The Mass includes two major parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Glory to God in the highest. Throughout our lives we sometimes need a reminder to get to the point or, in other words, to focus on what really matters. After the preparatory penitential act of the Mass, described in our last two articles, the gathered assembly gets “to the point” of the liturgy by offering praise and thanksgiving to God. We do this especially in the Gloria, a beautiful hymn which begins by repeating the song of the angels as they announced the birth of Jesus (Lk 2:14).

As we continue our series on the Mass, begun last month, we reflect on the reality of our human condition in relation to God. Of course, the key is our acknowledgment that in the celebration of the Eucharist we are, in fact, in the presence of God. Without that conscious awareness, grounded in faith, we are prevented from experiencing true prayer and instead remain locked within a self-manufactured prison of falsehood and arrogance.