The Holy Mass: Liturgical Celebration of the Holy Eucharist

JESUS THE BREAD OF LIFE.
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Having discussed the Seven Sacraments and how we can live them out in our daily lives as Christians, we shall focus now on the liturgical celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Source and Summit of Christian life [CCC 1324] so that we may be able to know and live out fully this celebration in the actual and daily lives that we live as Christians.

During the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus Christ told His Apostles, Do this in memory of me. Do what?

According to the Catechism on the Catholic Church,

The command of Jesus to repeat his actions and words "until he comes" does not only ask us to remember Jesus and what he did. It is directed at the liturgical celebration, by the apostles and their successors, of the memorial of Christ, of his life, of his death, of his Resurrection, and of his intercession in the presence of the Father [1341].

As to one of the earliest evidence of the celebration of the Holy Mass, the Catechism quotes St Justin Martyr's letter to the pagan Emperor Antoninus Pius [138-161] around the year 165, explaining what Christians did [1345],

On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits. When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things. Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves ... and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation. When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss. Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren. He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks [in Greek: eucharestein] that we have been judged worthy of these gifts. When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgiving, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: 'Amen'. When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the "eucharisted" bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.

In the above quotation, we can see the presence of the two important parts of the Holy Mass, our Eucharistic celebration: the liturgy of the Word, the reading of the memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets with homily, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, offering of the bread and wine and the Eucharistic prayer [1346]. Remember the road to Emmaus episode when the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to two disciples and explained to them all that the Scriptures say about Him and then making himself known to the two by the breaking of bread? The same structure of the Eucharistic celebration is already present there [1347].

Since the beginning, Christians, particularly Catholics and many others, fulfill the command of the Lord to do what He did in His memory, not just to reminisce but to celebrate and live out the things that He did. Mere reminiscing would be a shallow reason to gather around His altar. It is specifically called celebration because it is a live memorial of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.

In the next weeks we shall discuss the parts of the Holy Mass so that we could understand more deeply this celebration which remind us of the Lord's life, death and resurrection and so fulfill more meaningfully His command to do this in memory of me.