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At the very beginning of a Roman Catholic Mass, the priest will greet the people using a direct Bible quote.
It is designed to alert our minds that the Mass is not merely a human discourse, but also a divine discourse, where the people turn their thoughts toward God.
The greeting also recalls the words of Jesus that "where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).
The two most common greetings used by the priest are quotes from St. Paul's letters in the New Testament.
St. Paul began many of his letters in similar words.
Another common option is directly from the Old Testament.
Interestingly, this last greeting is from a biblical story that deals with themes of harvest, thanksgiving and daily bread.
As you can see, at the very beginning of Mass, the Church wisely bases its words on quotations from the Bible.
