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The Psalm is sung (usually recited during daily Mass) between the first and second reading. Otherwise a letter is begun on one Sunday, and its major portions are read in order over successive Sundays. During Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, the second reading is chosen for its particular content.
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The second reading comes form the New Testament, or the Book of Revelation during Easter. The first reading comes from the Old Testament or from the Acts of the Apostles during the Easter season. John is used in the Christmas, Lent and Easter season as well as in the year of Mark, since that Gospel is shorter than the others.Īs of April 2022, we are in Year C, and a new cycle begins in Advent, which is the start of a new liturgical year. Lectionaries are organized on a three year cycle: Year A, B and C. Scripture is proclaimed according to a schedule of passages called a lectionary. As the priest puts the chasuble on he prays: “O Lord who has said, “My yoke is sweet and my burden light, grant that I may so carry it as to merit thy grace.” The chasuble has open sleeves whereas a deacon’s vestment has defined sleeves and is called a dalmatic. It is representative of the charity that a priest is called to live. The chasuble is the final vestment that the priest puts on to celebrate Mass. The priest kisses the stole before he puts it on as a sign of honor and prays, “Lord restore the stole of immortality, which I lost through the collusion of our first parents and unworthy as I am to approach thy sacred mysteries, may I yet gain eternal joy.” A Deacon wears a stole across his body, whereas the priest wears it around his neck. The stole is a sign of spiritual authority and a sign that the priest is operating in the person of Christ. When putting on the cincture, the priest says the following prayer, "Gird me, O Lord, with the girdle of purity and quench in me the fire of concupiscence, that virtue of continence and chastity may remain in me.” The color may be white, or the color of the liturgical season. The cincture is a long, rope-like cord with tassled or knotted ends that the priest ties around his waist. The only items that should be placed on the altar are a crucifix, candles, missal, and vessels for the Eucharistic celebration.
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The church recommends that relics of Saints be placed in the altar as a reminder of all who have gone before us and given their lives for Christ. Just as we genuflect towards the tabernacle to acknowledge Christ’s presence, we should bow to the altar, the place of sacrifice and symbol of Christ. Regardless of what liturgical season we are in the white cloth always remains on the top of the altar. Then the altar is surrounded with candles, which symbolize that Jesus is the light of the world, and lastly the Bishop celebrates the Eucharist on the altar, which is now considered a permanent symbol of the presence of Christ. Next, a white cloth is put on top of the altar, which symbolizes a new creation, just as an infant wears white at baptism and becomes a new creation in Christ. The smoke from the incense symbolizes our prayers rising to heaven. The Bishop consecrates the altar in a special Mass, first blessing it with Holy Water, then anointing the altar with Chrism oil, then incensing it. Every altar in a Catholic Church is consecrated. During the Recessional (end of Mass), The crucifix faces the people, representing Christ leading us out to proclaim the Good News that we just heard in the Gospel. During the Communion procession we come up the main aisle to receive a foretaste of Heaven in the Eucharist. During the offertory procession, people process gifts up to the priest as a symbol of offering back to God what He has blessed us with. In the entrance procession the priest is lead by the crucifix, which faces away from him towards the altar signifying that we don’t always see Jesus but we know he is there, leading us back to the Father. The procession at the beginning of Mass represents the fact that we are a pilgrim Church on a journey to Heaven, our true home.
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At Mass we encounter God in the priest, in the Word, in the Eucharist, and in each other. The steps going up to the altar represent a journey upward (to Heaven), just as people encountered God on a mountain throughout Scripture. The main aisle of the Church represents our journey to heaven.
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