A FEW BRIEF CITATIONS ABOUT THE HOLY ROMAN MASS
"It is an error consequently
and a mistake to think of the Sacred Liturgy as merely the outward or
visible
part divine worship or as an ornamental ceremonial . . . Very truly,
the
Sacraments and the Sacrifice of the altar, being Christ's own actions,
must be held to be capable in themselves of conveying and dispensing
grace
from the Divine Head to the members of the Mystical Body . . . . .
"The fact,
however, that the faithful participate in the Eucharistic Sacrifice,
does
not mean that they are also endowed with priestly power. It is very
necessary
that you make this quite clear to your flocks."
-------
His Holiness, Pope Pius XII in Mediator Dei
"In writing about the celebrant's position at the altar and how it
should
change, Martin Luther, the reformer, refers to Christ's own behavior
during
the Last Supper. Apparently Luther envisioned the scene of the Last
Supper
in the framework of his own time: Jesus standing or sitting at the
center
of a long table, the Apostles placed at His right and left. Can we
positively
say that this is how Jesus actually sat at the table?
What we can
say is that he probably did not-----simply because it
would have contradicted
the table etiquette observed in antiquity. At the time of Jesus, and
during
the following centuries, no round or semi-circular tables were in use.
The side of the table facing the observer remained empty: it was the
side
from which the food was served. . . . During the first centuries,
when the number of the faithful in a community was still small, the
seating
order used during the Agape meal carefully followed the order used
during
the Last Supper-----which is not surprising, that at the
time, this was part
of common table etiquette anyway. . . In the towns where larger numbers
of faithful needed to be accommodated during worship, several tables
would
be set up. The bishops and presbyters would sit at one table, while the
faithful would sit at others. . . During the celebration of the
Eucharist
[following the Agape portion], the people got up and stood behind the
celebrant
at the altar. . . "One would look in vain for a statement in the
Constitution
on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council that said that Holy
mass is to be celebrated facing the people . . . in 1947, Pope
Pius
XII, in his encyclical, Mediator Dei,
pointed
out that the person 'who wants to change the altar into the old form of
the Mensa [table] is going down the wrong road.' The celebration of the
Mass versus populum was not allowed until the Second Vatican Council .
. . Since during our pilgrimage here on earth, we are unable to
understand
the true magnificence of the mystery being celebrated, let alone to see
Christ Himself and the "community of Heaven," it is not enough to
simply
talk about the solemn character of the Sacrifice of the Mass; rather,
we
must do everything we can to demonstrate the magnificence of theevent
to
the people-----through the
celebration itself, and . . . above all of its altar.
-------
THE REFORM OF THE LITURGY by Msgr. Klaus Gamber
THE HOLY SACRIFICE
OF THE MASS -------
WHY IT IS A SACRIFICE and NOT "THE COMMUNAL MEAL--WE
ARE CHURCH" NOTION OF THE TYPICAL NOVUS ORDO MASS IN OUR PARISHES
From the rising of the sun even to the going down, My Name is great
among
the Gentiles, and in every place there is a sacrifice, and there is
offered
to My Name a clean oblation: for My Name is great among the Gentiles,
saith
the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:2)
The world, in fact,
since the redemption, is an immense temple where at each moment of
time,
as the sun advances over a hemisphere, the Victim of Calvary is
uplifted
between Heaven and earth by the Most high. Victim essentially
immaculate,
Who keeps His sanctifying virtue when He is offered by unworthy hands,
Jesus substitutes Himself for guilty men, to give to the Father the
honor
His Sovereign Majesty demands, and to implore His mercy and graces on
their
behalf.
The main point of
the Holy Mass is in the words of Consecration. How glorious it is!
After
the Consecration the Good God is there as in Heaven! If man really
understood
this mystery, he would die of love. God spares us because of our
weakness.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the same as that of Calvary, of the
Cross,
which was offered once on Good Friday. The only difference is that,
when
Jesus offered Himself on Calvary, the Sacrifice was visible; that is to
say, Jesus Christ was seen with the bodily eyes, being offered to God,
His Father, by the hands of His executioners, and shedding His Blood:
it
means that the Blood came forth from His veins and was seen flowing
down
onto the ground. But in the Holy Mass, Jesus Christ offers Himself (not
us) to His Father in an invisible and unbloody manner.
Man, as a creature,
owes to God the homage of his whole being, and as a sinner he owes Him
an atoning victim. We cannot atone for ourselves, either as individuals
or "as Church" as the Modernists put it currently. We cannot make
entire satisfaction in of ourselves, we need a holier, purer Victim,
One
Who continues to immolate Himself to the ends of the world and Who is
capable
of rendering what is owed to God for sin. That holy Victim is Jesus
Christ,
Who is God like His Father, yet man, like us in that he shares our
human
nature, if not our personhood. Every day he offers Himself again on
Calvary
for us, through the priest, who is not a presider, but an alter
Christus
or another Christ. And he is another Christ, not by right, but by
Divine
privilege and calling, not because the priest is perfect, for he, too
is
a sinner, but because Christ chose him. It is Christ who is asking the
priest to cooperate with Him as Victim on the Altar. The Mass is
essential
an action before God. He is addressing God, not the community and
thus should not be facing the people, which gives us a distorted idea
of
the Mass; it is no accident that most catholics today think that
the Mass is a communal meal and a fellowship experience. Our fellowship
must be with Christ, in utter adoration; if it were possible, we must
"die
of love." Of course we cannot as we said above, but we should at least
be aware of what the True Mass is and what our countenance before God
at
mass should be. Our focus should be the Victim in thanksgiving and
adoration,
not shaking hands and feeling good.
This
short exposition was based in part on the writings of the Cure D'Ars, EUCHARISTIC
MEDITATIONS
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