The Roman Canon: Origin and Development IV

Meal Berakoth 1

Blessed be thou, JHWH, our God, King of the universe, who givest us this fruit of the vine. 2

Blessed be thou, JHWH, our God, King of the universe, who bringest forth bread from the earth. 3

L.: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R.: Blessed be he whose generosity has given us food and whose kindness has given us life. 4

Blessed be thou, JHWH, our God, King of the universe, who feedest the world with goodness, with grace and mercy, who givest food to all flesh for thou nourishest and sustainest all beings and providest food for all thy creatures. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who givest food to all.

We thank thee, JHWH, our God, for a desirable, good and ample land which thou was pleased to give to our fathers, and for thy covenant which thou hast marked in our flesh, and for the Torah which thou hast given us, and for life, grace, mercy and food which thou hast lent us in every season. And for all this, JHWH, our God, we thank thee and bless thy name. Blessed be thy name upon us continually and for ever. Blessed be thou, JHWH, for the land and for the food.

Have mercy, JHWH, our God, upon thy people Israel, upon thy city Jerusalem, upon Zion, the abiding place of thy glory, upon the kingdom of the house of David thine annointed, and upon the great and holy house that was called by thy name. Feed us, nourish us, sustain us, provide for us, relieve us speedily from our anxieties, and let us not stand in need of the gifts of mortals, for their gifts are small and their reproach is great, for we have trusted in thy holy, great and fearful name. And may Elijah and the Messiah, the son of David come in our life-time, and let the kingdom of the house of David return to its place, and reign thou over us, thou alone, and save us for thy name’s sake, and bring us up in it and gladden us in it and comfort us in Zion thy city. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who rebuildest Jerusalem. 5

[SPECIAL FORM: Our God, and the God of our fathers, may the remembrance of ourselves and of our fathers and the remembrance of Jerusalem, thy city, and the remembrance of the Messiah, the son of David, thy servant, and the remembrance of thy people, the whole house of Israel, arise and come, come to pass, be seen and accepted and heard, be remembered and be mentioned before thee for deliverance, for good, for grace, for lovingkindness and for mercy on this such and such a day. Remember us, JHWH, our God, on it for good and visit us on it for blessing and save us on it unto life by a word of salvation and mercy, and spare, favour and show us mercy, for thou art a gracious and merciful God and King.] 6

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1 “Neither the Mishnah nor the Tefillah give us a complete test, which is not to be found before the Seder Amram Gaon. But they multiply allusions to the content of the formulas from the earliest times, which act as a guarantee for us of the substantial conformity between the text still in use today and the ancient practice.”(Bouyer 82)

2 “The obligatory prelude of the meal was the ritual hand-washing with which the Jews also began their day. Then, in a ceremonial meal, each person upon arriving drank a first cup of wine, repeating for himself this” text. “This is the first cup mentioned by St. Luke in his account of the Last Supper”. (Bouyer 79)

3 “[The] meal did not officially begin until the father of the family or the presiding member of the community had broken the bread which was given to the participants, with this blessing.” “It was looked upon as a general blessing for the whole meal that was to follow, and no one who arrived later was allowed to partake.” “The courses and cups of wine then followed, and each person in turn pronounced a series of blessings. The Passover meal was distinguished simply by special foods, bitter herbs and the lamb, which were used together with the special corresponding prayers and the dialogued recitation of the haggadah, i.e. a kind of traditional homily on the origin and the ever fresh sense of the feast.” Bouyer thinks that the haggadah becomes central to the placement of the Instituion Narrative within the berakoth. (Bouyer 80, 157)

4 “In every case, however, the essentail ritual act came at the end of the meal.” On holy days celebrated on the eve a lamp was lit, which is the origin of the ancient Christian use of the lucernarium and has survived into our own day in the blessing of the paschal candle. Then incense was blessed and burned. Then a second general hand-washing takes place. The servant would bring an ewer to the master of the house or the one who presided, though when a servant was not available then the youngest at the table would do so. This is the origin of John the Beloved Disciple bringing the ewer to Jesus. Jesus then turns to Peter who is considered the most worthy after himself and washed not only his hands but his feet. “It is after these preliminaries that the presider, with the cup of wine mixed with water before him, solemnly invited those assisting to join in with his act of thanksgiving.” (Bouyer 80-81)

5 Bouyer 82-83.

6 The Seder Amram Gaon prescribes certain variations of the third berakah either for Sabbath or a high holy day. What is most remarkable about this text is the extensive use of the Hebrew word zikkaron (remembrance). This gives a context to the command of Jesus to “do this in remembrance of me”. The term also recalls the Temple sacrifices when we see the connection to the Abodah prayer. The idea of memorial is also prevalent there and this prayer arises from those that originally consecrated the Temple sacrifices. (Bouyer 84-85)

The Roman Canon: Origin and Development III

The Tefillah of the Shemoneh Esreh 1

JHWH, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise!

Aboth:
Blessed be thou, JHWH, our God and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac and God of Jacob, the great, mighty and revered God, the most high God, who bestowest lovingkindness, possessest all things and remeberest the pious deeds of the fathers, and wilt bring a redeemer to their children’s children for thy name’s sake, in love, King, Helper, Saviour and Shield. Blessed be thou, JHWH, the Shield of Abraham.

Geburoth:
Thou art mighty forever, JHWH, thou quickenest the dead, thou art mighty to save, and thou causest the dew to fall (who causest the wind to blow and the rain to fall), who sustainest the living with lovingkindness, quickenest the dead with great mercy, supportest the falling, healest the sick, loosest them that are bound and keepest faith to them that sleep in the dust. Who is like unto thee, Lord of mighty acts, and who resembleth thee, King, who killest and quickenest and causest salvation to spring forth. And faithful art thou to quicken the dead, Blessed be thou, JHWH, who quickenest the dead.

Keter 2:
Unto thee shall the multitudes above with all the gatherings below give a crown, all with one accord shall thrice repeat the holy praise unto thee, according to what is said through the prophet: and one cried unto another and said: Holy, holy, holy is JHWH of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. Then with noise of great rushing, mighty and strong, they make their voices heard, and upraising themselves towards them, they say: blessed, blessed be the glory of JHWH from his place.

From thy place shine forth, our King, and reign over us, for we wait upon thee. When wilt thou reign? Reign in Zion speedily, even in our days and in our lives do thou dwell (there). Mayest thou be magnified and sanctified in the midst of Jerusalem thy city throughout all generations and to all eternity. And let our eyes behold they kingdom, according to the word that was spoken in the songs of thy might by David, thy righteous annointed: JHWH shall reign for ever, thy God, Zion, unto all generations. Hallelujah.

Qedushat ha-Shem:
From generation to generation give homage to God for he alone is high and holy, and thy praise, our God, shall not depart from our mouth for ever, for a great and holy king art thou. Blessed be thou JHWH, thou holy God.

Binah:
Thou favorest man with knowledge and teachest a human being understanding. Favour us with knowledge, understanding and discernment from thee. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who graciously bestowest knowledge.

Teshubah:
Cause us to return, our Father, unto thy Torah, and draw us near, our King, unto thy service, and bring us back in perfect repentance before thee. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who delightest in repentance.

Selishah:
Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, our King, for we have transgressed, for thou art good and forgiving. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who art gracious and dost adundantly forgive.

Geullah:
Look upon our affliction and plead our cause, and redeem us speedily for thy Name’s sake; for thou art a mighty Redeemer. Blessed be thou, JHWH, the Redeemer of Israel.

Refnah:
Heal us, JHWH, and we shall be healed; save us and we shall be saved, and grant a perfect healing to all our wounds; for thou, God, art a merciful Physician. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who healest the sick of thy people Israel.

Birkat ha-shanim:
Bless this year unto us, JHWH, our God for (our) welfare (and give dew and rain for blessing upon the face of the earth, and wind on the land, and satisfy the whole world by the goodness and fill our hands from thy blessings and from the riches of the gifts of they hands, and watch and rescue this year from all evil and from all destruction and from all calamity, and make it a hope, and let the end of it be peace. Spare us, and have mercy upon us and upon all the produce of it, and upon all the fruits of it, and bless it like (good) years with blessing of dew, and life, and plenty, and peace). Blessed be thou, JHWH, who blessest the years.

Qibbus galuyoth:
Sound the great horn for our freedom, and lift up the ensign, to gather our exiles, and proclaim liberty to gather us from the four quarters of the earth to our land. blessed be thou, JHWH, who gatherest the dispersed of thy people Israel.

Birkat mishpat:
Restore our judges as at the first, and our counselors as at the beginning, and reign thou alone over us, JHWH, in grace and mercy and righteousness and judgment. Blessed be thou, JHWH, the King who lovest righteousness and judgment.

[Birkatha-minim:
And for the slanderers let there be no hope, and let all the wicked perish in a moment and let all our enemies be speedily cut off, and the dominion of arrogance do thou speedily uproot and crush and humble in our days. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who breakest the wicked and humblest the arrogant.] 3

Birkat saddiqim:
Towards the righteous and the pious and the true proselytes may thy mercies be stirred, JHWH, our God, and grant a good reward unto all who faithfully trust in thy name and set our portion with them, so that we may never be put to shame. Blessed be thou, JHWH, the stay and trust of the righteous.

Birkat Yerushalem 4:
To Jerusalem, thy city, return in mercy, and dwell in it as thou hast spoken; and rebuild it as an everlasting building in our days. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who rebuildest Jerusalem.

Birkat David:
Speedily cause the offspring of David to flourish, and let his horn be exalted by thy salvation, because we wait for thy salvation all the day. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who causest the horn of salvation to flourish.

Tefillah:
Hear our voice, JHWH, have mercy upon us and accept our prayer in mercy and favour; for thou art a God who hearkenest unto our prayers and supplications: from thy presence, our Kind, turn us not empty away, for thou hearkenest to the prayer of every mouth. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who hearkenest unto prayer.

Abodah 5:
Accept, JHWH, our God, thy people Israel and their prayer and restore the service to the Holy of Holies of thy house and receive speedily in love and favour the fire-offerings of Israel and their prayer, and may the service of thy people Israel ever be acceptable unto thee, and let our eyes behold thy return to Zion in mercy. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who restorest thy Presence to Zion.

Hodah:
We give thanks unto thee, our God and the God of our fathers; thou art the Rock of our lives, the Shield of our salvation through every generation. We will give thanks unto thee and declare thy praise for our lives which are committed unto thy hand, and for our souls which are in thy charge. Thou art all-good for thy mercies fail not, thou art merciful for thy lovingkindnesses never cease, we have ever hoped in thee. And bring us not to shame, JHWH, our God, abandon us not and hide not thy face from us, and for all thy name be blessed and exalted, our King, for ever and ever. Everything that liveth should thank thee, Selah, and praise thy name, All-good, in truth. Blessed be thou, JHWH, whose name is all-good, and unto whom it is becoming to give thanks.

Birkat kohanim:
Grant peace, welfare, blessing, loving kindness and mercy unto us and unto all Israel, thy people, and bless us, our Father, even all of us together, with the light of thy countenance; for by the light of thy countenance thou hast given us, JHWH, our God, the Torah of life, love and grace, and righteousness and mercy, and may it be good in thy sight to bless thy people Israel in mercy in all times. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who blessest thy people Israel with peace.

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1 After the Shemah and the following prayer, which was not transcribed in the last article, the Tefillah of the 18 blessings (Shemoneh Esreh) is recited. The form reproduced here is the Babylonian one from the Seder Amram Gaon. Scholars disagree with whether the Babylonian or Jerusalem recension more closely corresponds to that of the time of Jesus. This dispute is not so important since it is admitted that there were no two Jewish communities of his time that used exactly the same words. Bouyer 70.

2 The Keter is not counted among the eighteen blessings but is counted as a continuation of the Geburoth. There are eighteen total blessings: Aboth, Geburoth, Qedushat ha-Shem, Binah, Teshubah, Selishah, Geullah, Refnah, Birkat ha-shanim, Qibbus galuyoth, Birkat mishpat, Birkat saddiqim, Birkat Yerushalem, Birkat David, Tefillah, Abodah, Hodah, and Birkat kohanim.

3 “It is after [the Birkat mishpat] and prior to [Birkat saddiqim] that the [Birkatha-minim] was introduced as a later addition which brought the number of traditional ‘blessings’ from eighteen up to nineteen. It is the famous prayer against the apostates and slanderers of the people of Israel. These minim are certainly the Christians, especially the Jewish Christians, and all those among the Jewish people who were in league with them or thought to be.”(Bouyer 76)

4 “The Birkat Yerushalem which follows [the Birkat saddiqim] is obviously, since the year 70 of our era, aimed at the rebuilding of Jerusalem which Titus has destroyed. But, as Abrahams points out, the original formulas must have focused not on the rebuilding but on the building of Jerusalem and on her perpetual possession of the divine presence.”(Bouyer, 76)

5 “It is called Abodah, “service” and it is generally admitted that it proceeds directly from the prayer that was recited in the temple of Jerusalem for the daily offering of the holocaust. Later it was revised so that it could be applied to the restoration of the sacrifices interrupted by Titus.”(Bouyer 78)

The Roman Canon: Origin and Development II

Berakoth of the Qedushah 1:
L 2: Bless ye JHWH, who is to be blessed.

R.: Blessed be JHWH, who is to be blessed, for ever and ever.

Yozer:
L: Blessed be thou, JHWH, our God, king of the universe, who formest light and createst darkness, who makes peace and createst all things: Who in mercy givest light to the earth and to them that dwell thereon and in his goodness renewest the creation every day continually. How manifold are they works, JHWH. In wisdom hast thou made them all, the earth is full of thy possesions. King who alone wast exalted from aforetime, praised, glorified and exalted from days of old. Everlasting God, in thine abundant mercies have mercy upon us, Lord of our strength, Rock of our stronghold, Shield of our salvation, thou stronghold of ours. The blessed God, great in knowledge, prepared and formed the rays of the sun: it was a boon he produced as a glory to his name. He set the luminaries round about his strength. The chiefs of his hosts are holy beings, they exalt the Almighty, continually declare the glory of God and his holiness. Be thou blessed, JHWH, our God, in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. Be thou blessed, our Rock, our King and our Redeemer, Creator of holy beings, praised be thy name forever, our King, Creator of ministering spirits, and all his ministering spirits stand in the height of the universe, and with awe proclaim aloud in unison the words of the living God and everlasting King. All of them are beloved, all of them are pure, all of them are mighty, all of them in dread do the will of their master, all of them open their mouths in holiness and purity and praise and glorify and sanctify the name of the great King, the mighty and dreaded One, holy is He. They all take upon themselves the yoke of the kingdom in heaven, one from the other, and give leave one to another to hallow their Creator: in tranquil joy of spirit, with pure speech and with holy melody they all respond in unison in fear, and say with awe ...

Qedushah:
R: Holy, holy, holy is JHWH of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.

L: And the Ophanim and the holy Chayoth with a noise of great rushing, upraising themselves towards them praise and say:

R: Blessed be the glory of JHWH from his place.

L: To the blessed God they offer pleasant melodies, to the King, the living and ever-enduring God they utter hymns and make their praises heard, for he alone performeth mighty deeds and maketh new things, the Lord of battles, he soweth righteousness, causeth salvation to spring forth, createth remedies, is revered in praises, the Lord of wonders who in his goodness reneweth the creation every day continually, as it is said: (Give thanks) to him that maketh great lights for his grace endureth forever. Blessed be thou, JHWH, Creator of the luminaries.

Ahabah:
L: With abounding love hast thou loved us, JHWH, our God, with great and exceeding pity thou hast pitied us, our Father, our King, for the sake of our fathers who trusted in thee, and whom thou didst teach the statutes of life, be gracious also unto us. Our Father, merciful Father, have mercy upon us, and put into our hearts to understand, and to discern, and to hear, and to learn, and to do all the words of instruction in thy Torah in love. And enlighten our eyes in they commandments, and let our hearts cleave to they fear, and unite our hearts to love thy name, soon in love exalt our horn and be thou our king and save us for the sake of thy name, for we have trusted in thee, that we be put not to shame, and we trust in thy name that we be not abashed nor stumble for ever and ever because thou, O God, art our Father, our God, and let not thy mercy abandon us for ever and ever. Let peace come over us from the four corners of the earth and cause us soon to go upright to our land, for thou hast chosen us from all peoples and tongues and hast brought us near unto thy great name in love. Blessed be thou, JHWH, who hast chosen thy people Israel in love.

Shemah 3:
R.:(Hear, O Israel: The Lord your God is the Lord alone; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your thought, and him only shall you serve.)

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1 Preceding this is the Qaddish prayer which was the original conclusion of the targum. Bouyer quotes only its first part commenting that this is evidentlly the direct source of the first part of the Lord’s prayer, “Magnified and sanctified be his great name, Amen. In the world which he has created according to his will. And may he establish his kingdom during your life and during your days and during the life of all the house of Israel, even speedily and at a near time. Amen.” Bouyer, Louis. Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality of the Eucharistic Prayer. Trans. Charles Quinn. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1968. 61-64.

2 Sheliach sibbur – the member of the community designated for saying the prayer in the name of all. Today , and since the 6th century, it is always the hazan, mentioned in the Gospels, the “minister” who is the ancestor to the Christian deacon. (Bouyer, 61) N.B. I have used L to stand for the Sheliach sibbur (leader) and R for the community response.

3 Bouyer does not dwell on the Shemah because it disappeared in Christian services, i.e. his concern is not so much with regards to the Jewish prayers but rather in the origin of the Eucharistic prayer that develops from it. Nevertheless, I thought it good to include it here at this juncture if only to show where in the sequence it appears. (Bouyer, 69)

The Roman Canon: Origin and Development I

Some time ago I began studying the Roman Rite with a view to understanding the process which had resulted in the reform of the liturgical books. Primarily, I was concerned over certain accusations leveled against the reform of the liturgical books especially the Roman Missal. As my study has progressed I have been able to evaluate various critiques and found these critiques to have varying degrees of authenticity or reliability. It happens upon occasion that certain works, upon providing facts of evidence and scholarly analysis; convince me to change my opinion of this or that question. Indeed, this has happened several times to me over the course of the study and perhaps it may happen yet again in the future. Lamentably, given that I have published my thoughts and findings for public review, it means that I must from time to time return to read and perhaps revise what I have written previously. I find that I have come upon one of those moments.

For those perhaps who have not studied the history of the Roman Rite, I will give a summary of sorts of the books and authors that have influenced my opinions in these matters. I have remained interested in the subject of liturgy and continue to read with the purpose not so much for knowledge of the liturgy as an end but rather as a means towards understanding and therefore entering more deeply into the liturgical rites. I remain in quiet awe of the scholarship and mental acumen of these liturgical giants without whose works I would know and understand precious little.

My understanding of the development and origin of the Roman Rite is due in main to four authors: Nicholas Gihr 1, Adrian Fortescue 2, Gerhard Rauschen 3 and Fernand Cabrol 4. These were the first works I read on the liturgy and so I think made the most impression upon me. These authors quoted, referenced and even critiqued the arguments of other liturgical luminaries such as: Franz Xaver von Funk, Edmund Bishop, Pierre Battifol, F.E. Brightman, Louis Duchesne, Anton Baumstark, F. Probst, Paul Drews, Rudolf Buchwald, etc. The general theory of development which I had accepted was due in large part to Fortescue’s treatment of the subject together with the synthesis and analysis of Rauschen. Fortescue in his seminal work, The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, gives a brief synthesis of important liturgical scholars works on the history of liturgical development. He generally follows Drews in his opinions, not without some critique of his own, however. These views can be found in several articles which Fortescue wrote for the Catholic Encyclopedia 5.

As liturgical documents began to be collected, published and studied the work of comparative liturgy took on a renewed fervor. Exciting new texts and critical editions with scholarly analysis were published. The question of the development of rites came to the forefront because of it. The uniqueness of the Roman liturgy both as a whole and particularly in regards to the Roman Canon caused liturgists to begin asking about the origins of such uniqueness. Early work suggested that the primitive liturgy would likely follow that of the West Syrian liturgies (Antiochian). The foundation for this thesis is eminently reasonable speculation on the basis that the first liturgies would have come from Jerusalem and then into Syria, specifically Antioch. It is well known that Peter established the episcopal see in Antioch before ultimately journeying on to Rome. Thus it was reasonable that the apostolic liturgical rites in Rome and Antioch should be in substantial accord not only as to content but also as to structure or form.

To this end the liturgies found in the Apostolic Traditions and the Apostolic Constitutions were speculated to be reflective of early Christian liturgy. The first of these documents, as I am now convinced by Bouyer, was authored by a Roman of “adoption” who originally came from somewhere in Syria. As Bouyer convincingly argues, the very structure of the liturgy betrays any pretense to being primitive. Rather, it seems that the author holds that the Syrian traditions are the apostolic ones and for that reason has difficulty with the Roman liturgy of his time. Thus liturgists who thought to find the primitive rite of Rome in the Apostolic Traditions were greatly mistaken but no less so than those who thought to identify it with the liturgy found in the Apostolic Constitutions.

At one time, the liturgy found in Book VIII was attributed to Clement of Rome. For this reason the liturgy was often called the Clementine liturgy and will often today be referred to as the Pseudo-Clementine liturgy. It is this text which Drews uses as the basic model for the primitive liturgy. This assumption inherently meant that there was a radical alteration at some unknown juncture to the Roman Canon. Many, if not most, liturgists have more or less followed Drews in his reconstruction of the primitive Roman Canon. Even those who think his reconstruction theories have certain flaws in one point or another generally concede the same conclusion, i.e. that the Roman Canon had been drastically altered at some point. What made such speculation possible is twofold: the paucity of documents which witness to the primitive Roman form and the error of seeking knowledge of the primitive anaphora in unreliable documents. Very famous treatments of the liturgy and the anaphora all reflect this lamentable error from the beginning of the liturgical movement up to the eve of the reform and even into our own times. This principle and unfounded error can be found in Fortescue 6, Rauschen 7, Cagin 8, Gassner 9, Jungmann 10, and Vagaggini 11 among others.

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N.B. This is the first installment of a several part series.

1 Rev Dr. Nicholas Gihr, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, 6th edition, B. Herder Book Co, 1924.

2 Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912.

3 Rauschen, Gerhard, Ph.D., S.T.D., Eucharist and Penance: In the First Six Centuries of the Church, B Herder, St. Louis, 1913.

4 Rt. Rev. Dom Fernand Cabrol, The Mass of the Western Rites, 1934.

5 Liturgy; Canon of the Mass; et al.

6 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy

7 Eucharist and Penance: The First Six Centuries of the Church

8 Dom Paul Cagin, L’Eucharistia, Canon primitif de la Messe, Paris, 1912.

9 Rev. Dr. Jerome Gassner, O.S.B., The Canon of the Mass: Its History, Theology, and Art, B Herder, St. Louis, 1949.

10 Rev. Dr. Joseph A Jungmann, S.J., The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development, Benzinger Brothers, New York, 1959.

11 Dom Cipriano Vagaggini, The Canon of the Mass and Liturgical Reform, Alba House, Great Britain, 1966 (trans. 1967).

Louis Bouyer: Eucharist

Louis Bouyer, Eucharist: Theology and Spirituality of the Eucharistic Prayer. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1968. xii + 484p. $22. ISBN10 0-268-00498-6.

Fr. Louis Bouyer of the French Oratory wrote this work in 1966, which was then re-edited in 1968. This latter date coincided with the introduction circa 1967 of three new Eucharistic Prayers to the Roman Rite. Since then, others have been added to the Roman Missal and one would give much to read Fr. Bouyer’s (1913-2004) critique and analysis of their form. In any case, the work here presented is a must read for any liturgical student. One of the most perturbing problems of the liturgical reform, the addition of the new Eucharistic Prayers, is here given its reason for existing. More than that, for these reasons are given in a few short paragraphs at the end of the book, the thoughts and genesis behind the desire for touching in anyway the core of the liturgical rite is explained.

The origins of the liturgical rites have long been a rather perplexing problem with various solutions being given. A synthesis of these solutions to the problem of the origin of the rites can be found in Fr. Adrian Fortescue, The Mass. Bouyer’s work specifies only the anaphora, or Eucharistic prayer, for critique and analysis in an attempt to uncover both the primitive form of the Eucharist and the primitive spirituality. In so doing, he gives vary many examples from Christian liturgical history, both East and West, which alone is worth the price of the book. His thesis rests on the tracing of Christian liturgical development back to its earliest times and even further into its Judaic foundations, especially with regards to the sacred meal prayers, or berakoth. He fully gives an explanation of these berakoth along with examples that can hardly be found elsewhere. Through the use of comparative liturgy, Bouyer finds in these berakoth the primitive form of the Eucharistic prayer. Of course, it makes perfect sense that the Last Supper was celebrated according to Jewish liturgical rites, or at least according to Jewish liturgical forms. This does not equate to reducing the Eucharistic prayer to a Jewish berakoth, however. It is within this structure that Christ gives new meaning and radically therefore alters, or rather fulfills, the ancient Jewish berakoth forever. We shall return to this point later.

The generally accepted theories of the Eucharistic prayer by liturgists seek to find the primitive Eucharist in sources such as the Apostolic Tradition, the Pseudo-Clementine Liturgy of Book VIII of the Apostolic Constitutions, and in the Divine Liturgy of St. James. This in turn meant that the Roman Canon had suffered some radical altering of its form for it was supposed that it had its primitive state in one of the liturgies just mentioned. Bouyer completely debunks this theory and proves even more surely that the Roman Canon retains the ancient form of the primitive Eucharist than any of these three supposedly primitive rites. It remains true that some restructuring of the Roman Canon happened but that is purely development and not the radical restructuring that some liturgists had supposed. Bouyer goes a long way towards giving credence to the development theories espoused by Gerhard Rauschen. Rauschen had argued against the theories of a radical alteration of the Roman Canon according to the Epiclesis argument. He had also affirmed the probability that what restructuring took place was due to influence from Alexandria rather than Ravenna. All this seems to be proven by Bouyer’s thesis. I am completely convinced on at least this count.

Unfortunately, the work also has a touch of the fever that has run through liturgists of this century that somehow the liturgy had become corrupted by accretions throughout the Middle Ages or the Dark Ages as these are more wont to call them. He also seems to be somewhat affected by an archeologism of sorts with regards to his insistence that the Eucharistic prayer is ideally situated within the context and language of a sacrificial meal (something that Benedict XVI, as a Cardinal, was highly critical of). He also seems to enjoy using the word Eucharist in its etymological sense of thanksgiving rather than in reserving it in reference to the Blessed Sacrament. I suppose that is hardly something to quibble over though it something that I found to be an annoyance. Nevertheless, this work is essential in understanding how the old offertory prayers came to be replaced by Jewish meal prayers and how the first three additions of Eucharistic prayers came to find a place in the Roman Missal along side the venerable and ancient Roman Canon. The fourth Eucharistic prayer in particular bears the marks of Bouyer’s genius and authorship. He is quite enamored of the Anaphora of St. Basil. He also identifies the third Eucharistic prayer as built upon the Gallican-Mozarabic traditions. I recommend this book highly both for the quality of scholarship in the analysis, as well as for the wealth of liturgical data found within, but not without cautioning that it be read with a critical eye.

The Necessary Authors

I'm quite sure that I am an incessant junkie for all things liturgical and I sincerely doubt that my abiding passion for such will ever abate. Nothing has ever fascinated me more than the study of Catholic liturgy in all of the various forms it has taken both throughout the history of the Roman Rite and in each of the other equally majestic Eastern Rites. I've been particularly blessed by having at my disposal works long out of print from that era in which the Liturgical Movement first began. I've also had at my fingertips various copies of the Ordinaries of various liturgical rites. Now many of these things are becoming reprinted or being made available via the Internet, and so much the better. I think it extremely worthwhile to have at our hands the works of Fr. Fortesque, Dom Cabrol, Fr. Parsch, Dom Gueranger, and the other masters of the original liturgical movement for the knowledge of the liturgical rites was thorough and breathtaking. I also find myself much indebited to recent scholarship which is equally rich in precious data and commentary as well as being so very relevant to the liturgical debate, and I dare say crisis of our own time. With that in mind the following list, though being by no means exhaustive, are works which I consider to be indispensable for those interested in liturgy today whether they be the uninitiated or those who are unable to spend the time or resources in a do-it-yourself study and for those who in fact have done or intend to do such study. One word of caution however: purchase these at your own risk as you may find yourself hopelessly enthralled by both the subject and the authors!

• The History And The Future Of The Roman Liturgy by Denis Crouan
• The Mass And Modernity by Fr. Johnathon Robinson
• The Organic Development Of The Liturgy by Fr. Alcuin Reid
• Turning Towards The Lord by Br. U.M. Lang
• The Spirit Of The Liturgy by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Reform Of The Reform? by Fr. Thomas Kocik
• Looking at the Liturgy by Fr. Aidan Nichols
• The Wellspring of Worship by Fr. Jean Corbon

Liturgical Resources At Archive.org

I recently was introduced to an excellent site: The Internet Archive, by way of the blog in illo tempore (biretta tip to Mike). I found the following goodies available there:

• Liturgica Historica,1918 by Edmund Bishop
• History of the Roman breviary., 1898 by Pierre Batiffol
• Antiphonale Romanum 1912
• Vesperale Romanum 1913
• Office of Holy Week 1687

There's quite a bit of other vintage liturgical and Catholic treasures to be had so poke around a little - you'll be pleasantly surprised, I know that I was.

O bone Iesu, fac ut sacerdos fiam secundum Cor tuum.

O good Jesus, grant that I may become a priest after Thine own Heart.

I wish to share my joy with all who read this blog or perhaps will have only just happened upon it by accident, and also to implore you for your prayers on my behalf, that I have been recently accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Phoenix by His Excellency, Bishop Thomas Olmstead. I will be attending the Pontificium Collegium Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio beginning the end of this month. I desire to thank all those, some of whom are readers of this blog, who encouraged me in my process of discerment up to this point either through their words to me, example of Christian virtues, and through prayers for vocations in general or for mine in particular.

Praying In Latin

My first real contact with the Latin language coincided with the death of my grandfather in 2003. My grandmother gave me a veritable library of books which included several on the liturgy most of which have been quoted on this site. A little over a year later I attended the first Classical Roman Rite Mass in my diocese that had been offered in communion with the Bishop in 35 years. Between the time of my grandfathers death and my first experience of the Classical Rite I had learned to pray the Rosary in Latin. I learned from a variety of sources beginning with the Our Father which I learned to chant from Pope John Paul II's album Abba Pater. This was also my first experience of Gregorian Chant. I will have to admit to mispronouncing several words of the Our Father and Hail Mary for some months before finding audio files to practice with. Even then I found that some pronounced words differently than I had heard them. Eventually I was instructed in Latin by a parishoner of the Mater Misericordiae Latin Mass community. Over time I acquired a Lewis and Short Latin Dictionary, a Wheelock's Latin course book, and several other teach-yourself courses. Attending the Latin Mass and listening to Gregorian Chant CD's really helped me along. While I am certainly not fluent in Latin, it has become my preferred language for prayer. I find that praying in Latin has had several benefits. First and foremost, it helps me to collect myself and become orientated towards God. Secondly when I first began praying in Latin it helped me to learn the prayers again and to become more familiar with the meaning of the words that I had so often rattled off in English. Thirdly, the natural rythmn of the Latin once become familiar is an anchor that leads me to contemplation and recalls me to my task when my focus shifts. The same but twice over for Gregorian Chant which effortlessly places me in the presence of God even when the schola is chanting an Offertory with which I am by no means familiar. Last night, I was reading Directorium Asceticum; or Guide to the Spiritual Life by Fr. John Baptist Scaramelli, S.J. and I came across this passage:

Volume I, Chapter VI: Three Sorts of Attention Suitable in Prayer.

"260. St. Thomas says that the attention which we have in our vocal prayers is threefold.1 The first kind is that which we pay to the words, as in the recitation of the Divine Office, during which we are bound to read the words carefully, and to pronounce them distinctly, so as to avoid making mistakes in the exact pronunciation of the prescribed words. But that this attention may be of real advantage, the person must have begun by placing himself in God's presence with the purpose to pray by the recital of this particular form of prayer. The second kind of attention is that paid to the meaning of the words uttered, as when those reciting the Psalms, the Our Father, Hail Mary, or other like prayers, all of which abound with devout affections, reflect meanwhile on the sense of what they say, and unite to the verbal recitation the devout feelings of their hearts. If the person making use of such prayer, instead of going always forward - as is done when reciting the Canonical Hours - prefer to stop at every verse and make devout reflections, nourishing his mind with the various meanings which occur; then the prayer will be something more than merely vocal; it will be mingled with Mental Prayer, and may be styled (to use the expression of St. Ignatius in his Spiritual Exercises) the "Second Method" of prayer. The third kind of attention is that given not to the words merely, nor to their import only, but to God Himself, to Whom all prayer is addressed directly or indirectly, as when, in prayer, we keep ourselves recollected in the presence of God, and adore, love, and thank Him, or entreat Him in our hearts to grant us the graces of which He sees us to stand in need. The first sort of attention [to the words] suffices; the second [to the import] is good, and may be very profitable; the third is best, and may become most advantageous to such as earnestly apply it. And we may here observe, that St. Thomas calls this last-mentioned application of the mind most necessary, especially to such as by their ignorance of the Latin language are unable to enter into the sense of the Psalms, the Pater Noster, or other prayers approved by Holy Church;2 for thus, while with their tongues they recite words which they understand not, instead of allowing their thoughts to wander in every direction, they can and should fix their minds on God, and occupy themselves with devout and profitable affections.

261. There is a well-known instance of this in the Chronicles of the Cistercian Choir. St. Bernard, while at choir one night with his monks, had the following vision: He beheld, by the side of each of the religious, an Angel with pen and paper in hand,taking down every psalm, verse, and word that was recited. There was this difference, nevertheless, that some Angels wrote in letters of gold, others of silver; others again used ink, others dipped their pens in water; while some stood holding their pens in their hands, without taking down anything. While the Saint was beholding this spectacle with the eyes of his body, God Almighty opened those of his mind, and, by a ray of heavenly light, caused him to seize the true meaning of this vision. He now understood that the letters of gold signified fervour of spirit, the inward charity that animated the prayers of some; those of silver denoted devotion, sincere in itself, but joined with a less degree of fervour. The letters in ink indicated the scrupulous exactness wherewith some recited the words of the psalms, but with very little devotional feeling. The prayers written with water indicated the negligence of such as, overcome with drowsiness, indolence, or idle thoughts, did not give careful attention to what they were reciting with their tongue. The Angels who wrote nothing represented the indolence and malice of those who were asleep or voluntarily distracted. We may gather from this legend that our Guardian Angels will write down our vocal prayers in divers characters, according to the measure of the attention, fervour, and devotion with which we pronounce the words.

262. But the reader may wish to know who takes note of the prayers which the Angels do not register, and whether they are wholly forgotten, and left both unrewarded and unpunished. I may direct them for an answer to another vision, from which it appears that such prayers are written by the demons in dark characters, indicative of the severe punishement in store.3 A holy Priest, after having celebrated Mass for the people, beheld standing by the altar, a demon, who, with pen and large skin of parchment in hand, was busily writing. The servant of God, without feeling any fear, commanded him, in the name of Jesus Christ, to show what he was so carefully noting down. The fiend replied, 'I am taking note of all the sins committed by the people while assisting at Mass.' Upon this the Priest, with a courage befitting his calling, snatched the long scroll from the enemy's hands, and read out before all the people the list of the faults each one had committed that morning at Mass. On hearing themselves publicly convicted of all the acts of immodesty and irreverence of which they had been guilty in Church, in time of prayer and during the Holy Sacrifice, they conceived a great sorrow, and hastened to confess with sincere contrition. When the Confessions were concluded, all trace of the infernal handwriting had vanished from the parchment; a sure token of the pardon God had granted. We shall then do well, when we begin to say our beads, the Office, or other pious prayers, to figure to ourselves our Guardian Angel standing on one side ready to note down our prayer in the Book of Life, if it be worthy of reward; and on the other side, the devil ready to mark it in the Book of Death, if it deserve punishment. And that we may gain merit and not incur chastisements from our prayers, I will say with St. Cyprian: 'When we are at prayer, dearly beloved, let us be watchful and apply ourselves with all the earnestness of our hearts. Far from us, at that time, be every worldly and carnal thought. The mind should then be intent upon nothing save upon the matter of our prayer alone.'4 The same holy martyr proceeds to inculcate such attention by the words of the Priest, who, at the Preface of the Mass, says to the people, 'Lift up your hearts:' to which all used to reply, 'We have them lifted up to the Lord.' Whereby we are reminded that in time of prayer, our thoughts must be wholly fixed on God alone.5

263. It must be borne in mind, however, that what has hitherto been said applies only to wilful distractions either purposely sought for the sake of amusement, or admitted with advertence; whether these proceed from the inconstancy of our fancy, or from the suggestions of the enemy of all good. Distractions such as these are alone sinful, St. Thomas teaches, and alone deprive our prayer of all fruit.6 But in no sense do I allude to those involuntary wanderings which may happen to any pious person qutie against his will, when, in placing himself transported elsewhere by importunate imaginings; provided these be driven away directly, and the sense of God's presence be renewed. Such distractions, as we learn from the same holy Doctor, though they return a hundred times, are by no means incompatible with true prayer.7 Nay, he further adds, for the encouragement of certain timorous consciences, that even persons raised to the highest pitch of contemplation, are, at times, borne down by human frailty to thoughts of earth, by the involuntary wanderings of the mind.8 Those, then, who are in earnest about their spiritual progress, must in time of vocal prayer keep strict guard over their minds and hearts, and they must take heed not deliberately to admit any thought foreign to prayer. When they do this, they need be under no alarm that their petitions will be advantageous to themselves and very pleasing to God."

---

1 Dicendum, quod triplex est attentio, quae orationi vocali potest adhiberi: una quidem, qua attenditur ad verba, ne aliquis in eist erret. Secunda, qua attenditur ad sensum verborum. Tertia qua attenditur ad finem orationis, scilicet ad Deum, et ad rem pro qua oratur. 2,2 quaest. 83, art. 3. in corp.

2 Quae quidem est maxime necessaria:et hanc etiam possunt habere idiotae. Ibid.

3 Joan.Junior. In lib. Scala Coeli.

4 Quando stamus ad orationem, fratres dilectissimi, vigilare, et incumbere ad preces toto corde debemus. Cogitatio omnis saecularis, et carnalis abscedat, nec quidquam tunc animus quam id solum cogitet, quod precatur. De. Oration. Dom., Serm. 6.

5 Ideo et sacerdos ante orationem, praefatione praemissa, parat fratrum mentes, dicendo: Surusm corda; ut dum respondet plebs: Habemus ad Dominum, admoneantur, nihil aliud se, quam Dominum cogitare debere. Ibid.

6 Si quis ex proposito in oratione mente vagatur, hoc peccatum est, et impedit orationis fructum. Art. Suprac. ad. 3.

7 Dicendum, quod in spiritu, et in veritate orat, qui ex instinctu spiritus ad orandum accedit; etiamsi ex aliqua infirmitate mens postmodum evagetur, Eod. art., ad I.

8 Mens humana, propter infirmatem naturae, diu stare in alto no potest. Pondere enim infirmitatis humanae deprimitur anima ad inferiora. Ed ideo contingit, quod cum mens orantis ascendit in Deum per contemplationem, subito evagatur ex quadam infirmitate. Eod. art., ad. 2.

An Exhortation To Hear Mass Devoutly

On "Gaudete" Sunday, as St. Gertrude prepared to communicate at the first Mass, which commences "Rorate," she complained to our Lord that she could not hear the Mass; but our Lord, who compassionates the afflicted, consoled her, saying: "Do you wish, My beloved, that I should say Mass for you?" Then, being suddenly rapt in spirit, she replied: "I do desire it, O beloved of my soul; and I most ardently beseech Thee to grant me this favor." Our Lord then intoned the "Gaudete in Domino semper," with a choir of saints, to incite this soul to praise and rejoice in Him; and as He sat on His royal throne, St. Gertrude cast herself at His feet and embraced them. Then He chanted the "Kyrie eleison" in a clear and loud voice, while two of the princes of the Choir of Thrones took her soul and brought it before God the Father, where she remained prostrate.

At the first Kyrie eleison, He granted her the remission of all the sins which she had contracted through human frailty; after which the Angels raised her up on her knees. At the second, He pardoned her sins of ignorance; and she was raised up by these princes, so that she stood before God. Then two Angels of the Choir of Cherubim led her to the Son of God, who received her with great tenderness. At the first Christe eleison, the saint offered to our Lord all the sweetness of human affection, returning it to Him as to its Source; and there was a wonderful influx of God into her soul, and of her soul into God, so that by the descending notes the ineffable delights of the Divine Heart flowed into her, and by the ascending notes the joys of her soul flowed back to God. At the second Christe eleison, she experienced the most ineffable delights, which she offered to the Lord. At the third Christe eleison, the Son of God extended His hands and bestowed on her all the fruit of His most holy life and conversation.

Two Angels of the Choir of Seraphim then presented her to the Holy Spirit, Who penetrated the three powers of her soul. At the first Kyrie eleison, He illuminated her reason with the glorious light of divine knowledge, that she mights always know His will perfectly. At the second Kyrie eleison, He strengthened the irascible part of her soul to resist all the machinations of her enemies, and to conquer every evil. At the last Kyrie eleison, He inflamed her love, that she might love God with her whole heart, with her whole soul, and with her whole strength. It was for this reason that the Choir of Seraphim, which is the highest order in the heavenly hosts, presented her to the Holy Spirit, Who is the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity, and that the Thrones presented her to God the Father, manifesting that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one God, equal in glory, co-eternal in majesty, living and reigning perfect Trinity through endless ages.

The Son of God then rose from His royal throne, and, turning towards God the Father, intoned the Gloria in excelsis in a clear and sonorous voice. At the word gloria He extolled the immense and incomprehensible omnipotence of God the Father; at the words in excelsis He praised His profound wisdom; at Deo He honored the inestimable and indescribable sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The whole celestial court then continued in a most harmonious voice, Et in terra pax homininbus bonae voluntatis. Our Lord being again seated on His throne, St. Gertrude sat at His feet meditating on her own abjection, when He inclined towards her lovingly; then she rose and stood before Him, while the Divine splendor illuminated her whole being. Two angels from the Choir of Thrones then brought a throne magnificently adorned, which they placed before our Lord; two princes from the Choir of Seraphim placed St. Gertrude thereon, and supported her from each side, while two of the Choir of Cherubim stood before her bearing brilliant torches; and thus she remained before her Beloved, clothed in royal purple. When the heavenly hosts came to the words Domine Deus Rex Caelestis, they paused, and the Son of God continued alone chanting to the honor and glory of His Father.

At the conclusion of the Gloria in excelsis, the Lord Jesus, Who is our true High Priest and Pontiff, turned to St. Gertrude, saying, "Dominus Vobiscum, dilecta - The Lord be with you, beloved;" and she replied, "Et spiritus meus tecum, praedilecte - And may my spirit be with Thee, O my Beloved." After this she inclined towards the Lord to return Him thanks for His love in uniting her spirit to His Divinity, Whose delights are with the children of men. The Lord then read the Collect, Deus, qui hanc sacratissimam noctem, which He conlcuded with the words, Per Iesum Christum filium tuum, as if giving thanks to God the Father, for illuminating the soul of St. Gertrude, whose unworthiness was indicated by the word noctem (night) which was called most holy, because she had become marvellously ennobled by the knowledge of her own baseness.

St. John the Evangelist, then rose and stood between God and her soul. He was adorned with a yellow garment, which was covered with golden eagles. He commenced with the Epistle Haec est sponsa, and celestial court concluded, Ipsi gloria in saecula. Then all chanted the gradual Specie tua, adding the Versicle Audi filia et vide. After this they commenced the Alleluia. St. Paul, the great Doctor of the Church, pointed to St. Gertrude saying, "Aemulor enim vos - I am jealous of you" (2 Cor. xi, 2); and the heavenly choir sang the prose, Filiae Sion exultent. At the words Dum non consentiret, St. Gertrude remembered that she had been a little negligent in resisting temptations, and she hid her face in shame; but our Lord, Who could not bear to behold the confusion of His chaste queen, covered her negligence with a collar of gold, so that she appeared as if she had gained a glorious victory over all her enemies.

Then another Evangelist commenced the Gospel Exultavit Dominus Iesus, and these words moved the Heart of Jesus so deeply that He arose, and extending His hands, exclaimed aloud, Confiteor tibi Pater, manifesting the same thanksgiving and gratitued to His Father as He had done when He said the same words on earth, giving special thanks for the graces bestowed on this soul. After the Gospel He desired St. Gertrude to make a public profession of faith, by reciting the Creed in the name of the whole Church. When she had concluded, the choir chanted the offertory, Domine Deus in simplicitate, adding Sanctificavit Moyses. The Heart of Jesus then appeared as a golden altar, which shone with a marvellous brightness, on which the angel guardians offered the good works and prayers of those committed to their care. The Saints then approached, and each offered his merits to the eternal praise of God, and for the salvation of St. Gertrude. The angelic princes, who had charge of the Saint, next approached and offered a chalice of gold, which contained all the trials and afflictions which she had endured, either in body or soul, from her infancy; and the Lord blessed the chalice with the sign of the cross, as the priest blesses it before Consecration.

He now intoned the words Sursum corda. Then all the Saints were summoned to come forward, and they applied their hearts in the form of golden pipes, to the golden altar of the Divine Heart; and from the overflowings of this chalice, which our Lord had consecrated by His benediction, they received some drops for the increase of their merit, glory, and eternal beatitude.

The Son of God then chanted the Gratias agamus to the glory and honor of His Eternal Father. At the Preface, He remained silent for an hour after the words Per Iesum Christum, while the heavenly hosts chanted the Dominum nostrum with ineffable jubilation, declaring that He was their Creator, Redeemer, and the liberal Rewarder of all their good works, and that He alone was worthy of honor and glory, praise and exaltation, power and dominion, from and over all creatures. At the words laudant angeli, all the angelic spirits ran hither and thither, exciting the heavenly inhabitants to sing the Divine praises. At the words Adorant Dominationes, the Choir of Dominations knelt to adore the Lord, declaring that to Him alone every knee should bow, whether in Heaven, on earth, or under the earth. At the Tremunt Potestates, the Powers prostrated before Him to declare that He alone should be adored; and at the Caeli caelorumque, they praised God with all the angel choirs.

Then all the heavenly hosts sang together in harmonious concert the Cum quibus et nostras; and the Virgin Mary, the efflugent Rose of Heaven, who is blessed above all creatures, chanted the Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, extolling with the highest gratitude by these three words the incomprehensible ominpotence, the inscrutable wisdom, and the ineffable goodness of the Ever Blessed Trinity, inciting all the celestial choirs to praise God for having made her most powerful after the Father, most wise after the Son, and most benign after the Holy Ghost. The Saints then continued the Domine Deus Sabaoth.

When this was ended, St. Gertrude saw our Lord rise from His royal throne and present His blessed Heart to His Father, elevating it with His own hands, and immolating it in an ineffable manner for the whole Church. At this moment the bell rang for the Elevation of the Host in the Church; so that it appeared as if our Lord did in heaven what the priests did on earth; but the Saint was entirely ignorant of what was passing in the Church, or what the time was. As she continued in amazement at so many marvels, our Lord told her to recite the Pater noster. When she had finished He accepted it from her, and granted that by this Pater noster they should accomplish everything which had ever been accomplished for the salvation of the Church and for the souls in purgatory. Then He suggested her to pray for the Church, which she did, for all in general, and for each in particular, with the greatest fervor; and the Lord united her prayer to those which He had offered Himself when in the flesh, to be applied to the Universal Church.

Then she exclaimed: "But, Lord, when shall I communicate?" And our Lord communicated Himself to her with a love and tenderness which no human tongue could describe, so that she received the perfect fruit of His most precious Body and Blood. After this He sang a canticle of love for her, and declared to her, that had this union of Himself with her been the sole fruit of His labors, sorrows and Passion, He would have been fully satisfied. Oh, inestimable sweetness of the Divine condescension, Who so delights in human hearts that He considers His union with them a sufficient return for all the bitterness of His Passion! and yet, what should we not owe Him had He only shed one drop of His precious Blood for us!

Our Lord then chanted Gaudete iusti, and all the Saints rejoiced with St. Gertrude. Then our Lord said, in the name of the Church Militant, Refecti sibo; He then saluted all the Saints lovingly, saying, Dominus vobiscum, and thereby increased the glory and joy of all the blessed. The Saints and Angles then sang, for the Ite Missa est, Te decet laus et honor Domine, to the glory and praise of the effulgent and ever peaceful Trinity. The Son of God extended His royal hand and blessed the Saint, saying: "I bless thee, O daughter of eternal light, with this special blessing, granting you this favor, that whenever you desire to do good to any one from particular affection, they will be as much benefitted above others as Jacob was above Esau when he received his father's blessing."

My dear reader, were our Lord to favor you but once with such a vision, how great would not be your devotion in hearing Mass! Ah! dear reader, our vision must be our faith; faith is the best of all visions, because it is not subject to any illusion. In the light of a lively faith you will see in every Mass all these marvels of Divine Omnipotence, Wisdom and Goodness, which St. Gertrude saw.

---

Fr. Michael Muller, C.S.S.R., The Blessed Eucharist: Our Greatest Treasure, October 22, 1867.

Anaphora of St. Ambrose

V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
V. Sursum corda.
R. Habemus ad Dominum
V. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
R. Dignum et justum est.

PRAEFATIUM

Vere quia dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper hic, et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeternae Deus: per Christum Dominum nostrum: Per quem majestatem tuam laudant Angeli, venerantur Archangeli: Throni, Dominationes, Virtutes, Principatus, et Potestates adorant. Quem Cherubim, et Seraphim socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admitti jubeas deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus, Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.

Te igitur, clementissime Pater, per Iesum Christum Filium tuum Dominum nostrum, supplices rogamus ac petimus uti accepta habeas, et benedicas, haec dona, haec munera, haec sancta sacrificia illibata: Imprimis, quae tibi offerimus pro Ecclesia tua sancta catholica: quam pacificare, custodire, adunare, et regere digneris toto orbe terrarum: una cum famulo tuo Pontifice nostro N. et famulo tuo N. Imperatore nostro, sed et omnibus orthodoxis, atque catholicae, et apostolicae fidei cultoribus.

Memento, Domine, famulorum, famularumque tuarum et omnium circumstantium, quorum tibi fides cognita est, et nota devotio, pro quibus tibi offerimus: vel qui tibi offerunt hoc sacrificium laudis, pro se, suisque omnibus: pro redemptione animarum suarum, pro spe salutis, et incolumitatis suae: tibique reddunt vota sua aeterno Deo, vivo et vero.

Communicates, et memoriam venerates inprimis gloriosae semper Virginis Mariae, Genitricis Dei et Domini nostri Iesu Christi: sed et beatorum Apostolorum ac Martyrum tuorum, Petri et Pauli, Andreae, Iacobi, Ioannis, Thomae, Iacobi, Philippi, Bartholomei, Matthaei, Simonis et Thaddaei, Xysti, Laurentii, Hippolyti, Vincentii, Cornelii, Cypriani, Clementis, Chrysogoni, Ioannis et Pauli, Cosmae et Damiani, Apollinaris, Vitalis, Nazarii et Celsi, Protasii et Gervasii: et omnium Sanctorum tuorum; quorum meritis, precibusque concedas, ut in omnibus protentionis tuae muniamur auxilio. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Hanc igitur oblationem servitutis nostrae, sed et cunctae familiae tuae, quaesumus Domine, ut placatus accipias: diesque nostros in tua pace disponas, atque ab aeterna damnatione nos eripi, et in electorum tuorum iubeas grege numerari: Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Quam oblationem, quam pietati tuae offerimus, tu, Deus, in omnibus, quaesumus, benedictam, ad†scriptam, ra†tam, rationabilem, acceptabilemque facere digneris: ut nobis Corpus, et San†guis fiat dilectissimi Filii tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi.

Qui pridie quam pateretur, accepit panem in sanctas, ac venerabiles manus suas: et elevatis oculis in caelum ad te Deum Patrem suum omnipotentem, tibi gratias agens, benedixit, fregit, deditque discipulis suis, dicens: Accepite, et manducate ex hoc omnes. HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM [quod pro vobis confringetur].

Simili modo postquam coenatum est, accipiens Calicem, elevavit oculos ad coelos ad te Deum Patrem suum omnipotentem: item tibi gratias agens benedixit deditque discipulis suis, dicens: Accipite, et bibite ex eo omnes. HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUINIS MEI, NOVI ET AETERNI TESTAMENTI: MYSTERIUM FIDEI: QUI PRO VOBIS ET PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM.

Mandans quoque, et dicens ad eos: Haec quotiescumque feceritis in meam commemorationem facietis, mortem meam praedicabitis, resurrectionem meam annuntiabitis, adventum meum sperabitis, donec iterum de coelis veniam ad vos.

Unde et memores sumus, Domine, nos servi tui sed et plebs tua sancta, eiusdem Christi Filii tui Domini nostri tam beatae passionis, nec non ab inferis resurrectionis, sed et in caelos gloriosae ascensionis: offerimus praeclarae maiestati tuae de tuis donis ac datis, hostiam puram, hostiam sanctam, hostiam immaculatam. Panem sanctum vitae aeternae et Calicem salutis perpetuae.

Supra quae ac sereno vultu respicere digneris: et accepta habere, sicuti accepta habere dignatus es munera pueri tui justi Abel, et sacrificium Patriarchæ nostri Abrahæ: et quod tibi obtulit summus sacerdos Melchisedech, sanctum sacrificium, immaculatam hostiam.

Supplices te rogamus, omnipotens Deus: iube haec perferri per manus sancti Angeli tui in sublime altare tuum, in conspectu divinae maiestatis tuae: ut quotquot, ex hac altaris participatione sacrosanctum Filii tui, Corpus et Sanguinem sumpserimus, omni benedictione caelesti et gratia repleamur. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum.

Memento etiam, Domine, famulorum, famularumque tuarum N. et N. qui nos praecesserunt cum signo fidei et dormiunt in somno pacis. Ipsis, Domine, et omnibus in Christo quiescentibus, locum refrigerii, lucis et pacis, ut indulgeas, deprecamur. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Nobis quoque minimis, peccatoribus famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam, et societatem donare digneris, cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus: cum Joanne, Stephano et Andrea, Petro, Marcellino, Agnete, Caecilia, Felicitate, Perpetua, Anastasia, Agatha, Euphemia, Lucia, Apollonia, Iustina, Sabina, Thecla, Pelagia atque Catharina, et omnibus Sanctis: intra quorum nos consortium, non aestimator meriti sed veniae, quaesumus, largitor admitte. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.

Per quem haec omnia, Domine, semper bona creas, sanctificas, vivificas, benedicis, et nobis famulis tuis largiter praestas ad augmentum fidei et remissionem omnium peccatorum nostrorum. Et est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso, omnis honor, virtus, laus, gloria, imperium, perpetuitas et potestas, in unitate Spiritus Sancti per infinita saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
V. Lift up your heart.
R. We have them to the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks the Lord our God.
R. It is meet and just.

Truly for it is meet and just, right and for our salvation, always and everywhere to give Thee thanks, holy Lord, Almighty Father, Eternal God: through Christ our Lord: through Whom Angels praise Thy Majesty, Archangels venerate, and Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Principalities and Powers adore. Whom the Cherubim and Seraphim together celebrate in exultation. We entreat Thee, do Thou command our voices to be heard with theirs, singing with lowly praise: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Hosts. Heaven and earth are filled with Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Therefore, most gracious Father, we humbly beg of Thee and entreat Thee, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord to deem acceptable and bless, these gifts, these offerings, these holy and unspotted oblations. which we offer unto Thee in the first instance for Thy holy and Catholic Church, that Thou wouldst deign to give her peace and protection, to unite and guide her the whole world over; together with Thy servant N., our Pontiff, and Thy servant N., our Emperor, and also all orthodox believers, who cherish the catholic and apostolic faith.

Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy servants and handmaids and of all here present, whose faith is known to Thee, and likewise their devotion, on whose behalf we offer unto Thee, or who themselves offer unto Thee, this sacrifice of praise for themselves and all their own, for the good of their souls, for their hope of salvation and deliverance from all harm, and who pay Thee the homage which they owe Thee, eternal God, living and true.

In the unity of holy fellowship we observe the memory first of the glorious and ever virgin Mary, mother of our Lord and God, Jesus Christ; and also of Thy blessed apostles and martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Simon and Thaddeus; of Sixtus, Lawrence, Hippolytus, Vincent, Cornelius, Cyprian, Clement, Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, Apollinaris, Vitalis, Nazarius and Celsus, Protasius and Gervasius and of all Thy saints, by whose merits and prayers grant that we may be always fortified by the help of Thy protection. Through the same Christ our Lord.

This oblation, therefore, of our service, and that of Thy whole family, we beseech Thee, O Lord, graciously to accept and to dispose of our days in Thy peace, and to command us to be delivered from eternal damnation, and to be numbered in the flock of Thine elect. Through Christ Our Lord.

Which oblation, which we piously offer to Thee, do Thou, O God, we beseech Thee, vouchsafe to make in all things blessed, approved, ratified, reasonable, and acceptable: that it may become for us the Body and Blood of Thy most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who the day before He suffered, took the bread into His holy and venerable hands: and having raised His eyes to heaven, unto Thee, O God, His Father almighty, giving thanks to Thee, blessed, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take ye all and eat of this:
FOR THIS IS MY BODY [which is broken for you]!

In like manner, after supper, taking the chalice, raising His eyes to heaven to Thee O God, His Almighty Father: and giving thanks to Thee, He blessed, and gave to His disciples, saying: Take, and drink ye all of it: FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT: THE MYSTERY OF FAITH, WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.

Commanding also and saying to them: As often as you do this, ye shall do them as My commemoration, proclaiming My death, announcing My resurrection, hoping in My coming, until I come again to you from heaven.

Mindful in the highest, therefore, O Lord, not only of the blessed passion of the same Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, but also of His resurrection from the dead, and finally His glorious ascension into heaven, we, Thy ministers, as also Thy holy people, offer unto Thy supreme majesty, of Thy gifts bestowed upon us, the pure Victim, the holy Victim, the all-perfect Victim: the holy Bread of life everlasting and the Chalice of unending salvation.

Upon which do Thou vouchsafe to look with favorable and gracious countenance, and accept them, as Thou did vouchsafe to accept the gifts of Thy just servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our Patriarch Abraham, and that which the Highpriest Melchisedech offered unto Thee, a holy Sacrifice, an unspotted Victim.

Most humbly we implore Thee, almighty God, bid these our mystic offerings to be brought by the hands of Thy holy Angel unto Thy altar above, before the face of Thy divine majesty; that those of us who, by sharing in the Sacrifice of this altar, shall receive the most sacred Body and Blood of Thy Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Be mindful, O Lord, also of thy servants and handmaids, N. and N., who have gone before us with the sign of faith, and rest in the sleep of peace. To these, O lord, and to all who sleep in Christ, we beseech Thee to grant, of Thy goodness, a plce of comfort, light, and peace. Through the same Christ our Lord.

To us also the least, Thy sinful servants, who hope in the multitude of Thy mercies, vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John, Stephen and Andrew, Peter, Marcellinus, Agnes, Cecilia, Felicita, Perpetua, Anastasia, Lucy, Appollina, Justina, Sabina, Thecla, Pelagia and Catharine, and all the Saints: into whose company, not weighing our merits, but granting us pardon, we beseech Thee to admit us. Through Christ our Lord.

Through whom, Lord, Thou dost ever create, hallow, fill with life, bless and bestow upon us, Thy servants, all good things to increase our faith and also through whom Thou dost forgive all of our sins. And it is to Thee O God, Almighty Father, from Him, and through Him, and in Him that all honor, merit, praise, glory, rule, perpetuity and power, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, is Thine, for ever and ever R. Amen.

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The Ambrosian Canon is the Roman Canon with differences in a few phrases, especially the list of Saints in the Communicantes and Nobis quoque. The English translation is sufficient to give the reader who knows no or little Latin a text for comparison. I've attempted to stay as litteral as possible without giving poetics any consideration so the English doesn't flow in certain places. Nevertheless, it may be of interest to those who have looked for the Ambrosian Canon before without being able to find it in English.

On a historical note, while St. Ambrose has his name attached to this anaphora, that is not to say that he wrote it, but rather that it is the anaphora from the liturgy that bears his name.

Vere Sanctus

Missale Romanum 1970
Vere Sanctus es, Domine, fons omnis sanctitatis. Haec ergo dona quaesumus, Spiritus tui rore sanctifica ut nobis Corpus et Sanguis fiant Domini nostri Iesu Christi.1

ICEL translation:
Lord, you are holy indeed, the fountain of all holiness. Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.2

Literal translation:
Truly, O Lord, you are the Holy One, the source of all holiness. Therefore, we beseech you, sanctify these gifts by the dew of your Spirit so that they become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.3

Vere Sanctus es, Domine, fons omnis sanctitatis: Origen calls the Trinity the source of all holiness.4 The Psalms call God the fountain of life.5 St. Gregory Thaumaturgus calls the Holy Spirit "sanctity itself, the Leader of sanctification" some manuscripts include "fountain of holiness."6 The text of the Gloria in excelsis speaks of Jesus Christ as "tu solus sanctus" without, however, meaning to attribute this property to the Son alone for it is added: "cum Sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei Patri."7 Likewise, the title Holy One is used here for the Father not in an exclusionary sense of properly belonging to Him alone, but rather as that which is common to all three Divine Persons of the Most Holy Trinity. The Angelic Doctor explains that "'Whatever by nature belongs to the Father belongs also to the Son,' such as life, truth, light and the like. These are said, however, to be proper to the Father not in relation to the Son, and proper to the Son not in relation to the Father, but in both in relation to creatures, to which in contrast with God the aforementioned do not properly belong. Or they may be said to be proper to each Person, not as pertaining to him exclusively, but as pertaining to Him of Himself."8 And this is true also of the Holy Spirit because what is proper to the nature of the Godhead is proper to each Divine Person in Himself.

The whole clause is a conjunctive clause which connects the Prefatio, Sanctus, and the account of the Last Supper. The "Vere Sanctus" especially prominent in the old Gallican Rite and continues in the Mozarabic Rite though in a different form.9 The Mozarabic form is addressed to the Father put is a predication of the attributes of "He who comes in the name of the Lord".10 The Anaphora of St. John Chrysostom also has a connection clause which introduces the actions and words of the Last Supper and the words of consecration: "With these blessed powers, O Master who lovest every human being, we too cry out and say: Holy art Thou and all holy, and magnificent is Thy glory. Thou hast so loved this world as to give Thy Only-Begotten Son that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish, but have life everlasting".11 The Vere Sanctus is a modern addition to the Anaphora of St. Hippolytus, which does not have the Sanctus and so obviously does not need the Post Sanctus to connect the preface with the following prayers.12 The introduction is brief such as that found in the Roman Canon with the "Te igitur, clementissime Pater" which immediately proceeds to beg that the Father might bless the gifts there present on the altar.

Haec ergo dona quaesumus, Spiritus tui rore sanctifica ut nobis Corpus et Sanguis fiant Domini nostri Iesu Christi: The Church after recalling that the Father is the Holy One and fountain (source) of all holiness proceeds to humbly beg that He send His Spirit to make the gifts of bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The imagery used is one that has gotten a lot of press lately with the debates over the translation of the Ordinary of the Mass. Literally the latin of the text asks the Father to send the dew of the Spirit to sanctify the gifts. Fr. Zuhlsdorf of the blog "What Do The Prayers Really Say", with help of some of his very astute readers have answered any such objections. The literal translation of this phrase is grounded in Sacred Scripture and the Fathers of the Church.

In the John 6 discourse on the Holy Eucharist, our Lord foretells the gift that He will give us and draws an explicit correlation between the Holy Eucharist and the manna which God gave the Hebrews while the sojourned in the desert on their way to the promised land. "And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat."13; "When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it."14

Many other reference to dew may be found in the scriptures such as Isaac's blessing to Jacob: "God give thee the dew of heaven"15 and his words to Esau "Far from the fertile earth shall be your dwelling; far from the dew of the heavens above!"16 David writes "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethern to dwell together in unity: Like the precious oil upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron, that ran down to the edge of his robe; As the dew of Hermon, that descends upon Mount Sion: For there the Lord bestows the blessing, life for evermore."17 From these verses we see how the Lord's blessing is evoked by the image of dew. In the Psalm here quoted, it is juxtaposed with the priestly ordination which is like the "dew of Hermon that descends upon Mount Sion" it is through the priests that the Lord bestows his blessing: everlasting life. And is this not the blessing that our Lord spoke of in his discourse: "If any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh."18

St. Bellarmine, in his exposition of the Psalms, says that the oil of annointing symbolizes the "supernatural graces that flow from Christ, as the head, and from Him on the prelates of the Church, who are indicated by the beard, and through them on the faithful in general, indicated by the fringe of the garment. He (the psalmist) then compares such union of brethern to the dew that falls on the mountain . . . which is from Christ, who is so elevated, and so abounds in such heavenly dew; and therefore, St. John said, 'And of His fulness we have all received.'"19 Pope Paul VI, wrote similarly, "Further, the cathedral temple is an expression of the image of the Church of Christ, praying, singing, adoring all over the world: surely it is to be viewed as an image of His Mystical Body, whose members are bound together through a structure of love, nourished by the dewing of celestial gifts."20

St. Ambrose in a sermon speaks of the washing of the disciples by our Lord, evoking the context of the Last Supper, wherein he tells us that the water with which He washed their feet was "heavenly dew". In a prayer St. Ambrose composes after reflection he says, "As a servant, Thou dost wash the feet of Thy disciples; as God, Thou sendest dew from heaven." St. Ambrose continues, "Damasus cleansed not, Peter cleansed not, Ambrose cleansed not, Gregory cleansed not; for ours is the ministry, but the sacraments are Thine. For it is not in man's power to confer what is divine, but it is, O Lord, Thy gift and that of the Father, as Thou hast spoken by the prophets, saying: 'I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and their sons and daughter shall prophesy.' This is that typical dew from heaven, this is that gracious rain, as we read: 'A gracious rain, dividing for His inheritance.' For the Holy Spirit is not subject to any foreign power or law, but is the Arbiter of this own freedom, dividing all things according to the decision of His own will, to each, as we read, severally as He wills."21

Finally, we read the words of the Prophet Hosea: "I will be the dew for Israel: he shall blosom like the lily; He shall stike root like the Lebanon cedar, and put forth his shoots. His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain; They shall blosom like the vine, and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim, What more has he to do with idols? I have humbled him, but I will prosper him. 'I am like a verdant cypress tree'-Because of me you bear fruit!"22 What wonderful imagery in such a brief clause, how lovely does the liturgy proclaim the great mysteries of the Catholic faith!

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1. The Roman Missal, Catholic Book Publishing Co., NY, 1985, p. 1064.

2. Ibid., p. 549.

3. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, WDTPRS Blog

4. De principiis, Origen 1.4.2 "totius sanctitatis fons"

5. Psalmus 35:10 "fons vitae"

6. CCEL S. Gregorius Thaumaturgus, Creed, translation Rufinus "sanctitas sanctificationis proestratix" and another Latin version "sanctitas et fons sanctitatis et aedificationis administrator"

7. Gloria in excelsis

8. Contra errores Graecorum, Pars I Caput VI: "Praemittit enim quod quaecumque naturaliter dicuntur inesse patri, illa omnia insunt filio, sicut vita, veritas, lux et huiusmodi. Haec autem dicuntur esse propria patri non in respectu ad filium, nec filio in respectu ad patrem, sed utrique in respectu ad creaturam, cui in comparatione ad Deum non proprie praedicta conveniunt; vel proprium, hic dicitur non quod convenit uni soli, sed quod proprie et vere alicui convenit secundum se."

9. The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Fr. Fortescue, Loreto Publications, Fitzwilliam, NH 2003, pp. 103, 167, 328. Original publication 1912.

10. Gabriel S Diaz Patri, Synopsis Rituum, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Centro de Estudios Filosoficos Medievales S.E.L.M., 2nd Edition August 2004: Mozarabicus (First Sunday of Advent): "Vere sanctus et gloriosus Dominus noster Iesus Christus filius tuus"; Mendoza, Liturgia Hispanica vel Mozarabica, S.E.L.M., 2004: "Vere Sanctus; vere benedictus Dominus noster Iesus Christus filius tuus".

11. Liturgy, Kyr Jospeh Raya, Alleluia Press, Ontario, Canada 2001, p. 66.

12. Cf. Anaphora of St. Hippolytus; Canonum Reliquiae

13. Exodus 16:13-15; "quoque ros iacuit per circuitum castrorum cumque operuisset superfaciem terrae apparuit in solitudine minutum et quasi pilo tunsum in similtudinem pruinae super terram quod cum vidissent filii Israel dixerunt ad invicem man hu quod significat quid est hoc ignorabant enim quid esset quibus ait Moses iste est panis quem Dedit Dominus vobis ad vescendum" Biblia Sacra, iuxta vulgatam versionem.

14. Numbers 11:9; "cumque descenderet nocte super castra ros descendebat pariter et man" Biblia Sacra, iuxta vulgatam versionem.

15. Genesis 27:28; "det tibi Deus de rore caeli" Biblia Sacra, iuxta vulgatam versionem.

16. Genesis 27:39; "in pinquedine terrae et in rore caeli desuper" Biblia Sacra, iuxta vulgatam versionem.

17. Psalm 132; "Ecce quam bonum et quam iucundum habitare fratres in unum sicut unguentem in capite quod descendit in barbam barbam Aaron quod descendit in ora vestimenti eius sicut ros Hermon qui descendit in montes Sion quoniam illic mandavit Dominus benedictionem et vitam usque in saeculum" Biblia Sacra, iuxta vulgatam versionem.

18. John 6:51; "si quis manducaverit ex hoc pane vivet in aeternum et panis quem ego dabo caro mea est pro mundi vita" Biblia Sacra, iuxta vulgatam versionem.

19. A Commentary on the Book of Psalms, S. Robert Bellarmine, trans. Ven. John O'Sullivan, Loreto Publications, Fitzwilliam, NH, 2003. Original publication in English 1866. Psalm 132.

20. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, WDTPRS, Paul VI: Nourished by the dewing. From Pope Paul VI's Apostolic Constitution Mirificus Eventus.

21. Ibid, St. Ambrose on "dew"; Cf. St. Paulinus on "dew"; St. Augustine on "dew"; Dew and the Holy Ghost.

22. Hosea 14:6-9: "ero quasi ros Israel germinabit quasi lilium et erumpet radix eius ut Libani ibunt rami eius et odor eius ut Libani convertentur sedentes in umbra eius vivent tritico et germinabunt quasi vinea memoriale eius sicut vinum Libani Ephraim quid mihi ultra idola ego exaudiam et dirigam eum ego ut abietem virentem ex me fructus tuus inventus est" Biblia Sacra, iuxta vulgatam versionem.

S. Josemaria Escriva

Today is the feast day of St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei. My three most favorite quotes from St. Josemaria are:

"You say that the Mass is too long, I reply that your love is too short."

"Remember that you are Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman. Be Roman, be very Roman."

"Omni cum Petro ad Jesum per Mariam. (All with Peter to Jesus through Mary.)"

Sancte Josemaria Escriva, ora pro nobis!

Organic Development, Innovation And Fabrication

Back in December of 2005, I posted some questions concerning the principles for organic development of the liturgy over at LEI. Recently Shawn Tribe of NLM reported to his readers about the Research Institute for Catholic Liturgy (RICL) conference which featured Dr. Alcuin Reid, well-known priest, author and scholar (The Organic Development of the Liturgy). Shawn's synthesis of Dr. Reid's talks led me to consider again this subject which from time to time resurfaces, especially when I'm studying the actual texts of ancient liturgies. Recently, I also blogged about NLM's Theoretical Missal Project and my own experience with it gave me greater insight into the process of the development of the liturgy.

I don't claim to be able to formulate a strict definition of what constitutes organic development, though I'm closer to understanding the principles of organic development through the process of negation. As one reader of Shawn's article on the RICL Conference notes: it's the bulk of the changes to the Ordo Missae of the Roman Rite that tend to advertise that there just may be a break with organic development going on. The Theoretical Missal Project made me realize something else though. As I've continued my studies of the liturgy and especially as I've broken down the prayers of the Ordo Missae (both classical and modern), I've come to the realization that it's not just the aggregate but also the individual parts that contribute to that aggregate which are examples of inorganic development. Mathematically it is self evident that if the aggregate shows signs of a break with tradition then it must be because the parts, or at least some parts, are breaks with tradition. I think that sometimes this is obscured when we isolate the prayers of the liturgy into it's rituals, and those rituals into their components, for analysis.

For example, in my own treatment of the revision of the Confiteor, I made references to that of other liturgical uses to defend the orthodoxy of the result. I continue to affirm the orthodoxy of the Confiteor in the modern rite, but that somewhat misses the point doesn't it? The Second Vatican Council explicitly says that no innovations should be made unless the good of the Church certainly required it and also cautions that these innovations should develop from the forms already present. The addition of et ommissione can certainly be understood on a theological basis as an alteration for the good of the Church, though it might be argued that it is at least not obvious that it was certainly required as such. The break in the form of the Confiteor to mirror the Dominican and Carthusian version does also draw from the liturgical richness of forms which already exist, while still maintaining certain aspects of the former tradition such as the triple mea culpa. Yet, when one puts the result (i.e. aggregate) next to the former version does it not at least appear inorganic? To get a picture of what I'm talking about let's compare the versions with only a single alteration at a time.


Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, beátæ Maríæ semper Vírgini, beáto Michaéli Archángelo, beáto Joanni Baptístæ, sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo, ómnibus Sanctis, et vobis, fratres (et tibi, Pater): quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo et ópere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, beátum Michaélem Archángelum, beátum Joánnem Baptístam, sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et vos, fratres (et te, Pater), oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum.

Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, beátæ Maríæ semper Vírgini, beáto Michaéli Archángelo, beáto Joanni Baptístæ, sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo, ómnibus Sanctis, et vobis, fratres( et tibi, Pater): quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo, ópere et omissione: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, beátum Michaélem Archángelum, beátum Joánnem Baptístam, sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et vos, fratres (et te, Pater), oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum.

Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, beátæ Maríæ semper Vírgini, beáto Michaéli Archángelo, beáto Joanni Baptístæ, sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo, ómnibus Sanctis, et vobis, fratres: quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo et ópere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, beátum Michaélem Archángelum, beátum Joánnem Baptístam, sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et vobis, fratres, oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum.

Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, (*) et vobis, fratres (et tibi, Pater): quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo et ópere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, (*) omnes Angelos et Sanctos, et vos, fratres (et te, Pater), oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum.

Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, (*) et vobis, fratres: quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo ópere et ommissione: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, (*) omnes Angelos et Sanctos, et vos, fratres, oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum.

As we look at each alteration to the Confiteor as it had been used in the Roman Missal since at least the High Middle Ages the most striking innovation is the suppression of the list of saints (St. Michael, St. John the Baptist, and Sts. Peter and Paul). The second is the suppression of the alternating recitations by the Priest and then the server which results in a single recitation by all. The additions of omissione and Angelos seem relatively insignificant. The result is a product which does not seem to organically grow out of already existing forms. When we add to this the alteration of the rubrics (it is no longer said at the foot of the altar or bowing, the striking of the breast is reduced from three to one, and the recitation of the Confiteor has become one of four Penitential Rite options, if we include the Aspersion Rite) the inorganic nature of the resultant product is even more glaring. Such an exercise also helps us to identify the portions of inorganic alterations as being primarily that of the suppression of the named saints, the reduction to a single recitation, and the alteration of the rubrics. More importantly this example is one that is of a minor ritual considered among the more important and extensive alterations to the missal.

Thus, we can begin to see what is meant by the accusation that the reformed liturgy is a banal on-the-spot fabrication using materials from which the classical liturgy had been formed. The restructuring of these materials by a committee of so-called experts and the resulting product is exactly what gives the impression that the liturgy is what we make of it rather than something that is handed on from tradition. One reader of NLM made the very astute point:

"Few of the changes on their own cannot be defended [as to their orthodoxy]. Few of the prayers we have are without merit, as anyone who has followed Fr. Zuhlsdorf's translations of the proper prayers of the day can easily see. Most of them, indeed, are derived from ancient Western sacramentaries.Even the prayers for the Preparation of the Gifts have their excellencies--Pope Benedict used them beautifully for his homily today on Corpus Christi. And he CHOSE to use the Second Eucharistic Prayer--and on a great Feast Day, too. How it will be improved by phrases such as, "the dew of your Spirit"! I believe Ratzinger hopes that the Novus Ordo will become organic over time, in a backwards fashion, if you like, through infusion of older forms and a return of the 'spirit' of the Roman liturgy operating on materials that are not entirely unworthy, by any means. I think where Ratzinger parts from many traditionalists is that he accepts that the changes in fact have been made and that we must FIRST learn to receive them anew and infuse them with a liturgical spirit before any substantial changes can be made. THOSE changes--whatever they may be--will have to be made over a long time under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. A parallel return to and reacquaintance with the older forms will help THAT process to be an organic one and return to the liturgy those essential elements--whether in old or new forms--that may have been lost. There is no HELP for the fact that a process that seemed--and in some ways WAS--artificial was used in the past. The result is now the normative liturgy of the Church. The processes outlined above (and proposed in God and the World and other places) are what we must rely on to "de-artificialize" the forms of our worship. An illustration of Ratzinger's perhaps paradoxical seeming attitude can be gleaned from yesterday's Corpus Christi Mass. The Pope deliberately chose--as he has at least once before (in Bari last year)--to use the Second Eucharistic Prayer. And in his homily, he drew from the words of the Prayers in Preparation of the Gifts (the ones that replace the Offertory Prayers, beginning with "Blessed are you, Lord God of all Creation, through your goodness we have this bread to offer..."). He sets us an example of the Pope being UNDER the liturgy and RECEIVING it along with the rest of us. This spirit, which he recommends to all of us, will in the end do more for liturgical tradition than many an obstreperous attitude." [brackets mine for clarification]Jeff

I think Jeff has got it exactly right. Whatever the criticisms of the reformed liturgy, we too must be careful not to add to the errors of the reformers by solidifying the application of faulty principles of reform. Even if the goal is laudable we cannot allow the process of "reverse engineering" those faulty reforms to add to the destruction of the spirit of the liturgy and the conception of the liturgy as a technical production of experts. If we succumb to these same principles that led the Concilium and earlier reformers astray we will fall prey to the same faults that they did. For if we achieved the reestablishing of the traditional liturgy in all the Roman parishes around the world, it would be viewed by those displeased at such a triumph as nothing other than the liturgical opinions and desires of experts that happened this time to be ultra conservative or traditionalists. And so they would simply set about, once again, planning the destruction of our liturgical heritage. Let us note the example of Benedict XVI and likewise set about recovering what is lost to the liturgy according to right principles.

New English Translation For The Order Of The Mass

"On the vote for the translation of the Missale Romanum, the ayes were 173, the nays 29.

On the adaptations to the Missale Romanum for the United States, the ayes were 184, the nays 8.

Needing 168 votes to pass, the translation has passed" Whispers in the Loggia by Rocco Palma. (See also the Associated Press release here. )

This is extremely good news. The next step is recognitio. It's up in the air on whether the new translation, once it receives recognitio from Rome, would be put into use immediately or await the approval and recognitio for the new translation of the rest of the Roman Missal. The approval today was garnered for the Ordinary of the Mass alone. The process of recognitio could take some time, but then this also depends on whether the translation as such is in accord with Vatican guidlines such as Liturgiam Authenticam. Even if recognitio from Rome comes rather quickly the Bishops may not put it into place until the entire Roman Missal is approved, in which case we could still be several years away from an accurate and faithful translation. We'll also have to wait and see what it is that actually was approved, since there were some 60 changes approved as well.

Laudetur Iesus Christus!

Vestes Sacrae

Vestments are those clothings worn for the liturgical rites. I'm often surprised by the inappropriate and cheap vestments that I've seen used in parishes. I'm not simply noting those vestments regularly seen which are worn, frayed, soiled, stained, wrinkled, etc. I'm talking about the quality of the vestment and it's appearance even when new. There are a variety of companies out there that provide liturgical supplies and for the large part their offerings in the category of vestments are ugly, of cheap quality while still managing to draw an exorbitant price, and often entirely inappropriate for use in liturgical rites.

As I live in the south western United States, I have an utter distaste for the fad which appeared here favoring a southwestern pattern and colors which have no Catholic or even Christian significance. I suppose when parishes and dioceses stop purchasing these horrid pseudo vestments these companies will stop making them. Now I understand the position of poor parishes having to make do with what they can, but when I see what they spend on the flower arrangements (perishable) and the cloths and banners to decorate the Church for the liturgical seasons (much of which is simply in poor taste) I'm not buying their excuses.

The chasuble above is a perfect example of how vestements ought to look. I realize that it's a semi-gothic style rather than the fiddleback and that's part of my point. There's a variety of styles to be found that are truly beautiful liturgical vestments. The chasuble above is from www.susanmaria.com. Please take the time to visit and browse the site. The vestments from this site are custom made. The price for this spectacular chasuble? An extremely reasonable $499.00 US. I've seen chasubles that are absolutely dreadful priced at above $1500.00.

Do you know a seminarian or priest? Then get together with other members of the parish, or if you have the means - do it yourself, and purchase a chasuble set with matching stole, chalice veil, and burse. Begin the return to beauty in our churches by donating these beautiful offerings yourself. This is after all how it is traditionally done. If anyone else knows of interesting sites that offer things like this then let us know.

Ordinations For The Diocese Of Phoenix

Please join me in prayer today for these two deacons, Rev. Mr. John Greb and Rev. Mr. John Lankeit (left to right), who are to be ordained to the priesthood tomorrow. Tonight at 7:oo p.m. the Most Reverend Bishop Thomas J. Olmstead, Diocese of Pheonix, and the seminarians of the diocese have invited the faithful to join them in a holy hour for these two men.

Tomorrow will be their ordination to the priesthood, which I will be attending. I look forward immensely to this joyous occasion. I will have the additional pleasure to be present at Fr. John Lankeit's Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Our diocese is blessed to be receiving these two men who have courageously answered God's call to the priesthood.

Please join those of us of the Diocese of Phoenix in offering prayers on behalf of these two men.

Theoretical Missal Project Via The New Liturgical Movement

In the beginning of May, Shawn Tribe of The New Liturgical Movement suggested to the readers of his blog that they attempt a theoretical revision of the Roman Rite.1 The idea intrigued me and so I set about doing just that. I've not given not submitted what I originally worked up, though I may do so yet. I've been following the discussions and I've found them illuminating if somewhat frustrating. One of the things that I admire about Shawn's blog is the wide readership and the vast cross section of comments that one finds there. I don't assume to speak for Shawn but I think that some of the commentors have entirely missed the point of the exercise. As I understood the "assignment" it was both a look at what sort of liturgy really is the outcome of the application of solid litugical principles and an exercise that allows one to reflect on the practical aspects of reforming the liturgy. To this end I believe that the idea was to look at a variety of opinions that could contribute to our understanding of the liturgical reform as it happened and to provide constructive criticism and discussion among his readership for whatever submissions are published. While some have criticized even the very attempt at producing theoretical missals for review, the process of so attempting has been fruitful and instructing for this reader.

I've always thought of myself as being solidly within the 'reform of the reform' camp. Ostensibly, this meant to me that I am neither for the continuation of current liturgical practice (as regards certain aspects of both the rubrics and the text) nor am I in favor of a wholesale return to the 1962 Roman Missal or its previous editions. I now see that while I have become quite adept at criticizing the reforms as they happened, my own efforts at creating a positive contribution in this regard fall apart under my very own criticisms of the current missal. I found it quite hard to restrain myself once I began the process of looking at just what a theoretical missal might look like. Allow me to outline in brief my thought process as I looked towards creating a theoretical missal.

The Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar

One of my criticisms of the Missa Normativa is that these prayers (Introibo, Judica me, Confiteor and versicles) are recognizable only in a form that is analagous to how a Pontiac Fiero resembles a Ferrari once it has been fitted with one of those ridiculous body kits. (My apologies to anyone reading this who drives one . . . and my condolences.) The separation of what is now called the Penitential Rite into options A, B and C are undesirable in my opinion and they are no longer said before ascending to the altar. The older prayers are developments to the Roman Rite around the 11th century and have their beginnings before this time in private and yet unscripted or unmandated customs. These prayers express the preparation of the priest and ministers before approaching the altar and all the rites of which I am aware have some form of a preparation even if their forms vary.

Taking my cue from the 1965 Roman Missal, I thought it no loss to drop the Judica Me entirely while leaving the Introibo antiphon and the Adjutorium nostrum. The Confiteor I thought to leave intact in form as found in the 1962 with the exception of the addition of "et omissione" as it is found in the Mozarabic, Carthusian, Dominican and other liturgies. However, I reduced the Confiteor to a single recitation by all but with the priest saying the Misereatur (nostri, nostris, nos) and Indulgentiam. I left intact the whole of the following versicles and responses. But the whole of this I moved to after the Introit or rather I should say that I moved the Introit to the actual procession after which these prayers are said before ascending to the altar.

It may be difficult to imagine the text above as I have layed it out, which is why I will probably submit it or make it available here. At this point I was quite happy with myself thinking that I had in large part maintained a close continuity with tradition and successfully incorporated these prayers in a more recognizable manner than the 1970 reform. Upon further reflection I think that the result was no less a concocted production than that of 1970. It is quite true that there are other venerable forms of the prayers at the foot of the altar which do not include the Introibo antiphon (Dominicans, Carthusian, Carmelite) but they have some other versicle and response in its place. Psalm 42 is recited in the Bragan and Mozarabic rite although it is not recited in the Gallican (Lyons) or Ambrosian even though they have the Introibo antiphon. In the end while I had tried to retain a traditional flavor through the selection of texts based upon the various traditional rites what I had drawn up was neither Roman nor did it conform to the useages of the other traditional rites. It was innovation pure and simple.

What was the necessity of these alterations of the Roman Rite? What liturgical principle had I been following? I think two things, at least, were at work in this theoretical revision. The first was a sincere desire to keep these laudable prayers in some form. It may help to know that these are the private prayers I use for my preparation when serving Mass (although I include the Judica me when I have sufficient time and always in Latin). So personal preference played a role even though I took a detailed look at various liturgies when considering what revisions I might make. This realization was for me quite shocking. My guiding principle: subjectivism (i.e. what I personally prefer). The second was I think simplification for the sake of simplification. I was approaching the missal with the intent to simplify its rites rather than seeking to simplify what only was necessary to simplify. For example, a good case can be made to drop the redundancy of the priest reciting the introit after the choir has sung it and such practices. What I had done here I cannot see as being innovations that are certainly and genuinely required for the good of the Church (SC, 23). In retrospect I think their are two ways to approach this either going the route of allowing the people to make the responses with the servers (already set forth by Pius XII in 1958) or in the interest of shorting the rites (SC, 34) maintaing their mandatory status but having them said in the sanctuary or merely omitting the Judica me. Though I think the former is more preferrable than the latter. In this way the text survives intact or almost so if the Judica me is omitted and remains a development of the Roman Rite rather than an entirely new ritual at the foot of the altar.

Other Alterations

Other alterations that I made were largely the same process of borrowing from another liturgy with slight tweaks. For example, I replaced the Suscipe sancte Pater and the Oferrimus tibi at the Offertory with the Ambrosian prayers as well as replacing the Roman Rite version of the Veni Sanctificator with the Sarum Rite version. In addition I did alter the Roman Canon but only by allowing the addition of the names of saints in the Communicantes and Nobis quoque, subject to the recognitio of the Holy See. In any case, the exercise was for me quite worthwhile and gave me a healthier respect for the kind of problems that are too easily encountered when attempting to make revisions to the liturgy.

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1. NLM - Theoetical Missal Project; NLM - Sample Theoretical Missal; NLM - Further Discussion

A New Beginning

My apologies to all for my extended absence from this blog. I took a christmas vacation and then started the spring semester of college, began training as an acolyte (specifically for the Cathedral Church and pontifical masses) and shortly found myself wrapped up in so many other things that sitting down and writing just got put to the side.

In any case, I'll be taking up at least weekly posting if not more over the summer.

Christus surrexit!
Vere surrexit!

Ad Missam in die Nativitatis Domini

Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum, editio typica tertia: Ad Missam in die Nativitatis Domini

Introit: Is. 9:6, Ps. 97:1
Puer natus est nobis, et filius datus est nobis: cuius imperium super humerum eius: et vocabitur nomen eius, magni consilii Angelus. Ps. Cantate Domino canticum novum: qui mirabilia fecit.

A child is born to us, and a Son is given to us; Whose government is upon His shoulder; and His name chall be called the angel of great counsel. Ps. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle; for He hath done wonderful things.

Collect
Deus, qui humanae substantiae dignitatemet mirabiliter condidisti, et mirabilius reformasti,da, quaesumus, nobis eius divinitatis esse consortes,qui humanitatis nostrae fieri dignatus est particeps.1

O God, who in a wondrous way created the dignity of human nature,and yet more wondrously shaped it anew, grant us, we beg, to be partakers of the Godhead of Him who deigned to become a participant of our humanity.2

Gradual: Ps. 97:3,2
Viderunt omnes fines terrae salutare Dei nostri: iubilate Deo omnis terra. V. Notum fecit Dominus salutare suum: ante conspectum gentium revelavit iustitiam suam.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God: sing joyfully to God all the earth. V. The Lord hath made known His salvation; He hath revealed His justice in the sight of the Gentiles.

Alleluia
Alleluia. V. Dies sanctificas illuxit nobis: venite gentes, et adorate Dominum: quia hodie descendit lux magna super terram. Alleluia.

Alleluia. V. A hallowed day hath dawned for us: come, ye Gentiles, and adore the Lord; for this day a great light hath descended upon the earth. Alleluia.

Offertory Ps. 88:12,15
Tui sunt caeli, et tua est terra: orbem terrarum, et plenitudinem eius tu fundasti: iustitia et iudicium praeparatio sedis tuae.

Thine are the heavens, and Thine is the earth: the world and the fulness thereof Thou hast founded: justice and judgment are the preparation of Thy throne.

Super Oblata
Oblatio tibi sit, Domine, hodiernae sollemnitatis accepta,qua et nostrae reconciliationis processit perfecta placatio,et divini cultus nobis est indita plenitudo.3

O Lord, let the sacrificial offering of today’s solemnity be acceptable to You, from whence issued forth the completed appeasing of our reconciliation,and also was imparted to us the fullness of divine worship.4

Communio
Viderunt omnes fines terrae salutare Dei nostri.

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Postcommunio
Praesta, misericors Deus, ut natus hodie Salvator mundi,sicut divinae nobis generationis est auctor,ita et immortalitatis sit ipse largitor.5

Grant, O merciful God, that just as the Savior of the world born today is for us the author of divine generation,so too may He be the bestower of immortality.6

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* Translations taken from Father F.X. Lasance,The New Roman Missal, Christian Book Club of America, 1993, unless otherwise noted.

1 Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum (num.Bruylants): Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus: ut nos Unigeniti tui nova per carnem Nativitatis liberet: quos sub peccati jugo vetusta servitus tenet. (Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that the new birth, in the flesh, of Thine only-begotten Son may deliver us whom slavery from old doth keep under the yoke of sin.)

Cod. Bibl. Capit. Veron. LXXXV (80) Sacramentarium Veronese (Leonianum): [1239] Deus, qui in humanae substantiae dignitate et mirabiliter condedisti et mirabilius reformasti: da, quaesumus, nobis Iesu Christi filii tui ³: eius:³ diuinitatis esse consortes, qui humanitatis nostrae fieri dignatus est particeps MENSE DECEMBRI. XL. VIII KALENDAS IANUARIAS. NATALE DOMINI ET MARTYRUM PASTORIS BASILEI ET IOUIANI ET UICTORINI ET EUGENIAE ET FELICITATIS ET ANASTASIAE

Cod. Vat. Reg. lat. 316/Paris B.N. 7193, 41-56(Sacramentarium Gelasianum Vetus): [27] Deus, qui humanae substantiae dignitate et mirabiliter condedisti et mirabilius reformasti: da, quesumus, ut eius efficiamur in diuina consortes, qui nostrae humanitatis fieri dignatus est particeps, Christus filius tuus: per eundem dominum nostrum. ITEM ORATIONES DE NATALE DOMINI AD UESPEROS SIUE MATUTINOS LIBER I. V.

Liber Sacramentorum Engolismensis (Gel. VIII sec.): [33] Deus qui humanae substantiae dignitatem et mirabiliter condidisti et mirabilius reformasti, da quaesumus ut eius efficiamur in diuina consortes, qui nostrae humanitatis fieri dignatus est particeps Christus filius tuus. Per Tit: VI. ITEM ORATIONES DE NATALE DOMINI AD VESPEROS SIVE MATVTINAS

Cambrai, Bibl. Mun., ms.164 (159) Sacramentarium Hadrianum: [49] Concede quaesumus, omnipotens deus, ut nos unigeniti tui nova per carnem nativitas liberet, quos sub peccati iugo vetusta servitus tenet. Per eundem dominum nostrum iesum christum. Tit: IN NATALE DOMINI AD SANCTUM PETRUM GrP: 17.801; [59] Deus qui humanae substantiae dignitatem et mirabiliter condidisti, et mirabilius reformasti, da nobis quaesumus eius divinitatis esse consortes qui humanitatis nostrae fieri dignatus est participes. Per dominum. Tit: ALIAE ORATIONES DE NATALE DOMINI. Alia. GrP:

2 WDTPRS Translation by Father John Zuhlsdorf.

3 Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum (num.Bruylants): [723] Oblata, Domine, munera nova Unigeniti tui Nativitate sanctifica: nosque a peccatorum nostrorum maculis emunda SO Die 25 Decembris. In Nativitate Domini. Ad tertiam missam in die(Sanctify our oblations, O Lord, by the new birth of Thy only-begotten Son, and cleanse us from the stains of our sins.)

Sacramentarium Veronese: [1249] Grata tibi sit, domine, quaesumus, hodiernae festiuitatis oblatio; ut tua gratia largiente per haec sacrosancta commercia in illius inueniamur forma, in quo tecum est nostra substantia MENSE DECEMBRI. XL. VIII KALENDAS IANUARIAS. NATALE DOMINI ET MARTYRUM PASTORIS BASILEI ET IOUIANI ET UICTORINI ET EUGENIAE ET FELICITATIS ET ANASTASIAE. IIII. ITEM ALIA; [1265] Oblatio tibi sit, domine, hodiernae festiuitatis accepta; qua et nostrae reconciliationis processit perfecta placatio, et diuini cultus nobis est indita plenitudo, et uia ueritatis et uita regni caelestis apparuit MENSE DECEMBRI. XL. VIII KALENDAS IANUARIAS. NATALE DOMINI ET MARTYRUM PASTORIS BASILEI ET IOUIANI ET UICTORINI ET EUGENIAE ET FELICITATIS ET ANASTASIAE. VIII. ITEM ALIA.

Sacramentarium Gelasianum: [19] Oblatio tibi sit, domine, hodierna festiuitatis accepta, quia et nostrae reconciliationis processit perfecta placatio, et diuini cultus nobis est indita plenitudo Iesu Christi domini nostri: qui tecum uiuit. ITEM IN NATALE DOMINI IN DIE secreta LIBER I. IIII.

Sacramentorum Englosismensis: [3] Accepta tibi sit Domine quaesumus hodiernae festiuitatis oblatio, ut tua gratia largiente per haec sacrosancta commercia in illius inueniamur forma, in quo te cum est nostra substantia. Per Dominum nostrum Tit: None; [23] Oblatio tibi sit Domine hodiernae festiuitatis accepta, qua et nostrae reconciliationis processit perfecta placatio, et diuini cultus nobis est indita plenitudo Iesu Christi Domini nostri qui tecum Tit: V. IN NATALE DOMINI AD SANCTVM PETRVM IN DIE SECRETA.

Sacramentarium Hadrianum: [37] Accepta tibi sit, domine, quaesumus, hodiernae festivitatis oblatio, ut tua gratia largiente per haec sacrosancta commertia in illius inveniamur forma, in quo est nostra substantia. Per dominum. Tit: VIII KALENDAS IANUARIAS ID EST XXV DIE MENSIS DECEMBRIS NATALE DOMINI AD SANCTAM MARIAM MAIOREM. Super oblata. GrP: 5

4 WDTPRS Translation by Father John Zuhlsdorf.

5 Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum (num.Bruylants): [858] Praesta, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus: ut natus hodie Salvator mundi, sicut divinae nobis generationis est auctor; ita et immortalitatis sit ipse largitor PC Die 25 Dec. In Nativitate Domini. Ad tertiam missam in die.

Sacramentarium Hadrianum: [53] Praesta quaesumus, omnipotens deus, ut natus hodie salvator mundi, sicut divinae nobis generationis est auctor, ita et inmortalitatis sit ipse largitor. (bis) Concede quaesumus omnipotens deus ut quos sub peccati iugo vestusta servitus tenet, eos unigeniti tui nova per carnem nativitas liberet. Qui tecum.Tit: IN NATALE DOMINI AD SANCTUM PETRUM. Ad completa / bis = ALIAE ORATIONES DE NATALE DOMINI GrP: 19; [56] Deus qui per beatae virginis partum sine humana concupiscentia procreatum, in filii tui membra venientis paternis fecisti praeiudiciis non teneri, praesta quaesumus, ut huius creaturae novitate suscepti, vetustatis antiquae contagiis exuamur. Per. Tit: ALIAE ORATIONES DE NATALE DOMINI. Alia oratio. GrP: 22

Sacramentorum Englosismensis: [29] Praesta quaesumus misericors Deus, ut natus hodie saluator mundi, sicut diuinae nobis generationis est auctor, ita et inmortalitatis sit ipse largitor. Per Tit: V. IN NATALE DOMINI AD SANCTVM PETRVM IN DIE
Sacramentarium Gelasianum: [18] Praesta, misericors deus, ut natus hodie saluatar, sicut diuinae generationis est auctor, ita et inmortalitatis sit ipse largitor: per. ITEM IN NATALE DOMINI IN DIE LIBER I. IIII.

Sacramentarium Veronese (Leonianum): [1271] Presta, misericors deus, ut natus hodie saluator mundi, sicut diuinae nobis generationis est auctor, ita et inmortalitatis sit ipse largitor MENSE DECEMBRI. XL. VIII KALENDAS IANUARIAS. NATALE DOMINI ET MARTYRUM PASTORIS BASILEI ET IOUIANI ET UICTORINI ET EUGENIAE ET FELICITATIS ET ANASTASIAE. VIIII. ITEM ALIA

6 WDTPRS Translation by Father John Zuhlsdorf.

Sermons For Christmas - II

The Nativity of our Lord

The Threefold Office of Jesus Christ.
S. John i. 4. - "The life was the light of men."

In this Gospel the Child Who is born is called the Word - "In the beginning was the Word"; the "Light" and the "life" - "The Life was the Light of men." From this is learned the threefold benefit which His Incarnation conferred upon man.

Jesus Christ Incarnate was:

I. Firstly, the Word, teaching man - "Jesus went about all Galilee teaching" (S. Matt. iv. 23); and He taught us three things:

1. Physics, which inquires into the nature of things; for Jesus Christ taught us the quality of things when He taught the deceit of the world, the treachery of the devil, and the truth of God.

2. Logic, which proves what is true, teaching the truth of Holy Scripture - "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures" (S. Luke xxiv. 45).

3. Ethics, which is probity of manners, when He taught holiness of life - "Blessed are the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart" (S. Matt. v. 3-12); "Ye call Me Master [Teacher] and Lord, and ye say well: for so I am" (S. John xiii. 13).

II. Secondly, the Light, enlightening men. Our Blessed Lord enlightens in three ways:

1. By expelling the night of sin.

2. By bringing in the day of grace - "The night is far spent, the day is at hand" (Rom. xiii. 12).

3. By diffusing great lights, which are the Saints, throughout the world - "Among whom ye shine as lights in the world" (Philipp. ii. 15).

III. Thirdly, the Life, leading on to eternity:

1. Repairing our life by His Resurrection - "I am the Resurrection and the Life" (S. John xi. 25).

2. Endowing this life with grace - "Because I live, ye shall live also" (S. John xiv. 19).

3. Granting a life of glory - "I will give unto them eternal life" (S. John x. 28).

S. Thoma de Aquino

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Ashley, John M. B.C.L., The Homilies of St. Thomas Aquinas, Roman Catholic Books, First published in 1873.

Sermons For Christmas - I

Gospel: Luke 2:1-14 Year A

In those days Caesar Augustus published a decree ordering a census of the whole world. And so Joseph went from the town of Nazareth to Galilee.

Commentary: Sermon 193, 1-2

When the gospel was read, we heard the voices of angels announcing to the shepherds that the Lord Jesus Christ was born of the virgin: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. Festive voices, congratulating not just one woman whose womb had been delivered of offspring, but the whole human race, for whom the virgin had borne the savior. It was right, you see, and altogether fitting, that the one who carried in her womb the Lord of heaven and earth, and after giving birth to him remained virginally intact, should be hailed in her childbearing, not by a pack of women with solemn human rites, but by angels with glorious divine praises. Let us too then say, and say with all the jubilation we can muster - because we aren't announcing his birth to shepherds watching their flocks, but celebrating his birthday with his sheep; let us too say, I repeat, with faithful hearts and loyal voices, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.

Let us take as close and shrewd a look as we can at these divine words, these praises of God, this exultant joy of the angels, and meditate on it in faith and hope and charity. For in accordance with what we believe and hope and desire, we too will be glory to God in the highest, when with the spiritual body rising again we are snatched up to meet Christ in the clouds, providing that meanwhile, as long as we are on earth, we pursue peace with good will. But all who would have life and love to see good days, let them curb their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit; let them turn aside from evil and do good, and in this way be people of good will. And let them seek peace and pursue it, because on earth peace to people of good will.

But if you say, man, "Look, to will is available to me, but to perform the good I do not find in myself," and if you delight in the law of God according to the inner self, but see another law in your members fighting back against the law of your mind, and taking you prisoner to the law of sin which is in your members, persist in your good will, and cry out what follows: Wretched man that I am, who will set me free from the body of this death? The grace of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

He, you see, after the war in which the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, so that it is not the things you wish that you do, is peace on earth to people of good will, because he is our peace, who has made the two into one. So let good will persist in standing firm against evil desires, and persist in imploring the help of God's grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. The law in the members of the flesh is fighting back against it, and here it is, already being taken prisoner. Let it implore help and not trust in its own powers; and even if weary and in distress, let it at least not be too proud to confess. One will be at hand, don't forget, who said to people that already, as he could see, believed in him, If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will recognize the truth, and the truth will set you free. Truth will be at hand to set you free from the body of his death. That, for sure, is why Truth, whose birthday we are celebrating, has sprung from the earth, in order to be peace on earth to people of good will.

S. Aurelius Augustinus

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Rotelle, John E., Augustine on the Sunday Gospel, Augustinian Press, 1998, pp. 33-34.

Praefatio(EPII)

Missale Romanum 1970
Vere dignum et iustum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi, sancte Pater, semper et ubique gratias agere per Filium dilectionis tuae Iesum Christum, Verbum tuum per quod cuncta fecisti: quem misisti nobis Salvatorem et Redemptorem, incarnatum de Spiritu Sancto et ex Virgine natum. Qui voluntatem tuam adimplens et populum tibi sanctum acquirens extendit manus cum pateretur, ut mortem solveret et resurrectionem manifestaret. Et ideo cum Angelis et omnibus Sanctis gloriam tuam praedicamus, una voce dicentes:1

ICEL translation:
Father, it is our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ. He is your Word through whom you made the universe, the Savior you sent to redeem us. By the power of the Holy Spirit he took flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. For our sake he opened his arms on the cross; he put an end to death and revealed the resurrection. In this he fulfilled your will and won for you a holy people. And so we join the angels and the saints in proclaiming your glory as we say: 2

Literal translation:
Truly it is fitting and just, right and helpful unto salvation, for us always and everywhere to give you thanks, O Holy Father, through Your beloved Son Jesus Christ, Your Word through Whom You made all things: Whom You sent to us as Savior and Redeemer, incarnate from the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin. It is He who, fulfilling Your will and securing a holy people for You, extended His hands when He was to suffer, so that He could loosen the death bond and show forth the resurrection. And therefore with the Angels and all the Saints we proclaim Your glory, saying with one voice:3

In the past I have focused somewhat on the ICEL translations attempting both to show the inadequacies of their translations as well as providing for how to understand the sacred texts in light of the original. I will no longer make this a focus of my primary endeavors. First, the series of articles by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf which can be found either at his website or published in the Wanderer have done more than I could possibly do in this regard. The literal translations of the remaining Eucharistic Prayers shall be from his series (used with his kind permission). Therefore I leave to the reader to compare the literal translation so provided with the ICEL translations. If at times I return to explaining, comparing or noticing the problematic ICEL translation it is only because the difficulties that it introduces into what is otherwise in the original a wonderful collection of prayers worthy of our highest regard and contemplation is so glaring that I frequently find myself annoyed. Secondly, after having given thought at the provoking of an email from a reader I have decided that I wish my contributions here to be positive by means of exposition rather than a negative critique of the ICEL translations. I think that such a positive exposition in itself will show where and how the ICEL translation misses the mark in so many ways. I have attempted in the following to use the limited resources available to myself in order to provide a commentary on EPII, the one that we so regularly hear in our parishes. I apologize in advance for the sparse offerings and invite comments, corrections and further resources as we begin to build a repository for information concerning these liturgical prayers.

Vere dignum et iustum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi, sancte Pater, semper et ubique gratias agere - This formula differs from that of the general use of the Latin Rite: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus (Holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God). The former missal uses this formula for all its prefaces. So also do the Dominican Rite, Mozarabic Rite4, Ambrosian Rite, and Carthusian Rite. It is also found in the Leonine and Gelasian Sacramentaries. Additionally the formula comes after agere in other prefaces rather than interpolated after tibi. The source of this Eucharistic Prayer is the anaphora of St. Hippolytus of Rome.5 It has here simply Gratias tibi referimus, Deus (We give Thee thanks, O God). The decision of the Concilium to here place only part of the usual Latin Rite formula has left me baffled. Such a modification to the Hippolytan prayer makes sense to bring it into conformity with general useage but seems superfluous if a particular uniqueness is retained anyway. Neither does it conform to Eastern Rite formula for the prefaces.6 However, there are a great variety of liturgical forms for addressing God the Father in other prayers as well as variegated formula between the different Eastern Rites.

Sancte Pater translates into English as Holy Father, which though certainly is theologically sound has an odd ring to English ears because this is the same address we use for the Pope. Scripturally the only verse that holy and father appear next to each other is John 17:11 (Pater sancte).7 In various liturgical prayers, God the Father is addressed as supreme Father of the faithful, Father of mercies, Father almighty, God, Father almighty,8 almighty Father, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, God Father, supreme Father, most affectionate Father,9 eternal Father, glorious Father, and good Father.10 This list is certainly not comprehensive but it does give one a feel for the varied expressions of liturgy. Sancte pater is found in the Liber Sacramentorum Engolismensis11 and in some other collections such as the XVI century German Premonstratensian Hours12 and a 1557 French book of devotions.13

The intended meaning is made clear in the next line: through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ (per Filium dilectionis tuae Iesum Christum). The Father is holy, the source of all holiness. It is to the person of the Father that the Eucharistic Prayer is addressed. Some fruit may be drawn from this unique instance by reflection upon the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who uses this very phrase (Holy Father) in His prayer for the unity of the Church. It’s use here in the Eucharistic Prayer reminds us not only that it is through the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar that the Mystical Body of Christ is perfected in unity but also reminds us of the seamless connection between the Institution of the Holy Eucharist on Maundy Thursday, the prayer for the unity of His Church,14 His Agony at Gethsemane, His unjust trial and conviction, His brutal beatings, His death upon the Cross and His resurrection and glorious ascension into heaven.

St. John the Evangelist tells us that it is after His prayer for unity that Jesus goes forth with His disciples into a garden. St. Matthew records for us that the garden they went to was Gethsemane where our Lord begins His Agony that is contemplated in the first Sorrowful Mystery of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Luke records that being in earnest prayer He sheds His blood at this place. St. Mark and St. Matthew give us a subtle treasure that goes unnoticed by Catholics who are not familiar with the ceremonies of the Jewish passover that Scott Hahn delves into deeply in his talk entitled “The Forth Cup.”15 In short, the celebration of the Passover calls for the hymns, which St. Matthew and St. Mark record that our Lord and the Apostles sang before going to Gethsemane, to be followed by another cup of wine. Hence the institution of the Eucharist is consummated on the Cross when Christ drinks from the sponge soaked in soured wine. Therefore we should recall when we hear these words at Holy Mass how it is that our Lord intended the Blessed Sacrament to show forth His inestimable love and the intimate connection between its institution, His death, resurrection and ascension and His prayer to the Father for the unity of His Church.

per Filium dilectionis tuae Iesum Christum, - It is through Christ that we are reconciled to the Father. In the Eucharistic Prayer the Church prays in the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ to the Father. These words are found also in the wonderful devotion called the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which our Lord through St. Faustina has given us and much desires us to pray. In Latin the prayer on the single beads is: Pater aeterne, offero tibi, Corpus et Sanguinem, animam et Divinitatem, dilectissimi Filii tui Domini nostri Jesu Christi, in propitipatione pro peccatis nostris et totius mundi.

Jesus is the Son of the Father’s love through whom we are redeemed and find remission of our sins.16 The Father tells us so at Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan and again at His Transfiguration on the Mount when the Father says to us, “This is My beloved Son.”17 For as St. John the Evangelist writes, “For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him.”18

Verbum tuum per quod cuncta fecisti: - The Logos (Word) was in the beginning with God and the Word was God and through Him all things were made. Nothing that was made was made without Him. So St. John the Evangelist19 tells us in the first verses of the Gospel written by him just as the writer of Wisdom20 tells us also. Not only were all things made by Him and in Him but that everything that was made continues to exist only by virtue of Him.21 “All things that were made were made not for the increase of God’s glory but to show it forth and communicate it. The First Vatican Council explains: This one, true God, of his own goodness and “almighty power,” not for increasing his own beatitude, nor for attaining his perfection, but in order to manifest this perfection through the benefits which he bestows on creatures, with absolute freedom of counsel “and from the beginning of time, made out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal…” 22

quem misisti nobis Salvatorem et Redemptorem, - “Now this is eternal life: That they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” 23 “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church. To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.”24 “It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the diving image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God.”25

In the whole of Denzinger’s “The Sources of Catholic Dogma,” the use of these two titles for Christ are found together in only one passage. It is a passage that I find most significant given the context in which these words appear here. The Council of Trent “teaches and openly and simply professes that in the nourishing sacrament of the Holy Eucharist after the consecration of the bread and wine our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and man, is truly, really and substantially contained under the species of those sensible things. For these things are not mutually contradictory, that our Savior Himself is always seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven according to the natural mode of existing, and yet that in many other places sacramentally He is present to us in His own substance by that manner of existence which, although we can scarcely express it in words, yet we can, however, by our understanding illuminated by faith, conceive to be possible to God, and which we ought most steadfastly believe. For thus all our forefathers, as many as were in the true Church of Christ, who have discussed this holy sacrament, have most openly professed that our Redeemer instituted this so wonderful a sacrament at the Last Supper, when after the blessing of the bread and wine He testified in clear and definite words that He gave them His own body and His own blood…”26

incarnatum de Spiritu Sancto et ex Virgine natum. - “Oh how great was the joy of the heavenly Father in that night when He beheld His well-beloved Son, begotten from all eternity, born of the pure Virgin, whom He vouchsafed to call by the endearing name of daughter! How great the gladness of the Son of God when He beheld Himself clad in the vesture of our humanity, possessing now not only a Father in Heaven, but a Mother on earth besides! How great the satisfaction of the Holy Spirit on beholding Him whom He had united to the Father from all eternity in the closest bond of a perfect love now, by His operation, joined so intimately to human nature that the two natures, so infinitely distinct and diverse, were united together in the one person of the God-Man! How great the sweetness which filled the soul of the Blessed Virgin when, gazing on her new-born Babe, she told herself that the Infant she held in her arms was not her Son alone, but also the Son of the Eternal Father, the Most High God!”27

“It is certain that all God’s works, styled by theologians opera ad extra, or external works, are the works of all the three divine Persons. And why, therefore, should the Incarnation be attributed solely to the Person of the Holy Ghost? The chief reason which the Angelic Doctor assigns for it is because all the works of divine love are attributed to the Holy Ghost, who is the substantial love of the Father and of the Son; and the work of the Incarnation was purely the effect of the surpassing love which God bears to man: “But this proceeded from the very great love of God, that the Son of God should assume flesh to himself in the womb of the Virgin.”28 “St. Gregory of Naziansen adds, moreover, that God, for the love he bears to men, seems beside himself: “we are bold to say it, God is out of himself by reason of his immense love.”29 “God had conferred so many blessings on men, thereby to draw them to love him; but these ungrateful men not only did not love him, but they would not even acknowledge him as their Lord. … He, however, who wished to be more loved than feared by us, became man like us, chose a poor, suffering, and obscure life, and a painful and ignominious death; and why? To draw our hearts to himself. If Jesus Christ had not redeemed us, he would not have been less great or less happy than he has always been; but he determined to procure our salvation at the cost of many labors and sufferings, as if his happiness depended on ours. He might have redeemed us without suffering; but no, - he willed to free us from eternal death by his own death; and though he was able to save us in a thousand ways, he chose the most humiliating and painful way of dying on the cross of pure suffering, to purchase the love of us, ungrateful worms of the earth. And what indeed was the cause of his miserable birth and his most sorrowful death, if not the love he had for us?”30

Qui voluntatem tuam adimplens et populum tibi sanctum acquirens extendit manus cum pateretur, - “He gave us not a servant, not an Angel, but his own Son,” says St. John Chrysostom. Wherefore Holy Church exultingly exclaims, “O wondrous condescension of Thy mercy in our regard! O unappreciable love of charity! That Thou mightest redeem a slave, Thou deliveredst up Thy Son.”31 “The gift which the Eternal Father made us of his Son was a true gift, perfectly voluntary, and without any merit of ours…” 32“Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all.”33 “And the Lord willed to bruise Him in infirmity. He willed to make him die consumed by torments and sufferings.”34

“It is of faith that Jesus loved us, and for love of us has given himself over unto death: Christ hath loved us, and hath delivered himself up for us.” 35 “I give my life … no one taketh it from Me; but I lay it down of Myself.’ Wherefore St. John observes that Jesus, by his death, gave us the uttermost proof that he could have given us of his love: Having loved His own, He loved them to the end.” 36 “It was for this end, says the Apostle, that he, our beloved Redeemer died for us, that, by the love he displayed towards us in his death, he might become the possessor of our hearts: To this end Christ died, and rose again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and of the living; therefore, whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s Whether, then we die or live, it is but just that we belong wholly to Jesus, who has saved us at so great a cost.” 37

ut mortem solveret et resurrectionem manifestaret. - It is at this juncture that some detractors 38 of this Eucharistic Prayer attempt to show a Protestant bias of the liturgical reformers by the suppression of the formula of St. Hippolytus in his original anaphora. They claim to show that the original “that He might destroy death and break the bonds of the devil and trample under foot hell and illumine the just (ut mortem solvat at vincula diaboli dirumpat, et infernum calcet, et justos illuminet)” was reduced to “ut mortem solveret” for reasons coinciding with Protestant or at least non-Catholic ethos. I’m not quite sure how the one is more Catholic than the other but I do think that we can take a cue from Dom Cabrol’s study of the Roman Mass to see a more suitable reason for this suppression. The liturgical reformers who re-wrote this prayer did so in a manner that emulates the genius of the Roman Canon. Here as in the Roman Canon the reformers followed a similar pattern of pairing terms: dignum et justum; aequum et salutare; semper et ubique, nos tibi – sancte Pater, Salvatorem et Redemptorem, incarnatum de Spiritu Sancto et ex Virgine natum, voluntatem tuam adimplens et populum tibi sanctum acquirens, mortem solveret et resurrectionem manifestaret, cum Angelis et omnibus Sanctis.39

Venerable Bede, Priest and Doctor, in a homily given on the Vigil of Easter tells us, “The Gentiles are wont in this place to lay snares of deception before the simple trustfulness of our faith, by saying: Are you not rash to trust that the Christ Whom you worship can bring back your bodies imperishable from the dust: He Who did not conceal the signs of death that were upon that body which you say was raised from the dead; and who could not heal the scars of the wounds He received upon the Cross?” “To whom we answer, that Christ, since He is the Omnipotent God, and as He promised, has both recalled to life, as He willed, His own body, Which by dying He had put off, and raised our bodies from corruption to incorruption, from death to life, from the dust of the earth to everlasting glory. He could have shown It to His Disciples with the wounds of His Passion healed, yet, because of the divine purpose of the Incarnation, He chose to retain upon it these tokens of His Passion.” “So it was necessary that Christ suffer, and rise again; because it was impossible for the world to be saved unless God came as man, Who, appearing in the nature of man, would teach men how to serve God, and Who, submitting to death, as man would triumph over it by divine power; and thus awaken in those who believed in Him a contempt for death, and kindle in them a certain hope of resurrection and of life everlasting.”40

Et ideo cum Angelis et omnibus Sanctis gloriam tuam praedicamus, una voce dicentes: - Therefore the Church, having recalled in brief the story of our salvation not for God’s benefit but that we might contemplate the Holy Mysteries and understand in them the infinite graces there contained, proclaims with all the Angels and Saints the glory of God in the words Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus!

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1 Daily Roman Missal, Rev. James Socias, Midwest Theological Forum, 2003, p. 764.

2 Ibid., p. 765

3 Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, What Do The Prayers Really Say?, Site: WDTPRS; Blog: WDTPRS .

4 The Mozarabic Rite has it (the usual Latin rite formula) for the First Sunday of Advent as found in Patrologia Latina, Migne Volume 85. This is the only copy of the Mozarabic Ordo Missae that I have available for comparison. Given the consistency of the formula across various rites it seems safe to assume that the other proper prefaces follow the same.

5 Anaphora of St. Hippolytus, Canonum Reliquiae.

6 O Master, Lord, Father, invisible King, Eternal Father, etc.

7 John 17:11 And now I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name whom thou has given me; that they may be one, as we also are. (Et jam non sum in mundo, et hi in mundo sunt, et ego ad te vénio. Pater sancte, serva eos in nómine tuo, quos dedísti mihi : ut sint unum, sicut et nos.)

8 Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum (num.Bruylants): Deus, fidelium Pater summe..., Oratio post Prophetia Tertia, Sabbato Sancto[224]; Deus, misericordiam pater..., Oratio (collecta), Die 20 Iulii S. Hieronymi Aemiliani, Confessoris[238]; ...Pater omnipotens..., Orationis DNIC (postcommunio), Missae pro aliquibus locis: Feria III post Dominicam Septuagesimae[960]; ...Deus, Pater omnipotens..., Secreta, Missae pro aliquibus locis: Die 4 Iulii In commemoratione Omnium Ss. Summorum Pontificum[1166].

9 Cod. Vat. Reg. lat. 316/Paris B.N. 7193, 41-56(Sacramentarium Gelasianum Vetus): ...imperat tibi deus pater..., Exorcismus contra inerguminos, [1716]; ...sume pater..., Secreta, Orationes et praecis in Dominica Octavorum Pentecosten, Liber I. LXXXIIII[679]; ...piissime pater..., Reconciliatio paenitentis ad mortem Liber I. XXXVIIII[364].

10 Cod. Bibl. Capit. Veron. LXXXV (80) Sacramentarium Veronese (Leonianum): ...pater aeternae..., VIII Mense Aprile/XXVII item alia[101]; ...pater gloriae..., Mense Maio XI in Dominicum Pentecosten[217]; ...pater bone..., Mense Iunio XVI Coniunctio oblationis Virginum Sacratarum XIII item alia[316].

11 Liber Sacramentorum Engolismensis (Gel. VIII sec.): ...haec tibi sancte pater..., No title [1765]; ...per te sancte pater..., LXXV Item alia Missa Post Communionem[2185]; ...sancte pater..., LXXVIII Orationes votivas quas sacerdos pro se orare debeat[2197].

12 MS 9 (olim Z109.32) Germany, s. XVI, Hours, Premonstratensian use, 16. ff. 201v-209v: Misericordiam tuam domine sancte pater, Ps. 113 (cue only) with antiphon.

13 MS 314 France, 1557 Devotions (in Latin and French) 5. ff. 42r-67v[Prayers]: O Amantissime domine sancte pater ego offero tibi...

14 The Fourth Cup by Scott Hahn

15 Chronology of events: Hymns: (Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26), Peter’s denial foretold: (Mt 26:31-35; Mk 14:27-31; Lk 22:31-34; Jn 13:36-38), the Prayer for Unity: (Jn 17:1-26), they enter into Gethsemane: (Mt 26:36; Mk 14:32; Lk 22:39-40; Jn 18:1).

16 Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins; 15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature (Col 1:13 qui erípuit nos de potestáte tenebrárum, et tránstulit in regnum fílii dilectiónis suæ, 14 in quo habémus redemptiónem per sánguinem ejus, remissiónem peccatórum : 15 qui est imágo Dei invisíbilis, primogénitus omnis creatúræ)

17 The Baptism “Hic est Filius meus dilectus” (Mt 3:17) and the Transfiguration of the Lord “Hic est Filius meus dilectus” (Mt 17:5).

18 John 3:16 Sic enim Deus diléxit mundum, ut Fílium suum unigénitum daret : ut omnis qui credit in eum, non péreat, sed hábeat vitam ætérnam. 17 Non enim misit Deus Fílium suum in mundum, ut júdicet mundum, sed ut salvétur mundus per ipsum.

19 John 1:1-3: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made. (1 In princípio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. 2 Hoc erat in princípio apud Deum. 3 Ómnia per ipsum facta sunt : et sine ipso factum est nihil, quod factum est.)

20 Wisdom 9: 1 God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word (Deus patrum meórum, et Dómine misericórdiæ, qui fecísti ómnia verbo tuo).

21 Col 1:16-17: 16 For in him were all things created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominations, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and in him. 17 And he is before all, and by him all things consist. (16 quóniam in ipso cóndita sunt univérsa in cælis, et in terra, visibília, et invisibília, sive throni, sive dominatiónes, sive principátus, sive potestátes : ómnia per ipsum et in ipso creáta sunt : 17 et ipse est ante omnes, et ómnia in ipso constant).

22 CCC 293 St. Bonaventure, In II Sent. I,2,2,1. Dei Filius, 1: DS 3002; cf. Lateran Council IV (1215): DS 800.

23 John 17:3 Hæc est autem vita ætérna : ut cognóscant te, solum Deum verum, et quem misísti Jesum Christum.

24 CCC Prooemium 1. Deus, in Se Ipso infinite perfectus atque beatus, secundum purae bonitatis propositum, hominem libere creavit, ut illum vitae Suae beatae efficeret participem. Quare Ipse omni tempore et in omni loco homini fit propinquus. Hominem Deus vocat et adiuvat ut Eum quaerat, cognoscat atque totis viribus diligat. Omnes homines, peccato dispersos, in unitatem convocat familiae Suae, quae est Ecclesia. Ad id efficiendum, Suum misit Filium tamquam Redemptorem et Salvatorem, cum tempora sunt impleta. In Ipso et per Ipsum homines Deus vocat ut in Spiritu Sancto filii Eius fiant adoptivi atque ideo heredes Eius vitae beatae.

25 CCC 1701: In Christo, Redemptore et Salvatore, imago divina, in homine deformata primo peccato, in sua originali pulchritudine est restaurata et gratia Dei nobilitata.24 (24) Cf Concilium Vaticanum II, Const. past. Gaudium et spes, 22: AAS 58 (1966) 1042.

26 Council of Trent, Session XIII, Ch 1: DS 874.

27 Fr. Martin von Cochem, The Incredible Catholic Mass, Tan Books, 1997, pp. 88-89.

28 St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ, Redemptorist Fathers, p. 21, St. Thomas Aquinas, P. 3,q. 32.a. I: Hoc autem ex maximo Dei amore provenit, ut Filius Dei carnem sibi assumeret in utero Virginis.

29 Ibid., p. 25, St. Gregory Nazianzen: "Audemus dicere quod Deus, prae magnitudine amoris, extra se sit." De Div. Nom. C. 4.

30 Ibid., p. 360.

31 St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ, Redemptorist Fathers, p. 142; Non servum, non Angelum, sed Filium suum donavit – in Jo. Hom 26. O mira circa nos tuae pietatis dignatio! O inaestimabilis dilectio charitatis! Ut servum redimeres, Filium tradidisti.”

32 Ibid., p.143

33 Ibid., p. 144; “Qui etiam proprio Filio suo non percepit, sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum,” Rom. 8:32.

34 Ibid., p.144; “Et Dominus voluit conterere eum in infirmitate,” Isa. 53:10.

35 Ibid., p. 149; “Christus dilexit nos et tradidit semetipsum pro nobis,” Eph 5:2.

36 Ibid., p.150; “Ego pono animam meam …; nemo tollit eam a me, sed ego pono eam a meipso,” John 10:17; “Cum dilexisset suos, qui errant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos,” John 13:1.
37 Ibid., p. 152; “ In hoc enim Christus mortuus est et resurrexit, ut et mortuorum et vivorum dominetur. Sive ergo morimur, sive vivimus, Domini sumus,” Rom. 14:9.

38 Ecclesia Militans, Wandea, Rama Coomaraswamy.

39 Rt. Rev. Dom Fernand Cabrol, The Mass of the Western Rites, Ch V, The Roman Canon.

40 Fr. M. F. Toal, D.D., The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, Volume II,Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2000, pp. 204-210; Venerable Bede, PL 54, Sermon 71, For the Vigil of Easter: the Giving of Peace.

Canonum Reliquiae: An Anaphora From A Verona Manuscript

Gratias tibi referimus, Deus per dilectum puertum tuum Iesum Christum, quem in ultimis temporibus misisti nobis Salvatorem et Redemptorem et angelum voluntatis tuae, qui est Verbum tuum inseparabilem, per quem omnia fecisti, et beneplacitum tibi fuit; misisti de caelo in matricem Virginis. Quique in utero habitus incarnatus est, et Filius tibi ostensus est ex Spiritu Sancto et Virgine natus; qui voluntatem tuam complens, et populum sanctum tibi adquirens, extendit manus, cum pateretur, ut a passione liberaret eos qui in te crediderunt;

Qui, cumque traderetur voluntariae passioni, ut mortem solvat at vincula diaboli dirumpat, et infernum calcet, et justos illuminet, et terminum figat, et resurrectionem manifestet, accipiens panem, gratias tibi agens, dixit:

Accipite, manducate: hoc est corpus meum, quod pro vobis confringetur.

Similiter et calicem, dicens: his est sanguis meus, qui pro vobis effunditur; quando hoc facitis, meum commemorationem facitis.

Memores igitur mortis et resurrectionis ejus, offerimus tibi panem et calicem, gratias tibi agentes, quia nos dignos habuisti adstare coram te et tibi ministrare. Et petimus ut mittas Spiritum tuum Sanctum in oblationem sanctae Ecclesiae; in unum congregans, des omnibus, qui pecipiunt sancis, in repletionem Spiritus Sancti, ad confimationem fidei in veritate, ut te laudemus et glorificemus per puerum tuum Jesum Christum, per quem tibi gloria et honor, Patri et Filio cum Sancto Spiritu, in sancta Ecclesia tua, et nunc et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

We give Thee thanks, O God, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, whom in the last times Thou hast sent us as Savior and Redeemer and messenger [angel] of Thy will; who is Thy Word inseparable, by whom Thou hast made all things and [in whom] Thou hast been well pleased; [whom] Thou didst send from Heaven into the womb of the Virgin, and who in her was incarnate and has been sown They Son, being born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin; who, fulfilling Thy will and winning for Thee a holy people, extended His hands when he suffered, to deliver by His Passion those who have believed in Thee;

Whom, when He was delivered to His freely accepted passion, that He might destroy death and break the bonds of the devil and trample under foot hell and illumine the just and put an end and manifest the resurrection, said, taking bread [and] giving thanks:

Take, eat, this is My Body which will be broken for you.

In like manner, [He took] the chalice, saying: This is My Blood which is shed for you; when you do this, you make commemoration of Me.

We, remembering therefore His death and resurrection, offer Thee the bread and chalice, giving Thee thanks, because Thou hast made us worthy to stand before Thee and to minister to Thee. And we ask that Thou send Thy Holy Spirit upon the oblation of the holy Church, that gathering [them] into one, Thou give to all the saints who receive [it] the fullness of the Holy Ghost for the confirmation of the faith in truth, that we may praise and glorify Thee through Thy Son Jesus Christ, through whom may be to Thee glory and honor, to the Father and to the Son with the Holy Ghost, in Thy holy Church, now and for all ages. Amen.

---

Source: westtexascatholicparishes.org/docs/veronaman.htm

The above is from the Verona Latin manuscript and it is a translation of a Greek original document. The text is also found in Testamentum Domini, a Syriac manuscript of the same. Dom Cagin, OSB is of the opinion that this reflects the use of the primitive liturgy. It bears some resemblance as well to the Anaphora of St. Hippolytus, already given previously. It bears even more striking resemblance to the second Eucharistic prayer of the reformed missal of Pope Paul VI. I wish that I had more information on this text as the source is unclear on a number of points. Nevertheless, it is an excellent addition to the collection of early anaphoras given here.

Update 12.22.2005: It appears that this is actually from the same family of variant texts of St. Hippolytus' Apostolic Traditions. Even though we've got one version of an English translation already I'm leaving this up in virtue of the latin text provided.

Per Quem

Missale Romanum 1962
Per quem haec omnia, Domine, semper bona creas, sanctificas, vivificas, benedicis, et praestas nobis. Per ipsum, et cum ipso, et in ipso est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti in unitate Spiritus Sancti omnis honor et gloria. Per omnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.

Through whom, Lord, Thou dost ever create, hallow, fill with life, bless and bestow upon us all good things. Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, is to Thee, God the Father Almighty, in the union of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory: world without end. R. Amen. 1

By whom, O Lord, Thou dost always create, sanctify, vivify, bless and bestow upon us all these good things. Through Him, and with Him, and in Him is unto Thee, God the Father Almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory: world without end. R. Amen. 2

Missale Romanum 1970
Per quem haec omnia, Domine, semper bona creas, sanctificas, vivificas, benedicis, et praestas nobis. Per ipsum, et cum ipso, et in ipso est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti in unitate Spiritus Sancti, omnis honor et gloria per omnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.

Through him you give all these gifts. You fill them with life and goodness, you bless them and make them holy. Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. R. Amen. 3

In the first part of the prayer (Per quem) we confess that the gifts of the sacrifice are made and given by God through Jesus Christ, just as we confess in the Credo: through Him all things were made (per quem omnia facta sunt). We understand from this that not only the bread and wine have their existence through Christ but that being changed to a new mode of existence by virtue of the consecration is done also through Christ. Hence, in the second part (Per ipsum) we acknowledge, since they are the means by which Jesus Christ perpetuates the one Sacrifice of the Cross, that through such the highest honor and glory are given to the Triune God. 4

The phrase "all these good things"5 we should understand to have a twofold meaning. The first concerns the natural goods of bread and wine which for the purpose of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, God, through Christ and in the Holy Spirit creates, sanctifies and vivifies. Secondly, we are to understand the supernatural goods of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ which He bestows upon us in Holy Communion and as a sacrificial gift, which in turn we must and should offer to Him. 6 Fr. Forteque relates that some have thought that the beginning phrase concerning the blessings of other objects is a remnant of what once was originally a Logos-Epiklesis, like that found in the Anaphora of St. Serapion. Others deny that there was ever a Logos Invocation at Rome. The Leonine and Gelasian Sacramentary have similar blessings, “Benedic Domine et has tuas creaturas (vel fruges).” 7

"A still richer and more profound meaning of the above words may be discovered, if we regard the bread and wine, which lie on the altar according to visible appearances, as the representatives of all the other products of nature...such a view becomes natural considering the custom formerly...of performing at this point all kinds of blessings." 8 "At certain times and on special feasts there was a blessing immediately before this prayer by means of a specially inserted formula for various objects, chiefly articles of food, for example, water, milk, honey, grapes, beans, fruit. Even now the bishop, according to a strict ordinance, has annually on Holy Thursday at this place in the Canon to bless the holy oil for the sick. The intimate relation of such blessings with the sacrificial celebration places before our eyes the truth, that every blessing, every grace and consecration (in a certain sense) proceeds from the Eucharistic Sacrifice." 9

In the rearranging that took place in the Roman Canon either shortly before or during the reign of Pope Gelasius I, these prayers came to understood as refering to those things which received blessings, and then later were understood with regards to the Eucharistic Gifts themselves. Later again, with the rearrangement of the Pater Noster and the Pax, the elevation of the gifts was pushed back to coincide with the Per ipsum. In almost all the other rites this elevation coincides with the fraction (Sancta Sanctis) but in the Roman Rite the fraction is separated from the Canon by the Pater Noster, Libera Nos, and Pax. Nevertheless, the Per ipsum accords splendidly with the action of the elevation. The elevation was displaced in importance by the elevation of the sacred species at the words of consecration that began in the Middle Ages. 10

The elevation at this point is not primarily for the showing of the gifts to the people for adoration, though certainly adoration at this point is laudable. This gesture is an oblation gesture, for which reason the celebrant should raise the paten and the chalice but not the host upright as if to show it to the people. 11 It seems then, although Fr. Fortesque and others believe that this elevation comes as a pushing back of the Sancta Sanctis 12 that is found almost invariably in other rites, it is more probable that the Ecce Agnus Dei displaced the formula of the Sancta Sanctis, if ever it was found at Rome at all. In any case considering the formula of spoken words and the action (in the 1962 Missal the paten and chalice are not raised above the head of the celebrant as they are individually at the consecration) the elevation at the Per ipsum, as it now stands, cannot be considered convergent with the Sancta Sanctis of the other Rites. My reason for viewing the case as I have is that there is no other oblation or sacrifical gesture of offering left at the Canon. The elevation at the consecration was a late addition, the final elevation being by far more ancient. There is no oblation gesture during the Unde et memores, Supra quae or Supplices te rogamus which in truth are the words with which the Church makes her offering. This suggests to me then that the comparisons between the elevation at the Sancta Sanctis of other rites and the one here at the Per ispum are both unnecessary and incorrect.

---

1 My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, Msgr. Joseph F. Stedman, 1962, p. 56.

2 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, Rev Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 6th edition, B. Herder Book Co, 1924, p. 688.

3 Daily Roman Missal, Rev. James Socias, Midwest Theological Forum, 2003, pp. 762-63.

4 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Rev. Dr. Gihr, p. 689.

5or all these gifts (ICEL)

6 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Rev. Dr. Gihr, p. 689.

7 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912, pp. 358-59.

8 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Rev. Dr. Gihr, p. 691.

9 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Rev. Dr. Gihr, pp. 691-92.

10 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912, pp. 358-59.

11 Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite, Rev. Msgr. Peter J. Elliot, Ignatius Press, 1995, p. 117, no. 318.

12 Liturgy, Archbishop J. Raya, Baron Jose De Vinck, Alleluia Press, 2001, p. 73. "Holy things for the holy."

Our Prayers Ascend To The Heavenly Altar As Incense

In Catholic worship the whole human person is involved, spiritually and physically. Each of the five senses are touched and lifted to the adoration of the Blessed Trinity. We are created with physical bodies and so we ought to invest our worship of God with our whole being omitting no single part of ourselves. Hence, I turn to contemplating the use of incense with its polyvalent mystical meanings, the practicality of its use, and its appropriate place in Catholic worship.

Incense is a resin made from tree sap blended with other spices for aroma. It is mentioned by classical writers1 and is found in virtually every culture in the world. Some incense artifacts are thousands of years old. It was used as a perfume or type of air freshener long before the Glade Plug-in or the aerosol spray can was invented. Certainly, we can imagine some practical function for liturgical celebrations in the days before the advent of air-conditioning and regular bathing. Definitely its use and connection with regards to religion is testified to by a multitude of religions.

In the Old Testament, Moses was directed to build an altar for the purpose of burning incense. The altar was to be made of the same material as the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron the High Priest was required to burn incense upon it in the morning and in the evening. No unholy incense could be used, nor burnt offerings, nor cereal offerings and no pouring of libations, but once a year the blood of the sin offering of atonement was poured upon its horns.2 God even instructs Moses how the incense should be made and commands that the incense thus made be set aside and used for no profane purposes.3 The offering of incense and sacrifice are intimately connected for this is the office of the priest, "Let my prayer be counted as incense before thee, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice."4 The cloud of smoke produced by the burning of incense also recalls the dwelling of the Lord upon the Tabernacle.5

Yet not merely the external burning of incense or the mere ritual of sacrifice is sufficient. The ceremonies of the Catholic Church are neither empty ceremonies nor meaningless rituals! The priest stands before the people in virtue of his office of the Church, in the person of Christ. It is Christ who consecrates, Christ who blesses, and Christ who incenses, through the mediation of His Church by the ministry of His priests. The prophet Malachi foretold the Eucharistic sacrifice, in that famous passage, "For from the rising of the sun to its setting may name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts."6 Here we see that God Himself speaks of how intimately connected incense is to the Holy Eucharist.

The Fathers unanimously teach that the Wise Men from the East, by the offering of incense (frankincense) intended to symbolically adore the Child Jesus.7 It follows then from both the practice of Temple liturgy from which our own liturgies are developed and from the interpretations of scripture given by the Fathers that incense found its proper place also in the worship of Christians. Our first proof of its early use comes from Pseudo-Denis the Areopagite in the East, who writes about the 4th century, "After the bishop has recited at the altar of God the holy prayer, he commences the incensing of the altar and walks around the entire circumference of the sacred place."8 In the west, St Ambrose comments on the apparition of the angel to Zachary, "We also when incensing the altar and when offering the Holy Sacrifice, have an angel at our side."9

The rituals of incensing, in both Eastern and Western rites, are splendid rites that contribute greatly to the solemnity of divine worship but also symbolically represent the mysteries of faith and the virtues of the Christian life. The Council of Trent counts the rites of incensing explicitly to be included among visible signs of religion and piety, ordered to the inciting and elevating of the mind to the devout contemplation of heavenly things.10 The Council of Vatican II repeats the purpose of these rites adding that each affects us in particular ways.11 Many of the Popes make allusion to incense as representing the prayers of the Church and of the faithful.12

Incense can be likened to the fonts of holy water that are present at the entrance of Churches. The rites of incensing are sacramentals by virtue of the blessing received at the time of use. In the former Roman Missal this was done by some extraordinarily beautiful prayers and the sign of the cross, in the current Roman Missal this is done by virtue of the priest making the sign of the cross only. Nevertheless this constitutes a blessing of the incense to be used, thus as a sacramental incense is a means to secure divine protection and blessing. By virtue of the blessing the incense is especially made efficacious for expelling or keeping at a distance Satan from the soul, and for affording us a powerful protection against the deceit and malice, the snares and the attacks of evil spirits, a protection we greatly need at the altar and during the celebration of the Holy Mysteries.

"Incensing is done, as a mark of honor and adoration; as a symbolic of the holocaust of Christ and of all Christians, which ascends by the fire of charity in the odor of sweetness; as an indication of the good odor of Christ diffused in His Church and throughout the universe; and as representing the prayers of the saints on earth and in heaven, which ascend from hearts inflamed with love to the throne of God."13 "The fragrant incense burning in the fire is a symbol of the solemn expression of the interior sentiments of sacrifice and of prayer acceptable to God. Incense exhales and breathes forth its inmost soul when it is consumed in the fire and dissolved in fragrant clouds of smoke that rise heavenward. It symbolizes man’s spirit of sacrifice or his life of sacrifice because he consumes himself with all his faculties in the fire of love for the honor and service of God. The odor of incense that rises from the burning grains and ascends in its fragrance, also symbolizes prayer. Prayer is the surrender of the soul to God, the elevation of the mind and spirit to Heaven, the aspiration of the heart toward goods invisible and eternal. If the heart, like incense, is placed in the fire of divine love and ardent devotion, then our prayer will free itself from all that is earthly and will ascend to the Lord as a sweet and precious perfume."14

"The thurible or censer, is a symbol of Christ’s humanity wherein is hidden the fullness of the divinity as a consuming fire. It is, also, a symbol of Christ who is the well spring of all graces, which, like most fragrant odors, are diffused over the whole world. The thurible is, moreover, an image of the Church, which has within her keeping the celestial fire of the divine spirit and which, the more she is disturbed by tribulations, the more copiously emits the fragrance of her virtues. Finally, the thurible is a type of the soul inflamed by the fire of charity as is denoted by the words of the celebrant, 'May the Lord enkindle in us the fire of His love and the flame of everlasting charity.'"15

In fine, incense is so intimately connected to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and so suitably conformed to the condition of man that it ought not to be omitted from the sacred liturgy except for good reason. I personally find it so flawlessly expressive of Christian virtue and so adept at lifting my private prayers to the contemplation of the Divine Majesty that I regularly employ its use at home. Our private prayer converges with the prayers of the whole Mystical Body of Christ that lead us ultimately back again into the sacred liturgy from which they are formed. They are upheld by the intercession of Holy Mother Church, by the mediation of the saints and angels. They are brought to the very throne of God by the angel of Revelation.16

---

1 Ovid, Metamorph.: 6, 14; Virgil, Aeneid: 1, 146.

2 Ex 30 1-10.

3 Ex 30:34-37; Cf. Num 4:7; Wis 18:20-21; Sir 45:16.

4 Ps 141:2.

5 Ex 40:32; Lev 16:2; 1 Chronicles 5:13.

6 Mal 1:11.

7 St. Fulgentius, Sermon 4; The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, Rev Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 6th edition, B. Herder Book Co, 1924, p 371.

8 Pseudo-Denis, The Hierarchy of the Church III, 2; Gihr, 370-71 ft3.

9 Gihr, 371 ft4.

10 Sess. 22 V; Gihr, 372 ft 3.

11 Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7.

12 Qui Nuper, Pius IX; Mira Circa Nos, Gregory IX; Augustissimae Virginis Mariae, Leo XIII; Mit Brennender Sorge, Pius XI; Menti Nostrae, Pius XII; Au Millieu Des Sollicitudes, Leo XIII; Ad Catholici Sacerdotii, Pius XI; Ex Quo, Benedict XIV; Missale Romanum, Paul VI.

13 The Holy Mass Explained, Fr. F. X. Schouppe, 1891, p. 59.

14 Gihr, 373.

15 Schouppe, 33-35.

16 Rev 5:8; 8:3-4.

B. Vasyl Velychkovsky Ep. et M., CSsR

My best friend, Justin Reany, procured for me a 1st class relic of Blessed Bishop and Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky. I'd like to take this opportunity to promote the cause of his canonization and recommend his devotion to all of you.

Blessed Bishop and Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky, C.S.s.R. was born June 1, 1903 in Stanislaviv, Ukraine. In 1920 he entered the seminary in Lviv. In 1925 he professed his vows as a Redemptorist and was ordained a priest. He became a great missionary, first in Stanislaviv and then in Volyn. Durin the Second World War he served in Ternopil where he was arrested by the Soviets in 1945. In Kiev he received the death sentence, which was later commuted to ten years of forced labor.

When his prison sentence was completed, he was sent to Lviv in 1955. He became instrumental in organizing the underground church. His apartment became the centre of church activity: Divine Liturgies, administering the sacraments, catechesis, preparing seminarians, counseling and the like. He also began to organize religious sisters and taught them a new way of living out their monastic and religious life. Many a vocation was fostered by Father Vasyl's guidance and care. In 1959 Rome appointed Fr. Vasyl to be bishop of this underground church. Unfortunately there were no bishops in Ukraine who could ordain him.

In 1963, Metropolitan Josyf Slipyj was released from 18 years of Soviet labour camps to attend the Second Vatican Council in Rome. While in Moscow, he called Fr. Vasyl to come immediately to his hotel room. When Fr. Vasyl arrived, Metropolitan Josyf began the Rite of Ordination to the episcopacy. The secret ordination finished and Metropolitan Josyf was taken to Rome. Bishop Vasyl returned to Lviv to do his episcopal work.

In January of 1969, Bishop Vasyl was again arrested. He was sent to Komunarsk in Eastern Ukraine. There he underwent chemical, physical and mental torture. The Soviets attempted to extract information from him about the underground church but were unsuccessful. Near death in 1972, he was released from prison and was exiled from Ukraine.

Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk invited Bishop Vasyl to come to Winnipeg, Canada in June, 1972. Overcome by the tortures and death causing drugs he received while in prison, he died a martyr’s death on June 30, 1973. After the funeral services in Sts. Vladimir and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, he was buried on July 5 in All Saints Cemetery near Winnipeg.

After Blessed Vasyl was beatified by Pope John Paul II, preparations began for the exhumation and enshrinement of his holy relics. His holy body was exhumed on September 16, 2002. Following Vatican protocol, it was examined by a team of doctors and church personnel. His holy body was found to be fully intact with all its muscle mass. His holy body was revested with new vestments and placed in a stainless steel sarcophagus. On September 22, 2002, his holy relics were enshrined in a chapel in St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Pilgrims come and pray before Blessed Vasyl , seeking his powerful intercession.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER TO BLESSED VASYL

O Lord God, You are praised by the whole world for the marvelous works in your saints. I thank you for the grace you gave to Blessed Martyr Vasyl Velychkovsky to be a faithful witness to You unto the point of death. Through his intercession I ask for the following favor for your Name is glorified forever. Amen.

Imprimatur
+ Michael (Bzdel), C.Ss.R.

О мій Боже, Ти є прославлюваний в цілому світі через дивні діла твоїх святих. Я дякую Тобі за ласки, що ними Ти наділив Блаженного єпископа і мученика Василя Величковського бути Твоїм вірним свідком аж до смерті. Через його заступництво, прошу Тебе про ласку щоб прославилося Твоє імя на віки вічні. Амінь.

За благословенням Митрополита
+Михаїла Бзделя, ЧНІ

Prayer to Blessed Vasyl from the Acathist Hymn

O great and holy martyr, our blessed father Vasyl, you were on fire with God’s Word and have followed His Will even unto death. You have been sanctified and purified by the Cross and now you stand in God’s Presence wearing the martyr’s crown interceding on our behalf. You, who have confidence before the Lord, pray for us who come to you with love and devotion. For we come to you with all our needs knowing that the Lord hears His faithful ones.

Intercede for us before the Almighty God, that each one receives according to their needs; bring comfort to the sorrowful and hope to the lost; heal the sick; give courage to the young; bring a change of heart to all those who fall into sin; enlighten our minds with the truth of the Gospel; inspire us always to follow Christ; help us always to choose the good; give us courage in times of distress, faith in times of despair, hope in times of darkness; and strengthen our commitment to love our Lord. Grant that each one of us be saved through the grace and mercy of God, that together with you we may praise and glorify Him who is wondrous in His saints: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer from the Moleben Service

O Lord, our God, You have so loved us, that You sent your Son Jesus who showed us the way of perfection through the way of the Cross. He was obedient to You, His Father, and took the form of a servant, even unto death, Therefore, You have exalted Him and given Him the name Lord.

You call all to believe in You and to follow Your way. We thank You for the grace You gave to Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky such that he was able to pay the ultimate price of faithfulness to You in giving his life. His love for You, caused him to die, so as not to betray You and Your Truth.

We thank You for glorifying him in Your heavenly kingdom, that he may be for all of us a shining example of Your powerful presence in our lives. That which is impossible for us is possible through You, our Lord and Master. We pray that You give us the grace of faithfulness and generosity as we seek to respond to Your love. Through his intercession, help us always to stand firm in the Truth and be faithful to You and Your commandments.

O Holy Mother of God and our Mother of Perpetual Help, whom Blessed Martyr Vasyl loved so dearly, lead us to Your Son Jesus. Give us the courage always to follow Him in all the circumstances of our life. We place ourselves under your protection.

For all the glory and honour belongs to You, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen.

Please inform the Shrine of any favors, blessings, or miracles received through Blessed Vasyl's intercession at bvshrine@mts.net.

B. Francisci Xaverii Seelos, CSsR

My best friend, Justin Reany, has procured for me a 1st class relic of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos. I'd like to take this opportunity to promote the cause of his canonization and recommend his devotion to all of you. His feast day is October 5.

Blessed Francis X. Seelos, C.S.s.R. arrived in America in 1843. Having studied for the priesthood in Germany, he asked to be admitted to the Redemptorists with a view to future work in America. He was ordained in 1844. Three years after ordination he was appointed Master of Novices and spent one-third of his priestly life training future priests. In 1860 the Bishop of Pittsburgh wanted Fr. Seelos to be his successor. Fr. Seelos asked to remain a humble priest and his request was granted.

He was then stationed in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Annapolis, Cumberland (MD), Detroit, New Orleans. He preached missions and retreats throughout most of what was then the United States. Transferred to New Orleans in 1866, he contracted yellow fever and died October 4, 1867. Many miracles are attributed to his intercession both during his life and after his death.

His kindness and zeal attracted many people to the sacraments. He was a man of joy and deep prayer, and extraordinary devotion to fulfilling the will of God. His life and virtues have been approved by the Church as heroic and he has been declared Blessed, the final step before canonization. You are kindly urged to pray for his canonization.

IF YOU WISH YOUR INTENTIONS RECOMMENDED TO THE PRAYERS AT THE SHRINE OF BLESSED FRANCIS SEELOS, CONTACT:

The Seelos Center

2030 Constance Street

New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 525-2495 www.seelos.org

Please Report Favors Received

O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer,let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heartbe pleasing in Your sight.I offer praise to You for the grace You have bestowedon Your humble missionary, Father Francis Xavier SeelosMay I have the same joyful vigorthat Father Seelos possessed during his earthly lifeto love You deeply and live faithfully Your gospel. Amen.

(Here mention your special intentions)

Propers of the Mass for October 5

Liturgy of the Hours for October 5

Gloria In Excelsis Deo

Missale Romanum 1962

Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi, propter magnam gloriam tuam. Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite, Jesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostrum. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus. Tu solus Dominus. Tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.

Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace to men of good will. We praise Thee. We bless Thee. We adore Thee. We glorify Thee. We give Thee thanks for Thy great Glory. O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty. O Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son. Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father. Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Who takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For Thou alone art holy. Thou alone art Lord. Thou alone, O Jesus Christ, art most high. Together with the Holy Ghost, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. 1

Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace to men of good will. We praise Thee; we bless Thee; we adore Thee; we glorify Thee. We give Thee thanks for Thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly king, God the Father almighty, O Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son. O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Who takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For Thou alone art holy; Thou alone art the Lord; Thou alone O Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father. Amen. 2

Missale Romanum 1970

Gloria in excelsis Deo. Et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Laudamus te. Benedicimus te. Adoramus te. Glorificamus te. Gratias agimus tibi, propter magnam gloriam tuam. Domine Deus, Rex caelestis, Deus Pater omnipotens. Domine Fili unigenite, Iesu Christe. Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, Filius Patris. Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. Qui tollis peccata mundi, suscipe deprecationem nostrum. Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis. Quoniam tu solus Sanctus. Tu solus Dominus. Tu solus Altissimus, Iesu Christe. Cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen.

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory. Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen. 3

The Gloria comes to us, in the first part (from Gloria to voluntatis), from Luke 2:14. Pope Telesphorus (128-139?) first decreed that this text be sung at the Mass of the Nativity of our Lord before the sacrifice.4 The rest of the Gloria, also called the Hymnus Angelicus and the Doxologia Maior (the Gloria Patri is the Doxologia Minor), comes to us from the East. 5 St. Hilary of Poitiers (366) was in exile in the East where he heard it and then translated it, bringing it to the West when he returned.6 The rubrics have it first only for Christmas, then extended to Sundays and feast days of martyrs but only for the Pontifical Mass. Priests at first are allowed it only on Easter (Ordo Romani I), then also for Easter Vigil and their ordination day (Ordo of St. Almand) but it is not until the 11th century when it is allowed for both bishops and priests. 7

The practice of farcing the text, as in the Kyrie, created the collection of tropes in books called libri troparii vel troponari. Eventually, the practice of farcing the Gloria was prohibited but the farcing of the Gloria continued to be observed especially in Masses of the Virgin (farced Gloria called Gloria Marianum). This led to the insertion of a rubric into the 1570 Roman Missal by Pope St. Pius V that the Gloria was to be sung as it was found in the missal, even for Masses of the feast of the Blessed Virgin.8

“[T]he Gloria in excelsis, an expression of thankfulness and joy at our Redemption, which finds its renewal in every Mass. The beginning of this hymn of praise was sung by the Angels at the birth of Christ; the remainder is an ascription of praise to God and an expression of our gratitude to Him. The Gloria, being a hymn of joy, is omitted in Masses for the dead and on the Sundays of Advent and Lent, besides any other days on which joy is unsuitable.”9

The hymn which the Angels sang, (from Gloria to voluntatis), seems a fitting text for the celebration of Christmas but the next portion goes directly into the death (Agnus Dei . . . qui tollis peccata mundi) and ascension (qui sedes ad dexteram Patris) of our Lord. This shows two things: the first is that every Mass is the renewal of the Incarnation of our Lord and the second is that His birth and His Passion are intimately connected, so also this is true of the Mass. Just as the King of the Universe was hidden under the appearance of a lowly babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, likewise Christ the King is hidden under the appearance of bread and wine in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

“Holy Church herself teaches us that the birth of Christ is effected anew after a spiritual manner in the Mass, for she places on the lips of the officiating priest the self-same song of praise which the Angels sand on Christmas morn: Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will. Let us, when these words sound in our ears, imagine ourselves listening to the Angel who thus spoke to the shepherds. ‘I bring you good tidings of great joy...for this day is born to you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord...You shall find the Infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and laid in a manger.’” 10

“The [whole] prayer itself expresses the whole purpose of the Liturgy: to render glory to God, which in turn brings peace and good will to men. May God be glorified by men around the altar by the descent of this same Word, who humbles Himself only in order to exalt God. Christ procure the glory of the Father by giving Himself to men and offering them salvation. For this glorification, God will grant peace to all who open their hearts to the Prince of peace. Here at the altar we have to realize that, although this treaty of peace was signed with Christ’s blood and sealed with the seal of His cross, the acceptance of it is performed by us here and today. 11

“Glory to the divine mercy, which, instead of chastising rebellious men, causes this same God to take upon himself their punishment, and so to save them. Glory to the divine wisdom, which has devised a means of satisfying his justice, and at the same time of delivering man from the death he had deserved. Glory to the divine power, destroying in so signal a manner the powers of hell, by the divine Word coming in poverty to suffer pains, contempt, and death; and thus to draw the hearts of men to himself, and to leave everything for his sake, - honors, riches, and life; as so many virgins and young men have done, and even nobles and princes, to show their gratitude for the love of this God. Finally, glory to the divine love, which induced God to become a little child, poor and lowly, to live a hard life, and to die a cruel death, in order to show man the love which he bears him, to gain his love in return.” 12

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1 My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, Msgr. Joseph F. Stedman, 1962, p. 22.

2 The New Roman Missal, Fr. Lassance, 1993 reproduction of the 1945 edition, p. 762 .

3 Daily Roman Missal, Rev. James Socias, Midwest Theological Forum, 2003, pp. 678-79.

4 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912, p. 241 – “The Liber Pontificalis says that Telesphorus ‘ordered that … on the Birth of the Lord Masses should be said at night … and that the angelic hymn, that is: Gloria in excelsis Deo, be said before the sacrifice.”

5 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912, p. 239.

6 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912, p. 241 – Fortescue makes note that the Latin translation is a free version of the Greek original, ft. 4. The Gloria is found in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in the Prothesis (preparation of the elements) before the Divine Liturgy proper, entitled “The Great Doxology”: Glory to Thee, O Giver of Light! Glory to God in the Highest; on earth peace, and good will to men. We sing to Thee, we bless Thee, we worship Thee, we glorify Thee, we give thanks to Thee for the Splendour of Thy glory. O Lord King, O Heavenly God: the Father Almighty! O Lord, Only-begotten Son: Jesus Christ! And O Thou: All-Holy Spirit! O Lord God, O Lamb of God, O son of the Father who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. O Thou who takest away the sins of the world! Accept our supplications, O Thou who art enthroned at the right hand of the Father, and have mercy on us. Every day I will bless Thee and sing to Thy name, always and for ever and ever. Deign, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, God of our Fathers; praised and glorified is Thy name forever. Amen. - Liturgy, Archbishop J. Raya, Baron Jose De Vinck, Alleluia Press, 2001, p. 36.

7 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912, p. 242.

8 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, Rev Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 6th edition, B. Herder Book Co, 1924, p. 394 ft 2. “Sic dicitur Gloria in excelsis Deo, etiam in Missa beatae Mariae, quando dicendum est.”

9 The Incredible Catholic Mass, Fr. Martin von Cochem, Tan Books, 1997, pp. 434-35; Gihr, p. 397; The Holy Mass Explained, Fr. F. X. Schouppe, 1891, pp. 64, 82.

10 The Incredible Catholic Mass, Fr. Martin von Cochem, Tan Books, 1997, p.91.

11 The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Fr. Basil Shereghy, Byzantine Seminary Press, 1970, pp. 32-33.

12 The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ, St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, Redemptorist Fathers, 1983, p. 146.

Rubricae Generales (English)

Here is a link to an English translation of the General Rubrics (Part 1), 1962. It's 20 pages long in the print preview, so I thought it best not to attempt appending it here either in whole or in part.

Rubricae Generales (English)

Rubricae Generales Missalis Romani (English)

Here is a link to an English translation of the General Rubrics of the Roman Missal, 1962. It's 35 pages long in the print preview, so I thought it best not to attempt appending it here either in whole or in part.

Rubricae Generales Missalis Romani (English)

Divino Afflatu (English)

PIUS X, POPE
SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD
FOR AN EVERLASTING MEMORIAL

It is beyond question that the psalms composed under divine inspiration, which are collected in the sacred books, have from the beginning of the Church not only contributed wonderfully to foster the piety of the faithful offering the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is to say, the fruit of lips confessing to his name (Heb 13:15), but have also had a conspicuous part, from custom introduced under the old law, in the sacred liturgy itself and in the divine office. Hence, as Basil says, that natural voice of the Church (Homil. In Ps. I, no. 2,) and the psalmody called by our predecessor Urban VIII (in Divinam psalmodiam) the daughter of her hymnody which is constantly sung before the throne of God and the Lamb, and which, according to Athanasius, teaches the men whose chief care is the divine worship the manner in which God is to be praised and the words in which they are fitly to confess him (Epist. Ad Marcellinum in interpret. Psalmor no. 10). Augustine beautifully says on the subject: “That God may be praised well by man, God himself has praised himself; and since he has been pleased to praise himself man has found the way to praise him (In Psalm. Cxliv. No. 1).

Besides, there is in the Psalms a certain wonderful power for stimulating zeal in men’s minds for all the virtues. For although all our Scripture, both the Old and New, is divinely inspired and useful for doctrine, as it is written, the Book of Psalms, like a paradise containing in itself (the fruits) all the others, gives forth songs, and with them also shows its own songs in psalmody (cantus edit, et proprios insuper cum ipsis inter psallendum exhibet). Such are the words of Athanasius (Epist. Ad Marcell. Op. cit. no. 2), who rightly adds in the same place: “To me it seems that the psalms for him who sings them are as a mirror in which he may contemplate himself and the movements of his soul and, under this influence, recite them” (op. cit. no. 12). Hence, Augustine says in his Confessions: “How I wept in hymns and canticles, deeply moved by the voices of your sweetly sounding Church! These voices poured into my ears and truth became clear in my heart and then feelings of piety grew warm within me and my tears flowed and it was well with me for them” (book IX, ch. 6). For who can fail to be stirred by the numerous passages of the psalms which proclaim so loudly the immense majesty of God, his ominipotence, his ineffable justice or goodness or clemency, and his other infinite praises? Who can fail to be inspired with similar feelings by those thanksgivings for benefits received from God, or by those trustful prayers for benefits desired, or those cries of the penitent soul for its sins? Who is not stirred to admiration by the Psalmist as he recounts the acts of divine goodness toward the people of Israel and the whole race of man and when he hands down the picture of Christ the Redeemer lovingly shadowed forth whose voice Augustine heard in all the psalms, praising or mourning, rejoicing in hope or yearning for accomplishment? (In Ps. Xlii., no. 1).

With good reason was provision made long ago, by decrees of the Roman Pontiffs, by canons of the councils, and by monastic laws, that members of both branches of the clergy should chant or recite the entire psaltery every week. And this same law, handed down from antiquity, our predecessors St. Pius V, Clement VIII and Urban VIII religiously observed in revising the Roman breviary. Even at present the psaltery should be recited in its entirety within the week were it not that owing to the changed condition of things such recitation is frequently hindered.

For in the course of time there has been a constant increase among the faithful in the number of those whom the Church, after their mortal life, has been accustomed to count among the denizens of heaven and to set before the Christian people as patrons and models. In their honor the offices of the saints began to be gradually extended until it has come about that the offices of the Sundays and ferias are hardly ever heard, and thus neglect has fallen on not a few Psalms, albeit these are, no less than the others, as Ambrose says (Enarrat. In Ps. I., no. 9), “the benediction of the people, the praise of God, the praising of the multitude, the rejoicing of all, the speech of all, the voice of the Church, the resounding confession of faith, the full devotion of authority, the joy of liberty, the cry of gladness, the echo of joy.” More than once serious complaints have been made by prudent and pious men about this omission, on the ground that owing to it those in sacred orders have been deprived of so many admirable aids for praising the Lord and expressing the inmost feelings of the soul, and that it has left them without that desirable variety in praying so highly necessary for our weakness in supplicating worthily, attentively, and devoutly. For, as Basil has it, “the soul, in some strange way, frequently grows torpid in sameness, and what should be present to it becomes absent; whereas by changing and varying the psalmody and the chant for the different hours, its desire is renewed and its attention restored (Regulae fusius tractatae, q.37, no. 5).

No wonder, then, that a great many bishops in various parts of the world have sent expressions of their opinions on this matter to the Apostolic See, and especially in the Vatican Council when they asked, among other things, that the ancient custom of reciting the whole psaltery within the week might be restored as far as possible, but in such a way that the burden should not be made any heavier for the clergy, whose labors in the vineyard of the sacred ministry are now increased owing to the diminution in the number of laborers. These petitions and wishes, which were our own, too, before we assumed the pontificate, and also the appeals which have since come from others of our venerable brothers and from pious men, we have decided should be granted – but with care, so that from the reciting of the entire psaltery within the week no diminution in the cultus of saints may follow, on the one hand, and on the other, that the burden of the divine office may become not more oppressive, but actually lighter. Wherefore, after having suppliantly implored the Father of lights and asked for the assistance of holy prayers on the matter, following in the footsteps of our predecessor, we chose a number of learned and active men with the task of studying and consulting together in order to find some way, which might meet our wishes, for putting the idea into execution. In fulfillment of the charge entrusted to them they elaborated a new arrangement of the psaltery, and this having been approved by the cardinals of H.R.C. belonging to the Congregation of Sacred Rites, we have ratified it as being in entire harmony with our own mind, in all things, that is, as regards the order and partition of the psalms, the antiphons, versicles, hymns with their rubrics and rules, and we have ordered an authentic edition of it to be set up in our Vatican printing press and then published.

As the arrangement of the psaltery has a certain intimate connection with all the divine office and the liturgy, it will be clear to everybody that by what we have here decreed we have taken the first step to the emendation of the Roman breviary and the missal, but for this we shall appoint shortly a special council or commission. Meanwhile, now that the occasion presents itself, we have decided to make some changes at present, as is prescribed in the accompanying rubrics; and first among them that in the recitation of the divine office due honor, by their more frequent use, be restored to the appointed lessons of sacred Scripture with the responsories of the season, and, second, that in the sacred liturgy those most ancient Masses of the Sundays during the year and of the ferias, especially those of Lent, recover their rightful place.

Therefore, by the authority of these letters, we first of all abolish the order of the psaltery as it is at present in the Roman breviary, and we absolutely forbid the use of it after the 1st day of January of the year 1913. From that day in all the churches of secular and regular clergy, in the monasteries, orders, congregations and institutes of religious, by all and several who by office or custom recite the canonical hours according to the Roman breviary issued by St. Pius V and revised by Clement VIII, Urban VIII and Leo XIII, we order the religious observance of the new arrangement of the psaltery in the form in which we have approved it and decreed its publication by the Vatican printing press. At the same time we proclaim the penalties prescribed in law against all who fail in their office of reciting the canonical hours everyday; all such are to know that they will not be satisfying this grave duty unless they use this our disposition of the psaltery.

We command, therefore, all the patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, abbots and other prelates of the church, not excepting even the cardinal archpriests of the patriarchal basilicas of the city, to take care to introduce at the appointed time into their respective dioceses, churches or monasteries, the psaltery with the rules and rubrics as arranged by us; and the psaltery and these rules and rubrics we order to be also inviolately used and observed by all others who are under the obligation of reciting or chanting the canonical hours. In the meanwhile it shall be lawful for everybody and for the chapters themselves, provided the majority of the chapter be in favor, to use duly the new order of the psaltery immediately after its publication.

This we publish, declare, sanction, decreeing that these our letters always are and shall be valid and effective, notwithstanding apostolic constitutions and ordinances, general and special, and everything else whatsoever to the contrary. Wherefore, let nobody infringe or temerariously oppose this page of our abolition, revocation, permission, ordinance, precept, statue, indult, mandate and will. But if anybody shall presume to attempt this let him know that he will incur the indignation of almighty God and of his apostles the blessed Peter and Paul.

Given at Rome at St. Peter’s in the year of the incarnation of our Lord 1911, on November the first, the feast of All Saints, in the ninth year of our pontificate.

A. Cardinalis Agliardi Chancellor of H.R.C.

Fr. Seb. Cardinalis Martinelli Prefect to the S.C.R.

Loco † Plumbi

Visa
M. Riggi C. A. Not.

Reg. in Canc. Ap. N. 571

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R. Kevin Seasoltz, The New Liturgy: A Documentation, 1903-1965, Herder & Herder, 1966, pp. 22-26.

Divino Afflatu (Latin)

PIUS EPISCOPUS
SERVUS SERVORUM DEI
AD PERPETUAM REI MEMORIAM

Divino afflatu compositos Psalmos, quorum est in sacris litteris collectio, inde ab Ecclesiae exordiis non modo mirifice valuisse constat ad fovendam fidelium pietatem, qui offerebant hostiam laudis semper Deo, id est, fructum labiorum confitentium nomini ejus; [1] verum etiam ex more jam in vetere Lege recepto in ipsa sacra Liturgia divinoque Officio conspicuam habuisse partem. Hinc illa, quam dicit Basilius, nata Ecclesiae vox [2] atque psalmodia, ejus hymnodiae filia, ut a decessore Nostro Urbano VIII appellatur, [3] quae canitur assidue ante sedem Dei et Agni, quaeque homines, in primis divino cultui addictos docet, ex Athanasii sententia, qua ratione Deum laudare oporteat quibusque verbis decenter confiteantur. [4] Pulchre ad rem Augustinus: Ut bene ab homine laudetur Deus, laudavit se ipse Deus; et quia dignatus est laudare se, ideo invenit homo, quemadmodum laudet eum. [5]

Accedit quod in Psalmis mirabilis quaedam vis inest ad excitanda in animis omnium studia virtutum. Etsi enim omnis nostra Scriptura, cum vetus tum nova, divinitus inspirata utilisque ad doctrinam est, ut scriptum habetur; . . . . . at Psalmorum liber, quasi paradisus omnium reliquorum (librorum) fructus in se continens, cantus edit, et proprios insuper cum ipsis inter psallendum exhibet. Haec iterum Athanasius, [6] qui recte ibidem addit: Mihi quidem videtur, psallenti Psalmos esse instar speculi, ut et seipsum et proprii animi motus in ipsis contempletur, atque ita affectus eos recitet. [7] Itaque Augustinus in Confessionibus: Quantum, inquit, flevi in hymnis et canticis tuis suave sonantis Ecclesiae tuae vocibus commotus acriter! Voces illae influebant auribus meis et eliquabatur veritas in cor meum et exaestuabat inde affectus pietatis et currebant lacrimae et bene mihi erat cum eis. [8] Etenim, quem non moveant frequentes illi Psalmorum loci, in quibus de immensa majestate Dei, de omnipotentia, de inenarrabili justitia aut bonitate aut clementia de ceterisque infinitis laudibus ejus tam alte praedicatur? Cui non similes sensus inspirent illae pro acceptis a Deo beneficiis gratiarum actiones, aut pro exspectatis humiles fidentesque preces, aut illi de peccatis clamores poenitentis animae? Quem non admiratione psaltes perfundat, cum divinae benignitatis munera in populum Israel atque in omne hominum genus profecta narrat, cumque caelestis sapientiae dogmata tradit? Quem denique non amore inflammet adumbrata studiose imago Christi Redemptoris, cujus quidem Augustinus [9] vocem in omnibus Psalmis vel psallentem, vel gementem, vel loetanlem in spe, vel suspirantem in re audiebat?

Jure igitur optimo provisum est antiquitus, et per decreta Romanorum Pontificum, et per canones Conciliorum, et per monasticas leges, ut homines ex utroque clero integrum Psalterium per singulas hebdomadas concinerent vel recitarent. Atque hanc quidem legem a patribus traditam decessores Nostri S. Pius V, Clemens VIII, Urbanus VIII in recognoscendo Breviario Romano sancte servarunt. Unde etiam nunc Psalterium intra unius hebdomadae spatium recitandum foret integrum, nisi mutata rerum condicione talis recitatio frequenter impediretur.

Etenim procedente tempore continenter crevit inter fideles eorum hominum numerus, quos Ecclesia, mortali vita defunctos, caelicolis accensere et populo christiano patronos et vivendi duces consuevit proponere. In ipsorum vero honorem Officia de Sanctis sensim propagari coeperunt, unde fere factum est, ut de Dominicis diebus deque Feriis Officia silerent, ideoque non pauci negligerentur Psalmi, qui sunt tamen, non secus ac ceteri, ut Ambrosius ait, [10] benedictio populi, Dei laus, plebis laudatio, plausus omnium, sermo universorum, vox Ecclesiae, fidei canora confessio, auctoritatis plena devotio, libertatis laetitia, clamor jucunditatis, laetitiae resultatio. De hujusmodi autem omissione non semel graves fuerunt prudentum piorumque virorum querimoniae, quod non modo hominibus sacri ordinis tot subtraherentur praesidia ad laudandum Dominum et ad intimos animi sensus ei significandos aptissima; sed etiam quod optabilis illa in orando varietas desideraretur, ad digne, attente, devote precandum imbecillitati nostrae quam maxime opportuna. Nam, ut Basilius habet, in aequalitate torpescit saepe, nescio quomodo, animus, atque praesens absens est: mutatis vero et variatis psalmodia et cantu per singulas horas, renovatur ejus desiderium et attentio instauratur. [11]

Minime igitur mirum, quod complures e diversis orbis partibus Sacrorum antistites sua in hanc rem vota ad Apostolicam Sedem detulerunt, maximeque in Concilio Vaticano, cum hoc inter cetera postularunt, ut, quoad posset, revocaretur consuetudo vetus recitandi per hebdomadam totum Psalterium, ita tamen ut clero, in sacri ministerii vinea ob imminutum operariorum numerum jam gravius laboranti, non majus imponeretur onus. Hisce vero postulationibus et votis, quae Nostra quoque ante susceptum Pontificatum fuerant, itemque precibus, quae deinceps ab aliis Venerabilibus Fratribus piisque viris admotae sunt, Nos equidem concedendum duximus, cauto tamen, ne recitatione integri Psalterii hebdomadae spatio conclusa, ex una parte quicquam de Sanctorum cultu decederet, neve ex altera molestius divini Officii onus clericis, immo temperatius evaderet. Quapropter, implorato suppliciler Patre luminum, corrogatisque in id ipsum suffragiis sanctarum precum, Nos vestigiis insistentes decessorum Nostrorum, aliquot viros delegimus doctos et industrios, quibus commisimus, ut, consiliis studiisque collatis certam aliquam reperirent rei efficiendae rationem, quae Nostris optatis responderet. Illi autem commissum sibi munus e sententia exsequentes novam Psalterii dispositionem elaborarunt; quam cum S. R. E. Cardinales sacris ritibus cognoscendis praepositi diligenter consideratam probassent, Nos, utpote cum mente Nostra admodum congruentem, ratam habuimus in rebus omnibus, id est, quod ad ordinem ac partitionem Psalmorum, ad Antiphonas, ad Versiculos, ad Hymnos attinet cum suis Rubricis et Regulis, ejusque editionem authenticam in Nostra typographia Vaticana adornari et indidem evulgari jussimus.

Quoniam vero Psalterii dispositio intimam quandam habet cum omni Divino Officio et Liturgia conjunctionem, nemo non videt per ea, quae hic a Nobis decreta sunt, primum Nos fecisse gradum ad Romani Breviarii et Missalis emendationem: sed super tali causa proprium mox Consilium seu Commissionem, ut ajunt, eruditorum constituemus. Interim, opportunitatem hanc nacti, nonnulla jam in presenti instauranda censuimus, prout in appositis Rubricis praescribilur: atque imprimis quidem ut in recitando divino Officio Lectionibus statutis sacrae Scripturae cum Responsoriis de tempore occurrentibus debitus honor frequentiore usu restitueretur; dein vero ut in sacra Liturgia Missae antiquissimae de Dominicis infra annum et de Feriis, praesertim quadragesimalibus, locum suum recuperarent.

Itaque, harum auctoritate litterarum, ante omnia Psalterii ordinem, qualis in Breviario Romano hodie est, abolemus ejusque usum, inde a Kalendis Januariis anni millesimi nongentesimi decimi tertii, omnino interdicimus. Ex ilto autem die in omnibus ecclesiis cleri saecularis et regularis, in monasteriis, ordinibus, congregationibus, institutisque religiosorum ab omnibus et singulis, qui ex officio aut ex consuetudine Horas canonicas juxta Breviarium Romanum, a S. Pio V editum et a Clemente VIII, Urbano VIII, Leone XIII recognitum, persolvunt, novum Psalterii ordinem, qualem Nos cum suis Regulis et Rubricis approbavimus typisque Vaticanis vulgandum decrevimus, religiose observari jubemus. Simul vero poenas in jure statutas iis denuntiamus, qui suo officio persolvendi quotidie Horas canonicas defuerint; qui quidem sciant se tam gravi non satisfacturos officio, nisi Nostrum hunc Psalterii ordinem adhibeant.

Omnibus igitur Patriarchis, Archiepiscopis, Episcopis, Abbatibus ceterisque ecclesiarum Praelatis, ne Cardinalibus quidem Archipresbyteris patriarchalium Urbis basilicarum exceptis, mandamus, ut in sua quisque Dioecesi, ecclesia vel coenobio Psalterium cum Regulis et Rubricis, quemadmodum a Nobis dispositum est, constituto tempore inducendum curent: quod Psalterium quasque Regulas et Rubricas etiam a ceteris omnibus, quoscumque obligatio tenet recitandi vel concinendi Horas canonicas, inviolate adhiberi ac servari praecipimus. Interim autem cuilibet et capitulis ipsis, modo id major capituli pars sibi placere ostenderit, novum Psalterii ordinem, statim post ejus editionem, rite usurpare licebit.

Haec vero edicimus, declaramus, sancimus, decernentes has Nostras litteras validas et efficaces semper esse ac fore; non obstantibus constitutionibus et ordinationibus apostolicis, generalibus et specialibus, ceterisve quibusvis in contrarium facientibus. Nulli ergo hominum liceat hanc paginam Nostrae abolitionis, revocationis, permissionis, jussionis, praecepti, statuti, indulti, mandati et voluntatis infringere, vel ei ausu temerario contraire. Si quis autem hoc attentare praesumpserit, indignationem omnipotentis Dei, ac beatorum Petri et Pauli, Apostolorum ejus, se noverit incursurum.

Datum Romae apud S. Petrum, anno Incarnationis Dominicae millesimo nongentesimo undecimo, Kalendis Novembribus, in Festo Sanctorum Omnium, Pontificatus Nostri anno nono.

A. Cardinalis Agliardi S. R. E. Cancellarius

Fr. Seb. Cardinalis Martinelli S. R. C. Praefectus

Loco † Plumbi

Visa
M. Riggi C. A. Not.

Reg. in Canc. Ap. N. 571

[1] Hebr. 13, 15.

[2] Homil. in Ps. 1, n. 2.

[3] Bulla Divinam psalmodiam.

[4] Epist. ad Marcellinum in interpret. Psalmor., n. 10.

[5] In Psalm. 144, n. 1.

[6] Epist. ad Marcell. cit., n. 2.

[7] Op. cit., n. 12.

[8] Lib. IX, cap. 6.

[9] In Psalm. 42, n. 1.

[10] Enarrat, in Ps. 1, n. 9.

[11] Regulae fusius tractatae, interrog. 37, n. 5.

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Missale Romanum, editio XIV juxta typicam Vaticanam, 1930 Ratisbonae, Sumptibus et typis Friderici pustet: S. Sedis Apostolicae et S. Rituum Congreg. Typographi.

Si Quid Est (English)

URBAN VIII, POPE

FOR AN EVERLASTING MEMORIAL

If there is anything Divine among man's possessions which might excite the envy of the citizens of Heaven (could they ever be swayed by such a passion), this is undoubtedly the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by means of which men, having before their eyes and taking into their hands the very Creator of Heaven and earth, experience, while still on earth, a certain anticipation of Heaven.

How keenly then, must mortals strive to preserve and protect this inestimable privilege with all due worship and reverence and be ever on their guard lest their negligence offend the angels who vie with them in eager adoration!

In view of this consideration, following in the footsteps of the Supreme Pontiffs, Our Predecessors, Pius V and Clement VIII, who undertook to review and restore most diligently the rite and prayers pertaining to the celebration of this sacred Mystery, We have ordered that these be again examined and that if by chance anything, as often happens, has been corrupted in the course of time, it shall be restored to its former standard.

Wherefore, just as We have recently achieved the reform of the Breviary for the greater splendor of the Divine Office, so also, following this example, We have ordered that the Missal be corrected with a view to bestowing greater beauty and luster upon the Divine Sacrifice.

And since it is highly becoming that the wings, as it were, of the liturgy which the priest, like the cherubim of the old Mystical Tabernacle, daily spreads over the true Mercy seat of the world, should be twofold and fashioned exactly in the same shape and form, We have entrusted this task to learned and pious men who have carried it out so carefully as to leave nothing to be desired.

The rubrics which had been allowed to gradually degenerate from the old usage and rite, have been restored to their former pattern; those which did not seem to be easily intelligible to the readers, have been more clearly stated; and moreover, having compared the pertinent texts with the Vulgate edition of Holy Writ, the differences which had crept into the Missal have been emended according to this standard and norm.

The competence of the revisers, however, is likely to bear little fruit, unless the skill and diligence of proficient printers measure up to it. We have, therefore, ordered Our dear son Andrew Brugiotto, director of Our printing establishment, to publish the Missal thus emended, and We allow it to be printed in the future outside the City, but only according to the standard now edited by Our printing establishment and after the printers have requested and obtained in writing the permission of Our most dear sons, the Inquisitors against heretical depravity, in those places where they are established and of the Ordinaries where there are no Inquisitors. Otherwise, if henceforth without this permission they dare to print the above-mentioned Missal or the booksellers dare to sell it, the printers and the booksellers established outside Our Ecclesiastical State shall incur excommunication latae sententiae from which, save on the point of death, they may not be absolved except by the Roman Pontiff. The printers and booksellers established in the City and in other parts of the Ecclesiastical State shall incur the fine of five hundred gold ducats of the Treasury and forfeit unpardonably without any further declaration all their books and types which are to be devolved on the said Treasury. And nevertheless We forbid and prohibit for all places and peoples under the same penalties the use of such Missals as might be printed and sold without the necessary permission.

Before granting this permission, the Inquisitors or the Ordinaries must very diligently compare the Missals to be printed, both before and after they have been printed, with the standard text revised by Our authority, and they must not allow anything to be added to, or removed from, it. In granting the original license, they must attest in their own handwriting that, having made the collation, the Missals are found to agree perfectly with the standard edition. This document must be printed always at the beginning or at the end of every Missal.

If they behave otherwise, the Inquisitors shall incur, on that account, the penalty of being deprived of their office and of being debarred from obtaining it back and acquiring other offices in the future; the Ordinaries shall incur the penalty of suspension a divinis and of interdiction from entering the Church; and their Vicars shall be similarly deprived of their offices and benefices, they shall be debarred from obtaining these and other offices and benefices in the future and they shall incur excommunication, without any further declaration.

Wishing in Our Apostolic benignity to secure and protect from any loss all poor churches, clerics and ecclesiastics, printers and booksellers, We allow them to keep, use and sell respectively the Missals hitherto printed which they possess. Notwithstanding whatsoever license, indults, and privileges granted to the printers by Us or by the Roman Pontiffs, Our Predecessors, to print the Missal, which by these presents We expressly revoke and which We wish to be revoked, as well as the constitutions, Apostolic ordinances, general and special, granted in whatever manner, contrary to the above prescriptions, confirmed and approved.

From all these ordinances, for this time only, We specially and expressly derogate, although particular, specific and express mention is to be made of them and of their whole tenor considering their tenor as expressed in these presents.

We wish that the same authority attaching to these presents, if exhibited and shown, be attributed to their copies, even printed ones, bearing the signature of a Notary Public and vouched for by the seal of a Church dignitary.

Given in Rome at St. Mary Major's under the ring of the Fisher man, on the 2nd day of September, 1634, XIIth year of Our Pontificate.

M. A. Maraidus

J. Savenier

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This document taken from the Catholic Liturgical Library
http://www.catholicliturgy.com/

Si Quid Est (Latin)

URBANUS PAPA VIII
AD PERPETUAM REI MEMORIAM

Si quid est in rebus humanis plane divinum, quod Nobis superni cives (si in eos invidia caderet) invidere possent, id certe est sacrosanctum Missae Sacrificium, cujus beneficio fit, ut homines quadam anticipatione possideant in terris caelum, dum ante oculos habent et manibus contrectant ipsum caeli terraeque Conditorem. Quo magis est mortalibus laborandum, ut hoc tantum privilegium cultu atque honore debito tueantur, caveantque Angelos negligentiae osores, qui sunt aemuli venerationis. Hinc factum est, ut hujus sacri mysterii celebrandi rationem, ac preces, quas Summi Pontifices praedecessores Nostri Pius V et Clemens VIII diligentissime recognosci atque instaurari curaverunt; Nos quoque eorum vestigiis inhaerentes, iterum examinari, et si quid forte in iis assiduus (quod plerumque contingit) temporis cursus corruperit, restitui jusserimus. Quamobrem, sicuti nuper ad divini Officii nitorem reformari Breviarium, ita demum hujus exemplo ad divini Sacrificii ornamentum corrigi Missale mandavimus. Et quoniam hasce quasi alas, quas Sacerdos instar Cherubim prisci mystici Tabernaculi quotidie pandit ad verum mundi Propitiatorium, decet esse plane geminas, atque uniformes, hujus rei curam commisimus viris eruditis ac piis, quorum dillgentia ita opus perfectum est, ut nihil desiderari amplius possit. Nam rubricae, quae sensim ab usu rituque veteri degeneraverant, in pristinum restitutae; quae vero non ita captui legentium accommodatae videbantur, darius explicatae: praeterea collata omnia cum codice sacrae Scripturae Vulgatae editionis, quaeque diversa irrepserant, ad ejus unius exemplum normamque correcta sunt. Verumtamen parum prodesse consuevit sollertia correctorum, nisi ad earn par typographorum accedat industria; propterea dilecto filo Andreae Brugiotto Typographiae Nostrae Apostolicae Praefecto mandavimus, ut Missale ita expurgatum in lucem ernittat: sed, quae in posterum extra Urbem imprimi contigerit, ea non aliter quam ad exemplar in dicta Typographia nunc editum imprimi posse permittimus, requisita tarnen prius, et in scriptis obtenta, dilectorum filiorum Inquisitorum haereticae pravitatis, in iis locis in quibus fuerint, ubi vero non fuerint, Ordinariorurn locorum facultate; alioquin, si absque ea dictum Missale ipsi posthac imprimere, aut bibliopolae vendere praesumpserint, typographi et bibliopolae extra Statum Nostrum Ecclesiasticum exsistentes, excommunicationis latae sententiae, a qua, nisi a Romano Pontifice, praeterquam in mortis articulo constituti, absolvi nequeant; in alma vero Urbe et reliquo Statu Ecclesiastico commorantes, quingentorurn ducatorum auri de Camera, ac amissionis librorum et typorum omnium, Camerae praedictae applicandorum, pœnas absque alia declaratione irremissibiliter incurrant eo ipso: et nihilominus eorumdem Missalium per eos de cetero absque hujusmodi licentia imprimendorum, aut vendendorum usum, ubique locorum et gentium, sub eisdem pœnis interdicimus et prohibemus. Ipsi autem Inquisitores, seu Ordinarii locorum, antequam hujusmodi licentiam et facultatem concedant, Missalia ab ipsis typographis imprimenda, et postquam impressa fuerint, cum hoc Missali auctoritate Nostra recognito diligentissime conferant, nec in illis aliquid addi, vel minui permittant. In ipsa vero licentia originali obtinenda, de collatione facta, et quod omnino concordent, manu propria attestentur: cujus licentiae copia initio, vel in fine cujusque Missalis semper imprimatur. Quod si secus fecerint, Inquisitores privationis suorum officiorum, ac inhabilitatis ad illa, et alia in posterum obtinenda; Ordinarii autern locorum suspensionis a divinis, ac interdicti ab ingressu Ecclesiae, eorum vero Vicarii privationis similiter officiorum, et beneficiorum suorum, et inhabilitatis ad illa, et alia in posterum obtinenda, ac insuper excommunicationis absque alia declaratione pœnas incurrant eo ipso. Ceterum pauperum ecclesiarum, clericorum, et personarum ecclesiasticarum, ac typographorum, et bibliopolarum quorumcumque indemnitatis ex benignitate Apostolicam rationem habentes, eisdem Missalia hactenus impressa penes se habentihus, ut ea retinere, et illis uti, eaque vendere respective possint, similiter permittimus et indulgemus. Non obstantibus licentiis, indultis et privilegiis quibuscumque typographis, per Nos seu Romanos Pontifices praedecessores Nostros, Missale imprimendi concessis, quae per praesentes expresse revocamus et revocata esse volumus, nec non constitutionibus et ordinationibus Apostolicis, generalibus, vel specialibus, in contrarium praemissorum quomodocumque concessis, approbatis et confirmatis. Quibus omnibus, etiamsi de illis, eorumque totis tenoribus specialis, specifica et expreasa mentio habenda esset; tenores hujusmodi praesentibus pro expressis babentes, hac vice dumtaxat specialiter, et expresse derogamus. Volumus autem, ut praesentium transumptis, etiam impressis, manu alicujus Notarii publici subscriptis, et sigillo alicujus personae in dignitate ecclesiastica constitutae munitis, eadem prorsus fides adbibeatur, quae ipsis praesentibus adbiberetur, si essent exhibitae vel ostensae.

Datum Romae apud sanctam Mariam Majorem sub anulo Piscatoris, die secunda Septembris MDCXXXIV, Pontificatus Nostri anno duodecimo.

M. A. Maraldus

J. Savenier

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Missale Romanum, editio XIV juxta typicam Vaticanam, 1930 Ratisbonae, Sumptibus et typis Friderici pustet: S. Sedis Apostolicae et S. Rituum Congreg. Typographi.

Cum Sanctissimum (English)

CLEMENT VIII, POPE
FOR AN EVERLASTING MEMORIAL

Since the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist by means of which Christ Our Lord has made us partakers of His Sacred Body, and ordained to stay with us unto the consummation of the world, is the greatest of all the Sacraments, and it is accomplished in the Holy Mass and offered to God the Father for the sins of all the people, it is highly fitting that we who are in one body which is the Church and who share of the one Body of Christ, should use in this ineffable and awe-inspiring Sacrifice the same manner of celebration and the same ceremonial observance and rite.

Not only have the Roman Pontiffs, Our Predecessors, always desired, and for a long time greatly striven to achieve, this aim, but above all Pope Pius V of happy memory undertook, in accordance with the decree of the Council of Trent, to bring the Roman Missal into conformity with the old and purer pattern and to have it printed in Rome. Although he very severely forbade under many penalties that anything should be added to it, or that anything for any reason be removed from it, nevertheless, in the course of time, it has come to pass that, through the rashness and boldness of the printers, or of others, many errors have crept into the missals which have been produced in recent years. That very old (Latin) version of the Holy Bible, which even before St. Jerome’s time was held in honor in the Church, and from which almost all the Introits, Graduals, and Offertories of the Masses had been taken, has been entirely removed; the texts of the Epistles and Gospels, which hitherto were read during the celebration of the Mass, have been disturbed in many places; different and utterly unusual beginnings have been prefixed to the Gospel texts; and finally many things have been here and there arbitrarily altered. All these changes seem to have been introduced under the pretext of conforming everything to the standard of the Vulgate edition of Holy Writ, as if it were allowable to anyone to do so on his own authority, and without the advice of the Apostolic See.

Having considered these innovations, in Our pastoral solicitude which induces us to earnestly protect and preserve in everything and especially in the sacred rites of the Church the best and old norm, We have ordered in the first place that the above mentioned printed Missals, so corrupted, be banned and declared null and void and that their use be disallowed in the celebration of the Mass, unless they be entirely and in everything emended according to the original text published under Pius V We have also entrusted some of Our Venerable Brethren, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, versed in Holy Writ and skilled in ecclesiastical antiquity, with the business of restoring the Missal to its primitive and purest form. In their loyalty to Us, and in their piety and devotion to the Church, these Cardinals, employing also other learned men trained in ecclesiastical scholarship and having searched for, and diligently examined, old Missals and other books bearing upon the subject, have endeavored to restore the Roman Missal to its original purity and to confirm and attest the painstaking care and diligence of Pius V and of those appointed by him. It happened, however, that in the carrying out of this task, as a result of an accurate comparison of ancient books, some things have been improved upon and, concerning the rules and rubrics, some points have been more fully and clearly stated. These improvements, however, flowing as it were from the same sources and principles, seem rather to represent and complete the meaning of the rules and rubrics than to introduce anything new.

We have ordered, therefore, that the Missal which the same Pius V had edited, thus revised, be printed as faultlessly as possible at Our Vatican printing press and that it be published for the common benefit. In order that its use may be preserved for all future time in perpetuity in every part of the Christian world, We decree that this Missal may be printed in Our City of Rome at the same printing press only and not elsewhere. We permit, however, that outside the City, it may be printed according to the original now edited at the afore-named printing press and not otherwise, on condition that any printer wishing to print it, shall be allowed to do so, after having asked for, and obtained in writing, the license of Our beloved Sons, the Inquisitors against heretical depravity, in the places where they are established, and of the Ordinary of the place where there is no Inquisitor. Otherwise, if without this permission, they dare to print the above-mentioned Missal in whatever form, or the booksellers dare to sell it, the printers and the booksellers established outside Our Ecclesiastical State shall incur excommunication latae sententiae from which, save on the point of death, they may not be absolved except by the Roman Pontiff. The printers and booksellers established in the City and in other parts of the Ecclesiastical State shall incur the fine of five hundred gold ducats of the Treasury and forfeit unpardonably without any further declaration all their books and types which are to be devolved on the said Treasury. And we forbid and prohibit in perpetuity for all places and peoples under the same penalties the use of such Missals as might be printed and sold without the necessary permission.

Before granting this permission, the Inquisitors or the Ordinaries must very diligently compare the Missals to be printed, both before and after they are printed, with the standard text revised by Our Authority and now printed and they must not allow anything to be added to, or removed from, it. Nor may they maintain that they have not incurred the penalties set forth hereunder, by pleading as an excuse the negligence of the printers or the lack of diligence on the part of the proof-readers or perhaps of those engaged by them. When issuing the original document granting the license, they must certify in their own handwriting that, having made the collation, the Missals entirely agree with the standard edition. This document must be printed always, at the beginning or at the end of every Missal.

If they act otherwise, the Inquisitors shall incur on that account, the penalty of being deprived of their office and of being debarred from getting it back and obtaining other offices in the future; the Bishops and the Ordinaries shall incur the penalty of suspension a divinis and of interdiction from entering the Church; and their Vicars shall similarly be deprived of their offices and benefices, they shall be debarred from obtaining these and other offices and benefices in the future and they shall incur excommunication, without any further declaration.

Wishing in Our Apostolic benignity to secure and protect from any loss all poor churches, clerics and ecclesiastics, printers and booksellers, We allow them to keep, use and sell respectively the Missals hitherto printed, which they possess, excepting only those which, as has been stated above, have been banned and declared null and void by Our Authority. Notwithstanding whatsoever licenses, indults and privileges hitherto granted by Us or by the Roman Pontiffs, Our Predecessors, to print the aforenamed Missal of Pius V, which by these presents We expressly revoke and which We wish to be revoked; and also the constitutions, Apostolic ordinances, general and special, granted in whatever manner, contrary to the above prescriptions, confirmed and approved. From all these ordinances and from all other prescriptions to the contrary, for this time only, We specially and expressly derogate, albeit particular, specific and express mention is to be made of them and of their whole tenor, considering their tenor as expressed in these presents. We wish that the same authority attaching to these presents, if exhibited and shown, be attributed to their copies, even printed ones, bearing the signature of a Notary Public and vouched for by the seal of a Church dignitary. Given in Rome at St. Mark’s under the ring of the Fisherman, on 7 July 1604, the XIIIth year of Our Pontificate.

M. Vestrius Barbianus

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This document taken from the Catholic Liturgical Library
http://www.catholicliturgy.com/

Cum Sanctissimum (Latin)

CLEMENS PAPA VIII
AD PERPETUAM REI MEMORIAM

Cum sanctissimum Eucharistiae Sacramentum, quo Nos Christus Dominus sacri sui Corporis participes effecit, atque apud Nos usque ad consummationem saeculi permanere decrevit, maximum sit omnium Sacramentorum, illudque in sacra Missa conficiatur, ac pro peccatis totius populi Deo Patri offeratur; sane omnino conveniens est, ut qui omnes unum sumus in uno corpore, quod est Ecclesia, et de uno corpore Christi participamus, una et eadem celebrandi ratione, uniusque officii et ritus us observatione in hoc ineffabili et tremendo sacrificio utamur. Quod cum Romani Pontifices praedecessores Nostri semper optarint, atque in hoc diu multumque desudarint, tum in primis fel. rec. Pius Papa V Missale Romanum ex Decreto sacri Concilii Tridentini ad veterem et emendatiorem normam restitui, Romaeque imprimi curavit. Qui etsi multis propositis pœnis severissime caverit, ne quid illi vel adderetur, vel ulla ratione demeretur; tamen, progressu temporis, sive typographorum, sive aliorum temeritas et audacia effecit, ut multi in ea quae his proximi annis excusa sunt Missalia, errores irrepserint, quibus vetustissima illa sacrorum Bibliorum versio, quae etiam ante S. Hieronymi tempora celebris habita est in Ecclesia, et ex qua omnes fere Missarum Introitus, et quae dicuntur Gradualia et Offertoria accepta sunt, omnino sublata est: Epistolarum et Evangeliorum textus, qui hucusque in Missae solemnis praelectus est, multi in locis perturbatus; ipsis Evangeliis diversa, ac prorsus insolita praefixa initia; prima denique passim pro arbitrio immutata sint: cujus rei praetextus fuisse videtur, ut omnia ad praescriptum sacrorum Bibliorum Vulgatae editionis revocarentur, quasi id alicui propria auctoritate, atque Apostulica Sede inconsulta, facere licitum sit. Quod Nos animadvertentes, pro Nostra pastorali sollicitudine, qua omnibus in rebus, ac praecipue in sacris Ecclesiae ritibus, optimam, eamque veterem normam studemus tueri et conservare, primum praedicta Missalia impressa sic depravata prohiberi et abrogari, eorumque usum in celebratione Missarum interdici jussimus, nisi ad praescriptum exemplaris sub ipso Pio V editi integre in omnibus emendarentur: deinde mandavimus nonnullis venerabilibus fratribus nostris S. R. E. Cardinalibus in sacris Litteris versati, et ecclesiasticae antiquitatis peritis, ut curam Missale ad pristinam et quam maxime emendatam formam restituendi susciperent; qui pro sua erga Nos fide et in Romanam Ecclesiam pietate et studio, adhibitis etiam aliis rerum ecclesiasticarum peritis et eruditis viris, et veteribus Missalibus, aliisque praeterea libris, qui ad eam rem opportuni videbantur, accurate perquisitis et diligenter inspectis, Missale Romanum suae integritati restituere, ac ipsius Pii V et eorum qui ab eo delecti fuerant, laborem et diligentiam confirmare et comprobare curarunt. Verum in eo munere peragendo factum est, ut nonnulla ex diligenti librorum antiquorum collatione in meliorem formam redacta, et in regulis et rubricis aliqua uberius et clarius expressa sint, quae tamen ex illorum principiis et fundamentis quasi deducta, illorum sensum imitati potius, et supplere, quam aliquid novi afferre videantur. Missale itaque quod idem Pius V ediderat, sic recognitum, in Nostra Typographia Vaticana quam emendatissime imprimi, et ad communem utilitatem publicari jussimus. Ut autem illius usus in omnibus Christiani Orbis partibus, perpetuis futuris temporibus conservetur, ipsum Missale in alma Urbe Nostra in eadem Typographia tantum, et non alibi imprimi posse decernimus: extra Urbem vero juxta exemplar in dicta Typographia nunc editum, et non aliter, hac lege imprimi posse permittimus, ut nimirun typographis quibuscumque illud imprimere volentibus, id facere liceat, requisita tamen prius et in scriptis obtenta, dilectorum filiorum Inquisitorum haereticae pravitati in iis locis in quibus fuerint, ubi vero non fuerint, Ordinariorum locorum licentia; alioquin, si absque hujusmodi licentia dictum Missale sub quacumque forma de cetero ipsi imprimere, aut bibliopolae vendere praesumpserint, typographi et bibliopolae extra Statum Nostrum Ecclesiasticum existentes, exconimunicationis latae sententiae, a qua, nisi a Romano Pontifice, preterquam in mortis articulo constituti, absolvi nequeant; in alma vero Urbe ac reliquo Statu Ecclesiastico commorantes, quingentorum ducatorum auri de Camera, ac amissionis librorum et typorum omnium, Camerae praedictae applicandorum, pœnas absque alia declaratione irremissibiliter incurrant eo ipso. Et nihilominus eorundem Missalium per eos de cetero absque hujusmodi licentia imprimendorum aut vendendorum usum ubique locorum et gentium sub eisdem pœnis perpetuo interdicimus et prohibemus. Ipsi autem Inquisitores, seu Ordinarii locorum, antequam hujusmodi licentiam concedant, Missalia ab ipsis typographis imprimenda, et postquam impressa fuerint, cum hoc Missali auctoritate Nostra recognito et nunc impresso, diligentissime conferant, nec in illo aliquid addi vel detrahi permittant, nec in praemissis, praetextu incuriae typographorum, aut non factae per correctores vel alios ab ipsis forsitan deputandos diligentiae, se aliquo modo excusare, quodque in infrascriptas pœnas non incurrerint, allegare valeant, et in ipsa licentia originali de collatione facta, et quod omnino concordent, manu propria attestentur: cuis licentiae copia initio, vel in calce cujusque Misali semper imprimatur. Quod si secus fecerint, Inquisitores videlicet privationis suorum officiorum, ac inhabilitatis ad illa et alia in posterum obtinenda; Antistites autem et Ordinarii locorum suspensionis a divinis, ac interdicti ab ingressu Ecclesiae; eorum vero Vicarii, privationis similiter officiorum et beneficiorum suorum, et inhabilitatis ad illa et alia in posterum obtinenda, ac praeterea excommunicationis absque alia declaratione, ut praefertur, pœnas incurrant eo ipso. Ceterum pauperum ecclesiarum, clericorum, et personarum ecclesiasticarum, ac typographorum et bibliopolarum quorumcumque indemnitatis ex benignitate Apostolica rationem habentes, eisdem Missalia hactenus imprrssa penes se habentibus (iis dumtaxat exceptis quae auctoritate Nostra, ut supra dictum est, interdicta et abrogata fuerunt), ut ea retinere, et illis uti, eaque vendere respective possint, similiter permittimus et indulgemus. Non obstantibus licentiis, indultis, et privilegiis quibuscumque typographis hactenus per Nos seu Romanos Pontifices praedecessores Nostros, Missale praedictum Pii V imprimendi concessis, quae per praesentes expresse revocamus, et revocata esse volumus: necnon constitutionibus et ordinationibus Apotolicis, generalibus vel specialibus, in contrarium praemissorum quomodocumque concessis, confirmatis et approbatis. Quibus omnibus, etiamsi de illis eorumque totis tenoribus, specialis, specifica et expressa mentio habenda esset, tenores hujusmodi praesentibus pro expressis habentes, hac vice dumtaxat specialiter et expresse derogamus, ceterisque contrariis quibuscumque. Volumus autem, ut praesentium transumptis, etiam impressis vel manu alicujus Notarii publici subscriptis, et sigillo alicujus personae in dignitatc ecclesiastica constitutae munitis, eadem prorsus fides haberetur, quae ipsis praesentibus haberetur, si essent exhibitae vel ostensae.

Datum Romae apud sanctum Marcum sub anulo Piscatoris, die VII julii MDCIV, Pontificatus Nostri anno XIII.

M. Vestrius Barbianus

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Missale Romanum, editio XIV juxta typicam Vaticanam, 1930 Ratisbonae, Sumptibus et typis Friderici pustet: S. Sedis Apostolicae et S. Rituum Congreg. Typographi.

Rubricarum Instructum (English)

POPE JOHN XXIII

LITTERAE APOSTOLICAE

MOTU PROPRIO

NOVUM RUBRICARUM BREVARII ET MISSALIS ROMANI

CORPUS APPROBATUR

It has been the constant aim of the Apostolic see, especially since the Council of Trent, to define more accurately and arrange more suitably the body of rubrics by which the Church's public worship is ordered and governered. Thus many things have been emended, changed and added in the course of time. The consequent growth of the system of rubrics has sometimes been unsystematic and detrimental to the original clarity and simplicity of the whole system.

Hemce, it is not surprising that our Predecessor Pope Pius XII, of happy memory, acceding to the wishes of many of the bishops, should have judged it expedient to reduce the rubrics of the Roman breviary and missal to a simpler form in certain respects. This simplification was enacted by a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites dated March 23, 1955.

Then, in the following year, 1956, when preparatory studies were being conducted for a general liturgical reform, our predecessor decided to survey the opinions of the bishops on the liturgical improvement of the Roman breviary. After duly weighing the answers of the bishops he judged that it was time to attack the problem of a general and systematic revision of the rubrics of the breviary and missal. This question he referred to the special committe of experts who have been appointed to study the general liturgical reform.

Then the problem became ours. After we had decided, under the inspiration of God, to convene an ecumenical council, we turned over in our mind what was to be done about this project begun by our predecessor. After mature reflection, we came to the conclusion that the more important principles governing a general liturgical reform should be laid before the memebers of the hierarchy at the forthcoming ecumenical council, but that the above-mentioned improvement of the rubrics of the breviary and missal should no longer be put off.

We ourselves, therefore, of our own accord [motu proprio] and with full knowledge, have seen fit to approve by our apostolic authority the body of these rubrics of the Roman breviary and missal prepared by the experts of the Sacred Congregation of Rites and carefully revised by the aforesaid pontifical commission for general liturgical reform. And we decree as follows:

1. We command that, beginning on the first day of January of next year, 1961, all those who follow the Roman rite shall observe the new code of rubrics of the Roman breviary and missal arranged under three headings - "Genreal Rubrics," "General Rubrics of the Roman Breviary," and "General Rubrics of the Roman Missal" - to be published shortly by our Sacred Congregation of Rites. As for those who observe some other Latin rite, they are bound to conform as soon as possible both to the new code of rubrics and to the calendar, in all those things which are not strictly proper to their own rite.

2. On the same day, Janurary 1, 1961, the "General Rubrics" of the Roman breviary and missal, as well as the "Additions and Variations" to the rubrics of the Roman breviary and missal according to the bull Divino afflatu of our predecessor St. Pius X, which have hitherto been prefixed to these books, shall become inoperative. As the provisions of the decree, The Reduction of the Rubrics to a Simpler Form , dated March 23, 1955, have been incorporated into this new edition of the rubrics, this general decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites shall likewise become inoperative. Finally, any decrees and replies on doubtful points issued by the same Congregation which do not agree with this new form of rubrics shall be abrograted.

3. Likewise, statues, priveleges, indults, and customs of any kind whatsoever, including those that are centenary and immemorial, even if they are worthy of special and individual mention, shall be revoked if they are opposed to these rubrics.

4. The publishers of liturgical books who are duly approved by the Holy See may prepare new editions of the Roman breviary and missal arranged according to the new code of rubrics. In order to insure the necessary uniformity of the new editions, however, the Sacred Congregation of Rites shall issue special instructions.

5. In the new editions of the Roman breviary or missal, the texts of the rubrics mentioned in no. 2 above shall be omitted, and the texts of the new rubrics put in their place. That is, the "General Rubrics" and the "General Rubrics fo the Roman Breviary" shall be prefixed to the breviary; and similarly, the "General Rubrics" and the "General Rubrics of the Roman Missal" shall be prefixed to the missal.

6. Finally, all those whose responsibility it is, shall see to it as soon as possible that the special calendars and propers, whether diocesan or religious, conform to the principles and ideals of the new edition of the rubrics and of the calendar. These calendars and propers are subject to the approval of the Sacred Congregation of Rites.

Having firmly established these points, we consider it fitting to our apostolic office to add some advice.

The fact is that this new arrangement of the rubrics has two effects. On the one hand, the whole structure of the rubrics of the Roman breviary and missal is reduced to a better form, distributed in a clearer order and brought together in a single text. On the other hand, some special modifications have also been introduced, by which the divine office is somewhat shortened. This shortening was petitioned by very many bishops, in view especially of the constantly increasing burden of pastoral cares laid upon many priests. In a fatherly spirit we urge these and all who are bound to the recitation of the divine office to make up for any shortening of that office by greater attentiveness and devotion. Moreover, since the reading of the fathers of the Church is sometimes cut down to a certain extent, we earnestly exhort all clergy to be sure to have at hand for reading and meditation the works of the fathers, which are so full of wisdom and piety.

Now let those things which we have decreed and established by this letter, given of our own accord, be considered as ratified and confirmed, anything to the contrary notwithstanding, including that which is worthy of special and individual mention.

Given at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the twenty-fifth day of July, in the year 1960, the second of our pontificate.

John XXIII, Pope

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Source: R. Kevin Seasoltz, The New Liturgy: A Documentation, 1903-1965, Herder & Herder, 1966, pp. 305-07.

Latin text.

Rubricarum Instructum (Latin)

IOANNES PAPA XXIII

LITTERAE APOSTOLICAE

MOTU PROPRIO DATAE

NOVUM RUBRICARUM BREVARII ET MISSALIS ROMANI

CORPUS APPROBATUR

Rubricarum instructum, quo publicus Ecclesiae cultus ordimatur ac regitur, Apostolica Sedes, inde praesertim a Concilio Tridentino, continenter studuit et pressius definire et perfectius ordinare. Pluribus itaque emendationibus, variationibus et additamentis decursu temporis introducis, totum rubricarum systema abunde succrevit, non semper vero systematico ordine servato, et non sine primitivae perspicuitatis ac simplicitatis detrimento.

Nil proinde mirum quod Decessor Noster, Pius Papa XII, fel. rec., plurimum Episcoporum precibus annuens, rubricas Brevarii ac Missalis romani in quibusdam ad simpliciorem formam esse redigendas censuerit, quod generali Decreto S Rituum Congregationis diei 23 Martini anni 1955 fuit peractum.

Anno vero sequenti1956, cum interim studia praeparatoria pro generalis liturgica instauratione maturescerent, idem Decessor Noster Episcoporum mentem explorandam decrevit, circa Brevarii romani liturgicam emendationem. Episcoporum autem responsionibus mature perpensis, quaestionem de generali ac systematica rubricarum Brevarii ac Missalis emendatione aggrendiendam esse censuit, eamque peculiari illi commisit virorum pentorum Commissioni, cui generalis instaurationis liturgicae studia demandata fuerant.

Nos autem, postquam, adspirante Deo, Concilium (Ecumenicum coadunandum esse decrevimus, quid circa hujusmodi Praedecessori Nostri inceptum agendum foret, haud semel recogitavimus. Re itaque diu ac mature examinata, in sententiam devenimus, altiora principia, generalem liturgicam instaurationem respicientia, in proximo Concilio (Ecumenico Patribus esse proponenda; memoratum vero rubricarum Brevarii ac Missalis emendationem diutius non esse protrahendam.

Harum itaque rubricatum Breviarii ac Missalis romani corpus, a peritis viris S. Rituum Congregationis praeparatum et a praefata Pontifica Commissione pro generali liturgica instauratione diligenter revisum, Nos ipsi, motu proprio et certa scientia, Apostolica Nostra Auctoritate, probandum censuimus, sequentia decernentes:

1. Novum rubricarum Brevarii ac Missalis romani codicem, per tres partes digestum, scilicet: Rubricae generales, Rubricae generales Brevarii romani, et Rubricae generales Missalis romani a Sacra Nostra Rituum Congregatione mox evulgandum, inde a die 1 Januarii proximi anni 1961, ab omnibus qui ritum romanum sequuntur, servandum esse praecipimus. Qui vero alium ritum latinum observant, quamprimum sive novo rubricarum codici, sive calendario se conformate tenetur, in iis ominibus, quae illi ritui stricte propria non sunt.

2. Eodem die 1 Januarii anni 1961 vigere cessant Rubricae generales Brevarii et Missalis romani, necnon Additiones et Variationes in rubricis Brevarii et Missalis romani, ad normam Bullae Praedecessoris Nostri S. Pii X Divino afflatu, quae hucusque his libris praepostias habentur. Pariter vigere cessat Decretum generale S. R. C. diei 23 Martii anni 1955 De rubricis ad simpliciorem formam redigendis, in hac nova rubricarum redactione assumptum. Abrogantur denique eiusdem S. Congregationis decreta et ad dubia reponsiones, quae cum nova hac rubricarum forma non conveniunt.

3. Item statuta, privilegia, indulta et consuetudines cujuscumque generis, etiam saecularia et immemorabilia, immo specialissima atque individua mentione digna, quae his rubricis obstant, revocantur.

4. Librorum Liturgicorum editores, rite a S. Sede approbati et admissi, novas parare possunt editiones Brevarii et Missalis romani, juxta novum rubricarum codicem dispositas; ad necessarium vero novarum editionum uniformitatem praecavendam, S. Rituum Congregatio peculiares tradat instructiones.

5. In novis Brevarii vel Missalis romani editionibus, omissis rubricarum textibus de quibus n. 2, novarum rubricarum textus praeponantur, Brevario quidem Rubricae generales et Rubricae generales Brevarii romani; Missali autem item Rubricae generales et Rubricae generales Missalis romani.

6. Omnes denique ad quos spectat quamprimurn Calendaria et Propria, sive dioecesana sive religiosa, ad normam et mentem novae redactionis rubricarum et calendarii conformari curent, a S. Rituum Congregatione approbanda.

His itaque firmiter statutis, muneri Nostro Apostolico consentaneum ducimus, nonnulla addere hortamenta.

Nova sane hac rubricarum dispositione, dum ex una parte universus rubricarum Brevarii et Missalis romani instructus in meliorem formam est redactus, clariore ordine digestus et in unicum textum contractus, ex altera parte aliquae quoque introductae sunt peculiares modificationes, quibus Officium divinum paulisper contrahitur. Hoc siquidem quamplurimum Episcoporum erat in votis, intuitu praesertim multorum sacerdotum, qui in dies magis magisque pastoralibus sollicitudinibus onerantur. Hos autem et omnes qui Officio divino persolvendo tenentur, paterno hortamur animo, ut si quid in eodem divino Officio breviatur, hoc maiore diligentia ac devotione compensetur. Cum porro lectio quoque sanctorum Patrum aliquantisper quandoque minuatur, omnes enixe clericos hortamur, ut volumina Patrum, tanta sapientia ac pietate referta, assidue praemanibus legenda ac meditando teneant.

Quae autem per Nostras has Litteras, motu proprio datas, decrevimus ac statuimus, rata atque firma sunto, contrariis quibuslibet minime obstantibus, peculiarissima quoque et individua mentione dignis.

Datum Romae, apud S. Petrum, die 25 mensis Julii, anno 1960, Pontificatus Nostri secundo.

IOANNES PP. XXIII

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(Novum rubricarum brevarii et missalis romani corpus approbatur, AAS 52, 1960, 593-595) Source Latin text: http://www.ecclesiacatholica.com/

Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus

Missale Romanum 1962

Nobis quoque peccatoribus famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam, et societatem donare digneris, cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus: cum Joanne, Stephano, Matthia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnete, Caecilia, Anastasia, et omnibus Sanctis tuis: intra quorum nos consortium, non aestimator meriti sed veniae, quaesumus, largitor admitte. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.1

To us also, sinners, yet Thy servants, trusting in the greatness of Thy mercy, deign to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy apostles and martyrs: with John, Stephen, Matthias, Baranabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and all Thy saints; into whose company we implore Thee to admit us, not weighing our merits, but freely granting us pardon. Through Christ our Lord.2

To us also, Thy sinful servants, who hope in the multitude of Thy mercies, vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnaby, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and all Thy Saints: into whose company, not weighing our merits, but granting us pardon, we beseech Thee to admit us. Through Christ our Lord.3

To us sinners, also, Thy servants, who put our trust in the multitude of Thy mercies, vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy apostles and martyrs: with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and with all Thy saints. Into their company do Thou, we beseech Thee, admit us, not weighing our merits, but freely pardoning our offenses: through Christ our Lord.4

Missale Romanum 1970

Nobis quoque peccatoribus famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam, et societatem donare digneris, cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus, cum Joanne, Stephano, Matthia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnete, Caecilia, Anastasia, et omnibus Sanctis tuis, intra quorum nos consortium, non aestimator meriti sed veniae, quaesumus, largitor admitte. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.5

For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, [Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia] and all the saints. Though we are sinners, we trust in your mercy and love. Do not consider what we truly deserve, but grant us your forgiveness. Through Christ our Lord.6


The first three words "us sinners also" (nobis quoque peccatoribus) are said aloud in the former missal and the priest strikes his breast at this time. These words do not draw the attention that they once did since the Canon is hardly ever said silently (sotto voce); I note at this time that the Eucharist Prayer in the revised missal need not be spoken outloud, but that the rubrics say that it "may" be said outloud. "Both (the somewhat loud tone of voice and the striking of the breast) indicate to the celebrant with what great sorrow and compunction he is to make the acknowledgment of his sinfulness, and admonish all the faithful present, to unite with the officiating priest in these selfsame penitential sentiments which animate him, since he recites this prayer for them and in their name."7

This petition proceeds to ask favors of God for even though we are sinners, we are also His servants who hope in the multitude of His mercies (...famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationem tuarum sperantibus). It is hope that leads us to implore that He might deign to grant us some part and fellowship with the Apostles and Martyrs. Of course by this we mean to be received into the Beatific Vision but even more we implore a share in the part of the holy martyrs. As if to prove what we mean by this, the Church then lists fifteen matryrs. This petition we ask to be granted, not on the basis of our merits, but granting us pardon. The phrase "non aestimator meriti, sed veniae largitor" is explained as "in that Thou wilt not consider, make account of, regard, what we deserve, that is, our trifling merits, or also our misdeeds, to influence Thy judgment according to them, but in abundant measure to impart to us merciful indulgence and forgiveness."8

On the whole the ICEL translates the meaning of the prayer but one wonders at yet another instance of their ommission of significant words. "[T]uis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus" is literally "Your holy Apostles and Martyrs." ICEL likes to drop words such as holy for an unknown reason. They do it again in this prayer when they translate "omnibus Sanctis tuis," which is literally "all Your Saints" as "all the saints." Of course, they rearrange the order of the prayer and obscure the imprecation that we might share in the part of the Martyrs. The part that we beg is two-fold: that we might be granted entrance into the heavenly City and that we might die a holy death, perhaps martyrdom but in the righteousness of holy faith whatever manner of death is our mortal end.

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1. My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, Msgr. Joseph F. Stedman, 1962, p. 55.

2. Ibid. 55.

3. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Litugically and Ascetically Explained, Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 1877 1st edition, 1897 6th edition, translated from German ©1902, printed 1924, pp. 675-76 .

4. The New Roman Missal, Fr. Lassance, 1993 reproduction of the 1945 edition, p. 785.

5. Daily Roman Missal, Rev. James Socias, Midwest Theological Forum, 2003, p.

6. Ibid., p.

7. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Litugically and Ascetically Explained, Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 1877 1st edition, 1897 6th edition, translated from German ©1902, printed 1924, p. 676.

8. Ibid., p. 687.

Anaphora of St. Mark

Priest (makes the sign of the cross upon the People, and says aloud): The Lord be with all.

People: And with thy spirit.

Priest: Let us lift up our hearts.

People: We lift them up to the Lord.

Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord.

People: It is meet and right.

Priest (silently): O Lord God, Sovereign and Almighty Father, truly it is meet and right, holy and becoming, and good for our souls, to praise, bless, and thank Thee; to make open confession to Thee by day and night with voice, lips, and heart without ceasing; To Thee who hast made the heaven, and all that is therein; the earth, and all that is therein; The sea, fountains, rivers, lakes, and all that is therein; To Thee who, after Thine own image and likeness, hast made man, upon whom Thou didst also bestow the joys of Paradise; And when he trespassed against Thee, Thou didst neither neglect nor forsake him, good Lord, But didst recall him by Thy law, instruct him by Thy prophets, restore and renew him by this awful, life-giving, and heavenly mystery. And all this Thou hast done by Thy Wisdom and the Light of truth, Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, Through whom, thanking Thee with Him and the Holy Spirit, We offer this reasonable and bloodless sacrifice, which all nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun, from the north and the south, present to Thee, O Lord; for great is Thy name among all peoples, and in all places are incense, sacrifice, and oblation offered to Thy holy name.

We pray and beseech Thee, O lover of men, O good Lord, remember in Thy good mercy the Holy and only Catholic and Apostolic Church throughout the whole world, and all Thy people, and all the sheep of this fold. Vouchsafe to the hearts of all of us the peace of heaven, but grant us also the peace of this life.

Guide and direct in all peace the king, army, magistrates, councils, peoples, and neighbour-hoods, and all our outgoings and incomings.

O King of Peace, grant us Thy peace in unity and love. May we be Thine, O Lord; for we know no other God but Thee, and name no other name but Thine. Give life unto the souls of all of us, and let no deadly sin prevail against us, or against all Thy people.

Look down in mercy and compassion, O Lord, and heal the sick among Thy people. Deliver them and us, O Lord, from sickness and disease, and drive away the spirit of weakness. Raise up those who have been long afflicted, and heal those who are vexed with unclean spirits.

Have mercy on all who are in prison, or in mines, or on trial, or condemned, or in exile, or crushed by cruel bondage or tribute. Deliver them, O Lord, for Thou art our God, who settest the captives free; who raisest up the downtrodden; who givest hope to the hopeless, and help to the helpless; who liftest up the fallen; who givest refuge to the shipwrecked, and vengeance to the oppressed.

Pity, relieve, and restore every Christian soul that is afflicted or wandering. But do Thou, O Lord, the physician of our souls and bodies, the guardian of all flesh, look down, and by Thy saving power heal all the diseases of soul and body.

Guide and prosper our brethren who have gone or who are about to go abroad. Whether they travel by land, or river, or lake, by public road, or in whatever way journeying, bring them everywhere to a safe and tranquil haven. Be pleased to be with them by land and sea, and restore them in health and joy to joyful and healthful homes. Ever defend, O Lord, our journey through this life from trouble and storm.

Send down rich and copious showers on the dry and thirsty lands. Gladden and revive the face of the earth, that it may spring forth and rejoice in the raindrops. Make the waters of the river flow in full stream. Gladden and revive the face of the earth with the swelling waters. Fill all the channels of the streams, and multiply the fruits of the earth.

Bless, O Lord, the fruits of the earth, and keep them safe and unharmed. Fill them with seed, and make them ripe for the harvest. Bless even now, O Lord, Thy yearly crown of blessing for the sake of the poor of Thy people, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger, and for the sake of all of us who have our hope in Thee and call upon Thy holy name; for the eyes of all are upon Thee, and Thou givest them bread in due season. O Thou who givest food to all flesh, fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that at all times, having all sufficiency, we may abound to every good work in Christ Jesus our Lord.

O King of kings and Lord of lords, defend the kingdom of Thy servant, our orthodox and Christ-loving sovereign, whom Thou hast deemed worthy to reign over this land in peace, courage, and justice. Subdue under him, O Lord, every enemy and adversary, whether at home or abroad. Gird on Thy shield and armour, and rise to his aid. Draw Thy sword, and help him to fight against them that persecute him. Shield him in the day of battle, and grant that the fruit of his loins may sit upon his throne. Be kind to him, O Lord, for the sake of Thy Holy and Apostolic Church, and all Thy Christ-loving people, that we too in his peaceful reign may live a calm and tranquil life, in all reverence and godliness.

O Lord our God, give peace to the souls of our fathers and brethren who have fallen asleep in Jesus, remembering our forefathers of old, our fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, bishops, and the souls of all the holy and just men who have died in the Lord. Especially remember those whose memory we this day celebrate, and our holy father Mark, the apostle and evangelist, who has shown us the way of salvation.

Deacon: Lord, bless us.

Priest: The Lord will bless thee in His grace, now, henceforth, and for evermore.

Deacon: (Reads the record of the dead).

Priest (bowing, silently): Give peace, O Sovereign Lord our God, to the souls of all who dwell in the tabernacles of Thy saints. Graciously bestow upon them in Thy kingdom Thy promised blessing, which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what Thou, O God, hast prepared for those who love Thy holy name. Give peace to their souls, and deem them worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

Grant that we may end our lives as Christians, acceptable unto Thee and without sin, and be pleased to give us part and lot with all Thy saints.

Accept, O God, by Thy ministering archangels at Thy holy, heavenly, and reasonable altar in the spacious heavens, the thank-offerings of those who offer sacrifice and oblation, and of those who desire to offer much or little, in secret or openly, but have it not to give.

Accept the thank-offerings of those who have presented them this day, as Thou didst accept the gifts of Thy righteous Abel: (offering incense): As Thou didst accept the sacrifice of our father Abraham, the incense of Zacharias, the alms of Cornelius, and the widow's two mites, accept also the thank-offerings of these, and give them for the things of time the things of eternity, and for the things of earth the things of heaven. Defend, O Lord, our most holy and blessed Papas N, whom Thou hast fore-ordained to rule over Thy Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and our most pious Bishop N, that they through many years of peace may, according to Thy holy and blessed will, fulfil the sacred priesthood committed to their care, and dispense aright the word of truth.

Remember the orthodox bishops everywhere, the elders, deacons, sub-deacons, readers, singers, monks, virgins, widows, and laity.

Remember, O Lord, the holy city of our God, Jesus Christ; and the imperial city; and this city of ours, and all cities and all lands, and the peace and safety of those who dwell therein in the orthodox faith of Christ.

Be mindful, O Lord, of the return of the back-sliding, and of every Christian soul that is afflicted and oppressed, and in need of Thy divine mercy and help.

Be mindful, O Lord, of our brethren in captivity. Grant that they may find mercy and compassion with those who have led them captive.

Be mindful also of us, O Lord, Thy sinful and unworthy servants, and blot out our sins in Thy goodness and mercy.

Be mindful also of me, Thy lowly, sinful, and unworthy servant, and in Thy mercy blot out my sins.

Be with us, O Lord, who minister unto Thy holy name.

Bless our meetings, O Lord.

Utterly uproot idolatry from the world.

Crush under our feet Satan, and all his wicked influence.

Humble now, as at all times, the enemies of Thy Church. Lay bare their pride. Speedily show them their weakness. Bring to naught the wicked plots they contrive against us. Arise, O Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let all who hate Thy holy name be put to flight.

Do Thou bless a thousand times ten thousand Thy faithful and orthodox people while they do Thy holy will.

Deacon: Let those who are seated stand.

Priest (silently): Deliver the captive; rescue the distressed feed the hungry; comfort the faint-hearted, convert the erring; enlighten the darkened; raise the fallen; confirm the wavering; heal the sick; and guide them all, good Lord, into the way of salvation, and into Thy sacred fold. Deliver us from our iniquities; protect and defend us at all times.

Deacon: Turn to the east.

Priest (bowing, silently): For Thou art far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. Round Thee stand ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of holy angels and hosts of archangels; and Thy two most honoured creatures, the many-eyed cherubim and the six-winged seraphim. With twain they cover their faces, and with twain they cover their feet, and with twain they do fly; and they cry one to another for ever with the voice of praise, and glorify Thee, O Lord, singing aloud the triumphal and thrice-holy hymn to Thy great glory:- Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. (aloud) Thou dost ever sanctify all men; but with all who glorify Thee, receive also, O Sovereign Lord, our sanctification, who with them celebrate Thy praise, and say:

People: Holy, holy, holy Lord.

Priest (makes the sign of the cross over the sacred mysteries, silently): For truly heaven and earth are full of Thy glory, through the manifestation of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Fill, O God, this sacrifice with Thy blessing, through the inspiration of Thy all-holy Spirit. For the Lord Himself, our God and universal King, Christ Jesus, reclining at meat the same night on which He delivered Himself up for our sins and died in the flesh for all, took bread in His holy, pure, and immaculate hands, and lifting His eyes to His Father, our God, and the God of all, gave thanks; and when He had blessed, hallowed, and broken the bread, gave it to His holy and blessed disciples and apostles, saying: (aloud): Take, eat.

Deacon: Pray earnestly.

Priest (aloud): For this is my body, which is broken for you, and divided for the remission of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest (silently): After the same manner also, when He had supped, He took the cup of wine mingled with water, and lifting His eyes to Thee, His Father, our God, and the God of all, gave thanks; and when He had blessed and filled it with the Holy Spirit, gave it to His holy and blessed disciples and apostles, saying:(aloud): Drink ye all of it.

Deacon: Pray earnestly again.

Priest (aloud): For this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for you and for many, and distributed among you for the remission of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest (silently): This do ye in remembrance of me; for as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show forth my death and acknowledge my resurrection and ascension until I come. O Sovereign and Almighty Lord, King of heaven, while we show forth the death of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, and acknowledge His blessed resurrection from the dead on the third day, we do also openly declare His ascension into heaven, and His sitting on the right hand of Thee, God and Father, and await His second terrible and dreadful coming, in which He will come to judge righteously the quick and the dead, and to render to each man according to his works.

O Lord our God, we have placed before Thee what is Thine from Thine own mercies. We pray and beseech Thee, O good and merciful God, to send down from Thy holy heaven, from the mansion Thou hast prepared, and from Thine infinite bosom, the Paraclete Himself, holy, powerful, and life-giving, the Spirit of truth, who spoke in the law, the apostles, and prophets; who is everywhere present, and filleth all things, freely working sanctification. in whom He will with Thy good pleasure; one in His nature; manifold in His working; the fountain of divine blessing; of like substance with Thee, and proceeding from Thee; sitting with Thee on the throne of Thy kingdom, and with Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Send down upon us also and upon this bread and upon these chalices Thy Holy Spirit, that by His all-powerful and divine influence He may sanctify and consecrate them, and make this bread the body.

[Deacon]: Amen.

Priest (aloud): And this cup the blood of the new testament, of the very Lord, and God, and Saviour, and universal King Christ Jesus.

Deacon: Deacons, come down.

Priest (aloud): That to all of us who partake thereof they may tend unto faith, sobriety, healing, temperance, sanctification, the renewal of soul, body, and spirit, participation in the blessedness of eternal life and immortality, the glory of Thy most holy name, and the remission of sins, that Thy most holy, precious, and glorious name may be praised and glorified in this as in all things [with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, now and ever unto ages and ages.]

People: As it was and is [and shall be, unto generation and generation and for all ages and ages. Amen.]

[Priest: And grant unto us that with one mouth and one heart we may glorify and hymn Thy most honorable and majestic name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.]

[Choir/People: Amen.]

Sources: Divine Liturgy of St. Mark. I have supplied certain rubrical directions for clarity and edited others for brevity. I have also edited the text according to the Divine Liturgy of St. Mark translated by Rev. Fr. John Shaw of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia who followed in large part the text published by St. Nectarios of Pentapolis.These editions are placed in []. I have also grouped some of the litanies where the ideas correspond.

Kyrie Eleison

This is Kyrie XVI the version that Pope Pius XII selected for his Missa Simplex and that Pope Paul VI selected for his Missa Jubilate Deo. It is found in the Graduale Romanum under the title "in ferris per annum."

The Kyrie eleison, which means Lord have mercy, is a development to all liturgies both East and West. It appears in the West taken from the East around the 6th century and is not even found in the East before the 4th century. It originated in the liturgy at Antioch and Jerusalem as the response to litanies. Although it appears in scripture, this is not strictly just borrowing from the scriptural expression. In scripture is appears with an object (i.e. Lord have mercy on us/me). In any case it starts to be used in the Antiochene rite and from there it spreads to the rest of the Church.1

It seems that at some point the Roman liturgy had litanies, which were sung by deacons or other clerics.2 Pope St. Gregory I, defending the use of the Kyrie as no mere adaptation towards the liturgy of Constantinople, writes that at daily Mass the litanies were left out so that the people might dwell on the meaning of the Kyrie. He explains that “kyrie eleison” was sung and the people responded with the same text. 3 There was no fixed number of repetitions originally when the litanies were left out, the leader of the choir watching for the sign to end the invocations. Eventually it was settled into a nine-fold invocation. 4 Another difference is the Roman adaptation of singing “Christe eleison,” which is done nowhere else but in the West. Over time the litany apparently fell out of use except for special masses like Easter Vigil, Whitsunday, and ordination Masses. 5 This dwelling upon the words, which originally are intended as responses to the litany, caused the musical notion to have many long neumes (e.g. the last syllable of the last Kyrie is a good example of a stretched neume), which stretch the Kyrie out over a length of time. In the Middle Ages they began to add words (tropes, the adding of which is a convention called farcing) to the text. The Kyriale still reminds us of this practice by its convention of naming Mass settings: Kyriale Rex Genitor (Mass VI), Orbis factor (XI), etc. 6 Sometimes these farces were done using a mixture of Latin and Greek: "Deus creator omnium, tu Theos ymon nostri pie, eleyson" from the Missale Sarum. 7 The use of farced liturgical texts was abolished by the reform of Pope St. Pius V.

In the reform of Pope Paul VI, the nine-fold repetition was abrogated. In its place is a single versicle and response for each invocation. The letters ij mean repeat again (the Graduale Romanum has "bis." meaning the same thing). In former times with the ninefold repetition after the first invocation the letters iij would appear meaning repeat two more times and after the first Kyrie of the third invocation the letters ij for repeat again, the last Kyrie being the one sung with the longest neumes. Sometimes in the Missal of Paul VI it is altogether left out when either the Asperges is done or the form for general confession includes the response itself (Cf. Option C in the Penitential Rite). This has some basis in an older rubric at Rome where the Kyrie was left out if it had been said before in the Litany (Kyrie non dicitur propter Litaniam processionis, ubi dictum est Kyrie; Ord. Roman. XI, n. 63, as was done apparently up to the twelfth century).8

"As long as we children of Eve are constrained to remain in this vale of tears weeping and mourning," as we pray in the Salve Regina, "in exile and misery (in exsilio), no prayer is so necessary, none so befitting our condition as the Kyrie, this heartfelt appeal, this humble cry for mercy to the triune God, who is compassionate and merciful, long suffering and plenteous in mercy (Ps. 102:8)."9 "[I]n order that the plentitude of Divine Mercy may descend upon us, the cry of the Kyrie must proceed from a heart penetrated with a lively sense of its poverty and misery." 10 "The Kyrie is, moreover, a fitting preface to the Gloria; filled with joy and gratitude at the very thought of the graces and favors of our merciful God, we are impelled to bless His holy name. "The Kyrie eleison, - that cry for mercy which is to be found in every liturgy of East and West, - 'seems introduced as if to give grander effect to the outburst of joy and praise which succeeds it in the Gloria in excelsis; it is a deepening of our humiliation, that our triumph may be the better felt.'"11

---

1 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912, p. 231.

2 Ibid., pp. 232-33.

3 Ibid., p. 234.

4 Ibid., pp. 236-37.

5 Ibid., p. 235.

6 Ibid., p. 238.

7 Ibid., p. 239, ft. 1 .

8 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, Rev Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 6th edition, B. Herder Book Co, 1924, p. 390.

9 Ibid., pp. 392 –93.

10 Ibid., p. 393.

11 Ibid., p. 392, quoted from Cardinal Wiseman, location not cited.

Anaphora of St. James

Priest: The love of the Lord and Father, the grace of the Lord and Son, and the fellowship and the gift of the Holy Spirit, be with us all.

People: And with thy spirit.

Priest: Let us lift up our minds and our hearts.

People: It is becoming and right.

Priest (silently): Verily it is becoming and right, proper and due to praise Thee, to sing of Thee, to bless Thee, to worship Thee, to glorify Thee, to give Thee thanks, Maker of every creature visible and invisible, the treasure of eternal good things, the fountain of life and immortality, God and Lord of all: Whom the heavens of heavens praise, and all the host of them; the sun, and the moon, and all the choir of the stars; earth, sea, and all that is in them; Jerusalem, the heavenly assembly, and church of the first-born that are written in heaven; spirits of just men and of prophets; souls of martyrs and of apostles; angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, and authorities, and dread powers; and the many-eyed cherubim, and the six-winged seraphim, which cover their faces with two wings, their feet with two, and with two they fly, crying one to another with unresting lips, with unceasing praises: (aloud) with loud voice singing the victorious hymn of Thy majestic glory, crying aloud, praising, shouting, and saying:

People: Holy, holy, holy, O Lord of Sabaoth, the heaven and the earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Priest (making the sign of the cross on the gifts, silently): Holy art Thou, King of eternity, and Lord and giver of all holiness; holy also Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom Thou hast made all things; holy also Thy Holy Spirit, which searches all things, even Thy deep things, O God: holy art Thou, almighty, all-powerful, good, dread, merciful, most compassionate to Thy creatures; who didst make man from earth after Thine own image and likeness; who didst give him the joy of paradise; and when he transgressed Thy commandment, and fell away, didst not disregard nor desert him, O Good One, but didst chasten him as at merciful father, call him by the law, instruct him by the prophets; and afterwards didst send forth Thine only-begotten Son Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world, that He by His coming might renew and restore Thy image; Who, having descended from heaven, and become flesh of the Holy Spirit and Virgin Godmother Mary, and having sojourned among men, fulfilled the dispensation for the salvation of our race; and being about to endure His voluntary and life-giving death by the cross, He the sinless for us the sinners, in the night in which He was betrayed, nay, rather delivered Himself up for the life and salvation of the world, (holding the bread in his hands) having taken the bread in His holy and pure and blameless and immortal hands, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and showing it to Thee, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hallowed, and brake, and gave it to us, His disciples and apostles, saying:

Deacons (while the Priest continues): For the remission of sins and life everlasting.

Priest (aloud): Take, eat. This is my body, broken for you, and given for remission of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest (taking the cup): In like manner, after supper, He took the cup, and having mixed wine and water, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and presenting it to Thee, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hollowed and blessed it, and filled it with the Holy Spirit, and gave it to us His disciples, saying, Drink ye all of it; this is my blood of the new testament shed for you and many, and distributed for the remission of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest: This do in remembrance of me; for as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death, and confess His resurrection, till He come.

Deacon: We believe and confess.

People: We show forth Thy death, O Lord, and confess Thy resurrection.

Priest (Oblation, silently): Remembering, therefore, His life-giving sufferings, His saving cross, His death and His burial, and resurrection from the dead on the third day, and His ascension into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of Thee, our God and Father, and His second glorious and awful appearing, when He shall come with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and render to every one according to His works; even we, sinful men, offer unto Thee, O Lord, this dread and bloodless sacrifice, praying that Thou wilt not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities; But that Thou, according to Thy mercy and Thy unspeakable loving-kindness, passing by and blotting out the handwriting against us Thy suppliants, wilt grant to us Thy heavenly and eternal gifts (which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man) that thou hast prepared, O God, for those who love Thee; and reject not, O loving Lord, the people for my sake, or for my sin's sake: (the Priest repeats thrice aloud): For Thy people and Thy Church supplicate Thee.

People: Have mercy on us, O Lord our God, Father Almighty.

Priest (Invocation, silently): Have mercy upon us, O God Almighty. Have mercy upon us, O God our Saviour. Have mercy upon us, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and send forth on us, and on these offered gifts, Thy all-holy Spirit. (Bowing his neck): The sovereign and quickening Spirit, that sits upon the throne with Thee, our God and Father, and with Thy only-begotten Son, reigning with Thee; the consubstantial and co-eternal; that spoke in the law and in the prophets, and in Thy New Testament; that descended in the form of a dove on our Lord Jesus Christ at the river Jordan, and abode on Him; that descended on Thy apostles in the form of tongues of fire in the upper room of the holy and glorious Zion on the day of Pentecost: this Thine all-holy Spirit, send down, O Lord, upon us, and upon these offered holy gifts; (rising up, aloud): That coming, by His holy and good and glorious appearing, He may sanctify this bread, and make it the holy body of Thy Christ.

People: Amen.

Priest: And this cup the precious blood of Thy Christ.

People: Amen.

Priest (by himself standing, silently): That they may be to all that partake of them for remission of sins, and for life everlasting, for the sanctification of souls and of bodies, for bearing the fruit of good works, for the stablishing of Thy Holy Catholic Church, which Thou hast founded on the Rock of Faith, that the gates of hell may not prevail against it; delivering it from all heresy and scandals, and from those who work iniquity, keeping it till the fulness of the time. (Bowing): We present them to Thee also, O Lord, for the holy places, which Thou hast glorified by the divine appearing of Thy Christ, and by the visitation of Thy all-holy Spirit; especially for the glorious Zion, the mother of all the churches; and for Thy Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church throughout the world: even now, O Lord, bestow upon her the rich gifts of Thy all-holy Spirit.

Remember also, O Lord, our holy fathers and brethren in it, and the bishops in all the world, who rightly divide the word of Thy truth.

Remember also, O Lord, every city and country, and those of the true faith dwelling in them, their peace and security.

Remember, O Lord, Christians sailing, travelling, sojourning in strange lands; our fathers and brethren, who are in bonds, prison, captivity, and exile; who are in mines, and under torture, and in bitter slavery.

Remember, O Lord, the sick and afflicted, and those troubled by unclean spirits, their speedy healing from Thee, O God, and their salvation.

Remember, O Lord, every Christian soul in affliction and distress, needing Thy mercy and succour, O God; and the return of the erring.

Remember, O Lord, our fathers and brethren, toiling hard, and ministering unto us, for Thy holy name's sake.

Remember all, O Lord, for good: have mercy on all, O Lord, be reconciled to us all: give peace to the multitudes of Thy people: put away scandals: bring wars to an end: make the uprising of heresies to cease: grant Thy peace and Thy love to us, O God our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth.

Remember, O Lord, favourable weather, peaceful showers, beneficent dews, abundance of fruits, and to crown the year with Thy goodness; for the eyes of all wait on Thee, and Thou givest their food in due season: thou openest Thy hand, and fillest every living thing with gladness.

Remember, O Lord, those who bear fruit, and labour honourably in the holy service of Thy Church; and those who forget not the poor, the widows, the orphans, the strangers, and the needy; and all who have desired us to remember them in our prayers.

Moreover, O Lord, be pleased to remember those who have brought these offerings this day to Thy holy altar, and for what each one has brought them or with what mind, and those persons who have just now been mentioned to Thee.

Remember, O Lord, according to the multitude of Thy mercy and compassion, me also, Thy humble and unprofitable servant; and the deacons who surround Thy holy altar, and graciously give them a blameless life, keep their ministry undefiled, and purchase for them a good degree, that we may find mercy and grace, with all the saints that have been well pleasing to Thee since the world began, to generation and generation--grandsires, sires, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, teachers, saints, and every just spirit made perfect in the faith of Thy Christ.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed the fruit of thy womb, for thou didst bear the Saviour of our souls.

Priest (aloud): Hail in the highest, our all-holy, pure, most blessed, glorious Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary.

Choir/Cantors: Truly it is becoming to bless Thee, the God-bearing, the ever-blessed, and all-blameless, and Mother of our God, more honourable than the cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the seraphim. Thee, who didst bear with purity God the Word, thee the true Mother of God, we magnify.

Choir/Cantors: In thee, highly favoured, all creation rejoices, the host of angels, and the race of men; hallowed temple, and spiritual paradise, pride of virgins, of whom God was made flesh and our God, who was before eternity, became a little child. For He made Thy womb His throne, and Thy bowels more capacious than the heavens. In thee, O highly favoured one, all creation rejoices. Glory unto thee.

Deacon: Remember us, O Lord God.

Priest (bowing, silently): Remember, O Lord God, the spirits and all flesh, of whom we have made mention, and of whom we have not made mention, who are of the true faith, from righteous Abel unto this day: unto them do Thou give rest there in the land of the living, in Thy kingdom, in the joy of paradise, in the bosom of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, our holy fathers; whence pain, and grief, and lamentation have fled: there the light of Thy countenance looks upon them, and enlightens them forever.

Make the end of our lives Christian, acceptable, blameless, and peaceful, O Lord, gathering us together, O Lord, under the feet of Thine elect, when Thou wilt, and as Thou wilt; only without shame and transgressions, through Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ: for He is the only sinless one who hath appeared on the earth.

Deacon: And let us pray: For the peace and establishing of the whole world, and of the holy churches of God, and for the purposes for which each one made his offering, or according to the desire he has: and for the people standing round, and for all men, and all women:

People: And for all men and all women. (Amen.)

Priest (aloud): Wherefore, both to them and to us, do Thou in Thy goodness and love:

People: Forgive, remit, pardon, O God, our transgressions, voluntary and involuntary: in deed and in word: in knowledge and in ignorance: by night and by day: in thought and intent: in Thy goodness and love, forgive us them all.

Priest (aloud): Through the grace and compassion and love of Thy only-begotten Son, with whom Thou art blessed and glorified, together with the all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.

People: Amen.

Source: Divine Liturgy of St. James. I have edited rubrical directions in order to make more explicit those prayers which are silent and which are said aloud. Some sources end the anaphora at: "We show forth Thy death, O Lord, and confess Thy resurrection." This cannot be correct because the Invocation (epiclesis) and commemorations follow this. I have ended it immediately before the Rite of Communion which begins with the Our Father as in most liturgies.

Anaphora of St. Hippolytus of Rome

Bishop: The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Bishop: Lift up your hearts.

All: We lift them up to the Lord.

Bishop: Let us give thanks to the Lord.

All: It is proper and right.

Bishop: We give thanks, O God, through your beloved Child Jesus Christ, whom you have sent us in these last days as Savior, Redeemer, and Messenger of your counsel. He is your Word, inseparable from you, through whom you created all things and in whom you are well pleased. From heaven you sent him into the womb of the Virgin, and, once conceived within her, he was made flesh, and was shown to be your Son, born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin. Fulfilling your will and winning for you a holy people, he stretched out his hands as he suffered, that by his death he might free those who believed in you.

When he was betrayed to his willing death, so that he might abolish death, break the bonds, of the devil, trample hell under foot, give light to the righteous, set a term of sentence, and manifest his resurrection, he took bread and, giving thanks to you, said: "Take, eat: This is my body, which is broken for you."

In the same way, the cup, saying: "This is my blood, which is shed for you. When you do this, do so in memory of me."

And so, keeping in mind his death and resurrection, we offer you the bread and cup, giving thanks because you have counted us worthy to stand before you and serve you.

We pray that you would send your Holy Spirit upon the offerings of your holy Church. Gathering them together, grant that all your saints who partake may be filled with the Holy Spirit, that their faith may be confirmed in truth, that we may praise you and give you glory and honor, with the Holy Spirit in the holy Church, now and forever. Amen.

Mike Aquilina, The Mass of the Early Christians, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 2001, pp. 107-108.

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Anaphora of Bishop Serapion of Thmuis

1. “It is meet and just to praise thee, to sing and glorify thee, the uncreated Father of thine only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 2. We praise thee, O uncreated God, inscrutable, unspeakable, incomprehensible to all created nature. 3. We praise thee, thou ‘who art known by thine only begotten son,’ and who hast been made manifest, explained and revealed by Him to all created nature. 4. We praise thee, ‘who dost know the son’ and dost manifest His glory to the saints, thee, who art known and contemplated by the Word generated by thee, and who art revealed to the saints. 5. We praise thee, indivisible Father, author of immortality; thou art the fountain of life, the source of light, the font of all grace and truth, thou lover of mankind and the poor, who hast pity on all and dost ‘draw’ them to thee by the advent of thy beloved Son.

6. “We pray thee, make us living men; give us the spirit of light, that we may ‘know thee the true [God], and Him whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ;’ give us the Holy Spirit, that we may be able to preach and explain thine ineffable mysteries. 7. Let the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit speak in us, and He shall glorify thee through us.

8. “For thou art ‘above all principality and power and virtue and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come.’ 9. ‘Thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before thee,’ angels, archangels, ‘thrones, powers, dominations, principalities, and virtues;’ before thee stand the two most glorious seraphim, ‘with six wings, covering their face with two, and their feet with two; flying with two and proclaiming thee holy.’ 10. With them accept also our adoration, for we say: ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory.’

11.”Heaven is full, the earth is also full of thy sublime glory, O Lord of hosts. Extend thy power upon this sacrifice, and grant thy aid to its fulfillment; for it is to thee that we have offered this living victim, the unbloody sacrifice. 12. To thee have we offered this bread, the likeness of the body of thine only Son. This bread is the image of His holy body; for ‘the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, broke it, and gave it to His disciples and said: Take and eat, this is my body, which shall be broken for you,’ for the remission of sins. 13. Therefore have we, by repeating the figure of His death, offered the bread and pray: By this sacrifice reconcile thyself with us all and have mercy upon us, O God of truth. And as this bread was scattered upon the hills and brought together into one, so do thou unite thy holy Church from every people and every land and every city and every village and house, and build up one living Catholic Church. 14. We have also offered the chalice, the symbol of the blood; for the Lord Jesus, ‘after He had supped, took the cup and said to His disciples: Take, drink, this is the new covenant, which is my blood, which shall be shed for the remission of sins.’ Therefore have we also offered the chalice, because we have consummated the symbol of the blood.

15. “Let thy holy Word (Logos), O God of truth, come down upon this bread, so that the bread may become the body of the Word, and on this chalice, so that the chalice may become the blood of Truth. And grant that all who partake of them, may receive the medicine of life, as a cure for all sickness and as an increase and progress in virtue, not, however, as judgment, O God of truth, nor as punishment and disgrace.

16. “For we have besought thee, O uncreated God, through they only-begotten [Son] in the Holy Spirit: Have mercy on this nation, make it worthy of increase, send forth angels to assist the people in overcoming evil and to strengthen the community. 17. We also pray for those who are asleep, of whom we also make commemoration. 18. (After the mention of their names.) Sanctify these souls, for thou knowest them all. Sanctify those who have died in the Lord, number them among thy holy principalities and grant them a place and a dwelling in thy kingdom!

19. “Likewise accept the thanks of thy people, and bless those who have offered gifts and prayers of thanks to thee, and give health and strength, joy and prosperity to the soul and the bodies of this whole people, through Jesus Christ, thine only Son, in the Holy Ghost, as it was, and is, and shall be from generation to generation for all eternity. Amen.”

Source: Rauschen, Gerhard, Ph.D., S.T.D., Eucharist and Penance: In the First Six Centuries of the Church, B Herder, St. Louis, 1913

N.B. St. Serapion of Thmuis is also called St. Serapion the Scholastic. Thmuis is a titular see and suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Pelusium. It is independent of the See of Alexandria and therefore does not follow the unique Alexandrian liturgical structure in it's anaphora but instead is of the Antiochene family.

Does 'for all' Invalidate the Consecration?

Quaestio Unus

Whether Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum (this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven) is a valid form for consecration?

Obj. 1. It seems that the aforesaid form of the consecration is not a valid form, for as St. Thomas says, “the words which follow (of the New and Eternal Testament, the Mystery of Faith, which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins) are determinations of the predicate, that is of Christ’s blood. Consequently they belong to the integrity of the expression” [ST III Q78 Art. 3]. Further, St. Pius V expressly declares, “defects on the part of the form may arise if anything is missing from the complete wording required for the act of consecrating” [De Defectibus, V]. It is apparent that the words mysterium fidei (mystery of faith) are omitted. Therefore, the preceding words are not a valid form of consecration.

Obj 2. Further, Pope Leo XIII writes, “All know that the Sacraments of the New Law, as sensible and efficient signs of invisible grace, ought to both signify the grace which they effect and effect the grace which they signify” [Apostolicae Curae, 24]. The words “mystery of faith” signify justifying grace, which is by faith (Rom 3:25, 26) [ST III Q78 Art. 3]. Therefore, the form that omits these words fails to signify justifying grace. The same holds true for the omission of any part of the following words.

Obj. 3. Further, St. Pius V declares, “If any omission or alteration is made in the formula of consecration of the Body and Blood, involving a change of meaning, the consecration is invalid” [De Defectibus, V]. We have already spoken of the omitted word above. The ICEL translation changes the meaning of pro multis (for many) to for all. This change of wording changes the meaning and therefore invalidates the form.

Obj. 4. Further, the Roman Catechism says, “with reason, therefore, were the words for all not used, as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation” [Catechismus ex decreto Concilii Tridentini, p. 277]. Therefore, the form is invalid.

Obj. 5. Further, the reality of this sacrament is the union of the Mystical Body [ST III Q73 Art. 3]. Now the effect (res tantum/res sacramenti) must be signified in the form since Pope Leo XIII says, “it still pertains chiefly to the "form"; since the "matter" is the part which is not determined by itself, but which is determined by the "form"” [Apostolicae Curae, 24]. However, for all does not signify the union of the mystical body and therefore the form is invalid.

Sed contra, the Church, which is both indefectible and infallible, uses this form.

Respondeo dicendum, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith made it clear that all translations are to be understood in accordance with the mind of the Church expressed in the original Latin text [Instauratio Liturgica, SCDF: AAS, 66[1974] 661]. Further, all sacramental formulas are presented personally to the Holy Father for his approval [SCDW: AAS 66[1973] 98-99; SCDW: Notitiae 12 [1976] 300-302]. Since it is well known that the Church is the sacrament of salvation, it is contrary to Catholic faith to hold that she could positively teach or hold up for the belief of the faithful an invalid sacrament. The abhorrence of such an accusation is increased in great measure when we consider that were the form invalid then the Church encourages the adoration of an empty sign, thereby positively regulating idolatry. It is impossible for this to be the case for then the Church would not be indefectible.

Reply Obj. 1. St. Thomas does indeed teach that the words that follow are of the integrity or substance of the form. In the first article, St. Thomas seems to say that the short form (excluding the words that follow) is the form of the sacrament. This is why many theologians (Fr. Doronzo, S.J., St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, et al.) consider that the opinion of the Angelic Doctor is unclear [Theologia Moralis, VI, Tract. 3, Ch. 1, Nos. 220-221]. More to the point, St. Pius V was dealing with a peculiar time in Church history and wished to make clear that every priest was under the obligation to pronounce each word. For that reason we assume the proper intent of the priest who follows the lawful form(s) of the sacraments. Since the Church lawfully obligates the revised form, it is validly and lawfully used for consecration.

Reply Obj. 2. The Byzantine Rites omit the words “Mystery of Faith” from the form of consecration yet their priests validly consecrate the sacrament. This is aptly explained according to Pope Benedict XIV when he declared, “For it would of course be unjust, mistaken, and opposed to the peace and unity of the Church to make judgments concerning the Greek Rites solely on the basis of a knowledge of the Latin Rituals,” a problem not uncommon for those who “are uninstructed in Greek customs, and do not know how the Apostolic See has always regarded them” [Ex Quo, 7]. It must also be noted that St. Thomas was entirely familiar with the Greek Rites, and did not admonish them in any way, as to defects in validity of their rites of celebration. Furthermore, when we consider that in the first article St. Thomas quotes St. Ambrose from his work De Sacramentis, wherein the form of the consecration for the Chalice is simply: “For this is My Blood” (Hic est enim Sanguis Meus), we have additional evidences against this objection. Since Pope Leo XIII in his many overtures towards reunion with the Eastern Churches never once admonished them for lack of sacramental validity in their ancient rites, the arguments from Apsotolicae Curae cannot be legitimately applied to the moving of the phrase mysterium fidei.

Reply Obj. 3. The change from for many to for all does not change the meaning in the sense that St. Pius V teaches a change in meaning invalidates the consecration. The meaning of efficacy (for many) is not contrary to that of sufficiency (for all), rather these meanings are complementary [Trent Sess. VI, Ch 2; Leo XIII, Annum Sacrum, 5]. Thus the orthodoxy of for all cannot invalidate the consecration (objections to the accuracy of the words so translated not withstanding). De Defectibus teaches the invalidation of the consecration on the basis that the “change of words does not signify the same thing.” But the form here accepted by the Church signifies the same reality and therefore is valid.

Reply Obj. 4. It is with good reason that the fruits of the Passion were spoken of in the Latin expression for unto (in) denotes actuality. Hence, in speaking of the fruits or efficacy of the Passion one should say many and not all. Likewise, when speaking of the sufficiency aspect of the Passion, it is still to the Precious Blood to which we refer for as St. Thomas says, “This is denoted by the blood being consecrated apart from the body; because it was by the Passion that the blood was separated from the body” [ST III Q78 Art. 3]. In the English the expression is in the subjunctive: so that...may be. This denotes not actuality but wish/desire. Therefore, the construction of the English properly expresses for all and not for many, because the sufficiency of the Passion is spoken of and not the efficacy.

Reply Obj. 5. St. Thomas does teach that the res sacramenti is the union of the mystical body (res sacramenti est unitas coporis mystici) [ST III Q73 Art 3]. Elsewhere he establishes that the res sacramenti is charity (res autem huius sacramenti est caritas) [ST III Q79 Art 4]. The increase of charity in the soul has the effect of bringing about the increase of the unity of the mystical body. St. Denis, the Aeropagite, says that love always tends towards union with the object beloved. And because food becomes one thing with him who eats it, therefore our Lord would reduce himself to food, in order that, receiving him in Holy Communion, we might become of one substance with him: Take ye and eat, said Jesus; this is My body [The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ, St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, Reflections Ch V]. Thus the res sacramenti is signified in the form of consecration: Hoc est enim corpus meum…et Hic est enim calix sanguinis meis.

The res sacramenti need not be explicitly signified in the form but it does need to be signified in some manner according to Pope Leo XIII [Apostolicae Curae, 24]. For instance, the res sacramenti/res tantum of Baptism is interior justification (…interioris iustificationis. Quae est res tantum huius sacramenti…) [ST III Q66 A1]. The signification of the res sacramenti is with the sacrament of baptism done by a single word: baptizo. Hence the grace of justification is signified both in the water (matter) and in the word baptize (form), but in neither explicitly as in delineating all of the effects of baptism. By corollary extension, this principle applies to all of the sacraments in like manner. (Cf. Reply Obj. 3 on De Defectibus.)

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Crossposted over at The Lidless Eye Inquisition

Commentary on Psalm 22(21) by St. Robert Bellarmine

Exposition of Psalm 22 (21)
St. Robert Cardinal Bellarmine

1 “O God, my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.”

David speaks here in the person of Christ hanging on the cross, in the height of his suffering, as appears from Matt. 27, in which we read that the Redeemer, just before he expired, exclaimed: “O God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The words, “Look upon me,” are not in the Hebrew; they were added by the Septuagint, for explanation sake. When Christ complains of having been forsaken by God, we are not to understand that he was forsaken by the Second Person, or that there was a dissolution of the Hypostatic Union, or that he lost the favor and friendship of the Father; but he signifies to us that God permitted his human nature to undergo those dreadful torments, and to suffer and ignominious death, from which he could, if he chose, most easily deliver him. Nor did such complaints proceed either from impatience or ignorance, as if Christ were ignorant of the cause of his suffering, or was not most willing to bear such abandonment in his suffering; such complaints were only a declaration of his most bitter sufferings. And whereas, through the whole course of his passion, with such patience did our Lord suffer, as not to let a single groan or sigh escape him, so now, lest the bystanders may readily believe that he was rendered impassible by some superior power; therefore, when his last moments were nigh, he protests that he is true man, truly passible; forsaken by his Father in his sufferings, the bitterness and acuteness of which he then intimately felt. “O God, my God;” looking upon himself as a mere servant, he addresses the Father as his God, because, at that very moment, he was worshipping him as the true God, offering to him the most perfect sacrifice that ever had been offered, the sacrifice of his body. “Look upon me;” he asks him to behold how he suffers for his honor, to acknowledge, therefore, the obedience of his Son, and to accept the sacrifice so offered for the human race. “Why hast thou forsaken me?” As if he were surprised! Is it possible you could allow your beloved and only begotten Son to be overwhelmed in such an abyss of pain and sorrow? Similar expressions are met in John 3, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son;” and Rom. 8, “He did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.” “Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.” Many, afraid of imputing sin to Christ, give a very forced explanation of these words. Some read them by way of interrogation, without any authority whatever. Others explain thus, “My sins,” having none, “are far from my salvation;” that is, are no obstacle to it. Without entering into other interpretations, mere gratuitous ones, inconsistent with the punctuation, the meaning simply is: With justice I said I was forsaken in my sufferings, because my exemption from them would be incompatible with my satisfying for the sins of the human race, which I have taken upon me, and which I mean to wipe away. And that Christ could take the sins of the human race upon himself, as if they were his own, is plainly shown in the Scripture, 1 Peter 2, “Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree:” Isaias 53, “And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all:” and, 2 Cor. 5, “Him who knew no sin he hath made sin for us;” that is, a victim for sin. As a victim for sin, then, must be immolated, in order to cleanse from the sin, so Christ, having undertaken to become the victim for the sins of the world, with much propriety says, “Far from my salvation are the words of my sins;” that is, I cannot avoid death, since the sins of the whole world are upon me to satisfy for them. “The words of my sins” is a Hebraism, meaning the sins themselves. “Are far from my salvation,” are inconsistent with my salvation, and I must, therefore needs suffer.

2 “O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.”

He assigns another proof of his being forsaken by God, and without any hope of temporal salvation. Though I may cry out day and night to be delivered from this death of the body, you will not hear me. He alludes to his two prayers, one at night in the garden, the other by day on the cross. “And it shall not be reputed as folly in me.” Though I may cry, and though I know you will not hear me, so far as escaping temporal punishment or suffering is concerned; still, it will “not be folly in me,” because my principal object, the redemption of the human race, will be effected, and I will not be kept in death, but will rise to life everlasting.

3 “But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.”

He proves that it was not folly in him to cry out at night, even though he was not heard by day, and that for four reasons. First, because God is holy and merciful. Secondly, because he is wont kindly to hear those who call upon him. Thirdly, because he is in the greatest straits. Fourthly, because, from his nativity, he has confided in God, and in him alone. The present verse contains the first reason. “You, O Lord, will certainly hear me, for you “dwell in the holy place;” you are all sanctity and piety; malice or cruelty cannot come near you, and therefore, you are “the praise” of thy people “Israel;” both because the people of Israel praise thee, and they are praised on your account. For the greatest praise thy people can have is their having a God so holy in every respect.

4 “In thee have our fathers hoped; they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them.”
5 “They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.”

Reason the second, from the instances of his kindness, numbers of which are to be found in Judges. As often as the children of Israel appealed to him, so often did he send them one of the Judges to deliver them, such as Gedeon, Samson, Samuel, etc.

6 “But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.”
7 “All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with lips, and wagged the head.”
8 “He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him.”

The third reason, derived from the straits in which Christ is placed. “But I am a worm, and no man:” I am just now in that position that I am not only “made less than the angels,” but even made less than man. “Despised and the most abject of men,” Isaias 53, nay, even beneath them, when even Barabbas and the robbers were preferred to me, and thus, I am now become so wretched, more “a worm than a man;” “the reproach of men;” at whom men blush, as they would at some opprobrious character; as did Peter, when he swore a solemn oath, “he knew not the man;” and “the outcast of the people;” one so rejected by the very scum of the people, that they called out, “Not this man but Barabbas.” “All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn:” When they saw me in that state they all mocked me, all manner of persons, high and low, priests and laics, Jews and Gentiles; which was fulfilled when, as St. Luke in chapter 23 writes, “And the people stood beholding, and the rulers with them derided. And the soldiers also mocked him.” “They have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head.” This, too, was accomplished, as St. Matthew writes, in chapter 27, “They blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, Vah, thou who destroyest the temple of God.” “He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him.” St. Matthew testifies in the same place that the Jews made use of the very words, saying, “He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will.” Wonderful prophecy, predicting not only the facts, but the very words that would be used on the occasion.

9 “For thou are he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother.”
10 “I was cast upon thee from the womb: from my mother’s womb thou art my God.”

The fourth reason, drawn from the eternal innocence of Christ. The word “For” does not imply consequence; it is very often used in Scripture as a mere copulative; sometimes it is quite redundant. “You are he that hast drawn me out of the womb.” I am thine from my birth; specially so, because I have no been born like others; but, through thy singular favor, have been both conceived and born, my mother’s virginity remaining intact. “My hope from the breasts of my mother.” Not content with having “drawn me out of the womb,” it is you who principally nourished me; for, though apparently on the breast of any mother, I know milk from heaven was supplied by you; and, therefore from her very breasts, I learned to hope and confide in thee. “I was cast upon thee from the womb;” The moment I left my mother’s womb, I fell into thy bosom, where I was cared for with such singular love and affection. “From my mother’s womb thou are my God.” As well as you, from the moment of my birth, so providentially protected me, so I, from the earliest dawn of my life, began to serve and to love you as my God.

11 “Depart not from me. For tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me.”

“Depart not from me,” according to some, is a part of the preceding verse, a matter of no great moment; it means, since “I was cast upon thee from the womb,” since “thou are my God,” I may with justice ask you to “depart not from me,” especially when my most grievous and my last “tribulation is very near;” that is, my death. “For tribulation is very near.” This verse may, perhaps, apply to his agony in the garden, when he was so overwhelmed with fear at the idea of his approaching passion; but, I am more inclined to think it should be understood of his actual passion at hand, both because he uses the perfect tense, when he says, “They have dug my hands and feet.” “They parted my garments amongst them;” and because he, before that, quoted the language of the Jews, boasting of their having nailed him to the cross; and, finally, because the very first verse of this Psalm was quoted by our Savior, when hanging on his cross. According, then, to his expression in the 2nd verse, “it shall not be reputed as folly in me.” I will not cry to thee to deliver me from death, but no to detain me therein.

12 “Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me.”

An account of the cruelty of his enemies, whom he compares to bulls, lions, and dogs. He alludes to the High Priests and Pharisees, who insult him like bulls, goring him, as it were, with their horns, saying, “Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God;” or, like lions with their mouths open, hungering for him; thirsting for his blood, and bellowing, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him;” or like dogs gnawing and biting him when they belied him, saying, “We have found this man perverting our nation;” and again, “If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up to thee:” which calumnies and detractions were the cause of our Lord’s immediate crucifixion; and, therefore, he says presently, “They have dug my hands and feet.” To come now in particulars. “Many calves have surrounded me.” We are not to understand young weak calves, but grown, with horns, almost bulls; for the following, “fat bulls have besieged me,” is only a repetition. The High Priests and Pharisees are called “strong” and “fat,” because they were powerful and rich. Some will have it that by the “calves” he meant the populace; by the “bulls,” the Pharisees; not at all improbable; but I prefer the first explanation.

13 “They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring.”
The High Priests and Pharisees panting for his death.
14 “I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels.”
15 “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death.”

He tells in these verses how he dealt with the cruelty of his enemies. He offered no opposition to their violence, but always exhibited the humility, patience, and mildness, spoken of in Isaias 50, “I have not turned away my face from them that rebuke me and spit upon me;” and by 1 Peter 2, “Who when he was reviled, did not revile; when he suffered he threatened not, but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly.” He, therefore, says, “I am poured out like water;” I made no resistance, allowed myself to be turned, driven in all directions, as one would turn a stream of water. “And all my bones are scattered;” I have lost all my strength, not in reality, but I do not with to exercise it. I let my enemies use theirs, according to Luke 22, “This is your hour and the power of darkness.” I have, therefore, shown myself weak and feeble in my resistance, as if I were flesh entirely; “And all my bones are scattered;” and thus incapable of resistance. “My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels;” I have patiently borne, and meekly borne, all those injuries before man, but I have been also interiorly “humble of heart;” which heart has not been swollen with anger, nor hardened with rage, in a spirit of vengeance, but has been on the contrary, like “melted wax,” in the spirit of affection and love to them, in the spirit of mercy for their blindness, by virtue of which I prayed of you, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” “In the midst of my bowels;” a usual phrase in Scriptures, to express our internal feelings; thus, John 7, “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water:” and, Cant. 5, “My bowels were moved at his touch:” “My strength is dried up like a potsherd.” My whole strength has dwindled away, dried up like a brickbat, when I allowed myself to be tied and beaten as if I were incapable of resisting them. “And my tongue adhered to my jaws:” I did not choose to say an offensive word to my enemies, or to complain of their wrongs. “And thou hast brought me down into the jaws of death.” In consequence of their persecutions, and my nonresistance, you have, my God, without whose permission nothing can happen, brought me to my death and burial.

16 “For many dogs have encompassed me; the council of the malignant hath besieged me. The have dug my hands and feet.”
17 “They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked up and stared upon me.”

He tells us how he was “brought to the dust of death:” “For many dogs have encompassed me;” meaning many detractors, namely, the High Priests and Pharisees, who, by accusing me falsely of seducing the people, of refusing to pay tribute, of aiming at the sovereignty, and similar charges, forced Pilate to give me up to the soldiers for crucifixion. “The council of the malignant hath besieged me;” and explanation merely of the last passage; for “the many dogs” are no other than the council; that is, the assembly “of the malignant.” The same malignant set, thought they did not so with their own hands, did it through others. “They have dug my hands and feet.” They drove the nails through. “They have numbered all my bones,” a thing they could easily do, when his blessed hands were stretched out, and the strain on his whole body rendered his ribs and other bones so visible and so easy of counting. “And they have looked and stared upon me.” To add to the punishment of the cross, there was ignominy of his nakedness. They inspected my whole person with the greatest curiosity, there being nothing to cover it.

18 “They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots.”

All which was fulfilled to the letter as may be read in John 19.

19 “But thou, O Lord, remove not they help to a distance from me; look toward my defense.”

He returns to the prayer with which he commenced the Psalm, and to which he recurred again in verses 10 and 11, and now resumes it here. Having gone through the details of his passion, he now prays to God for a speedy resurrection, as it is it that will deliver him perfectly from the persecution of his enemies. “But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me.” My enemies have arrived at the height of their malice, have put out all their strength against me; it is, therefore, your part to look to me now, to defer you help no longer, but kindly to defend me against their machinations.

20 “Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand of the dog.”
21 “Save me from the lion’s mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns.”

He tells the sort of assistance he requires. “Deliver my soul from the sword.” Deliver me from the instrument of death, making use of the word sword for any instrument, a thing common in the Scriptures, 2 Kings 12, “The sword shall not depart from thy house;” Ezech. 33, “And see the sword coming upon the land;” Rom. 8, “Who, then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or persecution? Or the sword?” In like manner, the word soul is used here for life, a thing not uncommon in the Scriptures. “My only one from the hand of the dog;” by “the dog,” he means those dogs he had already spoken of; but he makes use here of the singular number by a figure, to show that the malice of them all appeared to be now concentrated in one, and, therefore, so much the more violent and malignant. “My only one;” he means his own life, which he loved in a singular manner, as being that of the Incarnate Word. “Save me from the lion’s mouth;” that lion of which ver. 13 says, “They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring;” “and my lowness from the horns of the unicorn.” He said before, “Fat bulls have besieged me.” Unicorns are now substituted for bulls, being much more fierce and wild, to show that the cruelty and ferocity of his enemies, so far from being softened by his many sufferings, was only excited and increased. Now, in all these petitions the Lord does not ask to have his temporal life spared; but, as we have repeatedly explained before, he asks that his life may be repaired quickly, and so repaired that he shall be no longer exposed or subject to the bite of the dog, the claws of the lion, or the horn of the bull or the unicorn.

22 “I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I praise thee.”

He now begins to tell the fruit of his Resurrection, the conversion of the world to God. “I will declare thy name to my brethren:” when I shall have risen, I will send my apostles through the entire world, and through them, “I will declare my name;” that is, I will impart the knowledge of thy name and of thy Godhead to all men through them; all being my brothers, by reason of the flesh I assumed; and thus, “in the midst of the church I will praise thee;” no longer in a corner of Judea, but in the midst of the immense church, composed of Jews and Gentiles, through the mouths of my ministers will I praise thee. St. Paul, writing to the Hebrews, quotes this passage, in chapter 2, “For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church I will praise thee.”

23 “Ye that fear the Lord praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob glorify him.”
24 “Let all the seed of Israel fear him: because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man. Neither hath he turned away his face from me: And when I cried to him he heard me.”

Having said that he would “praise God in the midst of the church,” which was to be effected by getting his faithful to do so, he now exhorts the faithful to praise God, “Ye that fear the Lord;” ye who know and worship him; for fearing God, in the Scriptures, is synonymous with worshipping him; thus, Jonas, then questioned about his people, says, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the God who made the heavens and the earth;” and Daniel says, “Let all fear the God of Daniel;” and it is said of Judith, “that she feared God exceedingly.” The meaning, then, is: You who know and worship the true God, praise him; and, lest we should imagine this exhortation was addressed to a few, the Jews, for instance, he adds, “All ye seed of Jacob, glorify him. Let all the seed of Israel fear him;” that means, glorify, praise, and fear God, all ye children of Israel, and not only ye who are children in the flesh, but ye who are children according to the promise, namely, all the Gentiles converted to Christianity; “Because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man.” He assigns a reason for wishing God to be praised by all, namely, because he heard the prayer he put up to him for his Resurrection and glory, for his victory over the devil, and for the redemption of the human race. He calls himself “a poor man,” as, in truth, he was, when, in his agony, hanging on the cross, he hung naked, deserted, and suffering from hunger and thirst. “Neither hath he turned away his face from me, and when I cried to him he heard me.” A repetition of the preceding sentences.

25 “With thee is my praise in a great church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him.”

Having encouraged his faithful to praise God, he now predicts the certainty of it. The praise I will chant to thee through my faithful will not be from a corner, nor from a handful of the Jews, but from the church of all nations. “I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him.” Vows here signify sacrifices and oblations, as Isaias 19 has it, “They shall worship him in victims and offerings, and they shall make vows to the Lord, and perform them;” for when Christ saw how agreeable was the holocaust of his death to the Almighty, he promises now that through his ministers he will, in the best manner he can, most frequently renew the same holocaust, which he says, in the words, “I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him;” through my ministers, the priests of the New Testament, I will most constantly immolate that most agreeable of all sacrifices to God; “in the sight of them that fear him;” of those that acknowledge, worship him, for the sacrifice may not be performed by infidels.

26 “The poor shall eat and shall be filled; and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live forever and ever.”

Of this sacrifice “the poor shall eat,” when they acknowledge their spiritual neediness and poverty; “and shall be filled,” because they will taste of the good, exceeding all good; “and they shall praise the Lord,” thanking him for such an immense favor: “that seek him;” those that hunger for and eagerly seek him; “their hearts shall live forever.” Such will be the fruit of this reflection, that the hearts nourished by such excellent and noble food will lead to a spiritual life – a life of grace here, and of glory forever; for so the Truth speaketh, in John 6, “Whosoever eateth of this bread shall live forever.” For, as perishable food supports the body for a time, so the imperishable food confers life everlasting.

27 “All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord: and all the kindred of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight.”

He shows how it will happen that he shall have to praise God “in a great church,” because all nations will be converted to God through the merits of the sacrifice of the cross. “They shall remember” their first origin, how they were formed in their first parent, a thing they had quite forgotten, through original sin; and, therefore, they said to the wood and the stones, “Thou art my father, “ Jer. 2. “They shall remember” their first creation, “and all the ends of the earth shall be converted to the Lord;” that is, all the nations on the face of the globe, even to its remotest ends; that is to say, some from every nation. “And all the kindred of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight.” An explanation of the preceding verse; because, “adoring” the Lord, and being converted to the Lord, imply the same thing; namely, the abandonment of idolatry by the whole human race all over the world.

28 “For the kingdom is the Lord’s; and he shall have dominion over the nations.”

They will deservedly be converted to and adore the Lord, because he, not the infernal spirits, being the true and natural king of all, will justly ‘have dominion over the nations.”

29 “All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth shall fall before him.”

Having stated that “The poor shall eat and shall be filled, and shall praise the Lord;” and that “All the kindred of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight,” for feat any one may suppose it was only the poor and the hungry would be called and converted, he now introduces the rich and the powerful. “All the fat ones have eaten, and have adored.” The very “fat ones” of this world, who abound in its blessings, such as princes, emperors, kings, they, too, shall eat of the Lord’s table, and will adore and praise the common Lord, whose sway is over all nations. In the style of the prophets, the perfect tense is used here for the future. Finally the words “that go down to the earth,” mean all mortals who to earth must return. “Shall fall before him;” shall bend their knees, and adore; and thus the conversion of the Gentiles, the fruit of our Lord’s passion and Resurrection, will be truly general.

30 “And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him.”

He concludes by saying, that he and his posterity would thence forward live for God’s glory alone, and for his faithful service; the soul is put here for the entire man, which is often done in the Scripture.

31 “There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall show forth his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.”

An explanation of the expression, “My seed shall serve him,” for “the generation to come;” meaning the people, under the new dispensation, will get good news concerning the Lord and his justice, the justice of Faith. “Then shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come;” that means, the generation to come shall get the news; it shall be announced to them, for it is a Greek phrase, like the expression, “The poor have the gospel preached to them;” whereas, literally translated, it would mean, the poor preached the gospel: the meaning, then, is, not that the Lord will be declared to the generation to come, but the generation to come will be declared, as enlisted to the Lord; this is plain from the following, where he says, “The heavens shall show forth his justice to a people that shall be born;” now, “that shall be born,” and “the generation to come,” are one and the same. The Lord, then, will be declared to the coming generation, for the heavens, that holy people, will do it. The justice of faith is called the justice of God, which makes men truly just, and which God gratuitously gives to those who believe in Christ. For the gospel strongly inculcates that we are all sinners, that we cannot be justified of ourselves, but that through faith in Christ we are to expect justice from God alone.

St. Bellarmine, A Commentary on the Book of Psalms, translated by Ven. John O'Sullivan, D.D., Archdeacon of Kerry, Loreto Publications, Fitzwilliam, NH, 2003.