Adult Faith Formation

Fr. Timothy Eck will give three talks entitled: What’s Happening at Mass? The Structure and the Parts of the Mass.

Each talk will be around 45 minutes long, with a period for questions afterwards. You can find details on each talk below. All are welcome, and feel free to invite your friends from other parishes.

Introduction to the Parts of the Mass (Tuesday January 24th at 7pm)
For Catholics the Mass is something which we just know intuitively. Through years (decades) of muscle memory we can easily do the right motions and say the correct responses. Sure, there are moments when we ask ourselves, “What does this mean?” or “Why do we do this gesture?” but then, for most of us that is where the questions end. In a series of three talks, we will take a look at the meaning and structure of the Mass. This first talk will give us a high-level overview of the structure/parts of the Mass, and explain some of the key concepts that we will need in order to understand the Mass. In the second talk, we will look at the first half of Mass which is also called the Liturgy of the Word. Then in the third and final talk we will look at the second half of the Mass which is also called the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Hopefully once we have finished our journey through the Mass, we will be more able to understand what the Mass means and why we do what we do.

The stream can be viewed at https://boxcast.tv/view/winter-faith-101-whats-happening-at-mass-the-structure-and-the-parts-of-the-mass-bvw7srrravuejszzsbpc.
Talk handout: Mass Parts and Key Terms
Passover Meal and Mass handout: Passover Meal - Last Supper - Mass

The Liturgy of the Word (Tuesday February 7th at 7pm)
In this second talk we begin our journey through the Mass itself and we will focus on the Liturgy of the Word in particular. This first part of the Mass begins with the entrance procession, continues through the readings, and finishes with the Prayer of the Faithful. We will look at the different parts, and both explain their meaning and their purpose within the greater celebration of the Mass. This will then prepare us for following talk on the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The stream can be viewed at https://boxcast.tv/view/winter-faith-101-whats-happening-at-mass-the-structure-and-the-parts-of-the-mass-na0jrbn13kuclfi4chzo.
Talk handout: Mass Parts and Key Terms

The Liturgy of the Eucharist (Wednesday February 15th at 7pm)
In this third and final talk we continue upon our reflection upon the Mass as we begin where we ended in our second talk. This talk will focus on the Liturgy of the Eucharist which begins with the preparations of the altar, continues through the distribution of communion, and finishes with the dismal and recessional. At the heart of this section is the Eucharistic Prayer, which through the power of the Holy Spirit, makes present Jesus Christ upon the altar and offers his sacrifice once more on our behalf to our heavenly Father. At the conclusion of this talk, Mass will be celebrated.

The stream can be viewed at https://boxcast.tv/view/winter-faith-101-whats-happening-at-mass-the-structure-and-the-parts-of-the-mass-gbtotyi5gxpjvnwkypdg.
Talk handout: Mass Parts and Key Terms

We hope to see many of you there!

First Talk: Eucharist and Scripture (October 18th, 2022)

In this presentation we looked at the structure of Old Testament covenants, and then the theology of the Passover and Mt. Sinai covenant. Finally we saw how this Old Testament logic is fulfilled in Christ’s Last Supper, where he institutes a New Covenant, which provides the means by which we share in Christ’s Paschal Mystery: his passion, death, and resurrection.

Unfortunately there was an internet outage when the talk was given, and so there is not a recording to watch later.

 

Second Talk: Eucharist and the Mass (October 25th, 2022)

In this presentation we then built upon the covenantal logic from the first presentation and applied it to the Mass. We moved through the Mass and looked at how it fulfills Christ’s commandment at the Last Supper to “do this in memory of me,” and the Old Testament logic of “remembrance” which integrates future generations into past historical covenants.

You can view the recording of the talk at https://boxcast.tv/channel/fall-faith-101-what-is-the-eucharist-qy1wyiync3bdzo3kopm3.
Talk handout: Passover Meal - Last Supper - Mass

 

Third Talk: Doctrine of the Eucharist (November 8th, 2022)

In this presentation we then concluded by looking at the theology and teaching of the Church on the Eucharist. Using the first two presentations, the hope was to shed new light upon these teachings which we already know and so enter more deeply into the reality of the Eucharist.

You can view the recording of the talk at https://boxcast.tv/view/fall-faith-101-what-is-the-eucharist-zcd6agkwfkb8dzpnsdbp.