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JUBILEE TEACHING

Silence before Mass

JUBILEE TEACHING FOR JUNE 1, 2008 | NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Silence is sacred. No words can adequately express the mystery of God. Everything we try to say falls short. In quiet, we can sense God’s presence even more deeply than in sound.

At designated times of the Mass, we fall silent to offer prayers, to reflect on the Scripture or to thank God for the Eucharist. But “even before the celebration itself, it is commendable that silence be observed in the church, in the sacristy, in the vesting room and in adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred action in a devout and fitting manner.”

Many sounds precede Mass. At home and in the car, you may have the television or radio on. Or you may be conversing with family and friends about many things. At church, in the minutes before Mass begins, you might hear people greeting people, someone leading a rosary, musicians tuning their instruments, cantors rehearsing the psalm or coins plunking in the poor box. The organist might play a prelude or the song leader might rehearse a hymn with you. All these sounds serve some purpose and they help prepare us for the Eucharist.

But some time of silence beforehand helps everyone enter the Mass devoutly. In silent prayer, we think about the role we are to play, the songs we will sing, the prayers we will offer, the Scriptures we will hear, the sacrifice we make, the service we give to our neighbor, and the presence of Jesus Christ, who comes to us in sacrament to nourish us at this Mass and throughout the week. His holiness renders us speechless.

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Silence before Mass

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