The Mass in order, part by part: what each one is, what the congregation does, and when everybody stands, sits and kneels.
You do not need to know any of this to go. Every parish hands out a worship aid with the words in it, everybody stands and kneels at the same time so there is nothing to remember, and nobody is watching you. This page is here so that the first Mass back feels familiar rather than exposing.
Everything before the readings. Their purpose is to make a collection of individuals into a congregation, and to get everyone to the point of being able to listen. 1
The texts for this part, from the USCCBThe priest and ministers process to the altar while a chant or hymn is sung. The chant opens the celebration, deepens the unity of those gathered, and introduces the season or the feast. 1
The priest venerates the altar with a kiss, and on more solemn occasions incenses it. He then makes the sign of the cross with the people and greets them. 1
The greeting is a dialogue: the priest addresses the congregation, and the congregation answers. This is the first of many such exchanges, and the responses are short and printed in every worship aid.
The whole congregation makes an act of penitence together, after a brief silence. There are several approved forms; the priest chooses one, and it concludes with his absolution — which, the Instruction is careful to say, does not have the efficacy of the sacrament of Penance. 1
That distinction matters for anyone returning. The Penitential Act at Mass is not confession, and it does not substitute for it where grave sin is concerned.
An acclamation in which the faithful praise the Lord and implore his mercy. It is ordinarily made by everyone, with parts for the people and for the choir or cantor, and it is often sung in Greek — which is not an affectation but the oldest surviving layer of the Roman liturgy. 1
It is omitted when it has already been included in the Penitential Act.
An ancient hymn of praise, sung or said by everyone together, or alternately with the choir, or by the choir alone. 1
It is not said every week. The Instruction gives it on Sundays outside Advent and Lent, on solemnities and feasts, and at more solemn celebrations. 1 So through the whole of Advent and the whole of Lent it simply is not there, and its return at Christmas and at Easter is meant to be noticed.
The priest invites everyone to pray, there is a genuine silence in which people bring their own intentions to mind, and then he gathers those intentions into a single prayer — which is what "collect" means. It changes every day. 1
God speaks to his people, and the people respond. Readings from Scripture, with the chants between them, form the main part; the homily, profession of faith and universal prayer develop and conclude it. 1
The texts for this part, from the USCCBOn Sundays, ordinarily from the Old Testament, and usually chosen to illuminate the Gospel that follows. A reader proclaims it from the ambo. 1
The readings are laid out in the Lectionary on a three-year Sunday cycle and a two-year weekday cycle, so the same Sunday readings come round every third year.
An integral part of the Liturgy of the Word, and not a musical interlude between the readings. It is normally sung, at least the people’s response. 1
On Sundays and solemnities, a reading from the letters of the New Testament, which runs on its own semi-continuous course rather than being matched to the Gospel.
The Alleluia, or in Lent another acclamation, sung standing as a greeting to the Lord who is about to speak in the Gospel. 1
The Alleluia disappears for the whole of Lent. The Instruction gives it in every season other than Lent; in Lent the verse before the Gospel is sung in its place, or a psalm or tract. 1 Its absence for forty days is deliberate, and its return at the Easter Vigil is one of the loudest moments in the Church’s year.
The high point of the Liturgy of the Word, proclaimed by a deacon or a priest, with particular marks of honor: it may be carried in procession, incensed, and is greeted and concluded with acclamations. 1
Part of the liturgy itself rather than an addition to it, and required on Sundays and holy days of obligation at Masses with a congregation. It expounds the readings or another text of the day. 1
The congregation responds to the Word by professing the faith of the Church. It is sung or said by the priest together with the people on Sundays and solemnities, and may be used at more solemn celebrations. 1
Two forms are approved: the Nicene Creed, and the Apostles’ Creed. There is a bow at the words about the Incarnation, and a genuflection at that point on the Annunciation and at Christmas.
Also called the Prayer of the Faithful or the Bidding Prayers. The people exercise their baptismal priesthood by interceding for the Church, for public authorities, for those weighed down by need, and for the local community. 1
The center of the whole celebration. The gifts are brought and prepared, the Eucharistic Prayer gives thanks and consecrates, and the Communion Rite distributes what has been consecrated. 1
The texts for this part, from the USCCBBread and wine are brought to the altar, often by members of the congregation, and the collection is taken. The priest says quiet prayers over each, and washes his hands. 1
He then invites the people to pray that the sacrifice may be acceptable, and they make a response; the Prayer over the Offerings concludes the preparation. 1
The center and summit of the entire celebration: a prayer of thanksgiving and consecration, in which the whole congregation joins itself to Christ in confessing the great deeds of God and offering the sacrifice. 1
It opens with a dialogue and the Preface, which changes with the season and the feast, and leads into the Sanctus sung by everyone. It contains the epiclesis, the Institution narrative and consecration, the anamnesis, the offering, the intercessions, and the concluding doxology to which the people answer Amen. 1
Several approved Eucharistic Prayers are in use; the priest chooses among them. The first of them is the Roman Canon, the ancient prayer of the Roman Rite.
The Communion Rite opens with the prayer the Lord himself taught, prayed by everyone together, followed by a prayer for deliverance and a doxology said by the people. 1
The faithful ask peace and unity for the Church and for the whole human family, and express it to one another. The manner of the gesture is set by the conference of bishops according to local custom; in the United States it is ordinarily a handshake, and the Instruction asks that it be given soberly and only to those nearest. 1
The priest breaks the consecrated bread — the gesture that gave the Eucharist its earliest name, the breaking of bread — while the Agnus Dei is sung or said, and places a fragment in the chalice. 1
The priest shows the Eucharist to the people and invites them to the supper of the Lamb; priest and people together make an act of humility before receiving. Communion is then distributed while the Communion chant is sung, and a period of silence or a hymn of praise follows. 1
Who may receive is not a matter of etiquette. Catholics in the state of grace may receive; anyone conscious of grave sin is to go to sacramental confession first. 3 Canon law also asks a fast from food and drink, water and medicine excepted, for one hour before Communion.
If you should not receive, you are not stuck in the pew. It is entirely normal to go forward with arms crossed over the chest for a blessing instead, or simply to stay where you are. Both are ordinary, and neither is remarked on.
The priest asks for the fruits of the mystery just celebrated, and the people make the prayer their own with the Amen. 1
Brief announcements if there are any, the blessing, and the dismissal. 1
The texts for this part, from the USCCBThe priest blesses the people, and the deacon or priest dismisses them, so that each may go back to doing good works and praising God. He then venerates the altar as at the beginning. 1
The word "Mass" comes from that dismissal — from the Latin missa, a sending. The end of the liturgy is the point of it.
The Mass keeps the same shape all year, but parts of it come and go with the season. Knowing which is which saves you wondering whether something was skipped.
Violet, and rose on the Third Sunday (Gaudete)
White or gold
Violet, and rose on the Fourth Sunday (Laetare)
White on Holy Thursday, red on Good Friday, white at the Vigil
White, and red at Pentecost
Green
Usually white; red for martyrs and for the Holy Spirit
For which season any given date falls in, and what is celebrated that day, see the liturgical calendar.
Almost every Mass in the United States is the Ordinary Form, and everything above describes it. You may also hear about the traditional Latin Mass, and it is worth knowing how the two differ and where things currently stand.
| Ordinary Form | 1962 Missal | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is called | The Ordinary Form; the Mass of Paul VI; the Novus Ordo; the Roman Missal, third edition | The traditional Latin Mass; the Tridentine Mass; the usus antiquior; the 1962 Missal of Saint John XXIII |
| Language | Ordinarily the vernacular. Latin remains permitted, and Vatican II asked that the faithful still be able to sing the Ordinary in Latin. 4 | Latin throughout, apart from the homily and the announcements. |
| How it is divided | Introductory Rites, Liturgy of the Word, Liturgy of the Eucharist, Concluding Rites. 1 | The Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful — names inherited from the early Church, when those not yet baptized were dismissed before the offertory. |
| Readings | A three-year Sunday cycle and a two-year weekday cycle; three readings and a psalm on Sundays. | A one-year cycle; an Epistle and a Gospel. |
| The Eucharistic Prayer | Several approved prayers, chosen by the priest. 1 | The Roman Canon alone. |
| Orientation | Commonly celebrated facing the people, though this is custom rather than a requirement. | Priest and people face the same direction, toward the altar. |
| Distinctive parts | The Universal Prayer, the sign of peace in its present position, and Communion under both kinds where provided. | The Prayers at the Foot of the Altar at the start, and the Last Gospel — the opening of John — at the end. |
| The congregation’s part | The people make the responses aloud and sing, which Vatican II described as their right and duty by reason of baptism. 4 | Many responses are made by the servers; the people follow in a hand missal, and at a sung Mass join the chant. |
| Receiving Communion | In the United States, ordinarily standing, in the hand or on the tongue. | Kneeling at the altar rail, on the tongue. |
| Where it stands now | Traditionis custodes states that the books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II "are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite." 5 | Use of the 1962 Missal requires the authorization of the diocesan bishop, whose "exclusive competence" it is to permit it, following the guidelines of the Apostolic See. 5 Availability therefore varies by diocese — ask your own. |
As of September 2026, Traditionis custodes remains in force, and permission to celebrate the 1962 Missal rests with the diocesan bishop. [5] Whether a Latin Mass is available near you, and under what conditions, is therefore a question about your own diocese rather than about the universal law. Ask your parish or your diocesan office.
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