CHRIST'S SPIRITUAL CHURCH
MARY MAGDALA'S SECRET GARDEN:
LITURGY
Western/Catholic/Linear: The Tridentine Mass
Eastern/Catholic/Circular: The Akathist Hymn
Pope Benedict XVI. on Sacred Music
Mother Church and House of Prayer: The Cathedral
TRIDENTINE MASS
The name 'TRIDENTINE' comes from the Latin word TRIDENTUS, which means 'related to the city of Trent' (Italy). In 1570 there was a council by Pope Pius V, who made the Roman Missal mandatory in the Western Church for all those regions and religious orders, whose existing missals dated from after 1370. All Roman Missals published between 1570 and 1962 contained the Roman Rite Mass, which were also called Traditional Mass and Traditional Latin Mass. Unfortunately, in 1962 there were fundamental changes in the way
mass was celebrated brought about by Pope Paul VI, which has brought great suffering and confusion upon the church but Pope Benedict XVI has now in essence brought it back to life in the Catholic church under a paper called Summorum Pontificum.
Besides the language another issue was from 1962 dividing the souls within the Catholic church through breaking up the unity of liturgy and architecture. The ancient principle
of the priest worshipping God facing God at the altar, and the faithful with him, was also, what brought out the voice of the priest most powerfully but with utmost ease.
Cathedrals are built in such a way that the acoustics are 'in-built' as the altar is the focal point for the preparation of the gifts and the liturgy and when the priest sings or speaks,
a sound-wave travels from his body towards the altar, then is broken and goes through the side aisles to the back of the church and from there back to the altar into the back of the priest. And on the way from and to the priest all worshippers and the priest himself will have felt an enormous healing and a feeling like a massage through the
sound vibrations in their bodies. As indeed the vibrations are stimulating the whole body - the old architects, who understood their skills as God-given gifts were let into the secret
of the perfect golden ratio by the Holy Spirit. No esoteric means required! It came to them by simply surrendering their ego to God and so the Holy Spirit gave them the answer!
As easy as that! That is why the architecture is so beautifully in unity with the liturgy. Also, the way the priest has to approach the altar by going up the steps is a phase of preparation and purification.
This is also the reason for the 'linear' way of procession in the Roman-Catholic church and the structure of the liturgy and mass being reflected in the music as clearly
divided, whereas the Orthodox churches maintain a more 'circular' liturgy, that is soothing through its round repetitive prayers. This is a very ancient form of prayer, too.
So, below we have two different liturgies to demonstrate this: The Tridentine Mass and The Akathistos Hymn.
With the decision in 1962 the altar suddenly was put into the middle of the church, which made no sense to me at all. The priest was suddenly facing man and not God anymore.
And the healing effect of the music, the holy breath that carried also the sound waves through the back of every single worshipper was interrupted through the 'stone table'
and so was the voice of the priest. What a tragic mistake!
In most countries, the language used for celebrating the Tridentine Mass was (and is) Latin. In Dalmatia (now Croatia) the liturgy was celebrated in Church Slavonic, and authorisation for use of this language was extended to some other Slavic regions between 1886 and 1935.
But after 1962 most countries celebrated mass in their native languages, which is fine but it should have been allowed in both versions (which are now back in place thanks to Pope Benedict XVI). Fortunately, as Pope Benedict XVI, explained, it is a matter of the use of one and the same rite in either the native or the Latin language.
Outside the Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic and Anglo-Catholic Church celebrated the Tridentine Mass with the English Missal.
Some Western rite Orthodox Christians, particularly in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of North America, use the Tridentine Mass with a few changes as the "Divine Liturgy of St. Gregory."
Also, most Old Catholic churches say the Tridentine Mass in either their native or in the Latin language.
In France and in Germany some of the bishops like in Muenster, Cologne and Trier were also publishing independent missals, probably to try to heal widening rifts but in the nineteenth century this ended with a return to the Roman Missal.
The Mass is divided into two parts, the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful. Catechumens, those being instructed in the faith, were once dismissed after the first half, not having yet professed the faith. Profession of faith was considered essential for participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice.
This rule of the Didache is still in effect. It is only one of the three conditions (baptism, right faith and right living) for admission to receiving Holy Communion that the Catholic Church has always applied and that were already mentioned in the early second century by Saint Justin Martyr: "And this food is called among us 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" (First Apology, Chapter LXVI).
Mass of the Catechumens
The first part is the Mass of the Catechumens.
Prayers at the foot of the altar
Et tibi, pater ("and to you, Father"). Servers recite Confiteor at start of a Low Mass.
Et tibi, pater ("and to you, Father"). Servers recite Confiteor at start of a Low Mass.
* Asperges (Sprinkling with holy water, Psalm 51:9, 3) is a penitential rite that ordinarily precedes the principal Mass on Sunday.[40] In the sacristy, a priest wearing an alb, if he is to celebrate the Mass, or surplice, if he is not the celebrant of the Mass, and vested with a stole, which is the color of the day if the priest is the celebrant of the Mass or purple if he is not the celebrant of the Mass, exorcises and blesses salt and water, putting the blessed salt into the water in the form of a cross once while saying, "Commixtio salis, etc." After that, the priest, vested in a cope of the color of the day, while the choir sings an antiphon and a verse of Psalm 50/51 or 117/118, sprinkles with the holy water the altar three times, and then the clergy and the congregation. This rite, if used, precedes the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar. During the Easter season, the "Asperges me..." verse is replaced by the "Vidi aquam..." verse, and "Alleluia" is added to the "Ostende nobis..." verse and to its response.
* Sign of the Cross
o The priest, after processing in with the servers and, at Low Mass, placing the veiled chalice on the centre of the altar, makes the sign of the Cross at the foot of the altar. At Solemn Mass, the chalice is placed beforehand on the credence table.
* Psalm 43 42 ("Judica me, Deus"), preceded and followed by the antiphon "Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam", is recited by the priest, alternating with the servers, who symbolically represent the people. Then the priest makes again the sign of the Cross, saying: "Our help is in the name of the Lord", to which the servers add: "Who made heaven and earth."
* Confession (Confiteor)
o First the priest says the following while bowing low:
"Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, beátæ Maríæ semper Vírgini, beáto Michaéli Archángelo, beáto Joanni Baptístæ, sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo, ómnibus Sanctis, et vobis, fratres (tibi, Pater), quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo et ópere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, beátum Michaélem Archángelum, beátum Joánnem Baptístam, sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et vos, fratres (te, Pater), oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum." (Translation: I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault (in Latin, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa). Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin ... and you, brethren, to pray to the Lord our God for me.) The servers pray for the priest: "May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to life everlasting." Then it is the servers' turn to confess sinfulness and to ask for prayers. They use the same words as those used by the priest, except that they say "you, Father," in place of "you, brethren", and the priest responds with the same prayer that the servers have used for him plus an extra prayer.
* Some verses are then said by priest and servers, ending with the priest saying: "Oremus" ("Let us pray.") After this he goes to the altar, praying silently "that with pure minds we may worthily enter into the holy of holies", a reference to Ex 26:33-34, 1 Kgs (or 3 Kgs) 6:16, 1 Kgs (or 3 Kgs) 8:6, 2 Chr (or 2 Para) 3:8, Ezek 41:4, and others. He places his joined hands on the altar and kisses it while silently praying that by the merits of the Saints whose relics are in the altar God may pardon all his sins.
The priest at the altar
Dominus vobiscum ("The Lord be with you") before the Collect.
Dominus vobiscum ("The Lord be with you") before the Collect.
* Introit
o The priest again makes the sign of the Cross while he begins to read the Introit, which is usually taken from a Psalm. Exceptions occur: e.g. the Introit for Easter Sunday is adapted from Wis 10:20-21, and the antiphon in Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary was from the poet Sedulius. This evolved from the practice of singing a full Psalm during the entrance of the clergy, before the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar were added to the Mass in medieval times. This is indicated by the very name of "Introit".
* Kyrie
o This part of Mass is a linguistic marker of the origins of the Roman liturgy in Greek. "Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison; Kyrie, eleison." means "Lord, have mercy; Christ have mercy;..." Each phrase is said (or sung) three times.
* Gloria in excelsis Deo
o The first line of the Gloria is taken from Lk 2:14. The Gloria is omitted during liturgical seasons calling for penitence, such as Advent and Lent, both generally having the liturgical color violet, but is used on feasts falling during such seasons, as well as on Holy Thursday.
* The Collect
o The priest turns toward the people and says, "Dominus vobiscum." The servers respond: "Et cum spiritu tuo." ("The Lord be with you." "And with thy spirit"). The Collect follows, a prayer not drawn directly from Scripture. It tends to reflect the season.
Instruction
* The priest reads the Epistle, primarily an extract from the letters of St. Paul to various churches. In his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI has permitted this to be read in the vernacular language when Mass is celebrated with the people.[41]
* Between the Epistle and the Gospel two (rarely three) choir responses are sung or said. Usually these are a Gradual followed by an Alleluia; but between Septuagesima Sunday and Holy Saturday, or in a Requiem or other penitential Mass the Alleluia is replaced by a Tract, and between Easter Sunday and Pentecost the Gradual is replaced by a second Alleluia. On a few exceptional occasions (most notably Easter, Pentecost, and in a Requiem Mass), a Sequence follows the Alleluia or Tract.
o The Gradual is partly composed of a portion of a Psalm.
* The Gospel reading, an extract from one of the four Gospels
o Before the reading or chanting of the Gospel, which, in the case of Mass celebrated with the people, Pope Benedict XVI has permitted to be done in the vernacular language, the priest prays: "Cleanse my heart and my lips, O almighty God, who didst cleanse the lips of the prophet Isaias...", a reference to Isaiah 6:6. In this passage, after being cleansed by the angel, Isaiah was instructed to prophesy.
* The Sermon
o Before the sermon, the priest may make announcements, especially of marriages, requirements of the liturgical season such as fasting, events for the week, and requests to pray for the ill or deceased. If the Epistle and the Gospel have been read in Latin, it is customary also for the priest to read a vernacular translation of at least the Gospel, before giving the sermon. The sermon is required on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
* The Creed
o This is the Nicene Creed, professing faith in God the Father, in God the Son, the Word made flesh, in God the Holy Ghost, and in the Holy Church. At the mention of the Incarnation, the celebrant and the congregation genuflect.
Mass of the Faithful
The second part is the Mass of the Faithful.
[edit] Offertory
Offering with the prayer "Suscipe, Sancte Pater" the not yet consecrated chalice at the Offertory
Offering with the prayer "Suscipe, Sancte Pater" the not yet consecrated chalice at the Offertory
* Offertory Verse
o After greeting the people once more ("Dominus vobiscum/Et cum spiritu tuo") and giving the invitation to pray (Oremus), the priest enters upon the Mass of the Faithful, from which the non-baptized were once excluded. He reads the Offertory Verse, a short quotation from Holy Scripture which varies with the Mass of each day, with hands joined.
* Offering of Bread and Wine
o The priest offers the host, holding it on the paten at breast level and praying that, although he is unworthy, God may accept "this spotless host (or victim, the basic meaning of hostia in Latin) for his own innumerable sins, offences and neglects, for all those present, and for all faithful Christians living and dead, that it may avail unto salvation of himself and those mentioned. He then mixes a few drops of water with the wine, which will later become the Blood of Jesus, and holding the chalice so that the lip of the chalice is about the height of his lips, offers "the chalice of salvation", asking that it may "ascend with a sweet fragrance." He then prays a prayer of contrition adapted from Dan 3:39-40.
* Incensing of the offerings and of the faithful
o At a High Mass, the priest blesses the incense, then incenses the bread and wine. Among the prayers the priest says is Psalm 141:2-4: "Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed as incense in Thy sight;...", which is prayed as he incenses the altar. The priest then gives the censer to the deacon, who incenses the priest, then the other ministers and the congregation.
* Washing the hands
o The priest prays Psalm 26:6-12: "I will wash my hands among the innocent..."
* Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
o This prayer asks that the Divine Trinity may receive the oblation being made in remembrance of the passion, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and in honor of blessed Mary ever Virgin and the other saints, "that it may avail to their honour and our salvation: and that they may vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven..."
* Orate fratres, Suscipiat and Secret; Amen concludes Offertory
o Here the priest turns to the congregation and says the first two words, "Orate, fratres," in an elevated tone and then turns around while finishing the exhortation in the secret tone. "Pray, Brethren, that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father almighty."
o The altar servers respond with the Suscipiat to which the priest secretly responds, "Amen.": Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus tuis, ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui, ad utilitatem quoque nostram, totiusque ecclesiae suae sanctae. A translation in the English is: "May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands, to the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His Holy Church."
o The Priest then says the day's Secret inaudibly, and concludes it with Per omnia saecula saeculorum aloud.
o The altar servers and congregation respond with "Amen."
Consecration
* preface of the Canon
o "The Roman Canon dates in essentials from before St. Gregory the Great, who died in 604, and who is credited with adding a phrase to it. (See History of the Roman Canon.) It contains the main elements found in almost all rites, but in an unusual arrangement and it is unclear which part should be considered to be the Epiclesis.
o Dominus vobiscum. Et cum spiritu tuo. Sursum corda. Habemus ad Dominum. Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro. Dignum et justum est. The first part can be seen above at the Collect; the rest means: Lift up your hearts. We lift them up unto the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is meet and right.
o Next a preface is prayed, indicating specific reasons for giving thanks to God. This leads to the Sanctus.
* Canon or Rule of Consecration
o Intercession (corresponding to the Reading of the Diptychs in the Byzantine Rite - a diptych is a two-leaf painting, carving or writing tablet.
+ Here the priest prays for the living; that the Church may be united and that God may govern it together with the Pope and "all true believers and professors of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith". Then specific living people are mentioned, as are those present, and all those known to God as faithful. Then Mary ever Virgin, the Apostles, and Popes and other Martyrs are mentioned, for they live in Heaven as members of the Church Triumphant.
o Prayers preparatory to the Consecration
+ A prayer that God may graciously accept the offering and deliver [us] "from eternal damnation".
o Consecration (Transubstantiation) and major Elevation
Elevation of the chalice during the Canon of the Mass at a High Mass
Elevation of the chalice during the Canon of the Mass at a High Mass
+ The passage Lk 22:19-20 is key in this section. In Summa Theologiae III 78 3 Thomas Aquinas addresses the interspersed phrase The Mystery of Faith.
o Oblation of the Victim to God
+ An oblation is an offering;[47] the pure, holy Victim is now offered, with a prayer that God may accept the offering and command His holy angel to carry the offering up, and that those who will receive the Body and Blood "may be filled with every grace and heavenly blessing."
o Remembrance of the Dead
+ The priest now prays for the dead ("those who have gone before us with the sign of faith and sleep the sleep of peace") and asks that they may be granted a place of refreshment, light and peace. This is followed by a prayer that we may be granted fellowship with the apostles and martyrs. Some martyrs, men and women, are then mentioned by name.
o End of the Canon and minor Elevation; Amen ratifying the Canon prayer
+ The concluding doxology is: "Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, be unto Thee, O God the Father almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honour and glory, world without end."
Communion
* The Lord's Prayer and Libera nos
o The "Libera nos" is an extension of the Lord's Prayer developing the line "sed libera nos a malo" ("but deliver us from evil"). The priest prays that we may be delivered from all evils and that the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, together with the apostles and saints, may intercede to obtain for us peace in our day.
* Fraction of the Host
o During the preceding prayer, the priest breaks the consecrated Host into three parts, and after concluding the prayer drops the smallest part into the Chalice while praying that this commingling and consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ may "be to us who receive it effectual to life everlasting."
* Agnus Dei
o "Agnus Dei" means "Lamb of God." The priest then prays: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us." He repeats this, and then adds: "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace." The Mass of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday has "have mercy on us" all three times. In Requiem Masses, the petitions are "grant them rest" (twice), followed by "grant them eternal rest."
* The Pax
o The priest asks God to look not to [our] sins but to [our] faith. He prays for peace and unity within the Church, and then, if a High Mass is being celebrated, gives the sign of peace, saying: "Peace be with you."
* Prayers preparatory to the Communion
o In the first of these two prayers for himself, the priests asks that by Holy Communion he may be freed from all his iniquities and evils, be made to adhere to the commandments of Jesus and never be separated from him. In the second he asks: "Let not the partaking of Thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ...turn to my judgment and condemnation: but through Thy goodness may it be unto me a safeguard...."
* Receiving of the Body and Blood of our Lord
o Several prayers are said here. One of these, prior to communion, is based on Matthew 8:8: "Lord, I am not worthy...." If the priest is to give Communion to others, he holds up a small host and says: "Behold the Lamb of God ..."; then says three times "Lord, I am not worthy ..."; and then gives Communion, saying: "May the Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul for eternal life. Amen."
Thanksgiving
* Prayers during the Ablutions
o The prayers now focus on what has been received, that "we may receive with a pure mind", "that no stain of sin may remain in me, whom these pure and holy sacraments have refreshed."
* Communion Antiphon and Postcommunion
o The communion antiphon is normally a portion of a Psalm. The Postcommunion Prayer is akin to the Collect in being an appropriate prayer not directly drawn from Scripture.
* Ite Missa est; Blessing
o "Go, you are dismissed." The word "Mass" derives from this phrase.
o After saying a silent prayer for himself, the priest then gives the people his blessing.
* The Last Gospel
o The priest then reads the Last Gospel, the beginning of the Gospel of John, John 1:1-14, which recounts the Incarnation of the Son of God. On certain occasions, as for instance at the Day Mass on Christmas Day, another Gospel passage was read instead because that Gospel is read as the Gospel of the Mass, but Pope John XXIII's revision of the rubrics decreed that on those and on other occasions the Last Gospel should simply be omitted.
Prayers after Mass (not part of the liturgy)
Public
* Pope Leo XIII prescribed that three Ave Marias, a Salve Regina followed by a versicle and response, and a prayer for the conversion of sinners and the freedom and exaltation of Holy Mother the Church, and a prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel be recited following a Low Mass celebrated with the people. Pope Pius X added a thrice-repeated "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us."
Private
Tridentine editions of the Roman Missal also contained prayers recommended, but not imposed, for recitation by the priest privately after Mass.The Canticle of the Three Youths (Dan 3) is one of these prayers.
Participation by the people
Nuptial Low Mass
Nuptial Low Mass
Prayers at the foot of the altar at a Solemn Mass
Prayers at the foot of the altar at a Solemn Mass
The participation of the congregation at the Tridentine Mass is interior, involving eye and heart, and exterior by mouth.
Except in the Dialogue Mass form, which arose about 1910 and led to a more active participation of the congregation, the people present at the Tridentine Mass do not recite out loud the prayers of the Mass. Only the server or servers join with the priest in reciting the prayers at the foot of the altar (which include the Confiteor) and in speaking the other responses. Most of the prayers that the priest says are spoken inaudibly, including almost all the Mass of the Faithful: the offertory prayers, the Canon of the Mass (except for the preface and the final doxology), and (apart from the Agnus Dei) those between the Lord's Prayer and the postcommunion.
At a Solemn Mass or Missa Cantata, a choir sings the servers' responses, except for the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar. The choir also sings the Introit, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Gradual, the Tract or Alleluia, the Credo, the Offertory and Communion antiphons, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei. Of these, only the five that form part of the Ordinary of the Mass are usually sung at a Missa Cantata. In addition to the Gregorian Chant music for these, polyphonic compositions also exist, some quite elaborate. The priest largely says quietly the words of the chants and then recites other prayers while the choir continues the chant.
Different levels of celebration
There are various forms of celebration of the Tridentine Mass:
* Pontifical High Mass: celebrated by a bishop accompanied by an assisting priest, deacon, subdeacon, thurifer, acolytes and other ministers, under the guidance of a priest acting as Master of Ceremonies. Most often the specific parts assigned to deacon and subdeacon are performed by priests. The parts that are said aloud are all chanted, except that the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, which before the reform of Pope Pius V were said in the sacristy, are said quietly by the bishop with the deacon and the subdeacon, while the choir sings the Introit. The main difference between a pontifical and an ordinary High Mass is that the bishop remains at his throne almost all the time until the offertory.
* Solemn or High Mass (Latin: Missa solemnis): offered by a priest accompanied by a deacon and subdeacon and the other ministers mentioned above.
* Missa Cantata (Latin for "sung mass"): celebrated by a priest without deacon and subdeacon, and thus a form of Low Mass, but with some parts (the three variable prayers, the Scripture readings, Preface, Pater Noster, and Ite Missa Est) sung by the priest, and other parts (Introit, Kyrie, Gloria, Gradual, Tract or Alleluia, Credo, Offertory Antiphon, Sanctus and Benedictus, Agnus Dei, and Communion Antiphon) sung by the choir. Also, incense may be used exactly as at a Solemn Mass with the exception of incensing the celebrant after the Gospel which is not done.
* Low Mass: the priest sings no part of the Mass, though in some places a choir or the congregation sings, during the Mass, hymns not always directly related to the Mass.
In its article "The Liturgy of the Mass", the 1917 Catholic Encyclopedia describes how, when concelebration ceased to be practised in Western Europe, Low Mass became distinguished from High Mass:
The separate celebrations then involved the building of many altars in one church and the reduction of the ritual to the simplest possible form. The deacon and subdeacon were in this case dispensed with; the celebrant took their part as well as his own. One server took the part of the choir and of all the other ministers, everything was said instead of being sung, the incense and kiss of peace were omitted. So we have the well-known rite of low Mass (missa privata). This then reacted on high Mass (missa solemnis), so that at high Mass too the celebrant himself recites everything, even though it be also sung by the deacon, subdeacon, or choir.
On the origin of the "Missa Cantata", the same source gives the following information:
... high Mass is the norm; it is only in the complete rite with deacon and subdeacon that the ceremonies can be understood. Thus, the rubrics of the Ordinary of the Mass always suppose that the Mass is high. Low Mass, said by a priest alone with one server, is a shortened and simplified form of the same thing. Its ritual can be explained only by a reference to high Mass. For instance, the celebrant goes over to the north side of the altar to read the Gospel, because that is the side to which the deacon goes in procession at high Mass; he turns round always by the right, because at high Mass he should not turn his back to the deacon and so on. A sung Mass (missa Cantata) is a modern compromise. It is really a low Mass, since the essence of high Mass is not the music but the deacon and subdeacon. Only in churches which have no ordained person except one priest, and in which high Mass is thus impossible, is it allowed to celebrate the Mass (on Sundays and feasts) with most of the adornment borrowed from high Mass, with singing and (generally) with incense.
In October 1967, a meeting of the Synod of Bishops had already given its opinion on a still earlier draft. Of the 187 members, 78 approved it as it stood, 62 approved it but suggested various modifications, 4 abstained, and 47 voted against.
It is no surprise to me that numbers of worshippers have dwindled since those changes had been introduced as they have abandoned ancient healing principles that were
given by the Holy Spirit, and these changes have loosened the cornerstone of Christ's spiritual church within the Roman-Catholic Church, which is now in the process of
mending through the tireless efforts of Pope Benedict XVI. and all those, who are supporting him in healing this.
THE CANON OF THE MASS
Te ígitur, clementíssime Pater, per Jesum Christum Fílium tuum Dóminum nostrum súpplices rogámus ac pétimus (osculatur altare) uti accépta hábeas, et benedícas (jungit manus, deinde signat ter super oblata), hæc dona, hæc múnera, hæc sancta sacrifícia illibáta (extensis manibus prosequitur): in primis quæ tibi offérimus pro Ecclésia tua sancta cathólica: quam pacificáre, custodíre, adunáre, et régere dignéris toto orbe terrárum, una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N. et Antístite nostro N. et ómnibus orthodóxis, atque cathólicæ et apostólicæ fídei cultóribus.
Wherefore, O most merciful Father, we humbly pray and beseech thee, through Jesus Christ thy Son, our Lord (he kisses the altar), that thou p. 465 wouldst vouchsafe to receive and bless (he joins his hands together, and then makes the sign of the cross thrice over the offerings) these gifts, these offerings, this holy and unblemished sacrifice (he extends his hands and continues), which in the first place we offer thee for thy holy Catholic Church, that it may please thee to grant her peace: as also to protect, unite, and govern her throughout the world, together with thy servant N., our Pope N., our bishop, as also all orthodox believers who keep the catholic and apostolic faith.
The Commemoration for the living.
Meménto, Dómine, famulórum famularúmque tuárum N. et N.
Be mindful, O Lord, of thy servants and handmaids, N. and N.
He joins his hands, prays a little while for those he wishes to pray for, then with his hands stretched out he continues:
Et ómnium circumstántium, quorum tibi fides cógnita est, et nota devótio: pro quibus tibi offérimus, vel qui tibi ófferunt hoc sacrifícium laudis, pro se, suísque ómnibus, pro redemptióne animárum suárum, pro spe salútis et incolumitátis suæ; tibíque reddunt vota sua ætérno Deo, vivo et vero.
And of all here present, whose faith and devotion are known unto thee; for whom we offer, or who offer up to thee, this sacrifice of praise for themselves and theirs, for the redeeming of their souls, for the hope of their safety and salvation, and who pay their vows to thee, the eternal, living, and true God.
Infra actionem.
Communicántes, et memóriam venerántes, in primis gloriósæ semper Vírginis Maríæ, genitrícis Dei et Dómini nostri Jesu Christi: sed et beatórum Apostolórum ac Mártyrum tuórum, Petri et Pauli, Andréæ, Jacóbi, Joánnis, Thomæ, Jacóbi, Philíppi, Bartholomæi, Matthæi, Simónis et Thaddæi, Cleti, Cleméntis, Xysti, Cornélii, Cypriáni, Lauréntii, Chrysógoni, Joánnis et Pauli, Cosmæ et Damiáni et ómnium sanctórum tuórum: quorum méritis precibúsque concédas, ut in ómnibus protectiónis tuæ muniámur auxílio. (Jungit manus.) Per eúmdem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
Within the action.
Communicating, and reverencing the memory first of the glorious Mary, ever a virgin, Mother of our God and Lord Jesus Christ; likewise of thy blessed apostles and martyrs, Peter and Paul, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, James, Philip, Bartholomew, p. 466 Matthew, Simon and Thaddeus; of Linus, Cletus, Clement, Xystus, Cornelius, Cyprian, Lawrence, Chrysogonus, john and Paul, Cosmas and Damian, and of all thy saints; by whose merits and prayers grant that in all things we may be guarded by thy protecting help. (He joins his hands together.) Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
With his hands spread over the offerings, he says:
Hanc ígitur oblatiónem servitútis nostræ, sed et cunctæ famíliæ tuæ, quæsumus Dómine, ut placátus accípias, diésque nostros in tua pace dispónas, atque ab ætérna damnatióne nos éripi, et in electórum tuórum júbeas grege numerári. (Jungit manus.) Per Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
Quam oblatiónem tu, Deus, in ómnibus, quæsumus,
We therefore beseech thee, O Lord, to be appeased, and to receive this offering of our bounden duty, as also of thy whole household; order our days in thy peace; grant that we be rescued from eternal damnation and counted within the fold of thine elect. (He joins his hands together.) Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Which offering do thou, O God, vouchsafe in all things.
He makes the sign of the cross three times over the offerings.
benedíctam, adscríptam, ratam, rationábilem, acceptabilémque fácere dignéris:
to bless , consecrate , approve , make reasonable and acceptable:
He makes the sign of the cross once over the host and once over the chalice.
ut nobis Corpus et Sanguis fiat dilectíssimi Fílii tui Dómini nostri Jesu Christi.
Qui prídie quam paterétur (accipit hostiam), accépit panem in sanctas ac venerábiles manus suas (elevat oculos ad cœlum), et elevátis óculis in cœlum, ad te Deum Patrem suum omnipoténtem, tibi grátias agens,
that it may become for us the Body and Blood of thy most beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who the day before he suffered took bread (he takes the host) into his holy and venerable hands (he raises p. 467 his eyes to heaven), and with his eyes lifted up to heaven, unto thee, God, his almighty Father, giving thanks to thee,
He makes the sign of the cross over the host.
benedíxit, fregit, dedítque discípulis suis, dicens: Accípite, et manducáte ex hoc omnes.
he blessed , brake, and gave to his disciples, saying: Take and eat ye all of this,
Holding the host between the first fingers and thumbs of both hands, he says the words of consecration, silently with clearness and attention, over the host, and at the same time over all the other hosts, if several are to be consecrated.
Hoc est enim Corpus meum.
For this is my Body.
As soon as the words of consecration have been said, he kneels and adores the consecrated host. He rises, shows it to the people, puts it on the corporal, and again adores. Then, uncovering the chalice, he says:
Símili modo postquam cœnátum est,
In like manner, after he had supped,
He takes the chalice with both hands.
accípiens et hunc præclárum Cálicem in sanctas ac venerábiles manus suas, item tibi grátias agens,
taking also this excellent chalice into his holy and adorable hands; also giving thanks to thee,
Holding the chalice with his left hand, he makes the sign of the cross over it with his right.
benedíxit, dedítque discípulis suis, dicens: Accípite, et bíbite ex eo omnes:
he blessed , and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take, and drink ye all of this;
He utters the words of consecration over the chalice silently, attentively, carefully, and without pausing, holding it slightly raised.
Hic est enim Calix Sánguinis mei, novi et ætérni testaménti; mystérium fidei: qui pro vobis et pro multis effundétur in remissiónem peccatórum.
For this is the Chalice of my Blood, of the new and eternal testament; the mystery of faith: which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins.
As soon as the words of consecration have been said, he puts the chalice on the corporal, and says silently:
Hæc quotiescúmque fecéritis, in mei memóriam faciétis.
As often as ye shall do these things, ye shall do them in memory of me.
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He kneels and adores; then rises, shows it to the people, puts it down, covers it, and again adores. Then holding his hands apart, he says:
Unde et mémores, Dómine, nos servi tui, sed et plebs tua sancta, ejúsdem Christi Fílii tui Dómini nostri, tam beatæ passiónis, necnon et ab ínferis resurrectiónis, sed et in cœlos gloriósæ ascensiónis: offérimus præcláræ majestáti tuæ de tuis donis ac datis,
Wherefore, O Lord, we thy servants, as also thy holy people, calling to mind the blessed passion of the same Christ thy Son our Lord, and also his rising up from hell, and his glorious ascension into heaven, do offer unto thy most excellent majesty, of thine own gifts bestowed upon us,
He joins his hands and makes the sign of the cross three times over the host and chalice together.
hóstiam puram, hóstiam sanctam, hóstiam immaculátam,
a pure victim, a holy victim, a spotless victim,
He makes the sign of the cross once over the host and once over the chalice.
Panem sanctum vitæ ætérnæ, et Cálicem salútis perpétuæ.
the holy Bread of eternal life, and the Chalice of everlasting salvation.
He continues with his hands stretched out:
Supra quæ propítio ac seréno vultu respícere dignéris: et accépta habére, sícuti accépta habére dignátus es múnera púeri tui justi Abel, et sacrifícium patriárchæ nostri Ábrahæ, et quod tibi óbtulit summus sacérdos tuus Melchísedech sanctum sacrifícium, immaculátam hóstiam.
Upon which do thou vouchsafe to look with a propitious and serene countenance, and to accept them, as thou wert graciously pleased to accept the gifts of thy just servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our patriarch Abraham, and that which thy high priest Melchisedech offered to thee, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.
Bowing low with his hands joined together and then laid on the altar, he says:
Súpplices te rogámus, omnípotens Deus: jube hæc perférri per manus sancti Ángeli tui in sublíme altáre tuum, in conspéctu divínæ majestátis tuæ: ut quotquot (osculatur altare), ex hac altáris participatióne, sacrosánctum Fílii tui,
We most humbly beseech thee, almighty God, to command that these things be borne by the hands of thy holy angel to thine altar On high, in the sight of thy divine majesty, that as many of us (he kisses the altar) as, at this altar, shall partake of and receive the
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He joins his hands together and makes the sign of the cross over the host and once over the chalice.
Corpus et Sánguinem sumpsérimus (seipsum signat), omni benedictióne cœlésti, et grátia repleámur (jungit manus). Per eúndem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
most holy Body and Blood of thy Son (he makes the sign of the cross on himself), may be filled with every heavenly blessing and grace (he joins his hands together). Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Commemoration for the dead.
Meménto étiam, Dómine, famulórum famularúmque tuárum N. et N. qui nos præcessérunt cum signo fídei, et dórmiunt in somno pacis.
Be mindful, O Lord, of thy servants and handmaids N. and N., who are gone before us, with the sign of faith, and sleep in the sleep of peace.
He joins his hands, prays a little while for those dead whom he means to pray for, then with his hands stretched out, continues:
Ipsis, Dómine, et ómnibus in Christo quiescéntibus, locum refrigérii, lucis et pacis, ut indúlgeas, deprecámur.
To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, we beseech thee, grant a place of refreshment, light, and peace.
He joins his hands together, and bows his head.
Per eúmdem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
He strikes his breast with his right hand, and slightly raising his voice, says:
Nobis quoque peccatóribus, fámulis tuis, de multitúdine miseratiónum tuárum sperántibus, partem áliquam et societátem donáre dignéris, cum tuis sanctis Apóstolis et Martyribus: cum Joánne, Stéphano, Mathía, Bárnaba, Ignátio, Alexándro, Marcellíno, Petro, Felicitáte, Perpétua, Ágatha, Lúcia, Agnéte, Cæcília, Anastásia, et ómnibus sanctis tuis; intra quorum nos consórtium, non æstimátor mériti, sed véniæ, quæsumus, largítor admítte. Per Christum Dóminum nostrum. Per quem hæc ómnia, Dómine, semper bona creas, sanctíficas, vivíficas, benedícis, et præstas nobis.
To us sinners, also, thy servants, hoping in the multitude of thy mercies, vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with thy holy apostles and martyrs: with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecily, Anastasia, and with all thy saints, into whose company we pray thee admit us, not considering our merit, but of thine own free pardon. Through Christ our Lord; p. 470 through whom, O Lord, thou dost create, hallow, quicken, and bless these thine ever-bountiful gifts and give them, to us.
He uncovers the chalice, kneels, takes the blessed sacrament in his right hand, and holding the chalice in his left, makes the sign of the cross three times over it from lip to lip, saying:
Per ipsum, et cum ipso, et in ipso,
By him, and with him, and in him,
He makes the sign of the cross twice between the chalice and his breast.
est tibi Deo Patri omnipoténti, in unitáte Spíritus sancti,
is to thee, God the Father almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
Lifting up the chalice a little with the host, he says:
omnis honor et glória.
all honour and glory.
He puts back the host, covers the chalice, kneels, rises, and sings or reads:
Per ómnia sæcula sæculórum. R. Amen.
Orémus. Præcéptis salutáribus et divína institutióne formáti, audémus dícere:
For ever and ever. R. Amen.
Let us pray. Taught by the precepts of salvation, and following the divine commandment, we make bold to say:
He stretches out his hands.
Pater noster, qui es in cœlis, sanctificétur nomen tuum: advéniat regnum tuum: fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cœlo et in terra panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie; et dímitte nobis débita nostra, sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris: et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem.
R. Sed líbera nos a malo.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation.
R. But deliver us from evil.
The priest says, Amen. He takes the paten between his first and middle finger, and says:
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Líbera nos, quæsumus Dómine, ab ómnibus malis prætéritis, præséntibus, et futúris, et intercedénte beáta et gloriósa semper Vírgine Dei genitríce María, cum beátis Apóstolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque Andréa, et ómnibus sanctis,
Deliver us, we beseech thee, O Lord, from all evils, past, present, and to come; and by the intercession of the blessed and glorious, Mary ever virgin, Mother of God, together with thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and Andrew, and all the saints,
He makes the sign of the cross with the paten from his forehead to his breast and kisses it.
da propítius pacem in diébus nostris: ut ope misericórdiæ tuæ adjúti, et a peccáto simus semper líberi, et ab omni perturbatióne secúri.
mercifully grant peace in our days: that through the help of thy mercy we may always be free from sin, and safe from all trouble.
He puts the paten under the host, uncovers the chalice, kneels, rises, takes the host and breaks it in half over the chalice, saying:
Per eúmdem Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum,
Through the same Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
He puts the portion that is in his right hand on to the paten; he then breaks off a small piece from the portion which is in his left hand, saying:
qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus sancti Deus.
who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God.
He puts the other half with his left hand on to the paten, and holding the particle over the chalice in his right hand, and the chalice with his left, he says:
Per ómnia sæcula sæculórum. R. Amen.
For ever and ever. R. Amen.
He makes the sign of the cross three times over the chalice with the particle of the host, saying:
Pax Dómini sit semper vobíscum.
R. Et cum spíritu tuo.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
He puts the particle into the chalice, saying silently:
Hæc commíxtio et consecrátio Córporis et Sánguinis Dómini nostri Jesu Christi, fiat accipiéntibus nobis in vitam ætérnam. Amen.
May this mingling and hallowing of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ avail us that receive it unto life everlasting. Amen.
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He covers the chalice, kneels, rises, and bowing before the blessed Sacrament, with his hands joined together and striking his breast three times, says:
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccáta mundi, dona nobis pacem.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
At mass for the dead, instead of saying: miserére nobis, he says: dona eis réquiem, rest. And the third time he adds, sempitérnam, everlasting.
Then with his hands joined together above the altar he bows down and says the following prayers:
Dómine Jesu Christe, qui dixísti Apóstolis tuis: Pacem relínquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis: ne respícias peccáta mea, sed fidem Eccelésiæ tuæ: eámque secúndum voluntátem tuam pacificáre et coaduráre dignéris. Qui vivis et regnas Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst say to thy apostles, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of thy Church; and vouchsafe to her that peace and unity which is agreeable to thy will; who livest and reignest God for ever and ever. Amen.
If the kiss of peace is to be given, the priest kisses the altar, and giving the kiss of peace, says:
Pax tecum.
R. Et cum spíritu tuo.
Peace be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
At masses for the dead the kiss of peace is not given, neither is the above prayer said.
Dómine Jesu Christe, Fili Dei vivi, qui ex voluntáte Patris, cooperánte Spíritu sancto, per mortem tuam mundum vivificásti: líbera me per hoc sacrosánctum Corpus et Sánguinem tuum, ab ómnibus iniquitátibus meis, et univérsis malis, et fac me tuis semper inhærére mandátis, et a te numquam separári permíttas. Qui cum eódem Deo Patre et Spíritu sancto vivis et regnas Deus in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
Percéptio Córporis tui, Dómine Jesu Christe, quod ego indígnus súmere præsúmo, non mihi provéniat in judícium et condemnatiónem: sed pro tua pietáte prosit mihi ad tutaméntum mentis et córporis, et ad medélam percipiéndam. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre in unitáte Spíritus sancti Deus, per ómnia sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who, according to the will of thy Father, through the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, hast by thy death given life to the world, deliver me by this, thy most holy Body and Blood, from all my iniquities and from every evil; and make me always cleave to thy commandments, and never suffer p. 473 me to be separated from thee; who with the same God the Father and Holy Ghost livest and reignest God for ever and ever. Amen.
Let not the receiving of thy Body, O Lord Jesus Christ, which I, all unworthy presume to take, turn to my judgement and damnation: but through thy loving-kindness may it avail me for a safeguard and remedy, both of soul and body. Who with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest God for ever and ever. Amen.
The priest kneels down, rises, and says:
Panem cœléstem accípiam, et nomen Dómini invocábo.
I will take the Bread of heaven, and call upon the name of the Lord.
Then, bowing a little, he takes both parts of the host with the thumb and first finger of his left hand, and the paten between his first and middle finger. He strikes his breast with his right hand, and, slightly raising his voice, says three times reverently and humbly:
Dómine, non sum dignus, ut intres sub tectum meum: sed tantum dic verbo, et sanábitur ánima mea.
Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; say but the word, and my soul shall be healed.
He makes the sign of the cross with the host in his right hand over the paten, and says:
Corpus Dómini nostri Jesu Christi custódiat ánimam meam in vitam ætérnam. Amen.
May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve my soul unto life everlasting. Amen.
He receives both portions of the host reverently, joins his hands together, and remains for a little while quietly meditating on the most holy Sacrament. Then he uncovers the chalice, kneels, gathers up the crumbs, if there are any, and wipes the paten above the chalice, whilst he says:
Quid retríbuam Dómino pro ómnibus, quæ retríbuit mihi? Cálicem salutáris accípiam, et nomen Dómini invocábo. Laudans invocábo Dóminum, et ab inimícis meis salvus ero.
What return shall I make to the Lord for all he hath given unto me? I will take the Chalice of salvation, p. 474 and call upon the name of the Lord. Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies.
He takes the chalice into his right hand, and making the sign of the cross on himself with it, he says:
Sanguis Dómini nostri Jesu Christi custódiat ánimam meam in vitam ætérnam. Amen.
May the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ keep my soul unto life everlasting, Amen.
He receives the precious blood with the particle. Then, if there are any communicants, he should give them communion before purifying. Afterwards he says:
Quod ore súmpsimus, Dómine, pura mente capiámus; et de múnere temporáli fiat nobis remédium sempitérnum.
Grant, Lord, that what we have taken with our mouth we may receive with a pure mind; and that from a temporal gift it may become for us an eternal remedy.
Meanwhile he passes the chalice to the server, who pours into a little wine, with which he cleanses his fingers; then he continues:
Corpus tuum, Dómine, quod sumpsi, et Sanguis quem potávi, adhæreat viscéribus meis: et præsta; ut in me non remáneat scélerum mácula, quem pura et sancta refecérunt sacraménta. Qui vivis et regnas in sæcula sæculórum. Amen.
May thy Body, O Lord, which I have received, and thy Blood which I have drunk, cleave to my bowels; and grant that no stain of sin may remain in me, whom thy pure and holy sacraments have refreshed; who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
He washes his fingers, wipes them, and takes the ablution; he wipes his mouth and the chalice, which he covers, and after folding up the corporal, arranges it on the altar as before. Then he continues mass. After the last Postcommunion the priest says:
Dóminus vobíscum.
R. Et cum spíritu tuo.
The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Then either:
Ite, missa est.
Go, you are dismissed.
or, according to what mass is being said:
Benedicámus Dómino.
R. Deo grátias.
Let us bless the Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.
At mass for the dead, he says:
Requiéscant in pace.
R. Amen.
May they rest in peace.
R. Amen.
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After saying, Ite missa est or Benedicámus Dómino, the priest bows down at the middle of the altar, and with his hands joined above it, says:
Pláceat tibi, sancta Trínitas, obséquium servitútis meæ: et præsta; ut sacrifícium quod óculis tuæ majestátis indígnus óbtuli, tibi sit acceptábile, mihíque, et ómnibus pro quibus illud óbtuli, sit, te miseránte, propitiábile. Per Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen.
May the homage of my service be pleasing to thee, O holy Trinity; and grant that the sacrifice which I, though unworthy, have offered in the sight of thy majesty, may be acceptable to thee: and through thy mercy win forgiveness for me and for all those for whom I have offered it. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Then he kisses the altar, and raising his eyes upward, stretching out, lifting up, and joining his hands, bowing his head before the cross, he says:
Benedícat vos omnípotens Deus,
May God almighty bless you,
and turning towards the people, he blesses them once only, even at high mass, and continues:
Pater, et Fílius et Spíritus sanctus. R. Amen.
Father, and Son and Holy Ghost. R. Amen.
At a bishop's mass a triple blessing is given. At mass for the dead no blessing is given.
Then at the Gospel corner, after saying Dóminus vobíscum, and Inítium or Sequéntia sancti Evangélii, and making the sign of the cross on the altar, or on the book and on himself as at the Gospel in the mass, he reads the Gospel of St. John, as below, or another Gospel as appointed.
Inítium sancti Evangélii secúndum Joánnem. R. Glória tibi, Dómine.
In princípio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in princípio apud Deum. Ómnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est. In ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hóminum, et lux in ténebris lucet, et ténebræ eam non comprehendérunt. Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Joánnes. Hic venit in testimónium, ut testimónium perhibéret de lúmine, ut omnes créderent per illum. Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimónium perhibéret de lúmine. Erat lux vera quæ illúminat omnem hóminem veniéntem in hunc mundum. In mundo erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est, et mundus eum non cognóvit. In própria venit, et sui eum non recepérunt; quotquot autem recepérunt eum, dedit eis potestátem fílios Dei fíeri; his qui credunt in nómine ejus, qui non ex sanguínibus, neque ex voluntáte carnis, neque ex voluntáte viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt. (Hic genuflectitur.) Et verbum caro factum est, et habitávit in nobis: et vídimus glóriam ejus, glóriam quasi Unigéniti a Patre, plenum grátiæ et veritátis.
R. Deo grátias.
The beginning of the holy Gospel according to St. John. R. Glory be to thee, O Lord.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was made nothing that was made: in him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend p. 476 it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness to give testimony of the light, that all men might believe through him. He was not the light, but was to give testimony of the light, that was the true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, he gave them power to become the sons of God: to them that believe in his name, who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh (here the people kneel down), and dwelt among us; and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
R. Thanks be to God.
While leaving the altar the priest says silently the antiphon Trium puerórum, &c.
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THE AKATHIST HYMN
THE AKATHIST HYMN is one of the most popular services of devotion in the Orthodox Church. The first melody, which got lost was probably composed by St Romanos in 556. The melody you hear on our websites is a new one, composed and sung by me in 2006. The story of this melody started with a dream, from which I woke up with the word 'Akathistos'. Then I received a visitation of the Holy Spirit and was told to write a new melody for it, and gradually I was given the complete hymn together with the instruction to record and to perform it.
The word "akathistos" literally means "not sitting," i.e., standing; normally all participants stand while it is being prayed. The hymn is comprised of 24 stanzas, alternating long and short. Each short stanza (kontakion) ends with the singing of "Alleluia." Each longer stanza (ikos) ends with a refrain.
The majority of the hymn is made up of praises directed to Mary, always beginning with the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel: "Rejoice." In each of them, one after the other, all the events related to our Lord's incarnation pass before us for our contemplation. The Archangel Gabriel ( in Ikos 1) marvels at the Divine self-emptying and the renewal of creation which will occur when Christ comes to dwell in the Virgin's womb. The unborn John the Baptist (Ikos 3) prophetically rejoices. The shepherds (Ikos 4) recognize Christ as a blameless Lamb, and rejoice that in the Virgin "the things of earth join chorus with the heavens." The Magi, (Kontakion 5) following the light of the star, praise Her for revealing the light of the world.
As the hymn progresses, various individuals and groups encounter Christ and Holy Mary. Each has his own need; each his own desire or expectation, and each finds his or her own particular spiritual need satisfied and fulfilled in Our Lord. So too, each generation and each particular person who has prayed the Akathist, has found in this hymn an inspired means of expressing gratitude and praise to God for their salvation. The hymn is leading into an ever deeper journey inside the heart and the soul and is being led to the love of the Infinite Light of God.
Priest: Blessed is our God, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages!
People: Amen.
(Tone 6)
O Heavenly King, The Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things, Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, Come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Reader: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy on us.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us from our sins, Master, pardon our transgressions, Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy Name's sake.
Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Priest: (says the exclamation)
Kontakion 1
(Tone 8)
Choir: To Thee, the Champion Leader, we Thy servants dedicate a feast of victory and of thanksgiving as ones rescued out of sufferings, O Theotokos: but as Thou art one with might which is invincible, from all dangers that can be do Thou deliver us, that we may cry to Thee: Rejoice, O Unwedded Bride! (Customarily sung three times at the beginning of the Akathist, once at the end.)
Ikos 1
Priest: An archangel was sent from Heaven to say to the Theotokos: Rejoice! And beholding Thee, O Lord, taking bodily form, he was amazed and with his bodiless voice he stood crying to Her such things as these:
Rejoice, Thou through whom joy will shine forth:
Rejoice, Thou through whom the curse will cease!
Rejoice, recall of fallen Adam:
Rejoice, redemption of the tears of Eve!
Rejoice, height inaccessible to human thoughts:
Rejoice, depth undiscernible even for the eyes of angels!
Rejoice, for Thou art the throne of the King:
Rejoice, for Thou bearest Him Who beareth all!
Rejoice, star that causest the Sun to appear:
Rejoice, womb of the Divine Incarnation!
Rejoice, Thou through whom creation is renewed:
Rejoice, Thou through whom we worship the Creator!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 2
Priest: Seeing herself to be chaste, the holy one said boldly to Gabriel: The marvel of thy speech is difficult for my soul to accept. How canst thou speak of a birth from a seedless conception? And She cried: Alleluia!
Ikos 2
Priest: Seeking to know knowledge that cannot be known, the Virgin cried to the ministering one: Tell me, how can a son be born from a chaste womb? Then he spake to Her in fear, only crying aloud thus:
Rejoice, initiate of God's ineffable will:
Rejoice, assurance of those who pray in silence!
Rejoice, beginning of Christ's miracles:
Rejoice, crown of His dogmas!
Rejoice, heavenly ladder by which God came down:
Rejoice, bridge that conveyest us from earth to Heaven!
Rejoice, wonder of angels sounded abroad:
Rejoice, wound of demons bewailed afar!
Rejoice, Thou Who ineffably gavest birth to the Light:
Rejoice, Thou Who didst reveal Thy secret to none!
Rejoice, Thou Who surpassest the knowledge of the wise:
Rejoice, Thou Who givest light to the minds of the faithful!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 3
Priest: The power of the Most High then overshadowed the Virgin for conception, and showed Her fruitful womb as a sweet meadow to all who wish to reap salvation, as they sing: Alleluia!
Ikos 3
Priest: Having received God into Her womb, the Virgin hastened to Elizabeth whose unborn babe at once recognized Her embrace, rejoiced, and with leaps of joy as songs, cried to the Theotokos:
Rejoice, branch of an Unfading Sprout:
Rejoice, acquisition of Immortal Fruit!
Rejoice, laborer that laborest for the Lover of mankind:
Rejoice, Thou Who givest birth to the Planter of our life!
Rejoice, cornland yielding a rich crop of mercies:
Rejoice, table bearing a wealth of forgiveness!
Rejoice, Thou Who makest to bloom the garden of delight:
Rejoice, Thou Who preparest a haven for souls!
Rejoice, acceptable incense of intercession:
Rejoice, propitiation of all the world!
Rejoice, good will of God to mortals:
Rejoice, boldness of mortals before God!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 4
Priest: Having within a tempest of doubting thoughts, the chaste Joseph was troubled. For knowing Thee to have no husband, he suspected a secret union, O blameless one. But having learned that Thy conception was of the Holy Spirit, he said: Alleluia!
Ikos 4
Priest: While the angels were chanting, the shepherds heard of Christ's coming in the flesh, and having run to the Shepherd, they beheld Him as a blameless Lamb that had been pastured in Mary's womb, and singing to Her, they cried:
Rejoice, Mother of the Lamb and the Shepherd:
Rejoice, fold of rational sheep!
Rejoice, torment of invisible enemies:
Rejoice, opening of the gates of Paradise!
Rejoice, for the things of Heaven rejoice with the earth:
Rejoice, for the things of earth join chorus with the heavens!
Rejoice, never-silent mouth of the Apostles:
Rejoice, invincible courage of the passion-bearers!
Rejoice, firm support of faith:
Rejoice, radiant token of Grace!
Rejoice, Thou through whom hades was stripped bare:
Rejoice, Thou through whom we are clothed with glory!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 5
Priest: Having sighted the divinely-moving star, the Magi followed its radiance; and holding it as a lamp, by it they sought a powerful King; and having reached the Unreachable One, they rejoiced, shouting to Him: Alleluia!
Ikos 5
Priest: The sons of the Chaldees saw in the hands of the Virgin Him Who with His hand made man. And knowing Him to be the Master, even though He had taken the form of a servant, they hastened to serve Him with gifts, and to cry to Her Who is blessed:
Rejoice, Mother of the Unsetting Star:
Rejoice, dawn of the mystic day!
Rejoice, Thou Who didst extinguish the furnace of error:
Rejoice, Thou Who didst enlighten the initiates of the Trinity!
Rejoice, Thou Who didst banish from power the inhuman tyrant:
Rejoice, Thou Who didst show us Christ the Lord, the Lover of mankind!
Rejoice, Thou Who redeemest from pagan worship:
Rejoice, Thou Who dost drag us from the works of mire!
Rejoice, Thou Who didst quench the worship of fire:
Rejoice, Thou Who rescuest from the flame of the passions!
Rejoice, guide of the faithful to chastity:
Rejoice, gladness of all generations!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 6
Priest: Having become God-bearing heralds, the Magi returned to Babylon, having fulfilled Thy prophecy; and having preached Thee to all as the Christ, they left Herod as a babbler who knew not how to sing: Alleluia!
Ikos 6
Priest: By shining in Egypt the light of truth, Thou didst dispel the darkness of falsehood; for its idols fell, O Saviour, unable to endure Thy strength; and those who were delivered from them cried to the Theotokos:
Rejoice, uplifting of men:
Rejoice, downfall of demons!
Rejoice, Thou who didst trample down the dominion of delusion:
Rejoice, Thou who didst unmask the fraud of idols!
Rejoice, sea that didst drown the Pharaoh of the mind:
Rejoice, rock that doth refresh those thirsting for life!
Rejoice, pillar of fire that guideth those in darkness:
Rejoice, shelter of the world broader than a cloud!
Rejoice, sustenance replacing manna:
Rejoice, minister of holy delight!
Rejoice, land of promise:
Rejoice, Thou from whom floweth milk and honey!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 7
Priest: When Symeon was about to depart this age of delusion, Thou wast brought as a Babe to him, but Thou was recognized by him as perfect God also; wherefore, marveling at Thine ineffable wisdom, he cried: Alleluia!
Ikos 7
Priest: The Creator showed us a new creation when He appeared to us who came from Him. For He sprang from a seedless womb, and kept it incorrupt as it was, that seeing the miracle we might sing to Her, crying out:
Rejoice, flower of incorruptibility:
Rejoice, crown of continence!
Rejoice, Thou from whom shineth the Archetype of the Resurrection:
Rejoice, Thou Who revealest the life of the angels!
Rejoice, tree of shining fruit, whereby the faithful are nourished:
Rejoice, tree of goodly shade by which many are sheltered!
Rejoice, Thou that has carried in Thy womb the Redeemer of captives:
Rejoice, Thou that gavest birth to the Guide of those astray!
Rejoice, supplication before the Righteous Judge:
Rejoice, forgiveness of many sins!
Rejoice, robe of boldness for the naked:
Rejoice, love that doth vanquish all desire!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 8
Priest: Having beheld a strange nativity, let us estrange ourselves from the world and transport our minds to Heaven; for the Most High God appeared on earth as a lowly man, because He wished to draw to the heights them that cry to Him: Alleluia!
Ikos 8
Priest: Wholly present was the Inexpressible Word among those here below, yet in no way absent from those on high; for this was a divine condescension and not a change of place, and His birth was from a God-receiving Virgin Who heard these things:
Rejoice, container of the Uncontainable God:
Rejoice, door of solemn mystery!
Rejoice, report doubtful to unbelievers:
Rejoice, undoubted boast of the faithful!
Rejoice, all-holy chariot of Him Who sitteth upon the Cherubim:
Rejoice, all-glorious temple of Him Who is above the Seraphim!
Rejoice, Thou Who hast united opposites:
Rejoice, Thou Who hast joined virginity and motherhood!
Rejoice, Thou through whom transgression hath been absolved:
Rejoice, Thou through whom Paradise is opened!
Rejoice, key to the kingdom of Christ:
Rejoice, hope of eternal good things!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 9
Priest: All the angels were amazed at the great act of Thine incarnation; for they saw the Unapproachable God as a man approachable to all, abiding with us, and hearing from all: Alleluia!
Ikos 9
Priest: We see most eloquent orators mute as fish before Thee, O Theotokos; for they are at a loss to tell how Thou remainest a Virgin and could bear a child. But we, marveling at this mystery, cry out faithfully:
Rejoice, receptacle of the Wisdom of God:
Rejoice, treasury of His Providence!
Rejoice, Thou Who showest philosophers to be fools:
Rejoice, Thou Who exposest the learned as irrational!
Rejoice, for the clever critics have become foolish:
Rejoice, for the writers of myths have faded away!
Rejoice, Thou Who didst rend the webs of the Athenians:
Rejoice, Thou Who didst fill the nets of the fishermen!
Rejoice, Thou Who drawest us from the depths of ignorance:
Rejoice, Thou Who enlightenest many with knowledge!
Rejoice, ship for those who wish to be saved:
Rejoice, harbor for sailors on the sea of life!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 10
Priest: Desiring to save the world, He that is the Creator of all came to it according to His Own promise, and He that, as God, is the Shepherd, for our sake appeared unto us as a man; for like calling unto like, as God He heareth: Alleluia!
Ikos 10
Priest: A bulwark art Thou to virgins, and to all that flee unto Thee, O Virgin Theotokos; for the Maker of Heaven and earth prepared Thee, O Most-pure one, dwelt in Thy womb, and taught all to call to Thee:
Rejoice, pillar of virginity:
Rejoice, gate of salvation!
Rejoice, leader of mental formation:
Rejoice, bestower of divine good!
Rejoice, for Thou didst renew those conceived in shame:
Rejoice, for Thou gavest wisdom to those robbed of their minds!
Rejoice, Thou Who didst foil the corrupter of minds:
Rejoice, Thou Who gavest birth to the Sower of purity!
Rejoice, bridechamber of a seedless marriage:
Rejoice, Thou Who dost wed the faithful to the Lord!
Rejoice, good nourisher of virgins:
Rejoice, adorner of holy souls as for marriage!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 11
Priest: Every hymn is defeated that trieth to encompass the multitude of Thy many compassions; for if we offer to Thee, O Holy King, songs equal in number to the sand, nothing have we done worthy of that which Thou hast given us who shout to Thee: Alleluia!
Ikos 11
Priest: We behold the holy Virgin, a shining lamp appearing to those in darkness; for, kindling the Immaterial Light, She guideth all to divine knowledge, She illumineth minds with radiance, and is honored by our shouting these things:
Rejoice, ray of the noetic Sun:
Rejoice, radiance of the Unsetting Light!
Rejoice, lightning that enlightenest our souls:
Rejoice, thunder that terrifiest our enemies!
Rejoice, for Thou didst cause the refulgent Light to dawn:
Rejoice, for Thou didst cause the river of many streams to gush forth!
Rejoice, Thou Who paintest the image of the font:
Rejoice, Thou Who blottest out the stain of sin!
Rejoice, laver that washest the conscience clean:
Rejoice, cup that drawest up joy!
Rejoice, aroma of the sweet fragrance of Christ:
Rejoice, life of mystical gladness!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 12
Priest: When the Absolver of all mankind desired to blot out ancient debts, of His Own will He came to dwell among those who had fallen from His Grace; and having torn up the handwriting of their sins, He heareth this from all: Alleluia!
Ikos 12
Priest: While singing to Thine Offspring, we all praise Thee as a living temple, O Theotokos; for the Lord Who holdeth all things in His hand dwelt in Thy womb, and He sanctified and glorified Thee, and taught all to cry to Thee:
Rejoice, tabernacle of God the Word:
Rejoice, saint greater than the saints!
Rejoice, ark gilded by the Spirit:
Rejoice, inexhaustible treasury of life!
Rejoice, precious diadem of pious kings:
Rejoice, venerable boast of reverent priests!
Rejoice, unshakable fortress of the Church:
Rejoice, inviolable wall of the kingdom!
Rejoice, Thou through whom victories are obtained:
Rejoice, Thou through whom foes fall prostrate!
Rejoice, healing of my flesh:
Rejoice, salvation of my soul!
Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded!
Kontakion 13
Priest: O all-praised Mother Who didst bear the Word, holiest of all the saints, accept now our offering, and deliver us from all misfortune, and rescue from the torment to come those that cry to Thee: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! (This Kontakion is sung three times)
And again we sing Ikos 1 and Kontakion 1
Triple Litany
Priest: Have mercy on us O God, according to Thy great mercy, we pray Thee, hearken and have mercy.
People: (after every petition)
Priest: Again we pray for the holy Orthodox Patriarchs of the East; for the Orthodox episcopate of the Russian Church; for our lord the Very Most Reverend Metropolitan Vitaliy, First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad; for our lord the Most Reverend Anthony, Archbishop of Western America and San Francisco; and for our lord, the Most Reverend Bishop Kyrill; and all our brethren in Christ:
Again we pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation, and visitation for the servants of God NN: (while the names are read, the people sing the litany response softly), and for the pardon and remission of their sins.
Again we beg Thee, O Lord, to hearken to our petition, and have mercy on Thy servants NN: (the response is sung softly as above). In Thy grace and bounty, fulfill their petitions, and forgive all their sins, whether voluntary or involuntary. Accept their sacrifice of praise upon Thy heavenly altar; protect them from every visible and invisible enemy; deliver them from all misery, sickness, and affliction; grant them health and length of days, we pray Thee, O Lord, hearken and have mercy.
Priest: Again we pray for travelers by land, by sea, and by air; for the sick and the suffering; for the servants of God NN: (as above), and for all those that are under trial, in harsh labor, in exile, imprisonment, and in every tribulation, necessity, and danger, and for their salvation, we pray Thee O Lord, hearken and have mercy.
Again we pray that the Lord our God will preserve this city and this holy temple and every city and country from pestilence, famine, earthquake, flood, fire, the sword, the invasion of enemies, civil war, and sudden death, and that our good God, Who loveth mankind, will be graciously favorable and easily entreated, and will turn away from us all the wrath stirred up against us, and deliver us from all His righteous chastisement which impendeth against us, and have mercy on us.
Again we pray for the blessed and ever-memorable, holy Orthodox Patriarchs, and pious kings and right-believing queens, and the founders of this holy temple, and for all our fathers and brethren gone to their rest before us, and the Orthodox here and everywhere laid to rest.
Again we pray for all the people here present, who await Thy great and rich mercy.
Again we pray that the Lord will listen to the prayers of us sinners, and have mercy on us.
Hear us O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of those who are far off upon the sea, and show mercy, show mercy O Master, upon us sinners. For Thou art a merciful God and Thou lovest mankind, and unto Thee we ascribe glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Let us pray to the most holy Theotokos.
People: (all kneel as we sing:)
Priest: Our most gracious Queen, our hope, O Theotokos, Who receivest the orphaned and art the intercessor for the stranger; the joy of those in sorrow, protectress of the wronged, see our distress, see our affliction! Help us, for we are helpless. Feed us, for we are strangers and pilgrims. Thou knowest our offences; forgive them, and resolve them as Thou dost will. For we know no other help but Thee, no other intercessor, no gracious comforter, only Thee, O Theotokos to guard and protect us for ages of ages. Amen.
Priest: Wisdom, Most Holy Theotokos, save us.
People: More honorable than the Cherubim,
and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim,
without corruption Thou gavest birth to God the Word:
True Theotokos, we magnify Thee.
Priest: Glory to Thee, O Christ our God and our hope, glory to Thee.
People: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Father, bless.
Priest: (gives the blessing of the day, and all come to venerate the Icon)
xxxx
Pope Benedict XVI
on
SACRED MUSIC
* Rite and Culture
* Spontaneity and Creativity
* The Primacy of Singing
* Latin in Liturgy
* Trent and Music
* Sacred vs. Performance
* Authentic Musical Development
* Musical Culture Today
* Popular and Rock Music in Liturgy
* Contemplation of Beauty
* Apollo or Dionysis
* Authentic Artistic Freedom
* Liturgical Dancing
* Silence
* Is a Choral Sanctus Permitted?
* A Choral Agnus Dei
* A Split Sanctus and Benedictus
* Active Participation
* External Actions
* Hope for a New Liturgical Renewal
Rite and Culture
The Christian faith can never be separated from the soil of sacred events, from the choice made by God, who wanted to speak to us, to become man, to die and rise again, in a particular place and at a particular time. “Always” can only come from “once for all”. The Church does not pray in some kind of mythical omnitemporality. She cannot forsake her roots. She recognizes the true utterance of God precisely in the concreteness of its history, in time and place: to these God ties us, and by these we are all tied together. The diachronic aspect, praying with the Fathers and the apostles, is part of what we mean by rite, but it also in cludes a local aspect, extending from Jerusalem to Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople. Rites are not, therefore, just the products of inculturation, however much they may have incorporated elements from different cultures. They are forms of the apostolic Tradition and of its unfolding in the great places of the Tradition. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 164]
Spontaneity and Creativity
The great ness of the liturgy depends—we shall have to repeat this frequently—on its unspontaneity (Unbeliebigkeit)…. Only respect for the liturgy’s fundamental unspontaneity and pre-existing identity can give us what we hope for: the feast in which the great reality comes to us that we ourselves do not manufacture but receive as a gift. This means that “creativity” cannot be an authentic category for matters liturgical. In any case, this is a word that developed within the Marxist world view. Creativity means that in a universe that in itself is meaningless and came into existence through blind evolution, man can creatively fashion a new and better world. Modern theo ries of art think in terms of a nihilistic kind of creativity. Art is not meant to copy anything. Artistic creativity is under the free mastery of man, without being bound by norms or goals and subject to no questions of meaning. It may be that in such visions a cry for freedom is to be heard, a cry that in a world totally in the control of technology becomes a cry for help. Seen in this way, art appears as the final refuge of freedom. True, art has something to do with freedom, but freedom understood in the way we have been describing is empty. It is not redemptive, but makes despair sound like the last word of human existence. This kind of creativity has no place within the liturgy. The life of the liturgy does not come from what dawns upon the minds of individuals and plan ning groups. On the contrary, it is God’s descent upon our world, the source of real liberation. He alone can open the door to freedom. The more priests and faithful humbly surrender themselves to this descent of God, the more “new” the liturgy will constantly be, and the more true and personal it becomes. Yes, the liturgy becomes personal, true, and new, not through tomfoolery and ba nal experiments with the words, but through a coura geous entry into the great reality that through the rite is always ahead of us and can never quite be overtaken. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 170]
The Primacy of Singing
THE IMPORTANCE of music in biblical religion is shown very simply by the fact that the verb “to sing” (with related words such as “song”, and. so forth) is one of the most commonly used words in the Bible. It occurs 309 times in the Old Testament and thirty-six in the New. When man comes into contact with God, mere speech is not enough. Areas of his existence are awakened that spontaneously turn into song. Indeed, man’s own being is insufficient for what he has to express, and so he in vites the whole of creation to become a song with him: “Awake, my soul! Awake, 0 harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, 0 Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithful ness to the clouds” (Ps 57:8f.). We find the first mention of singing in the Bible after the crossing of the Red Sea. Israel has now been definitively delivered from slavery. In a desperate situation, it has had an overwhelming experi ence of God’s saving power. Just as Moses as a baby was taken from the Nile and only then really received the gift of life, so Israel now feels as if it has been, so to speak, taken out of the water: it is free, newly endowed with the gift of itself from God’s own hands. In the biblical ac count, the people’s reaction to the foundational event of salvation is described in this sentence: “[T]hey believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses” (Ex 14:31). But then follows a second reaction, which soars up from the first with elemental force: "Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord” (i 5: i). Year by year, at the Easter Vigil, Christians join in the singing of this song. They sing it in a new way as their song, because they know that they have been “taken out of the water” by God’s power, set free by God for authentic life. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 136]
The singing of the Church comes ultimately out of love. It is the utter depth of love that produces the singing. “Cantare amantis est”, says St. Augustine, singing is a lover’s thing. In so saying, we come again to the trinitarian interpretation of Church music. The Holy Spirit is love, and it is he who produces the singing. He is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit who draws us into love for Christ and so leads to the Father. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 142]
In liturgical music, based as it is on biblical faith, there is, therefore, a clear dominance of the Word; this music is a higher form of proclama tion. Ultimately, it rises up out of the love that responds to God’s love made flesh in Christ, the love that for us went unto death. After the Resurrection, the Cross is by no means a thing of the past, and so this love is always marked by pain at the hiddenness of God, by the cry that rises up from the depths of anguish, Kyrie eleison, by hope and by supplication. But it also has the privilege, by anticipation, of experiencing the reality of the Resur rection, and so it brings with it the joy of being loved, that gladness of heart that Haydn said came upon him when he set liturgical texts to music. Thus the relation of liturgical music to logos means, first of all, simply its relation to words. That is why singing in the liturgy has priority over instrumental music, though it does not in any way exclude it. It goes without saying that the biblical and liturgical texts are the normative words from which liturgical music has to take its bearings. This does not rule out the continuing creation of “new songs”, but in stead inspires them and assures them of a firm grounding in God’s love for mankind and his work of redemption. [The Spirit of Liturgy [SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000], p. 149]
Latin in Liturgy
I would be in favor of a new openness toward the use of Latin. Latin in the Mass has come meanwhile to look to us like a fall from grace. So that, in any case, communication is ruled out that is very necessary in areas of mixed culture... Let's think of tourist centers, where it would be lovely for people to recognize each other in something they have in common. So we ought to keep such things alive and present. If even in the great liturgical celebrations in Rome, no one can sing the Kyrie or the Sanctus any more, no one knows what Gloria means, then a cultural loss has become a loss of what we share in common. To that extent I should say that the Liturgy of the Word should always be in the mother tongue, but there ought nonetheless to be a basic stock of Latin elements that would bind us together. [God and the World, SF, CA: Ignatius, 2002, pp. 417-18]
Trent and Music
In the West, in the form of Gregorian chant, the inherited tradition of psalm-singing was developed to a new sublimity and purity, which set a permanent standard for sacred music, music for the liturgy of the Church. Polyphony developed in the late Middle Ages, and then instruments came back into divine worship—quite rightly, too, because, as we have seen, the Church not only continues the synagogue, but also takes up, in the light of Christ’s Pasch, the reality represented by the Temple. Two new factors are thus at work in Church music. Artistic freedom increasingly asserts its rights, even in the liturgy. Church music and secular music are now each influenced by the other. This is particularly clear in the case of the so-called “parody Masses”, in which the text of the Mass was set to a theme or melody that came from secular music, with the result that anyone hearing it might think he was listening to the latest “hit”. It is clear that these opportunities for artistic creativity and the adoption of secular tunes brought dan ger with them. Music was no longer developing out of prayer, but, with the new demand for artistic autonomy, was now heading away from the liturgy; it was becoming an end in itself, opening the door to new, very different. ways of feeling and of experiencing the world. Music was alienating the liturgy from its true nature. At this point the Council of Trent intervened in the culture war that had broken out. It was made a norm that liturgical music should be at the service of the Word; the use of instruments was substantially reduced; and the difference between secular and sacred music was clearly affirmed. [The Spirit of the Liturgy (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), pp. 146-47]
Sacred vs. Performance
Whether it is Bach or Mozart that we hear in church, we have a sense in either case of what Gloria Dei, the glory of God, means. The mystery of infinite beauty is there and enables us to ex perience the presence of God more truly and vividly than in many sermons. But there are already signs of danger to come. Subjective experience and passion are still held in check by the order of the musical universe, reflecting as it does the order of the divine creation itself. But there is already the threat of invasion by the virtuoso mentality, the vanity of technique, which is no longer the servant of the whole but wants to push itself to the fore. During the nineteenth century, the century of self-emancipating subjectivity, this led in many places to the obscuring of the sacred by the operatic. The dangers that had forced the Council of Trent to intervene were back again. In similar fashion, Pope Pius X tried to remove the operatic element from the liturgy and declared Gregorian chant and the great polyphony of the age of the Catholic Reformation (of which Palestrina was the outstanding representative) to be the standard for liturgical music. A clear distinction was made between liturgical music and religious music in general, just as visual art in the liturgy has to conform to different standards from those employed in religious art in general. Art in the liturgy has a very specific responsibility, and precisely as such does it serve as a wellspring of culture, which in the final analysis owes its existence to cult. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), pp. 148]
Not every kind of music can have a place in Christian worship. It has its standards, and that standard is the Lo gos. If we want to know whom we are dealing with, the Holy Spirit or the unholy spirit, we have to remember that it is the Holy Spirit who moves us to say, “Jesus is Lord” (~Cor 12:3). The Holy Spirit leads us to the Logos, and he leads us to a music that serves the Logos as a sign of the sursum corda, the lifting up of the human heart. Does it integrate man by drawing him to what is above, or does it cause his disintegration into formless intoxication or mere sensuality? That is the criterion for a music in harmony with logos, a form of that logike latreia (reasonable, logos-worthy worship)… [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 151]
Development in Sacred Music
"An authentic updating of sacred music can take place only in the lineage of the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony." [Speaking in the Sistine Chapel following a tribute concert to Dominico Bartolucci, June 24, 2006.]
Musical Culture Today
After the cultural revolution of recent decades, we are faced with a challenge no less great than that of the three moments of crisis that we have encountered in our his torical sketch: the Gnostic temptation, the crisis at the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modernity, and the crisis at the beginning of the twentieth century, which formed the prelude to the still more radical ques tions of the present day. Three developments in recent music epitomize the problems that the Church has to face when she is considering liturgical music. First of all, there is the cultural universalization that the Church has to undertake if she wants to get beyond the boundaries of the European mind. This is the question of what inculturation should look like in the realm of sacred music if, on the one hand, the identity of Christianity is to be preserved and, on the other, its universality is to be ex pressed in local forms. Then there are two developments in music itself that have their origins primarily in the West but that for a long time have affected the whole of mankind in the world culture that is being formed. Modern so-called “classical” music has maneuvered itself, with some exceptions, into an elitist ghetto, which only specialists may enter—and even they do so with what may sometimes be mixed feelings. The music of the masses has broken loose from this and treads a very different path. [The Spirit of the Liturgy [SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000) p. 148]
Popular and Rock Music
On the one hand, there is pop music, which is certainly no longer supported by the people in the ancient sense (populus). It is aimed at the phenomenon of the masses, is industrially produced, and ultimately has to be described as a cult of the banal. “Rock”, on the other hand, is the expression of elemental passions, and at rock festivals it assumes a cultic character, a form of worship, in fact, in opposition to Christian worship. People are, so to speak, released from themselves by the experience of being part of a crowd and by the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects. However, in the ecstasy of having all their defenses torn down, the participants sink, as it were, beneath the elemental force of the universe. The music of the Holy Spirit’s sober ine briation seems to have little chance when self has become a prison, the mind is a shackle, and breaking out from both appears as a true promise of redemption that can be tasted at least for a few moments. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p 148]
Contemplation of Beauty
The encounter with the beautiful can become the wound of the arrow that strikes the heart and in this way opens our eyes, so that later, from this experience, we take the criteria for judgment and can correctly evaluate the arguments. For me an unforgettable experience was the Bach concert that Leonard Bernstein conducted in Munich after the sudden death of Karl Richter. I was sitting next to the Lutheran Bishop Hanselmann. When the last note of one of the great Thomas-Kantor-Cantatas triumphantly faded away, we looked at each other spontaneously and right then we said: "Anyone who has heard this, knows that the faith is true." The music had such an extraordinary force of reality that we realized, no longer by deduction, but by the impact on our hearts, that it could not have originated from nothingness, but could only have come to be through the power of the Truth that became real in the composer's inspiration. [Message to Communion and Liberation, August 2002, Rimini, Italy, made available May 2, 2005, Zenit)
Apollo or Dionysis
The Church’s Tradition has this in mind when it talks about the sober inebriation caused in us by the Holy Spirit. There is always an ultimate sobriety, a deeper rationality, resisting any decline into irrationality and immoderation. We can see what this means in prac tice if we look at the history of music. The writings of Plato and Aristotle on music show that the Greek world in their time was faced with a choice between two kinds of worship, two different images of God and man. Now what this choice came down to concretely was a choice between two fundamental types of music. On the one hand, there is the music that Plato ascribes, in line with mythology, to Apollo, the god of light and reason. This is the music that draws senses into spirit and so brings man to wholeness. It does not abolish the senses, but inserts them into the unity of this creature that is man. It elevates the spirit precisely by wedding it to the senses, and it el evates the senses by uniting them with the spirit. Thus this kind of music is an expression of man’s special place in the general structure of being. But then there is the music that Plato ascribes to Marsyas, which we might describe, in terms of cultic history, as “Dionysian”. It drags man into the intoxication of the senses, crushes ra tionality, and subjects the spirit to the senses. The way Plato (and more moderately, Aristotle) allots instruments and keys to one or other of these two kinds of music is now obsolete and may in many respects surprise us. But the Apollonian/Dionysian alternative runs through the whole history of religion and confronts us again today. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), pp. 150-51]
Authentic Artistic Freedom
The great cultural tradition of the faith is home to a presence of immense power. What in museums is only a monument from the past, an occasion for mere nostalgic admiration, is constantly made present in the liturgy in all its freshness. But the present day, too, is not condemned to silence where the faith is concerned. Anyone who looks carefully will see that, even in our own time, important works of art, inspired by faith, have been pro duced and are being produced—in visual art as well as in music (and indeed literature). Today, too, joy in the Lord and contact with his presence in the liturgy has an inexhaustible power of inspiration. The artists who take this task upon themselves need not regard themselves as the rearguard of culture. They are weary of the empty freedom from which they have emerged. Humble sub mission to what goes before us releases authentic free dom and leads us to the true summit of our vocation as human beings. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), pp. 155]
Liturgical Dancing
Dancing is not a form of expression for the Christian liturgy. In about the third century, there was an attempt in certain Gnostic-Docetic circles to introduce it into the liturgy. For these people, the Crucifixion was only an ap pearance. Before the Passion, Christ had abandoned the body that in any case he had never really assumed. Danc ing could take the place of the liturgy of the Cross, be cause, after all, the Cross was only an appearance. The cultic dances of the different religions have different pur poses—incantation, imitative magic, mystical ecstasy— none of which is compatible with the essential purpose of the liturgy of the “reasonable sacrifice”. It is totally absurd to try to make the liturgy “attractive” by introducing dancing pantomimes (wherever possible performed by professional dance troupes), which frequently (and rightly, from the professionals’ point of view) end with applause. Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attractiveness fades quickly—it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation. I myself have expe rienced the replacing of the penitential rite by a dance performance, which, needless to say, received a round of applause. Could there be anything farther removed from true penitence? Liturgy can only attract people when it looks, not at itself, but at God, when it allows him to enter and act. Then something truly unique happens, beyond competition, and people have a sense that more has taken place than a recreational activity. None of the Christian rites includes dancing. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 198]
Silence
We are realizing more and more clearly that silence is part of the liturgy. We respond, by singing and praying, to the God who addresses us, but the greater mystery, surpassing all words, summons us to silence. It must, of course, be a silence with content, not just the absence of speech and action. We should expect the liturgy to give us a positive stillness that will restore us. Such stillness will not be just a pause, in which a thousand thoughts and desires assault us, but a time of recollection, giving us an inward peace, allowing us to draw breath and rediscover the one thing necessary, which we have forgotten. That is why silence cannot be simply “made”, organized as if it were one activity among many. It is no accident that on all sides people are seeking techniques of meditation, a spirituality for emptying the mind. One of man’s deepest needs is making its presence felt, a need that is manifestly not being met in our present form of the liturgy. For silence to be fruitful, as we have already said, it must not be just a pause in the action of the liturgy. No, it must be an integral part of the liturgical event. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 209]
Is a Choral Sanctus Permitted?
My former Münster colleague and friend E. J. Lengeling has said, if one understands the Sanctus as an authentic part for the congregation celebrat ing Mass, “then this not only leads to compelling conclusions for new musi cal settings, but also results in vetoes for most of the Gregorian and for all the polyphonic versions since they exclude the people from singing and do not take the character of acclamation into account.” With all due respect for the eminent liturgist, his opinion shows that even experts can be wide of the mark. First of all, mistrust is always in order when a large part of the liv ing history has to be thrown onto the garbage dump of discarded misunder standings. This is all the more true for the Christian liturgy, which lives from the continuity and inner unity of the history of religious prayer. In fact, the assertion that the acclamatory character can be attended to only by the con gregation is completely unfounded. In the entire liturgical tradition of the East and the West, the Preface always closes with the reference to the heav enly liturgy and invites the assembled congregation to join in the acclama tion of the heavenly choirs. The end of the Preface in particular has had a decisive influence on the iconography of the Majestas Domini, which was the point of departure for my remarks. Compared to the biblical basis of the Sanctus in Isaiah 6, there are three new accents in the liturgical text. The scene is no longer the Temple in Jerusalem, as in Isaiah, but heaven, which opens itself up to the earth in mystery. For this reason it is no longer just the seraphim who are exulting, but all the hosts of heaven in whose acclamation the whole Church, redeemed humanity, can sing in unison because of Christ, who connects heaven and earth with each other. Finally, from there the Sanctus has been transferred from the “he”-form to the “you”-form: heaven and earth are full of your glory. The “Hosanna,” originally a cry for help, thus becomes a song of praise. Whoever does not pay attention to the mystery character and cosmic character of the invitation to sing in unison with the praise of the heavenly choirs has already missed the point of the whole thing. This unison can occur in a variety of ways, and it always has to do with being representative of or standing in for others. The congregation assembled in one place opens into the whole. It also repre sents those who are absent and unites itself with those who are far and near. If the congregation has a choir that can draw it into cosmic praise and into the open expanse of heaven and earth more powerfully than its own stam mering, then the representative function of the choir is at this moment par ticularly appropriate. Through the choir a greater transparency to the praise of the angels and therefore a more profound, interior joining in with their singing are bestowed than a congregation’s own acclamation and song would be capable of doing in many places…. Does it not do us good, before we set off into the center of the mystery, to encounter a short time of filled silence in which the choir calms us interiorly, leading each one of us into silent prayer and thus into a union that can occur only on the inside? Must we not relearn this silent, inner co-praying with each other and with the angels and saints, the living and the dead, and with Christ himself? This way the words of the Canon do not become worn-out expressions that we then in vain attempt to substitute with ever newly assembled phrases, phrases which conceal the absence of the real inner event of the liturgy, the departure from human speech into being touched by the eternal. Lengeling’s veto, which has been repeated by many others, is meaning less. The choral Sanctus has its justification even after the Second Vatican Council. [A New Song for the Lord, (NY: Crossroad, 1995) pp. 141-142]
A Split Sanctus and Benedictus
It is true that splitting the Sanctus and the Benedictus is not necessary, but it makes a lot of sense. if the choir sings the Sanctus and the Benedictus together, then the break between the Preface and the Eucharistic Prayer can indeed be too lengthy. When this happens, it no longer serves the congrega tion’s silent, yet cooperative entering into cosmic praise because the inner tension is not sustained. On the other hand, if a filled silence and an interior greeting of the Lord along with the choir take place after the consecration event, it corresponds profoundly to the inner structure of the occasion. The pedantic proscription of such a split, which came about not without reason in the development, should be forgotten as quickly as possible. [A New Song for the Lord, (NY: Crossroad, 1995) p 145]
A Choral Agnus Dei
Now just a word about the Agnus Dei. In the Regensburg cathedral it has become a tradition that after the Sign of Peace the Agnus Dei is first spoken three times by both the priest and the people and then continued by the choir as a communion hymn during the distribution of Communion. Over against this custom it has been asserted that the Agnus Dei belongs to the rite of the breaking of the bread. Only a completely fossilized archaism can draw the conclusion from its original purpose of accompanying the time of the breaking of the bread that it should be sung exclusively at this point. As a matter of fact, it became a communion song as early as the ninth and tenth centuries when the old rites of the breaking the bread were no longer neces sary because of the new hosts. J. A. Jungmann points out that in many cases in the early Middle Ages only one Agnus Dei was sung after the Sign of Peace while the second and third ones found their niche after Communion and thus accompanied the distribution of Communion where there was one. And does the request for the mercy of Christ, the Lamb of God, not make sense at that exact moment when he defenselessly gives himself into our hands again as Lamb, the sacrificed, yet triumphant Lamb who holds the keys of history in his hands (Revelation 5)? And is the request for peace made to him, the defenseless yet victorious One, not appropriate especially at the moment of receiving Communion since peace was, after all, one of the names of the Eucharist in the early Church because it tears down the boundaries between heaven and earth and between peoples and states and joins humans to the unity of the Body of Christ? At first glance, the Regensburg tradition and the conciliar as well as post conciliar reform seem to be two opposite worlds, which clash in harsh con tradiction. Whoever stood right between them for three decades was able to experience the severity of the posed questions for himself. But where this tension is endured, it turns out that all this belongs to the stages of one single path. Only if one holds these stages together and holds out will they be correctly understood and will true reform flourish in the spirit of the Sec ond Vatican Council—reform that is not discontinuity and destruction but purification and growth to a new maturation and anew fullness. The cathe dral choirmaster who has borne the weight of this tension deserves thanks: This was not only a service for Regensburg and its cathedral, but a service for the entire Church. [A New Song for the Lord (NY: Crossroad, 1995) p. 145]
Active Participation
Wherever an exaggerated concept of "community" predominates, a concept which is (as we have already seen) completely unrealistic precisely in a highly mobile society such as ours, there only the priest and the congregation can be acknowledged as legitimate executors or performers of liturgical song. Today, practically everyone can see through the primitive activism and the insipid pedagogic rationalism of such a position which is why it is now asserted so seldom. The fact that the schola and the choir can also contribute to the whole picture, is scarcely denied any more, even among those who erroneously interpret the council's phrase about "active participation" as meaning external activism. ("In the Presence of the Angels..." Adoremus Bulletin, Vol. 2, Nos. 6-8, Oct-Dec. 1996).
On External Actions
Of course, external actions—reading, singing, the bringing up of the gifts—can be distributed in a sensible way. By the same token, participation in the Liturgy of the Word (reading, singing) is to be distinguished from the sacramental celebration proper. We should be clearly aware that external actions are quite secondary here. Do ing really must stop when we come to the heart of the matter: the oratio. It must be plainly evident that the oratio is the heart of the matter, but that it is important precisely because it provides a space for the actio of God. Anyone who grasps this will easily see that it is not now a mat ter of looking at or toward the priest, but of looking to gether toward the Lord and going out to meet him. The almost theatrical entrance of different players into the lit urgy, which is so common today, especially during the Preparation of the Gifts, quite simply misses the point. If the various external actions (as a matter of fact, there are not very many of them, though they are being arti ficially multiplied) become the essential in the liturgy, if the liturgy degenerates into general activity, then we have radically misunderstood the “theo-drama” of the liturgy and lapsed almost into parody. True liturgical education cannot consist in learning and experimenting with external activities. Instead one must be led toward the essential actio that makes the liturgy what it is, toward the transforming power of God, who wants, through what happens in the liturgy, to transform us and the world. In this respect, liturgical education today, of both priests and laity, is deficient to a deplorable extent. Much remains to be done here. [The Spirit of the Liturgy, (SF, CA: Ignatius, 2000), p. 170]
Liturgical Disintegration
I am convinced that the crisis in the Church that we are experiencing today is to a large extent due to the disintegration of the liturgy, which at times has even come to be conceived of etsi Deus non daretur: in that it is a matter of indifference whether or not God exists and whether or not He speaks to us and hears us. But when the community of faith, the world-wide unity of the Church and her history, and the mystery of the living Christ are no longer visible in the liturgy, where else, then, is the Church to become visible in her spiritual essence? Then the community is celebrating only itself, an activity that is utterly fruitless. And, because the ecclesial community cannot have its origin from itself but emerges as a unity only from the Lord, through faith, such circumstances will inexorably result in a disintegration into sectarian parties of all kinds - partisan opposition within a Church tearing herself apart. This is why we need a new Liturgical Movement, which will call to life the real heritage of the Second Vatican Council. Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977 (SF, CA: Ignatius), p. 149.
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Mother Church & House of Prayer:
The Cathedral
My personal reflection
I do not need to be a liturgical expert, or architect, to appreciate the divinely inspired cathedral design. When I walk into most cathedrals in less frequented and more intimate silent times, I feel like I have arrived at home. On a sunny day, the cathedral will even be flooded with magnificently filtered light and the angels seem to sing in the brightest colours.
Baptism is our entrance into the Church of Christ. Jesus had spoken of the meaning of Christening: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’ Baptism is our entrance into the Church of Christ; and, therefore, the font is mostly placed near the door of the cathedral - a living manifestation of this Holy Sacrament and a precious source of numerous fond memories of happy children and adults standing around in awe, joy, and expectation; celebrating that a new baby is being brought unto God to receive the holy water ‘shower’.Her/his name(s) are being charged with the Holy Spirit, and the child is welcomed into the Holy community (with everyone awaiting the baby’s response to it...).
After leaving the baptism font I might walk up the nave or along the parallel side aisles; towards the tabernacle, meditating at the stations of the Cross; I visit and pray in the smaller chapels, with statues and paintings of the saints, getting nurtured by all their timeless and infinite love and guidance surrounded by numerous candles and lovingly arranged flowers; I continue my pilgrimage to the tabernacle on the altar in the sanctuary (these days sometimes in the middle of the sanctuary).
It is at the statue of the Mother of All, Mother of Sorrows, Mater Ecclesia, praying on my knees that I feel especially that the cathedral is a maternal house of prayer and consolation, where all are invited, being loved unconditionally and nurtured gracefully, no matter, who they are and where they are coming from. She is the living place of His Holy presence, where we are refilled with His spirit: ‘I am the Life’.
When I come to a House of Prayer, it does not really matter to me, whether the statues are high class art or Kitsch, which stylistic epochs they belong to or whether the cathedral is usually a highlight of a sightseeing tour. What matters is that they are Divinely inspired and want to touch our hearts. If I want to do a museum tour with the highest standards of art, then I visit a museum.
To me it is the essence of the cathedral as a sacred place of worhsip and prayer that draws me to it. Through many centuries it has been spiritually amplified by the holy rituals of the mass and the eucharist, the purity and devotion of a cleansed heart after prayer and/or confession, the countless intercessions for those we care about, the hymns and sacred chanting, the thanksgiving - all of which I feel and hear singing in the highest vibration around me, when I enter God’s sacred motherly dwelling place. It is not by accident that so many cathedrals have been dedicated to Holy Mary, Our Lady, Mother of Sorrows because Mary symbolizes the Church in her purity, maternity and holiness.
She is without judgment and knows only unconditional love and grace.
When I attend mass at the cathedral this feeling is multiplied as it is shared with the whole community that gathers in the peace of the Holy Spirit in a space that draws the Light of heaven down to earth. All cathedrals were conceived in celestial visions that were then built on earth by the inspired artists and architects who served God to manifest His dwelling place, in which He invites us and cares for us. That is why the cathedral continues to inspire and touch us deeply in our hearts.
xxxx.
God bless you!
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God bless you!
Jesus Christ is THE way, THE truth and THe life. All else is illusion.
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