"Liturgy", "Mass" and "Service"

[bpbasilphx]

\
Quote:
Originally Posted by ProVobis View Post
Even the secular press calls it the Mass, such as the Pope saying Mass at Easter or for other occasions. Why is this a problem for Catholics?
My point EXACTLY! It’s like Catholics (at least many that I’ve come into contact with) are so busy trying to ‘fit in’ with the rest of the world that they deny their Catholicism.\

**Believe it or not, “mass” is not the only service that takes place in even a Latin Catholic Church, especially on Sunday.

To put it another way, all masses are services, but not all services are masses.**

 

[Lutheranteach]

There are some conservative Lutherans and Anglicans who use the term mass. Not extremely common with Lutherans, but I have seen it a few times. — a rose by any other name…

 

[bpbasilphx]

My point is that in English, “Mass” means the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

And that this is NOT the only service that takes place in Roman Catholic Churches, even on Sunday Morning.

 

[thomas_jd]

Liturgy is the work of the people
Service also refers to the work of the people
Mass is the Holy Celebration and Sacrifice of the Eucharist

 

[Evan]

Yes,you do have Service on Sunday Morning.

If Lauds (Morning Prayer) or another Hour is publicly celebrated before Sunday (or daily) Mass, this is a SERVICE.

If Baptism is held separately from Mass, this is a SERVICE.

If Confessions are heard, this is a SERVICE.

if Benediction is held after Mass, this is a SERVICE.

Even Mass comes under the generic name SERVICE.

More correctly: Lauds is part of the Liturgy of the Hours

All sacraments have a Liturgy associated with them:

Baptism, Confession, and Mass.

The only thing listed above that should be properly called a service would be Bendiction.

A liturgy is a public work of the Church done in union with the Universal Church.

 

[drmullns]

Also, let us remember what the word “Mass” really means: Missa, meaning Mission.

Attending a Mass during those early years, when our faith was illegal to the pain of death, was a time to adequately prepare the faithful to go out and boldly proclaim the Good News to the world dominated by Romans.

This is still echoed today in the Priest final blessing before dismissal…(disMISSAl)

“atque amemus”

 

[Apryl]

A few years ago, a friend came over on his motorized, two-wheel vehicle.

He asked if I wanted to go for a ride.

My response: “I’m afraid to ride on motorcycles”

His response to that: “It’s not a motorcycle. It’s a Harley”

In the Catholic Church, we got MASS… it’s not a service.

That’s my answer… so there

 

[DrPiano]

I’d like to take a moment to point out that the word “liturgy” comes from the greek leitourgia which means “public service” - which is where, in English, we get the idea of calling a worship gathering a “service”. The very word “service” itself implies participation (I can’t serve anyone if I’m doing nothing).

So while on some level I can see your point (attempting to differentiate the Mass from other non-catholic sunday worship experiences and/or attempting to differentiate Mass from the other Catholic non-eucharistic experiences), if you’re using the term liturgy, you’re really just calling it a “service.”

And just FYI, I’ll provide a few etymological references:
thefreedictionary.com/liturgy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy
newadvent.org/cathen/09306a.htm

 

[pcmlalazi]

Service is when a group of people come together to worship and there is no breaking of Bread, I think breaking of bread is the uniqueness of a Mass in other words I mean no Mass can be celebrated without a Priest, on the contrary a Service can be held wihout a Priest. Am I right

 

[Apryl]

Service is when a group of people come together to worship and there is no breaking of Bread, I think breaking of bread is the uniqueness of a Mass in other words I mean no Mass can be celebrated without a Priest, on the contrary a Service can be held wihout a Priest. Am I right

I’ont know that you are right, but it sure makes sense to me!

 

[gkirk]

What’s wrong with “service”? Doesn’t it mean the same + or - as “liturgy”? Historically, Divine Service was used far more than Mass, and let’s face it, it has more meaning than the latter term.

 

[Evan]

What’s wrong with “service”? Doesn’t it mean the same + or - as “liturgy”? Historically, Divine Service was used far more than Mass, and let’s face it, it has more meaning than the latter term.

I’ve never heard of a Divine Service. But I have been to many Divine Liturgy’s in a Local Byzantine Catholic Church.

 

[Apryl]

What’s wrong with “service”? Doesn’t it mean the same + or - as “liturgy”? Historically, Divine Service was used far more than Mass, and let’s face it, it has more meaning than the latter term.

It’s not that it’s anything wrong with “service”, but it’s not so correct.

Imagine your name .is Charles. Your father is Charles, Senior

Your friends all call you “Chaz”. It’s been your name as long as you can remember.

Then, some one shows up and calls you “Chip”. Now, you know they are talking to you, about you, and don’t do it as some show of disrespect… but gimme a break: YOU are Chaz

As a matter of fact, you are also NOT Charles, Charles, Jr, Little Charles. YOU are Chaz.

In the Catholic Church, while we attend a Worship Service, what we PARTICIPATE IN is the Mass.

There are many instances where we have services, but they are usually not called ‘Service’ either. They may be called a * Service, but “Service” ?

And this fictional version of you may be “Charles” to your girlfriends, but when your grandmother comes around, or your old friends from when you were a child, if they were to call you ‘Charles’, or “Chip”, it’s not the same. YOU are Chaz…

… and we Participate in MASS!

(CUE APPLAUSE)

 

[Mintaka]

One thing: “leitourgia” does mean “public service”, but in the sense of, say, a rich Greek guy who decides to fund a bridge or something nice for the gods. It’s not a work of the public, per se.

The idea is that Jesus is the rich man, and He’s invited us to participate in the activity that He has funded and founded; and which is meant to do the people good, but mostly because it first involves the Lamb of God being offered by Him to please God the Father.

 

[sedonaman]

Actually, the Mass has two liturgies contained with in it…the Liturgy of the Word (i.e. everything after the collect and before the offertory…the Readings, Psalm, Gospel, Homily, Creed, Prayers of the Faithful) and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (i.e. everything after the Creed and before the Post-Communion prayer).

Right !!! But it is Mass. The liberal takeover at my parish has flipped out; it’s “liturgy this” and “liturgy that”. What is the goal here? What is conveyed by the term “liturgy” that is not conveyed by “Mass”? I suspect that some people just get entertainment out of change … any kind of change, even change for change sake, or no reason at all.

 

[ElizabethPH]

**Yes,you do have Service on Sunday Morning.

If Lauds (Morning Prayer) or another Hour is publicly celebrated before Sunday (or daily) Mass, this is a SERVICE.

If Baptism is held separately from Mass, this is a SERVICE.

If Confessions are heard, this is a SERVICE.

if Benediction is held after Mass, this is a SERVICE.

Even Mass comes under the generic name SERVICE.

**

Yes but I say there is a Baptism this morning or Confession is before Mass or theres Benediction after Mass. So I don’t call them services either.
And there is Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer or Lauds and Vespers. The word service never comes to mind.

 

[Chatter163]

Yes but I say there is a Baptism this morning or Confession is before Mass or theres Benediction after Mass. So I don’t call them services either.
And there is Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer or Lauds and Vespers. The word service never comes to mind.

Service is a very general word. A traditional RC parish, one that uses only the EF, may produce a “service schedule” for Holy Week each year, but this service schedule includes times and days for Masses, confessions, rosary recitations, stations of the cross, Divine Mercy recitations, blessings, adoration Tenebrae, etc. All of these are collectively referred to as “services” (even Fortescue does that), but each would would individually be referred to by its proper name.

It reminds me of the use of the word presider instead of priest at Mass. The priest does preside over the assembly, of course, and as such, he certainly is a presider. But any layman who leads a communion service would also be that. But a priest is so much more because he offers the Holy Sacrifice, and that is why the liturgical books use that word, and not presider, a far more generic term.

 

[ElizabethPH]

Service is a very general word. A traditional RC parish, one that uses only the EF, may produce a “service schedule” for Holy Week each year, but this service schedule includes times and days for Masses, confessions, rosary recitations, stations of the cross, Divine Mercy recitations, blessings, adoration Tenebrae, etc. All of these are collectively referred to as “services” (even Fortescue does that), but each would would individually be referred to by its proper name.

It reminds me of the use of the word presider instead of priest at Mass. The priest does preside over the assembly, of course, and as such, he certainly is a presider. But any layman who leads a communion service would also be that. But a priest is so much more because he offers the Holy Sacrifice, and that is why the liturgical books use that word, and not presider, a far more generic term.

We don’t have a ‘weekly service schedule’ we have a Weekly Events schedule.

 

[bpbasilphx]

Yes but I say there is a Baptism this morning or Confession is before Mass or theres Benediction after Mass. So I don’t call them services either.
And there is Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer or Lauds and Vespers. The word service never comes to mind.

Does not calling them “services” keep them from being services?

 

[gkirk]

This is the age of the Liturgy Nazis, mostly individuals who make a career of “doing it right”, “right” being their interpretation of the official documents. Woe betide anyone nearby who has alternate views. We have a pastor who insists the Easter Alleluia come before the sequence, taking as his authority the 2002 Instruction. He fails to respect the 2003 correction. And as for his Good Friday service…