This page walks through a Sunday Mass of the Roman Missal of Pope Paul VI, the Mass of most Catholic parishes today, often called the Novus Ordo ("new order") or the ordinary form. It is written for someone going for the first time, or coming back after years away: what is happening at each point, and whether people stand, sit or kneel.
The fixed prayers, the Order of Mass, are the same every Sunday; the readings and the priest's prayers of the day change. Sunday readings run in a three-year cycle, so that over three years much of the Bible is read aloud. The pew leaflet usually has the day's readings. For a book of your own, a Sunday Missal has the Order of Mass and every Sunday's readings; the Catholic Truth Society Sunday Missal gives the Order of Mass in Latin and English side by side.
The Mass has two main parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, so closely joined that they make one single act of worship: first the table of God's word is set, then the table of the Lord's Body. Short rites open and close it. Christ is present throughout: in the people gathered in his name, in the priest, in his word, and above all in his Body and Blood.
As the entrance hymn or chant begins, the priest comes in with the servers. He bows deeply to the altar and kisses it, and may incense it. Stand.
At his chair the priest and everyone make the Sign of the Cross together, and the people answer Amen. The priest then greets the people, with a greeting from St Paul or the simple one below, and the people answer. This exchange comes back several times. Stand.
| Dominus vobiscum. | The Lord be with you. |
| Et cum spiritu tuo. | And with thy spirit. |
The priest invites everyone to call their sins to mind, and after a short silence all make a general confession. Usually it is the Confiteor ("I confess"): each person confesses to God and to one another that they have sinned in thought, word, deed and omission, strikes the breast, and asks Our Lady, the angels and saints, and everyone present to pray for them. A shorter form is sometimes used. The priest then prays for God's mercy on all; this does not take the place of Confession. On some Sundays the priest instead sprinkles the people with blessed water, in memory of their baptism. Stand.
Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison; Kyrie, eleison: "Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy". The priest or cantor says or sings each cry and the people repeat it, in Greek or in English. If it was already part of the Penitential Act, it is not repeated. Stand.
On Sundays outside Advent and Lent, and on feasts, all sing or say the Gloria in excelsis Deo, the ancient hymn that begins with the angels' song at Bethlehem (Luke 2:14) and goes on to praise the Father and the Lamb of God. Stand.
The priest says Oremus ("Let us pray"), and all pray silently for a moment. Then he says the Collect, the prayer of the day, which sets the tone of the feast or season. The people answer Amen. Stand.
A reader goes to the ambo, the lectern for the Scriptures, and reads from the Old Testament (in Easter time, from the Acts of the Apostles). At the end the reader announces that this is the word of the Lord, and the people give thanks to God (Verbum Domini. Deo gratias.). A short silence may follow. Sit.
A cantor or reader sings or reads the verses of a psalm, and the people repeat a short response after each one. The psalm is itself the word of God, and helps everyone ponder what they have just heard. Sit.
On Sundays and solemnities there is a second reading, usually from a letter of one of the Apostles, ending in the same way as the first. Sit.
All stand and sing Alleluia, welcoming the Lord who is about to speak in the Gospel, with a verse sung by the cantor. In Lent the Alleluia is dropped and another short acclamation takes its place. Stand.
The Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the Word, read by a deacon or priest. He greets the people and names the Gospel he is reading from, tracing a small cross with his thumb on the book and then on his forehead, lips and breast; everyone makes the same three small crosses and answers with a word of glory to the Lord. At the end the people praise Christ (Laus tibi, Christe), and the priest kisses the book. Stand.
The priest or deacon preaches, drawing out the meaning of the readings or the prayers of the day for the people's lives. A short silence may follow. Sit.
On Sundays and solemnities all say or sing the Creed together, answering the word of God with the Church's profession of faith. Usually it is the Nicene Creed; in Lent and Easter time it may be the Apostles' Creed. At the words on the Incarnation, that the Son was made man by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary (Et incarnatus est), everyone bows deeply; at Christmas and on the feast of the Annunciation everyone genuflects. Stand.
Also called the Bidding Prayers: a reader or deacon announces intentions for the Church, for those in public authority and the salvation of the world, for those in any trouble, and for the local community. After each, the people answer with a short prayer, and the priest closes with a prayer. Stand.
The altar is made ready, members of the congregation often carry up the bread and wine, and the collection for the Church and the poor is taken up. The priest raises the bread and then the wine a little above the altar, blessing God for these gifts of the earth and of human work. He usually says these prayers quietly while a hymn is sung; if he says them aloud, the people answer by blessing God. He mixes a little water with the wine, and washes his hands as a sign of his wish to be clean within. Sit.
The priest invites the people to pray that his sacrifice and theirs may be acceptable to God the Father (Orate, fratres, "Pray, brethren"). The people stand and answer, asking the Lord to accept it, to his own glory and for the good of the whole Church. The priest says the prayer over the offerings of the day, and the people answer Amen. Stand.
Now the centre and summit of the whole celebration begins: the Eucharistic Prayer, the great prayer of thanksgiving and sanctification. It opens with an ancient three-part dialogue. The priest greets the people; he calls on them to lift up their hearts (Sursum corda), and they answer that their hearts are with the Lord; he invites them to give thanks to God, and they answer that it is fitting to do so. He then sings or says the Preface, thanking the Father for the work of salvation or for the mystery of the day. Stand.
The Preface ends by joining the angels in their praise, and all sing or say the Sanctus, "Holy, holy, holy", the cry of the seraphim before God's throne (Isaias 6:3), with Benedictus qui venit, the cry of the crowds greeting Christ on Palm Sunday (Matthew 21:9). Stand, and kneel when it ends.
The priest alone says the Eucharistic Prayer; the people join in it in faith and in silence. The Missal has several: Eucharistic Prayer I is the Roman Canon, the ancient prayer of the Roman Mass, which may be used at any Mass and is heard in many parishes; Eucharistic Prayers II, III and IV and a few others are also approved. In each, the priest calls down the Holy Spirit on the bread and wine, and then, in the words and actions of Christ at the Last Supper, the consecration takes place.
Over the bread the priest says the words of Christ, and it becomes his Body. He raises the Sacred Host for the people to see and adore, and genuflects. Over the chalice he says the words of Christ, and the wine becomes his Precious Blood; he raises the chalice and genuflects again. A server may ring a bell. Look up at the Host and the chalice as they are raised, and bow your head as the priest genuflects. Kneel.
| Hoc est enim Corpus meum. | For this is my Body. |
The prayer goes on: the Church remembers Christ's Passion, Resurrection and Ascension, offers the spotless Victim to the Father and learns to offer herself with him, and prays for the Pope and the bishop, the whole Church, the living and the dead, in communion with Our Lady and the saints. Kneel.
Straight after the consecration the priest says Mysterium fidei, "the mystery of faith", and the people answer with one of three short acclamations proclaiming Christ's death and Resurrection, echoing St Paul: as often as we eat this bread and drink the chalice, "you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Kneel.
The priest lifts up the Host and the chalice together and sings or says the doxology (Per ipsum), giving all honour and glory to the Father through Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. The people answer with the Great Amen, often sung: their "yes" to the whole prayer. Kneel, then stand.
All say or sing the Lord's Prayer together; its petition for daily bread is, for Christians, above all a prayer for the Bread of the Eucharist. The priest alone continues, asking that the whole community be delivered from evil, and the people end with an ancient acclamation giving the kingdom, the power and the glory to God (Quia tuum est regnum). Stand.
The priest prays for the peace and unity of the Church and gives the greeting of peace (Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum), and the people answer. He may invite everyone to offer one another a sign of peace, after local custom: quietly, and only to those nearest. Stand.
The priest breaks the Host, as Christ broke the bread at the Last Supper, and drops a small piece into the chalice. Meanwhile all sing or say Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi ("Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world"), twice ending "have mercy on us" and the last time "grant us peace" (dona nobis pacem). Stand; kneel at the end of the Agnus Dei.
The priest holds up the Host with the words of St John the Baptist, "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29), adding a line from the Apocalypse that calls blessed those invited to the supper of the Lamb (Apocalypse 19:9). Priest and people then say once the words of the centurion, who told Christ he was not worthy to have him under his roof and asked only for a word of healing (Matthew 8:8). Kneel.
| Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi. | Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world. |
| Domine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea. | Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed. |
After the priest's own Communion, the Communion hymn or chant begins and those receiving come forward in a line. As you reach the front, make a sign of reverence, such as a bow of the head. The priest or minister holds up the Host and says Corpus Christi, "The Body of Christ"; you answer Amen, your act of faith. The Church permits each of these ways of receiving:
Only Catholics who are properly prepared receive Holy Communion: free of grave sin (otherwise, go to Confession first) and having kept the one-hour fast from food and drink, water and medicine excepted. If you are not receiving, stay in your place and make a spiritual communion, asking Our Lord to come into your heart. Afterwards there is time for silent thanksgiving: sit or kneel.
The priest says Oremus and prays that the mystery just celebrated may bear fruit in those who have received it; the people answer Amen. Any parish notices follow. Stand.
The priest greets the people once more and blesses them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Make the Sign of the Cross and answer Amen. On some days the blessing is fuller, with a special prayer over the people. Stand.
The deacon or priest sends the people out to live what they have celebrated, doing good and praising God. There are several short forms; the oldest is below, and the people answer with thanks to God. The priest kisses the altar, bows, and leaves during the closing hymn. Stand until he has gone.
| Ite, missa est. | Go, it is the dismissal. |
| Deo gratias. | Thanks be to God. |
The same Mass can be celebrated in different ways. All of these are permitted and found in many parishes.
Anyone who cannot kneel, through age, health or lack of room, may stand or sit, and bow deeply when the priest genuflects after the consecration. If the people around you do differently, do as they do.
For the older form of the Mass, see the Latin Mass explained.