THE MASS: Today; the Future

THE MASS: Today; the Future Part VIII b: The Mass of the New Translation 11/27/11

The Theological Vision of Sacrosanctum Concilium CONSTITUTION ON THE SACRED LITURGY HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI ON DECEMBER 4, 1963 and the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (GIRM)

Prayer Postures for the Novus Ordo and New Translation • General Instruction of the Roman Missal, (43), the postures adopted by the people at Mass are the following: • "The faithful should stand • from the beginning of the Entrance chant, or • while the priest approaches the altar, until the end of the Collect; • for the Alleluia chant before the Gospel; • while the Gospel itself is proclaimed; • during the Profession of Faith and the Prayer of the Faithful; • from the invitation, Orate, fraters (Pray, brethren), before the prayer over the offerings until the end of Mass, except at the places indicated below.

"They should, however, sit • while the readings before the Gospel and the responsorial Psalm are proclaimed and for the homily and • while the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory is taking place; and, as circumstances allow, • they may sit or kneel while the period of sacred silence after Communion is observed. • "[They should kneel • during the consecration from the epiclesis to the mystery of faith • they should kneel beginning after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus until after the Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer, except when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason. • Those who do not kneel ought to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects after the consecration. • The faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei.

"With a view to a uniformity in gestures and postures during one and the same celebration, the faithful should follow the directions which the deacon, lay minister, or priest gives according to whatever is indicated in the Missal.". . . kneeling during the entire Eucharistic Prayer and after the Agnus Dei may be praiseworthily retained in other places where it is already the custom of the people. Therefore, as can be seen, the fundamental posture in liturgy is standing. Standing is a natural gesture of respect toward authority. This is why the assembly stands for the celebrant's entrance and exit, and during the proclamation of the Gospel, just as the Israelites stood upright as they listened to God's word. Indeed, standing was the normal position for Jewish prayer and this custom passed to Christianity as is witnessed by murals in the catacombs.

Today the faithful mostly remain standing whenever they are associated to the solemn prayer of the celebrant. The upright position is that of the heavenly elect as seen in the Book of Revelation 7:9 and 15:2. The Fathers of the Church considered this position as expressive of the holy freedom of God's children. St. Basil in his treatise on the Holy Spirit says that "We pray standing, on the first day of the week, but we do not all know the reason. On the day of the resurrection (or 'standing again'; Greek anastasis) we remind ourselves of the grace given to us by standing at prayer, not only because we rose with Christ, and are bound to 'seek those things which are above,' but because the day seems to us to be in some sense an image of the age which we expect …" (Chapter 27).Because of this relationship with the Resurrection the liturgy prescribes that certain prayers, such as the litanies of the saints, are prayed standing and not kneeling on Sundays and during Eastertide.

Sitting is the posture of the doctor who teaches, of the one who presides, and so the bishop can preach while seated at his cathedra. • On the other hand, it is the posture of those who listen with attention. • The faithful are therefore invited to sit at some moments such as • the readings, except for the Gospel; • the homily; • during the preparation of gifts; and also, if they wish, • after communion. • Most ancient and medieval churches did not have pews, but the faithful were often invited to sit on the floor for the readings and homily and this was probably a custom from apostolic times as witnessed by Acts 20:9 and 1 Corinthians 14:30.

Kneeling was originally reserved, above all, for intense personal prayer, as we see St. Stephen do before succumbing to martyrdom. We also find saints Peter and Paul using this posture for ordinary prayer and meditation (Acts 9:24, 20:36, Ephesians 3:14).However, the liturgy did not initially accept this posture except as an act of penance. • The Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) forbade penitents to kneel on Sundays, and • St. Basil said that we kneel in order to show with our acts that sin has cast us to the ground. • Little by little the gesture lost its exclusively penitential connotation and, especially during medieval times, it took the additional meaning of profound respect and adoration that is prevalent today. In this way the act of kneeling during Mass reinforces the sentiments and attitudes expressed by the upright position.

Another gesture is that of bowing which also means veneration and respect and, in some cultures, adoration. • The invitation to bow the head precedes certain blessings and prayers over the people. • During Mass the whole assembly bows the head • when Jesus' name is mentioned during the Gloria and • in recalling the mystery of the incarnation in the creed. • In this way the gesture underlines the importance of the mystery mentioned in the liturgical text.

Theological Premises of the Conciliar Reform of the Liturgy • The Celebration of the Eucharist is Christo-centric • Every Celebration of the Eucharist Requires a Bishop or his Priest • Participation of the Faithful is the Goal • The Eucharist is the Source and Summit of the Christian Life

The Celebration of the Eucharist is First of all Christo-centric Saint Augustine (354 – 430) So now, if you want to understand the body of Christ, listen to the Apostle Paul, speaking to the faithful: “You are the body of Christ, member for member” (1 Cor. 12.27). If you, therefore, are Christ’s body and members, it is your own mystery that is placed on the Lord’s table! It is your own mystery that you are receiving! You are saying “Amen” to what you are --your response is a personal signature, affirming your faith. When you hear, “The Body of Christ” --you reply, “Amen.” Be a member of Christ’s body, then, so that your “Amen” may ring true.

The Celebration of the Eucharist is First of all Christo-centric • The Altar • The Altar Cross • Sacred Images • The Tabernacle

Altar: “Signifies to the assembly of the faithful the one Christ and the one Eucharist of the Church” (303) and “represents Christ Jesus, the Living Stone” (1 Peter 2:4; cf. Eph. 2:20). • Altar Cross: “With the figure of Christ crucified upon it...should clearly visible not only during the liturgy but at all times.” • Sacred Images: “In the earthly liturgy, the Church participates in a foretaste of the heavenly liturgy, which is celebrated in the holy city Jerusalem, towards which she tends as a pilgrim and where Christ sits at the right hand of God. By so venerating the memory of the saints, the Church hopes for some small part and company with them.”

The Tabernacle • “The Most Blessed Sacrament should be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the church which is noble, worthy, conspicuous, well decorated and suitable for prayer.” • Location “according to the judgment of the diocesan Bishop.” • a) Either in the sanctuary, apart from the altar of celebration, in a more agreeable form and place, but not excluding on an old altar which is no longer used for celebration. • b) Or even in another chapel suitable for adoration and the private prayer of the faithful, and which ought to be joined integrally with the church and be conspicuous to the faithful.

Every Celebration of the Eucharist Requires the Bishop or His Priest Presbyterorum Ordinis (5) It is in the Eucharistic worship or in the Eucharistic assembly of the faithful that [bishops and their priests] exercise in a supreme degree their sacred functions; there, acting in the person of Christ and proclaiming his mystery, they unite the votive offerings of the faithful to the sacrifice of Christ their head, and in the sacrifice of the Mass they make present again and apply, until the coming of the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 11:26), the unique sacrifice of the New Testament, that namely of Christ offering himself once for all a spotless victim to the Father (cf. Heb. 9:11-28).

Every Celebration of the Eucharist Requires the Bishop or His Priest • The Bishop • Priests • Deacons

Participation of the Faithful is the Goal to be Considered before all Others Sacrosanctum Concilium (4) And so the church devotes careful efforts to prevent Christian believers from attending this mystery of faith as though they were outsiders or silent onlookers: rather, having a good understanding of this mystery, through the ritual and the prayers, they should share in the worshipping event, aware of what is happening and devoutly involved. They should be formed by God’s word, and refreshed at the table of the Lord’s body; they should give thanks to God; they should learn to offer themselves as they offer the immaculate victim -- not just through the hands of the priest, but also they themselves making the offering together with him; and, as each day goes by, they should be led towards their final goal of unity with God and among themselves through the mediation of Christ, so that finally God may be all in all.

Participation of the Faithful is the Goal to be Considered before all Others For these people are the people of God, purchased by Christ's blood, gathered together by the Lord, nourished by his word. They are a people called to offer God the prayers of the entire human family, a people giving thanks in Christ for the mystery of salvation by offering his sacrifice. Finally, they are a people growing together into unity by sharing in Christ's body and blood. These people are holy by their origin, but becoming ever more holy by conscious, active, and fruitful participation in the mystery of the Eucharist. (GIRM, 15)

Participation of the Faithful is the Goal to be Considered before All Others • Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion • Readers • Acolytes • Other Ministers

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion • Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion may be called forward by the priest • Only when a sufficient number of priests or deacons are not present • First among those to be called forward are instituted acolytes

Readers / Lectors • A ministerial, not a presidential function • Duties of the instituted reader are described as specific to him or her and “ which he or she alone ought to perform, even though ordained ministers may be present.” • In the absence of a deacon, the reader, “properly vested, may carry the Books of the Gospels slightly elevated” in the entrance procession. The Lectionary, however, is never carried in procession.

Other Ministers • The following also exercise a liturgical function: • a) The sacristan, who arranges the liturgical books, the vestments and other things which are necessary in the celebration of Mass. • b) The commentator, who provides the faithful with brief explanations and commentaries as needed with the purpose of introducing them to the celebration and preparing them to understand it better. The commentator's remarks must be meticulously prepared and marked by a simple brevity. In performing this function the commentator stands in a convenient place visible to the faithful, not, however, at the ambo. • c) Ushers who take up the collection. • d) Those greeters who, in some places meet the faithful at the church entrance, seat them, and direct processions.

Other Ministers • In the absence of an instituted acolyte, lay ministers may serve at the altar, assisting the priest or deacon. “They may carry the cross, candles, ashes, censer, bread, wine and water” or serve as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. The Bishop may issue norms concerning the function of altar server.

The Eucharist is the Source and Summit of the Christian Life Sacrosanctum Concilium (7) To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in his Church, especially in its liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of his minister, "the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross," but especially under the Eucharistic elements. By his power he is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for he promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).

The Eucharist is the Source and Summit of the Christian Life The celebration of Mass, the action of Christ and the people of God arrayed hierarchically, is for the Church universal and local as well as for each of the faithful the center of the whole Christian life. In the Mass we have the high point of the work that in Christ God accomplishes to sanctify us and the high point of the worship that the human race offers to the Father, whom we adore through Christ, the Son of God, in the Holy Spirit. During the cycle of the year, moreover, the mysteries of redemption are recalled in the Mass in such a way that they are somehow made present. All other liturgical rites and all the works of the Christian life are linked with the Eucharistic celebration, flow from it, and have it as their end. (GIRM 16)

The Eucharist is the Source and Summit of the Christian Life • Silence: “Even before the celebration itself, it is praiseworthy for silence to be observed in church, in the sacristy and adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves for the sacred rites which are to be enacted in a devout and fitting manner.” • Music: Gregorian chant as “more proper to the Roman liturgy” included, though “other kinds of sacred music, polyphony in particular, are not in any way to be excluded.”

The Eucharist is the Source and Summit of the Christian Life • Communion under both kinds: In addition, the bishops may establish norms for the distribution of Communion under both kinds for his own diocese “which must be observed even in the churches of religious orders and small communities.”

Sacred Things • Sacred Vessels are to be made “from noble metal.” It is only following a formal action of the Conference of Bishops and confirmation by the Apostolic See that “other solid materials which, in the common estimation of the region are regarded as noble” may be used. • Incense

Adaptations and Inculturation • By Bishops • By Episcopal Conferences • More profound changes • Nature of the Roman Rite

CONGRATULATIONS! You have successfully completed the course The History of the Mass

THE MASS: Today; the Future