Why Do Bells Ring During Mass?

Why do bells ring in the middle of Mass? One word: Attention. The ringing of the bells draws our attention toward the holiest moment of the Mass, which is the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Traditionally, the bells ring at three points of the Eucharistic Prayer: (1) The epiclesis, which is the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine (2) The elevation of the Body of Christ (3) The elevation of the Blood of Christ. Historically, it wouldn’t just be these small altar bells that would ring, but the large bells in the bell tower as well. This was to alert the people outside the church that Christ had just become truly present in the Eucharist, and to invite them to stop and pray. In this way, the Mass was extended beyond the church walls to unify the entire town in prayer. The Mass is not an empty routine, it is a lively ritual that is packed with meaning in every moment. ------------ Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss a daily Mass: http://bit.ly/31Ceiuu Join this channel to get access to perks like custom CatholicTV emojis: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCORAZZmab8apqy2TMHZlZVQ/join Donate to CatholicTV and join us in our mission: https://www.catholictv.org/donate CatholicTV website: http://bit.ly/2KlLFuX Like us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2LWw1tm Follow us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/31eG1lf Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/339rEAf #CatholicMass #DailyMass #CatholicMassToday #CatholicMassOnline #VirtualMass #CatholicTV #BishopReed