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Explanation of The Mass

 

 

 

The Eucharist in The Early Church

 

The Eucharist in the Early Church - 1

The Eucharist in the Early Church - 2

The Eucharist in the Early Church - 3

The Eucharist in the Early Church - 4

The Eucharist in the Early Church - 5

  1. Eucharist means Thanksgiving

    • We give thanks to the Father through Jesus Christ
    • We give thanks for Salvation
    • The last Supper was the first Eucharist

     

     

  2. The Jews had thanksgiving meals

    • They took bread and wine and gave thanks to God
    • They had 3 thanksgiving meals: Sabbath, Daily, Passover

     

     

  3. Jesus did as the Jews, but he changed the prayers

    • When He said “This is My Body……Do this in Memory of Me”

     

     

  4. The Early Church gathered daily for worship

    • They had a prayer together and heard the Word of God

     

     

     

  5. The Community had Eucharist only once a week, on the Lord's Day

    • The Eucharist was a response to God's Word
    • Bread was taken, blessed and broken and Bread broken shared

 

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The Eucharist in The Early Church - Notes

  1.  
    • The Jews blessed, praised and acknowledged God
    • The Jewish form of blessing was: “Blessed are you God...You are great...You have given us this...we thank you and praise you”
    • The thing was not changed but blessed
    • The Jews thanked and blessed God because they remembered the Exodus
    • God had done great things to them. He made them a People

      1. For the Christians, the New Exodus is Christ's death, resurrection, ascension and Coming again
      2. For Christians the Paschal Mystery is the Passover from death to New Life

  2.  
    • The Early Church asked that the Father would remember and finish the fullness of salvation
    • “When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus until you come in glory” i.e. they asked God to remember
    • The high point of the liturgy was the Eucharistic Prayer when the whole community remembered Jesus and blessed the Father

  3. The structure of the Liturgy of the Word in the Early Church:



    1. The Assembly gathered to express the community's faith - and -
    2. Prayed together
    3. Word of God (Old Testament): they longed for the WORD
    4. Gospel: a living witness from an elder
    5. Homily: the priest was the first to hear the Word and explain it

  4. The structure of the Liturgy of the Eucharist:



    1. Prayer of the Faithful - as God's chosen People they prayed for the world
    2. Preparation of the altar gifts - bread and wine
    3. Kiss of Peace - they made peace before thanksgiving
    4. Dialogue -lift up your hearts, let us give thanks to the Lord, our God
    5. Eucharistic Prayer - leader prayed “Blessed are you Father...” remembering what God had done, The Great Amen ended the Eucharistic Prayer
    6. Communion and home

 

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The Eucharist Today - Part 1: The Word

 

The Eucharist Today Part 1 - 1

The Eucharist Today Part 1 - 2

The Eucharist Today Part 1 - 3

The Eucharist Today Part 1 - 4

The Eucharist Today Part 1 - 5
  1. The Eucharist: a celebration of a community of believers in the Lord Jesus

    • The Paschal Mystery is proclaimed and celebrated in Word and Breaking of Bread

     

     

     

  2. Introductory Rites: a preparation to hear and celebrate the Word

     

     

     

     

  3. Liturgy of the Word: a proclamation, an announcement of the experiences and events of the Old Testament & New Testament to the community of believers

     

     

     

  4. Creed: affirmation of the Word heard in Scripture

    • Renewal of Baptismal Faith

     

     

     

  5. Prayer of the Faithful: a universal prayer of general intercessions

    • It is our gift of faith to be able to ask in Jesus' Name

 

 

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The Eucharist Today - Part 1: The WORD - Notes

 

  1. Parts of the Eucharist Today:

    • Introductory Rites
    • Liturgy of the Word
    • Preparation of the Altar
    • Eucharistic Prayer
    • Communion Rite
    • Final Dismissal Rites

  2. Introductory Rites:
    1. Entrance:

      • a rite of gathering
      • signing with holy water, a reminder of renewal of Baptism

    2. Greeting: Hello IN THE LORD to the church assembled for worship
    3. Penitential Rite: a time to acclaim the mercy and forgiveness of God
    4. Gloria: a song of praise to God
    5. Opening Prayer:

      • theme of the celebration
      • the period of silence is for reflection
      • this is one of the 3 prayers in the liturgy:

        1. after the intro rites
        2. over the gifts
        3. after communion

      • each prayer closes an action

      Group Reflection


      Process: Make a Penitential Rite from the Readings

      • Be faithful to what Scripture says, use ideas from Scripture
      • Each group make a prayer from one of the 4 Sunday readings
      • The 3 forms of Penitential Rites are:

        1. I confess
        2. Litany pattern (Lord have Mercy)
        3. Acclamation from Scripture (script: e.g. "Lord, You are Shepherd ... Yes, I will arise!")

     

  3. Liturgy of The Word:
    1. Old Testament Reading - a record of God's actions in the lives of the chosen people
    2. Psalm - a response to the Word. It is the whole church praying
    3. New Testament Reading - Both Old Testament & New Testament readings are a testament to the LIVING word, JESUS
    4. Gospel Acclamation - Allelujia
      • It is the Christian Sound of Praise
      • A Hebrew Word : Praise the Word of the Lord
      • It is universally Christian, uniting the community
      • Welcomes the Gospel
    5. Gospel - The Christian Community stands up to acknowledge that Christ is present and speaks to His Church
    6. Homily - The leader is the first to struggle with God's Word, to hear what it is saying to us today. He then breaks the bread of the Word and shares it

     

  4. The Creed: The Profession of Faith is an expression of belief in the person of Jesus

     

  5. Prayer of the Faithful / General Intercessions: a time to forget ourselves and think of what the world needs


    Group Reflection


    Process: Make prayers of the Faithful, each group from one of the 4 readings

    • the announcement should be directed to the community and not to God
    • intentions announced should have the following sequence:
      1. for the needs of the church
      2. for public authorities and the salvation of the world
      3. for those oppressed by various needs...
      4. for the local community

    • the Whole Assembly gives expression to its supplication by a response said/sung together

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The Eucharist Today - Part 2: The Breaking of Bread

 

The Eucharist Today Part 2 - 1

The Eucharist Today Part 2 - 2

The Eucharist Today Part 2 - 3

The Eucharist Today Part 2 - 4

The Eucharist Today Part 2 - 5

  1. Liturgy of the Eucharist

    • The whole liturgy is an unfolding of the presence of Christ (the mystery of salvation)

     

     

     

     

  2. Preparation of Gifts

    • Bread and wine are taken
    • The prayer over the gifts is: Blessed are YOU, Lord, God

     

     

  3. The Eucharistic Prayer

    • Dialogue between priest proclaiming and people acclaiming
    • Priest prays on behalf of people
    • People stand to praise and thank the Father for salvation

     

  4. Communion Rite

    • Lord's Prayer: petition for daily food
    • Peace: sign of Christ's peace
    • Breaking Bread: gesture of Christ at Last Supper

     

     

  5. Dismissal Rite

    • Announcements: Community News
    • Blessing and Sending: missioning back into daily life
    • Sending forth: "missio" hence Holy "missa"

     

 

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The Eucharist Today - Part 2 - Notes

 

  1. Liturgy of the Eucharist

    • Preparation of Gifts: Bread and wine are the elements Christ used
    • Eucharistic Prayer: Hymn of thanksgiving to the Father for the whole work of salvation. “the will of the Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes him will have eternal life” [Jn 6:40]
    • Communion Rite: Breaking of one bread - sign of unity
    • Dismissal Rite: a blessing and sending

  2. Preparation of Gifts

    • the altar becomes the focal point from now on
    • the prayer over the gifts ends the liturgy of the Word
    • the gifts are not offered to God
    • what we offer to the Father is Christ in prayer
    • my personal offering is prayer

  3. Eucharistic Prayer: Thanksgiving and Offering

    Preface : proclamation of thanks to God for what He has done for us

    1. HOLY IS THE LORD: 1st acclamation
    2. THANKSGIVING: praise and thanks to the Father for salvation
    3. 1st EPICLESIS : invocation of the Holy Spirit over the gifts
    4. MEMORIAL : remembering the words and actions of Christ at the Last Supper
    5. MYSTERY OF FAITH: 2nd acclamation
    6. CONTINUING THE MEMORIAL: Hope in the Future Coming of Christ, who we Now offer to the Father
    7. 2nd EPICLESIS : invocation of the Holy Spirit on the community
    8. INTERCESSIONS : the Eucharist is celebrated in community with the whole church
    9. FINAL DOXOLOGY: praise of God is expressed
    10. GREAT AMEN: 3rd acclamation and conclusion

  4. Communion Rite

    1. the community comes together to eat the Eucharist
    2. one cannot celebrate a love feast alone
    3. we need OTHERS to respond in faith to God
    4. The Bread Blest and Broken is a communion in the Body of Christ... The Cup of Blessings, Blest is a communion in the Blood of Christ
      [1 Cor 10: 16-17]

     

    Small Group Reflection


    Process: Design a place for celebration of the Eucharist

    • The three focal points should be:

      1. The Altar - the symbol of Christ nothing but bread and wine should be on it
      2. Place for the Word - special reverence is given to the Gospels because it is Jesus' Word
      3. Priest and Community - the community should be able to see one another, move and communicate

 

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Last modified: Mar 17 2007

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