The Church weaves the notion of active participation, together with full and conscious into her understanding. We should be engaged fully, conscious of what we are doing, aware of the liturgy's beauty and richness. This participation is first and foremost interior. Like Christ, we offer ourselves...

The liturgy is comprised not only of words and music, it also includes gestures. These, too, are sacramental signs because they show in a visible way the hidden devotion of our hearts. A bow signifies reverence or honor to persons or the symbols that represent these persons.

The Church herself tells us that incense is an expression of reverence and prayer. She prays along with Psalm 141: "Let my prayer be incense before you; my uplifted hands an evening offering." The Book of Revelation also gives an understanding of the use of incense, even in heaven: the incense is...

The Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, called for "active participation" on the part of the Faithful. It also called for a participation that would be full and conscious. In this episode we learn the importance of worshiping intelligently.

What is the difference between a liturgist and a liturgiologist? This is an important question because the answer has an impact on how we approach participation in the Mass. A liturgist is one who offers public worship of God. The Church teaches that Christ is the Supreme Liturgist, offering hims...

A frequent question, especially in light of the translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal, concerns the language of the Mass. Why do the words of Mass sound so different from the language we use in everyday life? Human beings express spiritual realities through cultural language, gestu...

Music, in the mind of the Church, is not thought of as something added to the Mass; rather, music is an integral component of it. The Church describes her music as a treasure of inestimable value–and indeed, how rich is this musical heritage. As a unique combination of melody and word, sacred mus...

The 1967 Instruction, Musicam Sacram, is the most definitive statement on music in the Mass since the Second Vatican Council. This Instruction both clarifies and articulates the Church's understanding of sacred music. Musicam Sacram describes three degrees or categories of texts of the Mass to be...

At the end of the Preparation of the Offerings, the priest says to the people: "Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours (meum ac vestrum sacrificium) may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father." There are not two sacrifices. Rather, we share in the singular sacrifice of Christ, ...

A procession is an assembly on the move. It symbolizes, in every instance, our pilgrimage through this world to our true homeland; we are citizens of heaven. There is a difference between "gathering" and "assembly." A gathering can be any group. An assembly, on the other hand, is a group called t...

The Catholic Church teaches that a sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace. Or as the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it: The sacraments are efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. (n°. 1...

The Catholic Mass is full of signs and symbols. Where do these signs come from? Where do they get their meaning? The Church teaches that the meaning comes from four categories: creation, human culture, the Old Testament and they are fully revealed in the mission of Christ narrated for us in the N...

The altar is the central feature of every Catholic church. It is the most significant element in the church building. (It is even more significant than the tabernacle, since without altar, there is no reserved Blessed Sacrament.) The altar is the focal point of every liturgical celebration. The C...

The Church teaches that the proclamation of the Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word, the first part of Mass. The Gospel is so significant that the Church has a special book that contains just those words. The Book of Gospels, the repository for the Word of Christ, is another symbo...

People often ask, "What is the proper gesture before receiving Holy Communion?" The answer is actually very clear and simple. It can be found in the General Instruction of The Roman Missal at paragraph 160. The communicant makes a bow of the head before receiving the Body of the Lord and before r...

There are two types of bows in the Catholic Mass: a simple bow of the head and a profound bow or bow of the body. During the recitation of the Creed, the Church asks all the faithful to make a profound bow. It is meant to be a tremendous sign of the reverence we have for the mysteries we celebrat...

In this episode, we dive into the meaning of the church building. The Catholic Church is a sacramental Church which means deeper realities are expressed in perceptible signs. The church building is not a neutral place; it is not simply a skin for liturgical action. It is a place where prayer happ...

The door of the church is not simply practical or pragmatic; it is not simply for entry and exit. The door of every church is a sacramental sign that reminds us of our future entry into paradise. Every church is dedicated before it is put into service for worship; its prayer of dedication tells u...

"Collect" is the official term for what is generally known as the Opening Prayer of the Mass. This term is significant because it suggests how we ought to approach the opening oration. The prayer is preceded by the invitation of the priest: "Let us pray." Note that these words do not mean "Bring ...

Notice that one of the first tasks of the liturgical assembly is for the different members to be formed into a single body. The "I" (ie., the first person singular pronoun) of the Creed is, in a sense, the "I" of the singular Body of Christ, who worships God the Father. It is also the personal "I...

We might consider that the words of the dismissal are the three (Ite, missa est) most forgotten words of the entire Mass. The Latin word, "Ite" is the imperative of "go". This is an emphatic, insistent Go! "Ite, missa est" literally means "Go, it is sent."

In essence, the liturgical movement is the effort on the part of the Church to help the faithful participate better at Mass. This meant, initially, that the people would participate in the singing and in giving the responses. Over the course of time, the Church realized that it is important that ...

In our series premier, we find out the definition of the word "liturgy." While it technically means the work of the people, there are two more aspects that help us understand why we even have the Mass in the first place.