The Holy Mass
At every Mass the Church listens to God’s word and receives the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist the source and summit of the Christian life, a phrase the Catechism repeats (CCC 1324). Everything else the Church does flows from the Mass and leads back to it.
Catholics believe that in the Mass the one sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is made present, and that the bread and wine truly become his Body and Blood. The Church’s word for this change is transubstantiation.
The four parts of the Mass
- Introductory Rites: we gather, ask God’s mercy, and on most Sundays sing the Gloria.
- Liturgy of the Word: readings from Scripture, the Responsorial Psalm, the Gospel, the homily, the Creed, and the prayers of the faithful.
- Liturgy of the Eucharist: the gifts are prepared, the priest prays the Eucharistic Prayer, and the faithful receive Holy Communion.
- Concluding Rites: the blessing and the dismissal, which sends us back into daily life.
How the readings are arranged
The readings are not chosen by the priest. They follow the Lectionary, shared by Catholics around the world. Sunday readings run on a three-year cycle (Years A, B, and C), and weekday readings on a two-year cycle. Over those years a Catholic who attends Mass hears a large portion of the Bible.
Our Daily Gospel page gives the references for each day’s readings, with a reflection and a prayer.
Sunday
Sunday is the day of the Resurrection, and from the beginning Christians have gathered on it for the Eucharist. The Church asks Catholics to take part in Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, not as a burden but because we cannot live the Christian life without it.
Further reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church (Vatican).