Explanation of the Prayers and Ceremonies of Holy Mass, Dom Prosper Guéranger - Te igitur

Te igitur, Clementissime Pater, per Jesum Christum Filium tuum Dominum nostrum supplices rogamus ac petimus.

After the Sanctus, the Priest extends his arms upraised, then joining his hands, he raises his eyes to Heaven, but casts them down again immediately.  Then, bowing profoundly, with his hands joined and leaning them upon the altar, he says: Te igitur, Clementissime Pater.  These words Te igitur serve as a link to the one great idea; they express that the Priest has but one thought, that of the Sacrifice.  It is as though he were saying to God (for all these prayers, as we see from the outset, are addressed to the Father), seeing that I am Thine, seeing that the Faithful have now placed all their desires in my hands, behold, we come before Thee, in the name of this very Sacrifice; then he kisses the Altar, in order to give more expression to the earnestness of his petition, and continues: uti accepta habeas et benedicas, here, he joins his hands and then prepares to begin the sign of the cross which he is to make thrice, over the oblation, whilst adding these words, haec dona, haec munera, haec Sancta sacrificia illibata; yea, this Bread and Wine which we have offered to Thee are truly pure; deign then to bless them and receive them; and bless them, not inasmuch as they are mere material Bread and Wine, but, in consideration of the Body and Blood of Thy Son, into which they are about to be changed.  The sign of the cross here made by the Priest over the Bread and Wine is especially to show that he has Christ Himself mainly in view.

Again stretching out his hands, he thus continues: in primis quae tibi offerimus pro Ecclesia tua sancta catholica.  The first interest at stake, when Mass is said, is Holy Church, than which nothing is dearer to God; He cannot fail to be touched, when His Church is spoken of.  Quam
pacificare, adunare et regere digneris toto Orbe terrarum.  The word adunare gives us here God’s own intention regarding her; He wishes her to be One, as He himself says in Holy Writ: una est Columba mea (Cant. vi. 8).

Entering into His Divine views, we too implore of Him to keep her always One, and that nothing may ever succeed in tearing the Seamless Garment of Christ.  As in the Pater the very first petition that Our Lord bids us make, is that This Name may be hallowed: Sanctificetur nomen tuum, thereby teaching us that God’s Glory and Interests must take precedence of all others; so here, just in the same way, This Glory is put forward, in what regards His Church, in primis.  And our prayer for her is that she may have peace; we ask that she may be protected, that she may be indeed One, and well governed throughout the entire world.

The Priest next adds: una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N. et Antistite nostro N. et omnibus orthodoxis, atque Catholicae et apostolicae fidei cultoribus.  So, there is not a Mass offered, but it benefits the whole Church; all her members participate therein, and care is taken, in the wording of this Prayer, to name them in particular.  First of all comes the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth; and when His name is pronounced, an inclination of the head is made, to honour Jesus Christ, in the person of his Vicar.  The only exception to this, is when the Holy See happens to be vacant.  When the Pope himself is saying Mass, he here substitutes these words: Et me indigno servo tuo. ... The Bishop does in like manner, in his own case, for next after the Pope, the Missal makes mention of the Bishop, in whose Diocese the Mass is being celebrated, so that in all places, Holy Church may be represented in her entirety.  At Rome, there is no mention made of a Bishop, because the Pope himself is Bishop of Rome.  In order that all her members without exception may be named, Holy Church here speaks of all the Faithful, calling them fidelium, that is to say, those who are faithful in observing the Faith of Holy Church, for to be included in those mentioned here, it is necessary to be in this Faith; it is necessary to be Orthodox, as she takes care to specify, omnibus orthodoxis, which means, those who think aright, who profess the Catholic Faith, - the Faith handed down by the Apostles.  By laying such stress on these words: omnibus orthodoxis atque catholicae et apostolicae fidei cultoribus, Holy Church would have us see, that she excludes from her prayer, on this occasion, those who are not of the household of the Faith, who do not think aright, who are not orthodox, who hold not their Faith from the Apostles.

The terms in which Holy Church expresses herself, throughout, show very clearly how far Holy Mass is alien to private devotions.  She, then, must take the precedence of all else, and her intentions must be respected.  Thus does Holy Church give all her members a participation in the Great Sacrifice; so true is this, that were the Mass to be done away with, we should quickly fall again into the state of depravity in which pagan nations are sunk: and this is to be the work of Antichrist: he will take every possible means to prevent the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, so that this great counterpoise being taken away, God would necessarily put an end to all things, having now no object left in their further subsistence.  We may readily understand this, if we observe how, since the introduction of Protestantism, the inner strength of Society has materially waned.  Social wars have been waged one after another, carrying desolation along with them, and all this solely, because the intensity of the Great Sacrifice of the Mass has been diminished.  Terrible as this is, it is but the beginning of that which is to happen, when the devil and his agents let loose upon the earth, will pour out a torrent of trouble and desolation everywhere, as Daniel has predicted.  By dint of preventing Ordinations, and putting Priests to death, the devil will at length prevail so far as that the celebration of the Great Sacrifice will be suspended, - then will come those days of horror and misery for our earth.

Nor must we be astonished at this, for Holy Mass is an event in God’s Sight, as well as for us; it is an event which directly touches His Glory.  He could not despise the voice of this Blood more eloquent a thousand times, than that of Abel; He is obliged to regard it with special attention, because His own Glory is there at stake, and because it is His own Son Himself, the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, who is there offering Himself as victim, and who there prays for us to His Father.

In the Holy Eucharist there are three things for us ever to hold in view: Firstly, the Sacrifice whereby Glory is given to God; secondly, the Sacrament which is the Food of our souls; thirdly, the Possession of Our Lord personally in His Real Presence, so that we are able there to offer Him that adoration which is the consolation of our exile.

This mere Possession of Our Lord, whereby a means is given us of adoring Him there really present, is the least of these Three Great Things, - it is less than the receiving of the Sacrament in Holy Communion; again, if Holy Communion is less than the Sacrifice, because, there, we alone are in question; but when all these Three are unitedly realised, then the whole Mystery is complete, and that which our Lord willed in instituting the Eucharist is brought to pass.  Verily, had it been given us but to be permitted to adore the Lord present in our midst, it would indeed have been a wondrously mighty Gift, but Holy Communion far surpasses this; and the Sacrifice transcends, beyond all thought, both of these great Favours: Lo! by the Sacrifice, we act directly on God Himself, and to that act He cannot be indifferent, else He would thereby derogate from His own Glory.  Now, as God has done all things for His glory’s sake, He must needs be attentive to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and must grant, under some form or other, whatsoever is thereby asked of his Divine Majesty.  Thus never is one Mass offered without these four great ends of Sacrifice being fulfilled: adoration, thanksgiving, propitiation, and impetration; because God has so pledged himself.

When Our Lord was teaching us how to pray, He told us to say: Sanctificetur nomen tuum, - this is a bold petition, one that very closely touches the interests of God’s great Glory, - but in Holy Mass, we go further still, we poor creatures may there tell the Mighty God Himself; that He may not turn away from this Sacrifice, for it is even Jesus Christ Who is offering It; that He may not refuse to hearken, for it is Jesus Christ Himself who is here praying.

In former times, at this place in the Canon, the name of the king was mentioned after that of the Bishop: et rege nostro N. ... but since St. Pius V. issued his Missal for general use, this has been omitted.  St. Pius the Fifth’s decision on this point was owing to the difference of religion found amongst Princes, since the introduction of Protestantism.  Rome alone can give particular permission to name any king in the Canon.  Spain petitioned for this favour in the reign of Philip II., and it was granted.  In France the Parliament of Toulouse and that of Paris, taking umbrage at the omission of the king’s name in the Missal of St. Pius V. when it first appeared, prohibited the printing of the said Missal.  In 1855 Napoleon III. asked and obtained of the Pope authorisation for his name to be mentioned in this part of the Mass.

There is neither the usual form of conclusion, nor the Amen, to either the first or second Prayer of the Canon.