The Mass

What Happens at the Mass?

The Catholic Mass, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, is the central act of worship in the Catholic Church, considered the "source and summit of the Christian life." 

The Catholic Church teaches that the Mass is not merely a memorial meal or a symbolic service; it is the unbloody re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of the priest acting in the person of Christ, the bread and wine are transformed into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ—a change called Transubstantiation. The essential and spiritual realities of the Mass are:

• Sacrifice: The Mass makes the one sacrifice of Calvary present on the altar, allowing the faithful to offer Christ's perfect sacrifice to the Father and join their lives, works, joys, and sufferings to it.

• Real Presence: Jesus Christ is truly, substantially, and wholly present under the appearances of bread and wine (the consecrated Host and Precious Blood).

• Heaven on Earth: The Mass unites the earthly Church with the heavenly liturgy, joining the faithful on earth with the angels and saints in heaven.

• Communion: Through Holy Communion, the faithful receive the very Body and Blood of Christ, deepening their union with Christ and with one another as the Body of Christ.

1. Why Believe in the Catholic Faith?

1. Truth: conformity between one’s mind and reality.

2. Principle of non-contradiction: two opposing beliefs can’t both be true.

   1. Jesus is not God vs. Jesus is God

      1. One has to be true.

   2. The Eucharist is actually Jesus vs. The Eucharist is not Jesus

      1. One has to be true.

3. God is real

   1. Something cannot come from nothing. (Causality Argument)

      1. Must be at least one immaterial eternal being otherwise nothing would exist.

   2. Moral Argument: if God is not real there is no right and wrong.

      1. All actions would be neutral.

      2. We know that some actions are always wrong.

      3. Therefore, there must be a God.

4. Jesus is God

   1. Fulfills over 300 predictions written over thousands of years by dozens of people.

   2. Performs miracles and was risen from the dead

   3. Eyewitnesses and his followers go to their deaths saying they saw him perform miracles and rise from the dead - He is God

2. What is Prayer?

   1. Prayer is a conversation between us and God. 

      1. Prayer is the foundation of our relationship with God.

   2. If we do not spend time with someone and we do not talk to them, we would not be their friend.

   3. Prayer is not part of your relationship with God.

      1. Prayer is your relationship with God.

   4. The heart of prayer is worship.

   5. The heart of worship is sacrifice (giving up something good for something more good).

      1. When we pray (spend time and talk to God) it requires that we sacrifice our time and sacrifice other things we could be doing.

      2. So we can be with Him.

3. What is the Mass?

   1. The Mass is the most powerful prayer on earth and the strongest way to be in actual contact with God.

   2. More accurate name: The Sacrifice of the Mass

   3. Rooted in the Last Supper of Jesus on the night before he died.

   4. Jesus took bread and took wine. He said:

      1. “This is my body…this is my blood…do this in memory of me.”

      2. At that moment those 12 men are the first priests.

         1. Jesus gives them the power to turn bread and wine into his True Presence.

      3. Those 12 first priests ordained other priests before they died and we can trace the line of priests ordained back to the upper room (apostolic succession)

   5. Jesus knew that he would be captured, beaten, and killed.

      1. In his last moments, he gave us the best gift.

      2. He desired for us to be able to be with him so he gave us the Eucharist.

   6. Key to the Mass is understanding the phrase: “do this in memory of me.”

      1. Word used is actually anamnesis

         1. Does not mean remember like we mean it in English.

         2. Does not mean: call to mind

         3. Anamnesis literally means:

            1. To make a past event present now.

      2. At every single Mass we are actually present at the moment in time when Jesus died on the cross.

4. Why Go Every Sunday?

   1. It is a Commandment (God knew that we would need this strong reminder)

   2. There are 8,760 hours in a year.

      1. God asks for 52 of them.

   3. Mass is not about entertainment.

      1. Most Catholics “grade” the Mass on the homily or music.

   4. Mass is a funeral (it is the Sacrifice of Jesus)

      1. It is the chance to be with Jesus (God) while he is on the cross.

      2. It is the chance to actually receive God and become like Him.

      3. It is the chance to bring our suffering to the one who suffered so that we can live.

   5. We cannot be fully alive without Him.