Every Part of the Mass and What It Means

Summary

Fr. Mike Schmitz walks through every part of a typical Sunday Catholic Mass, explaining the meaning behind each gesture, prayer, posture, and response. From blessing yourself with holy water at the entrance to the final dismissal, he reveals how the Mass is not a routine ritual but the greatest act of worship in all creation — a profound encounter with the living God. The video is filmed in a real church with real vestments, though it is not an actual Mass.

Key Points

Before Mass Begins: Holy Water and Genuflection

• The baptismal font is intentionally placed at the entryway of the church because it is through baptism that we are brought into the life of Christ
• Blessing yourself with holy water is a reminder that we could never approach the throne of the living God on our own — we need his grace
• When arriving at your pew, find the tabernacle (where Jesus is present in the Eucharist) and genuflect — bend the knee
• Fr. Mike offers three things to think about when genuflecting:
  1. "God, you are God and I'm not" — an act of worship
  2. "God, I'm at your service" — an act of surrender
  3. Like a young man taking a knee to propose — "Jesus, I love you"
• Before Mass begins, kneel and ask God to prepare your heart: "Give me the heart that's able to lift up the great sacrifice of the Son to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit"
• As a baptized Christian, you are a "kingdom priest" — consecrated and set apart to offer the sacrifice and give God worship

The Introductory Rites

• The Procession: Symbolizes pilgrimage — the entire Christian life is a journey. The baptismal font is at the door (our entry into Christ's life) and we process toward the altar (the source and summit of the Christian life). Standing reminds us we have a destination and a purpose: Christ.
• Reverencing the Altar: The altar is both the place of sacrifice and a symbol of Jesus himself. The priest bends down and kisses it — one priest taught Fr. Mike to place his hand on the altar as he kissed it, like giving Jesus a kiss and a hug.
• The Sign of the Cross: Has three meanings:
  1. The Holy Trinity — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the deepest mystery of the Christian faith
  2. The Cross — the price God paid to win you back
  3. The purpose of your life — from the Baltimore Catechism: "God made me to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this life, so as to live with him forever in the next"
• "The Lord be with you": An ancient biblical greeting used when someone received a call bigger than themselves. It appears four times in the Mass, each time the moment intensifies.
• The Penitential Rite: The Church invites us to take off the mask and acknowledge our brokenness. "I'm a sinner, but I have a savior." We can acknowledge we're not perfect, not okay — but we are loved. We ask God to meet us in our brokenness.
• The Gloria: An entire hour where we don't have to think about ourselves — we get to focus our attention, heart, and worship on God.
• The Collect (Opening Prayer): Sets the theme for the entire Mass. These prayers are carefully crafted. When we say "Amen" at the end, it's not a cute way to wrap up — it's a commitment.

The Liturgy of the Word

• Sitting: Not a posture of passivity but of receptivity — "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening"
• Practical tips for the readings:
  1. Read the readings ahead of time before coming to Mass
  2. Bring something to write with — capture what God speaks to you
  3. Adopt the interior posture: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening"
• The First Reading: Almost always from the Old Testament (except during Easter, when it comes from Acts). It tells the story of God calling his people, them turning away, and God calling them back.
• "Thanks be to God": Not an afterthought or relief that the reading is over. Imagine hearing for the first time that God exists, knows you, cares about you, and loves you — "Thanks be to God" is a response of gratitude to that revelation.
• The Responsorial Psalm: Pope Benedict XVI said this is the moment where we pray the words of God back to God.
• The Second Reading: Always from the New Testament letters or Revelation — God speaking to us in light of his revelation in Jesus Christ.
• The Gospel: We stand to give honor. "Alleluia" is Hebrew for "Praise the Lord" — sing it from your heart. Before reading, the priest prays quietly: "Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy gospel."
• Tracing the cross on forehead, lips, and heart: "May the words of the gospel be on my mind, on my lips, and on my heart."
• The Homily: The deacon, priest, or bishop unpacks scripture in a way meant to inspire, educate, and encourage us to move forward in the Christian life.
• The Creed: Not just what we believe, but the One in whom we believe. It proclaims the deepest mysteries of faith — the Trinity, the Incarnation, the virgin birth, the Resurrection — summarizing the faith of all Christians for 2,000 years.
• The Universal Prayer (Prayers of the Faithful): "Lord, hear our prayer" — remember we are actually talking to someone. There is someone listening as we speak.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist

• The Offertory: Not "Catholic intermission." This is the moment to bring forth gifts — ordinary gifts that God will transform into something extraordinary. In the early Church, people brought their own bread and wine. Today, we are called to offer ourselves — our hearts, the people we've been trying to help, the impossible situations in our lives. Place them on the altar. What God does with ordinary bread and wine, he can do with our ordinary hearts, people, and circumstances.
• "Pray, brothers and sisters, that my sacrifice and yours...": The priest reminds us of our kingdom priesthood. We are not meant to simply watch the priest pray — we are here to offer the sacrifice too. The two main purposes of the Mass: to give the Father glory and to sanctify the world.
• The Preface and "The Lord be with you" (third time): Things have elevated. We are about to enter the worship of the true and living God — God who is compassion and mercy, but also a living fire.
• The Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy): Comes directly from Scripture — the angels and all those in heaven worshiping around the throne of the Lamb. When we pray this, we join our voices with the worship happening in heaven.
• Kneeling: The third liturgical posture — a sign of humility and worship.
• The Epiclesis: The prayer asking the Holy Spirit to come upon the gifts, just as the Spirit allowed the manna to fall from heaven for the Israelites, and even more so, as the Spirit overshadowed the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary so that the Second Person of the Trinity became flesh. By the power of the Holy Spirit, ordinary bread and wine will become the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus.
• The Words of Institution / Consecration: The priest utters the words of Jesus at the Last Supper. The bell rings to indicate a miracle has just happened. The bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.
• The Elevation: Like a two-way mirror — we see our Lord incarnate in what looks like bread and wine, but from the other side, all of heaven is looking at earth, looking at us, because we are all worshiping the Lord.
• The Mystery of Faith: We speak directly to Jesus, truly present on the altar, recalling what he has done for us.
• The Great Doxology and the Great Amen: The apex of the Mass — the priest offers the body and blood of Jesus to the Father. "Through him, with him, in him, O God almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever and ever." Your "Amen" is not a lame afterthought — it is your one word to sum up your participation as a kingdom priest in the sacrifice of Jesus. Make it a great Amen.

The Communion Rite

• The Our Father: Three reasons it is daring to pray:
  1. We approach God as our Father — in baptism we are made adopted sons and daughters
  2. "Give us this day our daily bread" — the Greek word for "daily" actually means "super-substantial." Every Christian who has prayed the Lord's Prayer has been begging the Father for the Eucharist.
  3. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" — we are asking God to forgive us only to the depth that we are willing to forgive others
• The Sign of Peace: Jesus said if you're approaching the altar and realize you have something against your brother, go first and be reconciled. We offer peace and forgiveness. Also, in the early Church, Christians rounded up for martyrdom exchanged the sign of peace before being killed — when you exchange peace, you are also preparing to be witnesses with the people beside you.
• The Fraction (Breaking of the Bread): The priest breaks the host and mingles a particle with the precious blood. Two reasons:
  1. In the early persecuted Church, the bishop would break off a piece of his host and send it via runners to priests celebrating Mass in secret in homes, as a sign of unity
  2. Reuniting the body and blood is a sign that Christ is not dead but alive — body, blood, soul, and divinity
• The Lamb of God and "Lord, I am not worthy...": Like the centurion who said, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed."
• Receiving Holy Communion: Two ways to receive — on the tongue (the most classic way, allowing the Lord to feed us, echoing God in the Garden of Eden wanting to feed his children) or in the hand (an ancient practice described by Justin Martyr in the second century — making a throne for the King with one hand upon the other)
• The "Amen" at Communion: Does not mean "thank you" or "uh-huh." It means "I stake my life on that." If this is Jesus, I stake my life on it. We approach not because we are perfect, but because we believe and are in communion with him.
• A note on who may receive: Catholics who are in communion receive the Eucharist. Non-Catholics or those unable to receive may come forward with arms crossed over their chest to receive a blessing. Jesus at the Last Supper begged his Father that we would be one — pray for the unity of all Christians.

After Communion: Purification and Thanksgiving

• Purification of the Vessels: Not simply "washing the dishes" — this is holy. Even a particle of the Eucharist, even a drop of the precious blood, is enough to save the world. Like Mary and Mary Magdalene in The Passion of the Christ collecting Jesus' blood from the ground on their hands and knees.
• Prayer after Communion: After receiving, we are in the place of Mary in Luke chapter 1. Jesus is truly dwelling inside of us. Pray Mary's prayer: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. My spirit rejoices in God my savior."

The Concluding Rites and Dismissal

• "The Lord be with you" (fourth time): The most intense — you are about to be sent back into the world, transformed, changed, carrying the Holy Spirit and the body and blood of Jesus
• The Final Blessing and Dismissal: "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life." You are sent out as hope to a world that needs hope, as light to a world that needs light, with Jesus to a world that needs Jesus.
• Recommended resource: A Pocket Guide to the Mass by Dr. Edward Sri (available at ascensionpress.com)

Notable Quotes

"God, you are God and I'm not. God, I'm at your service. Jesus, I love you." — Fr. Mike Schmitz, on three things to think about when genuflecting

"I'm not perfect. I'm not okay. But I am loved." — Fr. Mike Schmitz, on the Penitential Rite

"What God does with ordinary bread and wine, he can do with your and my ordinary hearts and ordinary people and ordinary circumstances. He can transform them into something extraordinary." — Fr. Mike Schmitz, on the Offertory

"You have one word. That one word is 'Amen' — where you get to sum up everything... your participation in the sacrifice of Jesus." — Fr. Mike Schmitz, on the Great Amen

"You're sent out to a world that needs hope — as hope. You're sent out to a world that needs light — as light. You're sent out to a world that needs Jesus — with Jesus." — Fr. Mike Schmitz, on the Dismissal