Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. Mary’s of the Lake:
(Below is Part 3 of Pope Francis’ catechesis on the Holy Mass on Dec 20, 2017 at the weekly Audience at St. Peter’s Square. 

 ◆  The priest offers the liturgical Greeting with the expression: ‘The Lord be with you’ or something similar --there are several; and the assembly responds: ‘And with your spirit’. We are in a dialogue; we are at the beginning of the Mass and we must think about the significance of all these gestures and words. We are entering a ‘symphony’, in which various tones of voice resonate, including moments of silence, in view of creating ‘harmony’ among all the participants, which is to acknowledge that they are animated by a unique Spirit and for the same aim. Indeed, by the priest’s ‘Greeting and the people’s response, the mystery of the Church gathered together is made manifest’ (General Instructions of the Roman Missal, #50). In this way we express the common faith and the mutual wish to abide with the Lord and to live in unity with the entire community.


◆   And this is a prayerful symphony which is being created, and it immediately presents a very moving moment, because the presiding priest invites everyone to acknowledge their sins. We are all sinners. I do not know, perhaps someone among you is not a sinner.... If someone is not a sinner, raise your hand, please, so we can all see. But there are no hands raised, okay: you have good faith! All of us are sinners; and for this reason at the start of Mass we ask forgiveness. It is the Act of Penitence. It is not a matter of only thinking about the sins committed, but much more: it is the invitation to confess our sins before God and before the community, before our brothers and sisters, with humility and sincerity, like the tax collector at the Temple. If the Eucharist truly renders present the Paschal Mystery, meaning Christ’s passing from death to life, then the first thing we have to do is recognize our own situation of death in order to rise again with him to new life. This helps us understand how important the Act of Penitence is. And we will return to this theme in the next catechesis.
◆  We are going to explain the Mass step by step. But please: teach the children to make the Sign of the Cross properly, please!

‘I encouraged all of you to love the Sunday Mass and to ‘keep holy the Lord’s Day’ as the Lord has commanded. For those of you who already love Sunday, deepen your love of this weekly event and invite others to join you as you share the wealth of your faith!’   (Bishop Ricken)