A Dialogue
I just noticed at Holy Mass the other weekend, how many times we say “You,” as in “You, God.” And then, how many times the priest says “you,” as in “you, the people.” It is a dialogue between “you” and the priest, and the priest speaks in the person of Jesus Christ (in persona Christi).
The Gloria
I am starting with the Gloria. Yes, we do not say the Gloria during Lent, but we do for special holy days and Sundays.
Pray the Gloria with me, focusing your attention on the word, “You.” The printing of the “Gloria” in the missal puts “You,” with a lower-case “y.” For the help of this article, I will be referencing “You” as God and you as “you.”
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will.
We praise You, we bless You,
we adore You, we glorify You,
we give You thanks for Your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
Son of the Father,
You take away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us;
You take away the sins of the world,
receive our prayer;
You are seated at the right hand of the Father,
have mercy on us.
For You alone are the Holy One,
You alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father. Amen
That makes 12 “Yous” in just this Gloria. This is our song of praise to You, the Great I AM!
Then, think of the Gospel proclamation: “Glory to You, O Lord.” And, “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ.
The Eucharistic Prayer
This prayer is a dialogue, it is a conversation between you and You.
“The Lord be with you” says the priest. “And with your spirit,” we respond.
The most vital part of the Mass includes you!
Look to the consecration of the bread and wine into Jesus, His Body, Blood Soul, and Divinity.
Jesus (through the priest,) says,
“Take this, all of you, and eat of it. For this is my Body, which will be given up for you."
“Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me.”
As the Eucharistic prayer is a dialogue. We say a version of a response:
“We proclaim Your Death, O Lord, and profess Your Resurrection until You come again.
To the Plural!
Here is another interesting thing. The “you,” turns greatly to “we” and “our” and “us.” Instead of us being singular, we often become plural.
“Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the blessed Passion and the Resurrection from the dead, and the glorious Ascension into heaven of Christ, Your Son, our Lord, we, Your servants and Your holy people, offer to Your glorious majesty from the gifts that You have given us…”
When we pray the “Our Father,” it is definitely not just your father, but ours! “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
You can find the whole Order of the Mass with various different Eucharistic Prayers online. To find information on the Order of the Mass, go to https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass. Or, for verbatim words, go to https://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/Mass-RM3.htm#Introductory
You will find that there is also a change of “tenses,” during the Sign of Peace and Holy Communion. Now at Mass one day, focus on "You" and "you." Perhaps at Mass another day, you can focus on the title, “God,” or “Lord,” and mediate on how often we say His Holy Name at Holy Mass. The point is to pray and deepen your relationship with the Lord by conversing with him.
O Jesus, You are God!
And now you get to respond to Jesus.
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