Introduction
The Beautiful Secret Behind the Mass: the origins, symbols and meaning of the parts of the Mass. Introduction, author's note and the shape of the book.
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The Beautiful Secret Behind the Mass (Rahasia Indah Dibalik Misa). The origins, symbols and meaning of the parts of the Mass. By James Christopher.
Introduction
For a Catholic, young or old, rich or poor, 90% of the life of faith is taking part in the Mass.
On the one hand, a form of worship whose structure is (broadly) the same at every moment in every Catholic church gives the faithful a consistency, and expectations fitted to living out their religious life. They can also see with their own eyes the shape of the Church that is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. On the other hand, that same consistency can become boring, and even make people question whether they belong in the Catholic Church at all. Not a few choose other ways of worship.
It would surely be good if more of the faithful had a more systematic and comprehensive understanding of the Mass. Pope Leo XIV: we greatly need to rediscover the sense of mystery that still lives in our liturgies, a liturgy that engages the whole person, that sings the beauty of salvation and awakens wonder at how the majesty of God embraces our human weakness.
As a Gen-Z myself, I have written this book in bullet points and with fewer technical terms, so that my fellow Gen-Z, with our short attention span, can take in the heart of it more easily.
Author's note
This book of course does not stand alone; it stands on the shoulders of the work of the Church's liturgists.
The main source is A Forest of Symbols by Abbé Claude Barthe, with a foreword by Robert Cardinal Sarah. Of all the books, it explains the symbolic dimensions of the Mass most fully.
Other works used for reference: Dom Prosper Guéranger's (rather famous) explanation of the Mass, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained by Rev. Nicholas Gihr, and A Brief Explication of the Catholic Liturgy by several Jesuits of the mission centre in Ontario. The book also draws on other magisterial sources, such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the teaching of the Popes, and on several significant works of the saints.
All the liturgical books above concern the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), so where the Novus Ordo Mass is concerned, some points are my own understanding.
The Indonesian edition quotes the Bible from the Terjemahan Baru 2 (TB2); this English edition quotes the Revised Standard Version (RSV).
What is the right mindset at Mass?
The fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them (CCC 1128).
Water spills when it is poured into a full glass. In the same way, three Masses a day will not change a heart that is already full of itself.
The Mass will bear fruit for those who come with an empty heart, having given their suffering and themselves for love.
The shape of the book
- The symbols of the Mass as a whole
- The Mass as Prayer
- The symbols of the parts of the Mass