The Mass |
The Mass is the only form of worship the New Testament records Jesus telling his disciples to celebrate in memory of him. It is the source and summit of our mission as Christians. In the Mass, we encounter the living Christ and are sent out into the world by him to be his Body. The Mass is a service which has many different names in different traditions such as the “Eucharist,” or “Holy Communion.” In the Mass, we experience the presence of Christ himself. We are drawn into the saving power of the Cross, and plead Christ’s sacrifice made to the Father for us. We make intercession for the living and the dead; and we receive a glimpse of the future glory that is to be ours in heaven. The said Mass we celebrate on weekdays is a quiet said service lasting about 20 minutes. On Sundays, our Mass is more elaborate with music, a sermon, hymns, and Sunday School for children, lasting about 1 hour. You can find the schedule for the celebration of Mass here.
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The Divine Offices |
The “Divine Office” is a phrase used to describe the services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer (or, Mattins and Evensong). Morning and Evening Prayer are made up psalms, canticles and of several readings from the Holy Scriptures. We begin by saying psalms and canticles together, then we hear two readings from the Bible, and finally we bring to God our intercessions. Over the period of a year, we read through the whole of the Old Testament once, the New Testament twice, and the Gospels almost three time. It's the Churches way of making the words of the Bible, as St Augustine said, "the constellations of our heavens." Whether you are able to attend or not, know that our whole community, and the world we live in, is being remembered and prayed for every day at S Thomas. You can find the schedule for the Divine Offices here.
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