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1.PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
As the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the centre of Catholic worship and life, a more profound knowledge of the Mass is considered essential and most desirable for all the faithful, but especially for the priest. Although literature on this subject is rather abundant, the present volume, which has been drawn from every available source at the Author's command, may not be deemed superfluous.
Its object is, in the main, both practical and ascetical : to appeal not only to the understanding, but also to inflame the heart and to move the will. The selection and the treatment of the matter have necessarily been directed to this object. As it is not our intention to present a purely scientific and exhaustive treatise on the Eucharistic Sacrifice, but to build, upon the foundation of scientific studies and inferences, a work useful and practical for the clergy, certain questions of scientific and historic nature may receive scarcely more than a brief and passing mention. Says Denis the Carthusian: "In this writing it was not my intention in expounding the words of the Mass as devoutly as I could, to raise any question or touch on anything but what might move the heart and excite to devotion." Therefore all polemical, critical quotations and statements open to contradiction have, as much as possible, been avoided. In disputed points we have always seriously and carefully weighed the reasons pro and con ; but in the book itself we have merely stated what appeared to us the most solidly grounded.
As edification and devotion must at all times rest on theological truth and emanate from it, it became necessary to present the Dogma and Rite of the Eucharistic Sacrifice clearly, thoroughly and correctly, according to the spirit and intention of the Church; thus only do the ascetical considerations and applications find a solid foundation to rest on. says Suarez, "For without truth, piety is feeble ; and without piety, truth is sterile and void." In the explanation of the Rite we have strictly adhered to the words and actions of the liturgical formulae, endeavoring at the same time, in accordance with approved ecclesiastical tradition, to avoid as far as possible all subjectivism and artificiality.
Preface to the Sixth Edition.
A correct and clear understanding as well as frequent consideration of the profound and mystical Rite of the Mass, will, in all probability, be the best means to enable the priest to refrain from a thoughtless, habitual mannerism, and lead him to celebrate the adorable mysteries of the Altar with becoming attention, devotion, and reverence. The priest who studies this book will, moreover, find manifold reasoning and argument wherewith to direct the faithful according to their capacity in the proper understanding of the Divine Sacrifice and in their fervent recourse to the Eucharistic fountain of grace. The authorities of the Church have often impressed upon pastors, that this is a chief duty of directors of souls, for the conscientious discharge of which they shall have to render an account before God. Although this volume is principally intended for the use of the clergy, it has been so arranged that the more highly cultured of the laity may also peruse it with profit. May God grant His blessing and success to this work especially in our days, when the Church and her faithful children are necessarily more or less constrained to lead a life of sacrifice. May it awaken and foster in many hearts love for the Eucharistic Sacrifice, as well as a cheerful and courageous spirit to undergo willingly the trials and contradictions that self-immolation demands !
ST. PETER'S, FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION, 1877.
BOOK I.
Dogmatical and Ascetical Part
CHAPTER THE FIRST.
Sacrifice in General.
On the Virtue of Religion.
SACRIFICE is an act and, in fact, the supreme act of religion, for by the offering of sacrifice the Divine Majesty is honored in the worthiest and most perfect manner. The virtue of religion is, so to speak, the very root whence sacrifice springs and develops as a most beautiful blossom and most precious fruit. Therefore we at once perceive that the way for a better understanding of sacrifice can be opened only by previously considering the Christian or supernatural virtue of religion in its principal characteristics. 1
I. Religion (religio)2 is a special moral virtue, which enables and
1We do not intend to treat here of religion as a natural virtue (virtus acquisita), which can be acquired, at least in an imperfect degree, by frequent acts, but of religion as a supernatural virtue (virtus per se infusa) infused by means of grace into the soul. Religion, as such, is, in the first place, an abiding, persevering disposition inclining us to render unto God the worship due Him. Ease and readiness in the performance of supernatural acts of religion is the fruit of faithful exercise and is obtainable by our own exertions assisted by divine grace. Charity and all the infused moral virtues are inseparably united with sanctifying grace, whilst the two theological virtues of faith and hope (habitus fidei etspei) can still exist even after sanctifying grace has been lost. Cf. Mazzella, S. J., De virtutibus infusis, disput. I. art. 3 12
2The Word religio comes principally from religare (to bind namely to God Diximus nomen religionis a vinculo pietatis esse deductum, quod hominem sibi Deus religaverit et pietate constrinxerit, quia servire nos ei ut domino et obsequi ut patri necesse est (Lactant. Divin. institut. 1. 4. c). . 28). The thought underlying this explanation is assuredly true yet the derivation from religere (from relegere) would grammatically be more correct. In Gellius (4, 9, 1) is found the participle, used adjectively, religens = God-fearing. The term religio (from religere = to take carefully into consideration, to ponder over, to weigh conscientiously and reflect upon with due care especially that which is divine and holy) would, according to its original signification, be intimately connected with. cultus (careful nursing and waiting upon, honor, veneration from colere, cherishing and caring for, esteeming and regarding as holy). Religiosus, ait Cicero, a relegendo appellatur, qui retractat et tamquam relegit ea quae ad cultum divinum pertineant (S. Isidor. Etymolog. 1. 10. n. 234). Of this explanation Suarez remarks: Est probabilis deductio, sive vocum similitudinem sive munus ipsum religionis spectemus. (Cfr. De Religione tr. I. 1. I. c. 1). Cfr. Gutberlet, l>hrbuch der Apologetik. I. 6f
inclines the will to give to God the supernatural honor and adoration due to Him as the Creator and Supreme Ruler, as well as the last end of all things, and particularly of man. The Holy Ghost plants this virtue in the garden of the soul it is our duty, with the help of grace, so to nourish this noble and precious gift of heaven that it may bear abundant fruit for the honor and glory of God and our own blessing and ultimate salvation.
The virtue of religion makes us courageous and willing to offer to the Divine Majesty due veneration. * By means of this virtue we honor the Lord our God inasmuch as we acknowledge and proclaim His greatness, majesty and dominion over us, and at the same time confess our own littleness, lowliness and dependence upon Him. Religion, consequently, includes in itself two requisites first, lively acknowledgment of His infinite perfection and dignity and then, an humble subjection to His unlimited power and dominion. This cheerful submission, this humbling of self under the power of God (I Peter, 5 6) is required and commanded by the fundamental relations that exist between us as creatures and God as our Creator. And this relation is one of the most absolute and entire dependence upon God, for He is our first beginning and last end, our Redeemer and Sanctifier. We belong entirely to God and it behooves us to consecrate our being wholly to God “in God we live and move and are" (Acts 17, 28).
"All my bones shall cry out: Lord, who is like to Thee?" (Ps. 34, 10.) God is a fathomless and shoreless sea of the most perfect being and life His perfections are inexhaustible and incomparable, surpassing and excelling all things, incomprehensible and unspeakable. God possesses infinite grandeur and dignity. Therefore all rational creatures, being immeasurably below Him, owe Him the profoundest respect and veneration. God is not only inconceivably exalted above heaven and earth but by His creative power He is also the source of all things, for they absolutely depend on Him as to their being, their existence, their activity. Since God is the Creator of all things visible and invisible, He is therefore the sovereign Master and Lord of all that lives and moves in the universe consequently, He is "the King of kings and the Lord of lords" (I Tim. 6, 15), to whom all beings owe unconditional and constant service. Since the Almighty God has made all things and since all creatures are the work of His hands, they belong to Him as His property He has, then, the highest and the most absolute dominion over all creatures, for they exist only for Him, and must act only for Him, and serve Him alone. Most beautifully does the Church express this thought in the Invitatory of the Office of the Dead: Regem, cui omnia vivunt, venite adoremus "Come let us adore the King unto whom all things live."
Holy Scripture frequently delivers these truths in most vivid and striking descriptions. "The Lord is terrible and exceeding great and His power is admirable" (Kcclus 43, 31). "The Lord's ways are in a tempest and a whirlwind and clouds are the dust of His feet" (Nah. 1,3). God is the Supreme Master and Proprietor of the universe, because it has come forth from His creative hand and is His work hence the Psalmist joyfully sings "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof the world and all they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas and He hath prepared it upon the rivers" (Ps. 23, i 2). "Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and weighed the heavens in His palm? Who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth ? Behold the gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance behold the islands are as a little dust. It is He that sitteth upon the globe of the earth He that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. ...Who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names by the greatness of His might and strength and power, not one of them was missing" (Is. 40, 12 26). "And the stars have given light in their watches, and rejoiced. They were called and they said Here we are and with cheerfulness they have shined forth to Him that made them" (Bar. 3, 34 35). "O Lord, great art Thou, and glorious in Thy power, and no one can overcome Thee. Let all Thy creatures serve Thee because Thou hast spoken, and they were made Thou didst send forth Thy spirit, and they were created, and there is no one that can resist Thy voice. The mountains shall be moved from the foundations, with the waters the rocks shall melt as wax before Thy face" (Judith 16, 16 18). "He looketh upon the earth, and maketh it tremble He toucheth the mountains, and they smoke" (Ps. 103, 32).
And what is man in comparison with the Most High, with the Almighty Creator and powerful King, greatly to be feared, who sitteth upon His throne and is the God of dominion? (Ecclus. I, 8). "Man's days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish. For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be and he shall know his place no more" (Ps. 102, 15 16). Man is earth and ashes (Ecclus. 17, 31) he is a leaf and a dry straw carried about by the wind like a flower he cometh forth and is destroyed and he fleeth as a shadow (Job 13, 25; 14, 2). Now should not man a weak, frail, miserable creature bow down and humble himself to the dust, should he not tremble with awe, reverence and astonishment before the power, grandeur and majesty of God, "whose throne is the heavens and whose footstool is the earth" (Is. 66, i). The pillars of heaven tremble and dread at His beck the morning stars praise Him and the sons of God make a joyful melody to Him (Job 26, ii 38, 7). The choirs of holy spirits sing in the highest heavens to the Lord day and night their never-ceasing "Holy, holy, holy;" the glorified saints prostrate themselves before Him that sitteth on the throne and adore Him that liveth forever and ever they lay down their crowns before the throne, saying: "Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power because Thou hast created all things and for Thy will they were and have been created" (Apoc. 4, 10 11). In this jubilation of eternal praise and adoration man also should unite, according to his ability, in glorifying God, who is justly exalted above all.
2. The virtue of religion, moreover, quickens our zeal and spurs us on to the performance of acts calculated to render to the Divine Majesty due honor and glory and these acts may be divided into two classes.
a) In the first class are comprised all acts which in themselves refer to the honor of God and promote it, that is, those which by their nature are intended and calculated to render to the greatness of God due acknowledgment and worship. We perform such acts when, for instance, we pray and offer sacrifice, make and fulfill vows, adorn churches and decorate altars honoring Him, consequently made with a view and intention of giving glory to God. The virtue of religion can and must direct to the glory of God all the works and exercises of a Christian life, f that it may become a perpetual divine service. "Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do. do all for the glory of God" (i Cor. 10, 31). 2
To this effect St. Augustine says: "God is to be honored by faith, hope and charity" (Manuale I, 3). The acts of faith, hope and charity are in themselves acts, not of the moral virtue of religion, but of the three essentially different theological virtues yet they may be elicited with the intention of acknowledging the divine truth, fidelity and goodness, and God is thereby greatly honored and glorified. In believing, hoping and loving we give ourselves to God with all the powers of our soul, we lean upon God and rest in God as our last end in other words, we render to the divine perfections and majesty due homage and submission. The three divine virtues also condition the development and completion of the Christian life, which is founded on faith, nourished by hope and animated by charity. Faith enlightens the understanding with celestial light, hope endows the soul with supernatural strength, and love inflames the heart with divine fire thus these, three virtues enable us by a new and holy life to announce to men the glorious prerogatives and perfections of God, that they may see our works and glorify our Father who is in heaven (I Peter 2, 9 Matt. 5, 16). They give rise to the virtue of religion, and excite us to glorify God through works of piety, mercy and penance.
We read in the epistle of St. James (I. 27) these words: "Religion (religio) clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep one's self unspotted from the world." The meaning of the above is that if we would honor God the Father in a sincere and proper manner, we must be assiduously intent upon assisting the poor, the abandoned and the distressed, upon consoling and comforting them, and, at the same time, endeavor, amid the universal corruption of the world, to serve God alone and to please Him by purity of heart and the righteousness of our ways. Thus the virtue of religion will produce abundant fruits “that in all things and above all things God may be glorified" (ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus).
3. Religion holds the first place among the moral virtues. Although, like all other moral virtues, the virtue of religion is inferior in merit and dignity to the divine virtues of faith, hope and charity, it is, nevertheless, most intimately connected with them, for it regulates the conduct of man toward God. It holds the first rank among the moral virtues, because it approaches nearer to God than the others, in so far as it produces and has for its primary object those acts which refer directly and immediately to the honor of God that is, whatever acts pertain to the divine service. The sublime virtue of religion ennobles man precisely in this, that it completely subjects him to the will and dominion of God and brings him into the closest communication with the primal Source of all holiness. "For in offering honor and homage to God we submit our mind to Him, and it is in this submission that its perfection consists. An object is perfected by its submitting to its superior. Thus the; perfection of the body consists in its being vivified by the soul and the perfection of the atmosphere in its being thoroughly illumined by the light of the sun." Honoring God fervently renders man truly great and exalted, and imparts to him abundant gain and blessing for his spiritual life.
4. The worship due to the Divine Majesty consists principally in acts of adoration, thanksgiving, petition and propitiation.
As we have seen, God immeasurably excels all creatures, even the highest and the sublimest of the heavenly spirits He excels them not merely by His infinite dignity and perfection, but also by reason of His boundless power and dominion. Hence at all times and in all places, every creature is dependent upon God. It behooves man as a rational creature consciously and freely and actively to acknowledge his absolute dependence upon God in a word, to adore God. By adoration ( latria, adoratio latreutica, cultus latreuticus), we understand that supreme and most perfect homage due, not to any mere creature, but only and solely to God on account of His infinite perfection, majesty and sovereign authority. God alone is adorable; He alone is the Most High, the Almighty Creator and Ruler of creation. Those rights and perfections which belong exclusively to God, are also to be acknowledged and honored by a special worship, the worship of adoration. Hence to adore God is at the same time to acknowledge, admire and to praise His majesty and sovereign power; it is profoundly to humble and, in a manner, to annihilate ourselves in the presence of His infinite grandeur and dignity it is to submit, to consecrate and to resign ourselves unreservedly to Him as our first beginning and our last end. Consequently, adoration is the most excellent and the most precious homage that God can receive from creatures endowed with reason, man included.
Two other religious duties and acts are inseparably connected with adoration namely, thanksgiving and petition. Because God is adorable, that is, because He possesses infinite perfections, unlimited power, and boundless goodness, He is the inexhaustible fountain whence proceeds every good and perfect gift, in heaven and upon earth. All that we are, that we have and can do, both in the order of nature and in the order of grace, is the outpouring of the overflowing love of God. Now, with respect to the numberless gifts and graces which we have already received and daily yet receive, we owe heartfelt thanks for them, one and all, to God, our greatest Benefactor moreover, all the good that we may expect, hope for and implore, can likewise come to us only by the infinitely bounteous hand of God hence it behooves us to turn to Him in humble supplication.
To adore God, to thank Him and to implore of Him His gifts is therefore a threefold duty incumbent upon man, for the simple reason that man is altogether dependent upon God. But in consequence of his having fallen away from God and become corrupt by sin, there devolves upon him, now laden with iniquity and deserving of punishment, still another obligation, namely, that of appeasing an offended and irritated God, by appropriate propitiation or satisfaction.
5. The acts of religion must above all be interior, that is, be performed with mind and heart furthermore, they must also reveal themselves externally, appear visibly and in a manner become corporeal. The virtue of religion, as it must be exercised by man, comprises therefore interior and exterior acts. At the same time it must not be forgotten, that exterior acts of divine worship, to be pleasing to God and conducive to His honor, should always be animated and enlivened by the interior. The exterior acts of religion should proceed from the heart, should express the interior life of the soul, and practically show forth the mind's religious reverence and submission, according to the words of the Royal Prophet: "My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God" (Ps. 83, 3).
Why is man commanded to honor God by outward acts?
a) Man is not, as the angels, purely spiritual, but a creature composed of spirit and body. As such he must honor and glorify God in a manner appropriate to his corporeal and rational nature. But man renders the homage of his whole nature only when his body also takes part in his acts of divine worship, so that the interior worship is manifested by outward acts. Man in his entire being, created by God and dependent upon Him, belongs in body and soul to God therefore is man bound to serve and to worship God, his Creator, Preserver and Lord, with the powers of his soul and body, by spiritual and corporal acts. Moreover, the body of a Christian is the temple of the Holy Ghost, for it becomes sanctified by grace, and is to be transfigured by glory. Hence the Church implores God to grant "that we may serve and please Him not only with the soul, but also with the body."
b) The most intimate reciprocity exists between man's interior and exterior acts they proceed from one another, they mutually assist and complete each other. Those things which stir man's inmost soul such as joy and sorrow, love and anger, hope and fear involuntarily betray their impression in his exterior: and this is especially the case with regard to the interior acts of religion. And why should not the fervent interior life, the ardent devotion and divine love of a pious soul, be spontaneously manifested in the outward man, and so take possession of his entire being, as to impel him not only "to sing in grace in his heart to God," but furthermore to pour himself out "in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles" (Coloss. 3, 16), to join his hands, bend his knees and prostrate his form upon the earth before the face of the Most High? "My heart hath been glad and my tongue hath rejoiced" (Ps. 15,9), exclaims therefore the Royal Prophet. "Let my soul be filled with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips" (Ps. 62, 6). Reversely, the exterior also affects the interior man outward signs and acts arouse the affections of the spirit, inflame and nourish the fervor of devotion, refresh and invigorate the life of the soul. The interior acts of religion grow in perfection, become durable and constant, when they thus live and exercise their activity in the body, that is, when they, so to speak, assume flesh and blood. When, however, exterior divine worship is neglected, the interior soon languishes and dies.
c) Man is lord and master of irrational creatures, which also must be led to glorify the Creator. But it is principally by exterior worship that man can and must lead the visible creation to serve and . praise the Creator. The use in religious service of creatures imparts to external nature a higher consecration and activity. "For the building up and the adornment of the temple, the earth presents its treasures and precious metals the ocean, its pearls spring, the magnificence of its flowers."
d) Not the individual man alone, but society also, as a religious body, must render to God due homage and submission. Now a common public service (cultus socialis} requires external acts. Hence visible, outward worship is necessary as the bond of the religious community, namely the Church.
It behooves us, then, in accordance with our own nature and the express divine commandment, to honor God with our mental and corporal powers, that is, we must not merely by interior but also by outward acts adore Him, thank Him, beseech and propitiate Him.
This fourfold duty is fulfilled principally by prayer and sacrifice, which are intimately connected with each other, which permeate and complete one another. The interior acts of divine worship manifest themselves outwardly, in the first place, by vocal, that is, by corporal, prayer then in the offering of sacrifice, which, as the most sublime act of religion, is far more excellent and meritorious than prayer.
6. The virtue of religion is exceedingly precious and rich in blessings. It teaches us humbly to acknowledge our own littleness and misery, and to render to God, of whose goodness there is no end (Ps. 144, 3), due honor in all things, thereby winning for us the richest blessings. A spirit of reverential homage should, as a heavenly spice and consecration, pervade our whole life, in order to render it daily more and more pleasing and meritorious in the eyes of God. To worship God should be our joy and happiness! "Come let us praise the Lord with joy, let us joyfully sing to God our Saviour. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods. For in His hands are all the ends of the earth, and the heights of the mountains are His. For the sea is His, and He made it and His hands formed the dry land. Come let us adore and fall down and weep before the Lord that made us. For He is the Lord our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hands" (Ps. 94, i 7). A true knowledge of God and a correct understanding of ourselves furnish the solid basis upon which rest the virtue of religion and the spirit of the most submissive adoration. Ever seeking to know God and ourselves more perfectly is the higher wisdom and the science of the Saints, and after this we should incessantly strive. Noverim te Noverim me! prayed St. Augustine. O God, grant that I may know Thee Noverim te! Give me an intimate knowledge of Thy adorable perfections, which are without measure or number of Thy infinite grandeur and glory, Thy inconceivable power, wisdom and goodness, Thy unspeakable beauty, sweetness and amiableness penetrate me with a deep knowledge of "the profound things of Thy divinity, which only the Holy Spirit searcheth" (I Cor. 2, 10), that is, the works and riches of Thy grace and glory, Thy infinitely just and merciful decrees, the wonderful and inscrutable dispensations of Thy providence! Noverim me! Grant me, moreover, a wholesome knowledge of myself ! "O my God, illumine my darkness" (Ps. 17, 29), that Thy light may permit me to look down deeply into the abyss of my nothingness, my misery, my helplessness, my frailty and my sinfulness!
SACRIFICE IN ITS PROPER SENSE
Among the requisites of sacrifice, the gift and its presentation, as well as the object and meaning of the exterior act, chiefly deserve consideration.
1. Sacrifice is the offering of a visible object; hence, in the first place, a visible gift is necessary as an offering to God. This gift ought to correspond to the object in view, and should, therefore, be selected with due regard thereto. Consequently, the offering most appropriate to God is that which is the noblest in the visible creation human life. Wherefore Christ, in order to present the most perfect sacrifice, offered His precious life on the Cross, according to the will of His Father. In every other case God did not wish that human life should be sacrificed to Him, but rather contented Himself with the interior offering of the heart and its symbolical expression namely, with the presentation of an irrational creature substituted for human life and offered in its stead. l It is at once evident that especially the living and inanimate things which serve directly for the support of man, and thus may represent his life, may be appropriately substituted as offerings for man himself. Before Christ such offerings consisted, for example, of lambs, heifers, doves; bread, wine, oil, salt, incense.
As such gifts were offered to give honor to God, it is self-evident that they had to be as perfect as possible, without blemish or defect. In as far as sacrifice is an external act of worship, its value depends chiefly on the dignity and interior disposition of the person who offers; the value of the gift presented also contributes to make the sacrifice more acceptable to God. Hence when proper sentiments animate the heart, only precious gifts will be selected as offerings for an action so exalted and holy. On the other hand to make choice of indifferent, trifling or imperfect objects as offerings is a sign that the proper spirit of sacrifice and respect for the Divine Majesty are wanting (cf. Mai. I, 7 8).
2. Not every gift offered to God is a sacrifice. It greatly depends on the way and manner of offering. Some change or destruction of the gift must take place to constitute a sacrifice. An entire destruction of the gift, or such as is at least morally equivalent, pertains essentially to the idea of sacrifice ; hence its outward form. Whatever has not been liturgically transformed, v. g. destroyed, cannot be a real sacrifice {sacrificium} , but is only a religious gift (oblatio), essentially different from sacrifice. l Thus we find in all sacrifices mentioned in Holy Writ, that there was ever some mode of destruction or dissolution, appropriate to the nature of the matter of the sacrifice. Thus, the animals were slain and their blood spilled on the altar, incense was consumed by fire, and wine was poured out. The intrinsic and more weighty reason why such a transformation, or destruction, of the gift is requisite for the act of sacrifice, lies in the peculiar meaning and in the special object of sacrifice.
3. Sacrifice, that is, the transformation of the gift offered, is intended to represent symbolically that God possesses absolute authority and dominion over all things and, consequently, that man is essentially dependent upon God, belongs and is subject to Him and, therefore, that he is bound and is ready to give and dedicate his life entirely to God. God is the Supreme Ruler, infinitely holy, the primal source of all being, and the last end to which all being should return, "that He may be all in all" (I. Cor. 15, 28). And now how could this grandeur and sovereignty of God over all that is and that can be outside of Him, be more appropriately expressed than by the destruction of a visible object, as is done in sacrifice? How could man's dependence on and obligation to serve God be more suitably made apparent than in sacrifice, wherein a tangible, material object, is destroyed in the place of a human life? If the exterior rite of sacrifice is in reality to have the above meaning and be a worship acceptable to God, then it must also be an expression of the interior and spiritual sacrifice, and be animated and vivified by the essential sentiments of sacrifice.2 "The visible sacrifice," says St. Augustine, "is a holy sign of the invisible offering." 3
Hence the offering up of sacrifice essentially aims to glorify God as the absolute Lord and supreme Legislator of all creatures, and this is to adore God. This meaning is inseparably connected with sacrifice; it holds the first place, and is ever an act of worship due to God alone, an act of adoration. l With this main object, thanksgiving and petition are naturally combined, inasmuch as the gift is presented also to honor and acknowledge God as the omnipotent and merciful Dispenser of all good gifts, that is, to show one's self grateful for benefits received, and to supplicate for new graces. In consequence of the fall of man, sacrifice assumes the additional characteristic of atonement. It is offered to express the need and desire of appeasing the irritated justice of God and of being thereby freed from sin and its punishment. Atonement for sin committed is made by sacrifice, inasmuch as the offended majesty of God is glorified, in order to restore to God the honor of which He had been deprived and to make satisfaction for the injury done to Him. The destruction of the offering is especially suitable to this end. How could sinful man more worthily and more strikingly acknowledge himself deserving of death on account of his fault, and, willing to undergo death in satisfaction for it, than when, by the laying of his hands on the victim, he transfers to it his sins, and slaying it and shedding its blood, offers it to God instead of his own life ?
2 History shows us atonement as always accompanying adoration and holding the rank next to it in the idea of sacrifice. The first and greatest want and desire of fallen man was to appease the anger of an offended God, to obtain mercy and forgiveness for sin ; hence it is quite natural that among the guilty, unredeemed generations living before Christ the character of atonement should have been impressed in a marked manner upon their sacrifices.
3 In whatever necessity sinful man presents himself before God, whether to adore, to thank or to petition Him, his first and deepest conviction is that he is a poor sinner, unworthy of being heard and answered by God ; hence it is most natural that precisely in the most ardent acts of worship, such as sacrifice, he will always, and at the very start, feel deeply conscious that he is laden with sins and debts to God. How could he, a sinner, more worthily acknowledge the Divine Majesty of the infinitely holy and just God, show his gratitude towards Him in a more appropriate way, and approach Him with greater confidence of being heard?" It is for this fourfold end that sacrifices are offered : hence there are sacrifices of adoration, of thanksgiving, of petition and of propitiation. These divisions are not made according to the exclusive object of Sacrifice, but only with reference to its predominant end. This means only that in the rite of celebration and in the intention of the person offering, one of these ends is chiefly intended, without, however, excluding the others. Every sacrifice has in itself a fourfold signification : it serves at one and the same time to glorify the Divine Majesty (sacrificium latreuticum) ; to return thanks for benefits received (sacrificium eucharisticum) ; to petition for new benefits (sacrificium impetratorium) ; and finally, to satisfy for sin and its punishment (sacrificium propitiatorium) .
4. In so far as sacrifice has a symbolical meaning and is a constituent part of public worship, it must positively be instituted by a legitimate authority. 2 The sacrificial service of the Old Law was regulated and ordained by God Himself in its most minute details; in the New Law the essential elements and features of worship proceed directly from Jesus Christ hence, first of them all, sacrifice, which constitutes the fundamental and central act of divine service. Neither to the Synagogue nor to the Church did God impart the right or the power to institute sacrifices : in His infinite mercy He Himself condescended to prescribe the sacrifices by which He would be honored and propitiated. No mere man, but our Divine Saviour alone could institute so sublime and so excellent a Sacrifice as we possess in the Holy Mass.
5. Sacrifice is an act of worship which can not be performed by anybody but a priest. He alone who has been especially chosen, called and empowered, that is, only the priest can and may perform the office of sacrificer. Sacrifice and priesthood are inseparably connected: no sacrifice can exist without a priesthood, and no priesthood without a sacrifice. A special priesthood is, therefore, required by the very nature of sacrifice, which, as a public, solemn act of worship, must be performed in the name and for the welfare of the religious body by a duly authorized person. Consequently, it is highly proper that only he who is, at least by his office and dignity, especially separated from sinners and sanctified, should present himself in sacrifice as mediator between an offended God and sinful man. "For every highpriest taken from among men," so writes the Apostle, "is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins" (Heb. 5, i). It is clear that it belongs to God alone to bestow the honor of the priestly vocation and office, and to determine "who belong to Him, and the holy He will join to Himself; and they whom He shall choose shall approach to Him" (Num. 16, 5).
6. Nor is it less evident that for the celebration of so holy and solemn an act of worship it is especially becoming to make choice of a sanctified place ; such a place, where sacrifice is offered, is called an altar. Wherever sacrifice and priesthood are found, there also is always an altar.
7. From the above it follows that sacrifice is the most exalted and perfect manner of honoring God, and, therefore, excels all other acts of worship. It also constitutes the principal act, and is the central point of the whole divine service. In this all agree that man by the offering of sacrifice renders to God the highest possible honor and homage. In sacrifice the interior adoration of the Divine Majesty attains its fullest expression. Sacrifice is essentially an act of adoration, and, therefore, always includes the acknowledgment of the divinity of Him to whom it is offered. It is among all acts of worship the prerogative of God, and may be offered only to the one true God. * To offer it to a creature, even to the greatest saint or the most exalted of the angels, would be heinous idolatry. At all times sacrifices have been offered to God, 2 to acknowledge in the most perfect and solemn manner His sovereignty, to express gratitude for favors, to implore fresh blessings from Him and especially to avert the scourges of His avenging justice.
3. Sacrifice in a Figurative Sense.
1. Only such acts of divine worship as contain in themselves all the essential requisites and characteristics of the idea of sacrifice as explained above, are and may be called sacrifices in their proper sense. In the religious, ascetical life virtuous acts, differing essentially from sacrifice, are often called by that name. The term sacrifice applied to such acts is not to be taken in its original and strict meaning, but is to be understood in a derivative and improper sense: acts of virtue are and are called sacrifices in a broader sense. The word sacrifice, for example, is often used figuratively to designate good, meritorious actions, inasmuch as they bear a certain resemblance and relationship to true and real sacrifices. This resemblance and relationship consists chiefly in two points : sacrifice serves to glorify God and is accomplished by the destruction of a sensible object. The various acts of virtue, therefore, resemble sacrifice in so far as they are performed with the right disposition and intention of giving glory to God 2 , and in so far as they require a certain destruction, that is, the mortification of the perverse and sensual nature of man 8 . The base, sensual, earthly, material life must be curbed and overcome, must die, so that the higher, spiritual, heavenly life of grace may be vigorously and fully developed in man. Mortification, however, is painful to man and costs labor and exertion. We are accustomed to think of this necessary renunciation and self-denial chiefly when we designate as a sacrifice individual acts of virtue, and also a life that is wholly Christian and perfect. Some examples4 may throw light upon the above and confirm what has been said.5
2. Acts of charity, works of mercy, whereby the poor and needy are assisted and consoled, are called sacrifices by the Apostle and this in so far as the Christian intends, in the person of the poor, to give something to God Himself by the alms which he bestows: "Do not forget to do good and to impart; for by such sacrifices God's favor is obtained. " l The same Apostle called the alms sent to him by the Christians of Philippi, u an odor of sweetness, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God."'2 To renounce sensual pleasures, to treat the body with rigor and austerity, is still more difficult than to forego worldly goods and possessions ; hence St. Paul exhorts the Christians "by the mercy of God that you present your bodies (through mortification) a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service."
3 A "sacrifice" which God does not reject, but graciously accepts is "an afflicted spirit," "a contrite and humble heart," that is, a spirit and a heart which, wounded with love and sorrow, penitently bewails and detests the sins and transgressions of its past life.
4 Prayer stands in intimate relation and connection with sacrifice ; for the spirit of prayer and the sentiments of the heart constitute the intrinsic being of sacrifice, the soul of the exterior rite of sacrifice. Hence, as sacrifice is called effective or real prayer (oratio realis), on the other hand, prayer is also called sacrifice. Thus the Prophet designated the prayer of praise and thanksgiving as "the sacrifice of the lips" (vituli labiorum Osee 14, 3). Referring to this the Apostle writes : "Let us offer the sacrifice of prayer always to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name." 5 In the Psalms we are invited "to offer to God the sacrifice of praise." 6
A life that is entirely consumed amid suffering and struggle, in labor and fatigue, for God and His honor, is a holocaust: "As gold in the furnace He hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them." 1 "The man also who in God's name consecrates himself wholly to God is a sacrifice, in so far as he dies to the world, to live to God." 2 A sacrifice most perfect and acceptable to the Divine Majesty is pre-eminently the renunciation and consecration of religious per* sons, who by the threefold perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, freely and cheerfully renounce the earth and its goods, the world and its pleasures, in order to devote and dedicate themselves in body and soul forever to the service of God. 3 Sacrifice in a broader sense made up the unspeakably humble and painful life of the poor, virginal and obedient Jesus, whilst His death on the Cross for the redemption of the world is a sacrifice in the strictest sense. The same cannot be said of the bloody death of the martyrs, however precious it was in the sight of the Lord; their martyrdom had not the character of a real sacrifice. The martyrs indeed (as the Church sings in the divine Office) loved Christ during life and imitated Him in their death, for God's sake they indeed offered their bodies to the torments of death and shed their blood gloriously for the Lord, thereby obtaining unfading crowns ; still they were destined neither as sacrificing priests nor as sacrificial victims to consecrate their lives to the adoration and propitiation of the Divine Majesty, but they suffered a violent death only in testimony and in defense of the truth, holiness and divinity of the Catholic faith. 4 Now, "although in the sight of the Lord the death of many saints was precious (Ps. 115, 15), yet none of these innocent victims accomplished the redemption of the world. The just received crowns of victory, but they did not bestow them ; from the fortitude of the faithful proceeded models of patience, not gifts of justice." 5
3. To sacrifice taken in a broad or figurative sense corresponds the figurative or general priesthood of all the faithful. Hence the prince of the Apostles called all Christians "a holy priesthood," chosen and qualified "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."6 The faithful constitute "a holy priesthood," in so far as they have by the sacramental character and the sacramental grace of baptism, separated themselves from sinners, being dedicated and sanctified, that by the "spiritual sacrifices" of a new and virtuous life, that is, by prayer, fervor, piety, self-denial, patience, compunction, benevolence and charity for the neighbor they may honor and glorify God. As often as we perform a good action, with an upright intention directed to God, especially if in the midst of temptation and struggle, we offer a sacrifice to God. 1 4. With sacrifice and priesthood the altar is inseparably connected. The word is also not infrequently used in a broader sense, that is, figuratively. Thus St. Augustine writes: "We are the temple of God, because He deigns to dwell in us. Our heart is His altar, when it is raised toward Him (cum ad ilium sursum est, ejus est altare cor nostrum) ; to Him we immolate bloody sacrifices (cruentas victimas), when we combat unto blood for His truth ; to Him we burn most fragrant incense (adolsuavissimum emus incensum), when we are on fire in His presence with devout and holy love ; to Him we present the sacrifice of humility and praise upon the altar of our heart in the fire of inflamed love (hostiam humilitatis et laudis in ara cordis igne fervidae charitatis)." 3 4.
The Meaning and Efficacy of the Sacrifices of the Old Law.
By the sin of our first parents, in whom all mankind fell, the original plan of salvation was frustrated. But God did not wish the unhappy world to perish in an abyss of temporal misery and eternal death; in the excess of His goodness and love, He determined to raise man from his fall and again to enrich him with gifts of grace and glory. This restoration was to be effected in the fullness of time, "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3, 24). Jesus Christ by His sacrifice on the Cross for the redemption of the world, is the salvation of all ages ; from the beginning, there was no name under heaven given to men whereby they were to be saved, other than the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Acts 4, n). Already before the Christian era no one could obtain the life of grace and eternal salvation except by adhering to Christ ; this adhesion could then be effected only by supernatural faith in the promised and coming Redeemer.
That this faith, necessary to salvation, as well as the hope and charity springing therefrom, might be within reach of all men, God always imparted His supernatural help and grace. "The mystery of the redemption was at no time inefficacious, not even in the Old Testament. It was not by a new decree nor through a later mercy that God cared for the welfare of man, but from the beginning of the world He opened and designated for all one and the same fountain of salvation. For the grace of God, whereby all the Saints have ever been justified, was merely increased at the birth of Christ, and not then first imparted. This mystery of ineffable love, which at present fills the world, was so powerfully efficacious even in all its figures, that they who believed in the promised redemption did not receive less than they who have received the gift." 1
2. Among the means of bringing man into supernatural communication with God and the expected Redeemer, sacrifices already before the coming of Christ held a prominent place, yea, the very first place. As Abel even at the threshold of Paradise, so during the patriarchal age, Noah, Melchisedech, Abraham, Jacob, offered sacrifices to God, and God graciously accepted them. Then God Himself through Moses most precisely and minutely regulated and prescribed the entire sacrificial rite of the Old Law. As the Mosaic sacrifices were celebrated by the express will and command of God, thus also were sacrifices in patriarchal times undoubtedly offered up in consequence of a clearer light and by divine inspiration ; hence the Apostle writes: "By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice exceeding that of Cain" (Heb. n, 4). In the Ceremonial of the Old Law there were bloody and unbloody sacrifices. The bloody sacrifices were the principal and the most frequent ; they again were subdivided into various kinds :
a) holocaust (holocaustum) : in this the animal to be sacrificed was entirely consumed by fire ; it was chiefly a sacrifice of praise and worship in acknowledgment of the Divine Majesty;
3 b) peaceoffering (hostia pacifica) , in which a portion of the flesh was burned, another part was eaten at the sacrificial meal by those who had offered it, and the third part was reserved for the priests ; the1 same had pre-eminently the character of thanksgiving or petition ;
3 c) offering of propitiation, called also sin or debt-offering (hostia pro peccato). In this a portion of the flesh was burned and the remainder consumed by the priests; l whenever the offering was made for the sins of the whole people, or in a particular manner for the sins of the priests, then all was burned. The sacrifice of propitiation had principally for its object to appease the wrath of God and to obtain the pardon of sin. 3. These sacrifices previous to the Christian era had mainly the meaning and object essential to every sacrifice : they were acts of adoration, gratitude, petition and atonement. But in order to be truly acceptable to God, to possess value and merit in His sight, they were to be offered with the proper dispositions, that is, the exterior rite was to be the true expression of the interior act of sacrifice, of submission, resignation, homage, worship, praise, gratitude, sorrow and compunction. In consequence of the divine dispensation, the sacrifices of the Old Law had a still higher meaning, inasmuch as they were typically to prefigure and represent the approaching sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.2 In this consisted their chief object and value. 3 The typical character of these sacrifices, which rendered them figures of the sacrifice of Christ, is beyond all doubt most exalted, for St. Paul fully explains and proves this (Hebr. 8 10). The Old Law was, indeed, "the bringing in of a better hope, by which we draw near to God" (Hebr. 7, 19), that is, the preparation for the New and Eternal Covenant. As St. Augustine teaches, 1 'in the Old Law the New was hidden, and in the New Law the Old was unfolded." 4 "In the Old Testament the New was prefigured; the former was the figure (figura), the latter is the full expression of truth (expressio veritatis)." 5 Now, if the entire Old Testament, and especially its religious rite, was figurative for the future and preparatory for Christ, should not also the sacrifices which formed the essential part of the exterior service have borne the same character and have served the same end ? The Old Law contained "only the shadow of the good things to come,,' 6 that is, the heavenly gifts of grace which Christ acquired for us and which He entrusted to the Church ; for this reason the ancient sacrifices were but shadows of the great atoning sacrifice of Redemption on Golgotha.
4. If we inquire into the efficacy of these sacrifices prior to the time of Christ, their propitiatory character is most striking. This is more clearly and forcibly evidenced in the bloody sacrifices, which were also the most frequently offered, since in the Old Law the consciousness of unpropitiated and punishable guilt was still predominant. But these bloody sacrifices had not the power of appeasing an offended and irritated God and of releasing wretched man from the crushing burden of sin. The Apostle says, indeed : "It is impossible that with the blood of oxen and goats sins should be taken away" (Heb. 10, 4), and he therefore calls those sacrifices "weak and needy elements" (Gal. 4, 9), which could by no means make the persons who offered them perfect (Heb. 10, i), that is, which could neither procure for man the pardon of sin nor effect interior purification and sanctification. The carrying out and offering (ex opere operato) of the Mosaic sacrifices imparted only the exterior or legal purification, 1 that is, they caused the Israelite to be no longer regarded as legally unclean, and he was, consequently, again permitted to take part in the public service of God. Thus these sacrifices expressed the necessity of real atonement and interior purification, and, at the same time, referred to the future sacrifice of the Cross as the only source of reconciliation, forgiveness of sin and sanctification. As these imperfect sacrifices foreshadowed, promised and pledged the perfect redeeming sacrifice of Christ, they were capable of exciting and fostering true sentiments of sacrifice, that is, they animated the Israelites to faith and hope, and disposed them to contrition and penance, which are the necessary conditions of acquiring interior justification (ex opere operantis) 2 . In the Old Law there was no sacrament which by its own power and efficacy (ex opere operato) could justify and sanctify the properly disposed recipient ; perfect contrition was then the only means left to adults of obtaining true sanctity and becoming children of God. Only by a believing hope and contrite love could men (ex opere operantis) draw remission of sin and justification beforehand from the fountain of grace which was to be opened at the foot of the Cross. Thus "the old sacrifices were varied and manifold figures of the real sacrifice of Christ, inasmuch as this one sacrifice was prefigured by many, just as when one idea is expressed in many ways, in order to make a deeper impression 1 . In this manner the eye of faith was directed to the future, the coming Sacrifice of the Redeemer was confidently and eagerly grasped by the Jews and thus the fruit of the Sacrifice of the Cross was won beforehand. For this the presentiment, the obscure knowledge of the higher meaning concealed in the sacrificial rite was sufficient ; such an understanding of what these sacrifices prefigured could not have been unknown even to the mass of the people, still less could it have been wanting to the specially favored, to whom higher lights concerning the work of redemption were imparted. 2
The
Language Used in the Celebration of the Holy Mass.
1. All the requisites for
the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice have been selected with especial
care, and nothing has been adopted but what has been found best suited unto this
end. This applies also to the language in which the Holy Sacrifice is
celebrated; for the liturgical language should correspond to its liturgical
object. The Mass considered in itself could assuredly be celebrated in any
language, but by the Providence of God the Latin language has become, and still
continues to be of all languages the most widely diffused for divine worship.
The very ancient practice of the Church of celebrating Mass in the West, not in
the living language of the country, but in a dead language, that is, in Latin,
for the most part a language unintelligible to the people, has since the twelfth
century to the present epoch been frequently made the subject of attack. Such
attacks originated principally in an heretical, schismatical, proudly national
spirit hostile to the Church, or in a superficial and false enlightenment, in a
shallow and arid rationalism entirely destitute of the perception and
understanding of the essence and object of the Catholic liturgy, especially of
the profoundly mystical sacrifice. In the attempt to suppress the Latin language
of the liturgy and to replace it by the vernacular, there was a more or less
premeditated scheme to undermine Catholic unity, to loosen the bond of union
with Rome, to weaken the Catholic spirit, to destroy the humility and simplicity
of faith. Therefore, the Apostolic See at all times most persistently and
inflexibly resisted such innovations; for it is an invariable principle of the
Church never to alter the ancient liturgical language, but inviolably to adhere
to it, even though it be no longer the living language spoken or understood by
the people. The Church likewise, when introducing the Roman liturgy among newly
converted nations, has for many centuries permitted the Latin language only.
She excommunicates all those who presume to declare the vernacular to be the
necessary or the only permissible language for the liturgy; she
stigmatizes as impertinent effrontery for any one to censure or combat the
retention of the Latin language for divine worship. This is just; for, as St.
Augustine remarks, "to question what the united Church practices as a rule is
the most daring madness." In all such general decrees and usages appertaining
to divine worship, the Church is directed and preserved from injurious blunders
by the Holy Ghost. Instead of censuring the Church on account of her practice,
that has endured more than a thousand years, of conducting her liturgical
worship in a dead language, we should rather acknowledge and admire her
supernatural wisdom; she counts her experiences by centuries: ours we can
enumerate only by days. The Church is moved by interests most sacred to
maintain and to introduce wherever she is spread in the world and receives new
nations into her pale, the Latin as the common language of her liturgy. This
conduct on her part does not rest on a discipline of secrecy. The Church does
not wish to conceal her mysteries from the faithful. It is rather her very
ardent desire that her children should understand all the wealth and beauty of
her divine worship; hence she obliges and admonishes her priests to unfold to
the people the meaning of the celebration of the mystical Sacrifice by clearly
and devoutly explaining from time to time the holy Sacrifice of the Mass with
all its ceremonies and prayers in the school-room and in the church, in the
catechetical instructions and in sermons. After the fathers of the Council of
Trent had subjected the objection raised to the Latin tongue in Church service
to thorough examination, they unanimously declared that, although the Mass
embodied a vast amount of religious instruction, they still deemed it
inexpedient that the Holy Sacrifice should be everywhere (passim) celebrated in the vernacular; that, on the contrary,
everywhere the rite (custom) authorized by the Holy Roman Church should be
maintained. But in order that the sheep of Christ may not hunger and the
children may not ask for bread without there being some one to break it unto
them, the Council commands pastors of souls, that during the celebration of Mass
they frequently explain some part of what has been read in the Mass, and that
especially on Sundays and holidays they give instruction of some mystery of this
most Holy Sacrifice. The Church acts thus, because she is persuaded that an
unchangeable and universal language for divine worship prevents, on the one
hand, much harm and danger, and, on the other hand, offers numerous advantages
for her liturgical object, as well as for her activity and efficiency in
general. These advantages are so great, that the profit the people might in a
certain respect and in some cases derive from understanding the language used in
the divine service, bears no comparison thereunto, and is far surpassed
thereby; besides said profit may be secured in some better and more sure way and
thus be easily compensated. Latin is the language almost universally employed
in the divine service all over the Catholic world; other cult languages are
comparatively but little disseminated. Only the most weighty reasons will be
given here for the use of the Latin language in the liturgy of the holy
Sacrifice of the Mass.
a) The Latin language is
consecrated by the mystic inscription attached to the Cross, as well as
sanctified by the usage of nearly two thousand years, and hence it is most
closely interwoven with the primitive Roman Catholic liturgy of the holy
Sacrifice. The inscription on the Cross: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,"
was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin (John 19, 19, 20). These were the three
principal languages of that epoch, and by divine dispensation they were, so to
say, destined and consecrated on the Cross for the liturgical use of the Church.
Through the inscription on the Cross they proclaimed to the whole world the
dignity, power and glory of the Redeemer, the royalty and dominion of grace
which He acquired by His bloody death; at the altar these languages continue to
live throughout all ages, and serve to announce and to celebrate until the end
of time the death of Christ for our redemption, whereby the reign of grace is
ever more widely extended and firmly established, the kingdom of
peace progresses ever more towards its happy consummation. In the first
centuries these three languages were employed predominantly, if not exclusively,
in the liturgical service. Of these three languages the Latin at an early date
gained the precedence; for, being the language of the Roman world, it became
throughout the West with the spread of Christianity also the language of the
liturgy. Divine Providence selected Rome as the centre of the Catholic Church;
from Rome the messengers of the faith were sent forth in all directions to
spread the light of the Gospel. Along with the grace of Christianity, together
with the Catholic faith and its divine worship the western nations also received
Latin as the Church-language; for in that tongue the Holy Mysteries were always
celebrated, though the nations recently converted spoke a different language and
did not understand Latin. Thus the language of the Mother Roman Church became
the common language of worship of all her daughters, the Catholic Christian
Churches established from Rome in the West. In the beginning Latin was
understood and spoken in many localities by the people, but it continued to be
the liturgical language even after it had been superseded by other tongues in
civil life, and had ceased to be the language of the people and of the country.
For centuries the Latin language has ceased to be spoken in the daily life and
intercourse of the world, but it will continue to live immortal by
ecclesiastical usage and in the sanctuary of divine worship unto the
consummation of ages. The most sacred reminiscences, the history and the acts of
the Catholic Church are intimately connected with it. From the beginning of
Christianity the sublime mystery of the Mass was celebrated, the sacramental
means of grace were administered, God was glorified, men were sanctified and led
to salvation in this language. It is without doubt elevating and inspiring to
offer sacrifice and pray in the very language and in the very words, whose
forcible yet sweet tones once resounded in the mouths of the primitive
Christians and our forefathers in the dark depths of the Catacombs, in the
golden areas of the ancient basilicas, and in the sumptuous cathedrals of the
Middle Age. In the Latin language of divine worship innumerable saints, bishops
and priests of all times have offered sacrifice, prayed and sung; in it the most
magnificent liturgical formulas are composed prayers of incomparable beauty and
''marvelous hymns, which echo throughout the vaults of Catholic churches, now
resounding in great exaltation or sung in soft strains of sweet joy, now weeping
in sorrow, at another time lamenting in sympathetic grief for Christ." Should
not this ancient Latin language of divine service, so venerable and hallowed in
its origin and use, be extremely dear and precious to us, so that we would not
for any price give it up or be deprived of it at the celebration of Holy Mass?
b) The
Latin language is better suited than the languages of different countries to the
celebration of divine worship, not only because it is very perfect, but
furthermore because, as a so-called dead language, it has the incomparable merit
of being at the same time unchangeable and mysterious. The genus of the Latin
language possesses great perfection: it is distinguished for its dignity and
gravity, clearness and precision, for its richness and euphony. It is,
therefore, often difficult to render the complete sense, and still more
difficult, and sometimes utterly impossible, to bring out in a translation the
beauty, the strength, the dignity, the unction, the depth and the wealth of
thought of the original Latin. To convince one's self of this, one should
compare, for example, the various translations of the Mass prayers and sequences
with the Latin text. In addition to all this, Latin is the language Urbis et Orbis (the language of the world), the official Church
language, the language of communication between the Pope and the Bishops, the
language of the Councils and of theological science. Because of such advantages
it is eminently fitted to be used the world over as the language of the Catholic
Church in the celebration of her divine worship.
Latin
survives no longer in the converse of the common people, but in the sanctuary of
the Church. As a so-called dead language, (The Oriental churches also reject
the principle, that the vernacular language of a country or people should be
used in the celebration of Holy Mass. This is proved by the most decisive facts.
The united and the schismatical Greeks celebrate the Holy Sacrifice in the
ancient Greek, which the people do not understand) it is unchangeable, while the
languages of the people undergo constant improvement and remodeling, and are
ever liable to go on progressing and altering. What would become of liturgical
books, if, with time and the changes of the vernacular, they were subjected to
perpetual change and reconstruction By such necessary, incessant remodeling and
alteration of the liturgical formulas of prayer, the original text and context
would lose not only much of their incomparable force and beauty, but often
notwithstanding strict surveillance on the part of the Church would be
disfigured and spoiled by circumlocutions, interpolations, omissions,
incorrectness, errors and misrepresentations. Hence it would be impossible to
preserve and maintain uniformity of divine worship at different times among even
one and the same people, much less throughout the world. All these
inconveniences are obviated by the use of an unchangeable language for divine
worship. In the unchangeableness of the Latin for divine worship the Roman
Missal appears as an intangible and inviolable sanctuary, deserving of
admiration and profound respect.
Since the Latin language
has been withdrawn from daily life, from the ordinary intercourse of mankind,
since it is not heard on the street or in the market-place, it possesses in the
eyes of the faithful a holy, venerable, mystic character. Under this aspect also
it is eminently suited for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
which in itself comprises many mysteries. The celebration of this mystic
Sacrifice fittingly calls for a language elevated, majestic, dignified and
consecrated; religious sentiment demands this, and the Latin tongue answers this
requirement. Just as the silent saying of the Canon, so also the use of a
sanctified cult language, different from that of profane intercourse, points to
the unfathomable and unspeakable depth of the mystery of the altar, and protects
it against contempt and desecration. The majesty of the divine worship depends,
indeed, chiefly on the devout, dignified and reverential The Abyssinians and
Armenians celebrate Holy Mass respectively in the ancient Ethiopian and the
ancient Armenian, understood only by the learned. The same holds good with
regard to the Syrians and Egyptians, who celebrate Holy Mass in the ancient
Syrian, and also with regard to the Melchites and Georgians (Caucasian province)
who at Holy Mass make use of the ancient Greek. The same is observed by the
Russians, although Greek is not the language of the people, who speak only a
Slavonian dialect. Here we may also refer to the practice of the Church in the
Old Law. Up to the time of Christ and the Apostles, the ancient Hebrew was the
language of the Patriarchs, the cult language, although no longer understood by
the Jewish nation, who after the Babylonian Captivity made use of the
SyroChaldaic idiom. It was this divine worship in the ancient Hebrew that our
Lord and His disciples attended, thus actually approving a language for divine
worship that was not the language of the people. Neither the Lord nor His
Apostles designated or censured this as an abuse. The use of a particular cult
language, differing from the ordinary current and spoken language, was,
therefore, practiced for a long time in the Church of the Old Testament, and was
unequivocally approved of by the conduct of our Saviour and of His Apostles.
(Cf. Augsburg.
Pastoralblatt, Jahrg. 1877, S. 166.)
demeanor of the
celebrant; but the liturgical language contributes also its share thereunto, and
a foreign language is suitable, in a measure, to veil the defects and repulsive
routine of many a priest, and to prevent them from appearing so glaring.
Thus the Latin language elevated above the
time and place of every day life, is a mystic veil for the Adorable mysteries of
the Holy Sacrifice, which here below we acknowledge only in the clear obscurity
of faith, but whose clear vision shall be our portion in heaven as a recompense
for our humble faith. The use of the Latin language in nowise prevents the
faithful from participating in the fruits of the Sacrifice,
notwithstanding assertions to the contrary. The demand that the Mass should
everywhere be celebrated in the vernacular, is based for the most part on
ignorance, or on an entire misconception of the real nature and object of the
Eucharistic Sacrifice. The liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice contains "much that is
instructive" (magnam
eruditionem Trident.), but instruction is
by no means its principal object. The altar is not a pulpit, the Holy Mass is
not primarily a doctrinal lecture or an instruction to the people. The Sacrifice
is essentially a liturgical action performed by the priest for propitiating and
glorifying God, as well as for the salvation of the faithful. In this sacrifice
the Christian people should take a lively part, full of profit to themselves,
and they should in spiritual union with the celebrating priest plus medullis cordis quam labiis
vocis more with the heart than with the
lips join in prayer and sacrifice. And this is not possible for them to do
without some understanding of the liturgical celebration; for "although devotion
consists principally in an abundance of devout sentiments and, consequently,
belongs more to the heart than to the understanding, there is, however, no
perfect devotion without the enlightenment of the understanding. But in order to
acquire the requisite knowledge to join in devout union with the priest
celebrating the Mass, various means are at the disposal of Catholics; the
celebration of the Church service in the vernacular is not at all requisite
therefore, and would oftentimes prove of little or no avail. By means of oral
teaching, with the aid of books of instruction and devotion, every Christian may
obtain a sufficient knowledge of the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice, of the
prayers which the priest recites at the altar. For this purpose the mere recital
of formulas of prayer in the vernacular by the celebrant would not suffice: for
in many cases, for example, in large churches, at High Mass, or when several
priests celebrate at the same time, it would be impossible, or at least
disedifying, to pray so loud at the altar that all present could distinctly hear
and understand the words of the officiating priest. Even if they did understand
the words which the priest sings or recites at the altar, but little would be
attained for the real understanding of the sense; for the formulas of the Mass,
taken principally from Holy Scripture, are often mystical and difficult to
comprehend; the mere rendering of them into the vernacular would not always
disclose the hidden meaning, and the translation might often be the occasion of
misconceptions, of misunderstandings, it might arouse the desire for disputation
and dangerous hypercriticism.
When man subjects science
and any perfection whatever totally to God, his devotion is thereby increased;
therefore, a clear, profound, comprehensive knowledge of the Holy Sacrifice and
its prayers is without doubt very useful and greatly to be recommended. The
prayers of the Church are to be preferred to all private prayers; they are the
sweetest manna, the most solid nourishment of the soul. Therefore, it is very
desirable that the faithful should assiduously strive to increase more and more
their knowledge of the precious treasure of the liturgical prayers, to the end
that they may join their voices in prayer the more intimately and perfectly with
the voice of the Church at the altar. The mere understanding of the prayers
which the priest utters or sings does not assuredly suffice to enable us to
share abundantly in the advantages and the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Mass.
The most perfect disposition for this is a lively faith, fervent love, sincere
compunction, profound reverence and devotion, humility of heart, a longing for
mercy and help. Such devout sentiments may exist independently of the knowledge
of the particular Mass prayers, and are produced by the worthy, holy and
mysterious Sacrifice, which, having a varied symbolical character, possesses,
therefore, a peculiar, significant and eloquent language of its own. This
language can be perfectly understood only by him who, by previous instruction,
has learned the purpose and meaning of the ceremonies of the Church. Latin is,
therefore, no hindrance to the Catholic Christian, preventing him
from deriving from the source of the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice life, light
and warmth, in order to nourish his piety and devotion. It serves rather to
awaken a holy awe and reverence in his heart in the presence of the obscure
mysteries of the Divine Sacrifice.
c) As a
universal language of worship, Latin is an admirable means not only of
presenting, but also of preserving and promoting the unity and harmony of the
Church in divine worship, in divine faith, and in
conduct.
a)
The unity of the liturgy for all time and place can be perfectly maintained only
inasmuch as it is always and everywhere celebrated in the same language. By the
introduction of the various national languages, the uniformity and harmony of
Catholic worship would be imperiled and, in a measure, rendered impossible. How
beautiful and sublime is that uniform celebration of the Holy Sacrifice in the
Catholic Church from the rising to the setting of the sun! Thus every priest is
enabled to celebrate Mass, over the whole world, no matter what country he
visits. And "how consoling is it not for a devout Catholic, whilst dwelling in a
foreign land in the midst of strangers, hearing no sounds but those of an
unknown tongue, to able at least when assisting at the celebration of divine
service, to hear again the words of a language which, as the accents of a second
mother-tongue he has listened to from childhood in his native country? He feels
then as though he were in a spiritual home, in a universal fatherland of the
faith, and for the moment he forgets that he is dwelling in a strange place."
Thus travel on our altars "the same prayers in the same language all around the
globe. When the sun rises and the morning flush shows itself on the mountain
tops, we awaken, and the celebration of Mass begins with these same prayers and
continues until noon. Then other countries have their morning, and take up the
same Sacrifice with the same prayers. And when in the evening the sun sinks
beneath the horizon, it rises in another part of the globe, and the same
Sacrifice is there repeated with its identical prayers.”
b) The
unity of the liturgical language and of the divine worship in the Church is,
therefore, a very efficient means for preserving the integrity of faith. The
liturgy is, indeed, the main channel by which dogmatic tradition is transmitted;
dogma is the root of all ecclesiastical life, of discipline and of worship.
Worship is developed out of the doctrine of faith; in the liturgical prayers, in
the rites and ceremonies of the Church the truths of Catholic faith find their
expression, and can be established and proved therefrom. But the more fixed,
unchangeable and inviolable the liturgical formula of prayer is, the better it
is adapted to preserve intact and to transmit unimpaired the original deposit of
faith. Therefore, all the primitive liturgies proclaim and prove that our faith
is in perfect harmony with that of the first ages of the Church.
c) Unity of liturgical
language and the consequent uniformity of divine worship form, finally, a strong
bond for uniting indissolubly the churches dispersed all over the world, among
themselves and with their common centre the Roman Church, the chief and
Mother-Church of them all. The bond of a universal language of worship, which
embraces the head and the members of the Church, supports and promotes
everywhere the unity and the common life and operation of the Church. History
confirms this; for it proves that a difference of liturgies, that is, the
introduction of national languages into the liturgy, frequently gave or
threatened to give rise to heresy and schism. We need only recall to mind the
eastern nations, which, for the most part, have a ritual of their own and in the
liturgy make use of a language different from the Latin. While, therefore, the
use of the various national languages for divine service is peculiar to the
sects and to national churches, the use of the Latin as the common language for
divine worship harmonizes perfectly with the essence, the object and
the workings of the Catholic Church. In her bosom we behold how the Holy Ghost
has "gathered all the nations from out of the Babel of tongues into the unity of
faith." Being formed of "all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues," she
constitutes but one family of God, one kingdom of Christ, a kingdom not of this
world, but exalted above every nation of the earth. Therefore, it is proper that
the Church, when celebrating divine worship, when offering the divine Sacrifice,
should make use not of the language of some one single country or nation, but of
a language that is universal, consecrated and sanctified. Thus at the altar it
is a figure of the heavenly Jerusalem, where all the angels and saints in unison
(una voce) sing their "Holy, holy, holy" and Alleluia.
Jesus
Christ Himself offered the first Eucharistic Sacrifice in the Supper Room of
Jerusalem, and this in close connection with the eating of the Paschal Lamb of
the Old Testament. At the same time He ordered the celebration of this Sacrifice
in His Church for all times, when He gave to the Apostles and their successors
in the priestly office the command and the power to do the same as He had done.
After the example and by the order of Christ, the Apostles celebrated everywhere
on their missionary journeys the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In all probability they
did not celebrate it for the first time previous to Whitsunday, but they most
likely did so on that grand day, when the Holy Ghost descended on the infant
Church; this view is made evident by the fact that the Holy Ghost performs
forever the mystery of the Consecration as He once did the mystery of the
Incarnation. Christ's example was the norm for the Apostles; at the celebration
of the Sacrifice they did, first, only that which Christ had done before.
According to His directions and under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost they
observed other things besides, namely, according to circumstances of time and
place, to the simple, essential act of sacrifice they added various prayers and
observances, in order to celebrate the Holy Mysteries as worthily and as
edifyingly as possible.
Those constituent portions
of the sacrificial rite, which are found in all the ancient liturgies, have
incontestably their origin from Apostolic times and tradition; such, for
example, as the preparatory prayers, the readings from Holy Scripture, the
Psalms, the offering of bread and wine mixed with water, the supplications for
the living and the dead, the Offertory prayers and the words added to those of
the Consecration, the reference to the death and resurrection of Christ, the
Lord's Prayer, the sign of the Cross, the kiss of peace, the fraction and
distribution of the Host, the thanksgiving after Communion. The Apostles, who
had been instructed by the Lord Himself in the mysteries of the kingdom of God,
and were filled with the Holy Ghost, assuredly observed a fixed order in the
daily celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, although they did not establish and
bequeath a written liturgy.
The
first offering of the Holy Sacrifice by our Lord was the rule and the model for
the Apostles; and the essential and fundamental features of the sacrificial
rite, introduced and enlarged upon by the Apostles, were preserved with fidelity
and reverence in the churches founded by them and their successors; but in the
course of time, according as it was deemed necessary or expedient, it was always
more and more developed, enriched and perfected, yet after a different manner,
in the various churches of the East and West. “The Lord never ceases to be
present to His beloved Spouse the Church, never fails to be at her side in her
office of teaching and to accompany her in her operation with His blessing,"
consequently, He had the power, as He also had the will, to bequeath to the
chiefs and shepherds of the Church the right to give to the Sacrifice instituted
by Himself the most natural and the wisest development and the best adapted
form, that is, to give it due liturgical form and solemnity.
1.
Thus there originated in different places, at different times and among
different nations also different liturgies, that is, ecclesiastical formulas for
the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In the main features, in the
essential points of the Sacrifice, all these various rites of the Mass agree;
but in the rest they all differ more or less, both in substance as well as in
construction. With regard to their origin and their affinity, they may be
divided into different classes; in general they are divided into two extensive
groups the liturgies of the East and the liturgies of the West. This division is
warranted and well grounded, for the Eastern liturgies are characteristically
distinguished from those of the West, not only by reason of their country and
language, but also because of their spirit, contents and form. The liturgies of
the East have a more stable, unchangeable character, since the same divine
praises, the same petitions and thanksgivings are nearly always repeated; they
present very little variety in the daily celebration of the ecclesiastical year.
The liturgies of the West, on the contrary, exhibit a greater variety, fresh
life and constant progress, for the celebration of the ecclesiastical feasts and
seasons is most intimately connected and interwoven with the Holy Sacrifice.
While the Oriental liturgies, for the most part, contain more lengthy prayers, a
greater abundance of symbolical customs and acts, the Western, and especially
the Roman-Latin rite, is marked by a significant brevity, as well as by a
dignified simplicity and a marvellous sublimity in word and
action.
While
the liturgies of the East are very numerous, there are but few in the West. The
principal are the Mozarabic, the ancient Gallic, the Ambrosian and Roman
liturgies. The last named has at all times had the precedence, and is now found
in all parts of the world. Already Pope Innocent I. (402 417)? in writing to
Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio, about ritual matters, traces the origin of the
Roman liturgy to the Prince of the Apostles: "Who does not know," he writes,
"that what has been handed down by Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, to the
Roman Church is still observed unto this day, and must be observed by all?" St.
Peter, consequently, must be regarded (in a more general sense) as the founder
of the Roman liturgy, for the method of celebration followed and introduced by
him was, without doubt, the essential and permanent foundation for its later
development and form. "This liturgy, as yet a tender plant, was brought by St.
Peter, the Prince of the Church, into the garden of the Roman Church, where by
his nursing care and that of his successors, assisted by the Holy Ghost, it has
grown to a large tree, and although the trunk has long ago attained its full
growth, it nevertheless shoots forth in every century new branches and new
blossoms" (Kossing).
The
most ancient written inventories of the Roman liturgy we possess in three
Sacramentaries, which bear the names of Pope Leo I. (440 461), Gelasius I. (492
496) and Gregory I. (590 604) ( Sacramentarium Leonianum,
Gelasianum, Greg-orianum) . These
Sacramentaries contain a precious treasure of liturgical traditions, which date
from the most ancient period of the Roman Church. The above named Popes deserve
well of the liturgy, inasmuch as they faithfully preserved the ancient formulas,
and, at the same time, enriched and perfected them with additions suitable to
the times. Our Missal is principally derived from the Sacrameutary of St.
Gregory the Great. Under him the Canon of the Mass received its last addition.
The rest of the constituent parts of the Roman liturgy of the Mass (the Introit,
the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Collect, the Epistle, the Gradual, the Gospel, the
Secreta, the Preface, the Pater Noster, the Communion and the Post-Communion)
date back at least to the fifth or even the fourth century. Toward the close of
the Middle Age the Missals were much disfigured by particular changes and
unsuitable additions, so that there was urgent need of a reform. This was
accomplished under the Popes Pius V. (1560 1572), Clement VIII. (1592 1605) and
Urban VIII. (1623 1644), who carefully revised and corrected the Missal. Thus
the Gregorian Rite was, as far as possible, restored to its original purity,
simplicity and dignity, while at the same time the desired unity of divine
worship was brought about.
2.
Thus has the Church in the course of time set the jewel of the Holy Sacrifice in
the most magnificent manner with heavenly wisdom and skill for the praise of God
and the edification of the faithful, by surrounding it with the precious
decorations of holy prayers, of holy hymns, lessons and ceremonies. She has
enveloped the celebration of the adorable Sacrifice in a mystic veil, in order
to fill the hearts and minds of the faithful with religious awe and profound
reverence, and to urge them to earnest, pious contemplation and meditation. The
beauty, the worth and the perfection of the Roman liturgy of the Mass are
universally acknowledged and admired. Father Faber styles the Church's Rite of
the Holy Sacrifice "the most beautiful thing this side of heaven," and, as he
remarks, "it came forth out of the grand mind of the Church, and lifted us out
of earth and out of self, and wrapped us round in a cloud of mystical sweetness
and the sublimities of a more than angelic liturgy, and purified us almost
without ourselves, and charmed us with celestial charming, so that our very
senses seem to find vision, hearing, fragrance, taste and touch, beyond what
earth can give." The Church prayers of the liturgy are superior to all other
prayers;
Nor in fact can any human
genius hope to attain their beauty and sublimity. In these two qualities, the
Mass differs from all other offices in a remarkable manner. It has not merely
flights of eloquence and poetry strikingly displayed in particular prayers, but
it is sustained throughout in the higher sphere, to which its divine purpose
naturally raises it. If we examine each prayer separately, it is perfect;
perfect in construction, perfect in thought, and perfect in expression. If we
consider the manner in which they are brought together, we are struck with the
brevity of each, with the sudden but beautiful transitions, and the almost
stanza-like effect, with which they succeed one another, forming a lyrical
composition of surpassing beauty. If we take the entire service, as a whole, it
is constructed with the most admirable symmetry, proportioned in its parts with
perfect judgment and so exquisitely arranged, as to excite and preserve an
unbroken interest in the sacred action. No doubt, to give full force and value
to this sacred rite, its entire ceremonial is to be considered. The assistants,
with their noble vestments, the chant, the incense, the more varied ceremonies
which belong to a solemn Mass, are all calculated to increase veneration and
admiration. But still, the essential beauties remain, whether the holy rite be
performed under the golden vault of St. Peter's, with all the pomp and
circumstance befitting its celebration by the Sovereign Pontiff, or in a
wretched wigwam, erected in haste by some poor savages for their missionary"
(Wiseman).
"That
overruling influence of the Spirit of God, that directs even in secondary
matters the affairs of the visible Church, nowhere else appears so marked and
evident as in the arrangement of the rite of the Holy Mass, which, although only
monumental, yet in its present state forms such a beautiful, perfect whole, yea,
a splendid work, that it excites the admiration of every reflecting mind. Even
the bitterest adversaries of the Church do not deny it; unprejudiced, aesthetic
judges of good taste admit that even from their own standpoint the Mass is to be
classed as one of the greatest masterpieces ever composed. Thus the momentous
sacrifice is encompassed with magnificent ceremonies; it is our duty to study to
penetrate more and more into their meaning, and to expound what we have learned
to the people according to their capacity" (Oswald).
The
Roman liturgy has for some centuries been a complete masterpiece of art,
wonderful in the harmony and union of its parts. The most sacred and venerable
prayers and chants, breathing religious fervor and tenderness, follow most
ingeniously upon one another, and together with the most appropriate and
significant actions and ceremonies, form a beautiful whole, serving as a
protecting garment and a worthy ornament to the divine mystery of the Holy
Sacrifice. Their language, for its kind and object, cannot be surpassed; for it
is biblical, ancient, simple, grave, dignified, solid, full of the spirit of
faith, humility and devotion, and penetrated with the perfume of piety and
holiness.
3. This
glorious rite of the Sacrifice of the Mass is an unfailing mine of religious
instruction and edification; it is like an immensely rich mine, where always new
gold veins are disclosed to the searching look. Even if we were to devote our
entire life to considering in our meditations and prayers the mystical liturgy
of the Mass, there would still remain for our heart and mind new treasures,
still new riches would reveal themselves and new beauties would be disclosed.
And yet though it be so deep and impenetrable as to prove inexhaustible to even
the greatest contemplative saint, it is, at the same time, so clear and easy of
comprehension, that the most artless child as well as the most simple of the
faithful finds therein light, incentive, strength and nourishment for his
religious life. But is this precious liturgical treasure valued and turned to
good account, as it deserves to be, by the ministers of the Church, in other
words, do they study it for their own sanctification and make it available to
the faithful in the school, in catechetical instructions and sermons?"
"The
liturgy is a constant mysterious sermon, but it is by the mouth of the priest
that the laity must learn to understand its language. Without liturgical
instruction the participation of the faithful in the functions of divine worship
will be in many instances only external and mechanical. The mighty stream of the
ecclesiastical year flows by, the faithful stand on its bank, they look on, and
of its waters they receive but a few drops which the waves of themselves cast
upon the shore" (Amberger).
In order to discover the
true and full meaning of the rite of the Mass, we must view it from the proper
standpoint, and be guided by those correct maxims which give the sense of the
liturgical words and actions. It is self-evident that that unecclesiastical view
is to be rejected which, while discarding all the higher and mystical sense,
seeks to explain the mysterious liturgy after a mere natural or historic manner,
by trying to ascribe all ceremonies exclusively to reasons of necessity,
expedience and propriety. Yet, on the other hand, in the mystical explanation of
the liturgy the opposite mistake is to be avoided, which consists in giving
arbitrary explanations without regard to the intentions of the Church, and in
indulging in silly trifles and affected subtleties.
The
Church herself applies symbolical meanings in her liturgy; therefore, in
explaining the liturgy we must, above all things, attend to what the Church
would express by her ceremonies. "Since by reason of his nature man is so
constituted that without exterior aid he cannot easily rise to the contemplation
of divine things, the Church, as a devoted Mother, has, therefore, introduced
into her liturgy certain usages, as, for example, that some portions of the Mass
should be recited in a low tone, others in a loud tone of voice. In like manner
certain ceremonies, for instance, the mystical blessings, the use of lights,
incense, vestments and many things of that nature, she employs by Apostolic
prescription and tradition, in order both to manifest thereby the majesty of the
great Sacrifice, as well as to animate the minds of the faithful by these
visible signs of religion and piety to the consideration of the sublime
mysteries hidden within this Sacrifice."
The
ceremonies of the liturgy of the Mass, accordingly, have in general for their
purpose a twofold object; in the first place they are intended to enhance and
adorn the celebration of Mass, to serve for the honor and the worship of God;
then, too, they are designed as a means to place before the eyes of the faithful
in a lively manner the sublimity, the holiness and the efficacy of the
Sacrifice, that the faithful, being thereby moved to sentiments of devotion, may
be better disposed in heart to glorify God and to obtain grace. Now the honor of
God and the sanctification of man invariably constitute the principal object of
all liturgical acts, and this, consequently, in their explanation must be always
kept in the foreground; whatever is instructive therein is merely subordinate,
and should be made to serve the main object.
The
different ceremonies may, according to their object and signification, be more
succinctly grouped into three classes.
a) All
the ceremonies of Mass conduce to the order, beauty and adornment of divine
worship. Now while some ceremonies, nay, even many, have yet a higher mystical
meaning, others are prescribed merely to invest the celebration of divine
worship with decorum, dignity and reverence. The latter ceremonies are based
merely on a just regard to propriety, decorum and suitableness. To this class
belongs, for example, the prescription that the priest approach the altar with
downcast eyes and measured step; that he place the left hand on his breast when
making the sign of the Cross; that he turn toward the faithful, when greeting or
blessing them.
b) Most of the ceremonies
are outward forms of worship, that is, they are the outcome of an interior
emotion, expressions of religious thought and sentiments. Among these are the
different positions and movements of the body, of the members of the body, for
example, the bending of the knee, the striking of the breast, the bowing of the
body and the head, the raising up and the joining of the hands. Such acts are
outward signs which express, accompany and awaken devout sentiments of the
heart; for instance, sentiments of adoration, humility, desire, sorrow and
confidence. "They who pray, bend the knee, raise the hands or prostrate
themselves to the ground, thereby expressing outwardly what they feel inwardly.
Their invisible will and the intention of their heart is indeed known to God,
and their interior sentiments need not be made known to Him by such signs; but
by their means we are to pray and sigh more humbly and more ardently; and
although these bodily motions are made through a previous impulse of the heart,
nevertheless, the emotion of the heart is, I know not how, again increased by
these exterior signs, which it had produced, and the interior devotion, which
preceded them, grows more intense through the exterior devotion which it had
brought forth."
c) A
third group is prescribed especially because of their symbolical signification;
these ceremonies are destined prominently to indicate the mysteries of Christian
faith and life. To this class, for example, belong the mixing of wine and water,
the washing of the hands at the Offertory, the placing of the hands over the
oblation before the Consecration, the breaking of the Host and the dropping of a
small particle of it into the chalice, the frequent making of the sign of the
Cross, the use of lights and incense.
Accordingly the ceremonies of the liturgy in the
intention of the Church serve not merely for the proper, the worthy and the
edifying celebration of the Sacrifice, but also for the exterior honor of God,
of the Eucharistic Saviour, of the saints, of relics and pictures, as well as
for the symbolical expression of the different mysteries. These different
objects do not exclude one another, but are often united together in one and the
same liturgical act, for example, sometimes in the use of the sign of the Cross,
the honor paid the Cross. Along with the natural reason and object of a ceremony
the Church not unfrequently combines a higher, mystical sense.
Finally, we must not overlook in the ceremonies their
sacramental character, which consists in this that they in their own way produce
spiritual effects and obtain divine grace.
4.
Catholic ceremonies, therefore, are not the relics of heathen or Jewish customs,
but Apostolic and ecclesiastical ordinances, forms of worship created and
pervaded by a higher spirit. Consequently, the priest should highly esteem and
love them, and therefore perform them with punctuality and dignity. St. Teresa
was ready to sacrifice her life for even the least ceremony of the Church. In
the service of the Almighty, in the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass even the
smallest thing has its meaning and importance; and, therefore, the Church has so
exactly and minutely regulated by her rubrics the entire deportment of the
priest at the altar. Whosoever conscientiously complies with these
ecclesiastical regulations, has the special merit of practising the virtue of
obedience in all his actions and movements when celebrating. To all applies the
admonition of the Apostle: "Glorify and bear God in your body!" (i Cor. 6,
20
Tanta gravitate, tanto religionis
cultu (sacerdotes) Missae sacrificium celebrent, ut per visibilem ministri
pietatem invisibilia aeterni sacerdotis mysteria conspiciantur. Nihil igitur
obiter in hac divina actione, nihil perfunctorie, nihil praecipitanter, nihil
inconditis gestibus, omnia vero graviter, otnnia secundum ordinem fiant, juxta
receptos et approbates Ecclesiae ritus, qui vel in minimis sine peccato negligi,
omitti vel mutari baud possunt (Concil.
prov. Quebec. II, a. 1854).
A
modest demeanor and a becoming exterior, regulated according to the requirements
of reason and faith, honors God, edifies our neighbor and promotes our own
spiritual life. Therefore, the priest at the altar should, above all, not
neglect the exterior. In his whole deportment should be reflected his faith, his
reverence, his recollection of mind, his heartfelt
devotion.
The
Council of Trent gives this Admonition:
What
great care is to be taken to celebrate Holy Mass with all religious solemnity
and devotion, every one will easily understand, when he reflects that in Holy
Scripture a curse is pronounced upon those who do the work of God negligently.
Since
we must confess that the faithful can perform no action so holy and so divine as
this adorable mystery, in which that life-giving Victim, which has reconciled us
with God the Father, is daily offered by the priest on the altar. It is, then,
self-evident that all pains and care should be taken to perform this Sacrifice
with the greatest purity of heart and with all the marks of exterior devotion
and piety." The priest at the altar should render to God in the name of the
Church a homage of the highest veneration: in the first place, interiorly by
acts of faith, of hope, love, humility, contrition, praise, thanksgiving and
petition; then also exteriorly by bows, by genuflections, by striking his
breast, raising his hands and eyes, kissing the altar and many other
ceremonies. All these acts should be performed with devotion, reverence and
dignity in the presence of God and of His holy angels, otherwise they become
occasions of distraction, of scandal and of all manner of irreverence.
From
historical and, at the same time, from objective reasons the liturgical
celebration of the Mass may be divided into two
parts.
1) into
the general, preparatory divine service (Missa catechumenorum) and
2) into the particular,
real sacrificial worship (Missa fidelium), which admits of a three-fold subdivision (the
Offertory, the Consecration and the Communion).
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