20 March 2023

Explanation of the Prayers and Ceremonies of Holy Mass, Dom Prosper Guéranger - Libera nos, quaesumus

Here begins another part of the Mass,  which continues up to the second Prayer before the Communion. Communion is the means taken by Our Lord to unite all men one with the other, so as to make of them all, one whole. Thus when Holy Church would drive forth from her bosom one of her members who has rendered himself unworthy of her, she excommunicates him; he has no longer any share in this communion of the faithful. In order to express this union, holy Church wishes that peace, the result of that charity which reigns amongst the faithful, should be the object of very special attention. So now, she is about to ask it, in the following prayer; and then presently, the kiss of peace will be mutually given amongst the faithful and will give expression to their charity one with the other.

Our Lord hath said: if whilst offering thy gift at the altar, thou rememberest that thy brother hath something against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go first and be reconciled with thy brother; and then coming, thou mayest offer thy gift. Holy Church entering fully into this thought of her Lord, is here occupied at this solemn moment, with the maintenance of peace and charity amongst all her members. In Masses of the Dead, this kiss of peace is not given, thus keeping ever in view, that the Dead being no longer under power of the keys of Holy Church, she cannot give them peace; our relations with them are utterly changed.

The Priest, therefore, says, as if developing the last petition of the Lord’s Prayer: Libera nos, quaesumus, Domine, ab omnibus malis praeteritis, praesentibus et futuris. Yea, Lord, strengthen us, because our past evils have caused us to contract spiritual weakness, and we are as yet but convalescents. Deliver us from the temptations of which we are now being made the butt, and from the other afflictions which are weighing us down, as well as from the sins of which we may be guilty. In fine, preserve us from those evils which may be lurking for us in the future. Et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beatis Apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque Andreae et omnibus sanctis. Holy Church, standing in need of intercessors, fails not to have recourse to the Blessed Virgin, as well as to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul. But why is St. Andrew alone, here added on to these? Simply because the holy Roman Church has ever had a very special devotion to this Apostle. Da propitius pacem in diebus nostris, ut ope misericordiae tuae adjuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi, et ab omni perturbatione securi. Give us, Lord, peace in these our days, so that aided by the help of Thy mercy, we may be delivered, in the first place, from all sin, and then be secured against all evil attacks that might surprise us unawares.

Such is this magnificent Prayer of Peace, which is used by Holy Church for this special Mystery of Holy Mass. Towards the middle of this Prayer, just when the Priest is saying et omnibus Sanctis, he makes the sign of the cross with the Paten, which he has been holding in his right hand, from the commencement; he then kisses it, as a mark of honour to the sacred vessel on which the Body of the Lord is about to repose: for it is never permitted to kiss the Host Itself. The Prayer being ended, the Priest places the Paten under the Host, he uncovers the Chalice, takes up the host and holding it over the Chalice, breaks it through the middle, whilst saying this portion of the concluding words: Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum. He then replaces, on the Paten, the part of the host which is in his right hand, and breaks off a Particle of the other half which he is holding in his left hand, saying: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus; then placing also on the Paten the portion of the host which he has in his left, and holding over the Chalice the small Particle which he has just broken off, he says in a loud voice: Per omnia saecula saeculorum. The people, in approval of his petition and making it also with him, answer: Amen. Then making three times the sign of the cross over the chalice, with the Particle, he says aloud: Pax + Domini sit + semper vobis + cum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo. Holy Church never loses sight of the peace for which she has just been asking, and she here profits of this moment to refer to it again.

The Priest then allows the Particle which he had in his hand, to fall into the chalice, thus mingling the Body and the Blood of the Lord, and saying at the same time: Haec commixtio et consecratio corporis et Sanguinis Domini nostri Jesu Christi, fiat accipientibus nobis in vitam aeternam. Amen. What is the meaning of this rite? What is signified by this mingling of the Particle with the Blood which is in the Chalice? This rite is not one of the most ancient, although it is quite a thousand years old. Its object is to show, that, at the moment of Our Lord’s Resurrection, His Blood was reunited to His Body, by flowing again in His veins as before. It would not have sufficed if This soul alone had been reunited to His Body; His Blood must necessarily be so likewise, in order that the Lord might be whole and complete. Our Saviour, therefore, when rising, took back his Blood which was erstwhile spilled on Calvary, in the Praetorium, and in the Garden of Olives.

We may here mention a custom of the Orientals which has only been introduced since their separation from the Church, and certainly a very whimsical and venturesome usage, dating only from the Fourteenth Century. After the Consecration, a chafing-dish is placed on the Altar, upon which boiling water is kept hot, from this at several intervals small quantities are taken and mingled with the Precious Blood, but so, however, as not to alter the Sacred Species.

In the Prayer which the Priest recites whilst mingling the Particle of the host with the Precious Blood, the word consecratio must not be taken in the sense of sacramental consecration, but simply as signifying the reuniting of Sacred Things.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comments are subject to deletion if they are not germane. I have no problem with a bit of colourful language, but blasphemy or depraved profanity will not be allowed. Attacks on the Catholic Faith will not be tolerated. Comments will be deleted that are republican (Yanks! Note the lower case 'r'!), attacks on the legitimacy of Pope Francis as the Vicar of Christ (I know he's a material heretic and a Protector of Perverts, and I definitely want him gone yesterday! However, he is Pope, and I pray for him every day.), the legitimacy of the House of Windsor or of the claims of the Elder Line of the House of France, or attacks on the legitimacy of any of the currently ruling Houses of Europe.