When I was growing up, I remember getting to Mass early then kneeling down to pray. To be honest, I do not recall what I prayed about, but I do recall thinking on more than one occasion as I looked around: “What are those around me praying about?” I was wondering if there was a certain script that I was supposed to follow or what I should be praying for. More often than not, I probably just knelt there in silence for the amount of time that seemed right, then I’d sit down, especially if I saw my mom or my siblings sit after doing their prayers before Mass.
When I entered seminary, I became aware of a series of prayers that the Roman Missal provided for the priest as he was preparing for Mass. I figured that if I was going to become a priest someday, perhaps those prayers would be helpful to start using as I prepared for Mass. And in fact, I still use many of those prayers as I get ready to celebrate Mass.
But preparing for Mass should be more than just reciting certain prayers, holy as those prayers may be. As I encouraged in my last article, as we prepare for Mass, it is an opportunity for us to disengage our spiritual autopilot so that we can fully and consciously enter into this greatest of all prayers.
In a document written by Pope Benedict XVI on the Eucharist, he offers the following reflection about what our prayers before Mass might look like:
In their consideration of the actuosa participatio of the faithful in the liturgy, the Synod Fathers also discussed the personal conditions required for fruitful participation on the part of individuals. One of these is certainly the spirit of constant conversion which must mark the lives of all the faithful. Active participation in the eucharistic liturgy can hardly be expected if one approaches it superficially, without an examination of his or her life. This inner disposition can be fostered, for example, by recollection and silence for at least a few moments before the beginning of the liturgy, by fasting and, when necessary, by sacramental confession. A heart reconciled to God makes genuine participation possible. (Sacramentum caritatis, 55).
Part of our preparation should therefore include an acknowledgement of our need for conversion, calling to mind where we have strayed, asking that our participation in the Mass will heal the wounds of our sins and strengthen us for a more faithful and fruitful living our lives as disciples. Although there is more that we can and should pray about before Mass, I think this aspect should never be overlooked.
This time in silence, opening ourselves to conversion, is necessary for one of the very first parts of the Mass that we encounter, the Penitential Rite. The priest invites us with the following words: “Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, as so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.” The brief pause of silence is hardly enough time for us to do an examination of conscience at that point, but if we have spent some time before Mass acknowledging our sins and our need for conversion, this part becomes more than just a formality that we automatically breeze through.