The Religious Services of the Early Church

Two types of service, each with its own special music continue today.
The Divine Office or Breviary: prayer services held eight times every day
The Holy Mass: a combination of a teaching service called the Liturgy of the Word and the memorial offering, re-creation of the Last Supper, and celebration of thanksgiving of the Paschal Mystery of Christ’s Death, Resurrection and Ascension, called the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist.
Unlike some modern churches--especially evangelical protestant--the Catholic Church uses a prayer-book and other books which specify not only when and how prayers are to be used, but gives the approved texts of the prayers and other elements of the liturgy. Those protestant churches that retained parts of this liturgical approach include the Anglican (Episcopalian) and Lutheran Churches.

The Daily Offices or Canonical Hours

A routine of daily prayer services
Established by St. Benedict in the 6th century
Observed strictly in monasteries, less strictly outside them
The schedule has tended to become simplified over the centuries

The schedule       

The services all include:  

Chanting of scripture lessons with responses
Singing of hymns
Chanting of Psalms or Psalm verses framed by Antiphons

Some include special music:

Matins: Old Testament Canticle with Antiphon
Lauds: "Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel" (Luke1:68-79) with Antiphon
Vespers: "Magnificat anima mea Dominum" (Luke 1:46-55) with Antiphon
Compline: "Nunc dimittis" (Luke 2:29-32) with Antiphon

This is the official, daily prayer of the Church with Christ and to Christ. The HOURS are principally a prayer first of praise, and secondly of petition. As a prayer of the Church, the Hours are the very prayer of Christ, since Christ’s prayer is always a prayer of praise to the Father and petition for the salvation of the world. In the praying of the Hours the Church fulfills her baptismal obligation to do as Christ commanded – to pray as he did.

Over the course of these celebrations, the whole day is sanctified and is offered to God in praise and thanksgiving. In this day-to-day prayer, all time as well is sanctified and made holy.
Morning and Evening Prayer are the two “hinges” upon which the whole liturgy moves through the day. In the morning the community, ideally, gathers to commend the day to God, to ask God to bless it, and to lead them through it.  In the evening the community again comes together to give God praise for blessings received throughout the day and to ask him for protection through the coming night.

Through participation in the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church looks forward to the end of time when we hope all will be taken up to the heavenly banquet and for eternity join our voices with all who are gathered around the Lamb and who will fill the halls of heaven with the songs of God’s praise.

 The Catholic Mass
The Catholic Mass is the most sacred act of worship a person can participate in on earth. The night before he died, the Lord Jesus Christ sat down with His twelve chosen apostles for what He knew would be their last meal together. At that supper, Jesus did something new, something never done before and yet something that would continue from that day until the end of time. He gave us the Food of Eternal Life. He instituted the Holy Mass.
Three general ways of performing Mass in the Latin Rite
Low Mass: the entire liturgy is spoken
High Mass: certain parts of the liturgy are spoken, others are chanted or (later in history) sung in polyphony - Began with the improvisation of a second melody, sung along with an existing chant
Solemn High Mass: the entire liturgy is sung and the music is very elaborate
Today, we do not often use these terms to refer to the Holy Mass. The current official text of the Mass is the Roman Missal promulgated in 2000 and issued in Latin in 2002. The Church has always permitted celebration of the traditional Tridentine Mass (Latin, Ordo Missae, years 1570-1962), but the New Order of Vatican II (1962-1965), or Post-Tridentine Mass (Novus Ordo) gained rapid popularity for a number of reasons. The Latin Mass, or Tridentine Mass is experiencing increased renewal and usage through the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, but does not advantage itself with use of the vernacular, the local language in any given community or country. Healing is needed between strict adherents of either liturgy as theological positions polarize.
Two parts of the Mass,

• The Liturgy of the Word
• The Liturgy of the Eucharist

These two parts are so closely connected as to form one act of worship. The table of the Lord is both the table of God’s Word and the table of Christ’s Body, and from it the faithful are instructed and refreshed.

Liturgy is Habit-Forming

Routines are not just good theory. They work in practice. Order makes life more peaceful, more efficient, and more effective. In fact thee more routines we develop, the more effective we become. Routines free us from the need to ponder small details over and over again; routines let good habits take over, freeing the mind and heart to move onward and upward.

The rites of the Catholic liturgy are the set phrases that have proven themselves over time: the thank-you of God’s children, the I-love-you of Christ’s spouse, the Church. Liturgy engages the whole person: body, soul, and spirit. Catholics don’t just hear the Gospel, a pastoral preaching and sing songs together in fellowship. In the liturgy, we hear, see, smell and taste it.

Unless we understand both the parts and the whole, the Mass can become mindless routine, without heartfelt participation; and that’s the sort of routine that gives routine a bad name.

The Liturgy of the WORD includes the entrance, the introductory rites, the penitential rite, and the readings from the Old Testament, the New Testament Epistles, the Gospels, and ends with the "Credo"--the confession of faith. Three books are used for this liturgy, the Lectionary (for the Lector) follows a three year cycle, the Book of Gospels (for the Deacon) is the same from year to year, and the Gradual Romanum (for the Choir).
In the early church, those not yet baptized had to leave at this point.
The translation of Holy Scripture approved for liturgical proclamation in the United States is the New American Bible. In the early 1990’s the Lectionary readings were revised. The revised translation was published in the Lectionary for Sundays, solemnities, and feasts of the Lord in 1998. These readings constitute Volume I of the revised Lectionary. In 2000, the revised Book of the Gospels was approved.
In 2001, the complete revised Lectionary was approved and published in three remaining volumes. Vol II – Weekday Masses for Year I and readings for saints days; Vol III – Weekday Masses for Year II and readings for saints days; Vol IV – readings from the Commons of Saints, Ritual masses, and Masses for Various Needs and Occassions.
In 1992, the United states received approval from Rome to use a Lectionary for Masses with Children, that is, a collection of scriptural readings for use during masses with an assembly primarily made up of children (e.g., school liturgies).

The Liturgy of the EUCHARIST could be marked off in four sections: the offertory, the Eucharistic Prayer, the Communion rite and the concluding rite. Though the actions are many, the Mass is one offering, and that is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which renews our covenant with God the Father.
When Jesus celebrated the first Eucharist, he said: “This is the blood of the New Covenant.” (Luke 22:20) Therefore Jesus refers explicitly to the Old Covenant (Exodus 24:3-11), the one that Moses proclaimed on Sinai when he said: “This is the blood of the Covenant that Yahweh has made with you.” (Exod 24:8)

The Celebration of the Covenant of Sinai
The event that established Israel as a people, the Exodus from Egypt, focused on the covenant that the people under Moses made with their God at Mount Sinai. The celebration of this Covenant includes:

• The proclamation of the Word and its acceptance by the people: “Moses took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people who declared: ‘Everything that Yahweh has said we will do, and we will obey’ “ (Exod 24:7)
• The sacrifice of the Covenant, that is, the sacrifice of victims (Exod 24:5) and the meal of communion: “They saw God. They ate and they drank” (Exod 24:11)

These two elements, the celebration of the Word and the sacrifice of the Covenant, are intimately bound in the sense that the celebration of the Word is the foundation upon which the Covenant is built. Moses says: “This is the Blood of the Covenant that Yahweh has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (Exod 24:8)

The Celebration of the New Covenant
One of the worship situations classified by the Bible as a peace offering was at the Passover dinner that was shared each Spring by Jews throughout the ancient world. Jesus is described as sharing this meal, whose purpose was to keep fresh in Jewish memory the Exodus and the covenant with Yahweh, with his closest disciples. The celebration of this Covenant is like the celebration at Sinai and includes:

• The proclamation of God’s Word: “Jesus taught in the synagogues and proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom.” (Matt 4:23)
• The sacrifice of the Covenant, that is, the death and resurrection of Jesus and the communion meal: “Take and eat. This is my body . . . which is given for you . . . This cup is the New Covenant in my blood. (Matt 26:26 and Luke 22:19-20)

As in the Covenant of Sinai, Word and sacrifice are intimately joined. Jesus dies for the Good News that He proclaims. And the apostles receive the body, which is given for them, the blood, which is poured out for the many. (Matt 26:26-28)
The Sacramentary (for the Priest) contains the text, rites and rubrics for all celebrations throughout the year.

Two kinds of texts in the Mass
During the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the world’s bishops called for a renewal and promotion of the liturgical life of the Church. As a result, among other things, the liturgical books were revised according to the tradition of the Church and to norms established by the Council itself (refer to the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy).
In 1970, the English translation of the first edition of the Roman Missal was promulgated. In 1975, a second edition was issued. It was more complete and contained prayers not present in the first edition.
In 1988, Pope John Paul II called for an evaluation of the prayers, rubrics, and texts contained in the second edition. In 1991, work began on a third edition and in 2000, it was promulgated by Pope John Paul II. The Latin text was published first in 2002. Since that time work has begun to translate the Roman Missal into the various languages of the world.
The Ordinary of the Mass includes the texts “ordinarily” included in every Mass
The Proper of the Mass includes texts which change according to the specific date or feast in order to be “proper” for the occasion
The Requiem Mass (or Mass for the Dead) omitted some of the joyful texts of the Ordinary and always included the same Proper.

The Structure of the Catholic Mass
What is the general structure of the Mass? Throughout time, people have been able to underline different aspects of the Mass. They all possess an element of truth and they correspond to the various theological concerns of the various ages:

• The Sacrificial aspect (the Mass is the memorial of the sacrifice of the cross)
• The Eucharistic aspect ( the Mass is the thanksgiving of the Christian community)
• The Real Presence (the presence of Christ in the Eucharist Body and Blood)
• The Ceremonial splendor (in imitation of the royal courts, the Mass is the celebration of the heavenly King)
• The Covenant aspect (as the Old Covenant celebrated by Moses, or as the New Covenant celebrated by Jesus)

The Roman Missal (SACRAMENTARY) presents the Order of the Mass, from the Introductory Rites to the dismissal, giving the rubrics, options, presidential prayers, and the other texts for Mass. The following divisions are included:

• All options of the Introductory rites, including the greetings, the ite of Blessing and Sprinkling with Holy Water, the Penitential Rite, The Kyrie, eleison, [Lord, Have mercy] the Gloria, the rubrics [instructions] for the Liturgy of the Word, the Creed, the presidential prayers and responses for the Preparation of the Gifts, the introductory dialogue to the preface, and the first acclamation of the Eucharistic Prayer – the Holy, Holy, Holy [or Sanctus]. It does not include the preface itself. [normally marked in most editions by the first tab]

• The second tab marks the 84 different prefaces that may be used in the celebration of the Mass. Each Mass being celebrated has specific preface and options, if any, given (e.g., the Sundays in Ordinary Time have eight options from which to choose). Each preface is provided in chant notation and straight text for simple recitation.

• The four major Eucharistic Prayers follow (Tabs for I, II, III, or IV). Each prayer includes the Memorial Acclamation, the final doxology, and the Great Amen. Any inserts that may be used in Eucharistic Prayers I or III are given as well.

• Marked by gold tabs in some Missals is the section that continues with the Lord’s Prayer, the Sign of Peace, the Breaking of the Bread (Fraction Rite), the invitation to Holy Communion, and the rubrics for Holy Communion, the Prayer after Communion, and the options for the concluding rite.

• The Final Blessing concludes with optional forms marked by a black tab with a cross in some Missals. This includes 20 options for a Solemn Blessing and 26 options for a Prayer over the People.

The Roman Missal also includes the PROPER of SAINTS which presents the prayers and other texts for the solemnities, feasts, obligatory and optional memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints that have fixed dates. The proper of saints is presented according to the civic calendar beginning with January and ending in December.

The COMMONS section is used for celebrations in honor of the Blessed Virgin or saints that observe a saint’s particular characteristic of holiness (e.g., martyrs, virgins, doctors of the Church, pastors, etc.). It also includes the prayers and other texts used in the dedication of a church, altar, anniversary of dedication, etc.

Other sections of the sacramentary include: RITUAL MASSES used in the celebrations of sacraments;
Masses and Prayer for VARIOUS NEEDS AND OCCASIONS;

VOTIVE MASSES in honor of the mysteries of the Lord (Holy Trinity, Holy Cross, Holy Eucharist, Precious Blood, Sacred Heart, Holy Spirit), and in honor of the Blessed Virgin or of the saints (Blessed Virgin Mary, Angels, Joseph, Apostles, Peter-apostle, Paul-apostle, One apostle, All saints);

MASSES FOR THE DEAD, APPENDIXES (e.g. rite of Blessing and sprinkling Holy water, prayer for Preparation for Mass, The Rite of Commissioning and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, etc.) and a SUPPLEMENT added in 1994 and updated in 2004.