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Celebrating The True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
"Bishop Mueggenborg invites all to participate in various initiatives to deepen our relationship and understanding with Jesus' presence in the Eucharist. These initiatives will not only occur throughout our own dioceses, but all dioceses. Information and supporting documents for all to access are below on the Diocese of Reno website https://renodiocese.org/ or at https://bit.ly/RenoEucharisticRevival.
Preparation before Mass
The Priest Vests
Kissing the stole: There is a prayerful custom for a priest or a deacon to kiss each vestment that is
appropriate to his status in the sanctuary. So, a priest would kiss his stole and his chasuble as he puts
them on. The prayer used when putting on the stole is: “Lord, restore the stole of immortality which I
lost through the collusion of our first parents, and unworthy as I am to approach thy sacred mysteries,
may I yet gain eternal joy.”
Vesting Prayers: The vesting prayers are something that are used to fulfill the Church’s direction
that priests prepare for Mass by praying. A simple way to do this is to use some of the traditional
prayers that are given for priests for each part of the vestment. The parts of the vestment are the amice,
which, in monasteries were used to cover up the monks’ hoods, a little white piece that now is used to
cover the priest’s black collars. And then the alb, which is the white garment that is put over the arms
and goes down to the feet, and the cincture, which is just a rope belt that is helpful to keep the
vestments in place. After the cincture, the priest puts on the vestments that are appropriate for the day:
a stole, a decorated piece of cloth that goes around the back of the neck and drapes in front of the alb
and then the chasuble which is the large piece of cloth that drapes over all of the other vestments.
There is a traditional prayer given for most of these vestments.
The Mass
Mass Begins: The Entrance Rite
Opening antiphon: When a priest arrives at the altar during Mass, either a hymn has been sung or
there is a scripture verse that is recited or sung called the Antiphon.
The priest kisses the altar: This is the veneration of the altar. The priest usually kisses the altar
at a place where an altar stone has been placed. Traditionally inside the altar there is a relic of a saint,
and if possible, the priest will kiss the altar at that point out of love for the saint, the communion of
saints which we are brought into by Christ whom we encounter here in the Mass.
Sign of the Cross: We begin all prayers in the Catholic faith by invoking our great God the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. It is an ancient custom to not only invoke the Father, Son and Holy Spirit but to
make the sign of our Lord Jesus’ passion by crossing ourselves at the beginning of the prayer. And so we
begin the Mass in this way, remembering God Himself Father, Son and Holy Spirit and our Lord’s passion
which we are about to commemorate which is the Mass.
Penitential Act
Penitential Rite: The gesture that’s given for the people of the Mass while praying the “I Confess,”
is the striking of the breast at the words of “through my most grievous fault.” Since the word fault is
used three times, many people traditionally strike the breast three times in imitation of the publican in
the parable that our Lord gave in the Gospel. As the Confiteor is concluded, the priest also leads the
people in another verse and the Kyrie (“Lord, have mercy.”)
The Gloria: Preferably sung, the Gloria is sung or recited on Sundays, Holy Days, some Feast Days but
never during Lent. The Gloria is sung on Holy Thursday and from that point until the Easter Vigil the
music is very muted, usually with the least possible instrument accompaniment.
Let us Pray: When the priest says, “Let us pray,” some priests immediately begin the prayer which is
called the “Collect” which is found in the missal. The instructions for the Mass say that a moment of
silent prayer may also be given. So the priest may say, “Let us pray,” and then bow his head in silence for
a couple seconds and then after people have recollected their intentions and their prayers that they
have brought to Mass, the priest continues with the opening prayer. The priest holds his hands out to
his side in the “orans” prayer position (There are 28 times during the Mass that the priest prays in the
orans position) (Note: it is not generally acceptable for the people in the congregation to use the
“orans” position.) It’s an ancient prayer position and has been adopted by all of the clergy for praying
especially when the priest is at the altar. Everyone in the congregation is seated once the opening
prayer is done.
Liturgy of the Word
Readings The Church selects readings from the Bible for every Mass. Most often, but not always, on
Sundays, there is an Old Testament Reading, a singing or recitation from the Book of Psalms, a New
Testament reading from the disciples Letters or Acts of the Apostles. At the end of the reading, the
lector proclaims: “The word of the Lord.” The congregation responds saying “Thanks be to God.” The
readings are followed by a sung Alleluia or in Lent a Gospel Acclamation.
Signing the Gospel At the beginning of the reading of the Gospel, there is a signing of the Gospel.
After the priest or deacon says, “The Lord be with you,” he takes his thumb and over the beginning of
the Gospel, on the page, he makes the Sign of the Cross.
The three crosses: Everyone in the church makes a Sign of the Cross over their forehead, lips and
heart as the people of the congregation respond to the announcement of the Gospel. The three crosses
are a sign that we want the Gospel of the Lord and God’s holy word revealed through our Lord Jesus
Christ to be in our minds, on our lips when we speak and in our hearts in all that we choose to do.
Homily: The Priest or Deacon will offer a reflection or lesson on the readings of the day.
The Creed: On Sundays, the Congregation recites or sings either the Nicene Creed (or sometimes the
Apostles’ Creed during Lent.) This is an affirmation of what we as Catholics believe: These Creeds begin
with “I believe in God..”
The Prayer of the Faithful: Prayers and petitions are offered often praying for the Pope, Bishops,
and priests (the needs of the Church), for public authorities and the Salvation of the World. Intentions
are offered for those burdened by any kind of difficulty. In addition, prayers are offered for the needs of
the parish and the community at large. These petitions/intentions/prayers are each responded with an
invocation such as “Lord, Hear our Prayer.”
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Preparation of the gifts: A corporal is a white cloth that is supposed to hold all of the sacred
vessels and the Eucharist when consecrated. The corporal is open on the altar. The ciborium is filled
small hosts of bread for the people to receive communion. The paten holds a large host for the priest to
receive communion. In some cases, the smaller hosts are placed in patens for distribution to the
faithful.
Mix water and wine: The chalice is prepared first by pouring some wine into it enough for those
who are going to receive the Blood of Christ and then by mixing a little bit of water — a drop or two --
into the wine. The prayer that’s said over the chalice when the mixing is done, goes like this, “By the
mystery of this water and wine we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share
in our humanity.” Water was traditionally mixed with all wine in the ancient world. The Church has
attached a very symbolic significance to the mixing of the water and the wine; we reference the unity of
the divinity of Christ — the wine— and the humanity — the water. This is of course a reference to the
incarnation, the greatest truth of our faith.
Bow at the altar and priestly prayer: The priest bows as he says his own priestly prayer at the
time of the offertory. This prayer is borrowed from Psalm 51 for the priest to prepare himself to
celebrate the Eucharist and to do the consecration. It is said just by the priest before he washes his
hands.
Washing of the priest’s hands: With the washing of the hands, the priest prays the prayer,
“Wash me, O Lord, from my inequities and cleans me from my sins.” The washing of the hands is an
obvious gesture since we realize that the priest will be holding the Eucharist with his hands. To quote
the parts of the Psalms from which so many of these prayers of preparation come from, we have from
Psalm 51 verse 9: “Cleanse me with hyssop that I may be pure. Wash me. Make me whiter than snow.”
This is one of the many verses that are called to mind in the preparation to celebrate the Eucharist.
Many of the verses of scripture speak of washing to reference our need for the Lord to purify us of our
sins.
Epiclesis: At each point of the Eucharistic Prayer where the priest is about to consecrate the host and
the wine to become the Body and Blood of Christ, the priest invokes the Holy Spirit at a moment called
the Epiclesis. The priest holds his hands over the chalice and over the paten — over the bread and wine
— with palms facing down. He says, “Make holy Lord these gifts we pray by sending down your Spirit
upon them like the dewfall so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Invoking the Holy Spirit, it is significant that the priest’s hands have been anointed with Chrism Oil,
which is the essential oil for the gift of the Holy Spirit through confirmation. But because Chrism Oil
represents the Holy Spirit in such an essential way for the Catholic Church, the priest, whose hands have
been anointed with Chrism Oil (at his ordination) holds his hands as representing the Holy Spirit over the
gifts when he prays the Epiclesis.
Prayers of Consecration: The word consecration is very biblical, meaning that which is totally
dedicated and even united to God. So as Our Lord spoke about His consecration, we use the word
consecration to indicate the time when (Christ, acting in the person of) the priest is changing the bread
and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. The consecration is said by repeating the words of Jesus at
the Last Supper, and the instructions of the Missal is for the priest to bow slightly which is a sign of
reverence and makes it more solemn. When the priest has said the words “This is my Body” over the
host, it changes and become the Body of Christ. We know this as the miracle of transubstantiation.
Elevation of the Host: Because of our great faith in this miracle and its essential part in the center
of our faith, the Church developed in the Middle Ages the practice of elevating the host so that people
could see the Body of Christ and could adore Jesus present in Eucharist, in the sacred species of the
Body of Christ. The same would be done with the chalice. The Church firmly believes that at the
consecration of the chalice … the wine is changed substantially into the Blood of Christ, the divine
presence of Jesus. The elevation is done at the consecration so that people may pray, worship and adore
the Lord Jesus. The priest then says “The mystery of faith” to which there are several possible responses
either recited or sung which remind us of the miracle that has just taken place.
Great Amen: This is a proclamation and affirmation by the priest and people of the miracle of the
Consecration to which we just witnessed.
Our Father: This is the prayer given to us by Jesus. It is to be prayed by recitation or song as a
congregation.
The Sign of Peace: The priest says “The peace of the Lord be with you always.” The congregation
responds “And with your spirit.” The deacon (or priest) may add: “Let us offer each other the sign of
peace.” A gesture among the people such as a bow, a simple wave or handshake is appropriate at this
time.
Lamb of God: The Priest says “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away thei sins of the
world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” The Congregation responds by saying or
singing with the priest “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the
word and my soul shall be healed.”
Breaking the host: As the Lamb of God is prayed, the fraction of the host takes place. The priest
will break the host, and then a small piece of the host will be placed into the chalice, the mixing of the
Body and Blood of Christ.
Reception of Holy Communion Those who have been Baptised in the Catholic Faith and are in
the state of Grace reverently receive the Body (and in some cases the Blood) of Christ.
Communion Hymn: A hymn is sung that reflects the belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the
Eucharist. At the end of the Communion Rite, the Priest says “Let us pray.”
The Mass Ends: Concluding Prayers
Final blessing: The priest’s final blessing at the conclusion of Mass is given in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit because it is the priest himself who has consecrated the Eucharist.
It has been seen as a great sign of blessing that this same holy action that the priest has done himself
should conclude with the priest giving his own blessing to the people. When the priest gives the
dismissal at Mass, there are various forms that could be given. One is to say, “Go and announce the
Gospel of the Lord.” Another dismissal is to say “Go in peace glorifying the Lord by your life.” With all of
these, we acknowledge that our mission out in the world our mission to follow Christ as disciples, be
missionary disciples … is strengthened and put in motion by the Mass. With our great belief that Jesus is
present in the Eucharist, we see our mission going forth out into the world as truly being united to Jesus.
It is not as if we are separated from Him when we leave the Mass.
The Concluding Rites
Concluding/Recessional Hymn: The Priest will say or sing “The Lord be with you.” The people
respond “And with your spirit.” The Priest then blesses the congregation (while everyone makes the
sign of the Cross) saying “May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The
deacon (or priest) then dismisses the people with any of several formats. The Mass has ended, the
Congregation joins in singing an appropriate hymn of praise or thanksgiving before departing.
ADDENDUM
LITURGICAL COLORS
By a law of her liturgy the Church directs that the vestments worn by her
sacred ministers, and the drapery used in the decoration of the altar
should correspond in color to that which is prescribed for the Office of the
day. The colors thus sanctioned by the Church in connection with her
public worship are called the liturgical colors.
White -Light, innocence, purity, joy, triumph, glory
Season of Christmas
Season of Easter
Feasts of the Lord, other than of His passion
Feasts of Mary, the angels, and saints who were not martyrs
All Saints (1 November)
Feasts of the Apostles
Nuptial Masses
Masses for the dead (Requiem Masses) and when the deceased is a baptized
child who died before the age of reason
Note: White is the color of Popes' non-liturgical dress. White can be replaced by
Silver.
Red- The Passion, blood, fire, God's Love, martyrdom
Feasts of the Lord's passion, Blood, and Cross
Feasts of the martyrs
Palm Sunday
Pentecost
Note: Red is the color of Cardinals' non-liturgical dress
Green -The Holy Ghost, life eternal, hope
“Ordinary Time” meaning the Sundays numbered after the ordinal numbers
1,2,3… These are the:
Time After Epiphany until Lent
Time After Pentecost until Advent (with exceptions)
Violet- Penance, humility, melancholy
Season of Advent
Season of Septuagesima
Season of Lent
Rogation Days
Ember Days (except for Pentecost Ember Days)
Vigils except for Ascension and Pentecost
Good Friday
Note: Violet, literally "amarath red" is the color of Bishop', Archbishops', and
Patriarchs'; non-liturgical dress
Black- Mourning, sorrow
All Souls Day
Masses for the dead (Requiem Masses), except for baptized children who've
died before the age of reason. Most often replaced by White.
Rose- Joy
Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent)
Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent)
Gold- Joy
Gold can replace white, red, or green (but not violet or black)
The Priest Vests
Kissing the stole: There is a prayerful custom for a priest or a deacon to kiss each vestment that is
appropriate to his status in the sanctuary. So, a priest would kiss his stole and his chasuble as he puts
them on. The prayer used when putting on the stole is: “Lord, restore the stole of immortality which I
lost through the collusion of our first parents, and unworthy as I am to approach thy sacred mysteries,
may I yet gain eternal joy.”
Vesting Prayers: The vesting prayers are something that are used to fulfill the Church’s direction
that priests prepare for Mass by praying. A simple way to do this is to use some of the traditional
prayers that are given for priests for each part of the vestment. The parts of the vestment are the amice,
which, in monasteries were used to cover up the monks’ hoods, a little white piece that now is used to
cover the priest’s black collars. And then the alb, which is the white garment that is put over the arms
and goes down to the feet, and the cincture, which is just a rope belt that is helpful to keep the
vestments in place. After the cincture, the priest puts on the vestments that are appropriate for the day:
a stole, a decorated piece of cloth that goes around the back of the neck and drapes in front of the alb
and then the chasuble which is the large piece of cloth that drapes over all of the other vestments.
There is a traditional prayer given for most of these vestments.
The Mass
Mass Begins: The Entrance Rite
Opening antiphon: When a priest arrives at the altar during Mass, either a hymn has been sung or
there is a scripture verse that is recited or sung called the Antiphon.
The priest kisses the altar: This is the veneration of the altar. The priest usually kisses the altar
at a place where an altar stone has been placed. Traditionally inside the altar there is a relic of a saint,
and if possible, the priest will kiss the altar at that point out of love for the saint, the communion of
saints which we are brought into by Christ whom we encounter here in the Mass.
Sign of the Cross: We begin all prayers in the Catholic faith by invoking our great God the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. It is an ancient custom to not only invoke the Father, Son and Holy Spirit but to
make the sign of our Lord Jesus’ passion by crossing ourselves at the beginning of the prayer. And so we
begin the Mass in this way, remembering God Himself Father, Son and Holy Spirit and our Lord’s passion
which we are about to commemorate which is the Mass.
Penitential Act
Penitential Rite: The gesture that’s given for the people of the Mass while praying the “I Confess,”
is the striking of the breast at the words of “through my most grievous fault.” Since the word fault is
used three times, many people traditionally strike the breast three times in imitation of the publican in
the parable that our Lord gave in the Gospel. As the Confiteor is concluded, the priest also leads the
people in another verse and the Kyrie (“Lord, have mercy.”)
The Gloria: Preferably sung, the Gloria is sung or recited on Sundays, Holy Days, some Feast Days but
never during Lent. The Gloria is sung on Holy Thursday and from that point until the Easter Vigil the
music is very muted, usually with the least possible instrument accompaniment.
Let us Pray: When the priest says, “Let us pray,” some priests immediately begin the prayer which is
called the “Collect” which is found in the missal. The instructions for the Mass say that a moment of
silent prayer may also be given. So the priest may say, “Let us pray,” and then bow his head in silence for
a couple seconds and then after people have recollected their intentions and their prayers that they
have brought to Mass, the priest continues with the opening prayer. The priest holds his hands out to
his side in the “orans” prayer position (There are 28 times during the Mass that the priest prays in the
orans position) (Note: it is not generally acceptable for the people in the congregation to use the
“orans” position.) It’s an ancient prayer position and has been adopted by all of the clergy for praying
especially when the priest is at the altar. Everyone in the congregation is seated once the opening
prayer is done.
Liturgy of the Word
Readings The Church selects readings from the Bible for every Mass. Most often, but not always, on
Sundays, there is an Old Testament Reading, a singing or recitation from the Book of Psalms, a New
Testament reading from the disciples Letters or Acts of the Apostles. At the end of the reading, the
lector proclaims: “The word of the Lord.” The congregation responds saying “Thanks be to God.” The
readings are followed by a sung Alleluia or in Lent a Gospel Acclamation.
Signing the Gospel At the beginning of the reading of the Gospel, there is a signing of the Gospel.
After the priest or deacon says, “The Lord be with you,” he takes his thumb and over the beginning of
the Gospel, on the page, he makes the Sign of the Cross.
The three crosses: Everyone in the church makes a Sign of the Cross over their forehead, lips and
heart as the people of the congregation respond to the announcement of the Gospel. The three crosses
are a sign that we want the Gospel of the Lord and God’s holy word revealed through our Lord Jesus
Christ to be in our minds, on our lips when we speak and in our hearts in all that we choose to do.
Homily: The Priest or Deacon will offer a reflection or lesson on the readings of the day.
The Creed: On Sundays, the Congregation recites or sings either the Nicene Creed (or sometimes the
Apostles’ Creed during Lent.) This is an affirmation of what we as Catholics believe: These Creeds begin
with “I believe in God..”
The Prayer of the Faithful: Prayers and petitions are offered often praying for the Pope, Bishops,
and priests (the needs of the Church), for public authorities and the Salvation of the World. Intentions
are offered for those burdened by any kind of difficulty. In addition, prayers are offered for the needs of
the parish and the community at large. These petitions/intentions/prayers are each responded with an
invocation such as “Lord, Hear our Prayer.”
Liturgy of the Eucharist
Preparation of the gifts: A corporal is a white cloth that is supposed to hold all of the sacred
vessels and the Eucharist when consecrated. The corporal is open on the altar. The ciborium is filled
small hosts of bread for the people to receive communion. The paten holds a large host for the priest to
receive communion. In some cases, the smaller hosts are placed in patens for distribution to the
faithful.
Mix water and wine: The chalice is prepared first by pouring some wine into it enough for those
who are going to receive the Blood of Christ and then by mixing a little bit of water — a drop or two --
into the wine. The prayer that’s said over the chalice when the mixing is done, goes like this, “By the
mystery of this water and wine we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share
in our humanity.” Water was traditionally mixed with all wine in the ancient world. The Church has
attached a very symbolic significance to the mixing of the water and the wine; we reference the unity of
the divinity of Christ — the wine— and the humanity — the water. This is of course a reference to the
incarnation, the greatest truth of our faith.
Bow at the altar and priestly prayer: The priest bows as he says his own priestly prayer at the
time of the offertory. This prayer is borrowed from Psalm 51 for the priest to prepare himself to
celebrate the Eucharist and to do the consecration. It is said just by the priest before he washes his
hands.
Washing of the priest’s hands: With the washing of the hands, the priest prays the prayer,
“Wash me, O Lord, from my inequities and cleans me from my sins.” The washing of the hands is an
obvious gesture since we realize that the priest will be holding the Eucharist with his hands. To quote
the parts of the Psalms from which so many of these prayers of preparation come from, we have from
Psalm 51 verse 9: “Cleanse me with hyssop that I may be pure. Wash me. Make me whiter than snow.”
This is one of the many verses that are called to mind in the preparation to celebrate the Eucharist.
Many of the verses of scripture speak of washing to reference our need for the Lord to purify us of our
sins.
Epiclesis: At each point of the Eucharistic Prayer where the priest is about to consecrate the host and
the wine to become the Body and Blood of Christ, the priest invokes the Holy Spirit at a moment called
the Epiclesis. The priest holds his hands over the chalice and over the paten — over the bread and wine
— with palms facing down. He says, “Make holy Lord these gifts we pray by sending down your Spirit
upon them like the dewfall so that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Invoking the Holy Spirit, it is significant that the priest’s hands have been anointed with Chrism Oil,
which is the essential oil for the gift of the Holy Spirit through confirmation. But because Chrism Oil
represents the Holy Spirit in such an essential way for the Catholic Church, the priest, whose hands have
been anointed with Chrism Oil (at his ordination) holds his hands as representing the Holy Spirit over the
gifts when he prays the Epiclesis.
Prayers of Consecration: The word consecration is very biblical, meaning that which is totally
dedicated and even united to God. So as Our Lord spoke about His consecration, we use the word
consecration to indicate the time when (Christ, acting in the person of) the priest is changing the bread
and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. The consecration is said by repeating the words of Jesus at
the Last Supper, and the instructions of the Missal is for the priest to bow slightly which is a sign of
reverence and makes it more solemn. When the priest has said the words “This is my Body” over the
host, it changes and become the Body of Christ. We know this as the miracle of transubstantiation.
Elevation of the Host: Because of our great faith in this miracle and its essential part in the center
of our faith, the Church developed in the Middle Ages the practice of elevating the host so that people
could see the Body of Christ and could adore Jesus present in Eucharist, in the sacred species of the
Body of Christ. The same would be done with the chalice. The Church firmly believes that at the
consecration of the chalice … the wine is changed substantially into the Blood of Christ, the divine
presence of Jesus. The elevation is done at the consecration so that people may pray, worship and adore
the Lord Jesus. The priest then says “The mystery of faith” to which there are several possible responses
either recited or sung which remind us of the miracle that has just taken place.
Great Amen: This is a proclamation and affirmation by the priest and people of the miracle of the
Consecration to which we just witnessed.
Our Father: This is the prayer given to us by Jesus. It is to be prayed by recitation or song as a
congregation.
The Sign of Peace: The priest says “The peace of the Lord be with you always.” The congregation
responds “And with your spirit.” The deacon (or priest) may add: “Let us offer each other the sign of
peace.” A gesture among the people such as a bow, a simple wave or handshake is appropriate at this
time.
Lamb of God: The Priest says “Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away thei sins of the
world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” The Congregation responds by saying or
singing with the priest “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the
word and my soul shall be healed.”
Breaking the host: As the Lamb of God is prayed, the fraction of the host takes place. The priest
will break the host, and then a small piece of the host will be placed into the chalice, the mixing of the
Body and Blood of Christ.
Reception of Holy Communion Those who have been Baptised in the Catholic Faith and are in
the state of Grace reverently receive the Body (and in some cases the Blood) of Christ.
Communion Hymn: A hymn is sung that reflects the belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the
Eucharist. At the end of the Communion Rite, the Priest says “Let us pray.”
The Mass Ends: Concluding Prayers
Final blessing: The priest’s final blessing at the conclusion of Mass is given in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit because it is the priest himself who has consecrated the Eucharist.
It has been seen as a great sign of blessing that this same holy action that the priest has done himself
should conclude with the priest giving his own blessing to the people. When the priest gives the
dismissal at Mass, there are various forms that could be given. One is to say, “Go and announce the
Gospel of the Lord.” Another dismissal is to say “Go in peace glorifying the Lord by your life.” With all of
these, we acknowledge that our mission out in the world our mission to follow Christ as disciples, be
missionary disciples … is strengthened and put in motion by the Mass. With our great belief that Jesus is
present in the Eucharist, we see our mission going forth out into the world as truly being united to Jesus.
It is not as if we are separated from Him when we leave the Mass.
The Concluding Rites
Concluding/Recessional Hymn: The Priest will say or sing “The Lord be with you.” The people
respond “And with your spirit.” The Priest then blesses the congregation (while everyone makes the
sign of the Cross) saying “May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The
deacon (or priest) then dismisses the people with any of several formats. The Mass has ended, the
Congregation joins in singing an appropriate hymn of praise or thanksgiving before departing.
ADDENDUM
LITURGICAL COLORS
By a law of her liturgy the Church directs that the vestments worn by her
sacred ministers, and the drapery used in the decoration of the altar
should correspond in color to that which is prescribed for the Office of the
day. The colors thus sanctioned by the Church in connection with her
public worship are called the liturgical colors.
White -Light, innocence, purity, joy, triumph, glory
Season of Christmas
Season of Easter
Feasts of the Lord, other than of His passion
Feasts of Mary, the angels, and saints who were not martyrs
All Saints (1 November)
Feasts of the Apostles
Nuptial Masses
Masses for the dead (Requiem Masses) and when the deceased is a baptized
child who died before the age of reason
Note: White is the color of Popes' non-liturgical dress. White can be replaced by
Silver.
Red- The Passion, blood, fire, God's Love, martyrdom
Feasts of the Lord's passion, Blood, and Cross
Feasts of the martyrs
Palm Sunday
Pentecost
Note: Red is the color of Cardinals' non-liturgical dress
Green -The Holy Ghost, life eternal, hope
“Ordinary Time” meaning the Sundays numbered after the ordinal numbers
1,2,3… These are the:
Time After Epiphany until Lent
Time After Pentecost until Advent (with exceptions)
Violet- Penance, humility, melancholy
Season of Advent
Season of Septuagesima
Season of Lent
Rogation Days
Ember Days (except for Pentecost Ember Days)
Vigils except for Ascension and Pentecost
Good Friday
Note: Violet, literally "amarath red" is the color of Bishop', Archbishops', and
Patriarchs'; non-liturgical dress
Black- Mourning, sorrow
All Souls Day
Masses for the dead (Requiem Masses), except for baptized children who've
died before the age of reason. Most often replaced by White.
Rose- Joy
Gaudete Sunday (Third Sunday of Advent)
Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent)
Gold- Joy
Gold can replace white, red, or green (but not violet or black)
