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When I taught high school religion prior to entering seminary, one of the most common complaints that I heard from students was, “Mass is boring.” Whenever I heard that type of objection, I would always respond by explaining that if they really knew what was going on, they would not think Mass was boring. In fact, they would be at Mass every Sunday and every day of the week, if possible. They would also make it to the adoration chapel every day.

After months of preparation for the implementation of the Third Edition of the Roman Missal, Catholics in the pew finally will hear and recite new English translations of Mass prayers and responses on the First Sunday of Advent Nov. 26-27.

One of the most important things to do in order to prepare for Mass is to plan your schedule around Mass – not Mass around your schedule. By planning your day around spending time worshipping God, you automatically put God in the place of highest priority. Instead of trying to find a Mass time that fits your schedule or jumping from parish to parish, you are able to worship with your local parish community weekly. Being rooted in one parish helps build a regular community of believers, a family of faith. If we do not plan our day around receiving the Eucharist, however, our day can easily become so filled that we do not have time to “keep holy the Sabbath” (Exodus 20:8). When traveling, this takes on an even greater significance. Times and locations of Masses around the world are available online at www.masstimes.org.

When Catholics enter church, we should bless ourselves by dipping our finger in holy water from either the baptismal font or from a holy water font and making the sign of the cross. This act serves as a reminder of our baptism, when we were claimed for Christ for the first time. In baptism, the priest or deacon poured holy water over our head and said, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Once we have readied ourselves for the sacred mysteries through interior prayer and commitment, the first thing we witness is an entrance procession accompanied by music. Processions accompany all forms of religious worship and can be seen in many examples of the church’s liturgical life: Mass (entrance, presentation of gifts and recessional), eucharistic processions, Palm Sunday processions with palms, funeral processions, etc. In Scripture, we find examples of processions with the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6, 1 Kings 8) and in Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11, Matthew 21, Luke 19, and John 12).

Catholics begin and end all prayers by signing themselves in the shape of the cross. While this is something that often distinguishes Catholic Christians from non-Catholic Christians, it is biblically based. At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives his followers the great command to make disciples of all peoples. He said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

It may seem strange that almost at the beginning of Mass, there is a mention in the Penitential Act of our sinfulness. The Penitential Act includes a moment for us to consider our sins and plead for God’s mercy. Why should we begin with a confession of our sins and an acknowledgment of our weakness? If we look in Scripture, we see several examples where God has chosen to reveal himself in some way to his children. These encounters are marked by the same emotion in those to whom God reveals himself: holy fear and awe as individuals become aware that they are unworthy to be in his presence. Moses’ encounter with the burning bush offers a great example of this, as well as Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Exodus 3; Genesis 3).

Every liturgy has a focus and a theme given by the church in the readings, prayers and the liturgical calendar. This focus helps us to concentrate on some essential aspect of our faith so that we do not become overwhelmed by the vast mystery and awe that is so inherent in God himself. Perhaps the most guiding aspect of this theme comes from the readings themselves or from the liturgical calendar, if it is a particular feast. But the first true outline and hint of this focus comes from the Opening Prayer that follows the Penitential Rite and Gloria, after the priest invites us to prayer with the words, “Let us pray.” This Opening Prayer is traditionally known as the “Collect” and it can be chanted or recited by the celebrant. This Opening Prayer gets its proper name because it collects the prayers of all the faithful gathered to pray and offers them to God through the prayer of the priest.

After the Introductory Rites, the community of believers sits for the readings. While some non-Catholics often describe Mass as Catholic calisthenics, the physical postures that we use during the liturgy are not arbitrarily picked. Rather, they often represent what we are spiritually supposed to be doing. Sitting, for example, is a position of receptivity. Sitting allows us to rest and to attentively listen to the readings being proclaimed.

Following the first reading, there is a moment of silence to reflect on the Word of God that was just proclaimed. After reflecting on the Scripture message, all are invited to respond by singing a response taken from the Book of Psalms. It is called the responsorial psalm because it is our response to the Word of God. There is a scriptural refrain that we pray after each stanza of the Psalm. The Book of Psalms is chosen because it has expressed the faith of believers for centuries and is filled with prayers of praise, thanksgiving, repentance, sorrow, trust and hope that serve as an appropriate response to the reading just proclaimed.

While sitting is a position of receptivity for the other two readings, we stand for the Gospel as a sign of respect for the words of Jesus and to manifest an eagerness and attentiveness to hear his Word. This makes sense if we consider our everyday experience of greeting a guest. If we are eager to meet someone important who is about to enter the room, we would stand out of respect. In the same way, we stand to greet Christ and to anticipate the proclamation of his Good News.

After hearing the Word of God in the Readings, Responsorial Psalm and the Gospel, the congregation sits for a reflection on the Word of God offered by the bishop, priest or deacon.  This reflection is known as the homily and is required for every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, but is encouraged at all Masses (Canon 767).

On Sundays and solemnities, after the homily, the congregation stands for the Creed or Profession of Faith. The name “Creed” comes from its opening word in Latin – “Credo,” meaning “I believe.” This beautiful prayer is a summary statement of our faith that was developed as a result of two great ecumenical councils of the church: Nicaea I (in the year 325) and Constantinople I (381).

Prayer can have one of four focuses: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving or supplication. Prayers of adoration focus on praising, venerating, worshipping or expressing our love for God. An example of this in the liturgy is the Gloria, when we give glory to God for everything he has done for us and for our salvation, but especially for the gift of his son, Jesus. Prayers of contrition express our sorrow for the times that we fail to follow Christ. A liturgical example of this is the Penitential Rite. Prayers of thanksgiving express our gratitude for everything that God has done for us. While the entire Mass is a prayer of thanksgiving, the Eucharistic prayer is a specific example of a prayer of thanksgiving. Finally, there are prayers of supplication that present our needs, personally and communally, to God. The most obvious example of this is the general intercessions, also known as the intentions or prayers of the faithful. This is an opportunity to present the needs of the world and church to the Lord in prayer. We approach the Lord confidently in faith in response to Jesus’ command, “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7).

The presentation of the gifts marks the beginning of the second major part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This preparation also has been traditionally called the offertory, since the priest prepares the gifts to be offered. Despite the change in name, the essential idea and theology has remained unchanged.

After receiving the gifts of bread and wine from members of the community during the presentation of the gifts, the priest stands before the altar to prepare the offering before the Eucharistic Prayer. He begins by taking the paten with the bread on it and holds it slightly above the altar with both of his hands and prays in a low voice, “Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life.” If there is no music during the Offertory, the priest may speak these words aloud. If the words are spoken aloud, the people respond, “Blessed be God forever.” When he is done, he places the paten back on the altar.

After the preparation of the offering, the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins with a dialogue between the priest and the congregation. The opening part of this dialogue, where the priest says, “The Lord be with you,” and the congregation responds, “And with your spirit,” has already been discussed previously.

Part of the Eucharistic Prayer is the calling down of the Holy Spirit upon the offerings of bread and wine. This calling down of the Holy Spirit is called the Epiclesis, and the priest asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit in order to sanctify these offerings so that they may become the Body and Blood of Jesus. There is an easy reference here to the story of Elijah calling down the fire of the Lord upon his offering in order to show forth the God of Israel as the true God when the Israelites had fallen into false worship (1 Kings 18:1-40). In the same way as the great prophet Elijah, the ordained priest stands between God and people calling down the fire of the Lord – the Holy Spirit – upon the offerings at the sacred altar. If we interiorize this action as well, we are asking God to send his Holy Spirit upon us as well – not in the same sacramental way as the priest at Epiclesis – that we may be strengthened by his grace and may live our vocation to become faithful disciples each day.

One of the most frequently prayed prayers among Catholics and Christians of other denominations is the Our Father. For most Christians, it is one of the first prayers that everyone learns from a young age. One of the main reasons it holds primacy in our faith and is prayed each week in the liturgy is that Jesus himself taught us the prayer. When asked by his disciples about how to pray, Jesus taught his disciples the prayer traditionally known as the “Our Father” or “the Lord’s Prayer.” This prayer appears in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4.