Throughout 2020, Adoremus has been looking deeply into the contents of the Roman Missal, seeking to refamiliarize ourselves with its contents. Pope Benedict XVI encouraged this very practice following the Church’s observance of a year devoted to the Eucharist: “The eucharistic celebration is enhanced when priests and liturgical leaders are committed to making known the current liturgical texts and norms, making available the great riches found in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and the Order of Readings for Mass…. These texts contain riches which have preserved and expressed the faith and experience of the People of God over its two-thousand-year history…. Attentiveness and fidelity to the specific structure of the rite express both a recognition of the nature of Eucharist as a gift and, on the part of the minister, a docile openness to receiving this ineffable gift” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 40). As Adoremus concludes this year of the Missal’s anniversary, we offer you one final Roman Missal quiz: on the order of Mass. May it help you and those in your care appreciate more clearly its “great riches.”

1. True or False: If the priest celebrant must introduce the faithful to the Mass of the day, he ought to do so before making the Sign of the Cross.
2. During the Penitential Act, the Kyrie Eleison (“Lord, have mercy”) must follow:
   1. Option one, the Confiteor (“I confess”).
   2. Option two, V/. “Have mercy on us, O Lord.” R/. “For we have sinned against you.”
   3. Option three, the invocations (e.g., “You were sent to heal the contrite of heart: Lord have mercy”).
3. The Gloria is sung or said:
   1. On all solemnities and feasts.
   2. On all Sundays outside of Advent and Lent.
   3. During any ritual Mass (e.g., wedding, confirmation).
   4. On other celebrations of a more solemn character.
   5. All of the above.
   6. Options a and b.
4. At the proclamation of the Gospel, the Book of the Gospels is incensed:
   1. Before the priest or deacon greets the people with “The Lord be with you.”
   2. Before the priest or deacon announces, “A reading from the holy gospel according to N.”
   3. Before the priest or deacon proclaims the actual reading.
   4. After the priest or deacon proclaims the reading, but before the homily.
5. True or False: the Roman Missal directs that the final petition of the Universal Prayer (General Intercessions) should be for the dead.
6. The homily, “which is to be preached by a Priest or Deacon on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation,” ought to be founded on which texts from the Mass?
7. True or False: Instead of the Nicaean Creed, the Apostles’ Creed may be used at any Mass in which the Creed is prescribed.
8. Which of the following Eucharistic Prayers is not recommended by the Roman Missal for Sundays?
   1. Eucharistic Prayer I (the Roman Canon).
   2. Eucharistic Prayer II (which includes the epiclesis, “like the dewfall”).
   3. Eucharistic Prayer III (which prays that “from the rising of the sun to its setting, a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name”).
   4. Eucharistic Prayer IV (which has a preface text proper to itself that must be used).
9. How does the Roman Missal suggest that the exchange of peace be made?
10. The Communion Chant ought to begin:
    1. When the priest receives communion.
    2. When the deacon or other ministers receive communion.
    3. When the people receive communion.
    4. Whenever is convenient for the schola.
11. BONUS: The Roman Missal provides four dismissal formulas, each beginning with which word?

Readers’ Quiz Answers:

1. False. Following the Sign of the Cross and greeting, “The Priest, or a Deacon or another minister, may very briefly introduce the faithful to the Mass of the day” (Order of Mass, 3).
2. a and b. “The Kyrie, eleison (Lord, have mercy) invocations follow, unless they have just occurred in a formula of the Penitential Act” (Order of Mass, 7). Since only option c, the invocations (or tropes), contains the Kyrie eleison, these invocations must follow the first two options.
3. e. All of the above. “It is sung or said on Sundays outside Advent and Lent, and also on Solemnities and Feasts, and at particular celebrations of a more solemn character” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), 53). Furthermore, each ritual Mass directs that “The Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) is said.”
4. c. Before the priest or deacon proclaims the actual reading. After the priest or deacon greets the people (“The Lord be with you”) and introduces the reading (“A reading from the holy Gospel according to N.”), he “incenses the book, if incense is used, and proclaims the Gospel” (Order of Mass, 15).
5. False. “The series of intentions is usually to be: a) for the needs of the Church; b) for public authorities and the salvation of the whole world; c) for those burdened by any kind of difficulty; d) for the local community. Nevertheless, in any particular celebration, such as a Confirmation, a Marriage, or at a Funeral, the series of intentions may be concerned more closely with the particular occasion” (GIRM, 70).
6. Scriptures and Mass texts. “The Homily is part of the Liturgy and is highly recommended, for it is necessary for the nurturing of the Christian life. It should be an explanation of some aspect of the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from the Ordinary or the Proper of the Mass of the day and should take into account both the mystery being celebrated and the particular needs of the listeners” (GIRM, 65).
7. True. The former Sacramentary allowed the Apostles’ Creed as a substitution for the Nicaean Creed at Masses with Children, but according to the current Roman Missal, “Instead of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, especially during Lent and Easter Time, the baptismal Symbol of the Roman Church, known as the Apostles’ Creed, may be used” (Order of Mass, 19).
8. b. Eucharistic Prayer II. “Eucharistic Prayer II, on account of its particular features, is more appropriately used on weekdays or in special circumstances” (GIRM, 365). The remaining three Eucharistic Prayers, on the other hand, are all recommended by the Missal for Sunday Masses.
9. With dignity and restraint. “According to what is decided by the Conference of Bishops, all express to one another peace, communion, and charity. While the Sign of Peace is being given, it is permissible to say, The peace of the Lord be with you always, to which the reply is Amen” (GIRM, 154).
10. a. When the priest receives communion. “While the Priest is receiving the Body of Christ, the Communion Chant begins” (Order of Mass, 136; also GIRM, 86).
11. Go. “Go forth, the Mass is ended,” “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord,” “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” “Go in peace” (Order of Mass, 144). In each instance, the translation renders the Latin imperative, Ite, and commands the faithful to reenter the world and sanctify it.