Nihil Obstat: Reverend Thomas W. Buckley, S.T.D., S.S.L. Imprimatur: X Seán Cardinal O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Boston October 24, 2018 ISBN 0-8198-7552-X ISBN 978-0-8198-7552-5 The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Texts contained in this work derived whole or in part from liturgical texts copyrighted by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) have been published here with the confirmation of the Committee on Divine Worship, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. No other texts in this work have been formally reviewed or approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Cover design by Mary Joseph Peterson, FSP Cover photos: istockphoto—widonet; fatcamera All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. “P” and PAULINE are registered trademarks of the Daughters of St. Paul. Copyright © 2019, Daughters of St. Paul Published by Pauline Books & Media, 50 Saint Pauls Avenue, Boston, MA 021303491 Printed in the U.S.A. MEFK VSAUSAPEOILL11-2910133 7552-X www.pauline.org Pauline Books & Media is the publishing house of the Daughters of St. Paul, an international congregation of women religious serving the Church with the communications media. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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The Mass Explained for Kids Second Edition
Commentary by Maria Grace Dateno, FSP and Jaymie Stuart Wolfe
Boston
The Mystery of the Mass
Catholics all over the world gather for Mass on Sundays—the Lord’s Day, the day Jesus rose from the dead. In this booklet we will begin to uncover the mystery of what happens at Mass and why we say and do the things we say and do! What is the Mass? The Mass is the best way we have to worship God. God created us and everything else in the world! He loves us so much he sent his Son, Jesus, to save us. In the Mass, we join in Jesus’ sacrifice of himself to the Father. We offer ourselves, our needs, and the needs of the world to God with Jesus. We give thanks and praise to God for who he is and what he has done. And we receive the grace we need to follow Jesus in our daily life. Where does the Mass come from? Jesus celebrated the first Mass the night before he died. We call this the “Last Supper.” Jesus knew that he would be giving his life out of love for us. He wanted to stay with us always, so he took bread and wine and gave them to his friends. He said, “This is my Body, which will be given up for you.” Then he said, “This is my Blood, which will be shed for you.” Because Jesus also told them, “Do this in memory of me,” the Mass has continued to be
celebrated throughout the centuries. In fact, each time we are at Mass we are also actually present at the Last Supper. What do we do at the Mass? Most people know that we sit, kneel, or stand at different parts of the Mass. But did you know that God has a special message for us at every Mass? So, we do our best to pay attention to what is happening. We sing the songs and we listen to the prayers, the readings, and the homily. In the Mass we bring our prayers and ourselves to Jesus so that he can bring us and our prayers to God the Father. Why go to Mass? Some people start going to Mass out of obedience—either their parents bring them or they go because the Church tells them that Sunday Mass is an obligation. But when we attend Mass faithfully, something amazing happens. Little by little, our hearts change and we want to go to Mass to praise and thank God for his generosity. In his goodness God comes to us in his word and in the Eucharist, and we are transformed. Jesus is always happy to see us at Mass. By participating in Mass we are united to him in a special way, and God helps us become the saints we are meant to be.
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Stand
At the beginning of Mass, altar servers, other ministers, and a priest walk behind the cross in procession. As the priest reaches the sanctuary, he invites us to make the Sign of the Cross.
Priest: The Lord be with you. People: And with your spirit.
PENITENTIAL ACT Stand
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, We strike our chests over our hearts three times.
through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, 2
Our prayer starts before Mass even begins. As we enter the doors of the church, we dip our fingers into a holy water font and make the Sign of the Cross. This reminds us that we became part of God’s family through the sacrament of Baptism. As we find a place to sit, we also genuflect, that is, bend our right knee to the floor. We do this to recognize and respect the presence of Jesus in the tabernacle. The procession reminds us of our call to follow Jesus with every step we take. God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is alive in our hearts through Baptism. Catholics around the world use this response. It comes from the earliest prayers of the Church. The priest prays for us, reminding us that we belong to the Lord through the grace of our Baptism. We pray for the priest, remembering that he has received the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Holy Orders. Jesus himself is offering the Mass through the priest. Some sins are more serious than others, but all sin separates us from God and each other. Striking our chests over our hearts is a very ancient gesture of sorrow and humility. We take responsibility for the wrong we have chosen to do. Then we tell God that we know those sins are our fault—not someone else’s. When we hurt someone we love, we usually say “I’m sorry” more than once.
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all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. OR:
Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord. People: For we have sinned against you. Priest: Show us, O Lord, your mercy. People: And grant us your salvation. Then:
Priest: Lord, have mercy. People: Lord, have mercy. Priest: Christ, have mercy. People: Christ, have mercy. Priest: Lord, have mercy. People: Lord, have mercy. OR:
Priest: Kyrie, eleison.
People: Kyrie, eleison.
Priest: Christe, eleison.
People: Christe, eleison.
Priest: Kyrie, eleison.
People: Kyrie, eleison.
GLORIA Stand
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, 4
We ask all who love God to pray for us. We also pray for others.
When we ask God for mercy, we are asking him to be graciously kind to us and to give us more than we deserve.
The Kyrie is the only part of the Mass that has remained in its original Greek!
Unless it is Advent or Lent, we always sing or say the Gloria at Sunday Mass. We make the words of the Christmas angels our own by joyfully saying, “Glory to God in the highest!” Like the angels, the saints, and all who share our faith in Jesus, we praise the Most Holy Trinity. We tell God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—just how wonderful he is and how much he means to us. This is what happens in heaven! We join the angels and saints in worshipping God not only because he has done wonderful things, but because of who God is. 5
we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. COLLECT Sit
LITURGY OF THE WORD FIRST READING Reader: The word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. 6
We bless God when we express our gratitude and admiration for him. We also worship and adore God. While we honor and venerate the saints, adoration is something we give to God alone. Jesus is the Son of God in a unique way. He is from God without being created by God.
The priest says “Let us pray” and pauses for a moment of silence. Then he prays the Collect (CAHL-ect). This prayer “collects” and includes all the prayers we have silently prayed. In the Collect for each Sunday we can hear the theme or focus of the Mass.
At Mass, we listen to a reader proclaim the word of God from the Bible. We pay close attention because the Bible is not an ordinary book. The Scriptures were written by people long ago, but God inspired them. He still uses the Bible to speak his truth to us today. We hear God’s word with our ears, but we can also learn to listen to his voice speaking in our hearts. The First Reading is usually from the Old Testament. These are the Scriptures Jesus heard when he worshiped God during his earthly life. They are the stories of God’s chosen people, the Jews. 7
RESPONSORIAL PSALM SECOND READING Reader: The word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION Stand
Deacon (or Priest): The Lord be with you. People: And with your spirit. Deacon (or Priest): A reading from the holy Gospel according to N. People: Glory to you, O Lord. We trace a cross on our foreheads, lips, and chests.
GOSPEL Deacon (or Priest): The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Sit
HOMILY 8
The Bible contains many songs. Most of them are found in the Book of Psalms. We respond to God’s word at Mass by praying or singing a psalm. The Second Reading is usually taken from one of the letters written by the Apostles to the earliest Christians. These epistles are part of the New Testament.
Now we stand and sing a Gospel Acclamation. Alleluia means “praise God” in Hebrew, the ancient language of the Jewish people. During Lent, there are no alleluias at Mass, instead, we use a different Gospel Acclamation such as Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. In the Easter season, we sing even more alleluias than usual.
This action expresses our hope that the Gospel will form our minds, our words, and our hearts to be more like those of Jesus.
The Gospel is read by a deacon or priest. The Gospel tells us who Jesus is, and what he said and did during his life on earth. The Gospel is also called the “good news” or the “message” of Jesus Christ. We hope to bring the news of God’s saving love to everyone we meet. This happens when we put God’s word into action.
Now, a priest or deacon talks to us about the word of God we have heard today. In his homily, he helps us understand God’s word and how we can faithfully live what we have heard. 9
PROFESSION OF FAITH Stand
NICENE CREED I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, We bow.
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. We rise.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day 10
We stand together and say a creed, a statement of what we believe about God and his Church. These statements are a summary of the Faith that has been handed down to us through the centuries, beginning with the Apostles themselves. We begin the Creed with the words I believe because each one of us is making a statement of our own faith. But the word “I” is also the voice of the whole Church speaking together as one.
God created everything—all that we can see and even things we cannot see, like angels. Jesus is the Son of God from all eternity. There was never a time when Jesus did not exist. Consubstantial (con-sub-STAN-shul) is a word that describes the relationship between God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that our one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the Holy Trinity. Men used this way means “all humanity .” Incarnate (in-CAR-net) means “given flesh.” Jesus, the Son of God, took on human form in the womb of Mary when she said “yes” to God’s plan of salvation. The third day is Easter! 11
in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. OR:
APOSTLES’ CREED I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, We bow.
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, 12