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1. All the requisites for
the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice have been selected with especial
care, and nothing has been adopted but what has been found best suited unto this
end. This applies also to the language in which the Holy Sacrifice is
celebrated; for the liturgical language should correspond to its liturgical
object. The Mass considered in itself could assuredly be celebrated in any
language, but by the Providence of God the Latin language has become, and still
continues to be of all languages the most widely diffused for divine worship.
The very ancient practice of the Church of celebrating Mass in the West, not in
the living language of the country, but in a dead language, that is, in Latin,
for the most part a language unintelligible to the people, has since the twelfth
century to the present epoch been frequently made the subject of attack. Such
attacks originated principally in an heretical, schismatical, proudly national
spirit hostile to the Church, or in a superficial and false enlightenment, in a
shallow and arid rationalism entirely destitute of the perception and
understanding of the essence and object of the Catholic liturgy, especially of
the profoundly mystical sacrifice. In the attempt to suppress the Latin language
of the liturgy and to replace it by the vernacular, there was a more or less
premeditated scheme to undermine Catholic unity, to loosen the bond of union
with Rome, to weaken the Catholic spirit, to destroy the humility and simplicity
of faith. Therefore, the Apostolic See at all times most persistently and
inflexibly resisted such innovations; for it is an invariable principle of the
Church never to alter the ancient liturgical language, but inviolably to adhere
to it, even though it be no longer the living language spoken or understood by
the people. The Church likewise, when introducing the Roman liturgy among newly
converted nations, has for many centuries permitted the Latin language only.
She excommunicates all those who presume to declare the vernacular to be the
necessary or the only permissible language for the liturgy; she
stigmatizes as impertinent effrontery for any one to censure or combat the
retention of the Latin language for divine worship. This is just; for, as St.
Augustine remarks, "to question what the united Church practices as a rule is
the most daring madness." In all such general decrees and usages appertaining
to divine worship, the Church is directed and preserved from injurious blunders
by the Holy Ghost. Instead of censuring the Church on account of her practice,
that has endured more than a thousand years, of conducting her liturgical
worship in a dead language, we should rather acknowledge and admire her
supernatural wisdom; she counts her experiences by centuries: ours we can
enumerate only by days. The Church is moved by interests most sacred to
maintain and to introduce wherever she is spread in the world and receives new
nations into her pale, the Latin as the common language of her liturgy. This
conduct on her part does not rest on a discipline of secrecy. The Church does
not wish to conceal her mysteries from the faithful. It is rather her very
ardent desire that her children should understand all the wealth and beauty of
her divine worship; hence she obliges and admonishes her priests to unfold to
the people the meaning of the celebration of the mystical Sacrifice by clearly
and devoutly explaining from time to time the holy Sacrifice of the Mass with
all its ceremonies and prayers in the school-room and in the church, in the
catechetical instructions and in sermons. After the fathers of the Council of
Trent had subjected the objection raised to the Latin tongue in Church service
to thorough examination, they unanimously declared that, although the Mass
embodied a vast amount of religious instruction, they still deemed it
inexpedient that the Holy Sacrifice should be everywhere (passim) celebrated in the vernacular; that, on the contrary,
everywhere the rite (custom) authorized by the Holy Roman Church should be
maintained. But in order that the sheep of Christ may not hunger and the
children may not ask for bread without there being some one to break it unto
them, the Council commands pastors of souls, that during the celebration of Mass
they frequently explain some part of what has been read in the Mass, and that
especially on Sundays and holidays they give instruction of some mystery of this
most Holy Sacrifice. The Church acts thus, because she is persuaded that an
unchangeable and universal language for divine worship prevents, on the one
hand, much harm and danger, and, on the other hand, offers numerous advantages
for her liturgical object, as well as for her activity and efficiency in
general. These advantages are so great, that the profit the people might in a
certain respect and in some cases derive from understanding the language used in
the divine service, bears no comparison thereunto, and is far surpassed
thereby; besides said profit may be secured in some better and more sure way and
thus be easily compensated. Latin is the language almost universally employed
in the divine service all over the Catholic world; other cult languages are
comparatively but little disseminated. Only the most weighty reasons will be
given here for the use of the Latin language in the liturgy of the holy
Sacrifice of the Mass.
a) The Latin language is
consecrated by the mystic inscription attached to the Cross, as well as
sanctified by the usage of nearly two thousand years, and hence it is most
closely interwoven with the primitive Roman Catholic liturgy of the holy
Sacrifice. The inscription on the Cross: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,"
was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin (John 19, 19, 20). These were the three
principal languages of that epoch, and by divine dispensation they were, so to
say, destined and consecrated on the Cross for the liturgical use of the Church.
Through the inscription on the Cross they proclaimed to the whole world the
dignity, power and glory of the Redeemer, the royalty and dominion of grace
which He acquired by His bloody death; at the altar these languages continue to
live throughout all ages, and serve to announce and to celebrate until the end
of time the death of Christ for our redemption, whereby the reign of grace is
ever more widely extended and firmly established, the kingdom of
peace progresses ever more towards its happy consummation. In the first
centuries these three languages were employed predominantly, if not exclusively,
in the liturgical service. Of these three languages the Latin at an early date
gained the precedence; for, being the language of the Roman world, it became
throughout the West with the spread of Christianity also the language of the
liturgy. Divine Providence selected Rome as the centre of the Catholic Church;
from Rome the messengers of the faith were sent forth in all directions to
spread the light of the Gospel. Along with the grace of Christianity, together
with the Catholic faith and its divine worship the western nations also received
Latin as the Church-language; for in that tongue the Holy Mysteries were always
celebrated, though the nations recently converted spoke a different language and
did not understand Latin. Thus the language of the Mother Roman Church became
the common language of worship of all her daughters, the Catholic Christian
Churches established from Rome in the West. In the beginning Latin was
understood and spoken in many localities by the people, but it continued to be
the liturgical language even after it had been superseded by other tongues in
civil life, and had ceased to be the language of the people and of the country.
For centuries the Latin language has ceased to be spoken in the daily life and
intercourse of the world, but it will continue to live immortal by
ecclesiastical usage and in the sanctuary of divine worship unto the
consummation of ages. The most sacred reminiscences, the history and the acts of
the Catholic Church are intimately connected with it. From the beginning of
Christianity the sublime mystery of the Mass was celebrated, the sacramental
means of grace were administered, God was glorified, men were sanctified and led
to salvation in this language. It is without doubt elevating and inspiring to
offer sacrifice and pray in the very language and in the very words, whose
forcible yet sweet tones once resounded in the mouths of the primitive
Christians and our forefathers in the dark depths of the Catacombs, in the
golden areas of the ancient basilicas, and in the sumptuous cathedrals of the
Middle Age. In the Latin language of divine worship innumerable saints, bishops
and priests of all times have offered sacrifice, prayed and sung; in it the most
magnificent liturgical formulas are composed prayers of incomparable beauty and
''marvelous hymns, which echo throughout the vaults of Catholic churches, now
resounding in great exaltation or sung in soft strains of sweet joy, now weeping
in sorrow, at another time lamenting in sympathetic grief for Christ." Should
not this ancient Latin language of divine service, so venerable and hallowed in
its origin and use, be extremely dear and precious to us, so that we would not
for any price give it up or be deprived of it at the celebration of Holy Mass?
b)
The
Latin language is better suited than the languages of different
countries to the
celebration of divine worship, not only because it is very perfect, but
furthermore because, as a so-called dead language, it has the
incomparable merit
of being at the same time unchangeable and mysterious. The genus of the
Latin
language possesses great perfection: it is distinguished for its dignity
and
gravity, clearness and precision, for its richness and euphony. It is,
therefore, often difficult to render the complete sense, and still more
difficult, and sometimes utterly impossible, to bring out in a
translation the
beauty, the strength, the dignity, the unction, the depth and the wealth
of
thought of the original Latin. To convince one's self of this, one
should
compare, for example, the various translations of the Mass prayers and
sequences
with the Latin text. In addition to all this, Latin is the language
Urbis et Orbis (the language of the world), the official Church
language, the language of communication between the Pope and the
Bishops, the
language of the Councils and of theological science. Because of such
advantages
it is eminently fitted to be used the world over as the language of the
Catholic
Church in the celebration of her divine worship.
Latin
survives no longer in the converse of the common people, but in the sanctuary of
the Church. As a so-called dead language, (The Oriental churches also reject
the principle, that the vernacular language of a country or people should be
used in the celebration of Holy Mass. This is proved by the most decisive facts.
The united and the schismatical Greeks celebrate the Holy Sacrifice in the
ancient Greek, which the people do not understand) it is unchangeable, while the
languages of the people undergo constant improvement and remodeling, and are
ever liable to go on progressing and altering. What would become of liturgical
books, if, with time and the changes of the vernacular, they were subjected to
perpetual change and reconstruction By such necessary, incessant remodeling and
alteration of the liturgical formulas of prayer, the original text and context
would lose not only much of their incomparable force and beauty, but often
notwithstanding strict surveillance on the part of the Church would be
disfigured and spoiled by circumlocutions, interpolations, omissions,
incorrectness, errors and misrepresentations. Hence it would be impossible to
preserve and maintain uniformity of divine worship at different times among even
one and the same people, much less throughout the world. All these
inconveniences are obviated by the use of an unchangeable language for divine
worship. In the unchangeableness of the Latin for divine worship the Roman
Missal appears as an intangible and inviolable sanctuary, deserving of
admiration and profound respect.
Since the Latin language
has been withdrawn from daily life, from the ordinary intercourse of mankind,
since it is not heard on the street or in the market-place, it possesses in the
eyes of the faithful a holy, venerable, mystic character. Under this aspect also
it is eminently suited for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
which in itself comprises many mysteries. The celebration of this mystic
Sacrifice fittingly calls for a language elevated, majestic, dignified and
consecrated; religious sentiment demands this, and the Latin tongue answers this
requirement. Just as the silent saying of the Canon, so also the use of a
sanctified cult language, different from that of profane intercourse, points to
the unfathomable and unspeakable depth of the mystery of the altar, and protects
it against contempt and desecration. The majesty of the divine worship depends,
indeed, chiefly on the devout, dignified and reverential The Abyssinians and
Armenians celebrate Holy Mass respectively in the ancient Ethiopian and the
ancient Armenian, understood only by the learned. The same holds good with
regard to the Syrians and Egyptians, who celebrate Holy Mass in the ancient
Syrian, and also with regard to the Melchites and Georgians (Caucasian province)
who at Holy Mass make use of the ancient Greek. The same is observed by the
Russians, although Greek is not the language of the people, who speak only a
Slavonian dialect. Here we may also refer to the practice of the Church in the
Old Law. Up to the time of Christ and the Apostles, the ancient Hebrew was the
language of the Patriarchs, the cult language, although no longer understood by
the Jewish nation, who after the Babylonian Captivity made use of the
SyroChaldaic idiom. It was this divine worship in the ancient Hebrew that our
Lord and His disciples attended, thus actually approving a language for divine
worship that was not the language of the people. Neither the Lord nor His
Apostles designated or censured this as an abuse. The use of a particular cult
language, differing from the ordinary current and spoken language, was,
therefore, practiced for a long time in the Church of the Old Testament, and was
unequivocally approved of by the conduct of our Saviour and of His Apostles.
(Cf. Augsburg.
Pastoralblatt, Jahrg. 1877, S. 166.)
demeanor of the
celebrant; but the liturgical language contributes also its share thereunto, and
a foreign language is suitable, in a measure, to veil the defects and repulsive
routine of many a priest, and to prevent them from appearing so glaring.
Thus the Latin language elevated above the
time and place of every day life, is a mystic veil for the Adorable mysteries of
the Holy Sacrifice, which here below we acknowledge only in the clear obscurity
of faith, but whose clear vision shall be our portion in heaven as a recompense
for our humble faith. The use of the Latin language in nowise prevents the
faithful from participating in the fruits of the Sacrifice,
notwithstanding assertions to the contrary. The demand that the Mass should
everywhere be celebrated in the vernacular, is based for the most part on
ignorance, or on an entire misconception of the real nature and object of the
Eucharistic Sacrifice. The liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice contains "much that is
instructive" (magnam
eruditionem Trident.), but instruction is
by no means its principal object. The altar is not a pulpit, the Holy Mass is
not primarily a doctrinal lecture or an instruction to the people. The Sacrifice
is essentially a liturgical action performed by the priest for propitiating and
glorifying God, as well as for the salvation of the faithful. In this sacrifice
the Christian people should take a lively part, full of profit to themselves,
and they should in spiritual union with the celebrating priest plus medullis cordis quam labiis
vocis more with the heart than with the
lips join in prayer and sacrifice. And this is not possible for them to do
without some understanding of the liturgical celebration; for "although devotion
consists principally in an abundance of devout sentiments and, consequently,
belongs more to the heart than to the understanding, there is, however, no
perfect devotion without the enlightenment of the understanding. But in order to
acquire the requisite knowledge to join in devout union with the priest
celebrating the Mass, various means are at the disposal of Catholics; the
celebration of the Church service in the vernacular is not at all requisite
therefore, and would oftentimes prove of little or no avail. By means of oral
teaching, with the aid of books of instruction and devotion, every Christian may
obtain a sufficient knowledge of the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice, of the
prayers which the priest recites at the altar. For this purpose the mere recital
of formulas of prayer in the vernacular by the celebrant would not suffice: for
in many cases, for example, in large churches, at High Mass, or when several
priests celebrate at the same time, it would be impossible, or at least
disedifying, to pray so loud at the altar that all present could distinctly hear
and understand the words of the officiating priest. Even if they did understand
the words which the priest sings or recites at the altar, but little would be
attained for the real understanding of the sense; for the formulas of the Mass,
taken principally from Holy Scripture, are often mystical and difficult to
comprehend; the mere rendering of them into the vernacular would not always
disclose the hidden meaning, and the translation might often be the occasion of
misconceptions, of misunderstandings, it might arouse the desire for disputation
and dangerous hypercriticism.
When man subjects science
and any perfection whatever totally to God, his devotion is thereby increased;
therefore, a clear, profound, comprehensive knowledge of the Holy Sacrifice and
its prayers is without doubt very useful and greatly to be recommended. The
prayers of the Church are to be preferred to all private prayers; they are the
sweetest manna, the most solid nourishment of the soul. Therefore, it is very
desirable that the faithful should assiduously strive to increase more and more
their knowledge of the precious treasure of the liturgical prayers, to the end
that they may join their voices in prayer the more intimately and perfectly with
the voice of the Church at the altar. The mere understanding of the prayers
which the priest utters or sings does not assuredly suffice to enable us to
share abundantly in the advantages and the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Mass.
The most perfect disposition for this is a lively faith, fervent love, sincere
compunction, profound reverence and devotion, humility of heart, a longing for
mercy and help. Such devout sentiments may exist independently of the knowledge
of the particular Mass prayers, and are produced by the worthy, holy and
mysterious Sacrifice, which, having a varied symbolical character, possesses,
therefore, a peculiar, significant and eloquent language of its own. This
language can be perfectly understood only by him who, by previous instruction,
has learned the purpose and meaning of the ceremonies of the Church. Latin is,
therefore, no hindrance to the Catholic Christian, preventing him
from deriving from the source of the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice life, light
and warmth, in order to nourish his piety and devotion. It serves rather to
awaken a holy awe and reverence in his heart in the presence of the obscure
mysteries of the Divine Sacrifice.
c) As a
universal language of worship, Latin is an admirable means not only of
presenting, but also of preserving and promoting the unity and harmony of the
Church in divine worship, in divine faith, and in
conduct.
a)
The unity of the liturgy for all time and place can be perfectly maintained only
inasmuch as it is always and everywhere celebrated in the same language. By the
introduction of the various national languages, the uniformity and harmony of
Catholic worship would be imperiled and, in a measure, rendered impossible. How
beautiful and sublime is that uniform celebration of the Holy Sacrifice in the
Catholic Church from the rising to the setting of the sun! Thus every priest is
enabled to celebrate Mass, over the whole world, no matter what country he
visits. And "how consoling is it not for a devout Catholic, whilst dwelling in a
foreign land in the midst of strangers, hearing no sounds but those of an
unknown tongue, to able at least when assisting at the celebration of divine
service, to hear again the words of a language which, as the accents of a second
mother-tongue he has listened to from childhood in his native country? He feels
then as though he were in a spiritual home, in a universal fatherland of the
faith, and for the moment he forgets that he is dwelling in a strange place."
Thus travel on our altars "the same prayers in the same language all around the
globe. When the sun rises and the morning flush shows itself on the mountain
tops, we awaken, and the celebration of Mass begins with these same prayers and
continues until noon. Then other countries have their morning, and take up the
same Sacrifice with the same prayers. And when in the evening the sun sinks
beneath the horizon, it rises in another part of the globe, and the same
Sacrifice is there repeated with its identical prayers.”
b) The
unity of the liturgical language and of the divine worship in the Church is,
therefore, a very efficient means for preserving the integrity of faith. The
liturgy is, indeed, the main channel by which dogmatic tradition is transmitted;
dogma is the root of all ecclesiastical life, of discipline and of worship.
Worship is developed out of the doctrine of faith; in the liturgical prayers, in
the rites and ceremonies of the Church the truths of Catholic faith find their
expression, and can be established and proved therefrom. But the more fixed,
unchangeable and inviolable the liturgical formula of prayer is, the better it
is adapted to preserve intact and to transmit unimpaired the original deposit of
faith. Therefore, all the primitive liturgies proclaim and prove that our faith
is in perfect harmony with that of the first ages of the Church.
c) Unity of liturgical
language and the consequent uniformity of divine worship form, finally, a strong
bond for uniting indissolubly the churches dispersed all over the world, among
themselves and with their common centre the Roman Church, the chief and
Mother-Church of them all. The bond of a universal language of worship, which
embraces the head and the members of the Church, supports and promotes
everywhere the unity and the common life and operation of the Church. History
confirms this; for it proves that a difference of liturgies, that is, the
introduction of national languages into the liturgy, frequently gave or
threatened to give rise to heresy and schism. We need only recall to mind the
eastern nations, which, for the most part, have a ritual of their own and in the
liturgy make use of a language different from the Latin. While, therefore, the
use of the various national languages for divine service is peculiar to the
sects and to national churches, the use of the Latin as the common language for
divine worship harmonizes perfectly with the essence, the object and
the workings of the Catholic Church. In her bosom we behold how the Holy Ghost
has "gathered all the nations from out of the Babel of tongues into the unity of
faith." Being formed of "all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues," she
constitutes but one family of God, one kingdom of Christ, a kingdom not of this
world, but exalted above every nation of the earth. Therefore, it is proper that
the Church, when celebrating divine worship, when offering the divine Sacrifice,
should make use not of the language of some one single country or nation, but of
a language that is universal, consecrated and sanctified. Thus at the altar it
is a figure of the heavenly Jerusalem, where all the angels and saints in unison
(una voce) sing their "Holy, holy, holy" and Alleluia.
Jesus
Christ Himself offered the first Eucharistic Sacrifice in the Supper Room of
Jerusalem, and this in close connection with the eating of the Paschal Lamb of
the Old Testament. At the same time He ordered the celebration of this Sacrifice
in His Church for all times, when He gave to the Apostles and their successors
in the priestly office the command and the power to do the same as He had done.
After the example and by the order of Christ, the Apostles celebrated everywhere
on their missionary journeys the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In all probability they
did not celebrate it for the first time previous to Whitsunday, but they most
likely did so on that grand day, when the Holy Ghost descended on the infant
Church; this view is made evident by the fact that the Holy Ghost performs
forever the mystery of the Consecration as He once did the mystery of the
Incarnation. Christ's example was the norm for the Apostles; at the celebration
of the Sacrifice they did, first, only that which Christ had done before.
According to His directions and under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost they
observed other things besides, namely, according to circumstances of time and
place, to the simple, essential act of sacrifice they added various prayers and
observances, in order to celebrate the Holy Mysteries as worthily and as
edifyingly as possible.
Those constituent portions
of the sacrificial rite, which are found in all the ancient liturgies, have
incontestably their origin from Apostolic times and tradition; such, for
example, as the preparatory prayers, the readings from Holy Scripture, the
Psalms, the offering of bread and wine mixed with water, the supplications for
the living and the dead, the Offertory prayers and the words added to those of
the Consecration, the reference to the death and resurrection of Christ, the
Lord's Prayer, the sign of the Cross, the kiss of peace, the fraction and
distribution of the Host, the thanksgiving after Communion. The Apostles, who
had been instructed by the Lord Himself in the mysteries of the kingdom of God,
and were filled with the Holy Ghost, assuredly observed a fixed order in the
daily celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, although they did not establish and
bequeath a written liturgy.
The
first offering of the Holy Sacrifice by our Lord was the rule and the model for
the Apostles; and the essential and fundamental features of the sacrificial
rite, introduced and enlarged upon by the Apostles, were preserved with fidelity
and reverence in the churches founded by them and their successors; but in the
course of time, according as it was deemed necessary or expedient, it was always
more and more developed, enriched and perfected, yet after a different manner,
in the various churches of the East and West. “The Lord never ceases to be
present to His beloved Spouse the Church, never fails to be at her side in her
office of teaching and to accompany her in her operation with His blessing,"
consequently, He had the power, as He also had the will, to bequeath to the
chiefs and shepherds of the Church the right to give to the Sacrifice instituted
by Himself the most natural and the wisest development and the best adapted
form, that is, to give it due liturgical form and solemnity.
1.
Thus there originated in different places, at different times and among
different nations also different liturgies, that is, ecclesiastical formulas for
the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In the main features, in the
essential points of the Sacrifice, all these various rites of the Mass agree;
but in the rest they all differ more or less, both in substance as well as in
construction. With regard to their origin and their affinity, they may be
divided into different classes; in general they are divided into two extensive
groups the liturgies of the East and the liturgies of the West. This division is
warranted and well grounded, for the Eastern liturgies are characteristically
distinguished from those of the West, not only by reason of their country and
language, but also because of their spirit, contents and form. The liturgies of
the East have a more stable, unchangeable character, since the same divine
praises, the same petitions and thanksgivings are nearly always repeated; they
present very little variety in the daily celebration of the ecclesiastical year.
The liturgies of the West, on the contrary, exhibit a greater variety, fresh
life and constant progress, for the celebration of the ecclesiastical feasts and
seasons is most intimately connected and interwoven with the Holy Sacrifice.
While the Oriental liturgies, for the most part, contain more lengthy prayers, a
greater abundance of symbolical customs and acts, the Western, and especially
the Roman-Latin rite, is marked by a significant brevity, as well as by a
dignified simplicity and a marvellous sublimity in word and
action.
While
the liturgies of the East are very numerous, there are but few in the West. The
principal are the Mozarabic, the ancient Gallic, the Ambrosian and Roman
liturgies. The last named has at all times had the precedence, and is now found
in all parts of the world. Already Pope Innocent I. (402 417)? in writing to
Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio, about ritual matters, traces the origin of the
Roman liturgy to the Prince of the Apostles: "Who does not know," he writes,
"that what has been handed down by Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, to the
Roman Church is still observed unto this day, and must be observed by all?" St.
Peter, consequently, must be regarded (in a more general sense) as the founder
of the Roman liturgy, for the method of celebration followed and introduced by
him was, without doubt, the essential and permanent foundation for its later
development and form. "This liturgy, as yet a tender plant, was brought by St.
Peter, the Prince of the Church, into the garden of the Roman Church, where by
his nursing care and that of his successors, assisted by the Holy Ghost, it has
grown to a large tree, and although the trunk has long ago attained its full
growth, it nevertheless shoots forth in every century new branches and new
blossoms" (Kossing).
The
most ancient written inventories of the Roman liturgy we possess in three
Sacramentaries, which bear the names of Pope Leo I. (440 461), Gelasius I. (492
496) and Gregory I. (590 604) ( Sacramentarium Leonianum,
Gelasianum, Greg-orianum) . These
Sacramentaries contain a precious treasure of liturgical traditions, which date
from the most ancient period of the Roman Church. The above named Popes deserve
well of the liturgy, inasmuch as they faithfully preserved the ancient formulas,
and, at the same time, enriched and perfected them with additions suitable to
the times. Our Missal is principally derived from the Sacrameutary of St.
Gregory the Great. Under him the Canon of the Mass received its last addition.
The rest of the constituent parts of the Roman liturgy of the Mass (the Introit,
the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Collect, the Epistle, the Gradual, the Gospel, the
Secreta, the Preface, the Pater Noster, the Communion and the Post-Communion)
date back at least to the fifth or even the fourth century. Toward the close of
the Middle Age the Missals were much disfigured by particular changes and
unsuitable additions, so that there was urgent need of a reform. This was
accomplished under the Popes Pius V. (1560 1572), Clement VIII. (1592 1605) and
Urban VIII. (1623 1644), who carefully revised and corrected the Missal. Thus
the Gregorian Rite was, as far as possible, restored to its original purity,
simplicity and dignity, while at the same time the desired unity of divine
worship was brought about.
2.
Thus has the Church in the course of time set the jewel of the Holy Sacrifice in
the most magnificent manner with heavenly wisdom and skill for the praise of God
and the edification of the faithful, by surrounding it with the precious
decorations of holy prayers, of holy hymns, lessons and ceremonies. She has
enveloped the celebration of the adorable Sacrifice in a mystic veil, in order
to fill the hearts and minds of the faithful with religious awe and profound
reverence, and to urge them to earnest, pious contemplation and meditation. The
beauty, the worth and the perfection of the Roman liturgy of the Mass are
universally acknowledged and admired. Father Faber styles the Church's Rite of
the Holy Sacrifice "the most beautiful thing this side of heaven," and, as he
remarks, "it came forth out of the grand mind of the Church, and lifted us out
of earth and out of self, and wrapped us round in a cloud of mystical sweetness
and the sublimities of a more than angelic liturgy, and purified us almost
without ourselves, and charmed us with celestial charming, so that our very
senses seem to find vision, hearing, fragrance, taste and touch, beyond what
earth can give." The Church prayers of the liturgy are superior to all other
prayers;
Nor in fact can any human
genius hope to attain their beauty and sublimity. In these two qualities, the
Mass differs from all other offices in a remarkable manner. It has not merely
flights of eloquence and poetry strikingly displayed in particular prayers, but
it is sustained throughout in the higher sphere, to which its divine purpose
naturally raises it. If we examine each prayer separately, it is perfect;
perfect in construction, perfect in thought, and perfect in expression. If we
consider the manner in which they are brought together, we are struck with the
brevity of each, with the sudden but beautiful transitions, and the almost
stanza-like effect, with which they succeed one another, forming a lyrical
composition of surpassing beauty. If we take the entire service, as a whole, it
is constructed with the most admirable symmetry, proportioned in its parts with
perfect judgment and so exquisitely arranged, as to excite and preserve an
unbroken interest in the sacred action. No doubt, to give full force and value
to this sacred rite, its entire ceremonial is to be considered. The assistants,
with their noble vestments, the chant, the incense, the more varied ceremonies
which belong to a solemn Mass, are all calculated to increase veneration and
admiration. But still, the essential beauties remain, whether the holy rite be
performed under the golden vault of St. Peter's, with all the pomp and
circumstance befitting its celebration by the Sovereign Pontiff, or in a
wretched wigwam, erected in haste by some poor savages for their missionary"
(Wiseman).
"That
overruling influence of the Spirit of God, that directs even in secondary
matters the affairs of the visible Church, nowhere else appears so marked and
evident as in the arrangement of the rite of the Holy Mass, which, although only
monumental, yet in its present state forms such a beautiful, perfect whole, yea,
a splendid work, that it excites the admiration of every reflecting mind. Even
the bitterest adversaries of the Church do not deny it; unprejudiced, aesthetic
judges of good taste admit that even from their own standpoint the Mass is to be
classed as one of the greatest masterpieces ever composed. Thus the momentous
sacrifice is encompassed with magnificent ceremonies; it is our duty to study to
penetrate more and more into their meaning, and to expound what we have learned
to the people according to their capacity" (Oswald).
The
Roman liturgy has for some centuries been a complete masterpiece of art,
wonderful in the harmony and union of its parts. The most sacred and venerable
prayers and chants, breathing religious fervor and tenderness, follow most
ingeniously upon one another, and together with the most appropriate and
significant actions and ceremonies, form a beautiful whole, serving as a
protecting garment and a worthy ornament to the divine mystery of the Holy
Sacrifice. Their language, for its kind and object, cannot be surpassed; for it
is biblical, ancient, simple, grave, dignified, solid, full of the spirit of
faith, humility and devotion, and penetrated with the perfume of piety and
holiness.
3. This
glorious rite of the Sacrifice of the Mass is an unfailing mine of religious
instruction and edification; it is like an immensely rich mine, where always new
gold veins are disclosed to the searching look. Even if we were to devote our
entire life to considering in our meditations and prayers the mystical liturgy
of the Mass, there would still remain for our heart and mind new treasures,
still new riches would reveal themselves and new beauties would be disclosed.
And yet though it be so deep and impenetrable as to prove inexhaustible to even
the greatest contemplative saint, it is, at the same time, so clear and easy of
comprehension, that the most artless child as well as the most simple of the
faithful finds therein light, incentive, strength and nourishment for his
religious life. But is this precious liturgical treasure valued and turned to
good account, as it deserves to be, by the ministers of the Church, in other
words, do they study it for their own sanctification and make it available to
the faithful in the school, in catechetical instructions and sermons?"
"The
liturgy is a constant mysterious sermon, but it is by the mouth of the priest
that the laity must learn to understand its language. Without liturgical
instruction the participation of the faithful in the functions of divine worship
will be in many instances only external and mechanical. The mighty stream of the
ecclesiastical year flows by, the faithful stand on its bank, they look on, and
of its waters they receive but a few drops which the waves of themselves cast
upon the shore" (Amberger).
In order to discover the
true and full meaning of the rite of the Mass, we must view it from the proper
standpoint, and be guided by those correct maxims which give the sense of the
liturgical words and actions. It is self-evident that that unecclesiastical view
is to be rejected which, while discarding all the higher and mystical sense,
seeks to explain the mysterious liturgy after a mere natural or historic manner,
by trying to ascribe all ceremonies exclusively to reasons of necessity,
expedience and propriety. Yet, on the other hand, in the mystical explanation of
the liturgy the opposite mistake is to be avoided, which consists in giving
arbitrary explanations without regard to the intentions of the Church, and in
indulging in silly trifles and affected subtleties.
The
Church herself applies symbolical meanings in her liturgy; therefore, in
explaining the liturgy we must, above all things, attend to what the Church
would express by her ceremonies. "Since by reason of his nature man is so
constituted that without exterior aid he cannot easily rise to the contemplation
of divine things, the Church, as a devoted Mother, has, therefore, introduced
into her liturgy certain usages, as, for example, that some portions of the Mass
should be recited in a low tone, others in a loud tone of voice. In like manner
certain ceremonies, for instance, the mystical blessings, the use of lights,
incense, vestments and many things of that nature, she employs by Apostolic
prescription and tradition, in order both to manifest thereby the majesty of the
great Sacrifice, as well as to animate the minds of the faithful by these
visible signs of religion and piety to the consideration of the sublime
mysteries hidden within this Sacrifice."
The
ceremonies of the liturgy of the Mass, accordingly, have in general for their
purpose a twofold object; in the first place they are intended to enhance and
adorn the celebration of Mass, to serve for the honor and the worship of God;
then, too, they are designed as a means to place before the eyes of the faithful
in a lively manner the sublimity, the holiness and the efficacy of the
Sacrifice, that the faithful, being thereby moved to sentiments of devotion, may
be better disposed in heart to glorify God and to obtain grace. Now the honor of
God and the sanctification of man invariably constitute the principal object of
all liturgical acts, and this, consequently, in their explanation must be always
kept in the foreground; whatever is instructive therein is merely subordinate,
and should be made to serve the main object.
The
different ceremonies may, according to their object and signification, be more
succinctly grouped into three classes.
a) All
the ceremonies of Mass conduce to the order, beauty and adornment of divine
worship. Now while some ceremonies, nay, even many, have yet a higher mystical
meaning, others are prescribed merely to invest the celebration of divine
worship with decorum, dignity and reverence. The latter ceremonies are based
merely on a just regard to propriety, decorum and suitableness. To this class
belongs, for example, the prescription that the priest approach the altar with
downcast eyes and measured step; that he place the left hand on his breast when
making the sign of the Cross; that he turn toward the faithful, when greeting or
blessing them.
b) Most of the ceremonies
are outward forms of worship, that is, they are the outcome of an interior
emotion, expressions of religious thought and sentiments. Among these are the
different positions and movements of the body, of the members of the body, for
example, the bending of the knee, the striking of the breast, the bowing of the
body and the head, the raising up and the joining of the hands. Such acts are
outward signs which express, accompany and awaken devout sentiments of the
heart; for instance, sentiments of adoration, humility, desire, sorrow and
confidence. "They who pray, bend the knee, raise the hands or prostrate
themselves to the ground, thereby expressing outwardly what they feel inwardly.
Their invisible will and the intention of their heart is indeed known to God,
and their interior sentiments need not be made known to Him by such signs; but
by their means we are to pray and sigh more humbly and more ardently; and
although these bodily motions are made through a previous impulse of the heart,
nevertheless, the emotion of the heart is, I know not how, again increased by
these exterior signs, which it had produced, and the interior devotion, which
preceded them, grows more intense through the exterior devotion which it had
brought forth."
c) A
third group is prescribed especially because of their symbolical signification;
these ceremonies are destined prominently to indicate the mysteries of Christian
faith and life. To this class, for example, belong the mixing of wine and water,
the washing of the hands at the Offertory, the placing of the hands over the
oblation before the Consecration, the breaking of the Host and the dropping of a
small particle of it into the chalice, the frequent making of the sign of the
Cross, the use of lights and incense.
Accordingly the ceremonies of the liturgy in the
intention of the Church serve not merely for the proper, the worthy and the
edifying celebration of the Sacrifice, but also for the exterior honor of God,
of the Eucharistic Saviour, of the saints, of relics and pictures, as well as
for the symbolical expression of the different mysteries. These different
objects do not exclude one another, but are often united together in one and the
same liturgical act, for example, sometimes in the use of the sign of the Cross,
the honor paid the Cross. Along with the natural reason and object of a ceremony
the Church not unfrequently combines a higher, mystical sense.
Finally, we must not overlook in the ceremonies their
sacramental character, which consists in this that they in their own way produce
spiritual effects and obtain divine grace.
4.
Catholic ceremonies, therefore, are not the relics of heathen or Jewish customs,
but Apostolic and ecclesiastical ordinances, forms of worship created and
pervaded by a higher spirit. Consequently, the priest should highly esteem and
love them, and therefore perform them with punctuality and dignity. St. Teresa
was ready to sacrifice her life for even the least ceremony of the Church. In
the service of the Almighty, in the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass even the
smallest thing has its meaning and importance; and, therefore, the Church has so
exactly and minutely regulated by her rubrics the entire deportment of the
priest at the altar. Whosoever conscientiously complies with these
ecclesiastical regulations, has the special merit of practising the virtue of
obedience in all his actions and movements when celebrating. To all applies the
admonition of the Apostle: "Glorify and bear God in your body!" (i Cor. 6,
20
Tanta gravitate, tanto religionis
cultu (sacerdotes) Missae sacrificium celebrent, ut per visibilem ministri
pietatem invisibilia aeterni sacerdotis mysteria conspiciantur. Nihil igitur
obiter in hac divina actione, nihil perfunctorie, nihil praecipitanter, nihil
inconditis gestibus, omnia vero graviter, otnnia secundum ordinem fiant, juxta
receptos et approbates Ecclesiae ritus, qui vel in minimis sine peccato negligi,
omitti vel mutari baud possunt (Concil.
prov. Quebec. II, a. 1854).
A
modest demeanor and a becoming exterior, regulated according to the requirements
of reason and faith, honors God, edifies our neighbor and promotes our own
spiritual life. Therefore, the priest at the altar should, above all, not
neglect the exterior. In his whole deportment should be reflected his faith, his
reverence, his recollection of mind, his heartfelt
devotion.
The
Council of Trent gives this Admonition:
What
great care is to be taken to celebrate Holy Mass with all religious solemnity
and devotion, every one will easily understand, when he reflects that in Holy
Scripture a curse is pronounced upon those who do the work of God negligently.
Since
we must confess that the faithful can perform no action so holy and so divine as
this adorable mystery, in which that life-giving Victim, which has reconciled us
with God the Father, is daily offered by the priest on the altar. It is, then,
self-evident that all pains and care should be taken to perform this Sacrifice
with the greatest purity of heart and with all the marks of exterior devotion
and piety." The priest at the altar should render to God in the name of the
Church a homage of the highest veneration: in the first place, interiorly by
acts of faith, of hope, love, humility, contrition, praise, thanksgiving and
petition; then also exteriorly by bows, by genuflections, by striking his
breast, raising his hands and eyes, kissing the altar and many other
ceremonies. All these acts should be performed with devotion, reverence and
dignity in the presence of God and of His holy angels, otherwise they become
occasions of distraction, of scandal and of all manner of irreverence
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