The Mass in the life of each Christian
Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death, and so anyone who eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be behaving unworthily towards the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor 11:26‑27).
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand (Col 3:1).
* * *
The sacrifice that Jesus offered on the cross accomplished three things:
• It atoned for the sin of the human race.
• It healed the breach between men and God.
• It opened heaven to man.
Is there still something left to be done? Yes, but what remains is not an addition to what was done on Calvary, but the application to each man of the merits of Christ.
Every human being was redeemed on the cross by Christ (objective Redemption); it is up to each to freely apply to himself this Redemption and cooperate with grace (subjective Redemption).
The passion and death of Christ, the unique sacrifice that took away our sins, is indeed a life‑giving remedy. But it can be compared to a medicine, which, thoroughly efficacious in itself, benefits only those who actually apply it. The New Covenant is not unilateral. God, who procured the means of salvation for one and all, requires our own cooperation. Each of us should receive for himself what our Lord won —through his cross— for mankind. We cooperate by receiving the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, by prayer, penance, and by leading a Christian life, by corresponding to the graces God sends us.
Since the Mass is the same sacrifice as that of Calvary with all its strength and sanctifying power, the Church considers it as the center of her life and the life of each child of hers who struggles, with the help of God’s grace. “The Eucharistic sacrifice is the ‘source and summit of all Christian life.’ It is a single sacrifice that embraces everything. It is the greatest treasure of the Church. It is her life.”[1]
St Augustine tells us a similar idea: “He who wants to live can find here a place to live in and the means to live on. Let him approach; let him be incorporated so that he may receive life. Let him not shy away from union with the members, let him not be a rotten member that deserves to be cut away, nor a distorted member to be ashamed of: let him be beautiful, let him be fitting, let him be healthy. Let him adhere to the body: let him live for God on God: let him labor now upon earth, so that he may afterwards reign in heaven.”[2]
The Church strongly recommends all the faithful to participate often in the Mass. “The more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest’s Communion, receive the Lord’s body from the same sacrifice is warmly recommended to those who are duly prepared and in the state of grace.”[3]
The wedding garment
Our Lord said that the kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a marriage feast for his son. He sent his servants to call in those invited to the marriage feast, but they would not come. Again he sent out other servants to invite the people, but they paid no attention to them. So the king punished those people. Then the king told his servants to gather all whom they could find and bring them to the marriage feast, because everything was ready.
The king went in to see the guests. He saw there a man who had not put on a wedding garment and he said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” The man did not know what to say. So the king said to his servants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth” (Mt 22:1‑14).
The king in this parable is, of course, God the Father; Jesus is the son whose marriage feast is held, he is wedded to his Church. The marriage feast is specifically the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, in which we receive him as food for our soul, thereby we remain closely united to him as members of his Church. We are invited to receive Holy Communion, but we must don a wedding garment—that is, we must be in the state of grace.
To be in the state of grace means that we must always be free from mortal sin when receiving Communion. So long as a person is not certain of having committed a mortal sin since the last confession, one is worthy to go to Communion. But if anyone receives this sacrament in a state of mortal sin, he commits a grievous sin called sacrilege.
* * *
If one has committed a mortal sin, it is not enough to make an act of perfect contrition before receiving Holy Communion. It is true that an act of perfect contrition (sorrow for sin out of love for God) restores the soul to the state of grace. But how can one be sure that his act of contrition is perfect? Or that his love of God is absolute? To protect everyone against the danger of self‑deception in this matter, and to protect the Holy Eucharist against the danger of profanation, the law of the Church explicitly requires that if anyone knows for sure he has committed a mortal sin, he must go to the sacrament of penance before receiving Holy Communion.[4] This law is always binding even though one may be quite sure that he has perfect contrition for the sin.
Frequent Communion
“The Council of Trent calls the Eucharist the antidote whereby we may be freed from daily faults and be preserved from mortal sins.[5] It is desirable to have the faithful in large numbers take an active part in the sacrifice of the Mass each and every day and receive the nourishment of Holy Communion with a pure and holy mind and offer fitting thanks to Christ the Lord for such great gift. They should remember these words of St Pius X: ‘The desire of Jesus Christ and of the Church to see all the faithful approach the sacred banquet each and every day is based on a wish to have them all united to God through the sacrament and to have them draw from it the strength to master their passions, to wash away the lesser sins that are committed every day and to prevent the serious sins to which human frailty is subject.’ And they should not forget about paying a visit during the day to the most Blessed Sacrament in the very special place of honor where it is reserved in churches in keeping with the liturgical laws, since this is a proof of gratitude and a pledge of love and a display of the adoration that is owed to Christ the Lord who is present there.”[6] This way Holy Communion becomes a pledge of our future immortality, an anticipation of the blissful company of God in heaven to which we all look forward.
The Mass is also the center of the life and mission of each priest who finds in it the direction and the goal of his ministry.
Learning to appreciate the Mass
To celebrate and to offer the Holy Mass with greater fruit, we should consider that:
• The Mass is the most important event that happens to mankind each day.
• The Mass is the center of Christian life. All the sacraments, prayers, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, spiritual communions, devotions, and mortifications offered to God have the Mass as their central point of reference. If the center were to disappear (e.g., if attendance at Mass were to be consciously abandoned), then the whole Christian life would collapse.
• Even our concern for the others, our apostolate, should take its root in the Mass. “The devotion to the divine Eucharist exerts a great influence upon the soul in the direction of fostering a ‘social’ love, in which we put the common good ahead of private good, take up the cause of the community, the parish, the universal Church, and extend our charity to the whole world because we know that there are members of Christ everywhere.”[7]
• The Mass is the most pleasing offering we can make to God. Every member of the Mystical Body of Christ receives at baptism the right and duty of taking part in the sacrifice of the Head of that Body. Our Mother the Church wants us to attend Mass, not as strangers or as passive spectators, but as exerting effort to understand it better each time. We must participate in the Mass in a conscious, pious, and active manner, with the right dispositions and cooperating with divine grace. Our participation must be both internal and external.
Internal participation
Since the sacrifice of the Mass is the same as the sacrifice of Calvary, they have the same fourfold purpose:
•To adore the Blessed Trinity. The sacrifice of the cross was first of all a sacrifice of adoration and praise of God. Although the Mass is sometimes offered “in honor and in memory of the saints, the Church teaches us that the Mass is not offered to the saints but to God alone who has given them their crown.”
• To give thanks for the many benefits we receive from God, including those which we are not aware of. Only Christ our Lord can offer God a worthy hymn of thanksgiving. He did so when he gave thanks in the Last Supper and when, hanging on the cross, he continued to give thanks. Our Lord continues to thank God the Father for us in the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
• To ask pardon for our sins and for the many times we have not loved God as we should. This desire for expiation and atonement should lead us to make a good confession. The same Christ who died on the cross for our sins is present and offered in the Mass “so that sins may be forgiven.”
• To ask for the many things, spiritual and material, which we need. The fourth purpose of the Mass is petition. Jesus Christ on the cross died “offering prayers and supplications and was heard because of his reverent obedience” and now in heaven “lives always to make intercession for us” (Heb 5:7 and 7:25). These graces benefit those who attend Holy Mass and the persons for whom it is offered.
These should be our thoughts and intentions at every Mass that we attend, uniting ourselves with Christ and making his desires and sentiments on the cross our own.
External participation
Since each of us has a soul and a body, we should participate in the Mass also externally, taking care of little details:
• Attend the Mass with a spirit of prayer, praying as the Church teaches us to pray, avoiding distractions. Be one with the words, actions, and gestures of the celebrant who acts in the person of Christ. Give up personal preferences; accept the option which the pastor, considering the circumstances of the people in each community, has chosen from among the legitimate possibilities that the liturgy offers us.
• Listen, answer, acclaim, sing, or keep opportune silence in order to facilitate union with God and to deepen our reflection on the word of God. All the faithful present, whether clergy or laity, participate together, each in his own way.
• Stand, sit, and kneel with the congregation, and be serene when you see someone who does not do so.
• Be punctual. This is a considerate detail for Christ our Lord himself and for the others who are attending the Mass. Arrive before the priest goes to the altar. Leave only after the priest has left.
• Dress properly. We should go to Mass dressed and groomed as for an important meeting and not, for instance, as if we are going to play sports.
Suggestions for a worthier participation
These ideas may help you to participate better in the Holy Mass:
• Pray on the way to Mass. Whether you drive to a distant chapel or walk down the street to a cathedral, turn your attention to the coming celebration. Prepare your soul for Communion with acts of love of God. Make acts of contrition and atonement to make up to the Lord for past failures. Pray for the priest so that he may truly minister to the needs of the parish. Pray for the congregation so that they may open their minds and hearts to what will be taught them, and pray that you may understand what you yourself will be taught at Mass.
• Use your Missal, if you have one, or the missalette available in the church. By reading and following the prayers of the priest, you can avoid distractions.
The missalettes for the use of the faithful usually contain the variable prayers for each day’s Mass and most of the fixed parts of the Order of Mass arranged in their usual sequence.
The more complete Missals for the faithful have the prayers of the Mass distributed in three main sections. You should mark them before the Mass starts:
(a) The Ordinary of the Mass or fixed prayers of the Order of Mass. These include, among others, the Penitential Rite, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Creed, the Preparation of the Gifts, the Eucharistic Prayers, the Lord’s Prayer, the Rite of Peace, the Agnus Dei, and the Concluding Rite.
(b) Proper Prayers, variable for each day’s Mass. These include the Entrance Antiphon, the Presidential Prayers (the Opening Prayer or Collect, the Prayer over the Gifts, and the Prayer after Communion), and the Communion Antiphon.
(c) Readings. This section includes the First Reading, the Responsorial Psalm, the Second Reading (when there is one), the Gospel Acclamation (or Alleluia), and the Gospel.
• Offer this sublime sacrifice in union with the Church. Live the Holy Mass feeling yourself to be part of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, the people of God. Be united to the bishop of the diocese where the Mass is being offered and to the pope, the Vicar of Christ for the universal Church.
• Be united to the sacrifice of Jesus who is the only Victim. By doing so, you also offer to God the Father through Christ, and with the Holy Spirit, all the sacrifices, sufferings, self‑denials, and tribulations of each day.
• Have the necessary preparation for Communion. If you are going to receive Holy Communion, you need—besides being in the state of grace—to have the right intention and keep the Eucharistic fast.
(a) The right intention in receiving Communion means having this good purpose: to please God, to achieve greater union with him through charity, and to apply this divine remedy to one’s moral weaknesses. The sacrament should not be received out of routine, vainglory, or human respect.
(b) The eucharistic fast requires abstaining from eating and drinking, except water and medicine, for one hour before actual Communion time. The sick and the elderly, as well as those who take care of them, may receive Holy Communion even if they have taken something within the hour.
(c) We are bound to receive Holy Communion, under serious obligation, at least once a year—ordinarily in Easter time—and when we are in danger of death.
(d) Holy Communion may be received a second time on the same day when one attends Holy Mass again on that day, and when one receives the Blessed Sacrament as viaticum in danger of death.
• Complete the Mass with an intense thanksgiving. Devote a few minutes to private prayer. In this way, your Mass will have direct influence on your work, your family life, your dealings with others, and the manner you will spend the rest of your day. In short, the Mass should not be an isolated event of the day; rather, it should be the inspiration and the dynamo of all your actions.
• Turn the whole day into a continuous preparation for the holy sacrifice by working and praying, by making spiritual communions, and, at the same time, into a never‑ending act of thanksgiving. For a Christian, all honest activities can be turned into prayer.
• Imitate the piety of the Blessed Virgin and ask her for it. While our Lord offered and immolated his flesh, Mary offered and immolated her spirit. Participate in each Mass as if it were your last.
The teaching of the Sacred Scriptures
This is a summary of the main passages of the Sacred Scriptures referring to the sacrament of the Eucharist and the Holy Mass. Your personal meditation on these passages will help you to increase your faith on this sublime mystery.
1. Remote preparation in the Old Testament
The offering of Melchizedek: Gen 14:18‑20.
The sacrifice of the Covenant on the mountain of Sinai: Ex 24:3‑8.
The manna in the desert: Ex 16:2‑4; cf. Jn 6:31‑59.
Elijah strengthened by bread from heaven: 1 Kings 19:4‑8.
The banquet of Wisdom: Prov 9:1‑6.
The prophecy of Malachi: Ml 1:11.
The paschal lamb: Ex 12:1; cf. Jn 1:29; 1 Cor 5:7.
The Servant of God: Is 42:1‑7; 49:1‑19; 50:4‑9; 52:13‑53:12.
2. The announcing of the Eucharist
The miracle at Cana: Jn 2:1‑12.
The multiplication of the loaves: Lk 9:11‑17; Mt 14:13‑21; Jn 6:1‑15.
The parable of the wedding feast: Mt 22:1‑14.
The discourse of the bread of life: Jn 6:24‑69.
3. The institution of the Eucharist
St Paul’s narrative: 1 Cor 11:23‑26.
St Luke’s narrative: Lk 22:14‑20.
St Matthew’s narrative: Mt 26:26‑29.
St Mark’s narrative: Mk 14:22‑25.
Evocation of St John: Jn 13: 1‑35.
4. The meals with the risen Christ
On Easter Sunday with the disciples of Emmaus: Lk 24:13‑35.
The appearance to the apostles: Lk 24:41‑43.
The appearance on the shore of Tiberias: Jn 21:1‑14.
The appearance on Ascension Day: Acts 1:4.
5. The Eucharist in the life of the early Church
The Breaking of the Bread at Jerusalem: Acts 2:42‑47.
The Breaking of the Bread at Troas: Acts 20:7‑11.
The sign of unity: 1 Cor 10:16‑17.
The wedding feast of the Lamb: Rev 19:9.
Footnotes:
[1]John Paul II, Prayer on Holy Thursday, 1982.
[2]St Augustine, Treatise on John 26.13; PL 35:1613.
[3]SC, no. 55.
[4]Council of Trent, Sess. XIII, Chapter 7 and canon 11.
[5]Session 13, c. 2.
[6]MF, no. 66; quotation of St Pius X, Decree Sacra Tridentina Synodus, 20 Dec. 1905.
[7]MF, no. 69. 8.
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand (Col 3:1).
* * *
The sacrifice that Jesus offered on the cross accomplished three things:
• It atoned for the sin of the human race.
• It healed the breach between men and God.
• It opened heaven to man.
Is there still something left to be done? Yes, but what remains is not an addition to what was done on Calvary, but the application to each man of the merits of Christ.
Every human being was redeemed on the cross by Christ (objective Redemption); it is up to each to freely apply to himself this Redemption and cooperate with grace (subjective Redemption).
The passion and death of Christ, the unique sacrifice that took away our sins, is indeed a life‑giving remedy. But it can be compared to a medicine, which, thoroughly efficacious in itself, benefits only those who actually apply it. The New Covenant is not unilateral. God, who procured the means of salvation for one and all, requires our own cooperation. Each of us should receive for himself what our Lord won —through his cross— for mankind. We cooperate by receiving the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist, by prayer, penance, and by leading a Christian life, by corresponding to the graces God sends us.
Since the Mass is the same sacrifice as that of Calvary with all its strength and sanctifying power, the Church considers it as the center of her life and the life of each child of hers who struggles, with the help of God’s grace. “The Eucharistic sacrifice is the ‘source and summit of all Christian life.’ It is a single sacrifice that embraces everything. It is the greatest treasure of the Church. It is her life.”[1]
St Augustine tells us a similar idea: “He who wants to live can find here a place to live in and the means to live on. Let him approach; let him be incorporated so that he may receive life. Let him not shy away from union with the members, let him not be a rotten member that deserves to be cut away, nor a distorted member to be ashamed of: let him be beautiful, let him be fitting, let him be healthy. Let him adhere to the body: let him live for God on God: let him labor now upon earth, so that he may afterwards reign in heaven.”[2]
The Church strongly recommends all the faithful to participate often in the Mass. “The more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest’s Communion, receive the Lord’s body from the same sacrifice is warmly recommended to those who are duly prepared and in the state of grace.”[3]
The wedding garment
Our Lord said that the kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a marriage feast for his son. He sent his servants to call in those invited to the marriage feast, but they would not come. Again he sent out other servants to invite the people, but they paid no attention to them. So the king punished those people. Then the king told his servants to gather all whom they could find and bring them to the marriage feast, because everything was ready.
The king went in to see the guests. He saw there a man who had not put on a wedding garment and he said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” The man did not know what to say. So the king said to his servants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth” (Mt 22:1‑14).
The king in this parable is, of course, God the Father; Jesus is the son whose marriage feast is held, he is wedded to his Church. The marriage feast is specifically the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, in which we receive him as food for our soul, thereby we remain closely united to him as members of his Church. We are invited to receive Holy Communion, but we must don a wedding garment—that is, we must be in the state of grace.
To be in the state of grace means that we must always be free from mortal sin when receiving Communion. So long as a person is not certain of having committed a mortal sin since the last confession, one is worthy to go to Communion. But if anyone receives this sacrament in a state of mortal sin, he commits a grievous sin called sacrilege.
* * *
If one has committed a mortal sin, it is not enough to make an act of perfect contrition before receiving Holy Communion. It is true that an act of perfect contrition (sorrow for sin out of love for God) restores the soul to the state of grace. But how can one be sure that his act of contrition is perfect? Or that his love of God is absolute? To protect everyone against the danger of self‑deception in this matter, and to protect the Holy Eucharist against the danger of profanation, the law of the Church explicitly requires that if anyone knows for sure he has committed a mortal sin, he must go to the sacrament of penance before receiving Holy Communion.[4] This law is always binding even though one may be quite sure that he has perfect contrition for the sin.
Frequent Communion
“The Council of Trent calls the Eucharist the antidote whereby we may be freed from daily faults and be preserved from mortal sins.[5] It is desirable to have the faithful in large numbers take an active part in the sacrifice of the Mass each and every day and receive the nourishment of Holy Communion with a pure and holy mind and offer fitting thanks to Christ the Lord for such great gift. They should remember these words of St Pius X: ‘The desire of Jesus Christ and of the Church to see all the faithful approach the sacred banquet each and every day is based on a wish to have them all united to God through the sacrament and to have them draw from it the strength to master their passions, to wash away the lesser sins that are committed every day and to prevent the serious sins to which human frailty is subject.’ And they should not forget about paying a visit during the day to the most Blessed Sacrament in the very special place of honor where it is reserved in churches in keeping with the liturgical laws, since this is a proof of gratitude and a pledge of love and a display of the adoration that is owed to Christ the Lord who is present there.”[6] This way Holy Communion becomes a pledge of our future immortality, an anticipation of the blissful company of God in heaven to which we all look forward.
The Mass is also the center of the life and mission of each priest who finds in it the direction and the goal of his ministry.
Learning to appreciate the Mass
To celebrate and to offer the Holy Mass with greater fruit, we should consider that:
• The Mass is the most important event that happens to mankind each day.
• The Mass is the center of Christian life. All the sacraments, prayers, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, spiritual communions, devotions, and mortifications offered to God have the Mass as their central point of reference. If the center were to disappear (e.g., if attendance at Mass were to be consciously abandoned), then the whole Christian life would collapse.
• Even our concern for the others, our apostolate, should take its root in the Mass. “The devotion to the divine Eucharist exerts a great influence upon the soul in the direction of fostering a ‘social’ love, in which we put the common good ahead of private good, take up the cause of the community, the parish, the universal Church, and extend our charity to the whole world because we know that there are members of Christ everywhere.”[7]
• The Mass is the most pleasing offering we can make to God. Every member of the Mystical Body of Christ receives at baptism the right and duty of taking part in the sacrifice of the Head of that Body. Our Mother the Church wants us to attend Mass, not as strangers or as passive spectators, but as exerting effort to understand it better each time. We must participate in the Mass in a conscious, pious, and active manner, with the right dispositions and cooperating with divine grace. Our participation must be both internal and external.
Internal participation
Since the sacrifice of the Mass is the same as the sacrifice of Calvary, they have the same fourfold purpose:
•To adore the Blessed Trinity. The sacrifice of the cross was first of all a sacrifice of adoration and praise of God. Although the Mass is sometimes offered “in honor and in memory of the saints, the Church teaches us that the Mass is not offered to the saints but to God alone who has given them their crown.”
• To give thanks for the many benefits we receive from God, including those which we are not aware of. Only Christ our Lord can offer God a worthy hymn of thanksgiving. He did so when he gave thanks in the Last Supper and when, hanging on the cross, he continued to give thanks. Our Lord continues to thank God the Father for us in the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
• To ask pardon for our sins and for the many times we have not loved God as we should. This desire for expiation and atonement should lead us to make a good confession. The same Christ who died on the cross for our sins is present and offered in the Mass “so that sins may be forgiven.”
• To ask for the many things, spiritual and material, which we need. The fourth purpose of the Mass is petition. Jesus Christ on the cross died “offering prayers and supplications and was heard because of his reverent obedience” and now in heaven “lives always to make intercession for us” (Heb 5:7 and 7:25). These graces benefit those who attend Holy Mass and the persons for whom it is offered.
These should be our thoughts and intentions at every Mass that we attend, uniting ourselves with Christ and making his desires and sentiments on the cross our own.
External participation
Since each of us has a soul and a body, we should participate in the Mass also externally, taking care of little details:
• Attend the Mass with a spirit of prayer, praying as the Church teaches us to pray, avoiding distractions. Be one with the words, actions, and gestures of the celebrant who acts in the person of Christ. Give up personal preferences; accept the option which the pastor, considering the circumstances of the people in each community, has chosen from among the legitimate possibilities that the liturgy offers us.
• Listen, answer, acclaim, sing, or keep opportune silence in order to facilitate union with God and to deepen our reflection on the word of God. All the faithful present, whether clergy or laity, participate together, each in his own way.
• Stand, sit, and kneel with the congregation, and be serene when you see someone who does not do so.
• Be punctual. This is a considerate detail for Christ our Lord himself and for the others who are attending the Mass. Arrive before the priest goes to the altar. Leave only after the priest has left.
• Dress properly. We should go to Mass dressed and groomed as for an important meeting and not, for instance, as if we are going to play sports.
Suggestions for a worthier participation
These ideas may help you to participate better in the Holy Mass:
• Pray on the way to Mass. Whether you drive to a distant chapel or walk down the street to a cathedral, turn your attention to the coming celebration. Prepare your soul for Communion with acts of love of God. Make acts of contrition and atonement to make up to the Lord for past failures. Pray for the priest so that he may truly minister to the needs of the parish. Pray for the congregation so that they may open their minds and hearts to what will be taught them, and pray that you may understand what you yourself will be taught at Mass.
• Use your Missal, if you have one, or the missalette available in the church. By reading and following the prayers of the priest, you can avoid distractions.
The missalettes for the use of the faithful usually contain the variable prayers for each day’s Mass and most of the fixed parts of the Order of Mass arranged in their usual sequence.
The more complete Missals for the faithful have the prayers of the Mass distributed in three main sections. You should mark them before the Mass starts:
(a) The Ordinary of the Mass or fixed prayers of the Order of Mass. These include, among others, the Penitential Rite, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Creed, the Preparation of the Gifts, the Eucharistic Prayers, the Lord’s Prayer, the Rite of Peace, the Agnus Dei, and the Concluding Rite.
(b) Proper Prayers, variable for each day’s Mass. These include the Entrance Antiphon, the Presidential Prayers (the Opening Prayer or Collect, the Prayer over the Gifts, and the Prayer after Communion), and the Communion Antiphon.
(c) Readings. This section includes the First Reading, the Responsorial Psalm, the Second Reading (when there is one), the Gospel Acclamation (or Alleluia), and the Gospel.
• Offer this sublime sacrifice in union with the Church. Live the Holy Mass feeling yourself to be part of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, the people of God. Be united to the bishop of the diocese where the Mass is being offered and to the pope, the Vicar of Christ for the universal Church.
• Be united to the sacrifice of Jesus who is the only Victim. By doing so, you also offer to God the Father through Christ, and with the Holy Spirit, all the sacrifices, sufferings, self‑denials, and tribulations of each day.
• Have the necessary preparation for Communion. If you are going to receive Holy Communion, you need—besides being in the state of grace—to have the right intention and keep the Eucharistic fast.
(a) The right intention in receiving Communion means having this good purpose: to please God, to achieve greater union with him through charity, and to apply this divine remedy to one’s moral weaknesses. The sacrament should not be received out of routine, vainglory, or human respect.
(b) The eucharistic fast requires abstaining from eating and drinking, except water and medicine, for one hour before actual Communion time. The sick and the elderly, as well as those who take care of them, may receive Holy Communion even if they have taken something within the hour.
(c) We are bound to receive Holy Communion, under serious obligation, at least once a year—ordinarily in Easter time—and when we are in danger of death.
(d) Holy Communion may be received a second time on the same day when one attends Holy Mass again on that day, and when one receives the Blessed Sacrament as viaticum in danger of death.
• Complete the Mass with an intense thanksgiving. Devote a few minutes to private prayer. In this way, your Mass will have direct influence on your work, your family life, your dealings with others, and the manner you will spend the rest of your day. In short, the Mass should not be an isolated event of the day; rather, it should be the inspiration and the dynamo of all your actions.
• Turn the whole day into a continuous preparation for the holy sacrifice by working and praying, by making spiritual communions, and, at the same time, into a never‑ending act of thanksgiving. For a Christian, all honest activities can be turned into prayer.
• Imitate the piety of the Blessed Virgin and ask her for it. While our Lord offered and immolated his flesh, Mary offered and immolated her spirit. Participate in each Mass as if it were your last.
The teaching of the Sacred Scriptures
This is a summary of the main passages of the Sacred Scriptures referring to the sacrament of the Eucharist and the Holy Mass. Your personal meditation on these passages will help you to increase your faith on this sublime mystery.
1. Remote preparation in the Old Testament
The offering of Melchizedek: Gen 14:18‑20.
The sacrifice of the Covenant on the mountain of Sinai: Ex 24:3‑8.
The manna in the desert: Ex 16:2‑4; cf. Jn 6:31‑59.
Elijah strengthened by bread from heaven: 1 Kings 19:4‑8.
The banquet of Wisdom: Prov 9:1‑6.
The prophecy of Malachi: Ml 1:11.
The paschal lamb: Ex 12:1; cf. Jn 1:29; 1 Cor 5:7.
The Servant of God: Is 42:1‑7; 49:1‑19; 50:4‑9; 52:13‑53:12.
2. The announcing of the Eucharist
The miracle at Cana: Jn 2:1‑12.
The multiplication of the loaves: Lk 9:11‑17; Mt 14:13‑21; Jn 6:1‑15.
The parable of the wedding feast: Mt 22:1‑14.
The discourse of the bread of life: Jn 6:24‑69.
3. The institution of the Eucharist
St Paul’s narrative: 1 Cor 11:23‑26.
St Luke’s narrative: Lk 22:14‑20.
St Matthew’s narrative: Mt 26:26‑29.
St Mark’s narrative: Mk 14:22‑25.
Evocation of St John: Jn 13: 1‑35.
4. The meals with the risen Christ
On Easter Sunday with the disciples of Emmaus: Lk 24:13‑35.
The appearance to the apostles: Lk 24:41‑43.
The appearance on the shore of Tiberias: Jn 21:1‑14.
The appearance on Ascension Day: Acts 1:4.
5. The Eucharist in the life of the early Church
The Breaking of the Bread at Jerusalem: Acts 2:42‑47.
The Breaking of the Bread at Troas: Acts 20:7‑11.
The sign of unity: 1 Cor 10:16‑17.
The wedding feast of the Lamb: Rev 19:9.
Footnotes:
[1]John Paul II, Prayer on Holy Thursday, 1982.
[2]St Augustine, Treatise on John 26.13; PL 35:1613.
[3]SC, no. 55.
[4]Council of Trent, Sess. XIII, Chapter 7 and canon 11.
[5]Session 13, c. 2.
[6]MF, no. 66; quotation of St Pius X, Decree Sacra Tridentina Synodus, 20 Dec. 1905.
[7]MF, no. 69. 8.