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With the final words of the Mass we are sent out to bear Christ to the world.

Before we are sent out, the priest gives the blessing, which is meant to strengthen us for the work ahead.

Everything that surrounds Holy Communion, the ceremonies, rituals, vessels, serve to proclaim our belief in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist.

Communion is at one and the same time a profound experience of communion with all who are in Christ, and also an intensely personal encounter with Christ himself.

We have to prepare to meet the Lord in Holy Communion so that it can have its desired effect of salvation.

Jesus is the true lamb, whose sacrifice takes away sins. We express our unworthiness, but also hope in the fact that Christ himself makes us worthy.

At the beginning of the Communion Rite, we pray the Our Father, asking God for our daily bread, and share Christ's peace with others.

In the intercessions of the Eucharistic Prayer, we pray for and show our communion with the Church on earth and in heaven.

We are afforded the great gift of participation in Christ’s sacrifice so that we might learn to offer ourselves, and be ever more transformed in him.

In the heart of the Eucharistic Prayer, we ask God to transform the bread and wine, and God hears our prayer.

The Eucharistic Prayer begins with the preface, where we give thanks to God for everything he has done for his people, and in response sing the song of the angels at the throne of God along with the song of the people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem.

In the Eucharist, we are called to lift up our hearts to the Lord, that is, to focus on God, in giving thanks, and not to be distracted by the cares of earth.

Preparing for the central moments of the Mass, we explore the idea of how the faithful participate in Christ's offering, through the ministry of the priest, and together with him.

In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we follow the pattern than Jesus set at the Last Supper.

The homily is truly a liturgical act, part of the entire movement of the Liturgy of the Word where God's Word is proclaimed and moves into our hearts and actions. We confess our faith and pray for the world as we move towards the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

In the Gospels, we meet Christ in a particularly intense way. The way the liturgy treats this proclamation of the Gospel expresses this beautifully.

The Psalms are much more important in the prayer life of the Church than many people realize!

In the Liturgy of the Word, we encounter God who speaks to us today through words inspired in those who wrote thousands of years ago.

The Kyrie, Gloria, and Collect make up the final parts of the Introductory Rites. The Collect can be a rich source of personal prayer and meditation.

In the Introductory Rites, in a very few words, the Greeting between the priest and the people expresses a lot about what is happening at Mass.