At Mass, we come together and are welcomed as a community. Jesus told us that we should not come to the altar if we have a quarrel with our neighbour and so we begin by seeking forgiveness for our sins before praising God in the Gloria. The Opening Prayer introduces the theme of the liturgy and we then listen to the Word of God in scripture, the Gospel or ‘Good News’ and hear it explained to us. Fed by the Word, we declare our faith and make prayers of intercession before bringing bread and wine to the altar along with the collection – symbols of the gifts we receive from the earth and the gifts or talents with which we ourselves are blessed by God’s Holy Spirit and which we offer back to God. Having prayed over the gifts, we come to what the Church describes as “the source and summit of the Christian life” – the Eucharistic Prayer where we recall Christ’s death and resurrection and, in the hands of the priest, the Body and Blood of Christ become present in bread and wine. After the great doxology of “Through Him, with Him, in Him…..” we pray the unifying prayer that Jesus gave his followers – the “Our Father”; to emphasise that we have been healed of sin and re-united with our neighbours we share a sign of peace before partaking in Communion – literally coming together to recall Jesus’ death and resurrection as he instructed the disciples at the Last Supper. The Eucharist may be the “source and summit” but it is difficult to live on the top of a mountain and so, after reflecting on the Eucharistic sacrifice, we are sent out in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia!
Understanding the Mass
To help families with children better understand the Mass, a former parishioner is producing a library of simple information sheets, available here, covering the aspects of Mass itself as well as many of the objects we see and use in church when we come to Mass.
The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have published a lay person’s guide to the Church’s General Instruction on the Roman Missal – how the Mass is to be celebrated. It can be accessed here.
Reflecting on the Sunday readings
For several years, Joan Griffith, a parishioner, wrote reflections or commentaries on the Sunday scripture readings. Originally written for the candidates on the parish RCIA course, Joan was happy to make these available to the whole parish via the website even though it meant having to produce a piece every week instead of just for the duration of the RCIA programme! Joan died in 2023 and the work of updating her notes and adding prayer suggestions has been taken up by her daughter Gwen.
Joan’s writings are based on her scripture studies in the USA and refer to the works of authoritative scholars. These give readers a greater depth of understanding of the background, historical and scriptural context of the selected scriptures and so extend the value of the Sunday homily. Joan has also written guides to assist in reading each of the 4 gospels. The current reflections can be found here .
Prayer of the Church – the Daily Office or Liturgy of the Hours
In the Liturgy of the Hours which the Church from very early times has been accustomed to recite during the course of the day, she fulfills the command of the Lord to’ pray without ceasing’ and, while giving praise to God the Father, at the same time she intercedes for the salvation of the world. (Decree – The Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship)
The Church encourages priests, religious and laity to come together to recite the Office daily as a community. The Office comprises hymns, psalms, antiphons, readings from scripture and prayers which are read or recited following the cycle of the Church’s year.
At St Peter’s, Morning Prayer takes place 15 minutes before weekday masses and all are welcome to join us. We use the free online Daily Office published by Universalis.