The Sacred Liturgy - The Mass -What is it?
Part 1.
The Sacred Liturgy - The Mass -What is it? Where did it come from? Why
do we do some of the things we do? Why are there so many strong feelings by so many people
about the "changes in the Mass?" Thirty-plus years after Vatican II has
concluded and we are still talking about "the changes."
Poll after poll tells us that many Catholics no longer believe in the
Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Poll after poll tells us that Americans are
among the most religious people on the planet but that attendance is down at all of the
so-called MAIN LINE churches.
May this bulletin item (and many more to come) serve as an attempt to
review the basic truths and symbols of this Most Sacred of all Christian prayers. St.
Francis de Sales (17th Century) says that the Sacred Eucharist is the "sun and
summit" of all Christian prayer. One of the main theologians of Vatican II says that
the "Church is most manifest when she celebrates the Eucharist."
The Mass is both Sacrifice and banquet. These two aspects of the Mass -
both of which have been there since the beginning - are perhaps the reason why there has
been much "tension" among Catholics concerning the Mass.
Mass As Sacrifice: When the Jewish people celebrated a Passover meal,
they made present again - in symbol form - the saving events of the original Passover when
the powerful hand of God set them free from slavery in Egypt at the time of Moses. Thus
the saving events were re-presented - (presented again) and still are at every Passover
meal anywhere in the world where Jewish people gather. They believe that God is saving
them from whatever enslaves them (sin) - just as He saved their ancestors so many
thousands of years ago. Catholics believe that the Saving Death and Resurrection of Christ
(the New Passover) is made present again - in an unbloody manner - when Mass is
celebrated. Not that Christ is sacrificed again - that happened only once - just as the
Exodus event happened only once - but that God is saving his people then and there. This
aspect of the Mass calls for solemnity, with great dignity and pomp and ceremony,
magnificent music and choirs and
clouds of incense. (I once asked my high school religion students why the Mass could be
called a "sacrifice" one student answered: "because you have to give up an
hour of your sleep time on Sunday mornings.")
Mass as Banquet: From the very beginning, the Lord's Supper was
celebrated within the context of a dinner. Jesus and his disciples were celebrating a
Passover Meal, with lamb and bread and wine and the other elements of a meal. St. Paul got
upset at the Corinthian community for some of them were eating and drinking to excess
while other members of the community were going hungry. The first altars were ordinary
wooden family dining room tables in the "house churches" where the believers
gathered on the Lord's Day. This aspect of the Mass calls for more informality, - although
there are
many occasions when we have a formal dinner - with many different people involved, with
singing by the people.
Both of these aspects of the Mass were there from the beginning and any
theology of the Mass must take both of them into account. Sometimes in our history one
aspect or the other has been emphasized, perhaps, to the detriment of the other.
Part 2.
For almost 2000 years we Catholics have gathered on the Lord's Day to
celebrate as a community our common thanksgiving with the greatest of all prayers: the
Eucharistic Liturgy. We are continuing to do as Jesus told us: "Do this in memory of
me."
Some definitions and terms: Eucharist is a Greek word meaning
"thanksgiving." "Liturgy" is a Greek word meaning: the public worship
of the community. The official public worship of the Church consists of the seven
sacraments and the Liturgy of the Hours (what used to be known as the priest's Divine
Office or the breviary).
The first technical term for what we later call the "Mass" is
the "Lord's Supper" or the "Breaking of the Bread." Around the 4th
century, the language of the Mass in Rome was changed from Greek to Latin - so that the
average person could understand. After this change of language, the Latin term
"Mass" became the more familiar term.
"Mass" comes from the Latin and means "sending
forth.." From the last words of the Mass: "Ite, missa est." Literally
"Go, it is sent forth."
The matter of language is interesting. At the time of Christ, the
closest thing to an international language was Greek. It was the language of culture, of
art and literature, and the language of commerce. A person who spoke Greek could
understand and be understood anywhere in the Mediterranean world. Even the Roman
aristocracy preferred to speak Greek and hired Greek tutors for their children. Latin was
considered the language of the streets and the commoners - hence the name Vulgate - the
name given to St. Jerome's translation of the Bible into Latin. (Vulgate comes from the
Latin word "vulgus" meaning "common").
In the earliest decades of the Church, the Mass was celebrated in the
language of the people - whatever country you were in that was the language used. This is
still the case, by the way, with most of the other Rites of the Catholic Church. The
Byzantine Rite uses Greek - although in the United States, English is used. The Ukrainian
Rite uses the Ukrainian language. There are about 20 different Rites in the Catholic
Church. Sometimes they are called the Eastern Rites or the Eastern
Catholic Churches and are in full union with Rome. The Orthodox Churches are not united
with Rome. Interesting side note: The Eastern Rites have always had and still have a
MARRIED PRIESTHOOD and a permanent diaconate. Mandatory celibacy began in the Latin or
Roman Rite in the 13th century.
The Mass, as celebrated today, was not "born" over night, but
rather evolved over the centuries through the influences of theology and even culture,
political power and religious conformity. Sacred Scripture is our source for our knowledge
of the Eucharist and its celebration in the Apostolic era. The earliest account of the
Eucharist is found in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
Written about 56 A.D., St. Paul relates what has been handed onto him. Although all 4 of
the Gospel writers describe the events of the Last Supper, it is only the Synoptic writers
(Matthew, Mark and Luke) who relate the tradition of the Eucharist. All accounts say the
Eucharist was celebrated in the context of a meal using the words, "This is my
body" as a blessing on the bread and, with respect to the cup, using the words
"blood" and"covenant."(This is my blood of the new covenant...) The
variations in the Scripture accounts probably came about because the authors were writing
to different communities. Note that right from the start there were different ways of
celebrating the Mass and this would continue as the celebration of the Mass developed
through the Christian era. During the apostolic era, the Eucharist was celebrated in the
homes of prominent (and necessarily wealthy) Christians. Dedicated Churches or the
celebration of Mass in public buildings were not in
evidence until after Constantine's famous Edict of Milan in 313 - which made Christianity
legal.
The New Testament gives ample evidence of a distinct pattern of
celebration, including readings from Scripture with a teaching (homily), a "holy
kiss" and recitation of the Lord's Prayer conducted prior to the Lord's Supper.
Who presided? The Didache or (Apostolic Teaching), a first century
document, written as a manual for missionaries who instructed rural Christians indicated
that there was no one official - other than the bishop. Prophets, teachers and others
presided at the Eucharist - when the bishop was not present. Some scholars assert that
women were among those who presided - even the Epistle to the Romans mentions the
deaconess Phoebe.
There was no set Eucharistic Prayer - as there are today - the four
main Eucharistic prayers, three for Masses with children and two for Masses of
Reconciliation and five additional Eucharistic prayers - adapted from the Swiss. The
Didache mentions that the leader prays as long as he can and then everyone says:
Amen.(Amen is a Hebrew word meaning: "Yes, it is so." or "I
believe."). By the second century, some of these prayers were written down - like the
Eucharistic Prayer of Hippolytus - our present Eucharistic Prayer II.
Part 3.
The writings of St. Justin (around the year 150) speak of the two
distinct parts of the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
"The memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are
read, as long as time permits; then when the reader has ceased, the president verbally
instructs, and then exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise
together and pray. When our prayer is ended, bread and wine are brought, and the president
in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people
assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over
which thanks have been given; and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the
deacons."
No longer were the celebrations presided over by the heads of local
households but rather, as indicated by Pope Clement I: the Eucharist was led by a bishop
(episcopos - Greek for: one who has the oversight) or by a presbyter (presbyteros - Greek
for: elder) designated by the bishop.(The English word "priest" comes from the
Greek word "presbyter.")
With the Emperor Constantine, we see an example of how politics has
influenced the Mass. Constantine's recognition of Christianity in 313 initiated a whole
new phase in the history of the Mass. Prayers, blessings and the organization of the Mass
could now be written down without fear, leading to a greater conformity of ritual within a
particular community. The more spontaneous nature of worship, commonplace in the house
churches, began to disappear and was replaced by greater
standardization.
One major step along this line was the development of the
"canon" or rule, as the central fixture of the Mass. St. Ambrose's treatise on
the Sacraments (4th century) presents a Eucharistic Prayer that is very similar to what
became our Eucharistic Prayer I.
Christianity's newfound peace in Roman society also brought the
vernacular - Latin - to the Mass. Pope Callistus I initiated the shift from Greek, the
language of the educated, to Latin, the language of the common person. Pope Callistus was
born a slave and thus better understood the desire for the Mass to be heard in the local
language.
This change though took some 150 years to complete within the Western
Church. Latin became acceptable only when fewer and fewer people spoke Greek. (I hope and
pray it doesn't take 150 years to make the changes of Vatican II acceptable!!)
By the 4th century the "format" of the Mass included
readings, preaching, the prayer of the faithful, the kiss of peace, a litany, the offering
and Communion.
Part 4.
By the end of the 4th century, the main parts of the Mass had come to
be the same as we have currently: The Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the
Eucharist.
Despite the efforts to standardize the Mass, improvisation in the
Liturgy was more the rule than the exception. This was especially true regarding the
prayers of the Mass. Ancient texts vary, demonstrating that presiders were free, within
reason, to compose their own prayers and organize the ritual.
In the Eastern Church, this pattern led to the development of three
major liturgies: the Byzantine Rite originated in Antioch and spread to Constantinople.
This rite uses the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.(chrysostom - Greek meaning "golden
tongued" - he was renowned as a preacher). This Liturgy is still in practice today
and is a magnificent celebration with much singing and incense. Part of the Eucharistic
prayer is prayed behind the iconostasis or icon screen. Thus the people can
hear but not see some of the sacred mysteries.
Antioch was also the site of the development of a Syrian liturgy which
was the precursor of the Chaldean rite in the East and the Malabar Rite in India.
Borrowing from the Roman and Syrian influences, the Alexandrian Church (Egypt) developed
the Coptic and Ethiopian liturgies which were celebrated in the vernacular languages of
the African countries where they were said.
Diversification of liturgies was also present in the West. The
Italo-African branch of the Church developed the Milanese Rite, which was used in addition
to the Roman Rite. The Ibero- Gallican Church created the Gallican (Gaul - later France),
Gothic (in Spain known as the Mozarabic) and Celtic (Britain and Ireland) liturgies.
Under Pope Gregory the Great, (590 - 604) the Mass became a celebration
of great public splendor. The presider always said prayers, including the penitential
psalms, before the Mass began. The Introit, sometimes sung as the presider processed into
the church, followed by the "Kyrie Eleison" which was still sung or recited in
Greek, from it's eastern origins. (In the Tridentine liturgy - which was celebrated in
Latin, the Kyrie and some of the prayers of Good Friday were the only
elements of Greek that were retained.)
The Gloria and collect prayer immediately preceded the lessons, which
included the Epistle, Gradual and Gospel. The homily and Nicene creed (first introduced in
511) concluded the first half of the Mass. (The Creed did not become a formal part of the
Western liturgy, however, until 1014.
The liturgy of the Eucharist followed a format familiar to us today:
the offertory was followed by the canon, the Lord's prayer, Communion and dismissal.
Part 5.
As European society moved into the Medieval Period, the Mass became
more fixed. Everything was written down. Little, if anything was left to chance with the
canon written down, texts and chants checked in advance and cantors all assigned. The
evolution of the Mass into a ritual where the faithful served only as spectators was in
progress.
Sacramentaries (the Missal that the priest uses at the altar) of the
period are still in existence and show us that everything was specified - even the actions
of the priest were written in red ink - hence the name "rubrics."
With Charlemagne we see another example of how the Liturgy was used for
political purposes. Charlemagne, who realized that the liturgy could be an effective
weapon to unite his empire, persuaded Pope Adrian I to give him a copy of the Hadrianum
Sacramentary. This was edited by the Benedictine deacon Alcuin and published in 789.
Charlemagne declared it to be the only approved text. Still, others continued to be used.
Alcuin's version which emphasized personal devotion at the expense of communal
celebration, eventually returned to Rome and reshaped the Roman liturgy.
The Gothic period (1014 - 1515) has been characterized as a period of
regression in the development of the Mass. While great strides were made in theology
(Thomas Aquinas, Albert the Great, Duns Scotus and the other Scholastic theologians) and
architecture, Gothic liturgists wrapped themselves in a cloak of rubrics and allegories.
Every action of the Mass was thought to be some aspect of the life of Christ. Thus, the
Mass was a divine drama to be watched from a far. Even the
choirs were removed to the back of the Church in a choir loft.
Abuses of many varieties became prevalent, including the excessive use
of votive Masses - Masses for a particular intention - (leading almost to the demise of
the annual liturgical cycle) - and the practice of popular devotions during the liturgy
(example: praying the rosary or making the stations of the cross during Mass). The
participatory nature of the Mass was almost totally lost. As spectators, the faithful lost
all sense of the liturgy (the worship of the people) and centered themselves on the drama
unfolding.
With the reaffirmation of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
in the theology of Thomas Aquinas, it became common for the faithful to run
superstitiously from church to church at the time of the elevation of the consecrated
bread and wine so as to see the host as many times as possible. Many believed that to
merely view the Host would bring peace of mind. Others believed that they would not die on
a day they saw the Host.
Part 6.
The greatest single change in the Western Liturgy was the development
of the so-called private Mass. Eucharistic worship during the first Christian centuries
was a community experience - for a given community, there was only one Sunday service, led
by the bishop. The private Mass (the Eucharist offered by a single priest with no
congregation present) began in the monasteries. Originally monasteries were lay
institutions with only enough priests ordained to supply for their internal needs. In the
Middle Ages, the second or third son of noble families often was expected to join a
monastery. Because they could read and write, they were the ones who became priests. The
commoners became lay brothers. From this time on we can see a further and further
clericalization of the Mass and a definite split between clergy and laity. It became the
role of the priest to pray for the people. As time went on, there were great numbers of
priests and those who wanted to offer the Eucharistic sacrifice daily began to do so
privately and in time, the "low" Mass became the norm in Europe. The
"main" or community Mass became known as the "high" Mass. Many of us
have seen churches with a great number of "side" altars or even chapels with one
"high" altar. That is the origin of the custom of having a "main"
altar and 2 others in the front of the Church - one that has become "Mary's
altar" and the other "St. Joseph's altar."
Part 7.
The Eucharistic Prayer was whispered - to protect the profound mystery
that was made present on the altar - a kind of sacredness that only the priest could enter
into. To compensate for this, the elevation of the host and chalice after the consecration
was introduced so that the whole congregation could look upon and adore the sacrament and
bells were rung so that the people's attention was turned from their private devotions to
the altar. (The priest said Mass facing east - from
Europe - toward the Rising Sun - or toward the Holy Land - often the altar was facing the
wall.) In the oldest Churches in Europe the altar was free standing with the tabernacle in
a side chapel - as you might have seen with the Holy Father's altar in St. Peter's in
Rome. It was only at the close of the canon that the priest resumed contact with the
people - the Great Amen. In the Tridentine (the Council of Trent) missal the Great Amen
was even called the "minor elevation" as all of the emphasis
was placed on the consecration and elevation.
Prayers formerly said by the priest in the name of the people were now
said by the priest on behalf of the people, and when he prayed he often did so with hands
folded in supplication rather than with arms outstretched in thanksgiving.
All of these practices had great impact on Eucharistic belief. Lay
people were discouraged from receiving communion lest they receive it unworthily and bring
damnation upon their souls and even those who ventured to the altar dared not touch the
Body of Christ or the chalice of His Blood with their hands. Instead they were fed the
sacred elements by the priest and received them kneeling rather than standing. Since lay
people were receiving communion less frequently, a loaf of unleavened bread was not needed
for the Mass, a small wafer made of flour and water was substituted. This wafer was
commonly referred to as the "host" (from the Latin word: hostis - meaning
victim).
The Mass was increasingly seen as an act of petition to be performed
for some particular intention or some need and Masses were commissioned by an individual
who offered a stipend to the priest for saying the Mass. The Mass was often regarded as
just a rite, however complicated, to produce hosts for the tabernacle or to be exposed in
a monstrance (Latin "monstro" - to demonstrate or point out) for private
adoration from afar. Because private Masses became so frequent, they were eventually
regarded as the norm rather than the exception.
Part 8.
In the private Mass, the one priest now recited all the prayers and
scripture readings and performed all of the actions which had formerly been done by other
ministers. However, the laity were not entirely forgotten; their role in worship was
changed from active participation to passive meditation and adoration. With the 12th
century discovery of the pointed arch, it was now possible to build more spacious
cathedrals, the distance between the main altar and the congregation increased
further, and more side altars were added for private offerings and votive Masses which
smaller groups could attend. The windows and walls of the Gothic cathedrals were filled
with stained glass and statuary which could inspire even the illiterate majority - and the
vaulted ceilings rose to a height that drew both eye and imagination soaring up to heaven.
Private devotions now became in vogue and it was not unusual for someone to be making the
Stations of the Cross or reciting the rosary while the Mass was going on. Stained glass
windows were called "sermons in glass" and made the Scripture
stories come alive for people who could not read. Also dramas took place in the Church -
like "Everyman"- to help people to get to know the Scriptures.
By the 13th century the liturgy which had once been a communal prayer
was now a clerical ritual separated from the congregation by barriers of language and
architecture. The Eucharistic theology reflected this change. For instead of revealing the
sacred mysteries, the liturgy had itself become a mystery in need of explanation and the
greatest mystery of all was how the bread and wine became the body and blood of Christ.
That discussion continued for several centuries. (I plan to discuss
that in a further column on the Eucharist, itself). As far as impact on the Liturgy of the
Mass, the growing sense of Christ's miraculous presence in the Eucharist led more and more
people to abstain from Communion all together and to focus on adoration of the Sacred
Host. In some places priests were asked to hold the host up higher after the consecration
and bells were rung so people who had been praying privately would know when to look up to
adore the sacrament. Gradually, the consecration and the elevation rather than the Prayer
of Thanksgiving(Eucharistic Prayer or the "Canon" of the Mass) and the reception
of communion came to be regarded as the high points of the Mass.
When the Scholastic theologians treated the Eucharist in their
writings, they often dealt with the Mass only in passing. Their primary interest was in
the sacrament and for them the sacrament was not the liturgical action but the Eucharistic
bread and wine. Two questions became paramount: at what point in the Mass did the
sacrifice take place and how were the bread and wine changed into the body and blood of
Christ?
Most theological writings about the Mass in the 14th and 15th centuries
focused were devoted to questions of rubrics and questions of validity. The Mass thus came
to be regarded as an ecclesiastical ritual with certain minimum requirements that had to
be met in order to validly produce the sacrament and Eucharistic theology became mainly a
question of canon law.
Popular piety continued to shift more toward adoration of the Host.
Communion among the laity had so died out in some places that the Fourth Lateran Council
felt it necessary to decree that all Christians were obligated to receive the Eucharist at
least once a year. (This became known as the Easter Duty - to receive Communion during the
time from the First Sunday of Lent to Trinity Sunday.) During this time we see the rise of
such celebrations as Corpus Christi and Exposition and
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
Part 9.
With the reaffirmation of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist
in the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas, it became common for the faithful to run
superstitiously from church to church and side altar to side altar at the time of the
elevation so as to see the Host as many times as possible. Many people believed that
merely to view the Host would bring peace of mind. Others believed that they would not die
on a day they saw the Host.
To sum up: By the end of the Middle Ages, the Mass had been transformed
from an act of public worship to a form of clerical prayer. In stead of being offered once
a week in a given community, as in the time of the Fathers of the Church (Patristic era),
it was offered many times a day. Instead of being concelebrated by the bishop and his
assistant priests, it was said simulataneously in the same church by many priests at
"side altars." Instead of being a service of Scripture readings followed by a
Communion service, the Mass was a symbolic sacrifice in which the readings were not heard
and communion was not distributed. Although Sunday Masses still continued to be attended
by the faithful, the vast majority of Masses were ones that were paid for by the people
and said by the priests on weekdays. By and large the Mass had become a "good
work"
performed by priests for the spiritual benefit of the church. This was the Mass that the
reformers (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and others) knew and this was the Mass that many of
them rejected.
Volumes have been written on the causes and ramifications of the
Protestant Reformation - which is beyond the scope of these columns - but its impact on
the development of the Mass must be explored.
In his treatise of 1520, "On the Babylonian Captivity of the
Church," Martin Luther outlines three "abuses" of the Eucharist: 1) that
Communion under both species was reserved for the priest alone 2) transubstantiation (the
teaching that the "substance" or reality of the elements of bread and wine were
changed while their appearances "accidents" remained the same) - was an
"invention of human reason" and 3) the belief that the Mass is a sacrifice.
In response to Luther and other reformers, the Council of Trent (1545 -
1563) attempted to squelch the Protestant Revolt through the maintenance and reassertion
of Catholic teaching.
While the Council did address many abuses, it also reaffirmed the
Church's long-held teachings on the Eucharist stating in its decrees: 1) Christ remains in
the consecrated Host after Mass is concluded 2) Communion under both species is not
necessary in order to fully receive Christ and 3) the Mass is truly a sacrifice. (Christ
is not re-crucified - He died once and for all - but the Mass makes what Christ did on
Calvary present again - in an unbloody manner.)
Pope Pius V, whose task as pontiff was to carry out the edicts of the
Council of Trent, saw in liturgical renewal the need for a new missal. He had 3 options:
create an entirely new missal, select the time honored prayers from a variety of sources
in line with the Renaissance spirit of rediscovery of antiquity, or select one Mass from
those in existence, simplify it and impose it on the Church. Pius V chose the third
option, a revision of the "Mass According to the Observance of the Roman Curia) and
published it on July 14, 1570. It courageously suppressed many votive Masses and feasts of
saints canonized by the popular piety of the medieval Church.
Trent and the work of Pius V erected a dam in the flow of liturgical
waters that would not soon be breached. The 1570 missal was made obligatory for the entire
Church except for dioceses and religious orders that had their own liturgy for at least
200 years. It was considered "unalterable" and was ordered to be implemented
"as soon as possible." Pius V's missal was very well received and was even
instituted by many dioceses and religious communities that were technically exempt.
This was the case for the next 400 years.
The perceived need for Catholics to close ranks against the Protestant
reformers and the convenience of a preprinted test were factors that favored the spread of
the missal.
As in the Gothic period, liturgists were again eclipsed by the
rubricians. The maintenance of Latin as the sole language of celebration was a significant
piece of the changes of Trent. Although the post-French Revolution period saw a few
variations, the Mass and its celebration was fixed until Pope John XXIII, on July 23, 1960
promulgated a complete new set of rubrics for the Mass.
The liturgical renewal mandated by the Second Vatican Council was
preceded by several earlier 20th century events. Pope St. Pius X called for more frequent,
even daily Communion and made it possible for young children to receive their First Holy
Communion at about the age of reason. In Mediator Dei in 1947 Pope Pius XII encouraged
"dialogue Masses" - where the people actually made the responses rather than
just following along in their missals. In 1948, he established a
commission for general liturgical renewal. This set the tone for Vatican II.
Vatican II's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (the first document
passed - Dec 4, 1963) speaks of the need to adapt more suitably to the needs of our times
those institutions which are subject to change. The key word that the constitution echoes
in its first chapter is: participation.
The new Roman Missal was first published on March 26, 1970 and was by
and large "fixed, " save small portions where adaptation by presiders was
allowed. What was generated was a controlled variety.
Development and change has characterized Christian theology and
celebration since the time of Christ. As the most visible sign of Catholic worship, the
Mass has transitioned from a local celebration of a household gathered in prayer to a
universally recognized ritual that encourages the participation of all the faithful.
Along its 2000 year path of evolution, the Eucharistic liturgy has
undergone many changes and been celebrated in numerous ways as dictated by culture, the
political environment and world events. Sketching the path of celebration in the past
allows us to better appreciate the opportunities that the Eucharist in all its richness
and diversity - as well as similarities - holds for us today and its possibilities for the
future.