This is mainly said at the end of the Mass and the Priest is saying go spread the word of the Lord so that Mass can go on through to the next Sabbath day and mainly by Roman Catholics

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The word Mass comes from the words ‘Ist Missa Est’ which is Latin and means to be sent. This is mainly said at the end of the Mass and the Priest is saying go spread the word of the Lord so that Mass can go on through to the next Sabbath day and mainly by Roman Catholics. Jesus, on the Last Supper performed the first ever Mass, by which is meant that he gave the 12 disciples his body and blood for the first time and made the mass become a weekly celebration by saying ‘Do this in memory of me’

The service of the mass can be broken down simply into 5 main parts. These are:

  • Hello – that is when the priest says welcome to the mass and tells you the theme of the Mass, this is when the Mass is dedicated to someone or on a celebration day for example Christmas or Easter
  • Sorry – this is when we say sorry for our sins in ways of prayer
  • Listen – this is when we listen to the Homily and the Gospel which is the word of God
  • Thanks – this is when we say thank you to God and Jesus in prayer
  • Goodbye – this I when the Priest tells you to go and spread the word of the Lord and what you have learnt in the mass that day

When the people come into Church they make the sign of the cross with Holy Water that reminds them of the promises that were made when they were baptised. We then begin with an opening song that uplifts the congregation and tells them that prayers have begun and you should respect the place were you are and that God is with us. The priest then begins his part that called ‘The Gathering Rite’ that consists of an opening song and procession, greeting, penitential rite, Gloria and the opening prayer. He begins by welcoming everyone and telling you what the mass is intended for. The masses will be intended for people that are ill or have died in the community or it could be a catholic celebration such as Christmas, Easter or Good Friday. To do this he often uses these words ‘the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all’. Then the opening song will be sung either before the Priest starts or after. The song will be chosen by the Priest or Deacon and will be relevant to the Gospel and the Homily. The next step along is the Penitential Rite and in this we will ask God for His forgiveness of our sins and as we do this the Deacon will sprinkle Holy Water over the people to represent that God has forgiven us and to show that we are pure again. The prayer that is said is

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I confess to Almighty God,

And to you my brothers and sisters,

That I have sinned through my own fault,

In my thoughts and in my words,

In what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

And I ask blessed Mary ever virgin,

And the Angels and Saints,

And you my brothers and sisters,

To pray for me to the Lord our God

During this prayer we think about the times that we didn’t show love and we say sorry for what we have done wrong so that we can meet Jesus clean from sin. Next ...

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