Throughout the Mass, there are various roles that are fulfilled by different members of the assembled congregation. You will have the ordained clergy who have a specific role in leading the worship, while the rest of the lay faithful fulfill other roles pertinent to the prayerful celebration of the Mass. As we work our way through these reflections, when something that is unique to me as a priest (or as a member of the clergy), I will provide some thoughts as they can help all of us in better praying at Mass, not just those who perform those specific actions and words.
One of the first things that you might notice is when the priest and deacon enter the sanctuary, we kiss the altar. Personally, I try to be mindful of having this kiss represent my desire to be as faithful to Christ as possible, whether it is in how I celebrate Mass, or how I live as a priest. I never want that kiss to be like that of Judas, whose kiss was a sign of betrayal.
Although only ordained ministers kiss the altar, all of us can unite ourselves with the priest and deacon as they reverence the altar as a way of showing our reverence to Christ, asking Him that we, too, might be as faithful to Him as possible, especially through our full, active, and conscious participation in the Mass.
Although at present, nothing is said with this kiss, though historically, there was a prayer associated with the kissing of the altar that went something like this: “We beseech you, O Lord, by the merits of your saints, whose relics are here, and of all the Saints, that you would pardon me all my sins.” Masses in the early Church were celebrated over the tombs of martyrs and other saints as a sign of our special connection to them in the Mass, and our seeking their intercession for us as we continue our journey which we pray will one day conclude by joining them in Heaven.
Therefore, the kiss is a sign of reverence for the relics that are typically placed in an altar when it is consecrated by a bishop. Here at the Cathedral, the relics in our main altar are: a Relic of the True Cross, St. Isaac Jogues, St. Maria Goretti, St. Charles Lwanga, St. George, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and St. John Vianney (whose feast day was this past Friday). Even if there were no relics in the altar, as is the case with some newer altars, the kiss is still relevant as the altar represents Christ Himself, though obviously not in the same way as He is present in the Eucharist.
The presence of these relics reminds us of another important point, that when we are gathered together at Mass, we are united not just with those gathered in the physical church, we are united with all of the Catholics throughout the world, for every celebration of Mass is a re-presentation of the one sacrifice that Christ offered on the Cross. We are also united with the Church in Heaven, who gather around the throne of the lamb in unending worship. In fact, right after the opening Sign of the Cross, the priest offers a greeting, such as: “The Lord be with you”, to which all respond: “And with your spirit.” The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says about this greeting: “By this greeting and the people’s response, the mystery of the Church gathered together is made manifest.” (GIRM, §50) The mystery being expressed is what I just mentioned, that the ENTIRE Church, past, present, future, near, far, on earth, in Purgatory, and in Heaven are all gathered together as we enter into this greatest prayer of the Mass.