A Triduum of the Church: The Church Militant

Today begins a triduum of days in which we are able to consider the Communion of Saints, and by the Communion of Saints I mean all three of its parts. Tomorrow we will celebrate the Church Triumphant in the Solemnity of All Saints. On Sunday we recall the Church Suffering within the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. Today, however, although the Liturgy doesn't call us to it, I feel we should consider the third part of the Communion of Saints, namely the Church Militant, i.e. us.

While it is true that the Liturgy does not expressly call for this celebration, it seems only appropriate to in a special way consider it, for we cannot conceive, in the present state of things, the Church without all three of Her parts. Nor should we, as we begin the month of November, in which the Liturgy will look towards the Last Things and the End of Time, neglect to consider that this is the goal to which the pilgrim Church on earth is moving towards, i.e. Her Last End. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

"'When The Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no more and all things will be subject to him. But at the present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating 'in full light, God himself triune and one, exactly as he is (954).''"

There is a common misconception in some Christian sects to see the Church as only an earthly reality, but looking at it logically, this is nonsensical. Christ is the Head of the Church, which is His Body. Now, the Saints in Heaven are united with Christ, and the souls in purgatory are united with Him, albeit imperfectly, otherwise their definition would be the same as the souls in Hell, who are eternally separated from God. Therefore, we must hold that if they are united with the Head, they must remain part of the Body, which is the Church.

Throughout these three days, then, let us consider in a most profound and glorious way the three parts of the whole Church, and unite ourselves more perfectly to it.

We will today look at ourselves, the Church Militant. Another name, given to this part of the Church is the Pilgrim Church, which sounds much less provocative. Nevertheless both titles reflect beautifully the reality of the Church on earth, and we will thus consider both.

We will begin with the former title as it was the more traditionally used. We must not think of militant in the sense of earthly combat. While areas in which the Church existed through the ages, and various sects, have been overzealous towards the Faith and have taken up arms for Her "promotion," this is by no means part of the intrinsic essence of the Church. However, there is a great battle in which the members of the Church are engaged in. As St. Paul says:

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 12:11-12)."

This is the battle we are engaged in! The battle we fight is a spiritual one; the war for souls, both our own and all mankind.

Traditionally, there are recognized three sources of sin, although the sinner is always the one responsible for the sin through his free will, the source may incline him towards sin though. These three sources are the world, the flesh, and the devil or demons. If there are any enemies a Christian has, these are the three! When we say the world, we do not mean those people in the world, for that would include us, or even the children of the world, for they were created by God and He loves them and calls them to Himself. They remain our brothers and sisters by means of Adam. Instead, we mean the spirit of the world, which ignores God and seeks only the exaltation of self. The flesh is our enemy only insofar as it is no longer fully subject to reason due to the destruction of the original harmony brought about by Original Sin. And lastly, the demons are our enemies because they wish to bring about our eternal ruin, by tempting us to turn away from God through sin.

Temptations can come from any of these three sources, but the Church is infinitely stronger and offers us the means whereby we can overcome these things. As a loving mother, She watches over us and wishes only our eternal salvation, for as I said above, She has Christ as Her head. Therefore, what Christ wishes, She ultimately wishes.

And She wishes us to be equipped for the spiritual battle which we shall fight. The passage from St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians continues:

"Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:13-18)."

The images this battle speech inspires are, in my opinion, so wonderful. The key is not to go out and radically convert the world through the sword, as some religions and sects believe, but to convert the world by the spiritual battle. Once fully initiated into the Church, through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist, this becomes a duty incumbent on all, as testified to in the Catechism:

"All Christians by the example of their lives and the witness of their word, wherever they live, have an obligation to manifest the new man which they have put on in Baptism and to reveal the power of the Holy Spirit by whom they were strengthened at Confirmation (2472)."

To fulfill this, then, we must take to hear the words of St. Paul and take up, "the whole armor of God," meaning we must become holy. In ancient times, "to gird one's loins," meant to prepare for battle, for you couldn't fight with your tunic hampering your leg movement. But St. Paul adds, "with truth," to his instruction. He would seem to say here that we must be ready to give a defense of the Faith, and thus we must know the Faith. Adequate study and learning in the Faith is essential, for we cannot love a God we don't know, nor can we oppose the lies of the world if we don't know the difference between lies and truth.

The saints give us a wonderful example of learning the truth. So many of them have provided us with various writings, whether intellectual such as St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, or spiritual such as St. Francis de Sales Introduction to the Devout Life, or mystical like St. Teresa of Avila's The Interior Castle. Through these works we are able to maintain a communion with the saints through their teaching us the Faith even today.

The next instruction of St. Paul is to, "put on the breastplate of righteousness." What purpose does a breastplate serve? It serves to protect the chest, primarily the heart. Righteousness will serve the same purpose for us. By living according to the Commandments and Beatitudes, we will advance in all virtue, which is righteousness. By doing so, our flesh will be subdued, the world will lose its attraction for us, and the devil will be unable to gain access to our hearts, i.e. our wills. The will through all this is purified of evil inclinations, and will only desire those things that are good and pleasing to God.

The next part is the call to always go around with the Gospel of peace. Our lives must be a living witness of the Gospel. Wherever we are and in whatever we do or say, we should be recognized as Christians. The Catechism defines witness of the Gospel as, "a transmission of the faith in words and deeds (2472)." We will pass on the Faith by living the Gospel, for even if the people we encounter don't accept it and live it in their own lives, they will have seen it and know what it is. Through the lives of the saints, especially by the witness of the martyrs, the Faith spread and conquered the world, for, in the words of Tertullian, "The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church," and let us remember that all the saints were martyrs by the witness of their lives and sufferings, even if not unto bodily and bloody death.

The next reference is to, "the helmet of faith," which can prevent any, "flaming darts of the evil one," from reaching us. Besides providing a stunning image, the addition of "flaming" here seems significant to me. There was one reason to use a flaming arrow in olden times, and that was that it would cause more destruction upon the entire fortress, for if it hit straw or wood, it had the potential to set the entire structure aflame. Let us then remember that the Christian life is a fortress; the devil wishes to destroy the entire fortress, so his attacks will not be geared to only hurt us a little, but he has as his end goal our total fall from grace. However, if we keep faith in God, and have constant recourse to His Sacraments, the enemy will be completely unable to hurt us, for God's grace and love will protect us. "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to The Lord, 'My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." . . . You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day . . . . A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand fall at your right hand; but it will not come near you (Psalm 91:1-2, 5, 7)."

The final lines of the passage from Ephesians give us instruction for maintaining ourselves during the battle of this earthly life. It speaks of, "the helmet of salvation," and, "the sword of the Spirit," and names these as the word of God, which we know to ultimately be Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the eternal Word, God the Son, made visible to us. As the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation of the Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum, states:  

"Through divine revelation, God chose to show forth and communicate Himself and the eternal decisions of His will regarding the salvation of men. That is to say, He chose to share with them those divine treasures which totally transcend the understanding of the human mind (6)."

We have been allowed to access God's most intimate nature, His understanding of Himself, and thus we are able to see that He is love, as St. John testifies, "God is love (1 John 4:8)." However, once we know God, we need to come to love Him further and to serve Him. This is what will require our perseverance and our unceasing prayers. This is what makes saints. They do not encounter Christ in a purely intellectual way, but in a profound and intimate way that engages their entire person and their very lives.

The spiritual battle which we are engaged in as part of the Church Militant is one in which we conquer through Love. This past Sunday, we heard in the Gospel Jesus give the two great Commandments, "You shall love The Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and the first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40)." Indeed, we may say that on these two commandments depend our salvation, for without following them, we cannot advance in supernatural virtue, nor can we oppose the spirit of this world, nor will be able to stand against the wiles of the demons.

I now wish to shift our attention to the other title of this state of the Church, which is the Pilgrim Church. This shift is really quite easy, for the two titles go together really. A war is not fought without a purpose, and the purpose of our war is to ultimately bring about the Kingdom of God, which is what we look towards. It is what we journey towards; it is what we are pilgrims going to. We are, therefore, the Pilgrim Church because we journey towards a spiritual goal!

During the pilgrimages to various shrines in the Middle Ages, they were a time of great penance and prayer. They were a means of subduing one's passions and separating from the world in order to draw closer to God. Sound familiar? It sounds like the spiritual warfare I just described, albeit in less warrior tones. Our pilgrimage to our heavenly homeland should always be accompanied by prayer and coming to know God closer.

Let us remember the old Baltimore Catechism answer for why God made us. "God made us to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this life, so that we might be eternally happy with Him in the next." Let us fight the good fight in this life, let us keep our eyes fixed on the end goal, which is God. Let us live a life of prayer upon this earth, so that we may join our brothers and sisters in the Church Triumphant!

A Look at the Mass: The Creed

Before I begin the considerations on the Creed, I would like to note the "A Look at the Mass" series will be suspended for the next two Sundays, in consideration of All Souls Day and the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran. There will still be posts those days, and on days in between them, but they will be geared more towards the respective feast days. The "A Look at the Mass," will then resume for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time with the Prayers of the Faithful, which will conclude the Liturgy of the Word. After Advent and Christmas, the series will then resume beginning the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which will in many ways be much more in-depth and subdivided.

Now on to the Creed.

Let me preface these considerations by saying this post will not consider the doctrinal nature of the Creed per se. Indeed, each line of the Creed could take up many pages in the mysteries contained therein. However, as this blog is primarily dedicated to Liturgy, we will instead focus on the liturgical insights and implications due to its inclusion in the Mass, touching upon doctrinal points as needed.

We must first consider briefly the history of the Creed. Within the Ordinary Form, either the Nicene Creed or the Apostles' Creed may be used. The Extraordinary Form uses exclusively the Nicene Creed, and out of respect and by tradition, this is the standard in the Ordinary Form, and is thus the Creed we will be using for our considerations. I will simply note the rubric in regard to the Apostles' Creed:

"Instead of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, especially during Lent and Easter Time, the baptismal Symbol of the Roman Church, known as the Apostles' Creed, may be used (The Roman Missal, Third Edition)."

Notice that the rubric refers to the "Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed." This is the proper name for the Nicene Creed, since it was formulated both by the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea and the First Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, although it was not completely standardized until around the Council of Chalcedon. It was drafted as a Profession of Faith, and thus carries much more of a doctrinal formal prosaic nature, as opposed to the more poetic nature often found within liturgical texts. This of course brings up the odd point of singing the Creed, as it is difficult to set to music. However, by the beneficent grace of God, the Creed is possibly the most diversified musical settings we have been given within the Liturgy, albeit in the Latin as opposed to the English.

Of the four standard creeds of the Roman Church (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the Creed of Pope Pius IV) it is the Nicene Creed which has taken root in the Liturgy. This may be seen for many reasons. As opposed to the Apostles' Creed, which states the basic doctrines of the Faith simply, the Nicene Creed draws out and expands more clearly and concisely these doctrines, as opposed to the less conciseness of the other two Creeds. It was inserted into the Liturgy to combat the many Christological heresies present in the various regions of the East and West, because unlike the Athanasian Creed, which deals more with the Trinity, this Creed deals primarily with Christ.

There is an exception to the public recitation of the Creed, however, and that is in Rome itself. The Creed was not used in Mass liturgies in Rome until the 11th century. The reason for this is that the Eternal City was never tainted by the presence of heresy within her walls. Thus, there was no need for a public combat against heresy among her people. However, upon his visit to the city, the emperor commented on the lack of the Creed. While the above reason was given, a the emperor's insistence the Creed was ordered to be inserted into the Liturgy and thus quickly spread to all the churches under Rome.

The reason for its presence is obvious. On days when the Faithful are obligated to attend Mass and the entire Christian community is thus present, the recitation of the Creed speaks of the unity of the entire Church. The International Theological Commission of the Vatican, expresses it well in the words:

"In professing their faith, Christians say both ‘I believe’ and ‘We believe’. Faith is professed within the koinonia of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2Cor 13:13), which unites all believers with God and among themselves (cf. 1Jn 1:1-3), and achieves its ultimate expression in the Eucharist (cf. 1Cor 10:16-17). Professions of faith have developed within the community of the faithful since earliest times. All Christians are called to give personal witness to their faith, but the creeds enable the Church as such to profess her faith. This profession corresponds to the teaching of the apostles, the good news, in which the Church stands and through which it is saved (cf. 1Cor 15:1-11) (International Theological Commission, Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles, and Criteria, 2011, Paragraph 13)."

This Creed is a perfect transition point. On the one hand, it belongs to the Liturgy of the Word, for it is, "the joyous 'yes' of the faithful to the message they have received. Even when viewed in its systematic setting, the creed is an organic extension of the line begun in the readings (Joseph A. Jungmann, S.J., The Mass of the Roman Rite, Volume 1, 471)." On the other hand, it is a preparation for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, in that through its words, we profess our unity, which will be perfected in the Sacrament of the Altar, and we profess our belief in the power of that Sacrament.

But let us now turn our attention to the actual words of the Creed. We will consider the Nicene Creed, as it contains all that is within the Apostles', it is the standard Creed used, and it is the one used for the Extraordinary Form, to which we may need to refer. The following is the text of the Nicene Creed, as used within the current translation of the Missal:

"I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

"I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.

"For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

"I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

"I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen."  

The very first word of the Creed in Latin, "Credo," translated in English as, "I believe," holds great significance. It is not, "I know," but a personal attestation of faith. On account of our holding Jesus Christ as Truth, we believe what He has told us. Nevertheless, we cannot make an act of faith on account of others, but only for ourselves. We therefore say, "I believe."

Our belief has a source and an end, and that is God Himself. As Gueranger says:
"But why do we say: I believe in one God? Why use the preposition in? . . . . What is Faith, but a movement of the soul towards God? that Faith which is united with charity, that living faith placed by Holy Church in the hearts of her children, tends of its very nature towards God, ascends and raises itself up to Him. . . (The Holy Mass, Section: Credo, emphases in original)."

We center our Faith in God, and thus the Holy Mass is also centered upon Him. We worship the Father, through the Sacrifice of Christ to His Father. Therefore, we begin by calling to mind this direction; we profess our belief in God the Father. He is above all things; He is uncreated; He is the beginning and end of our Faith; He is, therefore, "Almighty." His divine power created Heaven and Earth, man and all that dwells upon the earth, as well as the purely spiritual beings, the angels. Therefore, as Maker of Heaven and Earth He is worthy of all praise, and thus with the angelic hosts, we stand in His presence and all creation cries out to him in exultation!

Our profession of the Faith then turns to the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ, Whom we instantly name. However, there is an interesting note here which is lost in the English translation. While in the English, we repeat the "I believe," this is absent in the original Latin. Instead the original "I believe," encompasses the Son as well as the Father. We cannot believe part of the Faith and still profess to be a full member of the Church. We must hold all the truths to be fully incorporated into Christ. Therefore, we do not say "I believe such and such," but "I believe all."

Within the Mass, we are drawn outside of time, we are able to enter into the mystery of our Redemption, which takes place in time, but is able to be accomplished by the Son of God, on account of His Divinity. We therefore say, "I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages." Our Lord, Jesus Christ, it is Who has just taught us through the Gospel, and at Whose offering of Himself to the Father we are about to become present. Our presence at this offering may only happen on account of Christ's divinity, and through that as well, it is able to redeem us.

Jesus Christ directs us to Heaven. He has taught us through His words, and now He is about to feed us with Himself. We are able to trust Him and believe Him because He is, "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God." As God, He is Truth, and therefore can neither deceive nor be deceived. In the Holy Mass we encounter Christ, Who said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9)." In our encounter with Christ, the Son of God, Who was "begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father," we also encounter the Father, for both the Father and the Son are one (John 10:30).

We then state, "through him all things were made." Through the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, through the Word, were all things made, "and without him was not anything made that was made (John 1: 3)." This speaks of creation, but it may also speak to us of our redemption. Our salvation was accomplished through Jesus Christ, indeed the name Jesus means, "God saves," and apart from participation in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, no one may be saved. "Unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)."

Indeed, the rest of the Creed focuses on Christ's salvation. The very next words we utter are, "For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven." There is a clear turning point here in the Creed, as there was in the Gloria. The emphasis is no longer upon the mystery of the Godhead, but upon the Person of Jesus Christ. The almost poetic nature of speaking of the Procession of the Son from the Father, will instead turn into a remembrance of the works of our salvation.

Throughout the next words, "and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man," we make a profound bow, formerly a genuflection. The reason for this is to pay homage to the Divine Humility through which God the Son, almighty and eternal, entered time for our salvation, becoming like unto us in all things but sin. As a bow shows a sense of respect, and the deeper the bow, the more it becomes unto subservience, we make a profound bow to honor and show the gift of ourselves to the Person of Jesus, true God and true man.

But let us quickly consider these words we say. As the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one, so one cannot do anything apart from the other two. Therefore, although it is only the Son Who takes on a human nature from Mary, the other two Persons are involved in this work, for it is by the Holy Spirit that the Son is made man. Here honor is also paid to Mary. It is through her that the Son receives a human nature. In His Providence, God made her necessary for salvation. The reason for this is that the Son needed a human nature, he needed to be incarnate man to save us. "What has not been assumed has not been healed," in the words of St. Gregory Nazianzus. If Jesus was not truly man, then His Crucifixion and Death would not profit us.

But the Son, "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8)." We do not just mention the death of Christ in the Creed, but we say, "For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate." We mention the Cross. The Cross is central to our Faith and to our proclamation of it! When we signed ourselves before the Gospel, we did so with the sign of the Cross, so that we may always believe, profess, and hold firm to the Faith. To do so requires to believe, profess, and hold firm to the power of the Cross. St. Paul said, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2)." It is integral, then, that in the Profession of Faith we mention the Crucifixion explicitly, but also that it was for us. The Mass is for us. In it is made present the Sacrifice of Calvary for us. We announce this truth of the Faith which we will experience so soon!

We then further profess the means of our Redemption, namely the death and burial of Christ. Through His death He paid the price for our salvation and took our penalty of death upon Himself. The need for confessing His burial as well is to show that He did indeed die, in opposition to heresies in the early Church, which said it was just the appearance of death, or other heresies which proclaim a Divine and a human person of Jesus Christ. But we believe in one Person, and Jesus Christ, eternal God and true man, underwent death on the Cross for our sake and was buried, just as we die and are buried in the Sacrament of Baptism, which initiation into the Divine Life is fulfilled at the Mass through the reception of the Holy Eucharist.

And this Baptism and Holy Eucharist initiate us into the new life Christ has obtained by His Resurrection, which occurred, "on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures." How appropriate is it that we mention the Scriptures, for we have just listened to the Old Testament, which finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ from the dead. These prophecies we hear again and again throughout the year in the Liturgy show us that Jesus must indeed be the Messiah, for He has clearly fulfilled them.

After the fulfillment of these prophecies, "He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father." This is the age of the Church; before His Ascension our Lord instituted the Sacraments of the New Covenant, and at the Last Supper He offered the first Mass, the Eucharistic Feast, the New Passover. At it He gave the command, "Do this in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19)." The Church, waiting the fulfillment of the Kingdom of Christ, heeds this command in the Mass, and we aware of Christ's Lordship over us already, serve Him by the participation in the Liturgy.

But we know that although the Lord comes to us in the Sacrament, and through that coming we are given the grace to build up His kingdom here on earth, "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end." We not only receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist for the grace to build up the Kingdom of God, but so that when judged we may be found worthy to be part of that kingdom. As the Lauda Sion, the Sequence of Corpus Christi states, "Bad and good the feast are sharing, / Of what divers dooms preparing, / Endless death, or endless life." We therefore, profess our belief that Christ will give a just judgment to all mankind, on account of our love for Him and for our neighbor, which, to those who have loved, will usher in the Kingdom of God for all eternity.

These lines close our profession of belief in the mysteries concerning the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, but once again, in the Latin, we do not say, "I believe," as the English translates it. Instead it is a continuation in belief, and now it is in the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, "The Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life." Gueranger expresses what we believe concerning this mystery well:

"He [the Holy Spirit] is The Lord, He is the Master, just as the other two Divine Persons are. But What is He furthermore? Vivificantem, He gives life. In the same way as our soul gives life to our body, so does the Holy Ghost give life to our soul. It is this Holy Spirit Who animates her by the sanctifying grace, which He pours into her, and thus does He sustain her, make her act, vivify her, and make her grow in love (The Holy Mass, Section: Credo)."

This grace of the Holy Spirit is primarily given within the liturgical life of the Church, in Her Sacraments.

As we contemplate the words, "who proceeds from the Father and the Son," let us return to our previous thought about the continuation of the original "I believe." When we first introduced God the Son, we mentioned how this showed the unity of the entire Faith; it also shows the unity of the Trinity. In order to truly confess any one Person of the Trinity, the other Two Persons must also be confessed, for they are inseparable as regards the Divine Nature. Thus, in order to hold the Catholic Faith, we must profess the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as the Triune God. Let us sum up the Mystery in the words of the Athanasian Creed:

"We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity. We distinguish among the persons, but we do not divide the substance. For the Father is a distinct person; the Son is a distinct person; and the Holy Spirit is a distinct person. . . . The Father is not made by anyone, nor created by anyone, nor generated by anyone. The Son is not made nor created, but he is generated by the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is not made nor created nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son."

The Holy Spirit possesses the fullness of divinity and thus, "with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified." At these words within the Extraordinary Form, it was customary to make a bow of the head as acknowledgment of the adoration due to the Spirit as God.

In the last part of the Creed, in reference to the Holy Spirit, we say, "who has spoken through the prophets." Here we further affirm what we said throughout the service of the Readings, namely that we believe the Scriptures are inspired by God. As stated in the posts on the readings, we say "Thanks be to God," at the end because we have been privileged to hear the words of God. The Creed though is the solemn profession of our belief in what we have been taught throughout the Liturgy of the Word. Therefore, we say that the Holy Spirit is the one Who inspired the writers of the Bible, and it is He Who spoke through them.

The final section of the Creed is different from the three preceding parts because it is not a focus on the Divine Mystery of God's inmost self, as such, but is instead focused on our lives - the life that God has called us to. It begins with the admittance of belief in "One, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Our translation is again, however, here misleading. While we say, "I believe in," the Latin does not contain any of this. Instead a more appropriate translation may be, "And one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." The lack of the "I believe," is the same idea as before; we believe the entire Faith, not parts. Gueranger explains the lack of the preposition "in" as, "The faith which has God for its immediate object, is a movement of our soul towards God; she goes forth towards Him, and rests in Him; and thus, we believe IN GOD. But, as regards created and intermediate things which concern God, . . . we simply believe them. Thus, for example, we believe the Holy Church (The Holy Mass, Section: Credo)."

Let us briefly consider how the four marks of the Church affect our affirmation of Faith in regards to the Holy Mass. The Church is one, because She is of God, Who is One. Through our sharing of the one Faith and primarily through participation in the Eucharist, "we are made one Body, in Christ (Romans 12:5)." The Church is holy, because She has Christ for Her head. We, as the Body of Christ, are made holy through the Sacraments of the Church, which pour sanctifying grace within our hearts. The Church is catholic, because She is for all peoples, at all times; She is universal. The Faith which we profess is universal, it has been believed and taught by the Church, "by everyone, everywhere and at all times (St. Vincent of Lerins)." Lastly, the Church is apostolic because She can trace Her origins, through apostolic succession, back to the Apostles, who were commissioned by Christ Himself. The Sacraments which we celebrate are those given us by the Apostles; through the participation in them, we are exposed to the power which they received from Him, the Source of all grace.

The profession of these Sacraments are implicitly referred to within the next line, which explicitly states only one. "I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins." Baptism is not an end, but a beginning. It is our birth to our new life in grace and the door to all the other Sacraments. To profess belief in its power must be followed by the desire to live the Christian life as full members of the Church. Let us also remember that it is through the Eucharist, which is consecrated at every Mass, we are nourished and strengthened for living this life.

As the previous line referred to the beginning of the Christian life, so the next two refer to the end of it. "I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." We believe that when Christ comes in glory to judge the living and the dead, we will be, through His infinite mercy and the Sacrifice of the Cross, judged worthy to participate in the next life - beatitude with Him at the Heavenly Liturgy.

The Creed then ends with the word, "Amen." It is once again an affirmation in all we have said. To say it is to say, "I truly believe these things. They are not only words, but part of my very person," for the Faith must be an integral part of us if it is to have its full effect on our lives.

Finally, let us consider that the Creed is only said or sung on solemnities. The tradition in the early Church, and even up until the Council of Trent in certain places, was that it was recited by the entire congregation, since each believer should make a profession of his own faith throughout his life. This idea has been renewed in the Ordinary Form, in which the entire congregation says the Creed with the priest. We may see a reason for its being limited to Sundays and Solemnities as that these are the days the entire community should gather for worship. Therefore, the entire community shows their unity by professing the same one Faith, so that they may be further united through participation in the one same Eucharist.  

A Look at the Mass: The Gospel

Today is a blessed day within the history of the Church. The pope, earlier today, beatified Pope Venerable Paul VI, meaning we shall now refer to him as Blessed Paul VI. This is of great importance, because by my estimation, Pope Francis is in many ways continuing what Blessed Paul VI began, as did Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Blessed Paul VI is known primarily for his encyclical Humanae Vitae, in which he confirmed the Church's teaching against contraception, but he did so much more as pope. He closed the Second Vatican Council and he was the first pope to travel outside of Europe, leading by example the Council's call to evangelize all peoples by bringing the Gospel to them.

It is appropriate, then, that this day we reach the high point of the Liturgy of the Word in our look at the Mass - the Gospel. The Gospels have always received a special reverence not given to the other readings. This is not to lessen them in any way, but instead heightens the importance of the Gospel. It is well to note the words of Jungmann:

"It is a strict rule which holds true in all liturgies, that the last of the readings should consist of a passage from the Gospels . . . . there was never any doubt that the Gospels hold the highest rank ; they contain the 'good tidings,' the fulfillment of all the past, and the point from which all future ages radiate. And just as in a procession of the clergy the highest in rank comes last, so too in the series of readings (The Mass of the Roman Rite, Volume 1, 442)."

Jungmann goes on to describe how it is the Gospel Book which is often decked on the outside with gold and silver and precious jewels. The pages were often written in special script and ornamented with characters and pictures. Lastly, it is only the Gospel Book which may be placed on the altar, excepting of course the Blessed Sacrament and those items used with it including the missal.

Obviously, if you've been following the past few posts, you know the reason I'm going to give for all this ostentation; the Gospels are the very words of Jesus Himself! Through its proclamation we are instructed in the Christian life by our Divine Master and given an account of the most holy mysteries of His life on earth, from His Incarnation through His Ascension into Heaven.

But let us also consider the universality of the Gospels, for their presence in all the Rites of the Church shows their importance. When considered as a whole, the four Gospels may be seen to address the entire world. Matthew wrote his Gospel to the Jewish people, those familiar with the Law and Prophets, to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of both the Law and the Prophets. Mark's Gospel is written to the Romans, the center of the Western world at the time, and consequently to all under their jurisdiction. Luke composed his Gospel especially for the Greeks, those people so concerned with virtue and philosophy to show how Jesus Christ is the perfect man. As a Gentile writing to Gentiles, we can here see the message going out to all the world, not just those in the Roman Empire, who may be somewhat familiar with the Jews. Lastly, John writes specifically for the spiritually minded, as his Gospel primarily shows Jesus as the Son of God.

But let us go a step further in our consideration of the universality. Jesus is shown as Son of David, Son of Man, Son of Adam, and Son of God, primarily in each of the four Gospels, respectively. Throughout the year, then, we see Jesus as King, as Servant, as Perfect Man, and as God Himself, for the Gospels are read throughout the year on the weekday readings. The three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), are read on Sundays on a three year cycle, except for the Easter Season, when the Gospel of John is used. We, then, see Jesus in His totality.

Throughout all of the posts leading up to this, I have stressed enough, I feel, the importance of Gospels being the very words of Jesus Christ Himself. Suffice it to say, one last time, however, that we must not see the deacon or priest when he reads the Gospel, but our Lord Himself. It is for this reason that dramatic readings of the Gospel, or skits in its place, or personal interpretations are forbidden. They are the works of men, but the Gospel is the work of God, given us through the hands of the Apostles.

And each was given through an Apostle. Matthew and John were of the Twelve. Mark was the scribe of Peter, and thus, his Gospel may be said to be from Peter. Luke, likewise, was a close collaborator with Paul, and thus Luke's Gospel, may be said to come from Paul. Ultimately, though they all come to us from God.

Upon the conclusion of the Gospel, the deacon proclaims, "The Gospel of the Lord," and the people respond, "Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ." Notice the difference from the other readings, although this is a peculiarity to the English translation, for in the official Latin the conclusion of the Gospel is, "Verbum Domini," like the other readings. Regardless of the translation though, we can once again see a final proclamation that the foregoing words are the words of God. In the English translation, there is a special stress laid upon the fact that the foregoing passage was, "The Good News of the Lord," for "Gospel" means "Good News." God the Son became man and died for our salvation, and He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven exalting our human nature. This is indeed good news! The reason for the response is fairly self-evident following this. We give praise to Jesus Christ, present in the proclamation of the Gospel, for His acts of our redemption.  

The final part of the conclusion to the Gospel is its veneration by the deacon or priest, or when present, the bishop, even though he doesn't proclaim the Gospel. The kiss here is similar to that given to the altar. The altar is kissed in order to pay reverence to the Sacrifice of Christ; the Gospel book is venerated with a kiss to pay homage to the call He has given us to be His disciples. Let us remember His words, "You did not choose e, but I chose you (John 15:16)."

The words used, after kissing the Gospel book are, "Through the words of the Gospel may our sins be wiped away." We must remember the words of our Lord, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32)." The words of the Gospel should lead us to repent of our sins and to desire more fully the life Jesus Christ calls us to. In a Pontifical Mass, i.e. one celebrated by the bishop, the bishop then blesses the people with the Gospel book after he venerates it. This is in a sense a lead-in to his homily, his instruction. It figuratively says, "May the words of the Gospel, which I am about to expound, bless you and take root in your minds and hearts."

Let us now briefly mention the homily. The Roman Missal states, "Then follows the Homily, which is to be preached by a Priest or Deacon on all Sundays and Holydays of Obligation; on other days, it is recommended." Within the homily, the words of the Gospel are expounded for us. While it is true any text of the Mass may be preached upon, since the Mass is scripturally based, and all Scripture finds its definitive revelation in Jesus Christ, we may say that whatever the bishop, priest, or deacon preaches upon is based upon the Gospel. In fact, the entire Christian life is based upon the Gospel, and therefore, as long as the minister preaches on the Faith, he is preaching on the Gospel. Through this preaching, we should also be led to desire more fully the Christian life to which we have been called, as I stated above.

While there were attempts made, in the past, to discredit the homily as a part of the Mass, these seem to have been silenced by the rubrics of the Ordinary Form. Indeed, the ancient Church inherited the custom of the preaching a sermon on the Scriptures from the Jewish Synagogue, and it has always been a part of the Mass, especially by the bishop, and on Sundays. It ultimately finds its reference in the bishop, who in the early Church would preach on the Gospel to the people gathered for the celebration of the Eucharist on Sundays. Once parishes developed and not everyone could be under a bishop, this right of preaching was extended to priests and even deacons.

I say it finds its reference in the bishop due to the manner in which he preaches. He delivers his homily from his cathedra seated, as a sign of his authority and teaching office, as the Apostles refer to when selecting deacons so they may devote themselves, "to the ministry of the word (Acts 6:4)." All other preaching, of a deacon or priest, is done standing, and they may only preach when they are allowed to do so by the bishop. Thus, when they preach, they do so in union with the bishop. Therefore, when we listen to the homily, let our hearts also be opened, so that the mysteries of the Gospel may be opened unto us and we may grow in our love for our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ!

The Greatest Thing a Man Can Do for a Woman

"The greatest thing a man can do for a woman is to lead him closer to God than to himself."

Many may think this an incredibly strange quote to choose for the celebration of the feast of St. Teresa of Avila. She was many things - a Carmelite nun, a mystic, a reformer, a doctor of the Church, and most importantly, a saint - but she was never a married woman.

Well that's not entirely true, especially in the Carmelite understanding of things. She was a spouse of Christ, as all the women who consecrate themselves to God are. And this understanding was something St. Teresa of Avila carried with her her entire life. Her one thought was on her spouse, Jesus Christ; as the Entrance Antiphon for Mass today proclaims, "Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God; my soul is thirsting for God, the living God (Psalm 42:2-3)." Teresa's one desire was to be perfectly united with God, and often, in her mystical experiences, she underwent this union.

From this, I believe we can draw a comparison to the married life of a man and a woman. As I have often stated, through the Eucharist, our souls are wedded to God, which is what Heaven will be, i.e. the union with God. Within this life, this union is symbolized in many ways, and we prepare for it. Through the consecration of her virginity, St. Teresa symbolized this union, which would be realized for her in Heaven. In marriage, a man and a woman symbolize this union as mirroring the relationship Christ has to His Church, and prepare each other for it through the mutual sanctification of each other. The difference, however, in the symbolism is this; the nun already here below begins what will be realized in Heaven. A married couple, on the other hand, only mirror Christ and His Church through the Sacrament. Their marriage to each other will cease and death, and they will be wedded to Christ in Heaven.

The Liturgy of the Hours for the Common of Virgins has this important thing to say in regards to virgins, "The virgin - indeed, any unmarried woman - is concerned with things of The Lord, in pursuit of holiness in body and spirit (1 Corinthians 7:34)." This was the great gift of St. Teresa, she kept her heart focused specifically on Jesus Christ. She desired to love Him perfectly; indeed this is the title of one of her great works - The Way of Perfection. Her love for the Eucharist was extreme, as was her willingness to embrace suffering for the sake of Christ.

Here then, is the way in which we may tie in the married couple to Teresa. Jesus, her husband, always led her closer to Himself. A husband, then, should always lead his wife closer to Jesus Christ. And this he may do in two ways, by being the head of the family, and by striving to make himself an image of Jesus Christ. In the Office of Readings today, St. Teresa says:

"If we expect to please him [Jesus] and receive an abundance of his graces, God desires that these graces must come to us from the hands of his most sacred humanity, in which God takes delight . . . .
All blessings come to us through our Lord. He will teach us, for in beholding his life we find that he is the best example . . . .
Let us consider the glorious Saint Paul: it seems that no other name fell from his lips than that of Jesus, because the name of Jesus was fixed and embedded in his heart (Second Reading from the Office of Readings for Teresa of Avila)."

I find St. Teresa's focus on the humanity of our Lord particularly interesting. She lays stress on how by becoming man, Jesus has given us an example to follow. And although this holds true for both men and women, nevertheless I believe there is something a husband particularly can gleam from this.

Christ is both Head of the Church and perfect man. As I stated, the Sacrament of Marriage mirrors Christ's relationship to His Church and Body, the husband symbolizing Christ and the woman symbolizing the Body, and together they form one domestic church. The husband will then function as the head of the family. This does not mean he dominates; let us look a the physical body for some enlightenment on this issue.

Within the physical body, the head is what provides for the needs of the rest of the body, four of the five senses reside here. The head might be called, "the command center," in that it is to the brain that all data travels and disseminates to the rest of the body. The head does not make all decisions authoritatively, however. Let us compare this now to the husband. As head of the family, he is to make sure the family has all that it needs. It doesn't imply the woman never works, for indeed the rest of the body works, nor does it determine who's the "bread-earner." Instead it merely means that the husband bears a responsibility to make sure the needs of the family are provided for.

This duty of course, must be born out of love. Remember the words of St. Paul, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word...(Ephesians 5:25-26)." Christ ultimately gave His Bride, the Church the ultimate sacrifice, i.e. the Sacrifice of the Cross. This is because this is what She needed. We needed His death to ransom us from sin. Likewise the husband must give himself completely, in love, to his wife and family.

The other comparison I drew to the head of the body is that the head functions as a sort of command center. The brain does not make all the decisions completely on its own. Rather, it knows what is needed because it is involved with the body and comes up with a way to provide it. Essentially this is the same point as the previous. The husband must be so involved with his family that he knows their needs and desires. In this way, through dialogue, he will be able to determine the best means for obtaining the end. Therefore, the needs of the family will be provided for.

To tie everything back in to the original quote, however, I find it useful to consider Christ as perfect man. He set us an example to be followed. By conforming oneself to Christ, one is brought closer to Him, but is also able to lead others to Him as well. Thus, by a close proximity to Jesus Christ, the husband will be able to lead his wife to Jesus Christ. If he is an example of love, his wife will be able to draw close to Christ through him, for he will be a living image of Jesus.

This should bring no jealously to the man, however, for the sanctification of his spouse is what any true and loving husband would desire for his bride, just as Christ desired it for His bride, Teresa, and ultimately for His Bride, the Church!  

A Look at the Mass: The Preparation for the Gospel

Within the previous post, I spoke of how the Alleluia is a preparation for the Gospel in that it prepares our hearts and minds to hear the words of Jesus. Nevertheless, there are important ceremonies going on within the Sanctuary during the Alleluia in order that the ministers may prepare themselves for the proclamation of the Gospel and to give it fitting homage. This post will, therefore, deal with all those preparations in addition to the the greeting at the beginning of the Gospel and its introduction.

The Order of Mass states for this portion of the Mass, "If incense is used, the Priest puts some into the thurible. After this, the Deacon who is to proclaim the Gospel, bowing profoundly before the Priest, asks for the blessing . . . . The Deacon . . . then proceeds to the ambo, accompanied, if appropriate, by ministers with incense and candles . . . . (14-15)." We may, then, divide the ceremonies into three, by my view. There is the Blessing to proclaim the Gospel, the Gospel Procession and Introduction, and the Incensation of the Gospel book. All three of these arbitrary divisions overlap each other in their occurrence, so we will simply consider them separately.

The first stage we will consider is the Blessing. Within the full celebration of Mass, i.e. one in which all the ministers are present and perform their parts, the Gospel is proclaimed by the deacon. Part of the deacon's specific ministry is the proclamation of the Word, as belongs to all the ordained. Within the Ordination Rite to the Diaconate, when the Gospel is handed onto them, the bishop prays, "Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose minister you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, practice what you teach." Therefore, it is a deacon who proclaims the Gospel at the Liturgy. In his absence it is either the celebrant himself, or a concelebrant who does so. This is because the preaching of the Gospel is part of the ordained ministry; therefore, only the ordained read it at Mass, and this has been the case from earliest times (with surprisingly few exceptions).

The deacon, however, conscious of the gravity of what he is about to undertake, seeks a blessing from the priest or bishop. The same is true when the bishop celebrates and a priest proclaims the Gospel. The deacon bows before the priest and requests the blessing with the words, "Your blessing, Father." The bishop or priest then blesses the deacon with the words:

"May the Lord be in your heart and on your lips,
that you may proclaim his Gospel worthily and well,
in the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit."

The deacon, now under the power of the Cross, which gives efficacy to the Gospel, goes forth for the Gospel procession. We must here remember the importance of the Cross in relation to the Gospel. As St. Paul said, "We preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23)," and, "The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18)."  Jesus Christ Himself preached the importance of the Cross; it was through that instrument He wrought our salvation! How appropriate it is that the Sign of the Cross is then given to the deacon before he proclaims the Gospel. Additionally, we should take note of the Trinitarian blessing, for the commission of Jesus Christ to the Disciples at His Ascension was to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to teach all that Jesus commanded them to (Matthew 28:19-20). And this preaching/teaching is done through the Gospel.

It is worth noting that when a deacon is not present and the priest himself proclaims the Gospel, he asks the blessing of God by bowing before the altar and praying:

"Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God,
that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel."

We should here note, which also holds true for the blessing given to the deacon, the mention of a worthy proclamation of the Gospel. While this idea will be covered further in the next post, it is worth noting the Gospel is treated with the utmost reverence, and therefore is only to be proclaimed by those who can do so in a clear and reverent manner. But more importantly, it is to be proclaimed by those who are worthy in heart. For these two reasons, the prayer of blessing mentions both the lips and the heart, by referencing the prophet Isaiah whose lips and heart were cleansed by a burning coal before he began his preaching (Isaiah 6:6-7).

The Blessing is then followed by the Gospel Procession. Since the beginning of Mass, the Gospel has lain upon the altar. Gueranger here notes, "the Deacon takes the Book of the Gospels, and puts it upon the Altar, because the Altar represents Our Lord; and he thus signifies the identity existing between the Word of God, which is heard in the Gospel, and Christ Jesus (Dom Prosper Gueranger, The Holy Mass, Section: "Gospel")." The Gospel Procession will consist of the thurifer with incense, two acolytes with candles, and the deacon with the Book of the Gospels. Jungmann notes the idea which existed within the Gallican Liturgy, "The well-known commentary on this ancient liturgy . . . sees in the solemn entry of the evangelium (which is accompanied by the chanting of the of the Trisagion and at which seven torches are carried) a representation of Christ's triumphal coming (The Mass of the Roman Rite: Volume 1, 445)." The Gospel Book itself is seen as a symbol of Christ. Although not possessing the same presence as the Eucharist, which is the Real Presence of Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, the Gospel Book does contain a real presence of the Christ, for He is present in the proclamation of His words, as I have often cited.

The Gospel Procession is done with such pomp to emphasize this. Jesus Christ is speaking to us through its proclamation! It is the intermediate coming of Christ, which St. Bernard speaks of in his homily on the Advent of the Lord:

"We know that there are three comings of the Lord. The third lies between the other two. It is invisible, while the other two are visible . . . . The intermediate coming is a hidden one; in it only the elect see the Lord within their own selves, and they are saved. In his first coming our Lord came in our flesh and in our weakness; in this middle coming he comes in spirit and power; in the final coming he will be seen in glory and majesty (From the Liturgy of the Hours, Volume 1, Wednesday of the First Week of Advent, Office of Readings)."

One of the ways this intermediate coming of Christ is brought about is through the reading and hearing of Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels. Within the procession, then, we should see the Coming of Christ. Thus, incense, a sign of both an emperor and a deity, is carried before the Gospel Book, and candles accompany it as a sign of joy and the presence of Christ, the light of the world.

The Gospel Book is carried from the altar to the ambo/pulpit, from which it will be read, and it is there placed by the deacon. We now come to the third part of the preparation for the reading of the Gospel, i.e. its introduction and incensation.

The introduction to the Gospel opens with the Dominus vobiscum. As I noted back in the post on the Greeting of the People, this phrase functions as a call to attention. It is of primary importance that we be attentive to this reading. I cannot say enough that it contains the very words of Jesus Christ and is therefore accorded the greatest honor in the Liturgy of the Word. Nevertheless, this Dominus vobiscum, and its reply by the people of Et cum spiritu tuo, have a deep spiritual meaning. Through the Holy Spirit only will we be able to hear the deeper meanings of the Gospel, and therefore the deacon says, "The Lord be with you." However, he as well is need of the grace of the Spirit, for it is he who must worthily proclaim the Gospel for the people to hear it. Thus, the faithful respond "And with your spirit."

These words are followed by the acclamation of which Gospel the reading is taken from. This is done with the words, "A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew/Mark/Luke/John," while the deacon makes the Sign of the Cross on the Gospel Book and on his forehead, lips, and heart. Jungmann explains it in this way, "For the word which Christ brought and which is set down in this book we are willing to stand up with a mind that is open; we are ready to confess it with our mouth; and above all we are determined to safeguard it faithfully in our hearts (The Mass of the Roman Rite, Volume 1, 454)." The Sign of the Cross is then made on the Gospel Book in order to show, as I mentioned before, that it is through the Cross, the Gospel is given its efficacy. The deacon, along with all present, then makes this Sign on the forehead, lips, and heart in order to bless ourselves that we may always hear it, proclaim it, and live it.

The people respond to the announcement of the location of the Gospel reading with the words, "Glory to you, O Lord." Through these words, we again proclaim our belief that Christ is present in the proclamation of the Gospel, for we are not saying simply "Glory to God," but we emphasize Jesus Christ Himself.

While the people make this response, the final part of the Preparation for the Proclamation of the Gospel takes place, which is its incensation. The incense was blessed by the priest at the very beginning of all of this in the same manner as at the beginning of the Holy Mass. Looking at the Extraordinary Form, the words used here are also the same as at the beginning of the Mass, i.e. "Be blessed by him in whose honor thou art burnt (translation my own)." The incense was then carried as part of the procession. It is now used to pay honor to Christ's presence in the Gospel.

The deacon incenses the book with three double swings, the sign of Christ's mystical presence in an object or person. As the Gospel Book is incensed, let us pay homage in our hearts to Jesus Christ, the Word Who became flesh (John 1:14). Through His Incarnation, He was able to speak to us in human language so that we may come to know and love Him, and these words are recorded in the Gospel we are now to hear!

A Look at the Mass: The Sequence

Once again, I am forced to add an additional post to the original setup, due to all of the liturgical researchers and authors commenting upon this unusual and rare part of the Mass. This is the Sequence. Although it only occurs at a minimum two times a year, and at most four or five times, it is deeply historical and such a part of the tradition of the Roman Liturgy, I discerned it was worth a brief post. Each sequence will, however, be covered in more depth on their respective occasions.

The two mandatory sequences are the Victimae Paschali of Easter Sunday, which is optional during the next seven days of the Easter Octave, and the Veni Sancte Spiritus, not to be confused with the Veni Creator Spiritus, on Pentecost Sunday. The two optional sequences currently in use are the Lauda Sion on Corpus Christi and the Stabat Mater on the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows. Lastly, I have not been able to determine if the Dies Irae may be used in Masses for the Dead, but it is worth mentioning as it is actually quite old and is used within the Extraordinary Form for Masses for the Dead.

Liturgically, in the Ordinary Form, on the few days it is used, it occurs after the Second Reading or Responsorial Psalm and before the Alleluia and its verse. However, in the Ordinary Form, when used, it occurs after the Alleluia and its verse. The reason for the switch is not apparent, for as Gueranger notes, "It received the name of Sequence, that is to say, sequel, because it originally consisted of certain words adapted to the notes which form a sequel to the word Alleluia . . . . It was a real piece of prose, which was sung . . . as a way of putting words to the pneuma of the Alleluia (Dom Prosper Gueranger, The Holy Mass, Section: Sequence)." Nevertheless, we may, in my opinion, still make sense of it in its current location.

The five sequences currently in use really bear no relation to each other, stylistically or in their purpose. This should not be particularly surprising, as the sequence during the Middle Ages was extremely common. As Jungmann notes, there have been about 5000 collected in manuscripts (437). During this period, especially in France, every feast day had its own sequence. The freedom in writing these hymns and their usage, intended for a deepening of devotion and the passing on of doctrine, was eventually suppressed by Pope St. Pius V, and there were left within the Liturgy only the above mentioned ones, with the exception of the Stabat Mater, which was written and came later.

Let us now take just a brief look at each of the sequences. As said above, an in-depth covering of them will occur on their respective feasts. The Victimae Paschali is the oldest of the sequences. It is used on Easter Sunday, and thus carries a great deal of joy; speaking of the Risen Christ it goes back and forth in recounting events of the Resurrection and the glory attained through it. At one point it takes up Mary Magdalene attesting to the Resurrection. While it may seem somewhat loose poetically, it sums up well the glory and joy of the day. In contrast to this, we have the Lauda Sion of Corpus Christi, written by St. Thomas Aquinas. This is very scholastic in its form in that it is heavily laden with doctrinal teachings. Nevertheless, it still contains a joyful praise of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, done in a poetic and very straightforward style.

As a sort of middle between these two is the Veni Sancte Spiritus. This one is written very clearly as a pleading for the coming of the Holy Spirit. It has a very simple style, but still contains a great deal of joy within its words. It contains the teachings on the Holy Spirit, without the Scholastic emphasis on doctrine. The Dies Irae is similar in this regard, with the exception that it meditates on the Final Judgment. It therefore takes a much more sorrowful tone, of course keeping the theme of hope in Christ within it. However, it is more of a prayer with many teachings on the Last Judgment scattered throughout.

And then, there is the Stabat Mater. Addressed to Mary, it contains a poetic and sorrowful structure which meditates upon the sufferings endured by our Blessed Mother during the Passion of our Lord, how we were the cause of them, and it contains a plea that we may join her in her suffering.

Besides the fact these are all hymns essentially, what else do they have in common? Certainly not their structure or form, nor the emotions they wish to stir up within us. Rather, I believe their common theme is that they all center our thoughts on something greater, i.e. our supernatural life.

The Victimae Paschali does this by recalling Christ's triumph over sin and death. The sequence itself says, "Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining." Then, within the Veni Sancte Spiritus, we see our supernatural life in the pleas we make to the Holy Spirit. We beg Him to sanctify us and draw us into that life. The Lauda Sion shows it by reminding us that the Eucharist is the ultimate Food to nurture our souls while still on this earth; it also speaks of the Eucharist bringing our supernatural life to perfection in Heaven. Within the Dies Irae this is done by the fervent petitions it makes to our Lord to spare us on the dreadful Judgment Day, by bringing us to eternal life. Finally the Stabat Mater recalls our supernatural lives by begging that we may be conformed to Christ's Passion, the source of our salvation. Let us here remember the words of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, "Great saints are only made in the shadow of the Cross." To contemplate the Cross then, is to meditate on our spiritual life.

Through this connecting theme between the sequences we can easily see how they are a preparation for the Gospel. The Word of God is also food for our spiritual lives, and within the Gospel, Christ Himself speaks to us, educating us on our spiritual lives. The Sequence, then, is fitting to come right after the Second Reading. As stated within its respective post, the Second Reading is primarily an education on our new life in Christ. Therefore, to follow it with a sequence, which focuses our attention on a specific aspect of our spiritual life, which the Liturgy wishes us to derive from the feast day. After our attention has been focused on this aspect, the Alleluia will follow, in which we proclaim our joy at the coming Gospel and rejoice in the feast day.

A Look at the Mass: The Alleluia

"'Alleluia,' says the devout Abbot Rupert, 'is like a stranger amidst our other words. Its mysterious beauty is as though a drop of heaven's overflowing joy had fallen down on our earth. The patriarchs and prophets relished it, and then the Holy Ghost put it on the lips of the apostles, from whom it flowed even to us. It signifies the eternal feast of the angels and saints, which consists in their endless praise of God, and in ceaselessly singing their ever new admiration of the beauty of the God on whose Face they are to gaze for everlasting ages. This moral life of ours can in no wise attain such bliss as this. But, to know where it is to be found, and to have a foretaste of it by the happiness of hope, and to hunger and thirst for what we thus taste, this is the perfection of saints here below. For this reason, the word Alleluia has not been translated; it has been left in its original Hebrew, as a stranger to tell us that there is a joy in his native land, which could not dwell in ours: he has come among us to signify, rather than to express that joy.' (Dom Prosper Gueranger, Volume: Septuagesima, "Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday: Suspension of the 'Alleluia'")."

How appropriate it is that this joyous word is what leads us into the proclamation of the Gospel - the Good News of Christ! This word, "given by heaven," as Gueranger notes, is what begins those words given us by the very Son of God become man - Jesus Christ. Here we are able to again see such a close connection between the earthly and heavenly realm, which is what occurs at the the Holy Mass. At the Gloria we saw that connection as we sang that song of praise with them. It occurs here again (in reality it occurs throughout the whole Mass, I simply mean at these points it is more evident) for we use the words of the angels to laud the God coming to us through the proclamation of His word.

We must look to the Feast of feasts in order to truly understand this part of the Mass, and that is Easter Sunday. Liturgically speaking, the Alleluia is closely associated with Easter. Throughout the Easter Season, the word, "alleluia" is never lacking. It is used at the end of every antiphon; it is sung with extra joy. We must see here the importance it carries in the Mass. At every Mass the Death and Resurrection of Christ are brought before us. True, we say the Mass is the Sacrifice of Cavalry made resent, and this is true, but the Sacrifice would have little value apart from the Resurrection. As St. Paul says, "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:14)." As Paul later says, Christ has been raised though (1 Corinthians 15:20), and it is on account of this that the preaching of the Gospel is indeed efficacious. Therefore, we rejoice in the fact the the Gospel is about to be preached to us, for in it we will encounter the Risen Christ! 

Now the Alleluia is traditionally done in a manner similar to the Responsorial Psalm, meaning that the word "Alleluia" (or a line of Alleluias) is intoned by the cantor, and then picked up and repeated by the people. In this we see a deep symbolism. The quote I began with spoke of Alleluia being a word given by the Holy Spirit from Heaven. The Alleluia is sung first by the cantor alone in order to symbolize the giving of this great word, which means "Praise God!" to men. From there, we put it on our lips, in order to glorify The Lord. But we can also, through this, see a symbol of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ deigned to send us the Holy Spirit after His Ascension into Heaven, and the Holy Spirit has taught us to praise God in this way, fulfilling the words of Christ, "The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things (John 14:26)." 

Following the repetition of the Alleluia by the people, the cantor sings a verse, generally from the Scriptures. It is designed to open our ears and center our minds on a specific theme through which we may praise God. On feasts and solemnities, it is often geared towards the occasion, such as the Alleluia verse of the Mass during the Night on Christmas, "I proclaim to you good news of great joy: today a Savior is born for us, Christ the Lord (Daily Roman Missal, Midwest Theological Forum, 2011)." Other times, it is geared toward a theme we may find in the Gospel, such as today's Alleluia verse, "I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, to go and bear fruit that will remain (Ibid.)." With the parable of the landowner of the vineyard and the evil tenants, we can see the comparison that we are are tenants who have been chosen by the Lord to go and bear fruit in His vineyard. Lastly, the verse may simply be a prayer that we may be attentive to the Word of the Lord. For example, the Alleluia verse for Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time is, "Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son (Ibid.)." 

This verse is then followed by a repetition of the Alleluia by all. The verse has centered our minds to hear the Gospel, and therefore we cannot help but rejoice at the words we are about to hear. For this reason we stand at the Alleluia; standing was in ancient times considered a way in which to praise God in joy, as opposed to kneeling in penance. In Eastertime, there was no kneeling in the Liturgy, for the season was one of great joy. However, a difference has now appeared which relates kneeling not only with penance but with adoration, and thus we kneel for the Eucharistic Prayer and during Communion. The traditional posture of standing to show joy, though, remains at the Alleluia and the Gospel, because we are about to hear the Good News, the very words of our Lord! 

There is one, however, one variation to the use of the Alleluia. During Lent the word "Alleluia," is not spoken. It is a word of joy and Lent is a time of mourning and sorrow on account of our sins, so we do not place this heavenly word on our lips. Therefore, a verse of praise to Jesus is used instead. Any of the following formulas may be used:

"Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Praise and honor to you, Lord Jesus!

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!"

This verse, traditionally known as the Tract, is much simpler and plainer in melody, for it does not carry the joy of the Alleluia. They are words of earth through which we praise God, but they lack the intrinsic beauty the Alleluia brings to our minds. It is on account of the necessity of rejoicing in the Gospel, however, that the Church calls for the use of these verses rather than suspending this part of the Mass during Lent, as She does with the Gloria. The Gospel we are about to hear deserves all the reverence which can be given by us poor mortals! 

A Look at the Mass: The Introduction and Conclusion of the Readings

This post will be relatively short, as it only concerns the First and Second Readings at Mass, as the Gospel introduction and conclusion will be covered in the posts on the Gospel. They were too important to be overlooked, but putting them in either post disrupted the flow and it didn't seem right to cover them in one post, when they pertained to both the First and Second Reading.

The introduction to the readings are extremely simple. "A reading from the Book of Exodus," "A reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel," "A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans," etc. The only variation is when the first verse of the scriptural book is read the introduction is, "A reading from the beginning of the...."

So why should we meditate upon this? It seems that this is meant to tell us where our readings are coming from, and that is obviously true. However, there is so much more the introduction to the readings can tell us!

The introduction not only tells us which book of the Bible the reading comes from, but it gives us the context, the setting, and the theme. Of course, I do not mean that it gives all of these things exhaustively, but it does set the stage for the reading about to be proclaimed. For example, if the reading comes from the Book of Exodus we already know the context of the reading. We know that the reading in some way pertains to the passage into freedom for the Israelites; we know Moses will be the central figure and the traditionally considered author. From these things we can relate the reading to the Gospel and the overall central theme of the day's Liturgy. Likely it will have something to do with God's faithfulness in delivering us from sin.

Introducing the reading is important then, since it assists us in delving deeper into the Liturgy. Unlike the other times of the Mass where Scripture is proclaimed along with some other actions and guides our thoughts toward the action being performed, here the Scripture is proclaimed so that we may meditate specifically on it. The introduction of it, as well, allows us to see that it is something we listen to. Unlike the Responsorial Psalm and the Alleluia, we do not actively participate in the reading. Instead, we are called to listen. The introduction sets it up as something to be listened to, for it doesn't call us to do anything but to know.

After the readings are finished, they are ended simply with, "The word of the Lord." Once again, this simple proclamation has so much contained within it. It is a final reminder of Who the ultimate author of Sacred Scripture is - God, the Lord. The Scriptures are not like the writings of the Church Fathers, who, while good, are still not infallible on their own. We believe every word of the Scriptures was inspired by God, and therefore, when the lector proclaims, "The word of the Lord," in as sense he is saying, "All of the preceding are God's words given to us."

It is on account of this that we respond, "Thanks be to God." We give thanks that God has graciously given us the entirety of the Scriptures. We have a text, which we can trust is fully inspired by Him. We need not doubt any of the words in it, when approved by the Magisterium of the Church. He has given us words in a manner where He can speak to us intimately, both inside and outside the Sacred Liturgy.

Let us open our hearts then to the words of the First and Second Readings. They can come to meet us in our lives in ways we would never expect and thus be written ultimately upon both our minds and our hearts.

A Look at the Mass: The Location of the Readings

I decided the information of this brief post was a bit too tangential to include in one of the specific posts on the parts of the Mass, but I still believe it behooves us to consider the details I’ll present.

What I want to look at now are the locations from which the readings are proclaimed, as well as the position of the reader. To begin, I will simply state some general facts.

Within history there became what were known as the Epistle side and the Gospel side of the sanctuary. These names came about due to the fact that, within the Extraordinary Form, the Epistle was read from the side bearing its name, i.e. the right if one were facing the altar, and the Gospel was proclaimed from the side of its name, i.e. the left.

In the Extraordinary Form, at a Low Mass, i.e. one without a choir and deacon and subdeacon, and at a Sung Mass, i.e. one with a choir but without a deacon and subdeacon, the readings are done by the priest from the altar. The Epistle, Gradual, and Alleluia are done on the Epistle side, the Gospel is done on the right, but with the priest tilted slightly away from the altar. This tilt comes from the manner of proclamation of the Gospel during a Solemn High Mass and a Pontifical Mass. In those forms of celebrating the Extraordinary Form, the Epistle is chanted by the subdeacon facing the East (i.e. toward the altar, which represents the East, even if not actually facing east) and the Gospel is chanted by the deacon facing towards the north and in the northern side of the sanctuary.

This position of facing northward for the Gospel seems to hold a twofold purpose. The first is symbolic and is that the Gospel was preached to the north of Jerusalem. The Apostles went forth to all nations, true, but Rome became the center of Christendom, and from there the preaching went forth into the rest of Europe. It wasn’t until after the Liturgy of the Roman Rite became more firmly established that the preaching from Rome moved to distant Asia, Africa (exceptingthe northern parts), and the Americas began. The second purpose of facing north is more of a practical one; facing northwards provided a means whereby the deacon would face towards the people for proclaiming the Gospel, even though it was only sideways, and thus he also wouldn’t turn his back to the altar or bishop.

Within this desire to face the people, we can see a remnant of an older manner of proclaiming the Word of God. There was, in the early Church, a place specifically designed for the lector and the deacon – an elevated reading-desk. This desk would face towards the people, and was later developed into an ambo (basically a simple elevated podium) and then a pulpit, which might be defined as the “uber-podium.”

What made the pulpit so special was that it was highly elevated for the purpose of projection to the entire, probably large, church it was in (obviously before the development of sound systems). It was richly adorned and was generally placed somewhere between the nave and the sanctuary. Additionally, it was often in the area that the schola and/or choir were present in.

There is much symbolism we can draw from this design of the pulpit and apply to the Ordinary Form, which has few regulations in regard to the manner in which the readings should be done. The only thing the Ordinary of the Mass says is, “The reader goes to the ambo and reads the First Reading, while all sit and listen (The Roman Missal).” With the historical use of the pulpit though, we can see a level of gradations in its usage.  

The only thing that would be read from the top of the pulpit was the Gospel itself. The rest of the readings or chants, were actually done from the steps, thus allowing for an elevation, but also showing the preeminence of the Gospel reading. In fact, that was how the Gradual got its name; there was a “gradual” ascending of the steps as the readings got closer to the Gospel. Thus, the lectors and cantors would chant or proclaim the readings and psalms from the steps, and thenleave and return to their choir seats. Finally, the deacon would ascend the pulpit to proclaim the Gospel. This was also the spot from which the homily would be given, showing its importance.

Let us for a moment consider the grandiose details of the pulpit. As I mentioned, it was generally richly ornamented. This was done in order to provide an exterior sign of the importance of what was being proclaimed from it. Additionally, because it was not part of the sanctuary, but neither amongst the people, it shows the difference in the Liturgy of the Word as opposed to the Liturgy of the Eucharist, without overshadowing it. The Mass might be described as literally a two way street. It is us going to God, but also God coming to us. Sacrosanctum Concilium mentions the presence of Christ:

“Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, . . . but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings . . . . (Paragraph 7).”

The proclamation of the Word is, therefore, one of the means whereby Christ comes to us, and this was well shown by the readers coming forth from the altar in order to proclaim the Holy Scriptures. The Liturgy of the Word happens among the Faithful. The Word of God is proclaimed to them. I once again quote Sacrosanctum Concilium, “In the liturgy God speaks to His people and Christ is still proclaiming His gospel. And the people reply to God both by song and prayer (Paragraph 33).” As Jesus preached to the people from the mountain top (Matthew 5-7), so we can see a similarity for the sacred minister preaching from an elevated point.

What, then, can we all gleam from these methods and historical details? As cool as I believe it would be for a pulpit to be put in our churches, it isn’t particularly practical. However, it is reasonable, and often already the case in many churches, to have a separate ambo specifically reserved to the reading of the Gospel and the preaching of the homily. This ambo could be a bit more pronounced with slightly more elevation and be more richly decorated. The other readings and the psalms and alleluia take place then at the other ambo by the lectors and the cantors.

These two ambos, of course, would use the traditional Extraordinary Form setup for their sides. While it may seem unimportant, and of course it isn’t absolutely necessary, we should be hesitant to simply disregard the symbolism. A transference of sides shows the moving from the Old Law into the New Law in Christ, which works wonderfully to underscore the theme I have been discussing in the other posts that the readings move us from the Old Law and prophecies into our New Life in Christ, in which rejoice and come to a deeper understanding and love of Jesus.