HOLY MASS

“By fusing pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties.”

“And virtually all the elements of the Catholic ritual-the miter, the altar, the doxology, and communion, the act of ‘God eating’ were taken directly from earlier pagan mystery religions.” 

The Holy Mass is a symbol. Just because the rituals are identical, it doesn’t mean that they symbolize the same thing or have the same meaning.

Symbols are tricky customers. They mean different things to different people. Each person gets a different meaning from the same symbol. Take the following symbol for example. What does it represent?

A E I O U

Among the English alphabets, it is the letter ‘O’.

0 1 2 3 4

Among numbers, it becomes the number zero.

 

Among geometrical figures, it becomes a circle.

 

In a picture of the night sky, it becomes the moon.

Does this mean that letter O and number 0 were copies? No. When the symbol has a different meaning then it is not a copy. The same applies for the Holy Mass.

The Holy Mass is the remembrance of the Last Supper. I wonder how Langdon, who has extensively studied the Last Supper, forgot this fact.

' Then he took a loaf of bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them saying ,”This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." '(Luke 22:19).

The Holy Mass was not started by Constantine. It had been prevalent among the very first Christians. It must also be remembered that the Last Supper was in itself the remembrance of the Passover. So the actual origins of the Holy Mass can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt. This is given in detail in the Bible.

But is the Holy Mass a mere ritual? Or did Christ have a greater purpose in establishing the Holy Mass. As you are well aware, the Holy Communion, the 'act of God Eating' , is the core of the Holy Mass. Catholic doctrine teaches us that through Communion we are receiving Christ. It is important that we purify ourselves before we receive him. One must prepare oneself before receiving God. It is considered a grave sin to take communion without preparation. As preparation, we do self-introspection and confess our sins. This, I believe, is the higher purpose that Christ had in mind.

Even atheists, would admit the need of self-introspection in a person’s life. It helps him/her grow into a better human being. But in our busy lives, how many of us can find the time to reflect upon our life? If you are asked to do self-introspection one hour every week, would you do it? The Holy Communion is the answer to this. It makes us look back into our lives even without our realizing it. It helps us correct our mistakes and become a new human being.

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