SOLEMN HIGH MASS

The video is here below:

I cannot tell you when the last Solemn High Mass, with deacon and subdeacon, was celebrated on Guam. It was definitely in the 1960s, as the Novus Ordo came into effect in early 1970. But, even before that, the traditional Mass was being modified little by little, and many traditional observances fell to the wayside, and I suspect the Solemn High Mass was one of them.

So this Solemn High Mass celebrated in 2012 by Canon Jean Marie Moreau (Institute of Christ the King), with Fr Eric Forbes, OFM Cap as deacon and Mr. Joseph Capulong as subdeacon, was the first on Guam in 42 years or more.

We have not had another Solemn High Mass since then, but it is on our list of hoped-for Masses.

TEMPORARY MASS SCHEDULE

While Father Kidd is offering our Sunday Masses, we will have to make Sunday Mass at 8AM.

The following are the Sundays where there are confirmed Sunday Masses :

October 13

 

October 27

 

November 10

 

November 24

 

December 8

If Fr Kidd's schedule allows more Masses, he will announce upcoming Masses from the pulpit.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility!

My first Sunday Mass after returning home will be December 22.

In Christo per Mariam,

Fr Eric

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 13

The bread has now been changed into the true Body of Jesus, just as He said, "This is my Body."

And just as Jesus changed the wine into His blood afterward, in a separate action, the chalice of wine is now changed by the priest, acting in the place of Jesus, into His true Blood.

Why?  For the forgiveness of sins.

Our sins are forgiven because the Lord Jesus was willing to sacrifice His life, His Body and Blood, for our forgiveness.

And Jesus wants us to "do this in memory of Him."  That is why we must attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation and even on more days when we can!

When we attend Mass, we are blessed in so many ways, but most especially by the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for our salvation.  Through It, we can go to heaven!

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 12

The most special moment in Mass will now happen.  Jesus will offer His life to God the Father on behalf of us sinners.  He died on the cross and His blood was shed so that we sinners can be forgiven and go to heaven when we die.

The bread and wine that the priest blesses, or consecrates, becomes the real Body and the real Blood of Jesus.  Even though they still look like bread and wine, Jesus said, "This is my Body" and "This is my Blood."  We will receive Him in Holy Communion when the priest gives us the Host to eat. 

This sacrifice at every Mass is the same one that Jesus offered on Good Friday on Mount Calvary almost two thousand years ago.  It is not a different sacrifice; it is the same one.  Jesus died once, but we make His death present again at every Mass because He told us to do this when He said, "Do this in memory of me."

You will know that the bread and wine are changed when the priest lifts up high the Host, the circular piece of white bread, and the chalice, or special cup.

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 11

Now comes the most special part of the Mass, when the bread and the wine will be changed into the true Body and Blood of Jesus.

The priest will make the sign of the cross over the bread and wine and repeat the words that Jesus said at the Last Supper when He said, "This is my Body," and "This is my Blood."  Jesus then said, "Do this in memory of me."  And so we obey Jesus' command and we do this at every Mass.

When the priest lifts up the Sacred Host and the Sacred Chalice, let us lift up to God the Father, along with Jesus, our own little selves, with all of our little sacrifices and gifts of love.  Just as the little white Host is small, we too are small and humble.  But when we are one with Jesus all our gifts to God are beautiful to Him.

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 10

At the Sanctus, the bell is rung to make us remember that the most important and holiest part of the Mass has begun, when Jesus, through His priest, will change the bread into His real Body and the wine into His real Blood.

When we say "Sanctus" or "Holy," we repeat the praise and adoration of the angels in heaven to God.  Jesus is God made man.  He sacrifices His Body and pours out His Blood, so He is a man; but He is also God.  We eat His Body and drink His Blood so He is a man with flesh and blood; but we also receive God Almighty in Holy Communion.

When we say "Hosanna in excelsis," or "Hosanna in the highest," we are repeating what the people said when Our Lord entered Jerusalem as the Messiah or Savior.  Jesus is also coming now to our altars as our Lord and Savior.

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 9

Now the priest is about to begin the most important part of the Mass, when God will change, through the priest's words and actions, the bread into the true Body of Jesus and the wine into the true Blood of Jesus.

Because this part of the Mass is so important, the priest says a prayer right before he begins this part.  This prayer is called the Preface.

In the Preface, the priest thanks and praises God for all the good blessings He has given us.

At this part of the Mass, think of all the good things you have in your home; your parents, family, home, food, clothing.  Think of your friends and the school you go to.  Think of your religion and the sacraments and the saints.  They lead you to heaven!

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 8

Next, the priest turns around and says to us, "Pray, brethren" or "Orate, fratres."

"Brethren" means "brothers and sisters."  The priest is speaking to all of us.

He is asking us to pray that the sacrifice he is making, and that we are making with and through the priest, will be acceptable to God the Father.

Are you sending to Jesus, through the priest, your own sacrifices?

The times your parents tell you to do something, and although you would rather play, you obey them?

The times you ask your parents to buy you something you would like, and they cannot buy it, and you understand?

The times your brother or sister may not be nice to you, but you are still nice to them?

Those are all kinds of sacrifices, and God loves them, but especially when you give them to Jesus at Mass.

Because Jesus made the biggest sacrifice of all.  He died for you and me on the cross. That is what we make present today in every Mass.

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 7

Next, we see the priest wash his fingers.  The priest does this to show how he wants to, and needs to, be spiritually clean so that he can offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with a clean heart and mind.  The Victim on our altar, Jesus the Lord, is perfectly clean and spotless.  The priest takes the place of Christ at Mass, and in the same way he must be clean, for God is holy.

We also offer our own little sacrifices with the Host and the Chalice at Mass.  So we, too, must be clean in our hearts and minds.  When you see the priest wash his fingers at Mass, ask the fire of the Holy Ghost to burn up all that is not pleasing to God in your heart and in your mind.

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 6

After the priest offers the host, he offers the chalice filled with wine.

But before he does this, the priest mixes a little bit of plain water into the wine. 

This reminds us of the time a Roman soldier pierced the side of Jesus with his spear, and out flowed blood and water.  The wine is red like blood, and after the Consecration, it is no longer wine but the true Blood of Jesus.

This blood and water remind us of the sacraments.  The blood reminds us of Mass; the water reminds us of baptism.  Both blood and water make us think of life.  If we lose enough of our blood, we will die.  If we don't drink water, in time we will also die.  Jesus died so that we can live in heaven one day. 

Think of this when you see the priest put a little water into the wine at this time of Mass.

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 5

After we have heard God's Word teaching us what to believe, and after we have told God that we believe, when we say the Credo, we now begin the Holy Sacrifice and Sacred Meal which Jesus commanded us to do "in memory of Him."

Just as Jesus offered bread and wine at the Last Supper, the priest, who is Jesus for us in the Mass, offers the bread and wine.  These will become the true Body and true Blood of Jesus.

Our Lord offered His Body and poured out His Blood on the Cross for our salvation.  We, too, offer Jesus our body and soul, our mind, our will, our love.  We offer Him all our sacrifices.  This is shown in the bread and wine because man makes bread and makes wine.  But we take no credit for this, because man can only do that because God first of all gave us the wheat and gave us the grapes.

We make our offering to God, because everything belongs to Him for they all come from Him.  By making God an offering of our lives, we give Him thanks and give Him the worship and adoration He deserves, through Jesus whose sacrifice was perfect and sinless.

Make sure when you see the priest offer the bread and wine that you tell Jesus you are also offering to God all your life; your good times and bad, your sacrifices, your good deeds, your prayers.  Ask Jesus to wash away your bad deeds and sins by the blood of His sacrifice.  Jesus will make you a holy sacrifice, too, if you do all things with Jesus!

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 4

On most Sundays and many feasts, the Gloria comes next.  The word means "glory" and in it we give glory and praise to God, the same way that the angels did when Jesus was born on Christmas.

In Holy Mass, Christ our God comes to us in a special way.  Just as at Christmas, He will be "born" on our altars when the bread is changed into His Body, and the wine into His Blood.  They will become the SAME Body and Blood that was born on Christmas Day over 2,000 years ago.

But Our Lord is never alone.  He is always praised and glorified with the Father who sent Him to us, and with the Holy Ghost whom both the Father and the Son send to us to be our strength and inspiration.  So the Gloria mentions all Three Persons of the Holy Trinity.

Because the Gloria is a song of joy, we do not say or sing it during times when we should think of the sadness of our sins, such as during Septuagesima and Lent; or the sufferings of the souls in Purgatory, as at a Requiem Mass; or when we are preparing for Christmas during Advent.  The Gloria is also not said at Masses during weekdays of lower rank.  In this last example, it is the day that is of lower rank, not the Mass.  In ALL Masses, the awesome Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, with all Its graces and blessings, is made present again for us!

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 3

Next in Mass comes the Introit.  It means "entrance."

In the old days, this was the psalm sung when the bishop or priest entered the sanctuary, the holy place where Mass is celebrated at the altar.

We can also think of it as the time Christ enters among us gathered at Mass.

The Introit is the real beginning of Mass, since, at times, the prayers that come before this can be skipped on certain occasions.  The Introit is never skipped.  A different Introit is used for different Masses.  It is never the same Introit used day after day.

After the Introit is the Kyrie.

This word, and what follows, are in Greek, not Latin.  In olden times, the Church in Rome prayed in Greek, which was the language most known all over the Roman Empire.

Before, petitions were made to God, with the response being "Lord, have mercy," in Greek.  In time, only the responses "Lord, have mercy" and "Christ, have mercy" were kept in the Mass.

We ask God's mercy three times speaking to God the Father (Kyrie), three times to God the Son (Christe) and three times to God the Holy Ghost (Kyrie).

We must begin Mass knowing that we are sinners and ask God for His mercy, knowing that He loves us when we humble ourselves and ask for mercy.

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - 2

Since Holy Mass is the one sacrifice of our Lord, renewed on our altars in an unbloody way, we begin Mass with the Sign of the Cross, the instrument of His sacrificial death.

Dear Lord, You died for love of me.  Help me to die to myself, for love of You!

MASS GUIDE FOR CHILDREN - I

Today I will start sending out, once a week before Sunday, a page from an old, out-of-print Mass guidebook for children.  Parents can go through these pages with their child or children and teach them the parts of the Mass and what they mean.  Even adults could benefit from reviewing the rudiments of the doctrine of the Mass.

Most pages will have pictures of a specific part of the Mass.

This opening page teaches the child a few basic things about the Mass.

The church or chapel is God's house. 

The Tabernacle contains the Real Presence of God.

In Holy Communion, we receive God into our bodies.

We must receive Holy Communion worthily and with the right disposition (full of love).

We join the priest in offering the sacrifice, with the help of the saints and angels.

The Mass is Calvary and Good Friday all over again; not a new sacrifice, but the same unique one almost 2000 years ago.

It frees us from hell and opens to us the doors of heaven.

We come to Mass with thanksgiving, and pray the Mass "with mind and heart."

IF YOUR CHILD LEARNS THIS MUCH, HE OR SHE WILL KNOW MUCH MORE THAN MOST YOUNG PEOPLE NOWADAYS.