'One Size Fits All' is False Advertising for Prayer in Liturgy

Part II: The First Part of Mass

Part of being ready to meet the Lord is to ask for cleansing from our sins. We say an act of contrition during the penitential rite and beg God's forgiveness. We may also add a song of praise at this point, the Gloria. Then the priest draws the prayers of the community together in the opening prayer or collect. During this and other priestly prayers the priest extends his arms in a posture called orans (Latin for "praying"). We pray by gathering our thoughts silently, listening to the formal prayer, then saying or singing "Amen." We should also be aware that Catholics throughout the world are saying this same prayer with us today.

These various prayers have prepared us to hear the Word of God in the liturgy of the Word. Now, for a while, we sit and listen attentively. The lector (Latin for "reader") reads from the Bible. We try to hear the Lord speaking to us in the proclamation of Scripture. We also respond by praying a psalm with the cantor (Latin for "singer") or choir, usually by joining in a short refrain called an antiphon. We stand to praise the Lord in the singing of Alleluia as a preparation for the Gospel. A procession of ministers with the Gospel book, incense, and candles may take place here.

The priest or deacon reads or sings the Gospel. We listen to hear the living Christ speak to us through the words of the evangelist. Then we continue to listen as the homilist tries to tell us what Jesus is saying to us today. We may respond by renewing our act of faith in the recitation of the Creed. Then we pray the litany called the general intercessions, alternating our response with the petitions.

If we have prayed the first part of the Mass, we are prepared to pray the second part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist [See the article Why Not Let the Liturgy Form Us?]. We have prayed in many ways. One way has not been enough. One size, indeed, has not fit all.