We’ve arrived at the church. We signed ourselves using holy water as a reminder of our baptism as we crossed the threshold of the church. We’ve found our pew. We’ve knelt to offer final devotional prayers as we prepare to encounter Christ in this most holy celebration. The time has come, Mass is beginning. The music swells and this solemn procession passes by as we enter into the great Mystery made present before our eyes. This moment in the Mass is more than just a parade of those who have special roles to their proper places in the sanctuary. It is a reminder that we each have a role to play in the Liturgy, that we are all entering into and offering this sacrifice of praise together. The entrance antiphon helps to gather our thoughts and our voices into one, often pertaining to specific themes or ideas in that day’s Liturgy. This movement of the ministers from the nave (body of the church where the congregation sits) into the sanctuary (where the altar, ambo, and presider’s chair are located), signifies a moment of entering into this foretaste of the heavenly banquet. While we do not physically process in this entrance procession, we unite our hearts in this motion, directing our hearts and minds to God in heaven, offering our burdens, fears, successes, and our best to him in the Mass.
Liturgically Thinking is a series of reflections on the Mass written by Connor Miller, director of music.