Month: July 2023

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Why does the priest wash his hands during Mass?

During the Preparation of the Altar and the Gifts, various movements are made. The gifts of bread and wine are processed forward by members of the liturgical assembly and received by the presider at the altar (GIRM 73). The priest pours water into the wine. Finally, after incensing, usually the server pours a good quantity of water on both the fingers and the hands of the presider, who then uses a towel to dry his fingers and hands fully. The priest says inaudibly while washing his hands, “Lord, wash away my iniquity; cleanse me from my sin” (Roman Missal 28, p.530 ). Because the prayer is inaudible, and because in most parishes music is being sung during the preparation rites, members of the liturgical assembly do not hear the personal prayer of the priest while washing his hands, yet see the washing of his hands. Thus, the question is often asked, “Why does the priest wash his hands at Mass?”.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states that “The priest then washes his hands at the side of the altar, a rite that is an expression of his desire for interior purification” (GIRM 76). Thus, more than cleansing the hands is suggested by this prayer. Many of us tend to believe that the washing of his hands is a physical cleansing of the hands. Rather, the priest’s prayer during the washing is about the interior dimension of the priest so that he may be purified. The prayer also confirms this desire so that he may be cleansed from his sin and freed from iniquity. In the prayer, twice “my” is used to express that this is for the priest’s personal benefit.

Let us accompany the priest asking for forgiveness for our sins and faults so that we can be ready to receive the bread and wine now transformed into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Seaman, Kristopher “Why Does the Priest Wash His Hands during Mass?  Liturgy Training Publications https://pastoralliturgy.org/resources/1009ReproRsrc.pdf

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Why do we present the offerings during the mass?

After the universal prayer, once everyone sits down, the offertory song begins, it is at this moment that the offerings of bread and wine are presented by the faithful to the priest, processing from among the community; the priest receives the offerings on the steps of the presbytery, and then, assisted by the acolyte or the deacon the offerings are taken to the altar, the priest proceeds to bless the offerings, purifies his hands, and pronounces: “Let us pray that your sacrifice and mine, maybe acceptable to God the almighty Father”, to which the community responds: “May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of His Name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church”. These two prayers are where our sacrifice is presented by the priest ‘In persona Christi’ directly to God and us as a community ask for their acceptance by praising Him and asking for blessings. This bread and wine will then be consecrated and transubstantiated in the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and offered in communion to the community.

This bread and wine not only commemorate the bread and wine of the Last Supper, but also represents the whole community gathered offering themselves as a sacrifice so that not only through the hands of the priest, but also with him, through Christ the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all (Sacrosanctum Concilium 48). This bread and wine, our sacrifice, will be made into the Body and Blood of Christ who died for our sins, is then offered to us so that we may join Him in communion, and obtain eternal life in Him.

Let us always be prepared to receive the sacred sacrament of communion, for that is the banquet that gives us eternal life and we are all invited to the Lord’s Supper.

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How am I to follow Jesus Christ?

Sometimes we find ourselves wondering how we should follow Christ in our lives, and sometimes we wonder if we are really worthy of following Christ because of the weight of our sins.

We must in those moments find our way looking at the call of the apostles, we can begin to follow Jesus Christ on the recommendation of others and then stay by his side as happened with Andrew and John, initially disciples of John the Baptist (John 1:35- 39). We can witness his miracles and even feeling unworthy, we follow Jesus Christ; just as Simon-Peter and James did (Luke 5:1-11). We can find ourselves immersed in our work, but a call from Jesus Christ makes us follow him despite the sins we have committed; just as it happened to Matthew (Matthew 9:9-13). We can even be on a totally opposite path to Jesus Christ, but an encounter with Him is enough for us to change our lives and proclaim his works, as happened to Paul (Acts 9: 1-22).

Our Lord Jesus Christ will come to meet us regardless of the path we are, the important thing is that once He calls us, we make the decision to follow Him, because He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and with Him we can know the Father, because He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:11).

Following Jesus Christ implies following his teachings, commemorating the paschal sacrifice, and above all participating in said sacrifice, which is the Holy Eucharist, since we have to eat the body of Christ because He is the living bread that came down from heaven, and the one who eats from that bread will have eternal life. (John 6:51)

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What is our mission as lay people?

Our Lord Jesus Christ after his resurrection appears to his disciples for the third time, and after eating with them Jesus has the following dialogue with Simon-Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord, he said, you know that I love you. Jesus said: Feed my lambs. Again, Jesus said, Simon son of John, do you love me? He answered: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus said, Take care of my sheep. The third time he said to him, Simon son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, Do you love me? He said, Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you. Jesus said, Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). In this text we see the Lord giving Peter the pastoral ministry, He was leaving to him and his successors the government of the Church, a government that would be shared collegially with the apostles and their successors, the bishops; and from them the entire hierarchical body of the Church: priests, deacons, and the different lay ministries.

This Petrine government is shared in its specific mission by each baptized person, since we all receive the triple anointing in our baptism as priests, prophets and kings; priests who, united like the branch to the vine, which is the priesthood of Christ, can offer our lives for the glory of God and the good of our brothers; prophets, who, united with the mystical body of Christ, strongly denounce what is contrary to God’s commandments, announcing that the Kingdom of Heaven is already among us, and kings because Christ grants us with his redemption the dignity of children of God.

This general or baptismal priesthood enables all of us to participate in the pastoral mission of the Church with the same conditions that our Lord imposes on Peter, that we love him and on top of that love for Christ, He will hand over to us the missions of our life, which will always be “feed my sheep”, that is, “take care of the brothers and sisters that I am going to give you as a mission”, be it a family, a lay ministry, the priestly ministry, a diocese, or the entire Church, in the case of the Pope.

The different services within the Church, the different movements and prayer groups, at whatever level, are part of this pastoral mission, which is the mission of pastoral ministry always in communion with the Holy Father, the diocese and the parishes.

Let us always be ready to follow the mission to which Jesus Christ calls us in our lives, always ready to tell Him that we love Him, every time He asks us through the Holy Spirit expressed in our neighbor.

Romero, Luis Miguel “El Ministerio Pastoral del Laicado” Catholic Faith Network 13 June 2023, https://vimeo.com/855809440

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What is the importance of the altar during the mass?

In God’s salvation plan, our Lord Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice, not only because he is the lamb without blemish, but because He is, in this sacrifice, at the same time: high priest, sacrifice and altar (Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar).

During mass, the altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assembly of his faithful, both as the victim offered for our reconciliation and as heavenly food given to us (CCC 1383). The altar is given the most prominent place in the church, occupying the place that is truly the center towards which the attention of the entire congregation of the faithful naturally converges (GIRM 299).

This is also why the laws of the Church strongly encourages the altar to be fixed to the ground to indicate the Christ eternity and never-ending commitment to his people. Furthermore, at the very least its mensa is to be made of stone echoing the scriptures which repeatedly call Christ a rock and cornerstone (1 Peter 2:4, 1 Corinthians 10:4, Ephesians 2:20).

When an altar is dedicated, it is anointed and incensed. These liturgical actions reveal the sacramental reality of the altar as a sacrament of Jesus Christ. During the dedication prayer, the altar is anointed with the sacred chrism precisely because Jesus Christ is the One Anointed by the Father with the Holy Spirit, making him “High Priest, who, on the altar of His body, offers the sacrifice of His life for the salvation of all” (RDCA). The sacred chrism, the same that we receive at our baptism and confirmation, and that with which the head of the consecrated bishop is anointed, is poured over the five crosses that adorn the altar table, crosses that represent the five wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is spread over the entire surface of the mensa by the consecrating bishop. Additionally, incense is burned during the dedication of the altar to signify that the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ ascends to God the Father as an odor of sweetness.

The altar is the table of sacrifice and at the same time the table of the paschal banquet, on which Jesus Christ offers himself as the new sacrificial lamb. The altar is not only the fulfillment of the paschal table on the last supper, but also prefigures the table of the heavenly banquet, that banquet in which we will celebrate total reunification with God and all of his creation.

Let us show due respect to the altar during the celebration of mass, since it is not only the table of the paschal banquet but also the representation of Jesus Christ who, as High Priest, on the altar of His body, offered the sacrifice of His life for the salvation of all of us.

McNamara, Denis. “Altar as Alter Christus: Ontology and Sacramentality” Adoremus, 18 June 2016, https://adoremus.org/2016/06/altar-alter-christus-ontology-sacramentality