'Participating' in Mass

[Carolynh]

Hi Everyone, this is my first post! I am a convert to Catholicism and I wonder if someone can answer this question. The Church teaches that we should participate in Mass every Sunday but also that we should receive the Eucharist at least once a year. I take it from this that ‘participation’ really just means attending Mass whether or not you actully partake of the Eucharist?? Why is receiving the Eucharist only expected once a year, isn’t it just as important to attend Mass as it is to receive the Lord? Also, in regard to the Eucharist I was wondering why so many people only receive the Bread and walk past the Wine. What is the significance of this?

Thanks for any answers

Carolyn

 

[Phemie]

Hi Everyone, this is my first post! I am a convert to Catholicism

Welcome home!

and I wonder if someone can answer this question. The Church teaches that we should participate in Mass every Sunday but also that we should receive the Eucharist at least once a year. I take it from this that ‘participation’ really just means attending Mass whether or not you actually partake of the Eucharist??

Yes, that’s exactly what it means.

Why is receiving the Eucharist only expected once a year, isn’t it just as important to attend Mass as it is to receive the Lord?

That rule came out of a period where practically nobody received and the Church had to make a rule that one had to receive at least once a year during the Easter period. But that’s the minimum and the Church encourages us to receive often if we are in a state of grace and otherwise properly disposed.

Also, in regard to the Eucharist I was wondering why so many people only receive the Bread and walk past the Wine. What is the significance of this?

The bread and the wine, once consecrated, each fully become the Body, Blood and Divinity of Christ. You don’t get more if you receive both species than if you only receive one. The Church teaches that receiving under both species is a better symbol of the Heavenly Banquet but that receiving only from the Chalice or only the Body of Christ gives us everything.

There are many reasons why a person might not receive from the Chalice: germs, dislike of the taste, they’re alcoholic (remember, the accidents of the wine still remain even if the substance has changed), or even knowledge that they get everything in the Host and see no need to receive from the Chalice.

Thanks for any answers

Carolyn

 

[Catholic90]

Participation, according to our wonderful old priest, also means singing the songs, singing the responses, saying the responses, and not just sitting there, mouth closed.

Get involved!

Be involved in the mass (singing, etc.) and be involved in the parish’s volunteer opportunities.

10% of the people do 90% of the volunteering - be one of them!

 

[Barbkw]

scborromeo.org/ccc/p2.htm

Participation in the liturgy of the Mass is explained below from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

Why the liturgy?

1066 In the Symbol of the faith the Church confesses the mystery of the Holy Trinity and of the plan of God’s “good pleasure” for all creation: the Father accomplishes the “mystery of his will” by giving his beloved Son and his Holy Spirit for the salvation of the world and for the glory of his name.1

Such is the mystery of Christ, revealed and fulfilled in history according to the wisely ordered plan that St. Paul calls the "plan of the mystery"2 and the patristic tradition will call the “economy of the Word incarnate” or the “economy of salvation.”

1067 “The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He accomplished this work principally by the Paschal mystery of his blessed Passion, Resurrection from the dead, and glorious Ascension, whereby ‘dying he destroyed our death, rising he restored our life.’ For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth 'the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.”'3 For this reason, the Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation.

1068 It is this mystery of Christ that the Church proclaims and celebrates in her liturgy so that the faithful may live from it and bear witness to it in the world:

For it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, that “the work of our redemption is accomplished,” and it is through the liturgy especially that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church.4

What does the word liturgy mean?

1069 The word “liturgy” originally meant a “public work” or a “service in the name of/on behalf of the people.” In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in "the work of God."5 Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church.

1070 In the New Testament the word “liturgy” refers not only to the celebration of divine worship but also to the proclamation of the Gospel and to active charity.6 In all of these situations it is a question of the service of God and neighbor. In a liturgical celebration the Church is servant in the image of her Lord, the one “leitourgos”;7 she shares in Christ’s priesthood (worship), which is both prophetic (proclamation) and kingly (service of charity):

The liturgy then is rightly seen as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. It involves the presentation of man’s sanctification under the guise of signs perceptible by the senses and its accomplishment in ways appropriate to each of these signs. In it full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members. From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.8

Liturgy as source of life

1071 As the work of Christ liturgy is also an action of his Church. It makes the Church present and manifests her as the visible sign of the communion in Christ between God and men. It engages the faithful in the new life of the community and involves the “conscious, active, and fruitful participation” of everyone.9

1072 “The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church”:10 it must be preceded by evangelization, faith, and conversion. It can then produce its fruits in the lives of the faithful: new life in the Spirit, involvement in the mission of the Church, and service to her unity.

Prayer and liturgy

1073 The liturgy is also a participation in Christ’s own prayer addressed to the Father in the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy, all Christian prayer finds its source and goal. Through the liturgy the inner man is rooted and grounded in “the great love with which [the Father] loved us” in his beloved Son.11 It is the same “marvelous work of God” that is lived and internalized by all prayer, "at all times in the Spirit."12

Catechesis and liturgy

1074 "The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows."13 It is therefore the privileged place for catechizing the People of God. "Catechesis is intrinsically linked with the whole of liturgical and sacramental activity, for it is in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of men."14

1075 Liturgical catechesis aims to initiate people into the mystery of Christ ( It is “mystagogy.” ) by proceeding from the visible to the invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from the “sacraments” to the “mysteries.” Such catechesis is to be presented by local and regional catechisms.

This Catechism, which aims to serve the whole Church in all the diversity of her rites and cultures,15 will present what is fundamental and common to the whole Church in the liturgy as mystery and as celebration (Section One), and then the seven sacraments and the sacramentals (Section Two).

 

[japhy]

The Church teaches that we should participate in Mass every Sunday but also that we should receive the Eucharist at least once a year. I take it from this that ‘participation’ really just means attending Mass whether or not you actully partake of the Eucharist?? Why is receiving the Eucharist only expected once a year, isn’t it just as important to attend Mass as it is to receive the Lord?

There are reasons a person may not be able to receive the Eucharist: they are conscious of having committed mortal sin since their last confession, or they have not kept the Eucharistic fast, or maybe they’ve already received Holy Communion twice that day (for whatever reasons) and they’re at Mass again!

But regardless of whether a person can receive the Eucharist, he is still obliged to celebrate the Eucharist with the whole Church on the Lord’s Day.

Also, in regard to the Eucharist I was wondering why so many people only receive the Bread and walk past the Wine. What is the significance of this?

The consecrated bread and wine become the complete and entire substance of Christ: His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. We receive the whole Christ when we receive the Host alone, or from the Chalice alone, and we do not receive “more” Christ when we receive both the Host and the Chalice. While receiving both is a “fuller sign” of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and the form in which the Eucharist was instituted by Christ, it is not a “better” or “fuller” Communion.

 

[NPC]

Welcome!

I think it is important to note the two different types of participation: inner participation and outer participation. It seems to me that “participation” is summed up by those lines we hear (and respond to) in every Mass: “Sursum corda” - “Habemus ad Dominum” (“Lift up your hearts” - “We lift them up to the Lord”). When we lift up our hearts to the Lord in the Mass then we are participating fully - this may (or may not) involve singing, reading, bringing up the gifts, but ultimately, this “doing” must give way to the heart of the matter, which is the liturgical action, the prayer of the Mass (which is our prayer) offered to the Father.

Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, addressed the issue of participation in his book The Spirit of the Liturgy. He noted that the second Vatican Council rightly encouraged active participation of everyone in the worship of God. However, he makes the point that the term (“participatio actuosa”) was “very quickly misunderstood to mean something external, entailing a need for general activity, as if as many people as possible, as often as possible, should be visibly engaged in action”.

The Cardinal continues: “Of course, external actions…can be distributed in a sensible way. By the same token, participation in the Liturgy of the Word is to be distinguished from the sacramental celebration proper. We should be clearly aware that external actions are quite secondary here. Doing really must stop when we come to the heart of the matter: the oratio [the Eucharistic Prayer]…If the various external actions (as a matter of fact, there are not very many of them, though they are being artificially multiplied) become the essential in the liturgy, if the liturgy degenerates into general activity, then we have radically misunderstood the “theo-drama” of the liturgy and lapsed almost into parody.”

These are some very pointed and clear comments from Pope Benedict, but what I would take from it is that there is certainly a place for “doing” in the Mass, but it must never overshadow the Mass itself. If you can use your gifts and talents in the service of God and the Church, then you should. Ultimately, though, the aim of anything you do in the Mass should be to help you “lift up your heart to the Lord”. I suppose another way of looking at it is to say that you can do all the singing you like, say all the responses, read, &c., &c. and yet not actually be participating in the Mass. Mass, of course, is much more than turning up and sitting in a pew for an hour.

 

[dconklin]

Participation, according to our wonderful old priest, also means singing the songs, singing the responses, saying the responses, and not just sitting there, mouth closed.

I sat towards the back this past Sunday. I sat beside a mother and her adult son. They carried on a conversation for the whole 15 minutes before the Mass began. It was actually church related (they were speaking about a former pastor) but I found it a little difficult to pray. Once Mass began, they did not sing or make any of the spoken responses. They also were silent for the Creed and the Our Father.

They are not shining examples of ‘participating’ but at least they were there.

 

[OraLabora]

I sat towards the back this past Sunday. I sat beside a mother and her adult son. They carried on a conversation for the whole 15 minutes before the Mass began. It was actually church related (they were speaking about a former pastor) but I found it a little difficult to pray. Once Mass began, they did not sing or make any of the spoken responses. They also were silent for the Creed and the Our Father.

They are not shining examples of ‘participating’ but at least they were there.

This is the kind of stuff that drives me nuts in church. Can’t people say what they have to say outside the church and then just pray quietly until Mass begins??? It was (almost literally) hammered into me to be absolutely quiet the moment I walked into the church (and to remove my hat…). I appreciate a half hour of silence in our noisy world. Have people just become so blind to basic courtesy???

 

[AlabamaCatholic]

Full, active and conscious participation does not have to look the same way in each person. Far be it from anyone to dictate to any faithful, devout Catholic how they ought to act in such a rigid way.

For centuries it was customary for Catholics to carry on with private devotions during the Mass of the Catechumens and then say many wonderful prayers in preparation of receiving Holy Communion during the Mass of the Faithful. Pope St. Pius X, in my understanding, encouraged Catholics not to just pray at Mass, but to pray the Mass.

The central action of the Mass is the unbloody re-presentation of Jesus’ propitiatory sacrifice on the Cross. I cannot do anything to add anything to that sacrifice which the priest offers. “Participating” at Mass means, more than anything, for me to unite my prayers, my desires, and all that I am with Jesus’ perfect sacrifice, spiritually on the altar with His body and blood.

How loudly you sing, the motions you make with your hands, etc. are irrelevant. Unite your heart with the sacrifice offered by the priest, acting in the person of Christ, on the altar. Follow the actions of the priest at the altar. Pray the Mass and you are participating.

 

[archangel04]

Participation, according to our wonderful old priest, also means singing the songs, singing the responses, saying the responses, and not just sitting there, mouth closed.

Get involved!

Be involved in the mass (singing, etc.) and be involved in the parish’s volunteer opportunities.

10% of the people do 90% of the volunteering - be one of them!

You don’t have to sing in order to participate in the mass, this is not required, I for one like the fact that I don’t have to sing 1) Because sometimes the music is cheesy, and 2) because I just don’t like to sing. As long as one is present and listening to the liturgy that is all that is needed. Of course I try to do this and respond to the prayers, but singing is just not my taste and thats ok. Also, although very good, volunteering at the local parish is not participating in the mass, not even if you are an unsher, lector, of EOEM.

 

[Elizium23]

You don’t have to sing in order to participate in the mass, this is not required, I for one like the fact that I don’t have to sing 1) Because sometimes the music is cheesy, and 2) because I just don’t like to sing. As long as one is present and listening to the liturgy that is all that is needed. Of course I try to do this and respond to the prayers, but singing is just not my taste and thats ok. Also, although very good, volunteering at the local parish is not participating in the mass, not even if you are an unsher, lector, of EOEM.

Singing with the liturgy is part of “full, conscious, active participation” we are exhorted to practice by the Church ever since the Vatican II council. Please see this thread for my reasons, with liberal quotations from authentic Church documents, why singing is so important.

And what in the world do you mean that lectors are not participating in the Mass? They are ministers of the Word and integral to the celebration. Just the fact of being a reader does not mean you are participating in the Mass, you still have to make the responses and sing, but certainly holding one of these ministries does not preclude you from participating just as fully as a member of the assembly.

 

[Carolynh]

Thank you to everyone for your helpful replies. It all makes sense now

 

[archangel04]

Singing with the liturgy is part of “full, conscious, active participation” we are exhorted to practice by the Church ever since the Vatican II council. Please see this thread for my reasons, with liberal quotations from authentic Church documents, why singing is so important.

And what in the world do you mean that lectors are not participating in the Mass? They are ministers of the Word and integral to the celebration. Just the fact of being a reader does not mean you are participating in the Mass, you still have to make the responses and sing, but certainly holding one of these ministries does not preclude you from participating just as fully as a member of the assembly.

What you state in the other most are just your opinions and many people corrected you.

For the faithful, it boils down to two actia. They must listen attentively to the lessions presented in the Liturgy of the Word, the Readings, Gosple and Homily. And reflect upon it’s meaning in their lives.

The second actio of the faithful is to offer themselves to God as the sacrifice proper to the common priesthood in conjunction with the priest’s Sacrifice of the Altar.

To sign does not have to come from the mouth, but to participate internally that is from the heart, hence what I try to do.

Yes, that is what I meant, to be a lectore is not required for full participation, but you can be a lector (readin scripture) but that alone does not fufill active participation.

 

[Elizium23]

What you state in the other most are just your opinions and many people corrected you.

The people that attempted to correct me did not adequately cite any Church document that says “It is OK to sit silent in your pew if you simply don’t like the music or you believe you don’t know how to sing.” I didn’t know that I knew how to sing until I joined a choir ten years ago. I just did it anyway because it was part of me and part of the liturgy.
C. S. Lewis:

The whole house and garden is one vast obscenity. It bears a sickening resemblance to the description one human writer made of Heaven; “the regions where there is only life and therefore all that is not music is silence”
Music and silence—how I detest them both! How thankful we should be that ever since our Father entered Hell—though longer ago than humans, reckoning in light years, could express—no square inch of infernal space and no moment of infernal time has been surrendered to either of those abominable forces, but all has been occupied by Noise—Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile—Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples, and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end. We have already made great strides in this direction as regards the Earth. The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end. But I admit we are not yet loud enough, or anything like it. Research is in progress. Meanwhile you, disgusting little——
[Here the MS. breaks off and is resumed in a different hand.]

 

[stephraim]

The people must sing certain responses; however, since Gregorian chant is to hold pride of place (according to VII), and since most people can’t read chant notation (and don’t have all the chant melodies memorized) having the people sing with the choir the Propers at the Introit, Offertory, and Communion are optional.

 

[JHow]

The people that attempted to correct me did not adequately cite any Church document that says “It is OK to sit silent in your pew if you simply don’t like the music or you believe you don’t know how to sing.” I didn’t know that I knew how to sing until I joined a choir ten years ago. I just did it anyway because it was part of me and part of the liturgy.

You dodged the part about the cheesy music. I have observed that people will sing when they know the tune and lyrics (i.e., old favorite), or when the song is good, and when the song is not overly complex (meter, key changes). People resist being told that spritual “song-wheaties” are really good for them, and they TASTE GREAT, when they know they don’t.

 

[ConstantineTG]

The people must sing certain responses; however, since Gregorian chant is to hold pride of place (according to VII), and since most people can’t read chant notation (and don’t have all the chant melodies memorized) having the people sing with the choir the Propers at the Introit, Offertory, and Communion are optional.

Its doable, its done in the Divine Liturgy! And people will learn them if the same chants are used regularly. Same goes for the OF and modern hymns. If they use the same songs regularly, people learn and join in. The problem is if choirs think mixing it up is a good thing and would use different hymns every week. People will just sit there.

 

[Elizium23]

You dodged the part about the cheesy music. I have observed that people will sing when they know the tune and lyrics (i.e., old favorite), or when the song is good, and when the song is not overly complex (meter, key changes). People resist being told that spritual “song-wheaties” are really good for them, and they TASTE GREAT, when they know they don’t.

I completely agree that choirs and directors should strive to lead the assembly in music that is worthy of being sung, and that it should be possible to sing properly without much trouble. To this end, it is good for the people to be furnished with the proper materials, such as hymnals or musical notation, (though nobody should feel forced to make use of it) and ample practice time be afforded to both choir and assembly. Building a respectable repertoire of songs is essential to each parish. This is often difficult in the face of personnel changes, but there should be a happy medium between a stable repertoire and the introduction, or rotation, of new material so that each year is not exactly like the next, and the liturgy gets stale.

 

[archangel04]

You dodged the part about the cheesy music. I have observed that people will sing when they know the tune and lyrics (i.e., old favorite), or when the song is good, and when the song is not overly complex (meter, key changes). People resist being told that spritual “song-wheaties” are really good for them, and they TASTE GREAT, when they know they don’t.

Lol very true, I will sing the Kyrie and the Gloria, but as you stated some I just don’t know and sound way to corny for me, sorry but I am how I am, another reason why I usually try to attend TLM.

 

[Phemie]

I completely agree that choirs and directors should strive to lead the assembly in music that is worthy of being sung, and that it should be possible to sing properly without much trouble. To this end, it is good for the people to be furnished with the proper materials, such as hymnals or musical notation, (though nobody should feel forced to make use of it) and ample practice time be afforded to both choir and assembly. Building a respectable repertoire of songs is essential to each parish. This is often difficult in the face of personnel changes, but there should be a happy medium between a stable repertoire and the introduction, or rotation, of new material so that each year is not exactly like the next, and the liturgy gets stale.

The parish where I grew up has never had hymnals and has never endeavored to teach the people the music. The hymn lineup changes so often that there is no way to learn just by hearing one repeatedly. Not to mention that if they do sing something that you happen to know and you join in the congregation gives you ‘how dare you take the focus off the choir?’ looks.

But according to the GIRM, the hymns and the Gloria can be sung by the choir alone. The responses, OTOH, belong to the assembly.