3. Where does Mass come from? Who invented it?

The Mass derives from the earliest celebration of the Apostolic Church known as “the breaking of the Bread” which included the “teaching of the Apostles” and “prayers” according to Chapter 2 of the Acts of the Apostles.

Even the Resurrection account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus in the Gospel of Luke (24:13-35), includes the two main components of the Mass as we know it: The risen Lord taught the disciples about himself from the Scriptures, and then he “broke the bread” and “their eyes were opened” to his identity.

Over time, the “breaking of the Bread” has developed into what we know today, but the essential elements remain the same.  Circumstances arise in human history and culture which call for changes in form or expression, but we can always point to the essentials . . . the Liturgy of the Word, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Changes do not mean that Mass is a human invention: they are an adaptation of expression of the one and the same mystery for different generations and cultures.

For the sake of the unity of the Faith, and ensuring a worship which will form people into Christians properly, the Mass or Liturgy is standardized for all people of the Church.  We are Latin Rite Catholics, and we follow a form of Mass which has emerged out of the long history of the Church in the Western/Roman Tradition.   Other members of our Church celebrate Liturgy (they don’t call it Mass), according to forms which emerged out of the Eastern/Byzantine Tradition.  In all cases, the essential elements remain the same.