Welcome!

Looking for a new church or visiting a church for the first time can be intimidating… Whether you are Catholic, Christian, or have no faith at all, we are here to help make that easier.

We have a brief and easy form to fill out so that one of our parishioners or parish leaders can be in contact with you before you come. We will officially meet in the parking lot and walk with you into the parish and sit with you so that you do not have to feel out of place or alone. If you have questions during the Mass, do not be afraid to ask your host quietly during the Mass or you can simply wait until after the Mass. We are here to help you.

Another great way to meet new people at our parish and to learn more about our faith is:

To learn more about what we believe, click here:

 

Explanation of the Mass

Catholics worship and adore God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We know that God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit because that is who Jesus revealed to us.

This one God created us out of love to join in the communion of love of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to be happy in communion with God forever.

Since love is never forced, God gave man free-will to choose to love God or to chose to love himself over God. In selfishness man chose to fill himself, rather than to empty himself to worship God. Man chose himself above God and as a result violence, disease, war, hatred, rivalry, and death entered the world. But God did not give up on mankind. He continually called individuals to be brought back into relationship with God. This was done through sacrifice. Because sacrifice is an emptying of oneself that makes up for the sin of selfishness.

Time after time, man failed to live up to his end of the relationship. Continually man chose himself above God and fell into sin even when God had offered mankind a loving and helping offer. God knew that humanity was incapable of living this kind of selfless sacrifice. So God sent His Son to make this kind of sacrifice on behalf of mankind.

“For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God became man in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and is true God and true man. Jesus was a real historical person who lived just a little over 2,000 years ago. He performed miracles, healing people and raising the dead. Since He was true God and true man, He could offer a perfect sacrifice. Perfect because He was God, He could offer it on behalf of all of humanity because He was man. He offered Himself as the living sacrifice and willingly went to death, being crucified on a Cross at the hands of the Romans under the authority of Pontius Pilate. Jesus offered His humanity to God the Father on behalf of all humanity (who could not offering a perfect, obedient, loving sacrifice.) Jesus died for all of our sins, for all of our selfishness, for all of our greed, for all of our lust, for all of our pride. This sacrifice saves us from sin and is the means by which we are saved for eternal life.

On the night before Jesus died, Jesus took bread and wine and said “This is my Body” and “This is my Blood” and Jesus told His Apostles, "Do this in memory of me" (Luke 22:19). When Jesus rose again, He again broke bread with His Apostles to show Him that He is alive and that this ritual of taking bread, blessing it, and breaking it, was meant to be repeated for all time. It was a way of sharing in the Death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

From the beginning of the Church, early Christians have celebrated weekly the breaking of the bread according to the tradition given to the Apostles by Our Lord on the day that Our Lord rose from the dead (Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23). Priests have been celebrating the Mass since the first century. The Mass is making present that one-time offering of Jesus at his last supper and on the Cross to God the Father. When the priest holds up the bread and says “This is my Body” it becomes the Body of Christ. When the priest holds up the wine and says, “This is my Blood” it becomes the Blood of Christ. The Body and Blood of the living Risen Lord are then offered to God the Father for the sake of the world at the Mass. The Mass is a prayer to God the Father in Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the salvation of the whole world.

Structure of the Mass

In the Mass, there are two main parts: The Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

"The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God's word and of Christ's body" (Dei Verbum, 21).

 In the Liturgy of the Word, we hear the proclamation of the Word of God (the Bible) and the Good News of Jesus Christ.

In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we enter into the mystery of Christ who offered Himself to the Father for the forgiveness of our sin and for our salvation by dying on the Cross. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus stands as an intercessor now in heaven with the same desire to offer Himself completely to the Father as He did on the Cross. In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we enter into that prayer of Christ to the Father where He offers Himself as a living sacrifice as He re-presents the sacrifice of the Cross. In the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the priest prays the words of Jesus from the Last Supper where Jesus says over the bread, "This is My Body," and over the wine, "This is My Blood." At this moment of consecration, the bread and wine become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ present on the altar. Communion is the time that the faithful come forward to receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in order to become completely united to Him.

After receiving the gift of Our Lord in Communion, the faithful are called forth to go in mission to share the Good News of Jesus Christ Risen from the dead with other people whom they meet in their daily lives. Renewed by partaking of the Bread of Life, the Christian faithful are called to sanctify the world through their work place, their family life, and their faith, hope, and charity.

Parts of the Mass


INTRODUCTORY RITES

  • Entrance (All Stand)

  • Greeting

  • Penitential Act

  • Glory to God

  • Collect

LITURGY OF THE WORD

  • First Reading from Old Testament (All Sit)

  • Responsorial Psalm

  • Second Reading from New Testament (on Sundays and solemnities)

  • Gospel Acclamation - Alleluia (All Stand)

  • Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John)

  • Homily (All Sit)

  • Profession of Faith (on Sundays, solemnities, and special occasions) (All Stand)

  • Universal Prayer

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

  • Presentation of the Gifts and Preparation of the Altar

  • Prayer over the Offerings

  • Eucharistic Prayer

    • Preface

    • Holy, Holy, Holy (All Kneel)

    • First half of prayer, including **Consecration**

    • Mystery of Faith

    • Second half of prayer, ending with Doxology (All Stand)

  • The Lord's Prayer

  • Sign of Peace

  • Lamb of God (All Kneel)

  • Communion

  • Prayer after Communion (All Stand)

CONCLUDING RITES

  • Optional announcements

  • Greeting and Blessing

  • Dismissal

 

For Fellow Christians

We welcome our fellow Christians to Mass as our brothers and sisters.We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ's prayer for us "that they may all be one" (Jn 17:21). Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and is a sign of the reality of the oneness and unity of faith, life, belief, and worship, members of other churches with whom we are not yet fully united are not admitted to Holy Communion.

Since non-Catholics cannot receive Communion, they can either remain sitting in their pews. or they can come forward going to a priest or deacon to receive a blessing by crossing their arms over their shoulders.

For Non-Christians

We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and is a sign of the reality of the oneness and unity of faith, life, belief, and worship, non-Christians are not admitted to Holy Communion. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and the unity of the human family.

Since non-Catholics cannot receive Communion, they can either remain sitting in their pews. or they can come forward going to a priest or deacon to receive a blessing by crossing their arms over their shoulders.