The Mass: The Opening Rites

 

The Penitential Rite is an important part of the Mass but is sometimes misunderstood - especially when we lose sight of the fact that we are celebrating the mercy and forgiveness of God rather than taking the opportunity to put ourselves down.

In “How to understand the Liturgy”,  Jean Lebon speaks of this:“We are not converted by blaming ourselves, nor by our remorse at having failed to live up to the ideal image of ourselves. What reconciles us is the word of God, listening to and contemplating the God of love. It is the word of God which shows me my sin, and it is here that we can recognise the fundamental process of the sacrament of reconciliation.”

In the Penitential Rite - as in the sacrament of Reconciliation - our sorrow is only part of the process - far more important - and what, in the end, makes the difference is the love of God and His desire to heal us.

The Gloria is an ancient hymn of praise which echoed the song of the angels and gradually crept in to a regular place in the Sunday Mass.
It is a hymn - and rather like the National Anthem - or even “Happy Birthday to you...” - it loses something if it isn’t sung! This is the ideal - and many of us don’t feel quite ready for this - but, even if we don’t sing it, we can try to proclaim it as as song - a poem of praise to our God. 

The Opening Prayer gathers all this together as we are invited to pray and prepare for the Liturgy of the Word - our shared Amen emphasising again our gathering together as the People of God.

Take Time Out

Prepare for the Penitential Rite each Sunday by reading the Gospel of the Day and see if there are things in there that you particularly want to ask for God’s mercy on. (This practice of reading the Gospel ahead of time is actually a very useful way of preparing for the Mass - even if you can only manage this while you are waiting for Mass to start.)

Read the words of the Gloria - and try to hear it as a song of praise. Bring that sense of praise into it next time you say or sing it!

Use the Opening Prayer of the Day in your own prayer. It is used not just on Sundays but at the daily Masses too. By using it, you are tuning in spiritually to the Church around the world.

© Wellspring 2005

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