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-the meaning of the different ceremonies of the Mass -
the Roman Catholic Mass is built around the Eucharist, modeled after the Last Supper and intended to renew that divine mystery.
As to the complexity of the Mass, consider this statement in The Catholic Encyclopedia: The very complicated rules of all kinds, the minute rubrics that must be obeyed by the celebrant and his ministers, all the details of coincidence and commemoration -- these things, studied at length by students before they are ordained, must be sought in a book of ceremonial (Le Vavasseur, quoted in the bibliography, is perhaps now the best). Moreover, articles on all the chief parts of the Mass, describing how they are carried out, and others on vestments, music, and the other ornaments of the service, will be found in The Catholic Encyclopedia. More
-mortal or venial or only imperfections - From The Catholic Encyclopedia: Mortal sin is defined by St. Augustine (Contra Faustum, XXII, xxvii) as "Dictum vel factum vel concupitum contra legem æternam", i.e. something said, done or desired contrary to the eternal law, or a thought, word, or deed contrary to the eternal law.
Venial sin as it is a voluntary act may be defined as a thought, word or deed at variance with the law of God. It retards man in the attainment of his last end while not averting him from it.
Hence, mortal sin stains and threatens the very soul; venial sins do not. Imperfections are simply the lot of imperfect humankind, less serious than venial sins, for they do not involve volition.
-Eucharist - the sacrament also called "Communion" that commemorates Christ's Last Supper; also the consecrated bread and wine used in that sacrament. Key to this sacrament is the mystical transformation, or transubstantiation, of the wine in the Chalice to become Christ's blood, and the wafer dipped in it by the Priest to become Christ's body.
-Chalice - originally the cup from which Christ drank at the Last Supper, St. Chrysostom (Hom. l in Matt.): in Matt.): "The table was not of silver, the chalice was not of gold in which Christ gave His blood to His disciples to drink, and yet everything there was precious and truly fit to inspire awe." Now, any consecrated vessel in the Catholic Church holding the wine that will be transformed into the blood of Christ himself.
-the different vestments worn by the priest - Gifford summarizes: White for Easter and Christmas, feasts of the Trinity, for Christ, the Virgin Mary, angels and saints who were not martyrs; red for Pentecost, feasts of the Cross and martyrs; purple for Advent, Lent, penitential occasions. Green, gold, rose are also used. Black is the color of priestly robes on Good Friday.
-the secrecy of the confessional -The Catholic Encyclopedia: "Confession is the avowal of one's own sins made to a duly authorized priest for the purpose of obtaining their forgiveness.... Virtual confession is simply the will to confess even where, owing to circumstances, declaration of sin is impossible; actual confession is any action by which the penitent manifests his sin.... Public confession, as made in the hearing of a number of people (e.g. a congregation) differs from private, or secret, confession which is made to the priest alone and is often called auricular, i.e., spoken into the ear of the confessor.... Regarding the sins revealed to him in sacramental confession, the priest is bound to inviolable secrecy. From this obligation he cannot be excused either to save his own life or good name, to save the life of another, to further the ends of human justice, or to avert any public calamity. No law can compel him to divulge the sins confessed to him, or any oath which he takes--e.g., as a witness in court. He cannot reveal them either directly--i.e., by repeating them in so many words--or indirectly--i.e., by any sign or action, or by giving information based on what he knows through confession."
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- "As administered in the Western Church today according to the rite of the Roman Ritual, the sacrament consists (apart from certain nonessential prayers) in the unction with oil, specially blessed by the bishop, of the organs of the five external senses (eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, hands), of the feet, and, for men (where the custom exists and the condition of the patient permits of his being moved), of the loins or reins; and in the following form repeated at each unction with mention of the corresponding sense or faculty: "Through this holy unction and His own most tender mercy may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins or faults thou hast committed [quidquid deliquisti] by sight [by hearing, smell, taste, touch, walking, carnal delectation]". The unction of the loins is generally, if not universally, omitted in English-speaking countries, and it is of course everywhere forbidden in case of women." [The Catholic Encyclopedia]
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- breviary - "In litugical language Breviary has a special meaning, indicating a book furnishing the regulations for the celebration of Mass... It is divided into four parts according to the seasons of the year: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn." It contains psalms, offices for all seasons, gospels, a complete ecclesiastical calendar of events.
"The prayer of the Breviary is meant to be used daily [my underlining]; each day has its own Office; in fact it would be correct to say that each hour of the day has its own office, for, liturgically, the day is divided into hours founded on the ancient Roman divisions of the day, of three hours apiece -- Prime, Terce, Sext, None, and Vespers, and the night Vigils. In conformity with this arrangement, the Office is portioned out into the prayers of the night vigils, that is to say Matins and Lauds. Matins itself is subdivided into three nocturns, to correspond with the three watches of the night: nine o'clock at night, midnight, and three o'clock in the morning. The office of Lauds was supposed to be recited at dawn. The day offices corresponded more or less to the following hours: Prime to 6 A.M., Terce to 9 A.M., Sext to midday, None to 3 P.M., Vespers to 6 P.M. It is necessary to note the words more or less, for these hours were regulated by the solar system, and therefore the length of the periods varied with the season. The office of Compline, which falls somewhat outside the above division, and whose origin dates later than the general arrangement, was recited at nightfall." [The Catholic Encyclopedia]
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