How and why is a Roman Catholic mass conducted?

Well, you could write whole books on the topic, but I'll try to summarize:

The basic structire of the Catholic mass:

- Greeting / opening prayer
- First reading (from the Old Testament)
- Second Reading (from the new testament but not the Gospel)
- Gospel reading (from one of the 4 Gospel books)
- Homily
- (lots of prayers, including responsorial and the Our Father)
- eucharist
- closing prayer

Plus a few "alleluias" stuck in between the major items.

As for why? That's a more complicated answer. The serving of the Eucharist is, essentially, a re-enactment of the Last Supper, when the Big J broke bread and drank wine with his disciples the night before he was crucified. Beyond that, it is a touch-point for the Catholic community, an opportunity for the priest to educate the parish regarding Christian values, and an opportunity for the congregation to retreat from the material world and meditate on larger issues.

Is that useful info?

Somewhere in that "lots of prayers" section, they usually collect money. At least, they do at every Catholic church I've been to. They just pass baskets around and people put money in them.

Try these links-
www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/
www.catholic.org
www.catholic.com
www.catholic.net
They all have very helpful information on what Catholics believe and why, and the whys of Mass being celebrated etc.

The most important part of the Mass is the consecration. This is where Catholics believe transubstantiation occurs, where the bread and wine become (not represent, _become_) the body and blood of Christ, though no change apparently occurs.

Catholic Mass is celebrated each week to receive the Eucharist which Catholics believe is not only a communion with themselves and God and each other but also a Sacrament, one of seven that Catholics believe are necessary to live a Holy life. To not attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation is considered a grave sin and a Catholic should attend confession or the Sacrament of Reconcilitaion to receive Absolution before receiving Eucharist again.

Depending on how many Catholics are in the parish, masses can be held daily or only on the weekends.

The "why" is a more interesting question, I think.

Catholics believe that the Mass is a sacrifice - a lot of older Catholics, or some very traditionalist writers, will call it "the Sacrifice of the Mass" - and that it is mystically the exact same sacrifice as the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. So, for example, the bread and wine are consecrated separately partly because on the cross Christ's body and blood were separated. Even those Catholics who emphasize the community worship aspects over the sacrifice aspects still view the Mass as the highest form of prayer.

A priest (or bishop - all bishops are priests) is necessary for a Mass to take place. Everyone else participates, to a greater or lesser degree, but without a priest it's only some time spent praying in community (which isn't bad, by any means, but it's not as awesomely special as the Mass is). Catholics believe that Jesus ordained men as priests and directed them to offer this sacrifice.

When the bread and wine have been consecrated, they are not considered to be bread or wine any more. They are never just thrown away, but are either consumed by the priest and anyone else who is attending ("assisting", is the older term), or kept in a place of honor.

Besides Sunday Mass, which is an obligation for Catholics, and special holy-day Masses, which are often also obligatory ("holy days of obligation" - in the US they're January 1, whenever Ascension falls (depending on the part of the country either the sixth Thursday after Easter or the next Sunday), August 15 (the feast of the Assumption), November 1 (All Saints Day - this has a practical aspect for NaNoWriMo because staying up too late means it's hard to get to an early service!), December 8 (the feast of the Immaculate Conception - this celebrates Mary, the mother of Jesus, being conceived, not Jesus himself being conceived), and December 25 (Christmas)), most places have daily Mass. Ideally, since this is so important, Catholics should be trying to go to Mass as often as possible. I don't typically go except on Sundays and holy days, though.

Catholics will sometimes have a Mass said for special occasions. When someone dies, it's customary to have a Mass said for them, beyond any funeral service they might have. This is because Catholics believe that when someone dies they either go to Hell (they have lived their life in such a way that they've consistently refused God's love and would rather "reign in Hell than serve in Heaven"), to Heaven (they have lived their life in such a way that they have consistently accepted God's love), or to Purgatory, which means they're bound for Heaven eventually, but they're in need of purification first. Those in Purgatory can't pray for themselves, so they need our prayers, and as I said, the Mass is the highest form of prayer. Those in Hell can't (and would not if they were able) pray for themselves, but the Church does not assume that anyone is in Hell (it is permissible to believe that only the Devil is there), so there's nobody for whom we shouldn't or can't pray. Those in Heaven don't need our prayers, but they will gladly allow the "effect" of the prayer to affect someone who does need it.

When someone is very ill, or otherwise in need, they or their family might have a Mass said for them. It's not as common anymore (at least in the parts of the US where I've lived) but people do sometimes have Masses said in thanksgiving for things.

On Sundays, a collection is taken up, to support the parish and to support whatever works of charity the parish does. For Masses that you request a priest to say, it's customary to pay some amount, though you don't have to, for the same reasons. I haven't ever encountered a parish that specified a suggested donation, but I tend to give around twenty dollars when I ask a priest to say a Mass - it's enough that it feels like I'm not just dropping a dollar in a tip jar, but not so much that it's unaffordable for me.

The last thing I wanted to mention is that the "how" of the Mass has changed over the centuries - depending on when your story is set, the Mass will look and sound different. Before, say, 800 CE, we don't really know much about how the Mass looked, though we know it had certain aspects that are still the same (reading from the Bible, consecrating bread and wine). Between 1570 and 1969 the Mass throughout the world took place in a specific way, sometimes called the "Tridentine Mass" or the "extraordinary form of Mass". After 1969, a newer form of Mass became the normal form, but it is still possible to find places where the older form is regularly said.

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It's simple, Skyler. You've seen what food processors do to food, right?

If there is a Catholic Church close to where you live, you could perhaps just go and assist to a Mass once, so that you see how it is organized. Normally that should be possible, as long as you don't participate in the eucharisty or misbehave. ;-)

You could also check out www.lifeteen.com -- lots of information not only about the Mass but Catholicism as a whole, written for teens so it's somewhat easier to understand. :)

Tina, ML for the Philippines
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NANO 2007: Red Meets Blue
Refine Me | More than Bitesized Fiction

Actually the Tridentine (Latin) Mass might become more widespread. The Pope issued an apostolic letter in July that could lead to it making a comeback.

Here's another helpful site!
http://www.cwo.com/~pentrack/catholic/apolo.html

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Also keep in mind that the Tridentine or extraordinary form of the mass is still used.

If you'd like, I could send you my recent observation paper of such a mass that I did for my general ed writing course last week. PM me your email, and I'll be glad to send it your way.

If you really want to see a catholic mass but don't want to go to a church (since that might feel a bit weird as a non christian) check your local TV listings. Here in MA there's a catholic mass on the local station every morning - my grandparents watch it when they can't make daily mass. They put it on for people who are sick or in nursing homes and once a week a deacon or member of the church (mostly clergy but sometime laity) can come by and give them communion. There's a religious cable station too... TBN I want to say that could have masses as well.

I've never thought about it but I suppose not going to mass is a rather heavy sin - it is one of the ten commandments after all (though the meaning's been skewed a bit over the millennia). Most people unless they're strict catholics miss mass for numerous reasons... then there's the Christmas/Easter crowd... they come on those holidays and no others cause they're too busy but they think going for the holidays is better then not going at all...

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