Around Halloween there are often news reports of “Black Masses” being celebrated. What exactly is a Black Mass and what is its relation to Catholicism? A Black Mass is a ceremony typically celebrated by various satanic groups. However, a Black Mass takes the Catholic Mass and inverts it, intentionally mocking the Catholic celebration. Participants often use a consecrated Eucharistic host and desecrate it, using it in obscene ways. This is one of the reasons why tabernacles in Catholic Churches have locks and why some parishes have an usher stand next to a communion line. Both policies aim at protecting the Eucharist from being used in a Black Mass. The goal of a Black Mass is the exact opposite of a Catholic Mass. Jesus instituted the Eucharistic celebration to strengthen our communion with God and other people, while the satanic mass sows division and confusion.