About the Mass Vol 2: Penitential Rite Part 1

ABOUT THE MASS SERIES  VOL 2.

The Mass: About the Mass Series Icon.

PENITENTIAL RITE

The Penitential Rite consists of three elements:                      

(1) The invitation to acknowledge our sins,

(2) To ask for the mercy of God, and

(3) To accept His pardon and cleansing healing.

The priest invites us acknowledge our sins.  In the previous English translation the three texts used were:

1. ‘.My brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins’.

2. ‘As we prepare to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s love, let us acknowledge our failures and ask the Lord for pardon and strength’.

3. ‘.Coming together as God’s family, with confidence let us ask the Father’s forgiveness, for He is full of gentleness and compassion’.

However, in the New English Translation, the priest now invites us to acknowledge our sins by:

‘.My brothers and sisters,let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries’.

There is now only one invitation text to acknowledge our sins rather than the previous 3. This gives us  the opportunity to focus on the invitation and its purpose more fully.  

The word ‘acknowledge’ was chosen rather than the previous expression  ‘call to mind’ because ‘agnoscamus’ implies both interior and exterior acts.  It invites us to not just call to mind our sins, but to confess them openly also.  The invitation asks us to acknowledge our sins first as our preparation for the celebration of the sacred mysteries.  

If we think about this for a moment, if we were given an invitation to a special function, we would not just turn up in our everyday clothes, without any sort of preparation of a personal nature.  No, we would be more likely to buy a new outfit and/or check our wardrobe to see what might be suitable for such an occasion. We would take a shower and ensure our personal appearance is at its best. The ladies may choose to make an appointment at the hairdressers or have nails done for the occasion, and wear our favourite or a special perfume for the occasion. The men too will prepare in their own way-they too will not turn up to a special function without the right type of code of dress for the occasion. They will also take pride in their personal appearance .

So when we attend Holy Mass and we hear this invitation, think of how important this invitation really is, We are being invited to the celebration of the sacred mysteries. By acknowledging our sins, this is our preparation both inwardly by reflecting upon them and outwardly by acknowledging them in the responses of the Penitential Rite. Before attending Mass, we may wish to think about what sins/weaknesses we wish to acknowledge. In this way, it may help us to accept this invitation at Mass more completely. Personal preparation is vital if we are to appreciate the texts more fully and make them our own.

So how can we accept this invitation more fruitfully?  Our preparation that we have made during the week for our Sunday Mass/weekday Mass will help us.  Perhaps, we might prayerfully recall one or two areas in our lives in which we struggle and wish to change. This invitation is a wonderful time to bring it to the Lord.  Then we ask for mercy as one of the  3 Penitential Rites are used. I will discuss these in detail over the next 3 weeks.

When the first form is used, the Kyrie is said/sung after the ‘I confess’ (Confiteor), as follows:

Priest: ‘Lord have mercy’.  All: ‘Lord have mercy’.

Priest: ‘Christ have mercy’. All: ‘Christ have mercy’.

Priest: ‘Lord have mercy’. All: ‘Lord have mercy’.

I will discuss the changes to the text of the Confiteor next week, but perhaps you may wish to think about these words of the ‘I confess’ (Confiteor) during the week.  If we cannot recall our sinfulness, then perhaps the words-thoughts, words, actions and omission might be a prompt. But remember, we are not alone as we repent- we have Mary and the saints (Church triumphant) to intercede for us, and our fellow parishioners- those in the same seat, those standing ahead and behind us and those across the aisle (the Pilgrim Church).  We are all asking for the mercy of God.  Note too, our body language- we are standing; standing before God as we are.

What does the Penitential Rite mean to YOU?