Catholic Massterclass: All About Holy Mass

60. Eucharistic Miracles

Big news, everyone: I think this will be our final Catholic Massterclass! I never thought it would last this long, and yet I think it could go even longer. Holy Mass is so rich! We’re going out with a mystery, which is fitting for our mysterious worship. Today we’re talking about Eucharistic miracles. A Eucharistic miracle is an extraordinary event in which God makes visible what is normally hidden. At every Mass, a true miracle takes place: bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, though this change is invisible. In Eucharistic miracles, that same reality becomes visible in a way that we can perceive. In that sense, they are something like a “double miracle.” I have three miracles that I’d like to briefly share with you.
 
First is the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, the earliest recorded Eucharistic miracle. It took place in Italy around the year 700. A priest who was experiencing doubts about the Real Presence saw the appearance of the bread and wine change at the words of consecration. The Host became visible flesh, and the wine became visible blood. These miraculous species have been preserved for over 1,300 years. Scientific studies in the 1970s found that the flesh is human heart tissue and the blood is real human blood, type AB.
 
Next is the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena. Once again, a priest wrestling with doubt witnessed the Host begin to bleed during Mass. The blood stained the corporal, which is still preserved today in Orvieto, Italy.
 
Finally, we turn to the Eucharistic Miracle of Buenos Aires. A discarded Host was found and placed in water so that it would dissolve. Instead, it became a bloody substance. Scientific analysis later revealed that it was human heart tissue with AB blood type. Even more striking, white blood cells were present, indicating that the tissue was living at the time of examination. The scientist who analyzed the sample was not told its origin.
 
There are many more examples of Eucharstic miracles from history, some of them seem unbelievable - I suppose they all seem unbelievable, which is part of what makes it a miracle - but they all point to the reality of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, which comes to us at Holy Mass.
You could read more about them by going to this website, designed by St. Carlo Acutis when he was just a teenager: https://www.miracolieucaristici.org/
May the Lord grant us all a greater love for the Mass and for the Holy Eucharist!

59. Deacons

This week we’re going to talk about deacons. Although we don’t have any deacons in our parishes, you may attend Mass where a deacon is assisting the priest or bishop. It’s worthwhile to know what that role is all about.
 
We have to go back to the Old Testament. In the Temple of Jerusalem, God established a clear distinction among His people. Only the priests—descendants of Aaron—could offer sacrifice. Yet they did not act alone. The Levites, drawn from the same tribe but not ordained as priests, were entrusted with assisting in the worship of God. They prepared what was needed, cared for the sacred spaces, and supported the priests in carrying out the liturgy with reverence and order.
 
There is a similar pattern in the Mass. In the New Covenant, the bishop and priest act in the person of Christ the High Priest, offering the one sacrifice of Christ made present on the altar. Alongside them stands the deacon, ordained not to the priesthood, but to service. The role of the deacon closely resembles that of the Levites. At Mass, the deacon proclaims the Gospel, may preach, prepares the altar, assists the priest during the Eucharistic Prayer, and helps distribute Holy Communion. He does not consecrate the Eucharist, just as the Levites did not offer sacrifice, but his role assists the beauty, order, and integrity of the liturgy.
 
Alongside his assistance in the liturgy, deacons also add something to the life of the Church. While the Levites were primarily focused on the Temple, the deacon is sent beyond the walls of the church. From the earliest days of the Church, deacons were entrusted with caring for the poor, the neglected, and those in need. Their ministry reminds us that the sacrifice we participate in at the altar must be lived out in love and service in the world. In this way, the deacon becomes a bridge—connecting the worship of God with the needs of His people.
 
This structure teaches us something important: not everyone has the same role, and that is by God’s design. The beauty of the Mass is not found in everyone doing everything, but in each person fulfilling the role entrusted to them. The priest offers the sacrifice. The deacon assists and serves. The faithful unite themselves to Christ’s offering. Together, this ordered harmony reflects the worship of heaven itself—where all is directed toward the glory of God.
 
Deacons wear similar, but different vestments as a priest and bishop. Their main vestment is called a dalmatic, which looks similar to a priestly chasuble, but it has sleeves. The stole they wear is diagonal from the right shoulder to the left side. The practicality of these vestments allows them to assist more freely than the flowing vestments of the priest.

58. Bells During the Eucharistic Prayer

Today’s Catholic Massterclass will focus on the use of bells during the Eucharistic Prayer. The GIRM provides this instruction: A little before the consecration, when appropriate, a server rings a bell as a signal to the faithful. According to local custom, the server also rings the bell as the priest shows the host and then the chalice (GIRM, no. 150).
 
Two simple points about this: first, it is optional, not required, to use bells just before the consecration (often interpreted as the epiclesis) and at the elevation of the Sacred Host and Chalice after the gifts are consecrated; second, the common practice when bells are used is that there is one ring at the epiclesis and three rings at each of the elevations. A smaller number of parishes also ring the bell one time immediately after the priest consumes the Body and Blood of the Lord.
 
The purpose of the bells comes from traditional liturgies when the Mass was offered in a language other than the vernacular (the common language of the people in any given location), mostly in Latin. The Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) was offered in Latin, of course, but also with the priest facing the same direction as everyone else (ad orientem), which made it more difficult for people to hear and see what was happening at the altar. What’s more, the priest was speaking quietly, so often the only people who could hear anything were the altar servers. The servers would ring the bells at those times which were most worth paying attention to, namely the calling forth of the Holy Spirit on the gifts, the moment when the people had a chance to adore Jesus in the Eucharist, and at the completion of the sacrifice. The ringing of the bells helped people to be drawn toward the altar when they were perhaps focusing on some other prayers or meditations. Today, even though Mass is often offered in the common language and with the priest facing the people (versus populum), the bells are still helpful because humans still tend to get distracted at inopportune times. They can help to call our minds back to the present moment to focus on the only truly important thing taking place, which is the worship of God ordained by Jesus.

57. Bowing During Mass

Now that we’ve completed our walk through the Mass, we’ll spend a few weeks talking about some unique topics surrounding and included in the Mass. This week’s topic is focused on the practice of bowing at the mention of sacred names and during the Creed. Bowing at the mention of sacred names is something that has largely fallen out of practice, although it is still the expected gesture (i.e. the norm) to be made at the appropriate times. Here is what the GIRM has to say about it:
A bow of the head is made when the three Divine Persons are named together and at the names of Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Saint in whose honor Mass is being celebrated. (GIRM, no 275, a.)
A bow signifies reverence and honor shown to the persons themselves or to the signs that represent them. It is a simple gesture of lowering oneself before someone greater. You may notice this if you pay close attention to the priest while at Mass - he makes a slight bow of the head when mentioning any of these sacred names. You are invited to do the same. If you have a difficult time keeping your attention fixed on the Mass, making the resolution to bow at the mention of these sacred names just might help you focus better.
Another place where Catholics bow during Mass is during the recitation of the Creed:
A bow of the body, that is to say a profound bow, is made in the Creed at the words Et incarnatus est (by the power of the Holy Spirit . . . and became man). (GIRM, no 275, b.)
The Lord Jesus came down from Heaven to dwell among us, beginning in the womb of Mary. This is an act of unspeakable humility. He still dwells among us in the lowliness of the Holy Eucharist. Incredible. While we profess our Creed, we show particular honor at the mention of the Incarnation by the Holy Spirit. A profound bow, bending at the waist instead of the head, expresses that we are willing to lower ourselves in humility as we consider the humility of Christ.

56. Prayer, Blessing, and Dismissal

We will finally reach the conclusion of Mass in this week’s Catholic Massterclass! What an incredible journey! Our final three actions to explore are the Prayer After Communion, the Blessing, and the Dismissal. All three are fairly brief, so we should be able to cover them all today.
 
After a moment of silence, the priest offers the Prayer After Communion, which is provided in the Roman Missal. The prayer includes an acknowledgment that we have received the incredible gift of the Eucharist, while asking for that gift to bear fruit in our lives as we move forth into the world. This is a very important part that will eventually lead to the dismissal: our worship and reception of the Holy Eucharist is meant to lead to greater righteousness in our lives. This prayer is an acknowledgment that we need the Lord’s help for that to happen, alongside our own participation in the work of redemption.
 
After that prayer, the Roman Missal states that necessary, brief announcements may be given before the final blessing. It seems worth highlighting those two words: necessary and brief. This is all still within the context of worship of God, so we don’t want to put all the focus back on ourselves when it should remain on God.
 
The final Blessing comes from a couple different places in Scripture. First, we see in Leviticus 9:22-23 that the priest would go and offer sacrifice, followed by a priestly blessing of the people. In Luke 24:50-51, while Jesus is ascending into Heaven, Luke tells us that Jesus blessed his disciples. The ascension is a good image of the end of Mass. The sacrifice has been completed and Jesus returns to sit at the right hand of the Father, but he first provides his High Priestly blessing. At Mass, the priest acts in the person of Christ. He has offered the sacrifice. Before he departs from the sanctuary, he offers the High Priestly blessing of Jesus. The blessing provides a sign of grace and protection for those who are going into a world where they might encounter a variety of situations both pleasant and unpleasant. With the blessing of God, his faithful people can be confident that the Lord is with them every step of the way.
 
Finally we come to the part of the Mass that gives the Mass its name. The current form of the Mass has four possible dismissals that the priest may use. In the older form of the Mass, which was always spoken in Latin, the priest said, “Ite, missa est,” which translates to something like, “Go, it is the dismissal.” The Mass receives its name from the word missa, which translates into a sending forth. Ultimately, our worship of God is meant to send us into the world as people transformed by what we have done and received. We shared union with God and now we bring that union into our homes, work places, friendships, families…anywhere in need of God’s loving presence. The people of God are sent on a mission to glorify the Lord by the way they live their lives. This is an incredible mission, and the people express their joy and gladness at such a command: Thanks be to God!
 
Holy Mass ends there. You’ll notice there is not actually prescribed a closing hymn or extra prayer in our current form of the Mass. Many parishes pray the St. Michael Prayer and/or sing a hymn, which is not a problem, but it’s worth noting that these are not officially part of Catholic Mass.
We’ll have a few more sessions of our Massterclass to cover a few more topics - stay tuned!

55. Purification of the Vessels

After the distribution of Holy Communion has finished, the priest takes a moment to purify the sacred vessels, making sure to clean and consume every crumb and every drop, rinsing them with water and making sure nothing is wasted. The principle comes from John 6 after the multiplication of the loaves, John tells us that Jesus instructed the disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost” (John 6:12). Jesus has performed a different, better kind of miracle with bread for us, so we also want to make sure nothing of this miracle is lost. If the fragments of ordinary bread were treated with such care, how much more the Eucharist, which is truly the Body of Christ? As I mentioned in the last session, we believe even the smallest fragment of the Sacred Host or the smallest drop of the Precious Blood is the fullness of Christ, so we don’t want to treat the Eucharist casually or leave those crumbs behind. They deserve our highest reverence, so it is fitting for the priest to be careful during the purification.
 
While the priest is purifying the sacred vessels either at the altar or the credence table, the Roman Missal provides this prayer for him to pray quietly: “What has passed our lips as food, O Lord, may we possess in purity of heart, that what is given to us in time may be our healing for eternity.” The priest is praying that all who have received the gift of the Eucharist would be healed in such a way that they can abide with this living Presence of the Lord in their hearts all the way into eternal life. Just as the sacred vessels are carefully purified, the priest asks that our hearts also be purified. We always seek the Lord’s continual grace of conversion, especially as we share with him in Holy Communion. 
 
While this is happening, and during the entire time Communion is being distributed, it’s very common for parishes to be singing a hymn with a Eucharistic theme or to be chanting the Communion Antiphon with an accompanying Psalm. The congregation is often invited to join in the singing or chanting as an expression of our communal sharing of the Eucharist. Some people may choose, however, to return to their pew for silent prayer. This silent prayer, even while singing is taking place, allows for personal reflection on the incredible mystery they are sharing in, which is true Communion with the Savior of the world. They may choose to offer prayers of thanksgiving and adoration, contemplating the mystery of Christ present within them, or they may choose to share with the Lord the deepest needs of their lives or of their loved ones. It can be a very sacred encounter for all.
 
I personally like to pray the Magnificat after I’ve distributed Communion and purified the vessels. The Magnificat is a beautiful prayer prayed by Mary during the Visitation (Luke 1:39-56; the Magnificat is vv 46-55). Some have suggested that this prayer is really from the baby Jesus from within the womb of Mary, expressed by Him through His Mother. As I share in a quiet moment of prayer after Holy Communion, I imagine the Lord sharing that same prayer of praise from within me, which I can then express as my own. I also like to pray the Prayer of St. Francis (which was probably not written by St. Francis, but that’s another story for another day), the one that begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace…” From my prayer of praise, I ask the Lord to help me be his instrument of grace for the world. Others may have their own prayers they like to pray after Communion or they may simply enjoy contemplative love shared between Lord and disciple. May the Lord grant that all of us share in the fruits of Holy Communion!

54. Reception of Holy Communion

This next part of Holy Mass goes beyond what words can describe. Our Lord Jesus gives Himself to us in Holy Communion. Most of this session will actually be very practical, but we first need to start with a simple reminder.
 
We really believe the bread and wine have been changed into the living Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus crucified and risen from the dead. We believe it is the same Jesus on the altar and offered to us in Holy Communion that lived and walked in Israel 2000 years ago, albeit in the form of bread and wine. A miracle of God’s grace has taken place even though we can’t experience the miracle with our bodily senses. Nonetheless, He is really present in the Holy Eucharist and gives Himself to you entirely as you come forward to receive Holy Communion with Him, His Body and Blood coming into union with yours. A person could spend a lifetime reflecting on this one reality. We all could spend more time reflecting on it. Many of the Saints spoke and wrote so eloquently about this sublime reality. I invite you to take some time to consider as fully as possible the gift of the Eucharist. From that consideration, we can think about how we may want to approach the altar of the Lord. Even while we speak about some practical details, it’s important to hang on to the wondrous reality at hand.
 
The posture of a person in receiving the Eucharist is a bit tricky. The norm established by the bishops of our country is that a person would make a profound bow prior to receiving Communion and then would receive while standing. However, people are most welcome to genuflect instead of bowing or even to receive Communion while kneeling. These are expressions of reverence that have been found in the Church throughout history. Some people experience an inner pull toward lowering themselves as a way to honor Christ. This does not make them better than anyone else, for they are only honoring Christ as they feel inspired to do. Perhaps surprisingly for us, the universal norm of the Church is to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, even though in the United States many people receive in the hand. I’d bet most of us would put it the other way around - the norm is on the hand, while it is allowed on the tongue. You are free to receive your Lord standing or kneeling, on your tongue or in your hand, provided you are seeking to show the greatest honor to Jesus. One little note, if you choose to receive Communion in the hand, please check for crumbs, for the smallest fragment of the Sacred Host still contains the whole Christ.
 
Similarly, it may surprise you that the general practice around the world is that people would only receive the Eucharist in the form of bread. The Precious Blood of Christ is not offered at Communion around the world. The Eucharist is the living Presence of Christ, which means that His Body and Blood are always together (you can’t have a living person with their body and blood separated). One Sacred Host contains the fullness of Christ. To be sure, offering the Precious Blood of Christ at Communion is allowed and is offered in many parishes in the United States. Some priests prefer to avoid the use of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion if at all possible, for they are meant to be extraordinary and not an ordinary part of the Mass.

53. Behold, the Lamb of God

After singing the Lamb of God and executing the accompanying actions and prayers, everyone kneels down again while the priest genuflects. The priest holds up the Eucharistic host and says, “Behold the Lamb of God; behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb,” and everyone responds, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” Let’s break this down a little bit.
 
As we’ve discussed before, kneeling and genuflecting are common postures people take when recognizing the awesome presence of Jesus. Here, the Blessed Sacrament is about to be lifted up for all to recognize, so we lower ourselves before Him. Then the Church has the priest recite lines that point to two passages from the Bible. We discussed before that John 1:29 has John the Baptist announcing Jesus’ identity: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” A similar announcement is here, made with the eyes of faith in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Revelation 19:6-9 is the other passage here. There is an image and a shout of praise from the great heavenly marriage banquet where the marriage of the Lamb to his Bride the Church is celebrated. In Holy Communion, the Church is declaring that we are already participating in the heavenly banquet each and every time we come to Mass, where Jesus gives Himself to his Bride in sacrifice and Communion. Beautiful!
 
The response to this joyous declaration comes from Matthew 8:5-13, the story of the centurion who sought healing from Jesus for his servant. Jesus responds by saying he will come and heal the servant. The centurion, careful to avoid making it seem like he is commanding Jesus to come, says, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus then responds by saying he has not found such marvelous faith in all of Israel and so heals the servant just by his word. He then mysteriously draws upon an image of what the Jewish people know as the Messianic Banquet - a reference found in Isaiah 25 - where people will come from all over the world to sit at table in the kingdom of heaven. Combined with the image of the heavenly marriage banquet found in Revelation 19, this sounds like what we’re doing at Mass! Incredible!
 
Sometimes people ask what the “word” is that Jesus must say. It is the effective Word of Christ — the same Word that heals, forgives, consecrates, and brings about what it declares. Just as He said to the centurion, “Go; be it done for you as you have believed,” so He heals us according to our faith and trust in Him.
 
The priest then prays quietly, “May the Body of Christ keep me safe for eternal life,” and receives the Host. He then prays, “May the Blood of Christ keep me safe for eternal life,” and consumes the Precious Blood. Only after he has received does he distribute Holy Communion to the faithful. Afterward, the Church provides a Communion Antiphon — usually a verse from Scripture connected to the Mass of the day — which may be chanted with a Psalm, recited, or accompanied by a hymn. Its purpose is to keep our focus on the mystery we are receiving. We might talk more about our selection of songs later on. 
We’ll talk more about your reception of Holy Communion next week.

52. Preparation for Holy Communion

For this week’s Catholic Massterclass, we’re not going to move forward just yet. Instead, I want to focus on something that most people don’t notice during this part of the Mass. Even though it often goes unnoticed, it is a critical moment — not only for the priest, but for each member of the congregation. I hope it opens your eyes in a new way to your preparation for receiving Holy Communion.
 
Last week I spoke about the Lamb of God, the Fraction Rite, and the commingling of the Eucharistic Host and the Precious Blood of Christ. There is another part of that portion of the Mass that is easy to miss. While the Lamb of God is being sung, after the priest has commingled the Eucharistic species, he bows slightly and prays quietly until the Lamb of God has finished, or even a little after. What is he praying during that time? Is it worthwhile to know those prayers — and perhaps even to pray them yourself?
 
The Order of Mass in the Roman Missal provides two options for the priest: 
(1) Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, who, by the will of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, through your Death gave life to the world, free me by this, your most holy Body and Blood, from all my sins and from every evil; keep me always faithful to your commandments, and never let me be parted from you.
 
or
(2) May the receiving of your Body and Blood, Lord Jesus Christ, not bring me to judgment and condemnation, but through your loving mercy be for me protection in mind and body and a healing remedy.
Up to this point in the Mass — and in what follows — the priest prays aloud on behalf of the people, standing in the Person of Christ. In this quiet moment, however, he prays personally. He bows before the Lord he is about to receive and recalls that he too is a man in need of mercy and protection. Scripture and Sacred Tradition remind us that religious leaders will be held to a higher standard, which makes these prayers especially important for the priest. He takes refuge in the power of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, asking for fidelity, protection, and perseverance. Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (Jn 15:10). The priest is asking for the grace to be faithful to the Lord’s commandments and, therefore, always remain with him.
 
There is another part to these prayers, however, that often goes unspoken. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ is not casual. In this New Covenant sacrificial meal, we declare our allegiance to Christ. If we knowingly cling to grave sin, we contradict that allegiance. That is why St. Paul urges self-examination. The priest pauses here to examine his conscience and to beg the Lord’s mercy before approaching Holy Communion.
 
This seriousness, however, should not frighten us — it should steady us. The Eucharist is given as a remedy and a source of life. We simply must approach it honestly and reverently.

51. Fraction Rite and Agnus Dei

The next part of Holy Mass combines three different actions into one movement: the Fraction Rite, the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei), and the commingling of the Body and Blood of the Lord. Each of them reveals something distinct about what is taking place on the altar, but together they show one single mystery. Let’s take a closer look.
 
While the Lamb of God is sung or recited, the priest picks up the Eucharistic host and breaks it. From one portion he breaks a small fragment and places it into the chalice, praying quietly, “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.” All of this happens fairly quickly. (Yet another reason for the Sign of Peace to be sober and offered only to those nearest you — if we are busy chatting, we may miss one of the most revealing moments of the Mass.)
 
In Luke 24, the risen Jesus appears to two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. At table with them He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them — and their eyes were opened. It was in “the breaking of the bread” that they recognized Him. The Church deliberately repeats this action at every Mass. The breaking is not practical preparation; it is proclamation. A living body is not divided — a sacrificed one is. The fraction shows sacramentally what the consecration has made present: the sacrifice of Christ. From the earliest days of Christianity, the Eucharistic worship was even called “the Breaking of the Bread.” We recognize Christ precisely at the moment His sacrifice is shown to us.
 
As the Host is broken, we sing: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us…grant us peace. Throughout the Old Testament, lambs played a central role in worship. The Passover lamb protected Israel from death and had to be eaten. The sacrifices offered in the Temple brought a kind of reconciliation with God, especially on the Day of Atonement. When John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, he revealed that all those sacrifices pointed to Him. So while the priest performs the action of sacrifice, the congregation speaks its meaning. We are not watching a ritual; we are witnessing the sacrifice of Christ. Notice the pattern of the prayer: We ask for mercy; we ask again for mercy; finally we ask for peace. Peace is not a substitute for mercy — it is the result of mercy. Before receiving the Lamb who judges the living and the dead, we persistently beg forgiveness, and only afterward do we ask for the peace that comes from reconciliation with God.
 
After breaking the Host, the priest places a fragment into the chalice. In death, Christ’s Body and Blood were separated. In the Resurrection, they are united forever. The commingling does not make Christ alive — He is always the living Lord in the Eucharist — but it shows sacramentally that the sacrifice made present on the altar is the sacrifice of the risen Christ. The One offered to the Father is not dead, but living. The priest prays quietly that this mingling bring eternal life to those who receive it. The Eucharist is life-giving, but it must be received properly. This prepares us for the next moment of Mass when we will acknowledge our unworthiness before Communion.
So in just a few moments the Church shows us a very large window into the mystery of Jesus: He is sacrificed (the breaking); He is identified (the Lamb of God); He lives forever (the mingling).