More about the Preparation Rites
After the celebrant prayed over the gifts of bread and wine, an Incensation followed. However, this was more the practice in northern Europe than in Rome. In 831A.D. Bishop Amalar, a close friend of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne (ruling from Aachen, Germany) and a renowned liturgis...Read full story »
Wednesday, April 05, 2017
Bread-and-wine regulations may be hard to fathom today
With the Eucharistic bread now only being unleavened bread, regulations regarding the making of this unleavened bread were drawn up that some may find hard to fathom today. Some of these procedures included that each wheat kernel was to be individually chosen so that only the best and finest...Read full story »
Thursday, March 16, 2017
An offertory procession by the faithful endured for quite some time
In France and Germany (circa 787 A.D.), we find that the faithful presenting their material gifts along with bread and wine was an ordinary part of the preparation rites at the Sunday Eucharist. Once the Creed had been recited, the faithful would process to the altar through the body of the C...Read full story »
Thursday, March 02, 2017
Preparation Rite dates to St. Justin Martyr
St. Justin Martyr (141-167 A.D.) provides us with the first evidence of a very simple preparation rite during the Eucharist: “Then bread and a cup of water and wine mixed are brought to the one presiding….” By the end of the 2nd century a change occurred in the prepara...Read full story »
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Entering into the Liturgy of the Eucharist
Following the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word with the Universal Prayers, we enter into the second part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Eucharist, known in some Protestant Churches as the Lord’s Supper, reenacts the Last Supper when Jesus gave thanks...Read full story »
Thursday, February 02, 2017
Revised Common Lectionary is based on the Roman Catholic Lectionary
The Revised Common Lectionary used by many Canadian and U.S. Protestant Churches in their Sunday worship is based on the Roman Catholic Lectionary. According to The Revised Common Lectionary, there are two types of lectionaries: 1) one containing a simple table of readings listing the g...Read full story »
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Prayer of the Faithful concludes the Liturgy of the Word
The Liturgy of the Word concludes with the Prayer of the Faithful or the Universal Prayer. The use of these prayers of petition goes back to the Jewish Synagogue service in Babylonia (587-537 B.C.). They also were a customary part of the Roman Liturgy according to St. Justin Martyr (141...Read full story »
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Looking at the history of the Creed
The Nicene Creed was first introduced into the Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Church between 511 and 517 in Constantinople as an emphasis of the Patriarch’s desire that the truth of the faith be proclaimed. This custom quickly spread throughout the Eastern Churches. The first menti...Read full story »
Thursday, December 01, 2016
Homilies are not sermons
The homily by the priest or deacon follows the proclamation of the Gospel. The homily is not a “sermon,” which is technically a talk on a particular subject – e.g. holiness, grace, sin, heaven, hell, etc. “The Homily is part of the Liturgy and is highly recommend...Read full story »
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word
According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, “The reading of the Gospel constitutes the high point of the Liturgy of the Word. The Liturgy itself teaches the great reverence … to be shown to this reading by setting if off from the other readings with special marks of...Read full story »
Thursday, November 03, 2016
