homilist, after the Gospel has been finished, preaches, and when the sermon or moral address has been completed, the
Credo is said, or if it is not to be said, the Offertory is sung." By contrast the Roman Missal as revised by Pope Paul VI declares that the homily may not be omitted without a grave reason from Mass celebrated with the people attending on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation and that it is recommended on other days. • The
Creed • The
Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, professing faith in
God the Father, in
God the Son, in
God the Holy Spirit, and in the
one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. At the mention of the
Incarnation, the celebrant and the congregation genuflect.
Mass of the Faithful The second part is the Mass of the Faithful.
Offertory during the
Canon of the Mass at a
Missa Cantata •
Offertory Verse • After greeting the people once more ("
Dominus vobiscum/Et cum spiritu tuo") and giving the invitation to pray (
Oremus), the priest enters upon the Mass of the Faithful, from which the non-baptized were once excluded. He reads the Offertory Verse, a short quotation from Holy Scripture which varies with the Mass of each day, with hands joined. • Offertory Prayers • The priest offers the host, holding it on the paten at breast level and praying that, although he is unworthy, God may accept "this spotless host (or victim, the basic meaning of
hostia in Latin) for his own innumerable sins, offences and neglects, for all those present, and for all faithful Christians living and dead, that it may avail unto salvation of himself and those mentioned. He then mixes a few drops of water with the wine, which will later become the Blood of Jesus, and holding the chalice so that the lip of the chalice is about the height of his lips, offers "the chalice of salvation", asking that it may "ascend with a sweet fragrance." He then prays a prayer of contrition adapted from
Dan 3:39–40. • Incensing of the offerings and of the faithful • At a
High Mass, the priest blesses the
incense, then incenses the bread and wine. Among the prayers the priest says is
Psalm 141:2–4: "Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed as incense in Thy sight;...", which is prayed as he incenses the altar. The priest then gives the thurible to the deacon, who incenses the priest, then the other ministers and the congregation. • Washing the hands • The priest prays
Psalm 26:6–12: "I will wash my hands among the innocent..." • Prayer to the
Most Holy Trinity • This prayer asks that the
Divine Trinity may receive the oblation being made in remembrance of the passion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and in honour of blessed Mary ever Virgin and the other saints, "that it may avail to their honour and our salvation: and that they may vouchsafe to intercede for us in
heaven..." •
Orate fratres,
Suscipiat and
Secret;
Amen concludes Offertory • Here the priest turns to the congregation and says the first two words, "Orate, fratres", in an elevated tone and then turns around while finishing the exhortation in the secret tone. "Pray, Brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to
God the Father almighty." • The altar servers respond with the
Suscipiat to which the priest secretly responds, "Amen.":
Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus tuis, ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui, ad utilitatem quoque nostram, totiusque ecclesiæ suae sanctæ. A translation in the English is: "May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands, to the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His Holy Church." • The Priest then says the day's Secret inaudibly, and concludes it with
Per omnia sæcula sæculorum aloud. • The altar servers and (in dialogue Mass) the congregation respond: "Amen."
Consecration at a
Low Mass •
Preface of the Canon • "The
Roman Canon dates in essentials from before
St. Gregory the Great, who died in 604, and who is credited with adding a phrase to it. (See
History of the Roman Canon.) It contains the main elements found in almost all rites, but in an unusual arrangement and it is unclear which part should be considered to be the
Epiclesis. • Dominus vobiscum.
Et cum spiritu tuo. Sursum corda.
Habemus ad Dominum. Gratias agimus Domino Deo nostro.
Dignum et iustum est. The first part can be seen above at the Collect; the rest means: "Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right and just". • Next a preface is prayed, indicating specific reasons for giving thanks to God. This leads to the
Sanctus. •
Canon or rule of consecration •
Intercession (corresponding to the reading of the diptychs in the Byzantine Rite—a diptych is a two-leaf painting, carving or writing tablet.) • Here the priest prays for the living, that God may guard, unite and govern the Church together with the Pope and "all those who, holding to the truth, hand on the catholic and apostolic faith". Then specific living people are mentioned, and the congregation in the church. Next, Mary ever Virgin, Saint Joseph, the Apostles, and some Popes and other Martyrs are mentioned by name, as well as a generic "and all your Saints", in communion with whom prayer is offered. • Prayers preparatory to the consecration • A prayer that God may graciously accept the offering and "command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those you have chosen". •
Consecration (
transubstantiation) and major elevation during the
Canon of the Mass at a
Missa Cantata during the
Canon of the Mass at a
Solemn Mass • The passage
Lk 22:19–20 is key in this section. In
Summa Theologiae III 78 3
Thomas Aquinas addresses the interspersed phrase, "the mystery of faith". On this phrase, see
Mysterium fidei. • Oblation of the victim to God • An oblation is an offering; the pure, holy, spotless victim is now offered, with a prayer that God may accept the offering and command his holy angel to carry the offering to God's altar on high, so that those who receive the Body and Blood of Christ "may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing". • Remembrance of the Dead • The priest now prays for the dead ("those who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace") and asks that they be granted a place of refreshment, light and peace. This is followed by a prayer that we be granted fellowship with the Saints. John the Baptist and fourteen martyrs, seven men and seven women, are mentioned by name. • End of the Canon and doxology with minor elevation • The concluding
doxology is:
Per ipsum, et cum ipso, et in ipso, est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti, in unitate Spiritus Sancti, ("Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, there is to you, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit", − spoken silently while making five signs of the cross with the host)
omnis honor, et gloria. ("all glory and honour." − still silently while briefly raising host and chalice a little together). This is followed by replacing the host on the corporal and the pall on the chalice and genuflecting. After this the priest sings or says aloud:
Per omnia sæcula sæculorum ("For ever and ever.") The response "Amen" symbolically ratifies the Canon prayer.
Elevation candle representation of an elevation candle, mistakenly placed at the Gospel side and upon the altar Until 1960, the Tridentine form of the Roman Missal laid down that a candle should be placed at the Epistle side of the altar and that it should be lit at the showing of the consecrated sacrament to the people. In practice, except in monasteries and on special occasions, this had fallen out of use long before Pope John XXIII replaced the section on the general rubrics of the Roman Missal with his
Code of Rubrics, which no longer mentioned this custom. On this, see
Elevation candle.
Communion :::::::::::*The
Lord's Prayer and Libera nos ::::::::::::*The "
Libera nos" is an extension of the Lord's Prayer developing the line "sed libera nos a malo" ("but deliver us from evil"). The priest prays that we may be delivered from all evils and that the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with the apostles and saints, may intercede to obtain for us peace in our day. :::::::::::*
Fraction of the Host ::::::::::::*During the preceding prayer, the priest breaks the consecrated Host into three parts, and after concluding the prayer drops the smallest part into the Chalice while praying that this commingling and consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ may "be to us who receive it effectual to life everlasting." :::::::::::*
Agnus Dei ::::::::::::* "Agnus Dei" means "
Lamb of God". The priest then prays: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us." He repeats this, and then adds: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace." The Mass of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday has "have mercy on us" all three times. In Requiem Masses, the petitions are "grant them rest" (twice), followed by "grant them eternal rest." • The
Pax • The priest asks Christ to look not at the priest's sins but at the faith of Christ's Church, and prays for peace and unity within the Church. Then, if a High Mass is being celebrated, he gives the sign of peace to the deacon, saying: "Peace be with you." • Prayers preparatory to the Communion • In the first of these two prayers for himself, the priests asks that by Holy Communion he may be freed from all his iniquities and evils, be made to adhere to the commandments of Jesus and never be separated from him. In the second he asks: "Let not the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ...turn to my judgment and condemnation: but through Thy goodness may it be unto me a safeguard...." • Receiving of the Body and Blood of our Lord • The priest quietly says several prayers here, before receiving Communion. The first is said in a low voice while taking up the Host onto the paten. The second of them, spoken three times in a slightly audible voice, while the priest holds the Host in his left hand and strikes his breast with his right, is based on : "Lord, I am not worthy...." Then, after having reverently consumed the Host, he takes up the chalice while in a low voice reciting : "What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things he hath rendered unto me? I will take the chalice of salvation; and I will call upon the name of the Lord." immediately adding : "Praising I will call upon the Lord: and I shall be saved from my enemies." at a
Missa Cantata • If the priest is to give Communion to others, he holds up a small host and says aloud: "Behold the Lamb of God ...", and three times: "Lord, I am not worthy ...". He then gives Communion, first making with the host the sign of the cross over each communicant, while saying: "May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul for eternal life. Amen."
Conclusion at a
Solemn Mass • Prayers during the
Ablutions • The prayers now focus on what has been received, that "we may receive with a pure mind", "that no stain of sin may remain in me, whom these pure and holy sacraments have refreshed." •
Communion Antiphon and
Postcommunion • The communion antiphon is normally a portion of a Psalm. The Postcommunion Prayer is akin to the Collect in being an appropriate prayer not directly drawn from Scripture. •
Ite Missa est; Blessing • "Go, it is the dismissal." The word "Mass" derives from this phrase. • After saying a silent prayer for himself, the priest then gives the people his blessing. • Prior to the revisions of Pope Pius XII and Pope John XXIII, the
Ite Missa est was replaced with
Benedicamus Domino ("Let us bless the Lord") on days in which the
Gloria was not said and the rubrics required the priest to wear violet vestments (i.e., Masses of the season during Advent, Septuagesima, Lent and Passiontide; vigils; certain votive Masses). In the 1962 Missal,
Benedicamus Domino is said only when the Mass is followed by another liturgical action, such as the
Eucharistic Processions on
Holy Thursday and Corpus Christi. • In Requiem Masses, the
Ite Missa est is replaced with
Requiescat in pace, with the response being "Amen" instead of
Deo gratias. • The
Last Gospel • The priest then reads the Last Gospel, the beginning of the
Gospel of John, , which recounts the Incarnation of the Son of God. On certain occasions, as for instance at the Day Mass on Christmas Day, another Gospel passage was read instead because that Gospel is read as the Gospel of the Mass, but
Pope John XXIII's revision of the rubrics decreed that on those and on other occasions the Last Gospel should simply be omitted. • In the pre-1955 Missal, the Gospel of a Sunday outranked by a feast is still said as a Proper Last Gospel instead of the beginning of St. John's Gospel. •
Marian Antiphons • Customarily a Marian Antiphon appointed to the season is sung at the end of Last Gospel and Leonine Prayers, except Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.
Prayers of the priest before and after Mass The Tridentine Missal includes prayers for the priest to say before and after Mass. In later editions of the Roman Missal, including that of 1962, the introductory heading of these prayers indicates that they are to be recited
pro opportunitate (as circumstances allow), which in practice means that they are merely optional and may be omitted. The original Tridentine Missal presents most of the prayers as obligatory, indicating as optional only a very long prayer attributed to
Saint Ambrose (which later editions divide into seven sections, each to be recited on only one day of the week) and two other prayers attributed to Saint Ambrose and
Saint Thomas Aquinas respectively. In addition to these three prayers, the original Tridentine Missal proposes for the priest to recite before he celebrates Mass the whole of Psalms 83–85, 115, 129 (the numbering is that of the
Septuagint and
Vulgate), and a series of
collect-style prayers. Later editions add, after the three that in the original Missal are only optional, prayers to the
Blessed Virgin,
Saint Joseph, all the angels and saints, and the saint whose Mass is to be celebrated, but, as has been said, treats as optional all the prayers before Mass, even those originally given as obligatory. The original Tridentine Missal proposes for recitation by the priest after Mass three prayers, including the
Adoro te devote. Later editions place before these three the Canticle of the Three Youths (
Dan) with three collects, and follow them with the
Anima Christi and seven more prayers, treating as optional even the three prescribed in the original Tridentine Missal.
Leonine Prayers From 1884 to 1965, the Holy See prescribed the recitation after
Low Mass of certain prayers, originally for the solution of the
Roman Question and, after this problem was solved by the
Lateran Treaty, "to permit tranquillity and freedom to profess the faith to be restored to the afflicted people of Russia". These prayers are known as the
Leonine Prayers because it was
Pope Leo XIII who on 6 January 1884 ordered their recitation throughout the world. In 1964, with effect from 7 March 1965, the Holy See ended the obligation to recite the Leonine Prayers after Low Mass.
Participation of the faithful held under their chin to protect against accidents. It is customary in most places for women to wear a
veil. The participation of the congregation at the Tridentine Mass is interior, involving eye and heart, and exterior by mouth. Except in the
Dialogue Mass form, which arose about 1910 and led to a more active exterior participation of the congregation, the people present at the Tridentine Mass do not recite out loud the prayers of the Mass. Only the server or servers join with the priest in reciting the prayers at the foot of the altar (which include the
Confiteor) and in speaking the other responses. Most of the prayers that the priest says are spoken inaudibly, including almost all the Mass of the Faithful: the offertory prayers, the
Canon of the Mass (except for the preface and the final doxology), and (apart from the
Agnus Dei) those between the
Lord's Prayer and the
postcommunion. At a
Solemn Mass or
Missa Cantata, a choir sings the servers' responses, except for the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar. The choir sings the
Introit, the
Kyrie, the
Gloria, the
Gradual, the
Tract or
Alleluia, the
Credo, the
Offertory and
Communion antiphons, the
Sanctus, and the
Agnus Dei. Of these, only the five that form part of the
Ordinary of the Mass are usually sung at a Missa Cantata. In addition to the
Gregorian Chant music for these, polyphonic compositions exist, some quite elaborate. The priest largely says quietly the words of the chants.
Comparison with other Western Christian liturgical rites Jesuit priest
Rune P. Thuringer, writing in 1965, noted that "The eucharistic liturgy of the state
Church of Sweden, which is
Lutheran, is closer in many respects to the [Tridentine] rite of the Roman Mass than that of any other Protestant church." == Different levels of solemnity of celebration ==