Holy Mass (from the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist, Norwich)

The Mass is the source and summit of the life of the Church, because in it Jesus Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice on the cross; it perpetuates that sacrifice for all time, and through it the grace of salvation is poured out on the Church, Christ’s Body.

In the Mass, we acknowledge our sinfulness and seek forgiveness for our sins, the Word of God is proclaimed through readings from the Bible and then thanks is given to God the Father for his blessings and above all for the gift of his Son. In that thanksgiving, undertaken at Christ’s command given at the Last Supper, the bread and wine upon the altar become his Body and Blood, in which we are called to share.

The Mass gets its name from a word in the dismissal at its end which in Latin is: Ite, missa est.

The texts used at Mass can be found on the Universalis website: prayers and readings for today.

When we cannot receive the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion sacramentally, we can make an act of spiritual communion, for example using the following words based on a prayer of St Alphonsus Liguori.

My Jesus,

I believe that you are present in this Holy Sacrament of the altar.

I love you above all things

and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul.

Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally,

come spiritually into my soul

so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever.

Amen.

More information about the Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist, Norwich can be found on its website.

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