(The Mass explained. Letter to Churchill
Lafemme continued)
Now we come to (8) the canon of the Mass.
Canon not cannon. The Mass has nothing to do with heavy artillery, except in
the spiritual sense. The word "canon" comes from the 5,000 year-old
Akkadian language, through Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Old French and finally
English. It means cane, or reed and finally measuring stick. A canon is an
unchanging measure to which other things are compared.
The canon of the Mass is
an unchanging, formal prayer. There is no improvisation in a canon. There are
four primary canons which may be used for Mass, the first or Roman Canon which
is the oldest continuously used canon in the Latin Church (us). This form of
the central Mass prayer was pretty much in place by the year 600. It remained
largely unchanged until 1970 when three more canons were added. The second
canon is an adaptation of an ancient Roman canon of the 2nd or 3rd century. The
third canon is a recent composition in which a graduate school project (I kid
you not) combined elements of three Eastern Rite canons and the fourth canon is
an adaptation of the Eastern Rite canon of St. Basil. There are also canons
that can be used for celebrations of the Mass for special intentions such as
reconciliation and unity. These are rarely used. The fourth canon is also
rarely used simply because it is so long, so there are really three canons that
are in common use, but these should not be improvised. That is why they are
called canons.
The essential elements of a canon of the Mass
are the calling down of the Holy Spirit called the “epiclesis” a prayer during
which the priest extends his hands over bread and wine as a priest in the
temple would have done with any sacrifice. There are the words of the Lord’s
Last Supper, “This is my body... this is the chalice of my blood....” There are
prayers for the Church and the world. There is a final offering of the
transformed bread and wine, now become the flesh and blood of the Son of God.
“Through Him and with Him and in Him…” the congregation ends with an “Amen.”
We move now to the receiving of Communion.
The Mass is a covenant sacrifice. When we receive Holy Communion, we give
ourselves to the Lord and the Lord givers Himself to us. When we come up to the
communion rail, the place where heaven and earth meet, we are in effect saying
that as Christ lay Himself body, blood, soul and divinity on the altar for my
salvation, so I lay myself, body, blood, soul and imperfect humanity on the
altar for love of Him and, with Him, for the redemption of the world. I don’t
come to Mass only to get, but to give, to join myself to the sacrifice of
Christ on Calvary, to “make up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions
of Christ.” (Colossians 1:24)
Now we move on to sing or say (9) the “Our
Father” the prayer Jesus taught us. In the Our Father we state the terms of the
covenant. It is the prayer of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane right before
His crucifixion. Like Him we call on God as our Father, asking that His will be
done and not ours as we join ourselves to Christ’s sacrifice on the altar of
the cross. We then pray for peace and exchange a sign of peace with those
around us in church.
To prepare for communion (10) We ask the sacrificial Lamb
of God to Have Mercy on us three times. Then, hearing the words of St. John the
Baptist, “Behold, the Lamb of God…” (John 1:29) we kneel before that selfsame
Lamb of God and ask for healing, though we are unworthy, using the words of a
Roman centurion in the New Testament “Lord, I am not worthy....”(Matt 8:8) as
the priest lifts the sacrificial body and blood of the Lord in the form of
bread and wine before the congregation.(11)We then come up to receive the body
and blood of the Lord sealing our covenant with Him as would have been done in
the temple when those offering sacrifice ate some of the sacrifice, bringing
about communion with God. During communion a hymn or another psalm verse may be
sung. (12) There is a final prayer, a blessing and a dismissal. And that’s it!
So there it is, really quite simple:
(hymn or psalm verse)
1. Greeting
and Confession of sin
2. Song
of Praise (Gloria)
3. First
prayer (Collect)
4. Bible
Study or Liturgy of the Word (Including a psalm and two or three bible
sections)
5. Statement
of faith (Creed) and intentions
(Psalm verse or hymn)
(Psalm verse or hymn)
6. Offering
of bread and wine (Offertory)
7. Invitation
to prayer (Preface)
8. Calling
down of the Holy Spirit, Words of the Lord’s Supper and Prayers (Canon)
9. The
Lord’s Prayer and prayers for peace
10. Preparation
for Holy Communion
11. Holy
Communion
(During which a psalm or hymn can be sung)
(During which a psalm or hymn can be sung)
12. Final
prayer Blessing and Dismissal
(After which a hymn may be sung)
(After which a hymn may be sung)
Here is a description of the Mass from around
150 AD
On the day called Sunday, all.... gather together to one place and 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 exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water 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 this food is called among us Eukaristia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. (St. Justin Martyr, First Apology LXVII)
Bible study, offering of bread and wine,
consecration of the bread and wine and then communion in the flesh and blood of
the Lord. There are many different forms and many different adaptations of the
Mass over the past 20 centuries, but in essence, it is the same thing since the
first century. St Justin Martyr would recognize what will happen in every
Catholic church this Sunday. In fact he will
recognize it, because he will be in attendance. All the saints and angels that
ever were, go to every single Mass, because there is only one Mass ever said,
there is only one Calvary, there is only one heavenly banquet, there is only
one last supper and every Mass everywhere and in every age is part of it. It is
heaven come to earth. See you there.
Rev. Know-it-all
No comments:
Post a Comment