Introduction

April 15, 2018

This series entitled This Is My Body is split up into 40 different inserts that will be published in our St. Agnes bulletin (space permitting) every week. This is the Introduction letter from the author:

What you have before you is the culmination of a project that began in 2003. Over the next thirty-nine inserts you will be taken on a tour of the individual parts that as a whole make up our Catholic Mass. In order to present a simple, straight-forward and accurate portrayal of the Mass, I wanted as little of “me” as possible in these pages. After several weeks of research, I settled upon the use of two books for the bulk of this compilation. They are:

• The How-To Book of the Mass by Michael Dubruiel. Published in 2002 by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing.
• Understanding The Mass by Charles Belmonte. Published in 1997 by Scepter Publishers, Inc.

Both books carry the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur. These are a declaration that a work is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. Due to this and their simple, easy to read format, I chose these books to be my two primary sources. I also supplemented parts of the series with small passages from If Your Mind Wanders at Mass by Thomas Howard (2001, Ignatius Press).

I wanted to also emphasize and demonstrate how virtually every part and portion of the Mass is grounded in Holy Scripture. I’ve quoted where applicable, and have “breakout boxes” on several of the inserts that highlight this important aspect. These boxes also serve as a glossary of terms as well as showing how parts of our Mass today came from the earliest centuries and the Fathers of the Church.

The Second Vatican Council stated that the celebration of the eucharistic sacrifice should be at the center and culmination of the whole life of the Christian community and of every faithful. To achieve this goal, the Council said that everyone should understand well the liturgy and ceremonies of the Mass. “The Church earnestly desires that Christ’s faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; ... but should take part in the sacred action conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 48).

I hope you enjoy reading this series as much as I did putting it together.
God bless you.

Jeff Walker
St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
August 2005