KUCHING — Having not attended Mass at church in person for many months, the EMPOWERED Ministry conducted a series of sessions on the Mass to gain a deeper understanding on the richness of the Mass and to be able to participate more fully in Mass whether virtually or physically.
The five-part sessions were based on the study material, A Biblical Walk Through the Mass: Understanding What We Say and Do in The Liturgy by Dr Edward Sri.
For five Friday evenings from 11 June 2021 until 23 July 2021 (with breaks in between), averagely 25–30 attendees out of 40 registrants came together to explore the biblical roots of the Mass liturgy and discover what it all means and why it all matters.
The session flow started at 8.00 pm with time of grace, followed by a brief introduction and the session teaching video by Dr Edward Sri, before the participants concluded the evening with group discussion and prayer.
In summary, the participants started this biblical journey through the Mass with the Introductory Rites which opens the celebration of the Mass and prepares the faithful for their sacred encounter with God in his Word and in the Eucharist. Thereafter, the participants dived into the two principal parts of the Mass—the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which forms one unified act of worship where the faithful are first nourished at the table of God’s Word through the reading from scripture and then at the table of our Lord’s Body which the faithful receive in Holy Communion. After Communion, the Concluding Rites formally close the celebration and send the people forth to do good works and take Christ into the world.
Having participated in each of the sessions and taken a tour through the prayers, hymns, gestures and rituals of the liturgy, the participants gained an enriching understanding of the Mass through learning the biblical background and completed the series with renewed faith and deepening love for the Eucharist.
The next short series is scheduled to commence in mid-August 2021 until September or October 2021. Tune in to EMPOWERED Social Media (fb.com/empoweredkch or IG: empoweredkch) for more info and registration.
Empowered Ministry Kuching
