Basic Question: What is the Mass?

[scapularkid8]

I decided to come to this forum and ask the question to get a traditional view of what exactly the Mass is supposed to be in the most simple sense.

I know I’m worshiping God, I just don’t want to take it for granted. What’s the whole “point” is what I’m asking.

(Honest question, no sass intended.)

 

[marymonde]

It is Calvary.

 

[Antegin]

1. 
   *]The Mass is a commemoration of that act by which God who became man made man whole and reunited man with Himself reaching over the gulf created by sin.
   *]The mass is a communal meal in which we all consume the last sacrifice that will ever be needed make a covenant with God.
   *]The mass is a mystery the depth of which can take a lifetime to explore.
   
   THis is going to be a mighty long thread if you get anywhere near a complete anwer to this question.

 

[JesuXPIPassio]

I decided to come to this forum and ask the question to get a traditional view of what exactly the Mass is supposed to be in the most simple sense.

I know I’m worshiping God, I just don’t want to take it for granted. What’s the whole “point” is what I’m asking.

(Honest question, no sass intended.)

This was a good question. It’s nice to go back to the basics so we can re-think where we are.

“Do this in memory of me.” Those were the words spoken at the Last Supper; Jesus commanded that we continue to practise the Breaking of the Bread. We know from Acts and the Pauline Epistles that Christians from the very beginning took part in enacting this Sacred Ceremony over and over again.

The Mass is the enactment of the Last Supper. It is also an enactment of Good Friday, where Jesus was killed and

The whole point of Mass is to be there at this critical time in the history of man, upon which everything hinges, where a humiliated man showed himself to be God. It is to do it not only to remember Jesus, but to be in intimate, physical contact with Him while going through the Sacrifice on the Cross all over again.

In school, I was taught that the whole point of it was to receive the Eucharist. I don’t think this is necessarily true. I mean, going to Mass is obligatory, but taking Eucharist is only obligatory once a year. Furthermore, around a century ago, frequent Communion wasn’t even the universal norm.

I think the point is just to be there at that moment; we do it constantly to serve as a reminder of the humiliating victory, both a paradox and a paradigm, of the ultimate sacrifice for our sake.

 

[Cat]

Mass is the re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. This event is outside of human time, and Mass allows humans to enter into the real experience of the Crucifixion through both the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

But it doesn’t stop on Golgotha.

Just as under the Old Covenant, the Jews ate the sacrifical lamb, so at Mass, we eat the Lamb of God. This is a solemn but joyous Paschal feast, as we thank God for His sacrifice and renew our baptismal vows to reject Satan and serve only Him.

This feast is also the opportunity to be united in Holy Communion with Christians all over the world, including those Christians in our own parish. This also gives us great joy as we realize that we are one Body of Christ, the Church of Jesus.