Book Review: Mass Class by Father Dave Dwyer

Julie Storr reviews Father Dave Dwyer's new book, based on questions he's received as part of his Busted Halo radio program.

Three years and three months. It started with the COVID shutdown, and this month it ends. Three years and three months is how long it’s been since the Precious Blood has been offered at my diocese.  

Before we officially celebrate the return of the consecrated wine, the priests of the diocese were asked to take the opportunity, one week before, to teach and refresh the minds of the faithful that Christ is fully present in the consecrated bread, and that we haven’t missed out of any of Christ in receiving the bread only.  

I’ve been reading Mass Class by Fr. Dave Dwyer and I learned that there’s actually a name for it: concomitance, and it means that Christ is indivisible. Christ is fully present—body, blood, soul, and divinity—in both, the consecrated bread and the consecrated wine. Receiving our Lord in the Precious Blood has become a treasure for me, and I know that I have not received less than I did before. I also now know that the Church actually has a word for it. 

Mass Class: Your Questions Answered is written in a question-and-answer style, making it easy and very enjoyable to read. The sixty questions included in the book are the top questions asked by listeners to Fr. Dave’s Busted Halo Show on SiriusXM. That means that it’s people like you and me, who have been to Mass, and some who are not Catholic, who just want to know why Catholics do the things we do.  

The questions are sorted into seven categories, including Why Go to Mass?, Mass Prayers, The Priest and the Ministers, and Postures, Gestures, and Ritual Actions. The answers are given in a way that anyone can understand, and if you’ve listened to Father Dave on the radio, you can almost hear him give the answer as you read.  

Another part of our refresher homily/sermon (homily vs. sermon is also explained in the book), was how to receive Holy Communion, another topic covered in Mass Class. This one is sometimes a biggie for me because He is the Lord of Lords, not a cracker, not something we reach out and grab. We receive. Reception of Holy Communion should be a solemn and reverent time as we hold in our hand, or on our tongue, the True Presence of Christ. In Mass Class, the author has some tips for all of us, to make us more aware of this incredible moment of the Mass.  

Another Q&A that I want to share with you, because it will change how you listen at Mass, is the question about the responsorial psalm. I am one of the cantors at my parish, and I would have told you that the responsorial psalm is a call-and-response, or dialogue prayer. Well, I would have been wrong. Father Dave teaches that it is called a responsorial psalm because it is a response to the Scripture reading that came just before it (in most cases that is the Old Testament reading). That completely changed the way I prepared for Mass and listened to the Scripture readings. I now not only pay closer attention to the first reading, I also pray into the psalm to see what more the Holy Spirit wants to reveal through these two Scriptures together.  

Those three mini-Signs of the Cross we make before the Gospel? Father Dave shares his prayer, “May the Word of God come alive in my mind, on my lips, and in my heart.” I’ve always prayed that God’s word be on my mind, lips, and heart, but I’m liking the addition of praying that God’s Word come alive in me.  

As you can see, there is much to learn about the Mass. While there are plenty studies out there about the theology of the Mass, and the Mass in Scripture, this book answers the basic questions that many of us have: “Why do we do that?”  

I can’t think of one place this book should not be. Besides your parish library, I would suggest getting a copy for your school or religious education program, especially for the catechists and Confirmation students. I think the parents of your students would enjoy it, too. Another great place would be the lending library for your RCIA program.

Copyright 2023 Julie Storr
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