As a judge raps a gavel and says “All rise” to the gathered assembly to officially start, so must those assembled at Mass recognize an official start — or entrance rite, said Father Tom Margevicius, director of worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
“Just from a ritual position, a ritual perspective, there is a natural need for an assembly to come to order,” he said in the second installment of his new series “Mass Class” on the “Practicing Catholic” radio show. “There is just the natural human dynamic of when strangers who were previously (going) about their individual lives gather together and form a new reality, a gathered assembly … need some sort of structure to it,” he said.
Father Tom Margevicius
At some point, Mass needs to officially start, he said. Thus, the entrance rites.
Entrance rites can be looked at from different perspectives, Father Margevicius said, talking with “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley for the show debuting 9 p.m. June 24 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. There are ritual, historical and theological perspectives, he said, and many ways to carry them out.
The most familiar ones are the procession itself into the sanctuary, usually accompanied by singing, a sign of the cross, kissing of the altar; sometimes on festive days incensing the altar and any sacred images of Christ, such as the crucifix or the Easter candle, or in the Christmas season incensing the crèche, Father Margevicius said. “And once the greeting has occurred, there is the opportunity for us to recollect that which we are about to do, and the priest or the bishop ordinarily invites us to reflect on our need for God’s mercy,” he said.
Then the opening prayer (collect), a moment of silence for prayer, and then the priest or bishop gives an audible summary of prayers. In certain liturgies, introductory rites can be modified, Father Margevicius said, especially in the Easter season. For example, the priest might do a sprinkling of the assembly to remind them of their baptism, he said.
During the interview, Conley asked Father Margevicius when someone arriving at Mass is actually considered late. And if people are late, can they still receive Communion? To hear Father Margevicius’ response and to listen to the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. June 25 and 2 p.m. June 26.
Listeners are encouraged to submit questions for future episodes of “Mass Class.” Call the hotline number at 651-251-7737, leave a brief message with name, home parish and question.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Father Tom Margevicius, director of worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who describes Mass entrance rites for his second episode of “Mass Class,” and a reprised interview from 2021 with licensed financial advisor Susan Wieneke, who shares financial tips for young people and couples.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired:
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