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E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
•EXPLANATION OF ITS DOCTRINE RUBRICS AND PRAYERS
M. GAVIN, S.J,
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
Obtftat;
JOANNES CROFTON, S.J.
CENSOR DEPUTATUS.
NOv -5 1952
Imprimatur ;
^ HERBERTUS CARDINALIS VAUGHAN,
ARCHIEP. WESTMON.
ROEHAMPTON : PRINTED BY JOHN GRIFFIN.
THE
SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
v'
AN EXPLANATION OF ITS DOCTRINE RUBRICS AND PRAYERS
TOtb an Sntro&uctorg cbapter
BY
THE REV. M. GAVIN, S.J.
THIRD EDITION
LONDON : BURNS AND GATES (LIMITED)
NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO : BENZIGER BROTHERS
AND OF ALL CATHOLIC BOOKSELLERS
1903
[All rights reserved.]
TO THE MEMBERS
OF THE SODALITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION FARM STREET, LONDON
THIS BOOK ON THE HOLY SACRIFICE
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED,
IN GRATEFUL MEMORY
OF OUR MONTHLY MASS AND COMMUNION DURING TWENTY YEARS.
M. GAVIN, SJ.
114, MOUNT STREET,
LONDON, W.
The Purification, 1903.
CONTENTS.
page
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER . xi
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION . . xxvii
CHAPTER THE FIRST. The Doctrine of the Sacrifice of the Mass . i
CHAPTER THE SECOND. The Essence of the Mass . . 3
CHAPTER THE THIRD. The Consecration of the Altar . . .12
CHAPTER THE FOURTH. The Vestments .... 16
CHAPTER THE FIFTH. The Asperges .... .22
CHAPTER THE SIXTH. The Ordinary of the Mass. Part the First : From the
Beginning to the Offertory . . .25
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH. The Introit, Kyrie, and Gloria in excelsis . . 36
CHAPTER THE EIGHTH. The Dominus vobiscum, Collect, Epistle . . .44
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER THE NINTH.
page
The Gradual, Alleluia, Tract, and Sequence . . 50
CHAPTER THE TENTH. The Gospel and the Creed . . . . -53
CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH. Part the Second : The Offertory to the Canon . . 69
CHAPTER THE TWELFTH. Part the Third : The Canon of the Mass ... 86
CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH. Part the Fourth : From the Pater Noster to the end of Mass 123
CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH. The Ceremonies of High Mass . . . . 154
CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH. Mass for the Dead .... .174
APPENDIX : The Language of the Mass . . .183
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
IN April, 1901, I began on the Wednesday evenings in Farm Street Church a series of simple Explanations of Catholic Doctrine for Catholics and non-Catholics. The text-book was the Penny Catechism. The purpose was to explain, supplement, and illustrate that little book which contains so much in a few pages. I began with the Sacraments, and after explaining the Eucharist as a Sacrament, went on to consider the Eucharist as a Sacrifice. To the Mass some twenty-eight Instruc tions were devoted, and they are now published.
The earnest hope is entertained that this explanation of the Mass will help to a deeper appreciation of the greatest act of worship in the Church. It is impossible to have laboured for many years in London without painfully realizing that the Mass is neither known, nor understood, nor attended, nor loved as it deserves. Surely there are many Catholics who might with a little self-denial hear Mass, if not daily, at least some times in the week. If we inquire the reason from those who find time for other things and not for Mass, we shall probably learn that they do not understand what they lose. Mass is a closed book to them. The love,
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
self-sacrifice, and humiliation of a Divine Person lies before them in the Eucharist ; they have eyes and see not. With an intelligent grasp of the doctrine of the Mass they would discover a method of discharging every obligation of the creature to the Creator, and of procuring all they want from His gracious bounty.
Let me explain simply the object of the Mass. Mass is the supreme act of worship, in which Christ as the Head of our race, offers His own Body and Blood in acknowledgment of the Creator's dominion over Him and over all mankind. Our Lord is the chief celebrant at every Mass, and at the altar renews His profession of perpetual service. Reason alone proves the obliga tion of giving God honour and glory. Our best is indeed small, whether we consider the deeds performed or the abject condition of every man, clad in infirmity from head to foot. Our deficiency is supplied in the Mass, which gives infinite honour and glory to God's Supreme Majesty. One Mass, for which we cannot spare half an hour, yields more honour and glory to God than the adoration of the blessed in Heaven and of their Queen. Once more. Thanksgiving is another duty of the creature to the Creator. " Thank you " are almost the first words a mother teaches her child. The duty of thanking God is so obvious that any explanation weakens its claims. The duty is self- evident. We are surrounded by the unmerited blessings of Heaven as a fish by the waters of the sea. Man is the neediest and most helpless and most ungrateful of
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
all creatures, and for him God has done incomparably more than for the angels. The Crib, the Cross, and the Tabernacle are three fountains of mercy and love whence grace floods this earth. Man is powerless to thank God for all His benefits. " The unsearchable riches of Christ " paid the debt of gratitude a thousand fold in the first Mass in the Supper Room. The Church calls the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ the Eucharist, which means thanksgiving, just as pain means punishment. At the Mass Christ chants His Te Deum in honour of His Father, or rather the Mass is His Te Deum, and the faithful on earth, in Purgatory, and Heaven, join the song of praise. You have received great temporal and spiritual blessings ; have the Mass offered in thanksgiving, and assist at the Holy Sacrifice for the same intention. And though we may not aim so high, it is useful to remember that the saints recognized mercy even in crushing sorrow. "Although He should kill me I will trust in Him." (Job xiii. 15.) And they thank God at the Mass for sending it to them.
Once again : We are sinners. In this all men are akin ; and we need some Being to appease the anger of God, to obtain His forgiveness and to avert or lessen the punishment due to crime. Mass is the great appeasing power of the world, for Mass is Calvary over again. The scene on Calvary is re-presented to us in the drama of the Mass. Death on Calvary was the consummation of the Sacrifice. That death was caused by the separation of the Blood of our Lord
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
from His Body, that separation is, to use the words of the Council of Trent, " re-presented to us," placed again before our eyes in the double consecration of bread and wine. Although Christ exists whole and entire under the appearance of bread as well as under the appear ance of wine, nevertheless by the words of Consecration the Body only is under the appearance of bread, and the Blood only under the appearance of wine. We have then here that mystical parting of the Body and Blood which makes the re-presentation of the Death upon the Cross.
We are anxious for our friends or relatives who are leading bad lives. But through the Mass we may infallibly appease the anger of God which we and they have justly incurred, and we may infallibly procure them graces, which if accepted, will lead them back into friendship with our Lord. For the soul in the state of grace the Mass infallibly satisfies a part of the punishment due to forgiven sin, wards off the chastise ments of God, and obtains graces in every conjuncture of life, and for the soul in Purgatory the Mass is the surest and the quickest way of paying the debt, and releasing the prisoner from the flame. Devotions come and go in the Church. Some are more popular in one age than in another. Mass is the devotion of every age and people : it is our spiritual centre, like the sun in the heavens, shedding light and warmth over the earth. Mass can never leave us so long as this planet hangs in the firmament, and the last Mass on
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
earth will be the signal for the Archangel's trumpet to summon the dead to Judgment. "God Himself," says St. Alphonsus, " cannot cause any action to be performed which is holier and grander than the Mass." In one word, to obtain the conversion of non-Catholics, the release of souls from Purgatory, to avert the anger of God, to satisfy His justice, to thank Him for count less favours, to obtain grace in special needs, Mass is the surest and speediest, because the heavenly appointed, means.
I have also endeavoured to explain in this book the Rubrics of the Mass.
By the Rubrics are meant directions which the Church has laid down for the fitting celebration of the Holy Sacrifice. The word Rubric is taken from the Roman law, in which the titles, maxims, and principal decisions were written in red (ruber). Burchard, the master of ceremonies under Innocent VIII. and Alexander VI., first set out, so says Le Brun, the ceremonies of the Mass in the Roman Pontifical printed at Rome in 1485. The ceremonies were finally arranged more or less in the present form by Pius V. when he revised the Missal in 1570. Various rites, such as the Ambrosian, Mozarabic, Carthusian, Dominican, and others are approved by the Church ; the Rubrics at these Masses are somewhat different from those of the ordinary Roman Mass. The history of the Rubrics is full of interest to any student. The Rubrics, says Le Brun in his famous work on
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
the Mass, are so many signs which express thought more plainly than words. (Vol. I. Preface, p. 16.) Some Rubrics carry us back to the very earliest time : they are speaking records of the past. " Let us all remember this," says the Bishop of Newport in his beautiful work (Our Divine Saviour, p. 282), " there is not a ceremony of the Mass, not a prayer, not a genu flexion, not a vestment worn which has not been prescribed by ancient saints, if not by the Apostles themselves, and which has not upon it the stamp and sanctity of a hoary and venerable tradition. There is not a symbol of office in the country, not a crown or a flag, a chain or a robe, which is not of yesterday, compared with the stole and chasuble of the priest at the altar."
It will interest our readers to know that there is hardly a Rubric ever used which may not yet be found, either whole or in part, in the ceremonies employed in the Church to-day. If we do not find it in High Mass we shall find it in Low, if not in the Mass of a priest, at least in that of a Bishop or perhaps in the Pope's solemn Mass, said three times a year on the feasts of Christmas, Easter, and SS. Peter and Paul. Some times rites no longer seen in the Roman Mass, still find a place in the rites peculiar to certain Religious Orders or in Votive Masses. Let us illustrate our meaning by examples.
To begin with, the derivation of the word Mass reveals the existence of a rubric which for ages has
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
passed away. Mass comes to us from the Latin Missa. Missa is another form of Missio, meaning dismissal, just as collecta (a collect) is another form of collectio, and repulsa of repulsio in the line from Horace, Virtus repulses nescia sordid^, not to quote other examples. Now, in the Liturgy there were two solemn dismissals — first, of the catechumens after the Gospel ; next, of the faithful at the end of the Service. The word for dismissal came to denote the Service from which there were two solemn dismissals. If further, it be asked why the catechumens were dismissed after the Gospel, the answer requires a brief explanation of what is called the Discipline of the Secret (Disciplina arcani). By the Discipline of the Secret, we mean the custom which prevailed in the early Church, say, from the end of the second to the close of the sixth century, of concealing from heathens and catechumens under instruction for the Church the most sacred doctrines of the Faith. This secrecy was preserved by the early Christians from the natural fear that the knowledge of their doctrines might increase the violence of per secution, or expose such doctrines to ridicule or pro fanation. The catechumens were ordered to withdraw after the Gospel, because at that point the preparation for the Sacrifice begins.
Another rubric still in daily use reminds us of the
Discipline of the Secret, though some of our readers
may be unaware of the connection. Why is the Pater
noster said audibly at Mass, and in secret at the Little
b
xviii INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
Hours and the various Offices of the Church ? Benedict XIV., a safe authority, gives the reason. He informs us (The Mass, bk. ii.p.n^) that the Creed with the Pater noster were among those prayers never recited in the public Services of the Church at which pagans and catechumens assisted. Both pagans and catechumens had left the church at the Pater noster, hence there was no reason for saying the Pater noster inaudibly ; but as pagans and catechumens were allowed to be present at Prime, Vespers, Matins, &c., the Pater noster in their presence was said in secret. And the custom lives to this day.
Let us take a few more instances. The priest's berretta at Mass dates from about the tenth century. Before that time the amice served as a covering for the head. Even at the present time many Religious wear the amice over the head until the beginning of Mass, when they cast it back between the shoulders.
Why is it the custom for the priest to vest in the sacristy and the Bishop at the altar? In earlier ages (as now on solemn occasions) the Bishop was received at the church door, a procession was formed, and the Bishop was conducted to a side altar where he vested before the principal Mass, and remained seated to receive the homage and offerings of the congregation. The Bishop then proceeded to the high altar and Mass began. In time the procession ceased, the Bishop's vestments were transferred to the high altar, and he vested as now within the sanctuary. There was no
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
procession or solemnity before the priest's Mass, and he naturally vested in the sacristy. The Psalm Judica was not generally recited at Mass before the ninth century, its omission at Masses for the Dead and during Passiontide takes us back to the Mass in the earlier ages when the Judica was never said. The maniple originally served the purpose of a hand kerchief. It was pinned to the priest's arm before he ascended the altar. The custom is now observed at the Bishop's Mass ; he receives the maniple at the Indulgentiam after the Confiteor. The sign of the Cross is made at the Introit because it begins the Mass : the Kyrie at Low Mass is said in the centre of the altar, while the old custom of saying it at the Epistle side is still kept at High Mass. The Gloria in excelsis was said at Mass until the eleventh century by Bishops only on Sundays and feasts, and by priests only at the Mass of Easter Sunday. The Pax vobis said by the Bishop after the Gloria instead of the Dominus vobiscum, is taken, according to some writers, from the Gloria, and is possibly a vestige of the Bishop's privilege.
Benedict XIV. gives another and far better explana tion. Bishops say Pax vobis after the Gloria on festivals. If the Gloria be not said, the Bishop's salutation is the same as the priest's, Dominus vobiscum. The Bishop possesses the fulness of the priesthood, and therefore more closely represents Jesus Christ than a simple priest. And Pax vobis was our Lord's greeting to His disciples in the joy of the Resurrection. These
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
words, then, are fittingly said after the Gloria. In the other salutations at Mass the Bishop says the Dominus vobiscum to show that he is counted in the number of priests.
At High Mass, the deacon, before saying the Munda cor meum, places the Missal on the altar. This reminds us of the ancient times when the Gospels, as a mark of honour and respect, lay on the altar upon a stand during Mass. We have now only one Missal on the altar at Mass, in the earlier centuries two or three books were used. Various customs still survive during or after the Offertory, which link the present with the past. Thus, the Oremus, as said immediately before the Offertory, seems meaningless in its present position unless it refers to a prayer formerly inserted before the antiphon which we now call the Offertory. For a thousand years the faithful at the Offertory, as mentioned in this book, made their offering of bread and wine for the altar, and wheat, oil, honey, and other gifts for the support of the clergy. We are reminded of this custom by two very striking Rubrics which occur at the ordination of the priest and the consecration of a Bishop. The Roman Pontifical directs that after the Offertory has been read by the Bishop each of the newly-ordained priests is to offer a lighted candle to the Bishop, while the recently consecrated Bishop is to present to the consecrating Bishop two lighted torches, two loaves, and two barrels of wine. Some of us may have wondered why the subdeacon at High
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
Mass takes the paten from the deacon, after the oblation of the chalice, and covering it with a long veil holds it at the foot of the altar until the end of the Pater noster. The Church is very conservative, and sooner than part from an old custom she retains it though its raison d'etre has ceased. The custom can be traced to the time when the faithful offered bread and wine on the paten. As these offerings were large and larger hosts were customary then, the size of the paten was in proportion, and being inconvenient on the altar, it was removed and kept by the subdeacon until needed again by the priest.
Let us pass now to another vestige of an ancient Rubric kept in a Votive Mass. The nuptial blessing is given in the Mass for the Bride and Bridegroom after the Pater noster and again after the lie Missa est. Why is the blessing given after the Pater noster ? The blessing is the survival of a ceremony which has long ceased to exist. Bishops before the sixteenth century gave a special blessing after the Pater noster perhaps to friends and benefactors, and again at the end a general blessing to the congregation. The special blessing to the bride and bridegroom in this place reminds us of that special blessing given by the Bishop. The second prayer at the end for bride and bridegroom may have been found in the Mass before the practice began of a priest blessing the congregation after the lie Missa est. And it naturally kept its place.
Once more. In churches abroad and at home
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
men sometimes occupy one side of the church and women another. This separation of the sexes was strictly enjoined when the kiss of peace was given after the Agnus Dei. In ancient times the pax or kiss of peace was common to every High Mass (except Solemn Requiem), and at least every male member of the con gregation received it. Now the pax is given only at High Mass to those who are in the sanctuary. But the separation of the sexes sometimes continues, although the special motive of the separation has disappeared. Finally, let me give one more instance of a rite which is no longer allowed in the Mass of a priest or Bishop, and is found in the solemn Mass of the Pope. Up to the twelfth century Holy Communion was administered to the faithful under both kinds. By the Council of Constance, in 1414, the celebrant only is allowed to receive under both kinds. When the laity communi cated under both species, other chalices besides that used by the priest were employed ; the deacon usually administered the Chalice, and the people drank the Precious Blood through a tube. At this day during the Mass said by the Pope over the tomb of the Apostles at Christmas, Easter, and SS. Peter and Paul, the deacon and subdeacon are privileged to partake of the Precious Blood. A solitary instance of a usage still surviving which was almost universal in the Church for at least eleven hundred years.
The reader will find the Rubrics explained in their proper place where the meaning is not self-evident.
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xxiii
And now I pass to the third motive of this volume —
THE EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYERS IN THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
On this the greatest possible stress has been laid. The prayers at Mass are the prayers of the Church and their importance cannot be exaggerated. The Church is responsible for these prayers. She watches over every word in the Mass with anxious care and is keenly jealous of the least alteration or addition. In proof of this we may mention that about 1814 the Holy See was petitioned to add the name of St. Joseph to the list of saints in the prayer Communicant ts in the Canon. The request was refused. Not all prayers, however holy and beautiful, even written by saints in approved manuals of devotion, can claim to be called the prayers of the Church. Much misunderstanding is abroad on this subject. By the prayers of the Church we mean pre-eminently the Scriptures (for in a sense Scripture from Genesis to the Apocalypse can be called one long prayer), and such prayers as are prescribed in the Mass and in all public Services or in those rites, Ambrosian, Mozarabic, Carmelite, Carthusian, Dominican, &c., &c., which the Church has approved. In these she teaches her doctrine and preserves her creed. The well-known theological axiom must not be forgotten, lex supplicandi est lex cvedendi — her prayers are the rule of her belief. It may safely be said that the prayers at Mass are the warmest outpourings
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
of the Church's big heart in the sublimest act of worship which earth offers to Heaven. No words can possibly exaggerate the beauty of these prayers or the reverent tenderness they display for the sacred Majesty of God. Every feeling of the heart finds adequate expression in her supplications as she mourns and rejoices, thanks, beseeches and invokes her Spouse. These prayers are recommended by every consideration that excites devotion. As the prayers of the Church they are in matters of faith divinely preserved from error, and they teach us how to pray as no other prayers can. They bear the consecration of age. The Canon, as we read it to-day, is almost unchanged since the beginning of the seventh century, 604, when St. Gregory the Great died. For 1,300 years, then, virgins and martyrs and confessors, the needy and the weary and the heavily laden, the penitent sinner, the innocent child, the monarch in his palace, the prisoner under sentence of death have found all the heart longs for in the very same words which we say to-day in hearing Mass. Why are these prayers so little used by the Catholic laity ? Why is the popular manual preferred to the Missal ? Why are the prayers of a man dearer than the prayers of the Church ? The only answer is that the Ordinary of the Mass is not known and studied, and therefore is not appreciated and loved as it deserves. The prayers of Mass demand and abundantly repay the same study which a diligent student gives to his classical author or to some splendid passage in Shakespeare, Dante, or
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
Milton. Remember that the Mass has the privilege of arousing the warmest love of the saint and the undying hatred of the heretic. Whenever heresy arises, its most bitter persecution is reserved for the Mass, and in no land did that persecution wax more furious than in England. A love of the Mass is an infallible test of a nation's faith ; where devotion to Mass is weak, the faith is certain to wane. If you wish to find a people who have kept the faith through an almost passionate love for the Mass, look at Ireland, where in Dublin alone some 40,000 hear Mass daily.
To increase the love for Holy Mass I have endeavoured to explain every word and allusion found in the Ordinary of the Mass which throws light on the doctrine of the Blessed Eucharist, as also those expres sions and phrases which to many are unintelligible because they may never have been explained.
This little book is meant for all classes ; for the educated and the labouring man, for the home, the convent, ecclesiastical seminaries, for boys and girls at school, and especially for converts. Priests may sometimes find in it thoughts of saints and theologians that will make the privilege of ministering at the altar even more highly prized.
In conclusion, I have to express my deep indebted ness to the following works : Rock's Hierurgia, the Catholic Dictionary (Sixth Edition, 1903), Le Brun's famous treatise on the Mass, Canon Oakeley's Explana tion of the Ceremonies of the Mass, Benedict XIV. on the
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
Mass, Father Hunter's Outlines of Dogmatic Theology, Father Gerard's Religions Instruction for Catholic Youth ; and, above all, to the most valuable compilation in two volumes by Dr. Gihr — Le Saint Sacrifice de la Messe, Son explication dogmatique, litnrgique et ascetique. His book cannot be too highly praised ; besides its intrinsic merits, the learned author has grouped together passages from great theologians and saints, our safest guides on the Doctrine, Rubrics, and Prayers of Mass.
Scripture Manuals are arranged for the Oxford and Cambridge Local Examinations, and were the Ordinary of the Mass the subject for Examination, it is hoped that this book would to some degree help the student to pass in its Doctrine, Rubrics, and Prayers. Instruc tion is rny object ; and on instruction solid piety is founded.
For convenience an Index is added at the end.
M. GAVIN, S.J.
114, MOUNT STREET, LONDON, W. Tlie Purification, 1903.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
The Second Edition of this book on the Sacrifice of the Mass has been carefully revised and corrected. By the kindness of friends, errors were pointed out to me which had crept into the text, and they, it is hoped, have been removed.
Some additions have been made in the body of the book and an Appendix has been added on the Language of the Mass. Many non-Catholics and some well-meaning Catholics are earnest in their demand for the use of the vernacular in Church Services. There can be no objection to the vernacular in Services which are extra-liturgical ; but we have endeavoured to show that the law which prescribes Latin as the language of the Mass in the Western Church is another proof of the wisdom more than human which guides her counsels.
M. GAVIN, S.J.
114, MOUNT STREET, LONDON, W. Whit Sunday, 1903.
CHAPTER the FIRST.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.
THE Eucharist is both Sacrament and Sacrifice. There are several points of difference between the Eucharist as a Sacrament and as a Sacrifice. The efficacy of the Sacrifice lies in its being offered, and of the Sacrament in its being received. The Eucharist as a Sacrament increases our merit, and gives to the soul all the advantages that food gives to the body. As a Sacrifice the Eucharist is not only a source of merit but also of satisfaction for sm. Again, the Eucharist as a Sacrament benefits only the person who communicates : if it obtains graces and blessings for others, this happens only through the goodness of God. But as a Sacrifice the Eucharist is offered for and benefits the whole Catholic Church, and its satisfactory power is extended to all faithful Christians living and dead. Lastly, the chief end of the Holy Eucharist as a Sacrament is our own sanctification, while its chief end as a Sacrifice in the Mass is the supreme worship of God. There is consequently a clear difference between the Eucharist as a Sacrament and as a Sacrifice.
The Council of Trent (Sess. xxii. can. 22) defines the B
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.
Mass to be a true and proper Sacrifice ; and says " it is one and the same Victim and the same Offerer now offer ing by the ministry of His priests Who then offered Himself on the Cross, only the manner of offering is different." The Council has not defined a Sacrifice. Sacrifice is commonly held to be an offering of a sub stantial thing made to God by a fitting minister through its destruction, or equivalent destruction. Sacrifice is made to God alone;1 His supreme dominion over life and death is shown in the destruction of the victim, to acknowledge God's supreme dominion and to appease Divine Justice when sin has been com mitted.
The Mass, according to the Penny Catechism, is the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, really present on the altar under the appearance of bread and wine, and offered to God for the living and the dead.
In the Mass there is all that we need for a true Sacrifice : (i) a visible thing, i.e., the Body and Blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine ;
(2) the offering is made by Christ through His minister ;
(3) there is the mystical destruction in the consecration of bread and wine ; (4) Mass is offered to God alone — never to saints or to our Lady ; (5) Mass is offered for the living and dead, "for all faithful Christians living and dead," as the Church says at the Offertory.
1 See Trent, Sess. xxii. cap. 3, where the Council teaches that though the Mass is said in honour and in the memory of the Saints, sacrifice is offered not to them but to God alone who crowned them.
CHAPTER the SECOND.
THE ESSENCE OF THE MASS.
WE have to distinguish between the essence of the Mass and an integral portion of the Mass.
By the essence of a thing we mean that by which the thing is what it is ; flour and water are of the essence of a loaf of bread. By the integral portion of a thing we mean something needed to its completeness though not to its existence. The body of a man with an arm cut off is still a human body though not perfect.
Nearly all theologians are agreed that the essence of the Mass consists in the consecration of the bread and wine at the Elevation. Most certainly were a priest to say all the prayers at Mass and to omit the Consecration, there would be no Sacrifice. There would then be a bare commemoration of the Sacrifice of Calvary — just what the Council of Trent defines the Mass not to be. (Sess. ii. can. 3.)
Why are nearly all the theologians agreed that the essence of the Mass consists in the Consecration under two kinds ? Because the Consecration under two kinds represents the mystical death of Jesus Christ.
The Council of Trent defines the Mass to be a real Sacrifice— also a re-presentation of the death of out
THE ESSENCE OF THE MASS.
Lord. Mass is a commemoration of the death of the Lord, a showing forth of the death of our Lord.
In the consecration of the bread and wine you find all that is needed. For the Sacrifice of the Cross consisted in the death of our Lord, and the death of our Lord was caused by the shedding of His Blood.
To be a sacrifice there must either be a real death or a mystical destruction of the victim. A real death there cannot be in the Man Christ, for Christ died once, and dies no more.
The mystical destruction (mystical, that is, by sign or' symbol, not real), a showing forth of the death of our Lord, is seen in the double Consecration. For in virtue of the words of consecration the Body only is under the appearance of bread, and the Blood only is under the appearance of wine. Our Lord's death was due to the separation of His Body and Blood, and as by the force of the words at the consecra tion there is a separation of the Body and Blood, there is a re-presentation, a re-enactment, a showing forth of the death of the Lord.
By these words, " Do this in commemoration of Me," as the Council of Trent (Trent, Sess. xxiii. can. 2) has defined, our Lord commands all priests to con secrate in both kinds, bread and wine, and the consecration in both kinds makes the Sacrifice. If the priest consecrates bread only, or wine only — there is no Eucharistic Sacrifice — our Lord's command has not been fulfilled.
Receiving under both kinds is for the priest a strict obligation because of our Lord's command. The Communion of the priest belongs to the integrity or completeness of the Sacrifice.
So strictly does the Church interpret this obligation
THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
that should a priest faint or die after consecration of the bread, another priest, if one be available, must consecrate the wine and finish the Mass, even though he has broken the fast. The Communion of the priest under both kinds is enjoined, as just stated, by Divine command and required for the completeness of the Sacrifice ; in such a case the law of fasting before Communion yields to the higher law of God to complete the Sacrifice by receiving under the appearance of wine. It may be asked what is the difference between the Mass at the Last Supper and the Mass said to-day by the priest ? In the Mass at the Last Supper (i) Christ celebrated in person, and He now celebrates by the ministry of His priests ; (2) Christ at the Last Supper consecrated a mortal Body, His own, which was to die on the morrow ; the priest now consecrates the immortal Body of Jesus Christ ; (3) Christ at the Last Supper by His Mass merited and satisfied afresh ; in the Mass as said by the priest, there is no new merit or satisfaction. The Mass is only the applica tion of the merits and satisfactions gained by Jesus Christ on the Cross.
THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
The four ends of Sacrifice are — (i) for God's honour and glory ; (2) in thanksgiving for all His benefits ; (3) to obtain pardon for our sins ; (4) to obtain all graces and blessings through Jesus Christ.
First ; for God's honour and glory. Honour is the outward expression of the inward respect the heart feels ; glory means knowledge and praise. The honour is greater in proportion to the thing offered, to the service rendered ; its value chiefly depends on the position
THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
of the person who pays the honour. In Mass the thing offered is infinite, namely, Jesus Christ the Victim, and the Offerer is infinite also, the same Jesus Christ. From every point of view then the Sacrifice is of infinite value.
Once more. The Mass is Calvary over again. Not by His life but by His death He redeemed our sins on the Cross. In the Mass there is the repetition of the humiliation of the Cross. Christ as a Victim is shown to us under the appearance of bread and wine — the double consecration which by force of the words parts the Body from the Blood and the Blood from the Body, is by this, as we have just seen, the " memorial" of the death of Christ, a re-presentation of the shedding of His Blood on the Cross, a showing forth of the death of the Lord. Consummatum est means, amongst other things, that the greatest act of honour and worship has been paid to God.
Secondly ; Mass is offered in thanksgiving for all His benefits.
The word Eucharist means thanksgiving, and the Church in calling the Eucharist thanksgiving teaches us one of the ends of Its institution.
The Preface is the introduction to the Canon as a preface is the introduction to the book. The introduction often explains the purpose of the book. The words of the Preface, Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere — " It is truly meet and just, right and salutary, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to Thee," would be meaningless unless thanks giving were included in the Sacrifice about to begin.
Since everything that we have and all that we are come from God, reason teaches that we are
THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
bound to thank God for all that He has done for us. Our thanks are unworthy of Him, as we are sinners and He is infinitely holy. Mass supplies our deficiencies, and the offering of the Divine Victim to the Father by Jesus Christ Himself is of infinite value independently of the virtues and vices of the priest who celebrates. The Church again insists on thanksgiving in the Gloria in excelsis, in the familiar words : Gratias agimus tibi, propter magnam gloriam tuam— "We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory." This is the very highest form of thanksgiving in which all thought of self is lost in gratitude for the glory which encircles the Godhead. Mass then infallibly, as the work of Christ and offered by Christ, gives glory and thanksgiving to God.
Thirdly; Mass is offered to obtain pardon of our sins. Two things are to be considered in sin — (i) its guilt; (2) its punishment. Mass as it helps to the forgiveness of sin is propitiatory, in its power of cancelling punishment it is satisfactory. The Council of Trent teaches (Sess.xxii. ch. 2) that this " Sacrifice is truly propitiatory, and that forgiveness of sins and of enormous crimes is obtained by those who with a true heart and right faith, with fear and reverence, contrite and penitent, approach to God." The Mass then obtains the pardon of mortal and venial sins and of the temporal punishment due to sin.
The Mass as propitiatory appeases the anger and justice of God. " The Lord, being appeased by the offering of this Sacrifice, granting grace and the gift of repentance, wipes away crimes and even enormous sins." (Council of Trent, Sess. xxii. ch. 2.) A distinctive effect of this Sacrifice is that by it God is appeased, as a man forgives an offence on account of some homage which is paid him. For Mass does not
THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
forgive sins directly and immediately, like Baptism and Penance. Mass appeases the anger of God, and obtains from Him the grace of repentance. Man can, if he chooses, reject the grace and remain in sin; the free acceptance of this grace enables the creature to turn to God by Faith, Hope, Chanty, and Sorrow, and thus to receive worthily those sacraments which of them selves forgive all his sins.
The propitiatory power of the Mass disarms God's justice ; the impetratory power draws down His mercy. Indirectly Mass causes the conversion of sinners as a propitiatory Sacrifice appeasing God's anger, leaving scope for His mercy ; in so far as it is impetratory, it obtains the grace of repentance, which may be accepted or rejected. The propitiatory power is infallible as Christ's work, that is, the Lord is in some ways appeased, though to what extent never can be known. This depends on the free-will of God and on the dispositions of the creature.
The power of the Mass to forgive sins is more clearly understood by selecting a particular case. Let us take a simple illustration. Suppose a mother has a Mass offered for each of her sons, John and James. John is leading a bad life ; James is a practical Catholic and is free from mortal sin. What effect on John has the Mass said for him ? It may be altogether barren of result, because John can reject, if he likes, " the grace and gift of repentance," which the Council of Trent speaks of. (Sess. xxii. ch. 2.) We are certain at least of this ; first, that Mass necessarily and infallibly appeases to some extent the anger of God which John has pro voked by his sins ; secondly, that it obtains from God necessarily and infallibly grace which, though not always of itself sufficient at the moment to cause John's conver-
THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
sion, goes some way towards it. Many Masses may be needed before John's conversion is secured. If John does what in him lies he will get further grace to stir his heart to repentance and to seek reconciliation and pardon in the Tribunal of Penance. The Council of Trent, in the passage quoted above, must not be under stood to teach that Mass of itself forgives "enormous crimes." Mass does not forgive the sins of John. Mass wins for John, supposing he accepts and uses the grace offered, the additional grace to make a good confession, and thus to have his sins forgiven.
Let us now turn to James, who is free from grave sin. What benefit does he receive from the Mass said for him ? First, that Mass as the action of Christ, who is the chief Celebrant in every Mass, necessarily and infallibly satisfies for some of the temporal punish ment due to past sins, the guilt of which has been forgiven ; secondly, it obtains fresh graces for James, strengthening him against temptation or fall, enabling him to lead a holier life and to persevere in God's service.
By Mass also (Council of Trent, Sess. xxii. ch. i) we obtain forgiveness of daily small faults through those actual graces which stir us to sorrow and repentance. For no sin great or small is ever forgiven after we have come to the use of reason without sorrow and purpose of amendment.
Mass remits the punishment of the living due to mortal and venial sins after the guilt has been forgiven in virtue of its being satisfactory. This remission is infallible, relying on the merits of Christ ; but to what extent punishment is remitted remains unknown. St. Thomas says: "Although this offering of the Mass, so far as its quality goes, is sufficient to cancel
THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
all the pain due to sin on this earth, nevertheless it is satisfactory to those for whom it is offered or to the offerer according to the quality of his devotion, and not for all the punishment due to his sin." (S. Th. 3. q. 79. ad 3.)
In the case of the dead, Mass infallibly cancels a portion of the punishment in Purgatory, though how much we cannot tell. The Church sanctions a perpetual Mass for the same soul, and thereby admits that she does not know how far the satisfactions of Christ are applied to that soul.
Again, it should be remembered that the propitiatory or appeasing power of the Mass saves the world in general and men in particular from many punishments which otherwise their sins would receive, such as war, famine, plague, sickness, and other temporal misfortunes.
Fourthly ; the impetratory power of the Mass obtains all graces and blessings through Jesus Christ. If all prayer be a means of obtaining graces and blessings from God, prayer joined with Sacrifice, as in the Mass, ought to be more powerful still. Are our petitions as made through the Mass infallibly heard ? Yes, if they be for our good and in accordance with God's Providence. But the power of the Mass as a means of obtaining a favourable answer to our prayers depends on the dispositions of the person for whom it is offered, and of the person who offers.
We have considered the Mass with Jesus Christ as Chief Celebrant, and those graces and advantages which, because of the Chief Offerer, are placed within our reach, if we choose to take them. These graces are obtained ex opere opemto, by virtue of the act done.
Mass for the Dead, or a Black Mass, as we call it, so far as concerns the essential part of the Sacrifice,
THE FOUR ENDS OF SACRIFICE.
the offering of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is the same in value as Mass for the living. But if we consider the value of the prayers, that Mass, according to the teaching of St. Thomas, is more profitable to the soul in which there are fixed prayers for the dead and the dead only. The devotion of the priest who says Mass for the dead, or of him who has the Mass offered, or the intercession of the Saint in whose honour the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated, may more than compensate for the loss of those accidental graces which belong to the Requiem Mass. (S. Th. Supplem. q. 72. a. g. ad 5.)
Mass said by a bad priest is of the same value as said by a good one, so far as the essential value of the Mass is concerned. But it is certain that the better disposed, the holier, the more fervent a priest is, the greater grace and glory he merits with God : he obtains more graces for others and secures for himself a larger share in our Lord's satisfactions. (Sporer, Theol. Sacram. p. ii. ch. 5.)
CHAPTER the THIRD.
THE CONSECRATION OF THE ALTAR.
FOUR words are inseparably connected : Sacrifice, Priest, Victim, Altar.
Sacrifice as we have seen is a supreme act of worship offered to God alone by a lawful minister to show God's supreme dominion and to satisfy for sins. A priest by his ordination has the power of consecrating the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and of absolving from sin. A priest offers Sacrifice. The Victim is the thing offered in sacrifice.
The altar is the place where the Sacrifice is offered. "We call all that," says Bellarmine, "the altar where the Victim is sacrificed that has been made by the hands of the priest." (De Missa, vol. i. ch. xxvii.)
The altar is the most important object in the church. The church is erected for the sake of the altar and not the altar for the church. Remove the altar, and the raison d'etre of the church has gone.
The altar is for the Blessed Eucharist. " In the Blessed Eucharist," says St. Thomas, " there is con tained the cause of all sanctity, therefore everything connected with the Blessed Eucharist is consecrated ; the priests, ministers, vestments, the vessels appertain-
THE CONSECRATION OF THE ALTAR. 13
ing to the Sacrifice, are consecrated." (5. Th. vi. Dist. q. i. a. 2.)
Blessings are divided into two classes : {benedictiones invocativa) blessings that invoke God's favour and pro tection merely, and blessings that set things aside to the service of God alone (benedictiones constitutive). The first class belongs to those things which after being blessed are still retained for man's use and benefit, v.g., food blessed in the grace before meals. The second refers to the sacred vestments and such-like things, and in a much higher degree to the altar consecrated by chrism and the holy oils.
The altar may be of wood or stone. The latter being more durable is preferred. The altar on which our Lord is said to have instituted the Blessed Sacrament preserved in St. John Lateran at Rome, and the altar at which St. Peter is thought to have said Mass still existing in the same church, are of wood.
The horizontal slab of wood or stone forming the top of the altar is called the Table, on which the Sacred Body rests given to man as Food ; while the whole altar, partly from its shape and partly from its connec tion with the Sacrifice, and because it holds the relics, is described as the tomb.
We speak of a fixed and of a portable altar, or altar- stone. A fixed altar is one where the table is united to the base by the sacred unction in such a way that if separated it thereby loses its consecration.
The altar-stone or portable altar can be separated from its base without losing its consecration.
The portable altar, a square piece of stone let into the altar, is to all intents the altar. It should be large enough to hold on its surface the Chalice and Host.
I4 THE CONSECRATION OF THE ALTAR.
On the altar fixed, as on the altar-stone, five crosses are engraved, one at each corner and one in the centre.
The altar is consecrated by a Bishop or by a priest specially delegated by the Pope.
The most essential parts of the rite consist in the anointing with chrism (to indicate according to Gavantus the richness of grace) and the placing of relics in the sepulchre or aperture made in the altar-stone and afterwards filled up. (Catholic Dictionary, p. 23.)
The Bishop makes five crosses on the altar-stone with his thumb, which he has dipped in a preparation of water, ashes, salt, and wine specially blessed.
An essential part of the consecration is depositing the relics of the martyrs in the altar : per merita sanctorum tiiorum quorum veliquia hie sunt — "by the merits of Thy saints whose relics are here" — relics properly so called, that is, portions of the bodies of martyrs, not merely the clothes they wore, or things they possessed, must be buried in the altar. Relics of martyrs, not con fessors, are selected because there is a close connection between the martyr who dies for the faith and the Sacrifice of Calvary, where Christ, the King of Martyrs, shed His Blood for the Gospel which He taught, the faithful whom He redeemed, and the Church which He founded.
During the Anglo-Saxon times, instead of the relics of martyrs, the Sacred Host was buried and enclosed in the sepulchre of the altar. The reason of this practice was perhaps the great difficulty of communicating with Rome in those days and in obtain ing portions of the saints' bodies. (See Father Bridgets History of the Blessed Eucharist in Great Byitain.)
THE CONSECRATION OF THE ALTAR. 15
A word as to the Tabernacle.
In England, after the sixteenth century, the Blessed Sacrament was suspended in a case from the ceiling over the high altar, and deposited in a pyx, which may have been under lock and key. In France and in the East the vase was in the form of a dove hung from the ceiling — the practice never seems to have existed in Italy.
In Scotland there were one or two instances of the Sacrament House, where the Blessed Sacrament was kept in the church. There still exist the survivals at least of the Sacrament House in some parts of Germany.
Tabernacles, as we now see them in England, date from some period of the sixteenth century.
Altar-cloths are blessed by the Bishop or a priest authorized by the Bishop. They are three in number, or one cloth doubled with the top cloth lying over it. The latter should cover the altar and reach the ground, the under cloths cover the table of the altar.
CHAPTER the FOURTH.
THE VESTMENTS.
DURING the lifetime of the Apostles and their imme diate successors the form of the sacred vestments hardly differed from those used in every-day life. We are safe in saying that the dress selected for the altar was of a superior quality, and so far as circumstances permitted, the most suited among the garments then in use.
Vestments are always blessed by the Bishop or priest before being worn at the altar. The vestments worn at the altar are the amice, alb, girdle, maniple, stole, and chasuble.
The amice was originally a covering for the head and shoulders. It now consists of one oblong piece of linen with two strings and with a cross in the centre. Members of many Religious Orders wear the amice as a cowl while they advance to the altar for Mass, and in beginning the Mass let down the amice on the shoulders. The amice is their berretta or priest's cap, which is taken off at the beginning of Mass. A berretta is a square cap with three or sometimes four corners. The four-cornered berretta belongs to Doctors of Divinity. " At Rome," says Benedict XIV., " and in most churches,
THE VESTMENTS. 17
the berretta was unknown as late as the ninth century. Its ecclesiastical use began when priests gave up the ancient custom of covering their heads with the amice till the actual beginning of the Mass." (Cath. Diet. p. 86.)
As the priest puts on the amice he repeats the words : Impone, Domine, capiti meo galeam salutis ad expug- nandos diabolicos incursus — " Place, O Lord, on my head the helmet of salvation, that so I may resist all the assaults of the devil."
After the amice comes the alb, which was undoubt edly some sort of tunic or inner garment reaching to the ground. Formerly clerks in minor orders wore a shorter alb ; from this rose the surplice now worn by the priest and the rochet by the Bishop. The priest says : Dealba me, Domine, et munda cor meum, ut in Sanguine Agni dealbatus gaudiis perfruar sempiternis — " Make me white, O Lord, and cleanse my heart ; that being made white in the blood of the Lamb, I may deserve eternal reward."
The whiteness of the alb signifies the purity of con science which should belong to a priest.
The girdle is required to fasten the alb and to prevent it from trailing along the ground; it also signifies chastity : Pvacinge me, Domine, cingulo puritatis et extingue in lumbis meis humorem libidinis, ut maneat in me virtus continentia et castitatis — " Gird me, O Lord, with the girdle of purity, and quench in my reins the fire of concupiscence : that the virtue of continence and chastity may abide in me."
Next the maniple. Originally it served the purpose of a cloth or handkerchief, but since the ninth century it has become one of the priest's vestments. It is the same colour as the chasuble.
The priest says, while he places the maniple on his c
i8 THE VESTMENTS.
arm : Merear, Dominc, portare manipulum fletus et doloris, ut cum exultatione vecipiam mercedem laboris — " May I deserve, O Lord, to bear the maniple of tears and sorrow, that with joy I may receive the reward of my labour."
The stole is really an abridgment of the orarium. Round the neck was placed an oblong piece of linen, called the orarium, which was by women spread in time of prayer over the head and shoulders, falling round the body like a veil. The orarium worn by ecclesiastics was bordered with streaks of purple, and when in course of time its dimensions were contracted, these ornaments were retained as marks of honour, while the plain linen portions were cut away, so that it was reduced to a band which surrounded the neck and fell down below the knees on both sides of the body. (Rock, Hierurgia, vol. ii. p. 223.)
The stole is worn differently by the deacon, priest, and Bishop at Mass. The deacon wears it from the left shoulder under the right, where it is tied ; the priest in the form of a cross across the breast, there it is fixed by the Bishop at ordination ; and as the Bishop has the cross on his breast, the stole drops down at either side in the same way as the priest wears it while preaching.
Taking the stole, the priest says: Redde mihit Domine, stolam immortalitatis, quam perdidi in pvavavicatione pvimi parentis, et quamvis indignus accedo ad tuutn sacrum mysterium, merear tamen gaudium sempitemum — " Restore me, O Lord, the stole of immortality which I lost in the transgres sions of our first parent ; and although unworthy to approach Thy Sacred Mysteries, may I deserve to inherit eternal joys."
The chasuble is the chief vestment worn by the priest at Mass. Originally its shape was very different from
THE VESTMENTS. ig
that in use now. It completely covered the body — the only aperture was at the top for the head. In the eleventh century the shape was altered and the sides were opened. It then took the form of a Gothic chasuble. This shape was preserved until the sixteenth century. After that time the chasuble was further cut away until it reached its present shape. On the face of the Roman chasuble we have the cross, on the back the column, though sometimes in the Roman vestment there is a cross also on the back.
Originally there can be no doubt the chasuble was the garment worn over other clothes, and corresponding to what we call an overcoat. The Romans wore a large outer garment on military service, called the paenula or mantle. In the first half of the sixth century we find the first traces of the paenula as an ecclesiastical garment. Did it at once become distinctive of the priesthood ? The question admits of no certain answer. (Cath. Diet. p. 162.)
The priest, while putting on the chasuble, says : D online qui dixisti jugum meum suave est et onus meum leve, fac ut istud port are sic valeani quod consequav tuani gvatiam — " O Lord, who hast said, My yoke is sweet and My burden is light, grant me so to bear Thy yoke that I may obtain Thy grace."1
The veil covers the chalice. The burse holds the corporal, and is in shape like a square envelope. The corporal, so-called from corpus (a body), because on it rests the Body of the Lord after the consecration, is a square piece of linen with a cross in the centre. The pall is a linen covering on the top of the chalice
1 As there is no necessary connection between the various prayers just quoted and the vestments, no attempt has designedly been made to explain the meaning of these prayers.
20 THE COLOURS OF THE VESTMENTS.
to prevent dust or flies from falling into the Precious Blood. Originally the corporal was larger than at present, and acted as a pall, being folded back over the chalice.
The purificator is an oblong piece of linen cloth, stretched over the mouth of the chalice, and it is used to wipe the mouth, the chalice, and the paten.
Corporal and pall are blessed ; the purificator need not be blessed.
The chalice is the cup used in Mass for the wine which is to be consecrated. The rubrics of the Missal require that it should be of gold or silver, or at least have a silver cup gilt inside. The chalice is conse crated by the Bishop, who anoints the interior of the chalice with chrism, using at the same time the prayers prescribed by the Ritual.
The paten is a plate used from the earliest times to receive the Host consecrated at Mass. The side on which the Host rests must be gilt. The paten is also consecrated by a Bishop.
THE COLOURS OF THE VESTMENTS.
The Church uses five colours at Mass — white, red, green, violet, black.
White is used on all great feasts of the year with the single exception of Pentecost (when red is pre scribed in memory of the tongues of fire which on that day descended on the Apostles), and for Con fessors, Virgins, and the Mother of God.
Red is worn for Pentecost, for Holy Innocents,
THE COLOURS OF THE VESTMENTS. 21
when it falls on a Sunday, and always for its octave, for the Finding and Exaltation of the Cross, for Martyrs, and for all the feasts of the Passion.
Green is worn on the Sundays and Ferias after the Epiphany to Septuagesima, and from the octave of Pentecost to Advent on which no festival occurs (except the Sundays within octaves, which follow the rule of the festival).
Violet, which is the penitential colour, is worn in the penitential times of Advent and Lent, upon Vigils, and on the feast of Holy Innocents.
Black is used on Good Friday and in Masses for the Dead.
CHAPTER the FIFTH.
THE ASPERGES.
THE Asperges, so called from the opening word of the antiphon, Asperges me, Doniine, hyssopo et mundabor : lavabis me et super nivem dealbabov — "Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, O Lord, and I shall be cleansed : Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow," is a solemn act of purification by which the Church prepares her altar, temple, and worshippers for the holy mysteries of which the material church is about to be the scene, and the faithful the sharers. At this Service she makes use of holy water, which has been blessed for the use of the faithful. (Oakeley, Ceremonies of the Mass, p. 105.)
The antiphon says, " Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop," because in Exodus xii. 22, by command of Moses, the transom of the door was sprinkled by the bunch of hyssop dipped in the blood of the lamb — and in Leviticus xiv. 51, the hyssop is to be left in the blood of the sparrow that is to be immolated and the house is to be sprinkled seven times ; and thus we see the fitness of the application of the antiphon to the service of purification.
The priest vested in a cope of the colour proper to
THE ASPERGES. 23
the day proceeds to the altar, and sprinkles the altar three times with holy water. He makes the sign of the Cross with holy water on his own person, and then sprinkling the ministers, rises from his knees, intones the AspergeSj which the choir takes up, proceeding to sing the following words of the verse, and the first verse of the Psalm Miserere in which they occur, after which the first words (at least) of the antiphon are repeated. The priest, reciting in a low voice the Miserere, walks down the church and sprinkles the people, and returns to the altar to recite the following verses, responses, and prayer :
V. O Lord show us Thy mercy.
R. And grant us Thy salvation.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Hear us, holy Lord, Almighty Father, Eternal God ; and vouchsafe to send from Heaven Thy holy angel to guard, cherish, protect, visit, and defend all who dwell in this habitation ; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The versicle and response will be explained later in the Mass. The appeal to " Thy holy angel" is to the angel whose special duty is either to watch over the Church where Jesus Christ is, to be on guard as soldiers say, or to the angel referred to in the prayer in Mass after the Elevation before the Memento for the Dead — " We most humbly beseech Thee, Almighty God, com mand these things to be carried by the hands of Thy holy Angel to Thy altar on high;" meaning by "Thy holy Angel " that Blessed Spirit who assists at the tremendous Sacrifice.
From Easter to Whitsuntide inclusively, instead of the foregoing antiphon, the following is sung and
24
THE ASPERGES.
Alleluia is added to the V. (Ostende nobis) and also to its response (Et salutare) :
Vidi aquam egredientem de templo a latere dextro, Alleluia; et omnes ad quos pervenit aqua ista salvi facti sunt, et dicent, Alleluia.
Confitemini Domino, quo- mam bonus ; quoniam in ssecu- lum misericordia ejus. (Ps. 117.)
Gloria, &c.
I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, Alleluia : and all to whom that water came were saved, and they shall say Alleluia.
Praise the Lord for He is good : for His mercy endureth for ever. (Ps. 117.)
Glory, &c.
CHAPTER the SIXTH.
THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
PART THE FIRST. From the Beginning to the Offertory.
THE priest after vesting in the sacristy puts on his berretta, makes a profound inclination to the crucifix, and preceded by his server advances to the altar with covered head. The priest, as a token of his dignity, wears the berretta until he reaches the altar, when he hands it to the server ; he genuflects if the Blessed Sacrament be reserved, otherwise he makes a profound reverence to the cross, mounts the altar-steps, chalice in hand, unfolds the corporal from the burse, places the chalice on the corporal, opens the Missal at the Introit of the day, returns to the altar, descends the steps, genuflects or bows profoundly again, and begins Mass with the words, In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen, at the same time making the sign of the Cross.
The words, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, taken from our Lord's own words in the last chapter of St. Matthew, are an accurate description of the Godhead. In the name of the Father means that with the authority of God the
26 THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
Father, from whom all power springs, and of the Son who became Man and died for us on Calvary, and of the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son, the Teacher of truth and the Sanctifier of the world, the priest begins the great Sacrifice. The sign of the Cross reminds us by its form of our Lord's Death on Calvary. The sign of the Cross as made on forehead, breast, and shoulders is said to be of Apostolic origin. Some have thought that our Lord on Ascension Day blessed His disciples, before He was hidden by a cloud, with the sign of His Cross. Tertullian, writing at the end of the second century, says, " At every moving from place to place, at every coming in and going out, in dressing, at the baths, at table, on going to rest, sitting down, we sign ourselves on the forehead with the Cross." The sign of the Cross is used in all the Church's Services, in the administration of the sacraments, in all her blessings except in the blessing of the Paschal candle.
Amen is a Hebrew word meaning "so be it;" it expresses the desire that our prayers be heard, and it fortifies the good resolutions taken.
The three languages used in the inscription on the Cross, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews," namely, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, are found in the Mass. Sabaoth, Cherubim and Seraphim, Hosanna, and Amen, are Hebrew; Kyrie Eleison is Greek, and the Liturgy of the Mass is Latin, at least in the Roman Church.
The priest joining his hands begins the antiphon of the 42nd Psalm.
Ant. Introibo ad altare Dei. Ant. I will go unto the altar
of God.
R. Ad Deum qui laetificat ju- R. To God, who giveth joy to ventutem meam. my youth.
THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
27
PSALMUS 42.
Judica me Deus, et discerne causam meam de gente non sancta : ab homine iniquo, et doloso erue me.
R. Quia tu es Deus fortitude mea : quare merepulisti, et quare tristis incedo, dum affligit me inimicus ?
Emitte lucem tuam, et veri- tatem tuam : ipsa me dedux- erunt, et adduxerunt in mon- tem sanctum tuum, et in tab- ernacula tua.
R. Et introibo ad altare Dei : ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam.
Confitebor tibi in cithara, Deus, Deus meus : quare tris tis es anima mea, et quare conturbas me ?
R. Spera in Deo, quoniam ad- huc confitebor illi : salutare mil- tus mei, et Deus meus.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui sancto.
R. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Introibo ad altare Dei.
PSALM 42.
Judge me, O God, and dis tinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: de liver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
R. For Thou, O God, art my strength : why hast Thou cast me off ? and why do I go sorrow ful whilst the enemy afflicteth me ?
Send forth Thy light and Thy truth: they have con ducted me and brought me unto Thy holy mount, and unto Thy tabernacles.
R. And I will go unto the altar of God : to God, who giveth joy to my youth.
I will praise Thee on the harp, O God, my God: why art thou sorrowful, O my soul ? and why dost thou disquiet me ?
R. Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him : who is the salvation of my countenance, and my God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R. A s it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
I will go unto the altar of God.
R. Ad Deum qui laetificat ju- R. To God, who giveth joy to ventutem meam. my youth.
EXPLANATION OF THE PSALM JUDICA.
An antiphon means " alternate utterance," which is exemplified in the alternate chanting or saying of psalms or hymns by two choirs. This method of
28 THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
reciting psalms is said to have been instituted by St. Ignatius, one of the Apostolic Fathers. In the Latin Church it owed its origin to St. Ambrose of Milan, in the fourth century. The word antiphon has now a more restricted sense ; it means a verse prefixed to or following a psalm or psalms, as a sort of key perhaps to the intention of the Church in using the psalm, or as drawing attention to that part of it on which she desires to lay peculiar stress. The minister or server answers : To God, who giveth joy to my youth.
The joy here referred to in connection with youth has evidently a spiritual meaning. Whenever sanctify ing grace is first given to the soul, a " new creature " is created, causing the death of the " old man " of sin. Now, one end of the Sacrifice is the forgiveness of sins ; when mortal sins are forgiven the soul is renewed in its youth by sanctifying grace, and the Eucharist itself is the pledge of everlasting glory. There is a singular propriety in reminding the priest of this attribute of Almighty God as renovator of youth at the moment that the priest stands like the Publican " afar off" from the altar waiting for encouragement to carry his desire into effect. (See Oakeley's Ceremonies of the Mass, p. 12.)
The priest and server next recite in alternate verses the psalm Judica.
The 42nd Psalm was composed by King David after his sin and the rebellion of his son Absalom. Surrounded by his enemies, full of sorrow for his past offences, King David makes a direct appeal to God from whom alone strength can be obtained, and lays his cause before his Maker.
This Psalm, used in the Old Dispensation as a pre-
THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS. 29
paration for the altar, ever since the ninth century has been used by the priest in the Mass. The priest applies to his own necessities the words of David : Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy : deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.
The priest's confidence is in the fact that God alone is to be His Judge. From men he might have no hope. Standing at the foot of the altar he asks deliverance from his spiritual enemies. The server, whose duty is always to speak for the congregation, answers in a tone of hope and joy : For Thou, O God, art my strength : why hast Thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me ? as if to encourage the priest that God will surely succour him, and that sorrow need not depress him though surrounded by enemies. The priest in more hopeful accents, continues: Send forth Thy light and Thy truth : they have conducted me and brought me unto Thy holy mount, to the altar, the mystical Calvary where the Victim is slain, and unto Thy tabernacles, which, as a priest, I ought to serve and guard. The server again answers in the words of the antiphon said before the Psalm : And I will go unto the altar of God : to God who giveth joy to my youth. The priest encouraged more and more by these words, exclaims : I will praise Thee on the harp (see Apoc. ch. v., "having each of them harps in their hands," and in ch. xv., "and the voice I heard was that of harpers playing on their harps "), in joyous strains, O God, my God, for I belong to Thee, and I am made not by strange gods, but by Thee, the only 'true and living God ; and then in a tone of sorrowful surprise, the
30 THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
priest upbraids his own soul : Why art thou sorrowful, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me ? The server still continues : Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him, that is, confess all He has done for me and praise Him. The salvation of my countenance, that is, He is my salvation, for He illumines my countenance by His light and makes my face to behold His ; and Thou art my God ; in this thought there is hope.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. These words are taken from our Lord's words in the last chapter of St. Matthew, and are thought to have been framed by the Apostles. They, with the addition, as it was in the begin ning, &c., form what is called the lesser doxology, the Gloria in excelsis being the greater. We pray that all praise and honour be given to the Godhead, one in nature, three in persons; and the second portion, As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end ; Amen, is ascribed to the Council of Nice, A.D. 325, or perhaps later, as a contradiction to the doctrines of Arius, who maintained that the Son was not in the beginning, nor equal to the Father. (Rock's Hierurgia, vol. i. p. 75.)
The priest repeats again : I will go unto the altar of God, and the server, to God who giveth joy to my youth ; and then he makes the sign of the Cross and confides himself to the Divine protection, and with the words, Our help is in the name of the Lord, the server answering : who hath made heaven and earth, joins his hands, and bowing low, says the Confiteov.
As one end of Sacrifice is the remission of sins, the confession of sin and the prayer for pardon are
THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
fittingly introduced here in the introduction to the Mass and just before the priest mounts the holy altar. The Confiteor consists of two parts — first the con fession of sin and then the prayer for intercession. The priest says the Confiteor for the pardon of his own sins, and the server says the Confiteor for the pardon of the sins of the people whom he represents.
P. Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini.
R. Qui fecit coelum et terrain.
P. Confiteor Deo omnipo tent!, beatae Mariae semper Virgin!, beato Michael! Arch- angelo, beato Joanni Bap- tistae, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus sanctis, et vobis, fratres, quia peccavi nirnis cogitatione, verbo, et opere, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam sem per Virginem, beatum Michae- lem Archangelum, beatum Joannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes sanctos, et vos fratres, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum.
R. Miser eatur tui omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis tuis, perducat te ad vitam aeternam.
P. Amen.
P. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
R. Who made heaven and earth.
P. I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary, ever a Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly, in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. There fore I beseech blessed Mary, ever a Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the saints, and you, brethren, to pray to the Lord our God for me.
R. May Almighty God be merciful to thee. and, having for given thy sins, bring thee to life everlasting.
P. Amen.
The Confiteor is then said by the Server,
P. Misereaturvestriomnipo- tens Deus et dimissis peccatis vestris perducat vos ad vitam aeternam.
R. Amen.
P. May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to life everlasting.
R. Amen.
32 THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
Signing himself with the sign of the Cross, the Priest says :
P. Indulgentiam absolu- P. May the Almighty and
tionem et remissionem pecca- merciful Lord grant us
torum nostrorurn, tribuat nobis pardon, absolution, and remis-
omnipotens, et misericors sion of our sins. Dominus.
R. Amen. R. Amen.
Then bowing down, he proceeds :
V. Deus tu conversus vivi- V. Thou wilt turn again,
ficabis nos. O God, and quicken us.
R. Et plebs tua laetabitur in R. And Thy people shall
te. rejoice in Thee.
V. Ostende nobis Domine V. Show us, O Lord, Thy
misericordiam tuam. mercy.
R. Et salutare tuum da nobis. R. And grant us Thy salva-
V. Domine exaudi orati- tion.
onem meam. V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. Et clamor meus ad te R. And let my cry come unto
veniat. Thee.
V. Dominus vobiscum. V. The Lord be with you.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo. R. And with thy spirit.
EXPLANATION OF THE CONFITEOR.
I confess to Almighty God, says the priest, Almighty because sin is forgiven by God alone, and its forgiveness is a work of omnipotence ; to Blessed Mary ever a Virgin, because she is the refuge of sinners; to Blessed Michael the Archangel, as Chief of the Heavenly Host and Protector of the Catholic Church ; to Blessed John the Baptist, who preached the Gospel of penance and led a most penitential life crowned by martyrdom ; to the Holy Apostle Peter, as Head of the Church and a penitent sinner ; to St. Paul, also a penitent sinner : the two names are always connected in the Church's liturgy ; to all the Saints, our fellow-citizens who during life were sinners too ;
THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS, 33
and to you, brethren, adds the priest, revealing his sinfulness to the congregation, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, which embrace all sins, as those of omission may be classed under thought, for wilful omission is impos sible without thought or determination. Next comes the petition to the saints already mentioned, to inter cede for the priest, Therefore, I beseech, &c. Then follows the Miseveatuv by the server, the confession by the server, and the absolving prayer by the priest :
May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to life ever lasting — and signing himself with the sign of the Cross, the priest says — May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, absolution, and remission of our sins.
Both prayers are by way of supplication, they are not authoritative, they are not absolution strictly so called as in the confessional when the priest forgives by a judicial sentence. In the confessional the priest forgives — in the Mass he begs we may be forgiven. Further the priest cannot forgive his own sins ; but in the Indulgentiam he says peccatorum nostrorum (our sins) and makes himself a part of the people ; thus this prayer is shown to be a simple petition.
Next, slightly bowing, the priest recites these versicles from the 84th Psalm — Thou wilt turn again, O God, and quicken us. And Thy people shall rejoice in Thee. In the next versicle is another earnest request — Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy and grant us Thy salvation, that is, Thy grace through Jesus Christ, by whom alone we can be saved ; the words O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come unto Thee, express the earnestness of D
34 THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS.
the request. The Lord be with you is the first greeting of the priest to the people, and with thy Spirit, replies the server — may He be in thy spirit too, O priest.
Oremus is said in a loud voice, as a formal invitation to prayer ; and the two prayers that follow are said secretly to God, as the priest's private and personal request for the pardon of his own offences before he mounts the holy altar.
The priest prays in a low voice inaudible to the congregation, secretly asking pardon for his personal sins. The Council of Trent (Sess. xxii. c. 5) prescribes that certain portions of the Mass should be said in a loud, others in a low tone of voice. These outward signs add solemnity to the prayers of the Church, and lift the minds of the congregation to heavenly things.
These prayers are :
Aufer a nobis quaesumus Take away from us our ini-
Domine iniquitates nostras : quities, we beseech Thee, O
ut ad Sancta Sanctorum puris Lord : that we may be worthy
mereamur mentibus introire. to enter with pure minds into
Per Christum Dominum nos- the Holy of Holies. Through
trum. Amen. Christ our Lord. Amen.
Bowing down over the altar, the Priest says :
Oramus te Domine per We beseech Thee, O Lord,
merita Sanctorum tuorum, by the merits of Thy Saints,
quorum reliquiae hie sunt, et whose relics are here, and of
omnium Sanctorum, ut in- all the Saints, that Thou
dulgere digneris omnia pec- wouldst vouchsafe to forgive
cata mea. Amen. me all my sins. Amen.
EXPLANATION OF THE ABOVE TWO PRAYERS.
Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech
Thee (notice the humble earnestness of the prayer —
THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS. 35
we beseech Thee), that we may be worthy to enter with pure minds into the Holy of Holies.
In the Old Law the High Priest, and he only, entered once a year into the Holy of Holies in the Temple to sacrifice for himself and the people ; in the New any priest may daily offer the Sacrifice of the Altar.
Bowing down over the altar the priest says : "We beseech Thee, O Lord (again the humble, earnest request), by the merits of Thy Saints, whose relics are here, and of all the Saints, that Thou wouldst vouchsafe to forgive me all my sins. (Again the humble prayer: digneris — "that Thou wouldst deign.")
The priest kisses out of reverence the relics of the martyrs which rest in the altar-stone. In the earliest ages of the Church Mass used to be said on the tombs of the martyrs: hence perhaps another reason for enclosing their relics beneath the table of the altar.
CHAPTER the SEVENTH.
THE INTROIT, KYRIE, AND GLORIA IN EXCELSIS.
AFTER kissing the altar and saying the last- mentioned prayer, the priest proceeds to the Epistle side of the altar, and with the sign of the Cross, begins the Introit.
THE INTROIT.1
The Introit (introitus) is, as the word indicates, the " entrance " to the Mass. Here the Mass may be said to begin. The prayers at the foot of the altar may be considered the introduction to the Mass. There are
1 Over the Introit in the Roman Missal on all Ember days, on the Sundays in Advent, and on all ferial Masses from Septua- gesima to Low Sunday, we find such inscriptions as Statio ad S. Mariam Majorem — Station at the Church of St. Mary Major; Statio ad S. Crucem in Jerusalem — Station at the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, &c. These words indicate the church where Holy Mass was said after a solemn procession in which the Pope, clergy, and laity joined. The church where the procession halted and Mass was celebrated was called the Station Church (static, a halting-place). The Station with full solemnity consisted of three things. First, the assembling in a certain church ; next, the procession to the Station Church ; and thirdly, the Mass said there. The preparatory assemblage of people was called collecta ; because clergy and people collected together previous to the solemn procession to the Station Church. The banner of the Cross headed the procession; Psalms were chanted,
THE INTROIT. 37
indeed two introductions to the Mass, general and special. The prayers before the Introit are the general, while the Preface forms the special introduction to the Canon, the fixed and more solemn portion of the Mass.
Since the Introit begins the Mass, the priest makes as he recites it the sign of the Cross. In Masses for the Dead the sign of the Cross is made over the Missal ; it forms thus a suitable accompaniment to the Church's prayer for rest and light for the souls in Purgatory.
The Introit consists nearly always of a passage from Holy Scripture with a verse of a Psalm and the Gloria Patri, after which the introductory passage is repeated. The Scripture passage forms an antiphon to the Psalm, which was formerly said entire. When the prayers of the Mass were shortened the first verse of the Psalm was retained often as an epitome of the whole.
Le Brun and Benedict XIV. attribute the intro duction of Introits to Pope Gregory the Great, 590, others attribute the Introit to Pope Celestine L, 420.
The Introit gives the key to the Mass. The character of the Mass is known by the Introit. Joy, sorrow, hope, desire, fear, gratitude, contrition, in
and the Litany of the Saints, as the procession drew near to the Church. In the Station Church, before the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, a homily was often delivered by the Pope.
The Stations were usually penitential, though we find them also on joyful festivals, as in Easter Week, on the Ascension and Pentecost. The Catholic Dictionary (Sixth Edition, p. 857), quoting from Fleury, says that Gregory the Great marked these Stations, as we now have them in the Roman Missal. In the Office for that Saint on March lath, in the sixth lesson we find the following reference to the Stations: "Litanias, Stationes, et Ecclesiasticum officium auxit." (Dr. Gihr, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. English translation, pp. 377 — 379.)
38 THE INTROIT.
short, every feeling of the heart finds its expression in the Introit. Let us take a few examples :
In Masses for the Dead, the Church says : Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Ps. A Hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion ; and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem. O hear my prayer; all flesh shall come to Thee. The Gloria Patvi is omitted, as its tone is joyful.
For the great feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Church selects Isaias, ch. Ixi. : Rejoicing I will rejoice in the Lord and my soul shall exult in my God, because He has clad me with the garments of salvation, and has surrounded me with the vesture of gladness, like a bride adorned by her jewels.
Ps. xxix : I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me : and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me. Our Lady, into whose mouth these words are put by the Church, rejoices because she has always been free from stain of original sin and her enemies never had power over her.
The Third Sunday of Advent is called Gaudete, Sunday, from the first word of the Introit : Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice (Philip. iv.), because the Church rejoices at the near coming of Jesus Christ.
The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday, from the first word of the Introit. The Church is again rejoicing because she draws nearer to the day of her deliverance through the Passion, and above all, through the Resurrection of her Founder from the Tomb.
Saints have special Introits which point to their
THE KYRIE ELEISON. 39
characteristic virtues — thus, St. Francis of Assisi, who was distinguished by his love of the Cross, has for his Introit the words of St. Paul: God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, while to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the singular honour belongs of having in the Introit an allusion to the name of his Order, the Society of Jesus : In the name of Jesus let every knee bow of those that are in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth : and let every tongue confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father (Philip, ii.), followed by the Psalm : All they that love Thy name shall glory in Thee, for Thou wilt bless the just. (Ps. v.)
Enough has been said to show that the Introit is a part of the Mass which gives it a character according to the day or season.
THE KYRIE ELEISON.
Originally the Kyrie was said at the Epistle side : the custom survives at High Mass.
The Kyrie eleison, " Lord have mercy on us," is said at every Mass without exception — at Low Mass beneath the crucifix, at High Mass on the Epistle side after the Introit.
Kyrie Eleison is said thrice in honour of the Father ; thrice in honour of the Son ; thrice in honour of the Holy Ghost. We pray for mercy in the three-fold misery of ignorance, sin, and punish ment. (S. Th. Hi. q. 3. ad 4.) The cry for mercy and forgiveness is most appropriately introduced at the beginning of the Sacrifice ; the cry is repeated again and again, that we may offer the spotless Sacrifice with pure hands.
40 THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS.
As we have already observed, the inscription on the Cross, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, was written in three languages — Hebrew, Greek, and Latin — so in the Mass, which is a re-presentation, a re-enactment of the Sacrifice on Calvary, the Church still uses these three languages. The revelation of God has been given to the world in the three languages found upon the Cross.
THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS.
After the Kyrie comes the Gloria in excelsis. This hymn is sometimes called the greater Doxology to distinguish it from the lesser, the Gloria Patri. The author of the Church's greatest hymn of praise is unknown. The first verse, Glory be to God on high and on earth peace to men of good-will, was sung by the Angel and the heavenly host on Christmas night, as recorded by St. Luke. (ii. 14.) The Gloria was introduced into the Mass in the Roman Church first of all on Christmas Day, when it was sung in the first Mass in Greek, in the second in Latin. Up to the end of the eleventh century the Gloria was said by Bishops at Mass on Sundays and festivals, by priests only on Easter Sunday. At the close of the twelfth century this privilege gradually extended to priests. Since the revision of the Missal by Pius V., in 1570, the rule is to say the Gloria at Mass whenever the Te Deum is said at Matins — that is, when the Mass conforms to the Office.
Gloria in excelsis Deo; et Glory be to God on high, in terra pax hominibus bonae and on earth peace to men voluntatis. Laudamus Te ; of good-will. We praise benedicimus Te ; adorajare^I^hee ; we bless Thee ; we Te ; glorificamus Te, G^SU^Sfc-^acpJ^e Thee ; we glorify Thee.
THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS.
41
agimus Tibi propter magnam gloriam Tuam. Domine Deus, Rex coelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fill unigenite Jesu Christe ; Domine Deus, Agnus Dei. Filius Patris, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis; Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostram : Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Quoniam Tu solus sanctus : Tu solus Domi- nus : Tu solus altissimus, Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.
We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us; Thou who takest away the sins of the world receive our petitions ; Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father have mercy upon us. For Thou alone art holy : Thou alone art Lord : Thou alone, O Jesus Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
EXPLANATION OF THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS.
Let me offer a brief and simple explanation of this hymn of praise.
Glory be to God on high, that is, may God be glorified, be honoured, and praised in Heaven, and on earth peace to men of good-will, and on earth may peace, the calm ever found where order reigns, belong to men who are the objects of God's good-will and special love — who have pleased God. Now we enter on the creature's praise of God — we praise Thee ; we wish in words to acknowledge Thy excellence, we bless Thee ; as our Lord and God from whom all good things come. We adore Thee, we pay Thee that supreme homage of mind and will which God alone can claim ; we glorify Thee, that through our words, however poor, the clear knowledge of Thee may spread abroad ; Thy glory we wish to seek, not our own. We give Thee thanks
42 THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS.
for Thy great glory. These words express the very highest form of gratitude which human nature can reach. We thank Him, not for His goodness to us, but for the great glory which He has possessed from all eternity and will possess by the works of His hands.
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. The word Lord means owner and Supreme Master of Heaven and earth and all therein ; and God is the fulness of every conceivable perfection. As heavenly King He rules over the Blessed choirs of Heaven. As Father He summons everything into being — Almighty is the epithet most often applied to God in Scripture comprising all wisdom, knowledge, power — to whom alone in token of supreme dominion Mass is offered.
We now come to the second portion of the hymn. The supplication is addressed to Jesus Christ.
O Lord Jesus Christ is our Saviour's full title ; as Lord He is Master of Heaven and earth, to whom as Man all power is given. Jesus (Saviour) comprises the whole work of redemption ; Christ the anointed one hears us with the Father and deigns to pray for us to the Father. Christ is Man and God; He prays as Man, as God He grants what He prays for. (St. Augustine.') Lord God are the titles of omnipotence : Lamb of God refers to the Passion and to the mystical slaying at the Mass : who takest away the sins of the world — these words were first used by St. John the Baptist, " Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world " (St. John i. 29) — on His Cross by complete redemption and satisfaction ; have mercy on us is the Church's prayer for pardon repeated again and again in her Offices and public prayers. Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father; as Man Christ occupies the highest place
THE GLORIA IN EXCELSIS. 43
in Heaven above angels and men, and as God is infi nitely merciful : receive our petitions ; these words do not perfectly render the original Latin suscipe depre- cationem nostram; suscipe in Scriptural language means hear and mercifully grant, as in Gen. xix. 21. Etiain in hoc suscepi preces tuas — " Behold in this also I have heard thy prayers not to destroy the city for which thou hast spoken." Suscipe has constantly this sense in the Mass.
Have mercy on us, says the Church, and forgive us our sins — qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis ; and forgive us also the evils that follow sin in the punishment we have deserved, suscipe depreca- tionem nostram ; precatio, says St. Augustine, means a petition that good things be granted, deprecatio that evil things be averted.
The hymn concludes with these words of praise : For Thou alone art holy, holy by nature and by essence ; holiness is Thy being, and all creatures borrow their holiness from Thee : Thou alone art Lord, absolute Master of Heaven and earth ; man is but the steward of the few things he owns, Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords, Thou alone, O Jesus Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high, because Thy Sacred Humanity is elevated and glorified above all created things, that Sacred Humanity is in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
A few ceremonies are prescribed to the priest in saying the Gloria. As he says or intones Gloria in excelsis he extends his hands and lifts them to his shoulders to show his ardent desire to praise God. At Deo he joins his hands and bows to the cross or to the Blessed Sacrament if exposed, and he bows at the words, we adore Thee, we give Thee thanks, receive our petitions, and twice on mentioning the name of Jesus.
CHAPTER the EIGHTH.
THE DOMINUS VOBISCUM, COLLECT, EPISTLE.
AT the end of the Gloria the priest kisses the altar and turning to the people, says Dominus vobiscum, " the Lord be with you," and the server representing the congregation, returns the salutation, saying and with thy spirit — may He be with your soul or spirit also, O priest.
Whenever the priest turns round to salute the con gregation with the Dominus vobiscum, he first kisses the altar, or more properly the altar-stone, in which repose the relics of the martyrs. The kiss is a mark of veneration to the martyrs, and much more a sign of love and reverence for Jesus Christ, who is soon to be offered in Sacrifice on that altar for the living and the dead.
In the earliest times, as the priest said Mass facing the people, he did not turn round at the Dominus vobiscum. At the Papal Mass said over the Tomb of the Apostles the Pope faces the congregation, and therefore does not turn to the people at Dominus vobiscum. When the position of the altar was changed the priest naturally turned to the people in saluting them.
The salutation, "The Lord be with thee," was used
THE COLLECT. 45
by Booz in addressing the reapers (Ruth ii. 4), " And behold he came out of Bethlehem and said to the reapers, The Lord be with thee. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee." See also Judges (vi. 12) and Gabriel's salutation to our Lady — " The Lord is with thee."
The priest, by the salutation, wishes every grace to the people that the presence of God brings ; and the people by their et cum spiritu tuo, implore that the soul of the priest be filled with God, thus enabling him to offer worthily the Holy Sacrifice.
The Bishop, at a Mass in which the Gloria is said, uses the formula pax vobis instead of Domimis vobiscum. The words pax vobis are possibly taken from the Gloria. The pax vobis of the Bishop (our Lord's favourite greeting to His disciples after His Resurrection) is said to be a remnant of the privilege, according to Benedict XIV., as stated in the Introductory Chapter, which once belonged to the Bishop alone of saying the Gloria at Mass. Thepax vobis, in the mouth of the Bishop, reminds us of the privilege. Pax vobis is higher than Dominus vobiscum, since the former is our Lord's own salutation, and proceeds from the Bishop, who possesses the fulness of the priesthood and a higher power to bless than a priest.
The Collect.
After the Dominus vobiscum the priest moves to the Epistle side, and bowing to the cross, says, Oremus, "let us pray." These words, as already stated, contain a distinct invitation to the congregation to join with the priest in prayer. The priest raises his hands to his shoulders. This gesture is perhaps, so some writers assure us, in memory of our Lord's outstretched
46 THE COLLECT.
arms on the Cross. Certain Religious Orders in portions of the Mass extend their arms almost to their full length. It should be remembered, however, that the Church adopts customs already existing, makes them her own, and consecrates them to the service of God. Her vestments are taken from the ordinary garments in use during the earliest stage of her existence, her Basilicas are the Roman Courts of Justice, and the method of praying with outstretched arms was and is still prevalent in the East, and to this day is seen amongst the poor in Ireland. The frescoes in the Catacombs represent saints of both sexes praying with arms outstretched. In the i4oth Psalm we read, "The lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice," while St. Paul bids Timothy (i Tim. ii. 8) to pray, lifting up holy hands.
The word Collect has been explained in various ways. One simple explanation is that the Collect gathers, collects together in the mouth of the priest the wants and wishes of the faithful, for whom the priest at Mass pleads.
Many of the Collects now said were composed by St. Gelasius (492) or St. Gregory (590), while many are of a later date, and are continually added for new feasts.
Almost all the Collects are addressed to the Father and end with the words, " through our Lord Jesus Christ," &c. ; only a few, and these of recent date, are addressed to the Son, and none to the Holy Ghost. Why are the Collects chiefly addressed to the Father ? Because the Mass represents the Sacrifice by which Christ offered Himself to the Father, and therefore the prayers of the Liturgy are directed to the Father Himself.
THE COLLECT. 47
A word as to the formation of the Collect. The Collects, however varied, are written more or less on the same lines. St. Paul desires that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made by men. This rule is followed in the Collects.
Take a few familiar instances. The Collect for the Holy Ghost : O God (lifting of the heart to God the Father) who didst instruct the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit (statement of a grace and thanksgiving), grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right and ever to rejoice in His consolations (the request), through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Spirit through everlasting ages. These words, which end all Collects addressed to the Father, implore what is asked through the merits of the Passion and Death of our Lord.
Here is a Collect addressed to Christ for the feast of the Blessed Sacrament :
O God (the elevation of the heart to God) who under a wonderful Sacrament hast left us a memorial of Thy Passion (statement of a favour and consequently thanksgiving), grant US, we beseech Thee (the Church's favourite form of earnest petition), so to reverence the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, that we may continually find the fruit of Thy redemption in our souls (close of petition), who livest and reignest, world without end (thus ends often the Collect addressed to the Son), or the fuller form : who livest and reignest in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God through ever lasting ages.
The first or principal Collect is always peculiar to
48 THE EPISTLE.
the Sunday or festival. On greater days one Collect only is said ; on all festivals except the chief, other Collects are admissible, and these are called Com memorations — a remembrance of saints and feasts. A Collect prescribed by the Bishop in some special need is called an Oratio imperata, a prayer ordered. That prayer is sometimes for the Pope, or Church, or for a temporal gain, e.g., fine weather, &c.
Amen gives assent to all said by the priest. In the early ages the people answered Amen at Mass. The server now answers for them.
The Epistle.
The Jews began the public service of their Sabbath by readings from Moses and the Prophets. (Acts xiii. 15.) The first Christians followed their example, and during divine worship on the Sunday read passages from the New or Old Testament.
The general rule is, with few exceptions, that each Mass has two Lessons from the Bible said or sung during the Holy Sacrifice, one is the Epistle, the other the Gospel.
The Epistle may be taken from any portion of the Old or New Testament except the Psalms and the four Gospels. It is thought that the present arrange ment of Epistles and Gospels throughout the year, was made by St. Jerome, by the desire of Pope Damasus, about the year 376.
The Epistle is more commonly taken from the Epistles of the Apostles.
From the ninth century the Epistle at High Mass has been sung by the subdeacon, the Gospel by the deacon. The Epistle is read before the Gospel to mark
THE EPISTLE. 49
the subordination of the former to the latter. The Epistle gives the teaching of Prophets and Apostles, the Gospel is the direct teaching of Christ.
The Gospel determines the choice of the Epistle ; these two lessons from the Bible are in perfect harmony, they often express the same idea, seen sometimes from different points of view. (See Epistle and Gospel for the Sundays in Advent, the Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, the First Sunday in Lent, Passion Sunday, the Second Sunday after Easter, Corpus Christi, the Immaculate Conception, the Seven Dolours, the Assumption, Pente cost, St. Augustine, Apostle of England ; St. Mary Magdalene, the Sacred Heart, and Masses for the Dead. The close relationship between the Epistle and Gospel is very evident in Votive Masses for the Angels, for the Holy Ghost, for the Passion of our Lord, for the grace of a Happy Death, for the Sick, for Bride and Bridegroom.)
At the end of the Epistle the server answers Deo gratias, to give thanks to God for the gift of His holy doctrine.
CHAPTER the NINTH.
THE GRADUAL, ALLELUIA, TRACT, AND SEQUENCE.
THE Gradual is called from gradus, a step, because it was formerly sung as the deacon ascended the steps of the ambo to chant the Gospel. The Gradual is also called responsory. The first part was called responsorium as an answer to the Epistle, the second versus. The Gradual represents a verse or two of psalms once sung all through. Sometimes the Gradual is the Church's own composition and not taken from Scripture, as in the feast of the Seven Dolours. The first part of the Gradual in Requiem Masses is also composed by the Church.
The force and meaning of the Gradual is clearly seen when we remember that the Gradual is closely and intimately connected with three other portions of the Mass, the Introit, Offertory, and Communion. (See the Mass for the First Sunday in Lent, the Mass for the Holy Innocents and Angel Guardians, the Common for Bishop and Confessor, &c.) The Introit, Gradual, Offertory, and Communion are variable and were once always sung.
The Gradual is seldom said or sung alone. The Alleluia verse, as it is called, is generally added to the Gradual throughout the year. This verse consists of two A lleluias,
THE GRADUAL. 51
a verse of Scripture, and a third Alleluia. From Septuagesima to Holy Saturday Alleluia is not said at Mass. The Gradual is omitted from the Saturday in Easter Week to the Octave of Pentecost. During this period the Gradual (except on fast days) gives place to the major Alleluia, which, strictly speaking, ushers in the Eastertide. The major Alleluia is so called to distinguish it from the Alleluia verse or minor Alleluia. The major Alleluia consists of two Alleluias prefixed to two verses, and Alleluia is added at the end of each verse.
Why, it may be asked, is the Gradual retained in Easter Week? We reply that the Church had a special reason during the first thousand years of its existence for inserting the Gradual during Easter Week. The Church had before her mind in her liturgical worship the newly baptized, who on Holy Saturday were born again by Baptism to a higher life. During Easter Week the neophytes continued their instruction in the mysteries of the faith, and wore white garments, which in some places were laid aside on Saturday in Easter Week and in others on Low Sunday: hence the titles, Sabbato in Albis, Dominica in Albis, in the Roman Missal. Liturgists ttell us that the Gradual lies midway between thejmournful Tract and joyful Alleluia. It denotes, as we are told, the toilsome journey of the Christian to the BetterVLand. The Gradual at Eastertide was an admonition to the newly baptized that Heaven is gained after a conflict. Saturday was the octave of Solemn Baptism ; and the octave is said to symbolize eternal beatitude, when the newly baptized reach their home in Heaven and the great end of Baptism is thus obtained. The Gradual ceases on Saturday in Easter Week and the
52 THE TRACT.
triumphant Alleluia takes its place. (See the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Gihr. English translation, p. 461.) The ancient baptismal rite on Holy Saturday has long since fallen into disuse, but the Gradual in Easter Week is retained. Another survival of an old custom.
The Tract.
In certain seasons, as from Septuagesima to Easter, the joyful Alleluia is exchanged for the Tract, which is of a mournful character. The word Tract is derived from tractim ; Tract meant something sung tractim, without break or interruption of other voices as in responsories and antiphony. The Tract is usually taken from Scripture, very often from the Psalms. Its character or tone sometimes resembles the Gradual (see for example the Gradual and Tract in the Votive Mass of the Holy Ghost after Septuagesima, and in Requiem Masses).
The Sequence, sometimes called the Prose, from the irregularity of its metre, derived its name from the last vowel of the Alleluia which followed on through a series of notes without words. Different notes on one syllable without words may easily be difficult even to correct singers. In the tenth century words were put to these notes — and this is the origin of what is now called a Sequence (a following on). Five are said or sung in church, the Victimae Paschali at Easter, the Veni Sancte Spivitus at Whitsuntide, the Lauda Sion for Corpus Christi ; the Stabat Mater and the Dies Irae.
CHAPTER the TENTH.
THE GOSPEL AND THE CREED.
THE second lesson from the Bible read at Mass is called the Gospel (the good tidings of God). After the Blessed Eucharist there is nothing the Church venerates more than the word of God in the Gospel. At High Mass the Gospel has lights and incense in token of the Church's veneration ; while only the priest or deacon is allowed to read or sing it at Mass.
Before the Gospel the priest bowing profoundly before the altar, says two prayers — the first is called the Munda cor meum and is as follows : Almighty God who didst with a burning coal purify the lips of the Prophet Isaiah, cleanse also my heart and my lips, and of Thy merciful kindness vouchsafe to purify me that I may worthily announce Thy holy Gospel, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
This prayer alone shows the great importance set by the Church on the reading and explanation of the Gospel. The allusion is to the vision told in the sixth chapter of Isaiah. In a vision the Prophet saw the God of armies and his own unworthiness to preach God's message, " and one of the Seraphim flew to me and in his hands was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar. And he touched my mouth and said, Behold this hath touched thy lips, and thy
54
THE GOSPEL.
iniquities shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be cleansed." Then only did the Prophet gain courage to give God's message. The fire is the figure of the grace of the Holy Spirit which consumes all imper fections, and cleanses the heart to preach the Gospel.
The second prayer is as follows : May the Lord be in my heart and on my lips that I may worthily and in a becoming manner (this refers to the leading or explanation) announce His Gospel.
After saying this prayer in secret the priest moves to the right side of the altar, and in a loud voice addresses his salutation to the people, The Lord be with you, the server answers and with thy spirit, which means here a mutual desire of priest and people to announce and receive the Gospel in fitting dis positions.
The priest then says, according to the passage that he is going to read, either the beginning of the Gospel according to St. Matthew (or another Evangelist) or a continuation of the Gospel.
The words of the Church indicate that there are not four Gospels, but one Gospel written by four Evangelists from different points of view. The server answers Glory be to Thee, O Lord, because the good news of the Gospel teaches us to honour and praise God.
The priest makes the sign of the Cross on the Missal, not to bless it, but to signify " This is the book of the Crucified." The Gospel is the word of the Cross. The priest next makes the sign of the Cross on his forehead, lips, and heart, to remind us that we ought to carry the doctrine of a crucified Redeemer in our mind, on our lips, and in our heart.
The Church's Rubrics observed in the reading of the Gospel show her esteem for the Sacred Word.
THE GOSPEL. 55
(1) The Gospel is read at the right or more honour able side of the altar. Right and left on the altar are indicated by the arms of the cross over the tabernacle. Consequently the Gospel is the right, the Epistle the left of the altar.
(2) The congregation stand as a mark of respect and reverence.
(3) At High Mass two acolytes with lighted candles and the thurifer with incense accompany the deacon as he chants the Gospel. The lighted candles signify the light of faith, the perfume of incense the good odour of Christ, while the consuming of the incense itself by fire is suit able to the idea of destruction involved in the Sacrifice.
(4) The kiss given by the celebrant to the sacred volume is a token of homage to and affection for our Lord's teaching. The words said while he kisses the Missal, after the first Gospel, May our sins be blotted out by the words of the Gospel, are the Church's petition for the pardon of sin, through those acts of sorrow and love which the words of the Gospel above all other words excite in the heart.
56 THE CREED.
THE CREED.
After the Gospel on Sundays follows usually the sermon or explanation of the Gospel.
The Gospel, then, closes the first of the two great divisions of Mass. The Mass to the end of the Gospel and sermon was called in the early ages of the Church the Missa Catechumenormn — the Mass of the Catechumens — from the Offertory to the Ite Missa est, Missa fidelium — the Mass of the faithful.
The catechumens, or those under instruction for the Church, were dismissed after the Gospel. The Dis cipline of the Secret lasted for the first five hundred years in the Church. We have already alluded in the Introductory Chapter to the Discipline of the Secret, or the custom which prevailed in the early Church of con cealing from heathens and catechumens the more secret and mysterious doctrines of the Catholic Church, either by not mentioning them at all, or by mentioning them in enigmatical language, intelligible only to those who were initiated into its meaning. " That it existed even as a rule with respect to the sacraments," says Cardinal Newman, " seems to be admitted on all hands." In times of persecution the Christians were afraid to speak openly of their doctrines and worship, from the fear of increasing their own persecution or of having their doctrines misunderstood or laughed at. They were especially anxious to keep the Blessed Eucharist and Mass secret from heathens and even catechumens.
The Offertory begins the Mass of the Faithful, or of those who professed the Catholic faith. The Credo is fittingly introduced after the Gospel as a solemn act of faith in the Gospel and doctrines of Divine revelation.
THE CREED. 57
The Credo is a suitable introduction to the Sacrifice, as it is a confession of faith in our Divine Redeemer, who is both Priest and Victim.
After the Gospel on certain days the Creed is said or sung. These days are, all Sundays in the year, all feasts of our Lord and the Blessed Virgin, of the Apostles, and Doctors of the Church, the feasts of All Saints, the Angel Guardians, and practically all Doubles of the First Class.
Apostles and Doctors have the Credo, because to them in a special way belongs the duty of teaching the truths of faith professed in the Credo. Except the Mother of God, to St. Mary Magdalene alone among women the Credo is given. St. Theresa and other saintly women may have the Credo on their feast in a special church, because that feast is a Double of the First Class in that church, or because it claims the saint as its patron.
The Credo in the Mass is called in the Church's language Synibolum Nicaenum Constantinopolitamim. Sym- bolum means a sign. The Creed is the sign of the true Faith we profess and to which we belong. In it are gathered together the chief Dogmas of Faith. In the Constantinopolitan Creed we have clearly defined the Divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Arius denied the Divinity of the Son, Macedonius the Divinity of the Holy Ghost. At Constantinople in 381 two additions were made to the old Nicene formula. The clause, of whose kingdom there shall be no end, was added against Marcellus of Ancyra, who denied that Christ's reign would continue after the Day of Judgment. Again, after the clause, and in the Holy Ghost, the words, the Lord and Life-giver who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who
THE CREED.
together with the Father and the Son, were added against the Macedonians who denied the Divinity of the Holy Ghost. The famous addition of the Filioque, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, was
introduced later by particular churches. About 1015 Rome itself adopted it. This brings the Creed to the shape we now have it at Mass.
The Credo was generally sung in the Roman Mass at the beginning of the eleventh century. In the Eastern Church the Credo was introduced at the beginning of the sixth.
Credo in unum Deum, Patrem omnipotentem, fac- torem coeli et terrae visibi- lium omnium, et invisibilium. Et in unum Dominum Jesum Christum, Filium Dei uni- genitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia saecula. Deum de Deo ; lumen de lumine ; Deum verum de Deo vero ; genitum non factum ; consub- stantialem Patn, per quern omnia facta sunt. Qui propter nos homines, et propter nos- tram salutem, descendit de coelis, (Hie genuflectitur .) et incarnatus est de Spiritu sancto ex Maria Virgine : ET HOMO FACTUS EST. Cruci- fixus etiam pro nobis : sub Pontio Pilato passus et sepul- tus est. Et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas ; et ascendit in coelum, sedet ad dexteram Patris : et iterum venturus est cum gloria judi- care vivos et mortuos: cujus regni non erit finis.
Et in Spiritum sanctum Dominum, et vivificantem,
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God of God ; Light of Light; true God of true God : begotten, not made ; consubstantial with theFather, by whom all things were made. Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven [here the people kneel down] , and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: AND WAS MADE MAN. He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. The third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; and as cended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father : and He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead ; of whose kingdom there shall be no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Life-
THE CREED. 59
qui ex Patre Filioque pro- giver, who proceedeth from
cedit : qui cum Patre, et Filio the Father and the Son : who
simul adoratur et conglorifi- together with the Father and
catur: qui locutus est per the Son is adored and glori-
Prophetas. Et unam sanctam fled ; who spake by the pro-
catholicam et apostolicam phets. And one holy Catholic
Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum and Apostolic Church. I con-
baptisma in remissionem pec- fess one baptism for the remis-
catorum. Et exspecto resur- sion of sins. And I look for
rectionem mortuorum, et the resurrection of the dead
vitam venturi saeculi. Amen, and the life of the world to
come. Amen.
EXPLANATION OF THE NICENE CREED.
I believe; believe does not mean as often in English a mere expression of opinion said hesitatingly and doubtfully ; believe means a firm, unhesitating, abso lutely certain state of mind, without shadow of fear or doubt, because the belief rests on the word of God. In one God. We are bound to believe in God, infinite in every perfection, containing in Himself the fulness of every conceivable good : hence it follows there is only one God — for the fulness of every conceivable perfection is found in one God alone. The Father Almighty. The word Father in the Creed leads us to a knowledge of the Trinity ; there cannot be a Father without a Son ; thus we are obliged to acknowledge the Trinity in which there is a distinction of person with one and the same nature, the Son proceeds from the Father, the Holy Ghost necessarily from the Father and Son. Almighty means that God can do everything which is not repugnant to His infinite perfection. Almighty is the name most frequently applied to God in Scripture. The thought of omnipotence strengthens more than anything else our faith, hope, and confidence in God. Maker here is the same as Creator, and the latter
60 THE CREED.
signifies, as taught by the Council of the Vatican, one who makes out of nothing, that is, where nothing was, something came into being at God's command. Of Heaven; this includes the sun, moon, stars, and sky above; the words and earth mean this planet with everything on its surface. And of all things visible and invisible ; this clause explains more fully Heaven and earth — nothing exists, seen or unseen in earth or Heaven, neither men nor angels, which have not been made by God. He made the demons too: not as demons: He made them pure spirits, and by their own sin they became demons.
And (I believe) in one Lord Jesus Christ. The Council now passes on to condemn Arius by distinctly defining that Christ is God. Lord expresses our belief in the sovereignty of Christ not merely as God but also as Man over the whole world. He is Lord of earth, of angels and of men. Jesus is the distinctive name of Christ as God and Man — it means Saviour, indicating His office according to the Angel's words to St. Joseph : " She shall bring forth a Son and thou shalt call His name Jesus ; for (the reason of the name) He shall save His people from their sins." (St. Matt. i. 21.) Christ means anointed. In the Old Law priests, prophets, and kings were anointed. The rite is used in the Christian Church when priests are ordained and kings are crowned.
Christ is Priest, Prophet, and King. He is anointed not with oil as priests and kings, but with the fulness of grace poured into His Soul by the Holy Ghost. The Psalmist says of Christ, " Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity : therefore God, Thy God hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows." (Psalm xliv. 8.) The name Christ as also
THE CREED. 61
the name Jesus brings before us the two natures of the Word Incarnate. Besides the anointing of the Man Jesus with grace, there is the higher anointing with the Divinity whereby especially He is the Messiah long expected by the nations. Christ is a Priest not by sacra mental rites. His Priesthood began with His Incarna tion, and it was completed by the sacrifice of His life on Calvary. The best description of that Priesthood is given by St. Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Christ is also a Prophet. In Scripture prophet does not mean exclusively one who foretells the future. It is commonly used to signify a teacher. Christ is the great Teacher of the world, from Him we learn the Gospel that leads to Heaven. Before the coming of Christ, of Him prophets spoke, and Christ in the flesh spoke of His Father. Christ is King not only as God but as Man and as sharer of our nature. " He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever and of His Kingdom there shall be no end." (St. Luke i. 32, 33.) His Kingdom is spiritual and for everlasting. It began on earth and will be perfected at His second coming, when the whole world shall be subject to Christ, and Christ at the head of His elect shall as Man make His grand act of submission to His Father and God shall be all in all. (i Cor. xv. 28.)
The Only-begotten Son of God. The Council refers to the eternal generation of Christ from His Father. Christ is God, says the Athanasian Creed, begotten before time from the substance of the Father, born of the Father before all ages, and He is Man born in time from the substance of His Mother. God of God, that is, God begotten of God ; Light of Light, uncreated Light proceeding everlastingly from un created Light ; true God of true God, true God
62 THE CREED.
begotten of the only true God ; begotten, not made, begotten eternal as He who begets, not made from substance existing before: consubstantial with the Father, the same substance numerically with the Father — Christ has one and the same nature, essence, substance as the Father. By whom all things were made. The Father is said to create through the Son in the sense that He communicated to the Son the essence and power wherewith He creates along with the Father.
Who for us men, and for our salvation, by these words the end of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is clearly stated. He came for us men on earth not to condemn us but to save us. Came down from Heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost. Christ remaining God took flesh not by the power of man, for no man was His father, but by the power of the Holy Ghost miraculously, of the Virgin Mary. Mary was a Virgin in her miraculous Conception, a Virgin in the miraculous birth of her Child, and a Virgin after birth ; always a Virgin, as the Church says — semper Virgo. And was made Man. In one sentence here is the whole doctrine of the Incarnation ; the Divine nature in Christ was not made, the human was. Christ became, what He was not before, Man with a body and soul like ours. Two natures, consequently divine and human, in one Person.
He was crucified also for us. By these words was fulfilled the prophecy of our Lord in St. Matthew xx. 19, " they shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified " for US- These words for us must not be forgotten ; " He loved me and delivered Himself up for me ; " suffered under Pontius Pilate and was buried ; suffered refers obviously to the pains of body and of mind which our Lord bore for us, the
THE CREED. 63
name of the governor is added to impress the great truth on the memory of the faithful. And was buried. The Apostles' Creed says dead and buried, the Nicene omits dead. The death of the Lord is plainly stated in the fact of His burial. By the death of Jesus Christ we mean that the blessed Soul of our Lord, to which the Divinity clung, was separated from His Body, with which also the Divinity remained inseparably united. He took a body capable of suffer ing. He died from violence, but when He chose and as He chose. He allowed violence to take its natural effect. (See His own words in St. John x. 1 7.) The Council adds buried, because burial is the strongest proof of death, and from the fact of Christ's burial the miracle of His Resurrection is more glorious and clear. Christ's Body in the tomb could not suffer corruption.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. Christ foretold that He would rise again, not vaguely some day, but the third day. This means He was in the tomb a part of Friday, all Saturday, and a part of Sunday ; He rose again by His own power and Divinity ; not by the power of another, as Lazarus and many others rose, only to die again ; Christ rose to die no more ; " Knowing that Christ rising again from the dead, dieth now no more, death shall no more have dominion over Him." (Romans vi. 9.) On the Resur rection rests the whole truth of Christianity. By that fact Christ and His Church stand or fall ; the Council adds according to the Scriptures, the inspired word has taught this great article of Faith. And ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. The work of redemption over, Christ as Man, Body and Soul, ascended into Heaven not merely by the power of the Divinity, but by the power granted to His
64 THE CREED.
glorious Soul to raise His Body to Heaven forty days after His Resurrection ; Christ is said to sit as a monarch on His Throne — on the right, holding as Man the place of honour next His Father — who set Him on His right hand in the heavenly places. (Ephes. i. 20.)
And He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead. So far the Creed has spoken of our Lord's redemption of the human race, and of His ascent to Heaven that He may intercede ; it now defines His judgment of the world on the last day. The first coming of our Saviour was in humiliation as a Babe in Bethlehem, the second will be in glory. He is to judge, Christ judges the world as God and Man (see St. John v. 26), "and He (the Father) hath given Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man." These words of St. John mean that the judicial power like the priestly power is a portion of and in separable from our Lord's human nature. Qnia (because) in the Vulgate might more correctly be qua- tenns (inasmuch as He is the Son of Man). The living and the dead — by the living is meant those who are alive at the second coming. They will die and rise again. The dead at the second coming will also rise again. All born of Adam will die and rise again. Of whose kingdom there shall be no end. These words proclaim that Christ's reign as Man is to con tinue after the last day. Our Lord's Kingdom shall last for ever and ever.
And (I believe) in the Holy Ghost the Lord and Life-giver. The Council after defining the Divinity of the Father and of the Son — the same in nature, distinct in person — proceeds to define the Divinity of the Holy Ghost. The Macedonian heretics denied that the Holy Ghost was God, equal to and of the same substance as
THE CREED. 65
the Father and the Son. They held that the Holy Ghost was a creature like the angels, and a servant of the Father and the Son. The very fact that belief in the Holy Ghost is placed on the same level as belief in the Father and the Son implies the Divinity of all three Persons. The Holy Ghost is called Lord as having the same nature and therefore the same authority as the Father and the Son: life-giver means Sanctifier. Grace is the true life of the soul and all gifts of grace are attributed to the Holy Ghost. We speak of the Holy Ghost as the Sanctifier because that work of love is attributed with special fitness to Him who proceeds from the mutual love of the Father and Son, who pro- ceedeth from the Father and the Son. The Catholic Doctrine teaches that the Second Person proceeds from the First, and the Third from the First and the Second by way of Communication of one and the same nature. The introduction of the Filioque into the Creed seems to have been first adopted in Spain. It is known to have been in use as early as 589 and possibly a century earlier. Rome, as we have seen, adopted the test-word Filioque about 1015, and it has ever since been in regular use in the Western Church. By the Council of Florence it was defined that this addition, Filioque, was " lawfully and reasonably " made to the Creed. Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified : the Council in these words again teaches the Divinity of the Holy Ghost. If one and the same act of adoration be paid to the Holy Ghost as to the Father and the Son, the Holy Ghost is God as much as the Father and the Son. Who spake by the Prophets; the duty of a Prophet was to foretell the coming of Christ and to teach Divine truth — they were inspired by God, and the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of truth
66 THE CREED.
spoke through them — the Prophets were the mouth piece of the Holy Ghost.
And (I believe) in one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church : one having one head, the Pope, and one in its Doctrine the wide world over — the doctrine never changes, never increases or decreases, our knowledge of that doctrine grows wider and fuller with time and does actually increase. The Church is one also in unity of worship — for all recognize that the supreme act of worship is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered by a Priest, who holds authority to celebrate from a Bishop in communion with the Holy See, and the names of the reigning Pope and of the Bishop of the Diocese are mentioned in the Canon of each Mass. The rite of the Mass differs, the oneness of the Sacrifice is ever the same. The difference in rite is permitted by the Pope. The Church is one in government in this sense that all Bishops receive power to rule their Diocese from the Pope, to whom at stated times they render an account of the flock entrusted to their care. The Church is holy in its Founder Jesus Christ, in its doctrine, and children, many of whom in every age are Saints, that is, lead lives conspicuous in virtue over the lives of such as merely keep the Ten Commandments. Saints are heroes. They are the V.C's. and much more in the army of the Lord.
Catholic means universal, and universal implies that the Church must subsist in all ages, teach all nations, and maintain all truths. The mission of the Church is to all men without exception: "Going therefore," says our Lord in St. Matthew, "teach all nations," in St. Mark, " Preach the Gospel to every creature "—the Church is never limited to country or race. She must be ever con spicuous among Christian communities by numbers and influence. She is for every place and for every man.
THE CREED. 67
She must teach all her Master's Doctrine, inculcate all His precepts, and use all His Sacraments. She must be ready to explain and defend her Doctrine against attack, and she must at any time and at any place furnish all that is requisite for the Salvation of men. " Were she to withhold anything necessary for Salvation, she would be false to her mission." (See Father Gerard's Religious Instruction, p. 80.)
The Church is Apostolic because, in the words of the Catechism, " She holds the doctrines and traditions of the Apostles, and because, through the unbroken succession of her Pastors, she derives her Orders and her Mission from them." Orders confer supernatural powers — as of Ordaining, Consecrating, and Absolving, &c., and Mission gives the right to exercise these powers. True Orders do not of themselves prove the true Church. Apostolic Mission is also required. In the Catholic Church we find both Orders and Mission. She is therefore the one true Church.
I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins. Baptism can be validly administered by any one, be he Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, or Jew; but by whomsoever administered there is only one Baptism, which our Lord instituted of water and the Holy Ghost. For the remission of sins : Baptism remits the guilt and punishment of any sin great and small and admits the soul, who dies immediately after that Sacrament has been conferred, straight to Heaven. No man sees God face to face in Heaven without Baptism or the desire of it ; the latter is contained in an act of perfect sorrow or perfect love of God.1
And I look for the resurrection of the dead— we
1 Baptism by blood or martyrdom also opens Heaven to souls : only Baptism by water makes us members of the Body of the Church.
68 THE CREED.
are said to look for what we are anxious to have, the resurrection of the body is human nature's greatest triumph through the power of God. By the resurrection is meant we shall all rise again with the same bodies we had before death — though in what the sameness con sists has not been defined by the Church. Men shall be men and women shall be women. " The body shall be the same but changed." (See St. Paul's magnificent description in i Cor. xv.) And the life of the world to come ; the future life which we are said in the Creed to look for is summed up in one word, Beatitude, a state, according to theologians, perfect in the possession of everything that is good.
CHAPTER the ELEVENTH.
PART THE SECOND. The Offertory to the Canon.
THE OFFERTORY.
THE Offertory is an antiphon : it once was probably a psalm or a collection of psalms, which used to be sung while the faithful made their offerings of bread and wine for the Mass, or of gifts for the use of the clergy. The offerings of bread and wine for the Mass by the faithful began to fall into disuse about the year 1000, but the Offertory and its name are still retained.
At the Offertory we see the oblation of bread and wine by the priest, made after the recitation of the antiphon just mentioned. The Church does not really offer bread and wine absolutely and in themselves, the Church offers them that Christ may convert them into His own Body and Blood.
The antiphon at the Offertory, or as the Missal terms it, "the Offertory," has necessarily nothing whatever to do with the oblation which it precedes. Thus, on the Fourth Sunday in Advent, the Offertory is the first part of the Hail Mary. The Offertory varies
70 THE OFFERTORY.
with the season and feast, and is closely connected with the Introit and Gradual, and Communion.
The things offered are bread and wine. Both are by the institution of Jesus Christ. The bread used in the Latin Church is made of flour and water without yeast, that is, unleavened bread. In the Greek Church the old custom of using leavened bread is still preserved. Wine, according to the Council of Florence, from the grape alone can be used ; thus gooseberry wine is invalid.
By the precept of the Church at least a drop of water, aqua modicissima, says the Council of Florence, is mixed with the wine. The Council of Trent teaches (Sess. xxii.c. 7) that the Church orders a drop or two of water to be mingled with the wine before Consecration, because our Lord is believed to have mingled water with wine at the Last Supper, as also because the mixture of wine and water represents the Blood and Water which flowed from His Side after Death.
The five prayers used at the oblation of bread and wine are of comparatively recent date. The great oblation of Christ's Body and Blood must be carefully distinguished from the Offertory or anticipatory oblation of bread and wine. The oblation is neither an essential nor an integral portion of the Sacrifice ; it is not neces sary for its completeness. The oblation is a religious ceremony instituted by the Church to excite the reve rence and devotion of the faithful towards the great mystery to be accomplished, while it is the appropriation of the bread and wine to the special service of God.
I proceed to explain these five prayers. The priest raising his eyes to the crucifix and afterwards fixing them on the bread lying on the paten which he holds in his hands, says :
THE OFFERTORY. 71
Suscipe, sancte Pater, omni- Accept, O holy Father, al-
potens aeterne Deus, hanc mighty, eternal God, this im-
irnmaculatam Hostiam, quam maculate Host, which I, Thy
ego indignus famulus tuus unworthy servant, offer unto
offero tibi Deo meo vivo et Thee, my living and true God,
vero, pro innumerabilibus for mine innumerable sins
peccatis et offensionibus, et and offences, and negli-
negligentiis ' meis, et pro gences, and for all here
omnibus circumstantibus, sed present ; as also for all faith-
etpro omnibus fidelibus Chris- ful Christians, both living and
tianis vivis atque defunctis ; dead, that it may be profitable
ut mihi, et illis proficiat ad for mine own and for their
salutem in vitam aeternam. salvation unto life eternal.
Amen. Amen.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER.
Accept, O holy Father, to God the Father, the Sacrifice of His Son is offered, not to the Blessed Virgin, nor to Saint, or Angel — to the Father from whom all paternity descends : Almighty, the epithet is very suitable, since the Sacrifice of the Mass is to show God's supreme dominion and power over all creatures, eternal, is the attribute of the true God only, always was, is, and always will be; this immaculate Host, the bread by anticipation is called the Spotless Host — "receive," says Benedict XIV. (Bk. ii. c. x. n. 2) on the Mass, "this Spotless Host into Whom this bread is soon to be converted," which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer unto Thee, my living and true God, God is the source of all life, without Him only death ; for mine innumerable sins, mortal and venial, which the priest may have committed by thought, word, deed, and omission ; offences are involuntary faults which, through human weakness one commits, which with greater care might be avoided. You hurt your foot by knocking against the table; take greater care not to knock against the table and you will not hurt your foot.
72 THE OFFERING OF THE CHALICE.
And negligences, such as want of purity of inten tion, want of correspondence with the special grace God gives His priest, which mars the beauty of an action. And for all here present; the Mass is offered for all present in a special way, because the congregation assisting at Mass gains more abundant fruit from the Sacrifice. For all faithful Christians, the Mass is offered too, for the members of the true Church in the first place, and for all the baptized who serve God outside the body of the Church according to their con science ; living and dead, on earth and in Purgatory, that it may be profitable for mine own and for their salvation unto life eternal. Amen.
Then making the sign of the Cross with the paten, the Priest places the Host upon the corporal.
THE OFFERING OF THE CHALICE.
The Chalice is offered to God the Father in the same way as the Host, because to Him the Sacrifice is offered.
The priest pours wine into the chalice, and by the command of the Church adds a drop or two of water, having previously blessed it with the sign of the Cross. The wine is said to represent Jesus Christ and the water the people. The wine is not blessed, since it will soon be changed into the Blood of Christ at the Con secration; the sign of the Cross is made over the water, as representing the people who need to be blessed before they are united with Jesus Christ. The mingling of water with wine is also said to represent the union of the people with Jesus Christ (Council of Trent, Sess. xxii. c. 7.)
Dens, qui humanae sub- O God, who, in creating stantiae dignitatem mirabi- human nature, didst wonder- liter condidisti, et mirabilius fully dignify it, and hast still
THE OFFERING OF THE CHALICE. 73
reform asti : da nobis per hujus more wonderfully renewed it ;
aquae et vini mysterium, grant that, by the mystery of
ejus divinitatis esse consortes, this Water and Wine, we
qui humanitatis nostrae fieri may be made partakers of His
dignatus est particeps, Jesus Divinity, who vouchsafed to
Christus Films tuus Dominus become partaker of our huma-
noster : qui tecum vivit et nity, Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
regnat in unitate Spiritus our Lord ; who liveth and
sanctiDeus:peromniasaecula reigneth with Thee in the
saeculorum. Amen. unity of, &c.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER IN MINGLING THE WATER AND THE WINE.
The drift of the prayer is that we may be sharers in the divine nature, according to these words of St. Peter (2 *. 4) : " by whom He hath given us most great and precious promises that by them you may be made partakers of the divine nature." By sanctifying grace we become the adopted children of God, and are most closely united to Him. We ask the grace " by the mystery of the water and wine," that is, by the Passion and Death of our Saviour, when blood and water flowed from His side, and He as Man satisfied for us, began and perfected the work of our redemption.
The priest then, having moved to the middle of the altar, takes the Chalice by the knob in one hand and with the other supporting the foot, holds it about the height of his eyes, and fixing them on the crucifix, says :
Offerimus tibi Domine cali- We offer unto Thee, O Lord,
cem salutaris tuam depre- the Chalice of salvation, be-
cantes clementiam ; ut in con- seeching Thy clemency, that,
spectu divinae Majestatis tuae, in the sight of Thy divine
pro nostra, et totius mundi Majesty, it may ascend with
salute cum odore suavitatis the odour of sweetness, for
ascendat. Amen. our salvation, and for that of
the whole world. Amen.
74 THE OFFERING OF THE CHALICE.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER IN OFFERING THE CHALICE.
We offer unto Thee, O Lord, the Chalice of salvation — the words " chalice of salvation " are taken from the ii5th Psalm — they refer, by anticipation, to the Blood in the Chalice, after the Consecration, shed for our salvation, just as in the Offering of the Host, " Spotless Host," refers, by anticipation, to the Consecrated Host, beseeching Thy clemency, that in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty it may ascend with the odour of sweetness for our sal vation and for that of the whole world, for not merely upon Catholics but upon the whole world, graces descend through the power of the Mass.
Why, it may be asked, does the priest say "we" offer and not " I " offer? Because at Solemn Mass or High Mass the assisting deacon joins with the priest in offering the chalice. The Church has only one liturgy, and its form supposes that more solemn celebration of High Mass, which is dearer to her heart. Low Mass differs from High Mass chiefly in omissions.
The priest then makes the sign of the Cross with the chalice, places it upon the corporal, and covers it with the pall. Then with his hands joined upon the altar, and slightly bowing down, he says :
In spiritu humilitatis, et in In the spirit of humility,
animo contrite suscipiamur a and with a contrite heart, let
te, Dornine : et sic fiat sacri- us be received by Thee, O
ficium nostrum in conspectu Lord ; and grant that the
tuo hodie, ut placeat tibi, Sacrifice we offer in Thy sight
Doinine Deus. this day may be pleasing to
Thee, O Lord God.
This prayer is more or less modelled on the prayer of the three children in the fiery furnace as given in Daniel, third chapter, vv. 39, 40. They walked in the midst of the flames praising God, refusing to adore the
THE VENI SANCTIFICATOR. 75
golden statue set up by Nabuchadonosor. They offered their bodies as victims to obtain mercy for themselves and others. The priest with contrite heart offers the Sacrifice for the sins of the world. Next, the priest raising his eyes and stretching out his hands, which he afterwards joins, makes the sign of the Cross over the Host and Chalice while he says :
Veni Sanctificator omni- Come, O Sanctifier, almighty
potens aeterne Deus : et be- eternal God, and bless»J-this
ne^dic hoc sacrificium tuo Sacrifice, prepared to Thy
sancto nomine praeparatum. holy Name.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER VENI SANCTIFICATOR.
This invocation is addressed to the Holy Ghost. In the language of the Church, the Holy Ghost is called the Sanctifier, and to Him the work of sanctification is specially attributed. Thus we speak of the seven gifts not of the Father and Son, but of the Holy Ghost : all meant for our sanctification. The word "bless" has various meanings. It may mean a prayer as of a father over his child — God bless you, which may not take effect. God's blessing carries infallibly virtue with it. The priest in blessing and in sanctifying by the sign of the Cross the bread and wine on the altar begs the presence in them of the Lamb of God, and implores of the Holy Ghost transubstantiation, which is God's greatest work.
The priest with his hands joined goes to the Epistle side of the altar, where he washes his fingers, and recites a portion of the 25th Psalm.
The washing of the fingers is the sign of the perfect cleansing of the heart required for the worthy celebra tion of the Holy Mass.
The tips of the fingers, the thumb and forefinger,
76 EXPLANATION OF THE LAV ABO.
which at his ordination were consecrated for the offering of the adorable Sacrifice, and not the hands, are washed to express that the priest should be clean wholly (see St. John xiii. 10). The Lavabo, that is, the verses from the 25th Psalm, run thus :
1. I will wash my hands among the innocent: and will encompass Thy altar, O Lord.
2. That I may hear the voice of praise, and tell of
all Thy marvellous works.
3. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of Thy house and the place where Thy glory dwelleth.
4. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked, nor my life with bloody men.
5. In whose hands are iniquities : their right hand is filled with gifts.
6. As for me, I have walked in my innocence : redeem me and have mercy on me.
7. My foot hath stood in the right path : in the churches I will bless Thee, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, &c.
EXPLANATION OF THE LAVABO.
David's prayer to be delivered from exile and to worship God in His tabernacle is placed by the Church in the mouth of the priest. In the first verse David alludes to a custom among the Jews, who before entering into the Tabernacle purified themselves and the victims they offered, and this external washing is the sign of internal purity. David says, I will wash my hands among the innocent, as a sign of real inward purity, as an innocent person would wash them ; and not with the hypocrites, who do so with clean hands and unclean hearts.
SUSCIPE SANCTA TRIN1TAS. 77
Such verses as I will wash my hands among the innocent, and as for me, I have walked in my innocence (v. 6), in no sense deny that the priest is a sinner. These words have no boastful tone — for the priest adds, redeem me and have mercy on me. There is a true sense in which every priest striving to serve God may use the words, " I have walked in my innocence." The priesthood is a state of innocence secured by its obligations against many forms of evil. The priest speaks more or less in the name of his order. The priesthood has a multitude of graces to secure it from sin, and the language of David, a penitent sinner, in the mouth of the priest from the knowledge it implies of the priestly state and of what a priest ought to be, fills any priest with a humbling sense of his unworthiness for such an exalted position.
Returning to the middle of the altar and bowing slightly with hands joined, to imitate, as St. Thomas says, the humility and obedience of Jesus Christ, the priest says :
Suscipe sancta Trinitas Receive, O holy Trinity, this
hanc oblationem, quam tibi oblation, which we make to
offerimus ob memoriam pas- Thee, in memory of the Pas-
sionis, resurrectionis, et as- sion. Resurrection, and Ascen-
censionis Jesu Christi Domini sion of our Lord Jesus Christ,
nostri : et in honorem beatae and in honour of the blessed
Mariae semper Virginis, et Mary ever a Virgin, of blessed
beati Joannis Baptistae, et John Baptist, the holy Apos-
sanctorum Apostolorum Petri ties Peter and Paul, of these
et Pauli, et istorum, et om- and of all the Saints : that it
nium Sanctorum : ut illis may be available to their
proficiat ad honorem, nobis honour and our salvation: and
autem ad salutem : et illi pro that they may vouchsafe to
nobis intercedere dignentur intercede for us in heaven,
in coelis, quorum memoriam whose memory we celebrate
agimus in terris. Per eumdem on earth. Through the same
Christum Dominum nostrum. Christ our Lord. Amen. Amen.
78 THE ORATE F RAT RES.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER SUSCIPE SANCTA TRINITAS.
This prayer clearly brings out certain points of doctrine. The preceding prayers of the Offertory are addressed to the Father and Holy Ghost — this prayer to the three persons of the Godhead, to whom alone and not to the Blessed Virgin or the Saints the Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. Sacrifice is (i) the supreme act of worship to God alone. The offering is in memory of the Passion, for the Eucharist, especially in the double Consecration of bread and wine, is a memorial of His Passion ; (2) in memory of the Resurrection, for the immortal body of Jesus Christ is consecrated ; (3) in memory of the Ascension, for Christ who died for us and rose again in the same Body which lies in the Eucharist, has ascended into Heaven to intercede for us. The Sacrifice is offered in honour of our Lady and the Saints ; not to them, and the motive is that our Lady and the Saints may intercede for us in Heaven. In honouring His Mother and the Saints we honour our Lord in His best works.
Next the priest kisses the altar as a sign of affection for the relics of the Saints buried there and much more for our Lord, and turning towards the people, extending and joining his hands, he raises his voice a little and says:
Brethren, pray that my Sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty.
" Brethren " is used without distinction of sex. The human race after Baptism is one family, we are baptized children of God, we are strengthened by the same Sacraments, fed by the same food, call God our Father,
THE SECRET. 79
and are destined for the same reward. The answer of the server is as follows :
May our Lord receive the Sacrifice from thy hands, to the praise and glory of His name, to our benefit, and to that of all His holy Church.
The priest answers in a low voice Amen, and with outstretched hands recites the Secret prayers.
THE SECRET.
The Secret is so-called because the prayers are said in a low voice inaudible to the people.
The number of the Secrets is the same as that of the Collects.
The difference between the Collect and Secret is that the Collect is a special prayer to God or relates to the feast of the day without reference to the Sacrifice at all. The Secrets are in keeping with the name originally given to them, prayers over the offerings (orationes super oblata). In the Offertory we ask God to accept, bless, sanctify, and consecrate the gifts offered, in the Secret we implore of Him the graces we require, as in a certain sense the fruit or effect of the offerings made. Thus, in the Secret for Pentecost, we read : Sanctify, we beg of Thee, O Lord, the gifts we have offered, and cleanse our hearts by the light of the Holy Spirit, and the Secret for Corpus Christi says : We beseech Thee, O Lord, mercifully to grant to Thy Church the gifts of unity and peace which are mystically figured under the gifts we offer, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth, world without end.
8o THE PREFACE.
THE PREFACE.
The Preface, as its name indicates, is the introduction to the Canon, the most solemn portion of the Mass, which includes the Consecration. If we consider the Introit (introitus, entrance) with the preceding prayers as a general introduction to Mass, then the Preface may be considered as the special introduction to the Canon.
The general purport of the Preface is to thank God for all His mercies, to call on the angels to assist at the great Sacrifice, and to place ourselves in com munion with them in the songs of adoration and love which they present at the throne of God.
There are in all eleven Prefaces — the Common or ordinary Preface, for days to which no other is ap propriated, and the special Prefaces for the Nativity, used during the octave of Christmas, for the feasts of the Holy Name, of the Purification, of Corpus Christi, and of the Transfiguration ; for the Epiphany, and for Lent ; for Passiontide, used on the feasts of the Invention and Exaltation of the Cross, of the Passion of our Lord, on the Fridays of Lent and for the Sacred Heart ; for Easter, the Ascension, Whit Sunday ; the Preface for Trinity, used on all Sundays in the year which have no Preface of their own ; the Preface for the Apostles, said also on the feasts of St. Peter's Chair at Rome and at Antioch. The Preface for our Lady was fixed by Urban II., at the close of the eleventh century, 1088 — 1099.
THE PREFACE.
8 1
The Preface is divided into three parts. The intro duction and conclusion are always the same : the middle changes with the feast and the ecclesiastical year.
P. Dominus vobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
P. The Lord be with you. R. And with thy spirit.
Here the Priest uplifts his hands :
P. Sursum corda.
R. Habemus ad Dominum.
P. Lift up your hearts. R. We have them lifted up unto the Lord.
He joins his hands, and bows his head while he says :
P. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
R. Digmim et justum est.
Vere dignum et justum est aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper, et ubique gratias agere ; Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus ; per Christum Dominum nos trum. Per quern Majestatem tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potes- tates. Coeli, coelorumque vir- tutes,ac beata Seraphim, socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admitti jubeas deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in Excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in Excelsis.
P. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is meet and just.
It is truly meet and just, right and salutary, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to Thee, O Holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God, through Christ our Lord. By whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations adore, the Powers tremble before It. The Heavens and the Heavenly Virtues and the blessed Seraphim do cele brate with united joy. In union with whom we beseech Thee to ordain that our voices be admitted, saying in suppliant accord, Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God of hosts. Full are the heavens and the earth of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
82 THE PREFACE.
EXPLANATION OF THE INTRODUCTION TO THE PREFACE.
The words Per omnia saecula saeculorum belong to the Secret. The Introduction consists of three ver- sicles with their responses. The priest opens with the customary greeting Dominus vobiscum, without turning as usual towards the people, thereby showing that he is wholly wrapt in the thought of the great action soon to be accomplished. He is conversing with God face to face. The server answers, or at High Mass the choir chants, et cum spiritu tuo — may God be with thy spirit, O Priest. The Priest raising his hands, suit ing the action to the word, says the words Sursum corda — lift up your hearts as an invitation to raise our thoughts to heavenly things. To this invitation the people respond, we have them lifted up unto the Lord, that is, our hearts are already lifted up and with our Lord. The priest joins his hands and bows his head while he adds Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, a tribute which is due to God for all His benefits and especially for the gift of the Blessed Sacrament which comes to us through the Holy Mass. The word Eucharist, as we have seen, means thanksgiving. The faithful answer through the server, it is meet and just : meet in respect of His manifold benefits, and just on our part who so largely enjoy them.
These words close the introduction which is thought to have been composed by the Apostles.
THE PREFACE. 83
EXPLANATION OF THE PREFACE.
We now come to the Preface itself and shall select the Common Preface for explanation. The priest begins the Preface by echoing the spirit of the response and repeating it with increased force. It is truly meet and just, right and salutary; meet with respect to God whose benefits we acknowledge by thanking Him for them, while this very act proclaims our own feeling of gratitude ; just, for thanksgiving is an obligation of justice ; right both on these and ail other accounts ; salutary, for it conduces to our salva tion ; that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to Thee, that is on every conceivable occasion, laughing and weeping, living and dying we should thank God. Holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God, through Christ our Lord. These words are addressed to God the Father. Each epithet, Holy, Almighty, Eternal, is used in the strict sense here and belongs to God alone. By whom the angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations adore, the Powers tremble before It, the Heavens and the Heavenly Virtues and the Blessed Seraphim do celebrate with united joy.
The introduction of the Angels into the Preface adds much solemnity to its words. There are nine Choirs of Angels — Angels, Archangels, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Dominations, Thrones, Cherubim and Seraphim. It is distinctly said that the angels praise God the Father through our Lord, their Chief and Mediator. The word " angels " is not taken in a general sense, but specifically the first choir. The Dominations
84 THE PREFACE.
seem to annihilate themselves in adoring the Majesty of their Creator — the Dominations adore. The Powers, so called says Gregory the Great, because by their strength they overcome the demons, tremble before It, that is, are filled with a reverential fear (tvemunt Potestates). The Heavens, that is, the entire Heavenly Host ; the Virtues, perhaps the Choir of Angels through whose agency miraculous signs are made, and the Blessed Seraphim, the highest choir of all, called Blessed because of their incomparable love for God, in common jubilee glorify God's Majesty.
Here four different emotions or actions are ascribed to the angels in which we are to imitate them : namely, praise, adoration, awe, and joy.
The priest next prays in the name of the faithful and in his own. In union with whom we beseech Thee to ordain that our voices be admitted in suppliant accord (our humble voice of praise) saying: now comes the conclusion of the Preface.
1. Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts. Full are the heavens and the earth of Thy glory.
2. Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
The first verse is taken from the sixth chapter of Isaias, v. 3, where the Prophet describes the glorious vision of the Lord's throne and the Seraphim "cried one to another, saying Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of His glory." The three-fold repetition of holy is perhaps in honour of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, distinct in person, the same in nature.
The second verse is the repetition of the cries of joy by the crowd in St. Matthew (xxi. 9) as our Lord entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. " Blessed is He
THE PREFACE. 85
that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest."
Hosanna means "Save we pray" — much like our expression, God save the King, or the French Vive I 'Empereur. Blessed is He who cometh in the name of the Lord refers to Jesus Christ, who is in the full sense of the word blessed, for He is the source of every blessing.
The words Blessed is He who cometh refer directly to our Lord's coming in the Eucharist. The Church seems to give this interpretation in her rubric which prescribes these words to be sung by the choir after the Consecration.
CHAPTER the TWELFTH.
PART THE THIRD. THE CANON OF THE MASS.
THE word Canon (KCUXUV) signifies a straight rod, then a rule used by masons or carpenters, or a measuring rule. Canon by an obvious metaphor was used and is still used as a rule in art ; thus we speak of something being against all the Canons of literary taste. The underlying sense of something fixed is found in the various uses to which the word Canon is applied by the Church. Thus, the Canon of Scripture is the fixed list of books which the Church recognizes as inspired ; ecclesiastical laws and definitions of councils are called Canons, they are fixed rules in faith or conduct ; Canon-ization is the fixed list of saints whom the Church places on her altars ; Canon, now an ecclesiastical title, meant originally a fixed list of clerics attached to a church. The Canon in Mass means the fixed rule according to which the Holy Sacrifice is offered. Briefly, we may say the Canon of the Mass means the fixed portion of the Mass. Other portions vary with the feast and the season, while the Canon (if you except slight additions
THE CANON OF THE MASS. 87
in the prayers Communic antes and Hanc igitttr) always remains the same. As the Sacrifice in itself never varies, there is a special fitness that the prayer which accompanies it, and as it were enshrines it, should be unchangeable.
Other names are given to the Canon by early writers: thus, St. Gregory calls it the "prayer" by excellence, others the " action," the latter word is still kept in the Missal and forms the title of the prayer Communicantes in the Canon. The Canon is called " the action," because the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Mass is wrought or made (conficitur) by the greatest " action " or act in this world. The power to perform that " action " is given to the priest at his ordination.
Of what does the Canon consist ? The Council of Trent (Sess. xxii. ch. 4) commits itself to these asser tions — the Canon consists first of our Lord's very words ; secondly, of prayers received from the tradi tions of the Apostles ; thirdly, of prayers piously ordered by holy Pontiffs. The Council defines that the Canon of the Mass is free from errors, and that the entire Canon is redolent of holiness.
The words : a holy sacrifice and spotless Victim were added by St. Leo the Great. Pope St. Gregory the Great (590 — 604) added the words : and dispose our days in Thy peace, and bid us be saved from eternal damnation, and to be numbered in the flock of Thy elect. He is also said to have added the names of the holy virgins and martyrs SS. Agatha, Lucia, Agnes, Cecilia, and Anastasia.
As to the antiquity of the Canon — we are certainly safe in saying that it is some 1,300 or 1,400 years old, there has been no addition to the Canon since the time of Gregory the Great.
88 THE CANON OF THE MASS.
But portions of it may be earlier. The narrative introductory to the Consecration and the words of con secration of the Chalice certainly contain Apostolical traditions of the actions and words of our Blessed Saviour, who (as we know from St. John xxi. 25) said and did many things which are not in the holy Gospels. The order in which the Apostles' names are given is not precisely the same as in any of the Gospels ; the names of the Apostles may have been written earlier than the Gospels. Further, the list of saints given in the Canon consists of Apostles and martyrs merely, a sign that at least a portion of the Canon is earlier than the fourth century, when the names of Confessors were added to the Church's list of saints.
The Canon begins after the Sanctus and ends before the Pater noster, according to some ; according to others, the Canon ends with the priest's Communion.
By the strict law of the Church in the Council of Trent, the Canon is said by the priest in a low voice (submissa voce) and the priest never raises his voice from the prayer which begins the Canon — Teigitur,'\Wt therefore humbly pray and beseech Thee, until the Patev noster, except at the Nobis quoque peccatovibns.
The rubric is that the Canon be said so as to be inaudible to the congregation, because the great act of sacrifice in the Canon belongs to the priest alone, and secondly, because silence in the most important portion of the Mass is most impressive for all who assist at the Sacrifice, and it promotes recollection.
The priest begins the Canon by extending and raising his ha?nds and fixing his eyes on the crucifix. He then lowers his hands and joining them, he lays them on the altar, and at the same time makes a
THE CANON OF THE MASS. 89
profound inclination of the body. Ail these acts indicate the homage and reverence of the priest before entering on the most august portion of the Mass.
Te igitur, clementissime We therefore humbly pray
Pater, per Jesum Christum and beseech Thee, most
Filium tuum Dominum nos- merciful Father, through
trum, supplices rogamus, ac Jesus Christ Thy Son, our
petimus, uti accepta habeas, Lord (he kisses the Altar),
et benedicas haec »J* dona, that thou wouldst accept and
haec 4" munera, haec »J- bless these »f- gifts, these •%•
sancta sacrificia illibata ; in presents, these •%• holy un-
primis, quae tibi offerimus spotted Sacrifices, which, in
pro Ecclesia tua sancta the first place, we offer
catholica : quam pacificare, Thee for Thy holy Catholic
custodire, adunare, et regere Church, to which vouchsafe
digneris toto orbe terrarum, to grant peace, as also to
una cum famulo tuo Papa protect, unite, and govern it
nostro N., et Antistite nostro throughout the world, together
N., et omnibus orthodoxis, with Thy servant N. our Pope,
atque catholicae, et apos- A7, our Bishop, as also all
tolicae fidei cultoribus. orthodox believers and pro fessors of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith.
EXPLANATION OF THE FIRST PRAYER IN THE CANON BEFORE THE CONSECRATION.
The first prayer in the Canon is divided into three parts. The first part begins We, therefore, humbly pray and beseech Thee, and ends with the words of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith. The second part is the commemoration of the Living from, Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy servants, to Living and true God. The third part is during the Action from the words Communicating with down to through the same Christ our Lord. These are not three separate prayers, but one prayer with the one and the same ending, through the same Christ our Lord.
go THE CANON OF THE MASS.
The priest says — We therefore humbly pray and beseech Thee. Therefore connects the Canon with the Preface. It is as if the priest had said, " After having offered you our thanks, O Father, we come to you with our petitions." We humbly pray and beseech Thee, the repetition of the same thought in different words indicates the earnestness of the petition : most merciful Father, the Latin word clcmentissime refers to the Father as always lessening the punishment due to sin and therefore merciful. To the Father in imitation of our Lord Himself in the supper-room the priest prays, as to Him alone sacrifice is offered ; through Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord, through whom alone our prayers can be acceptable in Thy sight and because of the Sacrifice instituted by Him which we are about to offer in His name and in His behalf. That Thou wouldst accept and bless (here having first kissed the altar in reverence and love to our Lord he makes three crosses) these-J-gifts, these •^presents, these ^ holy unspotted sacrifices. The priest prays that God may accept and bless for the good of the Universal Church and consecrate the bread and wine that they may as far as possible be fit to be changed into the Body and Blood of our Lord. The bread and wine are called by three names — gifts, things which we receive from God, presents, which we offer to Him, holy unspotted sacrifices, in anti cipation of the words of consecration so soon to be pronounced when these gifts will be changed into the Body and Blood of our Lord. Hence they are called holy and especially spotless by anticipation, (the sense being) which we offer Thee not merely as bread and wine, but as bread and wine so soon to be converted into the Body and Blood of our Lord.
THE CANON OF THE MASS. 91
The priest continues, In the first place for Thy Holy Catholic Church. Christ on the Cross was the Saviour of all and especially of those united to Him by the true Faith — for them chiefly was the sacrifice of Calvary offered, they make the Church, which is called holy, because of its Founder, its doctrine and the eminent holiness of so many of its children ; and Catholic, because spread throughout the world, to which vouchsafe to grant peace ; as also to protect, unite, and govern it throughout the world. Four graces are here asked for the Church : peace, internal amongst its own members in freedom from dissensions, external in a truce from the violent attacks of its enemies, protection against its many enemies visible and invisible — union in faith and in heart — the grace our Saviour asked in His prayer to the Father for His Disciples : " My Father, keep them in Thy name whom Thou hast given Me that they may be one, as we also are . . . and not for them only do I pray, but for all those also who through their word shall believe in Me, that they all may be one." Lastly, God is asked to govern the Church through holy and wise Prelates whom He sends. Together with thy Servant N. our Pope, N. our Bishop. Special mention is made by name of the Pope as Head and ruler of the whole Church in urgent need of help from the Mass, the greatest of all acts of worship, and of the Bishop of the Diocese who rules and governs in obedience to the Pope that portion of the Flock assigned to him. As also all orthodox believers and professors of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith. By the orthodox is meant all members of the Catholic Church, while by the term professors (cttltoribus) is meant such as practise the Faith they believe ; those who live up to the Faith,
92 THE MEMENTO FOR THE LIVING.
as we say, and the word covers in a special way missionaries who preach the Faith and help towards the conversion of souls. Although under the term " Orthodox" the Church prays only for her own children who belong to her by Baptism, still the Holy Sacrifice is applicable to infidels, heretics, or schismatics in so far as it may obtain for them the grace of conversion, or avert from them the chastisements of God.
THE MEMENTO FOR THE LIVING.
Memento, Domine, famulo- Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy rum famularumque tuarum N. servants, men and women, JV. et N. and N.
The Priest joins his hands, and prays silently for those he intends to pray for.
Then extending his hands, he proceeds :
Et omnium circumstantium, And of all here present,
quorum tibi fides cognita est, whose faith and devotion are
et nota devotio, pro quibus known unto Thee; for whom
tibi offerimus vel qui tibi we offer, or who offer up to
offerunthoc sacrificiumlaudis, Thee, this Sacrifice of praise
pro se suisque omnibus, pro for themselves, and for all
redemptione animarum sua- near or dear to them; for the
rum, pro spe salutis,et incolu- redemption of their souls, for
mitatis suae : tibique reddunt the hope of their salvation
vota sua aeterno Deo, vivo et and safety, and who offer their
vero. vows to Thee, the eternal,
living, and true God.
The Memento for the Living is a prayer named from its first word " Remember " and is introduced in this part of the Mass for all those living persons to whom the priest may desire to apply in an especial manner the fruit of this Holy Sacrifice.
THE MEMENTO FOR THE LIVING. 93
EXPLANATION OF THE MEMENTO FOR THE LIVING.
Remember, not that God forgets, but as a kind and indulgent father remembers his children (" Lord, remember me, when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom "), so does God minister to their wants. The letters N.N. are placed to remind the priest to mention certain persons by name or to dwell on them in thought. The mention of the names of Pope and Bishop, the Memento for the Living before, and the Memento for the Dead after the Consecration, when the priest prays silently for the living and the dead, remind us also of diptychs once used during the Holy Sacrifice. Diptychs were tablets on which were inscribed the names of the living and of the dead. They were in use amongst the Latins down to the twelfth and amongst the Greeks to the fifteenth century. Diptychs of the living contained the names of the Pope, Patriarchs, the Bishop of the diocese, of benefactors, &c. ; the diptychs of the dead contained as a rule the names of those once inscribed on the diptychs of the living. The way in which these diptychs were used at Mass varied in different times and places. Originally the deacon read out the names from the Ambo ; later the deacon or subdeacon read them in a loud voice to the celebrant ; later still they were simply laid on the altar and the priest in his prayer remembered the names. We may add that in some Missals both Mementoes retain the name — Ovatio super diptycha — prayer over the diptychs. The priest joins his hands and prays silently for those he intends to pray for, then extending his hands, he proceeds : and of all here present, who merit special mention for assisting at Mass, whose faith and devotion are
94 THE MEMENTO FOR THE LIVING.
known unto Thee. By faith is meant the ready acceptance of the truths of faith. Devotion does not consist in sensible feeling, but in a willingness, as St. Thomas teaches (2-2. q. 82. ad i) to perform faith fully all that relates to the service of God. For whom we offer ; the priest speaks in the name of the Church ; or who offer up to Thee; here again, as in the Orate Fratres, the people are represented as offering Sacrifice, though not in the same way as the priest offers. This Sacrifice of praise— the Mass is essentially a Sacrifice of praise, but it is much more. To say that the Mass is only a Sacrifice of praise is heresy con demned by the Council of Trent. For themselves, and for all near or dear to them. For all their belongings, as we say — in these words maybe included their friends and even their temporal possessions. For the hope of their salvation and safety. The faithful unite with the priest in offering the Mass as a Sacrifice of expia tion for the redemption of the souls of all they know and love; the word salutis, salvation, includes all super natural gifts of grace in this world and glory in the next ; incolumitatis covers health of body. The prayer is for every blessing for soul and body in this world and the next. And who offer their vows to Thee. Vows are not taken in the strict sense of a promise made with full deliberation to God binding under sin — the word here means, as frequently in the language of the Church, acts of interior and exterior worship. The eternal, living-, and true God. Each epithet in its strict sense belongs to God alone — eternal, who always was, is, and ever will be ; living, the source of all life (" I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life"), true God, in opposition to all false deities and objects of man's worship,
WITHIN THE ACTION.
95
WITHIN THE ACTION.
Communicantes et memo- riam venerantes, in primis gloriosae semper Virginis Mariae, Genitricis Dei et Domini nostri Jesu Christi : sed et beatorum Apostolorum ac Martyrum tuorum, Petri et Pauli, Andreae, Jacobi, Joannis, Thomae, Jacobi, Philippi, Bartholomaei, Mat- thaei, Simonis et Thaddaei : Lini, Cleti, dementis, Xysti, Cornelii, Cypriani, Laurentii, Chrysogoni, Joannis et Pauli, Cosmae et Damiani, et om nium Sanctorum tuorum : quorum mentis precibusque concedas, ut in omnibus pro- tectionis tuae muniamur auxilio. Per eumdem Chris tum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Communicating with, and honouring in the first place the memory of the glorious and ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ ; as also of the blessed Apostles and Martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Thaddeus, Linus, Cletus, Clement, Xystus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chryso- gonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all Thy Saints : by whose merits and prayers, grant that we may be always de fended by the help of Thy protection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER COMMUNICANTES.
We now come to the third portion of the first prayer of the Canon. This portion is called the Communicantes or " Commemoration of the saints in glory." What is meant by " Within the Action," and why are the words selected as a heading for this prayer ? As already said, the Canon was sometimes called by ancient writers the Action, as including the great Act or Deed of the priest at the Mass in consecrating bread and wine, and converting both into the Body and Blood of our Lord. The reason why " Within the Action " is placecj
96 WITHIN THE ACTION.
over the Communicant es alone, seems to be that on five great feasts of the year, Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost, an addition is made to the Communicantcs bearing on the feast of the day. Thus changed, the prayer is found in the Missal after the Preface, and bears the title, " Within the Action," to show that it ought to be inserted in the Canon. Originally the title was found only in the Communicantts for the five feasts referred to, and then it passed to the Comimmic antes said in the Canon. That prayer runs thus :
Communicating with and honouring in the first place the memory of the glorious and ever Virgin Mary. These words, Communicating and honouring are not to be considered as distinct from the foregoing, but as a continuation of the preceding prayer. The sense is, according to Suarez, " pay their vows to Thee the living and true God, communicating with Thy saints to whom they are so closely united, whose intercession they invoke while venerating their memory." (Suanz in in. Disp. 83, Sect. 2. 2. 7.)
In the Canon, mentioned by name, are the Blessed Virgin, twelve Apostles, twelve Martyrs, then all the Saints in general.
Mary, called glorious, an epithet which the Church is fond of applying to our Lady as she gives more glory to God than Angels and Saints together, ever Virgin, the Catholic doctrine is that Mary was a Virgin in Conception, in Birth, and after the Birth of her Son. Her name is fittingly introduced in the Mass as she gave us the Body that suffered and died on the Cross — and of His Death, Mass is the re-presentation and commemoration. Nobis datus, nobis natus, sings the Church, ex intacta Virgine, — " given to us, born to us from a spotless Virgin,"
WITHIN THE ACTION. 97
The name of St. Matthias is omitted from the list of the Apostles, because St. Matthias was not an Apostle at the time of our Lord's Passion. The number twelve is made up by the addition of St. Paul who, though an Apostle, was not one of the twelve. He is always united to St. Peter in the Liturgy of the Church. Martyrs only are mentioned in this list, not Confessors — which shows the antiquity of this portion of the Canon — for only in the fourth century did the Church include Confessors in her Canonized Saints. St. Peter is the first mentioned, and St. Thaddeus the last.
Next come twelve Martyrs.
The first five are Popes SS. Linus, Cletus, Clement, Xystus, and Cornelius. Of these SS. Linus, Cletus, and Clement were fellow-labourers with St. Peter in preaching the Gospel at Rome. St. Cyprian was the celebrated Martyr and Bishop of Carthage. St. Lawrence was Deacon to Pope Sixtus II. St. Chrysogonus was an illustrious Roman, martyred at Aquileia under Diocletian. John and Paul were brothers who, rather than worship idols, were martyred by Julian the Apostate. Cosmas and Damian were also brothers, and physicians too, who exercised their profession gratis for the love of God and of their neighbour.
The concluding words of the prayer, by whose merits and prayers grant that we may be always defended by the help of Thy protection through the same Christ our Lord, Amen ; bring out the Catholic doctrine that the good works of Christians, and far more the holy lives and glorious deaths of the Apostles and other Saints, and pre-eminently of the Mother of God, derive their saving efficacy through their union with Christ our Lord.
98 THE SECOND PRAYER IN THE CANON.
THE SECOND PRAYER IN THE CANON BEFORE THE CONSECRATION.
Spreading his hands over the oblation, the priest says : Hanc igitur oblationem ser- We, therefore, beseech vitutis nostrae, sed et cunctae Thee, O Lord, to be appeased familiae tuae, quaesumus and to accept this oblation of Domine, ut placatus accipias ; our service, as also of Thy diesque nostros in tua pace whole family ; dispose our disponas, atque ab aeterna days in Thy peace, command damnatione nos eripi, et in us to be delivered from electorum tuorum jubeas eternal damnation, and to grege numerari. Per Christum be numbered in the flock of Dominum nostrum. Amen. Thy elect. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.
While saying these words the priest holds his hands over the bread and wine and the thumbs are stretched one over the other in the form of a cross. This gesture signifies the transfer of something to another. In Exodus (xxix. 10), before the calf is killed we read that " Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon his head," and again in Leviticus (i. 4) : " And he shall put his hand upon the head of the victim." This laying of hands implied the consciousness of guilt in the person who performed the act, and the wish to transfer to the victim those sins for whicb the victim was to die instead of the sinner. Here at the Mass, by the imposition of hands, tbe priest signifies that the sins of the world are carried by our Lord who died for them on the Cross • — "who bore all our iniquities on the Tree." The Mass is the re-presentation of that Sacrifice on Calvary. This imposition of hands at Mass did not always exist in the Church : it was introduced at the end of the fifteenth century ; and it was prescribed by St. Pius V. as a general law.
THE SECOND PRAYER IN THE CANON. 99
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER HANG IGITUR OBLATIONEM.
The word therefore connects the prayer with the Communicantes which precedes. Encouraged by the prayers of the Saints, in the hope that God is appeased and that He will show us mercy, the Church through the mouth of her priest beseeches God the Father to accept this oblation of our service as also of Thy whole family. The Mass is a Sacrifice which we make to God with all the family of the Church, to acknowledge His supreme dominion over all creatures, and our absolute dependence on Him. Such is the sense of the phrase oblation of our service. Next, besides the acceptance of the Sacrifice three petitions are made: (i) dispose our days in Thy peace; (2) command us to be delivered from eternal damnation (compare the line in the Dies Irae — Sed tu bonus fac benigne, ne perenni cremer igne — " In Thy goodness grant that I be not consumed in everlasting fire"); (3) and to be numbered in the flock of Thy elect to make our election SURE (2 Pet.i. 10). In the Te Deum we say Aeterna fac cum Sanctis tuis in gloria numcvari — " Grant that we may be numbered with Thy Saints in glory everlasting."
The following petitions were added by St. Gregory the Great.
Quam oblationem tu Deus Which oblation do Thou, O
in omnibus, quaesumus,bene»J« God, vouchsafe in all things
dictam, adscri »J-ptam, ra ^ to make blessed, »f« approved,
tarn, rationabilem, accepta- ^ ratified, »J- reasonable, and
bilemque facere digneris : ut acceptable, that it may become
nobis Cor^pus et San^guis to us the Body >f» and Hr*
fiat dilectissimi Filii tui Blood of Thy most beloved
Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
ioo THE THIRD PRAYER IN THE CANON.
THE THIRD PRAYER IN THE CANON BEFORE THE CONSECRATION.
Which oblation do Thou, O God, vouchsafe in all things to make *%* blessed, ^ approved, >J« rati fied, reasonable, and acceptable, that it may become to us the Body ^ and ^ Blood of Thy most beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
EXPLANATION OF THE PRAYER.
This prayer is in close connection with the preceding and serves as an immediate introduction to the act of Consecration.
We ask God first to bless the bread and wine (the Oblation) in the most perfect of all ways by trans forming them into the Body and Blood of our Lord, the source of all blessings to the world.
The Latin word adscriptam — legitimate — is variously explained. Perhaps the best rendering is approved, that is according to the directions prescribed, laid down by our Lord at the Last Supper. Adscriptam, says Father Suarez, may be taken to mean that the oblation should be made as prescribed by our Lord in the words " Do this in commemoration of Me " and consequently legitimate.
The oblation will be ratified that is real, valid it offered in the way ordained by our Lord in the institution of the Blessed Eucharist ; thus a Sacrament
THE THIRD PRAYER IN THE CANON. 101
properly administered we speak of as real, valid — as Baptism, Marriage, &c.
The offering or sacrifice is said to be reasonable (compare St. Paul's expression, the reasonable homage of our faith), because on the altar the Victim offered is the Lamb of God, Uncreated Reason and Wisdom, quite different from the Sacrifices of the Old Law where the victims were animals without reason. Adorned by these four qualities the Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is infallibly acceptable to the Eternal Father.
That it may become to us the Body ^ and 4- Blood of Thy most beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
These words express the essence of the Sacri fice offered by the consecration, and the essential change in the matter of the Sacrifice. Bread and wine become for us the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. For us, that is, for our Salvation. The Angel said to the shepherds in Luke (ii. u) : " For this day is born to you a Saviour who is Christ the Lord in the city of David."
This prayer is accompanied by five signs of the Cross. They are made over the bread and wine at the words, blessed, approved, and ratified, one is made over the host alone at the word Body, and another over the chalice at the word Blood. The connection between the sign of the Cross and the Crucifixion is evident. The first three signs of the Cross remind us of the Blessed Trinity, by whose power the consecra tion of the bread and wine is effected. Some pious souls see in the five signs of the Cross a reminder of the five wounds of our Lord.
102 CONSECRATION OF THE BREAD.
I. CONSECRATION OF THE BREAD.
INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSECRATION.
Qui pridie quam pateretur, Who the day before He
accepit. panem in sanctas ac suffered, (he takes the Host)
venerabiles inarms suas : et took bread into His holy and
elevatis oculis in coelum ad te venerable hands (he raises his
Deum Patrem suum omnipo- eyes to heaven), and with His
tentem,tibigratiasagens,bene- eyes lifted up towards heaven,
4- dixit, fregit, deditque disci- to Thee, God, His Almighty
pulis suis, dicens : Accipite, Father, giving thanks to Thee,
et manducate ex hoc omnes. did bless, ^ break, and give
Hoc EST ENIM CORPUS to His disciples, saying : Take
MEUM. and eat ye all of this ;
FOR THIS is MY BODY.
EXPLANATION OF THE INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSECRATION OF BREAD.
Who the day before He suffered (the Priest takes the Host) took bread into His holy and venerable hands (he raises his eyes to heaven) and with His eyes lifted up towards heaven, to Thee, God, His Almighty Father, giving thanks to Thee, did bless, ^ break, and give to His disciples, saying.
The words: into His holy and venerable hands and with His eyes lifted up towards heaven, to Thee, God, His Almighty Father, are not found in the Scriptural Narrative: Matthew xxvi. 26 — 28: Mark xiv. 22 — 24 : Luke xxii. 19, 20 and i Cor. xi. 23 — 26, but come to us through the tradition of the Church.
CONSECRATION OF THE BREAD. 103
We must distinguish between two actions of our Lord, giving thanks and blessing. Thanksgiving was offered to His Father, the author of all good ; blessing was intended only for the bread and wine about to be changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Break, our Lord is thought to have broken the portion of unleavened bread into twelve or thirteen different pieces, saying : Take and eat ye all of this :
FOR THIS IS MY BODY.
EXPLANATION OF THE WORDS OF CONSECRATION.
For gives the reason why Christ asked His Apostles to eat. The words that follow must be taken in their plain meaning. The word this means, what I show you at this moment in My hands and what I give you — is My Body. But the Body of Christ is not bread, and to verify our Lord's words the meaning must be, this is bread no longer but the Body of Christ. To say that the expression this is My Body means the figure of My Body, is the same as saying this is My Body, means this is not My Body. For the figure of the Body is not the Body itself. There is made by virtue of the words, this is My Body, the conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the Body of our Lord, the species or outward appearances alone remaining, and this con version, the Council of Trent teaches, is suitably called Transubstantiation. But as the Body of our Lord cannot exist without His Blood (for a bloodless body is dead, and Christ can die no more), the Body necessarily brings with It the Blood, and the Body
io4
CONSECRATION OF THE WINE.
and Blood are necessarily connected with the Soul and Divinity of our Lord, therefore after the words of Consecration are pronounced at Mass, Christ is whole and entire under the appearance of bread. Here is the whole doctrine of Transubstantiation. Man's reason can never explain it nor disprove it. It remains the mystery of Faith.
II. CONSECRATION OF THE WINE.
Simili modo postquam coenaturn est, accipiens et hunc praeclarum Calicem in sanctas, ac venerabiles rnanus suas : item tibi gratias agens, bene^-dixit, deditque disci- pulis suis, dicens : Accipite et bibite ex eo omnes.
Hie EST ENIM CALIX SAN- GUINIS MET, NOVI ET AETERNI TESTAMENT! : MYSTERIUM FIDEI : QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN RE- MISSIONEM PECCATORUM.
Haec quotiescumque fece- ritis, in mei memoriam fa- cietis.
In like manner, after He had supped (he takes the chalice in both his hands'), taking also this excellent Chalice into His holy and venerable hands, and giving Thee thanks, He bless-^ed, and gave to His disciples, saying : Take and drink ye all of This :
FOR THIS is THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL TESTAMENT I THE MYSTERY OF FAITH I WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU, AND FOR MANY, TO THE REMISSION
OF SINS.
As often as ye do these things, ye shall do them in remembrance of Me.
EXPLANATION OF THE INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSECRATION OF WINE.
In like manner, after He had supped (the priest takes the Chalice in both his hands), taking also this excellent Chalice (so-called from the surpassing treasure of the Precious Blood it is meant to contain)
CONSECRATION OF THE WINE. 105
into His holy (as the hands of Jesus Christ essentially are, as the hands of His priest are by anointing at ordi nation) and venerable hands, giving Thee thanks (as before the Consecration of the bread, as Man to His Father, for the incomprehensible gift of the Eucharist), He bless4*ed it, that the wine might be worthy to be converted into His Blood, and gave to His disciples, saying, Take and drink ye all of this : For this is the Chalice of My Blood of the New and Eternal Testament, the Mystery of Faith ; which shall be shed for you and for many to the remission of sins.
EXPLANATION OF THE WORDS OF THE CONSECRATION OF THE CHALICE.
Father Suarez says that, according to the common opinion of theologians, not merely the words of the form, this is the Chalice of my Blood, but all the words from take to remission of sins, were pronounced by Jesus Christ.
The words which consecrate the wine— this is the Chalice of My Blood — correspond in the consecration of the bread to this is My Body. The Chalice of My Blood means the Cup or Chalice which contains My Blood. The explanation given in the consecration of the bread holds good for the consecration of the wine. After our Lord had pronounced the words, this is the Chalice of My Blood, according to their plain meaning, wine was converted by virtue of the words into the Blood of Christ. But as the Blood of Christ cannot exist without His Body, nor the Body and Blood without His Soul and Divinity, we have consequently the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord whole and
io6 CONSECRATION OF THE WINE.
entire under the appearance of wine as under the appearance of bread.
The Sacrament of the Eucharist is complete under one kind, since under either kind there is present the whole Christ.
But the Consecration, according to our Lord's command, must ever be under both kinds, since it is only from the double Consecration that the Blessed Eucharist has the character of a Sacrifice. The separate Consecration of bread and wine represents in a mystical way the death of Christ, the parting of the Body and Blood on the Cross. That Blood was shed really on the Cross : mystically in the institution of the Eucharist and daily at Mass on our altars.
The Blood in the Chalice is the Blood shed on the Cross and that Blood is received by us in the Sacrament. "The Blood," says St. Thomas (Hi. q. 78. a. 3. ad. 7.), " consecrated apart from the Body, more closely represents the Passion of Christ and there fore more suitably in the Consecration of the Blood than of the Body mention is made of the Passion of Christ and of the fruit it produced." Chalice in Scripture sometimes signifies passion as in St. Matt. (xx. 22) : " Can you drink the Chalice which I am going to drink?" and it signifies a drink in Psalm (xxii. 5): " And my Chalice which inebriateth me, how goodly it is."
The words of the New and Eternal Testament contain an allusion to Exodus xxiv. 8. Testament or Covenant, the original (Sia^*?;) means either. As the Old Covenant of the Law was dedicated with the blood of the Sacrifice, so now the New Covenant of the Gospel is to be dedicated with the Blood of Jesus Christ.
THE ELEVATION OF THE HOST AND CHALICE. 107
The Mystery of Faith. These words according to some writers (who disagree with Suarez), we owe to St. Peter. Transubstantiation is a truth above reason which we take on the authority of God's word, hence a mystery of Faith. The words which shall be shed for you were addressed to the Apostles then before our Saviour's eyes. And for many. The Blood is shed for all : and for many efficaciously — that is, many, the saved, reap the full benefit of our Lord's death — while the lost, through their own fault, use it to their destruction.
To the remission of sins. These words express the great end of the Sacrifice of the Cross, the washing away of the sins of the world.
After pronouncing the words of Consecration the priest, laying the Chalice on the Corporal says, As often as ye shall do these things ye shall do them in remembrance of Me. The Council of Trent defines in Sess. xxii. Can. 2. that by these words our Lord made His Apostles priests, and prescribed that they and other priests, their successors in the priesthood, should offer the Sacrifice of His Body and Blood.
THE ELEVATION OF THE HOST AND OF THE CHALICE.
The Church has ever adored the Blessed Sacrament from the time of Its institution. But the outward signs by which the Church has expressed this adoration have not always been the same. In the Greek liturgies the Elevation of the Eucharist takes place shortly before the Communion. Formerly in the Latin Mass the Blessed Sacrament was elevated only at the words
io8 THE FIRST PART OF THE PRAYER.
omnis honor et gloria just before the Pater Noster. This is now usually known as " the little Elevation." The Elevation of Host and Chalice immediately after Consecration was introduced in detestation of the denial of Transubstantiation by Berengarius.
The Elevation of Host and Chalice seems to have begun as an act of reparation about noo in France, of which country Berengarius was a native ; from France it was introduced into Germany, and from Germany it found its way into other countries of Europe. At first only the Host was elevated and afterwards the Chalice. The further custom of ringing a small bell at the Elevation began in France during the twelfth century, and about the same time the ringing of the large bell at the conventual Mass was ordered in the statutes of some Monastic Orders. The bell is obviously to notify the solemn moment of the Consecration.
THE FIRST PART OF THE PRAYER AFTER THE CONSECRATION.
Unde et memores, Domine, Wherefore, O Lord, we Thy
nos servi tui, sed et plebs tua servants, as also Thy holy
sancta, ejusdem Christ! Filii people, calling to mind the
tui Domini nostri tarn beatae blessed Passion of the same
Passionis, necnon et