Could anyone tell me the scriptural origins/meanings of a standard Latin Rite Catholic Mass? I have vague answers in my head that vary from things I’ve heard on EWTN to books I’ve read a while back. I’d be very appreciative for any knowledge you could lend to me and hopefully to others.
also, does anyone have any good books that can help me particularly in this area?
The Mass is not taken from scripture, becauase it preceeded the Scripture, though we can see most of the Mass also represented in Scripture, as both are part of the Sacred Tradition. Both the Latin and other Masses (Easter/Orthodox) are derived from the Jewish synagogue service. In fact, if you attend synagogue to this day you can see a great overlap between the two. Synagogue does not have Eucharist, of course, but the liturgy of the word and basic framework of many of the prayers are there.
We see the basic early structure of the Mass written in the NT and in the Early Fathers, long before the NT canon was closed.
We find a small section of this Sacred Tradition in
1 Cor 11:23-26
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
These words of the consecration have been used since the Last Supper continuously in all the Apostolic Churches, one of the elements constituting a valid consecration.
This “paradosis” (receiving and handing on) is at the core of the transmission of Sacred Tradition.
