What to expect at your first visit

The first thing to know when visiting Gesu is where to park. To find our location click here. There are several parking lots for our church, but the easiest for a first time visitor may be the lot in the median of Parkside Blvd. However, the main lot is next to the St. Francis School stadium.

Gesu also has several doors one can enter the church through. For a first time visitor, it is recommended to enter through the main doors, which are the ones at the end of the church that face Parkside Blvd. This will bring you into the area known as the narthex, which serves as the primary gathering space as well as where restrooms are accessible from. It is also where you are most likely to encounter people who will greet you, such as ushers, people setting up for post-worship refreshments, and clergy.

As you enter the church, there will be people who are speaking with one another as well as people praying quietly. The Gesu Church community is over 100 years old, so many people have been worshipping here all their lives and our Sunday gathering gives them the chance to visit. However, some people prefer to spiritually prepare themselves for worship by quietly praying. All of this reflects the diversity of prayer and experience that the Catholic Church has to offer.

The primary worship service of Catholic Christians is a liturgical style of prayer that we call the Mass. A “liturgical style” means that there is a set way of doing this prayer, that involves a presider or other minister saying certain things and the people having certain responses.

Additionally, the people almost always are sharing the same posture throughout, whether standing, sitting, or kneeling. Essentially, it is a reminder to us that this time of prayer together is not necessarily for personal prayer but is a communal act of prayer. For this reason, all the things that happen at Mass generally happen for all of the people present all at the same time.

You will find in the narthex (main entry area) near the television screen a booklet entitled The Order of Mass that contains all of the possible statements and responses, as well as short descriptions of things happening and prompts for when to stand or kneel. Feel free to take one and use it during the Mass you attend and any other Mass you may attend in the future.

The Sunday Mass begins with an opening song and procession from the back of the church. The procession usually contains altar servers (young people who help the priest), lectors (those who read the scripture readings), the deacon (a clergyman who assists the priest), and the presiding priest. As they approach the main area of worship, called the sanctuary, they all stand at the bottom and bow or genuflect before going up the steps.

Upon entering the sanctuary, any clergymen present will kiss the altar, or the sacred table upon which the Eucharist will take place. This sign of reverence is done to remind the priest and all present that the Eucharist, the bread and wine that becomes the Body and Blood of Christ, is the high point of Catholic Christian worship and why we are present.

After the song ends, the priest will “officially” begin Mass with the Sign of the Cross, saying “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”; while he does this, the people join him in tracing that sign over their bodies, touching their foreheads, the middle of their chest/torso, and their two shoulders, moving from left shoulder to right shoulder. After they do this, all the people say “Amen.”

The priest will then lead the people in the Penitential Rite, in which all present acknowledge and recall that we are imperfect and have committed sin (knowingly and purposely gone against what we know is right and good and what God would want of us). Then either the priest or deacon will lead the people in saying “Lord, have mercy… Christ, have mercy… Lord, have mercy.” And after a prayer of pardon, the whole congregation will then join in an ancient hymn called the Gloria in which we give praise to God for his glory and for his mercy.

Then, the priest will say “Let us pray,” inviting everyone present to take a moment to pray to themselves before offering the Collect, or opening prayer of the Mass. After this, everyone is invited to sit.

The next part of the Mass is called the Liturgy of the Word. This is when we “feast at the table of God’s Word,” the Holy Bible. During this time we listen to readings from the Bible read by the lectors or clergy. The three basic parts are:

• The First Reading: this almost always comes from the Old Testament except during Easter time, when it comes from the Acts of the Apostles.

• Responsorial Psalm: generally sung, this “reading” comes from the Book of Psalms, a collection of ancient hymns, or other parts of the Bible that contain songs and hymns. There is generally a refrain that is sung by the people and then verses sung by a cantor.

• Second Reading: this almost always comes from one of the letters in the New Testament, also known as epistles, or from the Book of Revelation.

• Gospel: this reading is taken from one of the four Gospels, either Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. The Gospel is always read by a priest or deacon.

While the congregation remains seated during the first three readings, everyone stands for the reading of the Gospel while singing Alleluia (or other acclamation during the liturgical Season of Lent). This is a sign of reverence for these special books that tell the stories of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and contain the teachings that He gave to us.

Following the Gospel, everyone is seated again and the priest or deacon gives a homily or sermon. In the Catholic tradition the homily is usually no longer than 10 minutes.

You can find the readings for any given day on the calendar by clicking here.

After the homily is done, the priest will invite everyone to stand and profess the Christian faith by praying either the Apostles or the Nicene Creed. These creeds contain the basic teachings of the Christian faith; you can find the Nicene Creed and a summary of the faith by clicking here.

Then, a lector or deacon reads out the General Intercessions, or petitions, in which we pray for the needs of the Church, the world, our local community, for those in need, and for the dead. After this, everyone is again seated.

The next part of the Mass is called the Liturgy of the Eucharist, when we most specifically recall the events of Jesus’ death and the Last Supper that he had with his disciples.

First, as the altar servers and clergy prepare the altar area for this time, the ushers take up the collection from the people in the church. This collection is optional, and giving is not a requirement for participation in the Mass. Some people prefer to give using our online system, or cannot afford to give at all but, no matter what, all are welcome to participate in the Mass and to be a part of our community.

Following this, and when the altar is prepared, the “gifts” of bread and wine are brought forward along with the money from the collection. This is called the Offertory. The bread and wine, brought forward from the midst of the people, represents their offering to God and which will soon be transformed into Christ himself.

From this point, we enter into the most sacred parts of the Mass. One will notice that there is a lot of movement from standing to kneeling during this time as different events and prayers happen. Additionally, the servers will ring bells at significant points. The first time is when the priest calls down the Holy Spirit upon the gifts and lays his hands over them; this is called the epiclesis.

The second and third times are after the priest says the words of Jesus from the Last Supper, first over the bread when he says:

“Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you.”

And then over the chalice with wine saying:

“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.”

Through these holy actions and prayers, the Church teaches us that this bread and wine, although they still look, taste, and feel like bread and wine, have been transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ; we call this transubstantiation. This real presence of Jesus is what we refer to when we speak of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and through this (and every sacrament of the Church) we encounter God and God’s grace in a real and transformative way.

Then, the priest says some additional prayers offering the Body and Blood of Christ to the Father, and by this we are participating in the one true sacrifice of Christ on the cross that happened 2,000 years ago. This is not in some bloody or painful way, as if we were re-crucifying Christ, but in a sacramental and spiritual way that transcends time and space, making us present at that very moment right here and now.

After this, the priest says prayers that are intercessions on behalf of the Church, the world, and the congregation itself, asking that we may become members of the saints, as well as for those who have died. And then it finishes with the doxology in which we give all glory and honor to the Father, through, with, and in the Son, and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. And the congregation sings aloud together the great “Amen.”

Following all of this, the congregation stands again and prays in the words that Jesus taught us, the Our Father. Then the people are invited to make peace with one another, which usually involves a handshake or a wave and a greeting to those around you.

Then, the people sing a song called the Lamb of God while the priest breaks the bread. All of this is leading to the moment when the congregation comes forward to partake of the Eucharist, which we call Communion. By our reception of Communion, Catholics believe that Jesus enters into our very selves and his grace works to transform our hearts into his own Sacred Heart. It also is called Communion because, in eating the Eucharist, we all receive Jesus and, therefore, are all united in him in that moment.

Due to the realities of sin and division in the world, as well as differences in understanding of what the Eucharist is between Christian denominations, the Catholic Church does not have open Communion. For this reason, Communion is limited to those who have been baptized, who have gone to the Sacrament of Reconciliation if they have committed grave sin, and who are members of the Catholic Church. (For more info about becoming a Catholic you can click here) For those who may come to Gesu but are not members of the Catholic Church or are unable to receive Communion, they are still invited to enter the procession line for Communion; they may also remain in their seats. If you do come forward, you are asked to cross your arms across your chest, with your hands on your shoulders, as a sign that you will not be receiving Communion and then the priest or minister will offer a prayer of blessing. In this instance, a person would normally only receive this prayer of blessing from the first minister that they encounter, and then return to their pews along the side aisles.

After Communion, people return to their pews and usually kneel in private prayer and sing along to the Communion hymn. Meanwhile, when Communion time is complete, the priest will place any left over Eucharist in a large dish called a ciborium and then place that in the large box in the center of the sanctuary called the tabernacle. Even though Communion is complete, the Eucharist remains the Body and Blood of Christ, and so it continues to be treated with respect and dignity. You will notice that there is a lit candle in the back of the sanctuary to the left of the tabernacle; this is called the sanctuary lamp, and is always lit as long as there is Eucharist in the tabernacle. This is why Catholics genuflect upon entering a church, paying respect to the Eucharist present in the tabernacle.

The priest will then purify any of the vessels that held the Body or Blood of Christ within them. He does this by pouring water into them and moving it around to collect any crumbs or droplets that remain; he then consumes this and dries the vessel with a special cloth called a purificator.

Per custom, people generally remain kneeling until the priest is seated, which he does after purifying is complete.

After sitting for a moment of silence, the priest will then stand and say “Let us pray,” inviting the congregation to stand with him. He will then say the Prayer After Communion, asking for God’s grace, given in particular by reception of the Eucharist, to be transformative in the lives of those present as they go forth. Then, after announcements, the priest will impart a blessing “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” with the people making the sign over their bodies just like at the beginning of Mass.

The final part of the Mass is the dismissal, in which the priest or deacon will say something along the lines of “Go forth, the Mass is ended!” The is not a farewell as much as it is an exhortation and challenge to take what we have just done and allow it to be active in our lives outside the walls of the church.

Then the servers and the clergy depart the sanctuary area and process out while the people sing the closing hymn.

And at Gesu, there is then always some refreshments served in the narthex area.