Seeking Divine Mercy
The Structure of The
Catholic Mass
Many non-Catholics question the
validity of the Catholic Celebration of the Mass believing it to be nothing
more than an elaborate tradition. Without realizing it they also follow their
own traditions including bible study, routine fellowship gatherings and periods
of gospel discussion to name a few. However, if they learned the truth
regarding the Catholic Mass they could hardly disagree with its validity as it
has been the worship of the Eucharistic celebration throughout history and its
structure is that of Biblical content. For anyone to suggest the celebration of
the Mass as invalid would be to suggest worship of our Lord and the Inspired
word of God invalid, as this is exactly what the Mass is. Further, ancient
writing of the
Structurally, the Catholic mass
IS scriptural and here we hope to clarify to those who have no knowledge of the
contents of the Mass, exactly what the Catholic celebration of the mass
consists of with references;
For an explanation of the changes
scheduled November 27th, 2011 in the English translation of the Mass,
watch the following three videos.
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Liturgy of the Mass
(Note: the structure of the Mass will not
change.)
Initial greeting in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy spirit- Matthew CH28 V19
Response Amen – 1 Book of Chronicles CH16 V36
Greeting including “the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you” – 2 Corinthians
CH13 V13
Response And also with you – 2
Timothy CH4 V22
Or the Priest may say; “The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ
be with you”
2 Corinthians CH1 V2
Penitential rite
References James CH5 V16, Romans CH12 V16, James CH3 V6,
James CH4 V17, I Thessalonians CH5 V 25
“May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and
bring us to everlasting life” 1 John CH1 V9
Kyrie Eleison – Lord have Mercy –
Tobit CH8 V4
Christe Eleison – Christ have Mercy – I Timothy CH1 V2
Kyrie Eleison – Lord have Mercy –
Tobit CH8 V4
The Gloria
“Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father – Rev
CH19 V6
We worship You – Rev CH22 V9
We give You thanks – Ephesians CH5 V20
We praise You for Your glory – Rev CH7 V12
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God - 2 John Ch3
Lord God, Lamb of God, Your take away the sins of the
world, have mercy on us – John CH1 V29
You are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our
prayer – Romans CH8 V34
For you alone are the Holy One – Luke CH4 V34
You alone are the Lord – Rev CH15 V4
You are the most High, Jesus Christ – Luke CH1 V32
with the
Holy Spirit and the Glory of God the Father, Amen – John CH14 V26
Liturgy of the Word of God
First
Responsorial Psalms
Second
Third reading – Gospel
Homily - A sermon on Sacred
Scriptures
Prayer – The Our Father
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Presenting of the gifts – Matthew CH5 V23 – 24 and Malachi
CH3 V10
“Blessed are You, Lord, God of all creation, Through Your
Goodness we have this bread to offer…” - Ecclesiastes CH3 V13 and 1 Chronicles CH29 V10-11
The Offertory of the Eucharistic Celebration
Priest recites the instructions of Jesus in reference to
the Bread and Wine.
John CH6 V27 – 59, Matthew CH26 V26 – 28, Mark CH14 V22 –
25, Luke CH22 V14 – 20, Luke CH24 V30 – 34, 1 Corinthians CH10 V16 – 22, 1
Corinthians CH11 V22 – 29
When Jesus referred to “Do this in remembrance” He was
making reference to Old Testament Jewish terminology as in Leviticus CH2 V2.
Conclusion of mass performed in prayer.
To suggest worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ with
intimate references to scripture was invalid would be to suggest scripture
invalid in itself.
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Catholic Sunday Worship
Why does the Catholic Faith worship on the 1st day of
the week, Sunday, instead of honoring the Sabbath on the 7th day,
and is it of pagan origin as some Christian denominations would claim?
An allegation sometimes made
against the Catholic Church by some protestant based Christian believers is
that it’s practice of Sunday worship is derived from
paganism. It is best to understand such allegations are made by those who have
no knowledge of the Catholic faith to begin with but who are members of
denominations which originated out of the reformation period which took place around
1517. Hence, they have been separated from the “
In reality, Ellen White
had adopted the idea of re-establishing observance of the Jewish Sabbath from
yet another person of a different faith, a Miss Preston, who was a member of
the Seventh-Day Baptists circulating her ideas throughout
Regardless of what Christian faith makes such allegations
of wrongful practice of Sunday worship, in order for any faith claiming itself
“Christian” to be fully Christian, it must first acknowledge that the Christ,
Jesus, is the “Fulfillment of the Old Testament” and secondly must be accepting
of all the Word, all the teachings proclaimed by Jesus Himself. He proclaimed
the Sabbath belonged to Him and He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament
which every Christian must acknowledge. This is clear in several passages of
the New Testament;
Colossians CH1; 13 He delivered us from the power of
darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For in him were created all
things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him
and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold
together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church. He is the
beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be
preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness was pleased
to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace
by the blood of his cross (through him), whether those on earth or those in
heaven.
Philippians CH2; 9 Because of this, God greatly exalted
him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.
John CH17; he raised his eyes
to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so
that your son may glorify you, 2 just as you gave him authority over all
people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him. 3 Now this is
eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom
you sent, Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work
that you gave me to do. 5 Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that
I had with you before the world began. 6 "I revealed
your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
Matthew CH28; 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they
doubted. 18 Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven
and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the
age."
John CH5; 21 For just as the Father
raises the dead and gives life, 9 so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. 22
Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment 10 to his Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they
honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who
sent him.
John CH3; 34 For the one whom God
sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift of the Spirit. 35 The
Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him.
John CH12; 26 Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I
am, there also will my servant be. The Father will
honor whoever serves me. 27 "I am troubled 17
now. Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this
hour'? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. 28 Father,
glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified
it and will glorify it again."
Colossians CH2; 16 Let no
one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink or with regard to
a festival or new moon or Sabbath. 17 These are shadows of things to
come; the reality belongs to Christ”.
As asserted by the Word of Christ, since the times of the
apostles and their successors, it is documented and historically authenticated
that the early Church differentiated itself from worshiping as practiced by the
Jews in the Synagogues who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah. They were
empowered by the authority bestowed upon them by Christ as the Lord of the
Sabbath and the Son of God. The Church proceeded to worship Jesus as the Lamb
of God or the sacrificed Lamb of the Sabbath under the New Testament in
fulfillment of the Old Testament through His passion, death and resurrection.
This is evident from the words of
Mark CH2; 23 As he was passing
through a field of grain on the Sabbath, his disciples began to make a path
while picking the heads of grain. 24 At this the
Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the
Sabbath?" 25 He said to them, "Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry? 26 How he went into
the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and
ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat, and shared
it with his companions?" 27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was
made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 That is why
the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
Matthew
12; 1 At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the
Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat
them. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "See, your
disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath." 3 He said to
them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were
hungry, 4 how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? 5 Or have you not
read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate
the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 I say to you, something greater than the
temple is here. 7 If
you knew what this meant, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have
condemned these innocent men. 8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Luke CH6; 3 "…Have you not read what David did when he
and those (who were) with him were hungry? 4 (How) he went into the house of
God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate
of it, and shared it with his companions. 5 Then he said to them, "The
Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."
John 5;
10 “…so the Jews said to
the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to
carry your mat." 11 He answered them, "The man who made me well told me,
'Take up your mat and walk.'" 12 They asked him, "Who is the man who
told you, 'Take it up and walk'?" 13 The man who was healed did not know
who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there. 14 After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to
him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may
happen to you." 15 The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one
who had made him well. 16 Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because
he did this on a Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, "My Father is at
work until now, so I am at work." 18 For
this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill him, because he not only broke
the Sabbath but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.
19 Jesus answered and said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, a son
cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; for what
he does, his son will do also. 20 For the Father loves
his Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him
greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. 21 For
just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give
life to whomever he wishes. 22 Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has
given all judgment to his Son, 23 so that all may honor the Son just as they
honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who
sent him.
In establishing His Church,
Jesus had proclaimed Himself the Son of Man and the Lord of the Sabbath which
is undeniable by any true Christian. We cannot ignore His words that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,” and we cannot deny
His transfer of authority to Peter in the authority of “the Keys”;
Matthew CH16; 18 And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail
against it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall
be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no
one that he was the Messiah”.
Therefore, soon after the beginning of the ministry of the
apostles and continued on through their succession, the history of the one
Church founded by our Lord replaced the Sabbath day as practiced by the Jews
who refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah with a new day of faithful
worship in recognition of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, “the Day the Lord has made”, the fulfillment of the Old Testament. This day is the 1st day of the
week, Sunday.
Luke 24; “But on
the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the
spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb”.
John CH20; 1 “On the first
day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while
it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb”.
The actual birth of the Church
through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit took place on Pentecost Sunday,
which is confirmed through the ascension of Jesus; Acts CH2; 1 “When the
time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together”.
The gathering of the faithful
from ancient times was performed on Sunday; Acts
CH20; 7 “On the first day of the week when we gathered to break bread, Paul
spoke to them because he was going to leave on the next day, and he kept on
speaking until midnight”.
Donations from the faithful
were to be gathered for the support of the Church on Sunday; 1 Corinthians CH16; 1 “Now in regard to the collection
for the holy ones, you also should do as I ordered the churches of
John received his gift of
Revelation on Sunday; Rev CH1; 9 “I, John,
your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance
we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called
Those denominations that allege the practice of Sunday
worship as being wrongful or paganistic attempt to justify their allegations by
referring to scripture verses such as Luke 23:55-56, Acts 13:42-44 and Acts
18:3-5. what they do not recognize is that they attempt to take scripture
verses they interpret in their own way to counter other scripture verses
supporting the authenticity of Sunday Worship and of the Sabbath belonging to
Him alone. In doing so, they cannot credibly explain those verses that they are
in opposition with. The fact is and cannot be denied that scripture does not
oppose itself. It must teach in unison with itself.
If an
individual interprets a verse in scripture to mean something that another verse
opposes, that person’s interpretation is inaccurate, not the “opposing”
scripture verse. To assert to be truly Christian a person cannot selectively
accept and believe what suites them from the Gospels while disregarding the
rest. When making such accusations, one of the
two common claims made is that the followers of Jesus according to the
Gospels must have continued to recognize the original 7th day
Sabbath because they did not intend to perform the anointing of the Body of
Christ after taking it down from the cross until after the Sabbath; this claim
has no credibility at all as “the day of the Lord” is the day of the
resurrection, not the day of the death of our Lord. Jesus had not been resurrected
yet for this passage of scripture to support their argument so the worshipping
of Jesus’ resurrection on Sundays could not have even been conceived to this
point. Additionally, for the followers of Jesus to break the Jewish Sabbath by
the anointing of the Body of Jesus before the conclusion of the Sabbath, they
would have sealed their own deaths at the hands of the Jews.
The second common
claim some suggest to support their allegation is the Sabbath was the day of
worship for the early Christians because according to the Gospels, Paul and
some of the others went to the synagogues on
the Sabbath. However, Such an interpretation is
inaccurate when looked into more deeply. It becomes clear, Paul and the others
preaching in the ministry of the teachings of Christ went to
the Synagogues on the Sabbath because they knew these would be the best
opportunities to further the Gospel of Christ. It was the most effective means
to spread those teachings of Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament and
hopefully bring forth the conversion and salvation of their Jewish brethren who
had not yet received the Gospels or converted. The gathering
at the synagogues occurred only on the Sabbath and were solely for Jews
who had not yet accepted Christ.
Writings of the Early Church
Fathers;
Contrary to the
teachings of those who suggest the Jewish Sabbath remained the day of worship
for the early Christians, the early Church gathered for worship on the Lord’s
Day (Sunday), not Saturday, in honor of the day our Lord rose from the dead.
Most Christians possessing reasonable valid knowledge of the Early Church
Fathers realize that to attempt to discredit them would ultimately raise
question to the validity of scripture itself, due to the fact they were taught
by and the immediate and subsequent successors to the apostles. In the period
leading up to the compiling of the first Holy Bible (Latin Vulgate) as assigned
by Pope Damasus to St. Jerome of the Catholic Church around 384 CE, The Early
Church Fathers and their successors during their respective periods, where
instrumental in the accumulation of assorted writings for authentication,
validation, compilation, and final selection of those writings determined to be
the truly Inspired Word of God that we today refer to as The Holy Bible. Regardless of what version of interpretation
of “The Holy Bible” a particular denomination refers to, the authenticated and
compiled biblical texts originated from the Holy Bible of the Catholic Church.
That is not to say all the interpretations adopted by non-Catholic
Faiths are correct, only the sources the interpretations are generated from. So
discrediting the
The Didache
But every Lord's
day . . . gather yourselves together and break bread, and give thanksgiving
after having confessed your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.
But let no one that is at variance with his fellow come together with you until
they be reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be profaned (Didache 14
[A.D. 70]).
Ignatius of
[T]hose who were
brought up in the ancient order of things [i.e., Jews] have come to the
possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the
observance of the Lord's day, on which also our life has sprung up again by him
and by his death (Letter to the Magnesians 8
[A.D. 110]).
The Didascalia
The apostles
further appointed; On the first day of the week let there be service, and the
reading of the holy scriptures, and the oblation [sacrifice of the Mass],
because on the first day of the week [Sunday] our Lord rose from the place of
the dead, and on the first day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the
first day of the week he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the
week he will appear at last with the angels of heaven (Didascalia
2 [A.D. 225]).
Victorinus
The sixth day
[Friday] is called parasceve, that is to say, the
preparation of the kingdom. . . . On this day also, on account of the passion
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make either a station to God or a fast. On the
seventh day he rested from all his works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On
the former day we are accustomed to fast rigorously, that on the Lord's Day we
may go forth to our bread with giving of thanks. Let the parasceve
become a rigorous fast, lest we should appear to observe any Sabbath with the
Jews . . . which Sabbath he [Christ] in his body abolished (The Creation of
the World [A.D. 300]).
Eusebius
They [the early
saints of the Old Testament] did not care about circumcision of the body,
neither do we [Christians]. They did not care about observing Sabbaths, nor do
we. They did not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other
distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be observed as
symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such things (Church History
1:4:8 [A.D. 325]).
[T]he day of his
[Christ's] light . . . was the day of his resurrection from the dead, which
they say, as being the one and only truly holy day and the Lord's day, is
better than any number of days as we ordinarily understand them, and better
than the days set apart by the Mosaic Law for feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths,
which the Apostle [Paul] teaches are the shadow of days and not days in reality
(Proof of the Gospel 4:16:186 [A.D. 319]).
Athanasius
The Sabbath was
the end of the first creation, the Lord's day was the beginning of the second,
in which he renewed and restored the old in the same way as he prescribed that
they should formerly observe the Sabbath as a memorial of the end of the first
things, so we honor the Lord's day as being the memorial of the new creation (On
Sabbath and Circumcision 3 [A.D. 345]).
Cyril of
Fall not away
either into the sect of the Samaritans or into Judaism, for Jesus Christ has
ransomed you. Stand aloof from all observance of Sabbaths and from calling
indifferent meats common or unclean (Catechetical Lectures 4:37 [A.D.
350]).
Council of
Christians should
not Judaize and should not be idle on the Sabbath,
but should work on that day; they should, however, particularly reverence the
Lord's Day and, if possible, not work on it, because they were Christians
(canon 29 [A.D. 360]).
John Chrysostom
When he said,
"You shall not kill" . . . he did not add "because murder is a
wicked thing." The reason was that conscience had taught this beforehand,
and he speaks thus, as to those who know and understand the point. Wherefore
when he speaks to us of another commandment, not known to us by the dictate of
conscience, he not only prohibits, but adds the reason. When, for instance, he
gave commandment concerning the Sabbath — "On the seventh day you shall do
no work"— he subjoined also the reason for this cessation. What was this? "Because on the seventh day God rested from all his works
which he had begun to make" [Ex. 20:10]. And again: "Because
you were a servant in the
You have put on
Christ, you have become a member of the Lord and been enrolled in the heavenly
city, and you still grovel in the Law [of Moses]? How is it possible for you to
obtain the kingdom? Listen to Paul's words, that the observance of the Law overthrows
the gospel, and learn, if you will, how this comes to pass, and tremble, and
shun this pitfall. Why do you keep the Sabbath and fast with the Jews? (Homilies
on Galatians 2:17 [A.D. 395]).
Apostolic
Constitutions
And on the day of
our Lord's resurrection, which is the Lord's Day, meet more diligently, sending
praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent him to us, and
condescended to let him suffer, and raised him from the dead. Otherwise what
apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day . . . in which is
performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the gospel, the
oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food (Apostolic
Constitutions 2:7:60 [A.D. 400]).
In
conclusion, without the fullness of the teachings of Christ and the acceptance
of the total Word He proclaimed, many have been deceived or have on their own
misinterpreted what our Lord proclaimed. Scripture clearly defines the steps
that occurred in the establishment of the Church Jesus founded and the covenant
He made with His Church. That covenant can be reviewed elsewhere on this web
site. Jesus clearly warned us of the corruption of man and those who would be
deceived into straying from the Church He established and asked for our
perseverance and not despair or abandon His Church. With these warnings of
false faiths and prophets in mind, what scripture does not do in any way shape
or form is support any organized movement established by any man or women, nor
does it support or authenticate the establishment of any “Christian Faith”
independent of the One Church He established 2000 years ago. But with the hope
and faith in Scripture as revelations attests, one day all of His Faithful will
reunite into that one Church, His Bride.
The Life
and teachings of Jesus, are the final chapters of the
Old Testament and entirety of the Word of God. They are the completion of
scripture. To stop short with the Old Testament or deny any part of the New
Testament including the revision of the worship through the Sabbath in the
sacrifice of the new Lamb of God who proclaimed the Sabbath the Day that
belongs to Him is to deny oneself the fullness of their own intimate
relationship with Jesus… the salvation He suffered, died, and resurrected from
the Dead to attain so that all men may be saved.
