Now that we have reflected on our preparations for Mass, both before arriving at the church and after, we are ready to actually enter the Mass itself. The Mass is divided into five sections, the first of which is called the Introductory Rites. The first element of the Introductory Rites listed by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) is The Entrance. Here is what the document says:
When the people are gathered, and as the Priest enters with the Deacon and ministers, the Entrance Chant begins. Its purpose is to open the celebration, foster the unity of those who have been gathered, introduce their thoughts to the mystery of the liturgical time or festivity, and accompany the procession of the Priest and ministers. (GIRM, §47)
Most parishes choose to use an Entrance Hymn that the congregation can join in singing, though some places will sing a chant. For our weekday masses, we simply recite the Entrance Antiphon that is designated for that day.
Notice how this beginning of the Mass is described as an opportunity to foster unity and prepare our thoughts for the mystery we are about to celebrate. Unity is fostered when we all join in the singing of the Entrance Hymn together. Some, because they don’t like to sing, or claim that they can’t sing, choose to exempt themselves from this part of the Mass, preferring to just stand in silence. Might I suggest that you at least open the hymnal and follow along with the words, at a very minimum listening to them and uniting your heart with them in prayer? Doing so helps to foster unity as we all do the same thing. Plus, paying attention to those words can actually benefit us as the words help to prepare our hearts for what we are about to celebrate.
In this regard, I still have vivid memories of masses that I would celebrate for the Catholic high school where I was a Chaplain several years ago. I would process in, usually singing, then I would look up during the hymn, only to see the vast majority of the students not singing, not even having their hymnals open. Furthermore, their facial expressions said: “I do not want to be here.” On one occasion, I had some of those students saying something about not getting anything out of Mass, and I brought up my observation from the Entrance Hymn. I said to them, somewhat out of frustration, but with utter sincerity: “If you don’t put anything into Mass, how can you expect to get anything out of Mass?” To be honest, I do not know how many people actually sing during the Entrance Hymn here at the Cathedral. I try not to look lest I get frustrated and start Mass in a bad mood! I say that with a little sarcasm, but not totally. I do, however, urge us all to consider how it is we participate during the Entrance Procession of the Mass, seeing it for what it is – a time to foster unity among ourselves and prepare to enter into the greatest prayer of the Mass.
Up to this point, I have been providing some reflections and suggestions of how I think about approaching the preparation for and praying of Mass, but I realize I do not possess the definitive answer on these. Many of you have been preparing for and praying at Mass longer than I’ve been alive! So, I offer an open invite for you to share with me anything that you have found useful in your experience with preparing for and praying at Mass. I will be happy to share those as I work through this series. Just send me an e-mail so that I can remember them. If you just tell me after Mass, I’m afraid I might forget!