Greetings in Christ, all!
I wanted to right away talk about the Mass survey we did a couple weeks ago. I did not realize that I had unintentionally caused some people worry, pain or confusion. To be clear, I was not looking to change Mass times. I was trying to make sure that the Mass times we had served people in the way they wanted to be served. I thought I was clear about that in the bulletin, but it seems I was not and for any who were worried or upset, please forgive me. Again: I was not trying to justify changing the Mass schedule, I was polling people to ensure that we were praying Mass when you wanted it.
Overwhelmingly, we learned two things from the poll: The 8 am Mass is a great time for people. The 6:30 pm Mass time is too late for a lot of people and messes with their liturgical fast and dinner. We will probably move our evening Mass times to 5:30 pm as that is what a vast majority of people asked for. I’ll keep you updated on this.
This week’s bulletin is being written ahead of time because of publishing constraints. As a result, I won’t have any current information in here, but thought I’d begin a series with you that I hope to use in future bulletins as well.
The series is based on the idea that there are a lot of prayers that the priest says during Mass that may not be audible to you. I’ve had some wonderful questions about it, so I figured that in any bulletin where I have to turn it in early, this might be a good way to go.
So, in the words of St. Maria Von Trapp, let’s start at the very beginning…
Before Mass, the priest puts on the robes he wears for Mass. Priests call this “vesting.” When we vest, there are lots of different options for prayers we can say, I’ll share some now.
Before Mass, we wash our hands and this is the prayer we pray:
Give strength to my hands, Lord, to wipe away all stain, so that I may be able to serve Thee in purity of mind and body.
After that, we put on our Alb: the white robe that goes over our “regular clothes” and is the base of the liturgical clothing that we wear. This is the prayer we pray:
Make me pure, O Lord, and cleanse my heart; that being made pure in the Blood of the Lamb I may deserve an eternal reward.
We often will wear a rope belt over the alb. This belt is called a cincture. As we put it on, we pray this:
Gird me, O Lord, with the cincture of purity, and quench in my heart the fire of concupiscence, that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide in me.
Next comes the long strip of cloth that goes over both. You usually don’t see this one, but it is called a Stole. As we put it on, we pray
Lord, restore the stole of immortality, which I lost through the collusion of our first parents, and, unworthy as I am to approach Thy sacred mysteries, may I yet gain eternal joy.
Over all these garments, we put on the Chasuble and we pray this prayer:
O Lord, who has said, “My yoke is sweet and My burden light,” grant that I may so carry it as to merit Thy grace.
After that we’ll gather the servers, lectors and the sacristans and say a prayer before Mass, asking God to bless all gathered and help us to pray well.
As I continue this series, we’ll walk through the Mass itself and learn some of the prayers the priest and/or deacon pray quietly.
I hope you enjoy this. Our liturgy is so beautiful and rich in meaning. I just love to share some of the wonders whenever I can.
Thank you for letting me be your priest.
fjk
