01/02/2025
PLEASE READ THIS PUBLICATION PATIENTLY TO THE END
THE HOLY MASS: CORRECTION OF LITURGICAL ABUSES
ABUSES ONE MUST AVOID
The Holy Mass is a subject that is part and parcel of all Catholics but frequently abused. These abuses, called Liturgical Abuses, occur as a result of confidences built from assumptions, negligence, and ignorance about the Mass as it is celebrated.
HOW TO BE IN HOLY MASS
The Holy Mass is a Liturgy and has these important characteristics, amongst others.It has rituals that must be followed.It is written down and must be followed, as written. What is written down must be read from, in the course of its celebration.
As such, Priests and Lay Faithful at Mass, reciting prayer or singing hymns, must follow or use them as written.It is therefore imperative that attendants at Mass must come with their Missals or Order of Mass and Hymn Books, so that they can use the correct words.
It should also be noted that the Church has put down guidelines, called Rubrics that must be followed. As such, no one, not even the Pope, has the right to just change anything to suit himself.
Some parts of the Missal are written in Red (which are instructions of what or how to do), while some are written in Black (which are the words spoken in the Dialogue between the Priest and the Congregation).
Most of the errors or liturgical abuses occur due to the non-usage of the Order of Mass or Missal.
WHEN DOES HOLY MASS BEGIN?
The Mass actually begins with preparations before the Mass, whereby attendants settle down, be in proper disposition, meditate on the purpose of coming to Mass, say their prayers before Mass, and present their intentions and everything affecting them.
WHEN IS ONE LATE TO MASS?
One should be at Mass before the Entrance Procession of the Priest, if not one is technically late to Mass. Catholics begin their prayer sessions and activities with the Sign of the Cross.
Liturgically, Sign of the Cross is done only two times at Mass, at the Beginning, and at the End in the Final Blessing.
It is not right to inject the Sign of the Cross into just any part at Mass.
ONLY TIMES WE SAY AMEN AT MASS
Similarly, there are specific times in the Order of Mass when we are to say âAmenâ. It is not when we like that we say âAmenâ. For example, people are fond of saying âAmenâ during the Preface, after âOur fatherâ, or anytime they hear âThrough Christ our Lordâ.
There are specific responses or prayers to respond to what the Priest says, and not the Amen.
PRAYERS/THINGS YOU MUST NOT RECITE/DO WITH PRIEST
People should also not recite the parts of the Priest at Mass with him. We have our own parts to say.
When the Priest greets, âThe Lord be with youâ, we respond âAnd with your spiritâ.
It is not proper to point at the Priest, while responding, because the spirit in the Priest while saying the Mass is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, which we cannot see and is not the personal spirit of the Priest.
In the Penitential Rite, after âI confessâ, when the Priest gives the âGeneral Absolutionâ, saying âMay Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting lifeâ, we are not to make the Sign of the Cross along with it, because this is not a sacramental absolution as received at Confession.
In the âCollect Prayerâ or âOpening Prayerâ, when the Priest opens his hands, with the palms facing up, just as he opens his palms on many occasions at Mass, it is not proper for the congregants to open their palms as he does.
The Priest, by virtue of his office, prays for all present at Mass. Thus, he collects all their intentions and prays on their behalf. We are to close our palms in prayer, as Catholics, not to open them like the Priest. Particularly, we are not to open our palms during âOur Fatherâ.
During the âLiturgy of the Wordâ, when the Readings and Gospel are being read, we are to LISTEN to what is being read from the Altar. We are not supposed to be reading on our own, either from the Bible, the Missal, or the Bulletin. These are useful in our preparation for or review of the Mass.
When the Priest says âA reading from the holy Gospel according to âŚâ, we are to respond âGlory to you, O Lordâ (not Glory be to you, O Lord).
When the Priest says âThe Gospel of the Lordâ, we are to respond âPraise to you, Lord Jesus Christâ (not Praise be to you, Lord Jesus Christ).
DRAMAS TO AVOID
It should be noted that the Mass is a solemn worship of God. As such, we should desist from dramatizations or demonstrations at Mass, as if we are acting in the Nollywood drama. Some of these dramatizations are noted as follows: In the opening dialogue of the Eucharistic Prayer, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Priest says, âLift up your heartsâ and we respond âWe lift them up to the Lordâ. Some people would raise up their hands or even heave up their chests in their response. What is the true implication of this statement?
From our Catechism definition, âWhat is Prayerâ?If it is the âLifting up of our hearts and mind to Godâ, then it means the Priest is saying in other words âLet us prayâ, when he says âLift up your heartsâ We then are not to be displaying with our hands raised up or heave our chests, to show we lift our hearts to God.
Unfortunately, I have never seen people actually bringing out their hearts, to be lifted up. During the Preface being read by the Priest, especially when the Priest says âThrough Christ Our Lordâ, some are used to saying âAmenâ. The Preface is a single and composite prayer, which is not to be interrupted, and its proper response at the end is the Sanctus, i.e. âHoly, Holy, Holy âŚâ
In the âSanctusâ, some people have injected so much dramatization, such as raising and shaking their fists in the sky at âHosanna in the highestâ and making the Sign of the Cross while saying âBlessed is he who comes in the name of the Lordâ. This is wrong. Only God knows when people imported all these into the Liturgy.
It is wrong stretching hands and making the Sign of the Cross, by the lay faithful at Mass, when the Chief Celebrant is invoking the Holy Spirit for the Consecration of the Bread and Wine, in Epiclesis, âMake holy, therefore, these gifts we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ?â
Have you observed other concelebrating Priests? Do they do it? No. after stretching hands to bless, they donât make a Sign of the Cross. It belongs to the office of the Celebrant.
At Consecration, when the Priest says âTake this,⌠and eat of it/drink from it, âŚâ, we see people stretching their hands to âtakeâ, some would even go further by putting their hands in their mouths, to âeatâ or âdrinkâ.
At the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer, with the Final Doxology, some are used to reciting it with the Chief Celebrant. This is wrong. We are neither Priests nor Con-celebrants.The Canon Law is even emphatic about it. Canon 907 says, âIn the celebration of the Eucharist, deacons and lay persons are not permitted to say the prayers, especially the Eucharistic prayer, nor to perform the actions which are proper to the celebrating priest.
âWhen the Priest recites it, our response is âAmenâ, the âGreat Amenâ. âLamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on usâ. It is not, âwho takes awayâ.
OUR CONDUCT DURING OUR LORD'S PRAYER
When the Lordâs Prayer, "Our Father," is recited, we are to say âgive us this day our daily breadâ not âgive us these daysâ.
The prayer is ended with âbut deliver us from evilâ, not âdeliver us from all evilâ.
Similarly, âAmenâ is not said at the end of the Lordâs Prayer.
During the prayer, we are not supposed to open our palms and spread them. This act belongs to the office of the Celebrant Priest.
The Prayer of the Priest, after the Lordâs Prayer, âDeliver us Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christâ is a composite prayer that should not be interrupted with âAmenâ.
The proper response at the end is âFor the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.
ORDERLINESS AT MASS
âOrderliness is said to be the first in heaven.
This is very paramount in the Church, especially when we are celebrating the Liturgy.
During processions at the Mass, at Offertory, Communion, or during Thanksgiving, we should not genuflect. We should always approach the Altar through the Center Aisle and return by the Side Aisles.
Similarly, returning persons from the Altar should not go against the people proceeding to the Altar.We should always endure to pass through the centre aisle or passage whenever we want to go to the Altar.
Some persons are used to squeezing through the pews in order to beat other people ahead of them at Communion. Shunting or cheating in the House of God, and while one is going for Communion. Haba!
While going for Communion, especially when one is already in the Communion Procession, one should be focused on Christ that he or she is going to receive in a prayerful mood.
We should not be greeting friends nor diverting our attention by singing the Communion Hymn then. Others are there, including the Choir, to sing.
Equally, it is disorderly to be answering phone calls at Mass or reading newspaper or reciting any other prayer not related to Mass, such as rosary, novena, or devotion to a particular Saint.
Since we are in solemn worship of God, our disposition should be towards God. You can not serve two masters at the same time.
OTHER THINGS WE SHOULDN'T DO AT MASS
Holy Mass is the greatest prayer. It is both the source and the summit of our Christian life.
We should not eat or drink during Mass.
We should not forget the Eucharistic fast of one hour before Communion.
We should always endeavour to wait and receive the Final Blessing before we leave the Mass so that we can âGo in Peaceâ.
After Mass, we should wait for the Priest to recess out of the Church before we go out.
We should not go to the Priest after Mass, for blessing, because he has already blessed us and prayed for all our intentions during the Mass.
At the end, we should be able to sing, âAll of my life, I will praise the living God, my heart full of joy, I will bless His Holy Nameâ.
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