by Father Walter Ray Williams

Part IV

            We continue this week examining the main points of The General Instruction of the Roman Missal.  At present we are making our way through “Chapter II:  The Structure of the Mass:  Its Elements and Its Parts” and will be looking at the highlights of this section.

• The Instruction first reminds us of the whole purpose of the Church’s guidelines concerning liturgical movements and posture:  that the “gestures and posture of the priest, the deacon, and the ministers, as well as those of the people, ought to contribute to making the entire celebration resplendent with beauty and noble simplicity….”  The rubrics and norms we are to follow are not from our “private inclination or arbitrary choice,” but rather are what is determined by the Church in the General Instruction and the “traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God…” 
•  “A common posture [standing, kneeling, bowing, etc.], to be observed by all participants, is a sign of the unity of the members of the Christian community gathered for the sacred Liturgy….”
• One of the alterations introduced by the new Instruction is as follows:  the people stand together as the priest says the invitation, Orate, fratres (Pray, brothers and sisters that our sacrifice…) and as they answer May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands… We will initiate this change at next Sunday’s Masses.
•  “Sacred silence also, as part of the celebration, is to be observed at the designated times.”  The goal of sacred silence – for example, within the Act of Penitence or after the invitation to pray – is for the purpose of recollecting oneself; or with silence after the homily or readings to meditate briefly on what has been proclaimed.  “Even before the celebration itself, it is commendable that silence be observed in the church, in the sacristy, in the vesting room, and in adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred action in a devout and fitting manner.”

The Individual Parts of the Mass

•  “The rites preceding the Liturgy of the Word, namely the Entrance, Greeting, Act of Penitence, Kyrie, Gloria, and opening prayer, have the character of a beginning, introduction, and preparation.  Their purpose is to ensure that the faithful who come together as one establish communion and dispose themselves to listen properly to God’s word and to celebrate the Eucharist worthily.”
• The Act of Penitence is a “formula of general confession” and is concluded with the priest’s absolution, “which, however, lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance.” 
• “The Gloria is a very ancient and venerable hymn in which the Church, gathered together in the Holy Spirit, glorifies and entreats God the Father and the Lamb.  The text of this hymn may not be replaced by any other text.” 
• “The main part of the Liturgy of the Word is made up of the readings of the Sacred Scriptures….”  The homily is to help explain the readings.  The people signify their own adherence to God’s word by means of the Profession of Faith.  “[I]t is unlawful to substitute other, non-biblical texts for the readings and responsorial Psalm, which contain the word of God.”
• “The reading of the Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word,” and it is to be set off from the other readings “with special marks of honor…”  “The homily should ordinarily be given by the priest celebrant himself…” or he can entrust it to a concelebrating priest… or to the deacon, “but never to a lay person.” 
• In the Prayer of the Faithful the intentions should be offered, in this order, for the needs of the Church, for public authorities and the salvation of the whole world, for those burdened by any kind of difficulty, and for the local community.  But “in a particular celebration, such as Confirmation, Marriage, or a Funeral, the series of intentions may reflect more closely the particular occasion.” 
•  “It is for the priest celebrant to direct this prayer from the chair…” with an introduction and invitation, and he concludes it with a prayer.  “The intentions announced should be sober, be composed freely but prudently, and be succinct, and they should express the prayer of the entire community.  The intentions are announced from the ambo [pulpit]… by the deacon or by a cantor, a lector, or one of the lay faithful.”  (At St. Mary’s this responsibility will go to the lector unless a deacon is present.)
• “The people, however, stand and give expression to their prayer either by an invocation said together after each intention or by praying in silence.”