Mass (liturgy)

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church, Latin liturgical rites, Western Rite Orthodox Churches, as well as in similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in some Anglican parishes, and in many Lutheran Churches. Apart from "Eucharist" others are the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly (synaxis)", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and Divine Liturgy" and "Holy Communion". In these denominations, the term Mass often colloquially refers to the entire church service in general. In general, Protestants avoid the term "Mass" and use such terms as Divine Service or service of worship, for doctrinal reasons. For the celebration of the Eucharist in Eastern churches, including those in full communion with the Holy See, other terms such as the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Qurbana and the Badarak are normal.

The term "Mass" is derived from the Late Latin word missa (dismissal), a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin: "Ite, missa est" ("Go; it is the dismissal"). "In antiquity, missa simply meant 'dismissal'. In Christian usage, however, it gradually took on a deeper meaning. The word 'dismissal' has come to imply a 'mission'. These few words succinctly express the missionary nature of the Church". (Pope Benedict XVI, Sacramentum caritatis, 51)

The Roman Catholic Church distinguishes between the Mass in its understanding and what some Anglicans and Lutherans call the Mass, since it considers that they lack the sacrament of orders and therefore "have not preserved the genuine and total reality of the Eucharistic mystery." On the other hand, historically, the Lutheran Church has stated that the Lutheran Mass is "the only Mass founded in the Scriptures of God, in accordance with the plain and incontestable institution of the Saviour."