12-12-2023, 06:29 AM
THE LORD’S PRAYER.
Our Lord has told us: “When you would pray say: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, etc., etc.” What better occasion could there be than the present, of making this prayer to God? So the Priest now, is going to let us hear the Pater noster. ... As in our own day, so in all past ages, the Lord’s Prayer has had a place in the course of the Holy Sacrifice, for we meet with it in every Liturgy and in every Canon of the Mass. Moreover, it is used by the Church, on all solemn occasions; it is our support; it is the pledge which Our Lord has given us, saying: when you would pray, say: Pater noster. Holy Church preludes this Prayer, with these magnificent words: Praeceptis salutaribus moniti, et divina institutione formati, audemus dicere. Yes, if we dare to speak, if we formulate the petitions which follow, it is because we rely on the very precept which we have received so to pray, a precept given us by our great Master for our salvation. Thus have we been instructed by His own Divine Mouth, so we dare to say, audemus dicere: Pater noster.
The Priest is about to present to God successively, the seven Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. The first three regard God Himself and treat, therefore, of the Love of Benevolence, thus does Our Lord set us on the road of the purest love. Pater noster qui es in coelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum, hallowed be thy name, that is to say, let all honour and respect be paid to it as it deserves, because that is thy very right. - Adveniat regnum tuum. Thy kingdom come that is, we beg that thy reign be established in all and over all, because thou art truly king. Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra. Thy Will be done on earth; that is to say, by men, as it is in heaven, by the Angels and the blessed.
Having thus prayed, following the teaching of Our Lord Himself, that God’s kingdom may come, that His Glory may be realised in all creation, the Priest adds the other four Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, which treat of that which is necessary for ourselves. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Here we ask for our daily bread; God so understands it, and Our Lord thus points out to us, by bidding us say only daily bread, that it is useless to be preoccupied without cause, seeing that we do not even know if we shall be alive to-morrow. But we are asking bread, not for the body only, but also for the soul, which likewise needs food. For this reason, one of the Evangelists has it: panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie (Matth. vi. 11). Lo! this Bread is on the Altar; there it is to feed our souls; and now is the moment to ask It of God. - Then, as we are sinners, it behoves us to beg for pardon Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris; yea, forgive what ever we have done against thee. And we ourselves mark the measure of this our pardon, by begging Him to forgive us, as we forgive them that trespass against us. - Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, and lead us not into temptation, that is to say, ward and defend us when temptation strikes us. Although it be in the designs of God that we should thus be tried, in order that we may gain merit, still may we beseech Him to spare us therein, for we are weak and may so easily fall.
Sed libera nos a malo, but deliver us from evil. Here two things must be understood: we ask to be delivered from evil, from the evil one, that is the devil, who is ever seeking to make us fall into evil. Moreover, if we have committed it, we beg of God mercifully to withdraw us from its grasp.
* “This does not mean that man’s forgiveness is the measure of God’s, but that the more mercy we show “to others, the more will be extended to ourselves.”
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.
AGNUS DEI
After this mingling, the Priest bowing before the Most Holy Sacrament, and joining his hands, recalls the words of Saint John Baptist and says: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. These words could hardly be better introduced than now. Thus it is that Holy Church is wont to seek everywhere, the most lovely things in order to blend them together in one beautiful whole, in the great action of the Holy Sacrifice. Therefore does she take up the song which the angels sing in Heaven, and she too cries with them: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Then she adds the gladsome shout of the Hebrew children: Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. But now she sings with the Precursor Agnus Dei. Yea, at this moment, the Lord is verily and indeed Himself the immolated Lamb, and twice does she implore of him, who hath taken our sins upon him, to have mercy on us, miserere nobis. The third time she adds: Dona nobis pacem, because the Eucharist is, as we have said, the Sacrament of peace, by means of which all the faithful become united together.
In Masses of the Dead, instead of miserere nobis, there is said dona eis requiem, and the third time, sempiternam is added, which very clearly expresses the character of the petition we are making for the souls of the faithful departed; we are asking for them, not now, as formerly, union in peace, but rest in the Eternal Peace.
To be continued...
Our Lord has told us: “When you would pray say: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, etc., etc.” What better occasion could there be than the present, of making this prayer to God? So the Priest now, is going to let us hear the Pater noster. ... As in our own day, so in all past ages, the Lord’s Prayer has had a place in the course of the Holy Sacrifice, for we meet with it in every Liturgy and in every Canon of the Mass. Moreover, it is used by the Church, on all solemn occasions; it is our support; it is the pledge which Our Lord has given us, saying: when you would pray, say: Pater noster. Holy Church preludes this Prayer, with these magnificent words: Praeceptis salutaribus moniti, et divina institutione formati, audemus dicere. Yes, if we dare to speak, if we formulate the petitions which follow, it is because we rely on the very precept which we have received so to pray, a precept given us by our great Master for our salvation. Thus have we been instructed by His own Divine Mouth, so we dare to say, audemus dicere: Pater noster.
The Priest is about to present to God successively, the seven Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. The first three regard God Himself and treat, therefore, of the Love of Benevolence, thus does Our Lord set us on the road of the purest love. Pater noster qui es in coelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum, hallowed be thy name, that is to say, let all honour and respect be paid to it as it deserves, because that is thy very right. - Adveniat regnum tuum. Thy kingdom come that is, we beg that thy reign be established in all and over all, because thou art truly king. Fiat voluntas tua sicut in coelo et in terra. Thy Will be done on earth; that is to say, by men, as it is in heaven, by the Angels and the blessed.
Having thus prayed, following the teaching of Our Lord Himself, that God’s kingdom may come, that His Glory may be realised in all creation, the Priest adds the other four Petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, which treat of that which is necessary for ourselves. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Here we ask for our daily bread; God so understands it, and Our Lord thus points out to us, by bidding us say only daily bread, that it is useless to be preoccupied without cause, seeing that we do not even know if we shall be alive to-morrow. But we are asking bread, not for the body only, but also for the soul, which likewise needs food. For this reason, one of the Evangelists has it: panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie (Matth. vi. 11). Lo! this Bread is on the Altar; there it is to feed our souls; and now is the moment to ask It of God. - Then, as we are sinners, it behoves us to beg for pardon Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris; yea, forgive what ever we have done against thee. And we ourselves mark the measure of this our pardon, by begging Him to forgive us, as we forgive them that trespass against us. - Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, and lead us not into temptation, that is to say, ward and defend us when temptation strikes us. Although it be in the designs of God that we should thus be tried, in order that we may gain merit, still may we beseech Him to spare us therein, for we are weak and may so easily fall.
Sed libera nos a malo, but deliver us from evil. Here two things must be understood: we ask to be delivered from evil, from the evil one, that is the devil, who is ever seeking to make us fall into evil. Moreover, if we have committed it, we beg of God mercifully to withdraw us from its grasp.
* “This does not mean that man’s forgiveness is the measure of God’s, but that the more mercy we show “to others, the more will be extended to ourselves.”
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.
AGNUS DEI
After this mingling, the Priest bowing before the Most Holy Sacrament, and joining his hands, recalls the words of Saint John Baptist and says: Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis. These words could hardly be better introduced than now. Thus it is that Holy Church is wont to seek everywhere, the most lovely things in order to blend them together in one beautiful whole, in the great action of the Holy Sacrifice. Therefore does she take up the song which the angels sing in Heaven, and she too cries with them: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Then she adds the gladsome shout of the Hebrew children: Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. But now she sings with the Precursor Agnus Dei. Yea, at this moment, the Lord is verily and indeed Himself the immolated Lamb, and twice does she implore of him, who hath taken our sins upon him, to have mercy on us, miserere nobis. The third time she adds: Dona nobis pacem, because the Eucharist is, as we have said, the Sacrament of peace, by means of which all the faithful become united together.
In Masses of the Dead, instead of miserere nobis, there is said dona eis requiem, and the third time, sempiternam is added, which very clearly expresses the character of the petition we are making for the souls of the faithful departed; we are asking for them, not now, as formerly, union in peace, but rest in the Eternal Peace.
To be continued...
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre