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From the earliest days of Christianity,
believers have gathered together to
worship God in the way Jesus directed,
"Do this as a remembrance of me."
(Luke 22:19)
The word Mass means "to be sent forth" and we are sent forth from the Eucharist
to live as Jesus did, to share his love with others and to serve others.
In order to be more aware of what happens at every Mass, we need to explore
the history of the Mass. Like any family who gathers after the death of a
loved one, the disciples came together to discuss and to share their grief.
Many of them had seen him after the resurrection. Through a common religious
experience on Pentecost, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and realized
beyond a doubt that Jesus was truly the Messiah. Every part of the Last
Supper on Holy Thursday took on a new dimension. They recalled how Jesus
had taken bread and wine and blessed it and gave it to them saying, "Take
this and eat it... this is my body." (Matthew 26:26) and "Do this in
remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19). These words took on new meaning.
Each Sunday, the disciples gathered to celebrate the resurrection, recall Jesus'
life and share a meal in remembrance of Jesus. It was called the "Breaking of Bread".
These gatherings in faith have continued to this day and have now become the "Mass",
our celebration of the Eucharist.
If you want to learn more about the scriptural and theological meaning of the Mass –
why we kneel and stand, sing and pray, use holy water and cross ourselves, pray
for the dead and believe that the bread and wine are the body and blood of our Lord & Savior
Jesus Christ - please click on this link for Fr. Sizemore’s video, text and powerpoint slide
presentation on the Mass. The Catholic Mass Revealed
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Throughout its website, St. John Neumann Parish provides links to other web sites solely for the user’s convenience and should not be construed as an endorsement of the totality of its contents. A mature "selectivity" on the part of the user is always necessary when using the Internet. St. John Neumann Parish assumes no responsibility for, nor does it necessarily endorse, these websites, their content, or their sponsoring organizations.
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