July 19th...

We had a well attended and interesting discussion on Tuesday night!

Our gathering began with a prayer, and then we shared some handouts that were contributed by Fr Jay and Bill Pare. I will try to scan Fr Jay's resource list and put it on the blog because it is excellent. I will also try to find Bill's article online.

Our discussion of the Mass began with the Procession.  We were all interested to learn that the procession isn't just a way to get the priest to the altar, it images the journey of the tribes of Israel as they made their way into the promised land.

We talked about the way the Old Testament foreshadowed the coming of Christ and His Church. There are so many rites and rituals, so many important details that the Israelites were given along the way, that still play into our own faith journey. The Tabernacle, the offering of Sacrifice, the priests role, etc.

God called His people in a very special way through the ages. Adam and Eve were one Holy Couple, Noah and his family were a Holy Family, and the covenant with Noah sealed the family to God. Through Abraham, God's people became One Holy Tribe, and Circumcision was the seal of that covenant. Moses freed God's people, and they became a Holy nation, and David's anointing by God instituted a Holy Kingdom. From David's kingdom we follow history to Christ, the true and eternal King, the last Covenant and One Holy and Apostolic Church. The Church is universal.

We talked about how the bells call the faithful to Mass. These bells were very important in the days before timepieces, when people needed to be called to Mass and prayer by the church bells.
The bells during Mass may also have helped wake sleepy Mass attendees in the days when Masses were much longer.
There has always been a practical reason for all the things that today seem to be just a part of ritual. Candles, Bells, certain furnishings, many of these things had a practical use in the past. Now we have a "foot in the past and one in the present".

The Sign of the Cross has a special significance to each person and everyone in the group shared the thing that means the most to them.
The Cross was a tool of torture to the early Christians, and yet they loved to make the sign of the cross and felt that it was a special honor. We also shared the honor that we feel.
The Sign of the Cross is a prayer in itself.
Michael shared that Fr Pollard taught that the can be a thought of this way:
We touch our forehead, and say "in the name of The Father", then we lower our hand to our breast and say "and of The Son" who came down to earth, then we touch our left shoulder, and say "Holy" and think of how Christ went to the Cross, and then we touch our right shoulder and say "Spirit" and this is when Jesus went to be at the right hand of the Father.

The sign of the Cross is like a family Crest.

I found Dr Scott Hahn's beautiful talk on The Sign of the Cross. It is worth listening to.
You have to listen to both parts 1and 2 to get the gist, but if you listen to all six, you won't be sorry!
Once you start you can click on the next one as you finish the last. 

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Six

The discussion moved on to the Penitential rite.
There was some discussion of the Latin rites and how some felt that there was little to draw the people in when the Mass was in Latin, while some felt that the beauty and grandeur of the Latin rite is more engaging for them and their families.
Isn't it beautiful that we have a choice and we can all experience the Mass in these wonderful ways?

We discussed the spirit of Vatican II and Fr Jay strongly suggested that we read the documents to understand the intent.

After Vatican II the Church was in such a hurry to get a translation out, that much of the accurate language was obscured. It was not literal.

The Gloria was what the angels sang when Christ was born on Earth. With our worship and praise we make up for the fallen angels that no longer worship God. The Angels and saints are there with us, we worship together with heaven!
This prayer has been part of the Mass since the 2nd century, when it was decreed by Pope Telephorus.

Within the first reading we find the connections to the Old Testament. It provides a context to the Story of Christ. The story of God's family comes down through these readings at Mass.
It is a good idea to read the readings before Sunday to get a chance to think about them.
John brought up a couple of readings from Genesis that directly connect to Church teaching.
Genesis 2:26 talks about the Trinity
Genesis 3:15 talks about the Woman (Mary) and her seed (Christ) crushing the head of Satan.

The books of the Bible are history and support the Mass.
"The Bible Timeline" with Jeff Cavins is an excellent study that explores the Biblical story of God's family.
"Walking with God" by Jeff Cavins and Tim Gray is a book that goes over the same information.

We discussed how helpful it is when the priest or deacon connects the readings and explains those connections during the Homily.

Some materials that might help with our preparation for Mass are:
"The Better Part" by Fr John Bartunek
"Magnificat" magazine
"Magnifikid" by Magnificat
The Word Among Us 

 We talked about how much we can grow within the cycles of the readings of the Church. A lot can happen in three years!
We talked about different types of prayer and how different people pray.
The women talked about our "Martha and Mary" tendencies, and then Frank said that he had never seen it that way. He just thought it was a story of sibling rivalry. Most of the guys agreed with him!