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A Pocket Guide to the Mass
Get the most out of the Mass... A Pocket Guide to the Mass walks you through the biblical basis of prayers, the meaning behind gestures, and a brief overview of the spirituality that brings Catholics together for Eucharist each week. Reenergize your time at Mass or help those who are new or returning to the Church with this quick and insightful overview. Rediscover the fullness of the Mass today!
- GenresCatholic
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 14, 2025
After reading Dr Hahn’s A Pocket Guide to St. Paul from OSV I have been able to track down all but one in the series. I have been jumping around reading them. I have read books by Patrick before, and looked forward to working through this volume. Both the physical edition and eBook of this book appear to still be in print. This is an excellent little read.
The description of this volume states:
“Get the most out of the Mass... A Pocket Guide to the Mass walks you through the biblical basis of prayers, the meaning behind gestures, and a brief overview of the spirituality that brings Catholics together for the Eucharist each week.
Reenergize your time at Mass or help those who are new or returning to the Church with this quick and insightful overview. Rediscover the fullness of the Mass today!
The chapters and sections in this booklet are:
Introduction
What Is the Mass?
A Prayer to Say before Mass
The Parts of the Mass
Introductory Rites
The Liturgy of the Word
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
Concluding Rites
A Prayer to Say after Mass
Meditation
The Emmaus Story: Encountering the Risen Christ at Mass
Notes
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
We are informed:
“Born in Keene, NH. Michael Dubruiel had a Master's in Theology as well as an MA in Christian Spirituality.
He was the author of several books including "The How-To Book of the Mass," published by Our Sunday Visitor and still in print.
Michael Dubruiel passed away on February 3, 2009.”
I highlighted a few passages while reading this volume, some of them are:
“In a book written before his election as Pope I Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote of the dangers of the Mass losing its moorings—as the worship of God. He compared the present situation to that of the people of Israel, who in the desert, waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, found God to be distant and aloof, leading them to conceive a ritual that was a celebration of the community alone.”
“This little book is meant to help you to experience that liberation—that freedom—from distress that comes when we forget that there is a God and that our very existence has everything to do with worshipping Him.”
“Jesus Christ, on the night before he died, celebrated the Jewish Passover meal with his disciples at the Last Supper. In the course of the meal, He gave new meaning to the ritual, declaring the bread that He blessed, broke, and gave to His disciples to be His Body, and the cup filled with wine to be His Blood that was of the New Covenant.”
“The prayers used at Mass have developed over the Church’s history. Many of them are taken directly from the Bible, and one prayer, the Creed, comes from several early Church councils (worldwide gatherings of bishops to discuss Church matters).”
“The Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Jesus on the cross at Calvary. All who participate in the Mass join their spiritual sacrifices to the one sacrifice of Christ, and through Him, they are offered to God the Father through the action of the Holy Spirit.”
“The English word homily comes from the Greek homilia, which simply means “discourse”—but in the Christian context, it came to mean a commentary on the Scriptures with the goal of explaining both the literal meaning of the texts and bringing out the spiritual meaning of them for us today.
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. There are not as many quotes as other volumes because much of the book was looking at the specific rubrics of the mass . This little volume is a great resource. It is an excellent volume that any Catholic or any Christian could benefit from reading. And it would be a great supplement to an RCIA program.
This is the one of two volumes in the series I believe that is still in print. It is a pity because the whole series is excellent. I have been able to track down and read 7 of the 8 volumes. The final I cannot find a copy that will ship to Canada for a reasonable price, or one in my budget. This is a great book in an excellent series. I encourage you to give this great volume a try.
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
The description of this volume states:
“Get the most out of the Mass... A Pocket Guide to the Mass walks you through the biblical basis of prayers, the meaning behind gestures, and a brief overview of the spirituality that brings Catholics together for the Eucharist each week.
Reenergize your time at Mass or help those who are new or returning to the Church with this quick and insightful overview. Rediscover the fullness of the Mass today!
The chapters and sections in this booklet are:
Introduction
What Is the Mass?
A Prayer to Say before Mass
The Parts of the Mass
Introductory Rites
The Liturgy of the Word
The Liturgy of the Eucharist
Concluding Rites
A Prayer to Say after Mass
Meditation
The Emmaus Story: Encountering the Risen Christ at Mass
Notes
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
We are informed:
“Born in Keene, NH. Michael Dubruiel had a Master's in Theology as well as an MA in Christian Spirituality.
He was the author of several books including "The How-To Book of the Mass," published by Our Sunday Visitor and still in print.
Michael Dubruiel passed away on February 3, 2009.”
I highlighted a few passages while reading this volume, some of them are:
“In a book written before his election as Pope I Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote of the dangers of the Mass losing its moorings—as the worship of God. He compared the present situation to that of the people of Israel, who in the desert, waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, found God to be distant and aloof, leading them to conceive a ritual that was a celebration of the community alone.”
“This little book is meant to help you to experience that liberation—that freedom—from distress that comes when we forget that there is a God and that our very existence has everything to do with worshipping Him.”
“Jesus Christ, on the night before he died, celebrated the Jewish Passover meal with his disciples at the Last Supper. In the course of the meal, He gave new meaning to the ritual, declaring the bread that He blessed, broke, and gave to His disciples to be His Body, and the cup filled with wine to be His Blood that was of the New Covenant.”
“The prayers used at Mass have developed over the Church’s history. Many of them are taken directly from the Bible, and one prayer, the Creed, comes from several early Church councils (worldwide gatherings of bishops to discuss Church matters).”
“The Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Jesus on the cross at Calvary. All who participate in the Mass join their spiritual sacrifices to the one sacrifice of Christ, and through Him, they are offered to God the Father through the action of the Holy Spirit.”
“The English word homily comes from the Greek homilia, which simply means “discourse”—but in the Christian context, it came to mean a commentary on the Scriptures with the goal of explaining both the literal meaning of the texts and bringing out the spiritual meaning of them for us today.
I hope those quotes give you a feel for this volume. There are not as many quotes as other volumes because much of the book was looking at the specific rubrics of the mass . This little volume is a great resource. It is an excellent volume that any Catholic or any Christian could benefit from reading. And it would be a great supplement to an RCIA program.
This is the one of two volumes in the series I believe that is still in print. It is a pity because the whole series is excellent. I have been able to track down and read 7 of the 8 volumes. The final I cannot find a copy that will ship to Canada for a reasonable price, or one in my budget. This is a great book in an excellent series. I encourage you to give this great volume a try.
This book is part of a series of reviews: 2025 Catholic Reading Plan!
January 2, 2008
This is a great guide for understanding the mass. I bought these for my RCIA class, they were the perfect addition to the session my husband taught about the mass.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews