Second Sunday of Lent: Meditation on the Entrance Antiphon

“Of you my heart has spoken: Seek his face. It is your face, O Lord, that I seek; hide not your face from me.”

“Remember you compassion, O Lord, and your merciful love, for they are from of old. Let not our enemies exult over us. Redeem us, O God of Israel, from all our distress.”

- Entrance Antiphons for the Second Sunday of Lent

This Sunday in Lent seems exceptionally dull in comparison with the others Lenten Sundays. Today is the one Sunday of Lent not marked by a special ceremony. The First Sunday is the normal day upon which the Rite of Election is done in most dioceses to officially the declare the Catechumens who will be initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays are given to the Scrutinies of these Catechumens. And, of course, the sixth Sunday, i.e. Palm Sunday, includes the Blessing of the Palms, Procession, and Reading of the Passion.

If we look at the Stational Churches of Lent, the church used today also seems to be nothing special, for it is the church of Santa Maria in Domenica alla Navicella. To set this in context the other Sundays in Lent all use one of the seven traditional pilgrimage basilicas of Rome, namely St. John Lateran, St. Peter’s Basilica, St. Lawrence outside the Walls, and Holy Cross in Jerusalem. 

What then are we to glean from this seeming oversight that would mark this Sunday?

There is one thing, however, yet to be mentioned that marks this Second Sunday of Lent, and that is the Gospel reading. From very early in the Church, the Gospel for this Sunday has always been the recounting of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The reason for this is not clear, though it is likely due to two factors. The first is that the Gospel account directly references the Passion of the Lord when Moses and Elijah converse with Christ (Luke 9:31). The second reason is the tradition holds the Transfiguration took place 40 days before the Passion of Christ. Therefore, since the Gospel of the Temptation of Christ holds the place of the First Sunday of Lent, this Gospel was moved to the Second Sunday, since it is just as integral for the proper understanding of Lent.

The reasons for this are many, but we shall content ourselves with the two which most directly relate to the Entrance Antiphons. The first consideration is in regards to the first option for the antiphon and it concerns the ultimate goal of our Lent, to purify our souls so that we may be conformed more perfectly to Christ in order to share His joy in Heaven, where we shall see God face to face, i.e. the Beatific Vision.

One of the most evident things is all people desire to be happy. Every action of a person has this end as its ultimate goal, regardless of whether or not it will actually attain it. As Servant of God Fulton Sheen said, “No one does evil for the sake of doing evil. Evil is done for the seeming good that is in it.” If we define good as, “that which is desirable for happiness,” it is clear then that even when a person knowingly does evil, they are still acting for happiness; some part of them believes that this act will really make me happy. 

We know then, the problem encountered by these misguided beliefs; they only lead to greater sorrow in the end. Even things that are good in themselves, if they do not have God as their final end, will fail to grant us the rest we so desire. As St. Augustine says in his Confessions, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you,” and St. Thomas Aquinas says, “God alone can satisfy the will of man . . . . God alone constitutes man’s happiness (Summa Theologiae, I-II, Q. II, Art. 8, Respondeo).” The problem that confronts us is how to attain the happiness of God.

The answer to this is simple though, for us Christians, for God Himself has become man to lead us to Heaven! The Transfiguration of Jesus shows us that only in Christ, Who shows us the Father (John 14:9), can we find rest for our souls. Peter, was caught up in an ecstasy that he wished to remain on the top of Mount Tabor, there to behold Christ’s glory (Luke 9:32-33). 

The contentment that resting in God brings is not to last upon this earth though, and this we can see if we look at the Gospel in its context within the rest of the book. In Matthew, the Transfiguration takes place right after Jesus says that He must go up to Jerusalem to suffer and die, and after He says suffering is necessary to be His disciple (Matthew 16:21-28), and immediately after it, Jesus charges Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone of it until after His Resurrection (Matthew 17:9). What we should glean from this is integral to how we should live our Lent. 

This Holy Season is given to us so that we may ascend to the mountain, so to speak, where we may encounter Christ in a unique way; it is as it were a forty day retreat given to us. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in their Gospels relate that the Transfiguration took place in, "a high mountain apart (Mark 9:2)," and where they had gone, "to pray (Luke 9:28)." Can we not compare this to the fasting of Jesus in the desert, for the desert is a place apart where our Divine Lord went to pray?

As explained last Sunday, Lent is a time to purify our souls. While last week, we focused more on fasting, this week we must focus especially on prayer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

"Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all. This is why the Fathers of the spiritual life in the Deuteronomic and prophetic traditions insist that prayer is a remembrance of God often awakened by the memory of the heart "We must remember God more often than we draw breath." But we cannot pray "at all times" if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it These are the special times of Christian prayer, both in intensity and duration (2697)." 

Lent is given to us as a time when we may give a renewed fervor to our lives of prayer. Perhaps one is already developed to a suitable level for one's state in life, but that doesn't prevent one from going deeper in one's relationship, or from trying a new method which may bear unique fruits in the soul this season. However, rarely is our spiritual life of prayer at the level it should be at or we have become lethargic in it. Lent is then a time for renewing our life of prayer. It is a time when we make the extra effort to bring it up where it should be so that we develop the habit of prayer. 

This habit of prayer is such a hinge to our spiritual lives, because it is in prayer that we encounter God as the Catechism told us. It awakens the memory of what He has done for us in our hearts, and thus leads us to love Him more perfectly.

And this is what the second antiphon refers to, for it speaks of God's Providence in Salvation History, which finds its culmination in the Paschal Mystery. In ancient times, God called Abram to go from his home and from him the Lord raised up a people (Genesis 12:1-2). When that people became enslaved in Egypt, God did not abandon them, but delivered them by a wondrous power, showing He was God over all other gods (Exodus 15:30-31). God led His people into the land He had promised them (Joshua 21:43), and He made Israel into a glorious nation, renowned throughout the earth (1 Kings 4:29-34).

Even when Israel turned from God, God did not turn from them. He sent prophets to show call them back to Himself. He worked marvelous deeds to show Himself as the only true God (1 Kings 18: 24, 36-40). Even when the Kingdom of Israel was divided and conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians, God deigned to still show favor to His chosen people (2 Kings 25:27-30), and He promised them a redeemer who would liberate them.

Then, as we are told by St. Paul, “When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5).” Christ came to redeem us from our sins, and this is the cry of the antiphon, “Redeem us, O God, as You constantly redeemed our fathers of old from all their troubles, so now save us from our afflictions!” 

The Catechism divides the types of prayer into five: blessing and adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise (2626-2643). All of these are necessary to have an authentic life of prayer and to experience God in our lives. We must bless and adore Him for all His manifold graces, especially when He grants us the requests we make in petition. 

These prayers of petition are important for the spiritual life, because every relationship is one of giving to the other person, and just like any human relationship this requires communication. It is true that God knows what we need before we ask, but it is important for us to ask so that we may connect with God, for the mental and physical expressions are important for us, bodily and spiritual as we are. 

And the authentic prayer and adoration of God will lead us to overflow with love, which expresses itself in prayers of intercession for others and in almsgiving, another pillar of Lent. And as these requests are granted in God's mysterious and benevolent ways (not necessarily how we expect) this will lead us to thanksgiving and praise. 

And this brings us back to the first antiphon of today. Our ultimate prayer must always be that we may be able to see the face of God, not only in Heaven, but here on earth, albeit under the veil. Let us pray that our hearts may be so purified by our fasts and retreat that we may dwell always in His spiritual presence on earth, but also that we may see Him in our brothers and sisters and thus be led to love and serve them!  

In these next weeks of Lent let us, finally, pray that the Spirit will be poured into our hearts so that we may willingly and lovingly embrace our crosses and be united with the sufferings of our Divine Lord, which we will soon meditate upon, for it is on the Cross, not Mount Tabor, that Jesus' true glory shines forth and He draws all to Himself (John 12, 32)!

A Look at the Mass: The Preparation of the Altar and Offering of the Bread

While the Offertory Procession is occurring, there are two other ceremonies taking place, which it would behoove us to mention, before delving into the actual Offertory, which truly begins with the offering of the host to God, which will be the last object of our consideration.

The first ceremony we shall observe is the Offertory Chant. Although this is not found in the Roman Missal itself, it is found in the Graduale, which includes chants and their notation for Mass. In the chant's practical purpose, it forms the same functions as the Entrance and Communion chants, i.e. to cover the prolonged silence that would occur during the movement of persons. However, as with all parts of the Mass we can certainly interpret a deeper and spiritual significance. Jungmann points out the interpretation of the Medieval commentators that, "the chant (they said in substance) should signify the jubilance of heart with which the faithful proffer their gifts, for (as they quoted) 'God loves the cheerful giver (27).'"

It would seem that for this reason the chants rarely refer specifically to the idea of oblation. Instead, they reflect either simple joy or the theme of the feast, similar to the Entrance Chant, for they are chosen to reflect the mood of the feast day, not of the actions taking place. Herein we may notice several key ideas. First, the Mystery of Christ’s entire life is made mystically present before us, through the Paschal Mystery which is actually made truly present. Thus, by attending the Mass, we not only attend His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, but we are also able to adore Him becoming man in the Incarnation, being born of the Virgin Mary, fasting in the desert, and preaching the Kingdom of God.

Through the Eucharist we see through the eyes of God, for the Eucharist is the Divinity of Christ, truly present. Thus, at Mass we see all of the Mysteries of our Salvation. The Offertory Chant may be said, then, to focus our attention back on the particular Mystery or teaching being commemorated in the feast day or in the specific Mass.

At the normal parish level, this chant is, however, normally replaced by either a hymn sung by the people or by the choir alone. While either method is acceptable, it would seem that a song exclusively by the choir may be preferable here, so that the people may meditate either upon the actions taking place, or the words of the hymn, however they are specifically moved to pray. Additionally, as there are many movements taking place at this time, it would seem easier not to demand the division of the people's attention which participation in a hymn may require. The hymn chosen, can of course easily correspond to this part of the Mass, as there are many hymns/motets which focus on the various mysteries, or upon the actions symbolized here.

The second action occurring during the Offertory Procession is the preparation of the altar. The main parts of this simple, yet integral and deeply symbolic rite, are the bringing of the chalice and other sacred vessels to the altar, the laying of the corporal, the unveiling of the chalice (when a veil is used), and the laying of the gifts on the altar (obviously the ones not borne in procession). The current practice today is the seemingly most ancient one, in that the vessels may be arranged on the altar in any way, though the traditional manner was to form, as close as possible a cross, if for no other reason than to keep the central mystery of what he is doing before the priest's eyes. However, it is worth noting that there were, in certain places, extremely detailed instructions for the arrangement of the gifts on the altar. Rather than see an excessive rigidity or superfluous practice here, we should understand the deep reverence and understanding of the importance of the actions that were taking place.

Additionally, the Sacred Ministers, nor the Faithful in the pews, should feel any need for this part of the Mass to be rushed. While it should be carried out efficiently, the idea of haste needs to be stamped out. The items being handled have been consecrated for sacred use, and must therefore be treated with the dignity appropriate for the items of God. As long as scrupulosity is avoided, each action and movement has a purpose and meaning we will briefly examine.

The first is the bringing of the sacred vessels to the altar, under the veil which covers the chalice and paten. Numerous images and types spring up throughout the Old Testament in regards to this. When Abraham sacrificed Isaac, it was necessary for him to carry the items for the sacrifice (the wood, the fire, and the knife) (Genesis 22:6, 9). Throughout the giving of the Law in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, there are numerous prescriptions given for how the ritual sacrifices are to be carried out and in regards to the care of the sacred vessels. In Jesus Christ, Himself, we see Him carry the “vessel” in which He will offer His Sacrifice upon, i.e. the Cross (John 19:17). 

To correspond with this, as the vessels are transferred to the altar, we should shift our focus from the Word of God just proclaimed and explained to us, to the altar. This should be a natural shift for us, for the Faith we had proclaimed to us, and to which we assented in the Creed, calls for a response of offering. This is accomplished by us consecrating our souls to God, which is consummated in the Eucharist. Thus, we shift from the receivers to the offerers, in that we have received the call of the Lord and now wish to give of ourselves to Him. 


The second thing that takes place in the preparation of the altar is the laying of the corporal upon the altar. A corporal is always used whenever the Eucharist is present, in the event that a particle would fall, it will be caught by the corporal. Thus, we may say that the corporal is a sign of the Eucharistic presence.

Now there was a time in the Church's history when the corporal would be so large as to cover the entire altar during the Eucharistic liturgy. The mentioning of this is important because we must remember that the altar is a symbol of Christ, thus by covering the altar in a special cloth we may see reference to Christ Who was clothed in gorgeous apparel for His Passion (Luke 23:11). Even though the size of the corporal has decreased to a more manageable size, we should still see the spreading of it upon the altar as a sign that the Passion of the Lord is about to take place before us, albeit veiled to our sensible eyes.

Although the Sacred Mysteries are veiled to our sensible eyes, our eyes of Faith see clearly the Paschal Mystery occurring, and this is symbolized by the unveiling of the chalice. Revelation is a word which means "unveiling." Consequently the revelation of Jesus Christ, is an unveiling of the mystery of God, specifically of His inmost Being and of His saving plan for humanity.

As the chalice is unveiled let us recall to mind that the culmination of Christ's revelation is accomplished in the Cross and Resurrection. Thus, the only way to participate as perfectly as possible in God's life here on this earth is through the Holy Mass. This union with the Passion of the Lord must be our desire throughout the Offertory, the Eucharistic Prayer, and Communion, and this is on account of Holy Communion being our final initiation into God's life, which was begun in our Baptism, itself a participation in Jesus' death, burial, and Resurrection (Romans 6:3).

The final action is simply the arrangement of the sacred vessels upon the altar. As mentioned before, there is no rubrical arrangement demanded. Nevertheless, this does not mean we should neglect to pray specifically as this arrangement takes place. As the vessels are placed upon the altar, let us pray that we may be spiritually present with them upon the altar, so that we may offer our souls and lives to God, in union with the Sacrifice of Calvary.

Once the offerings have been received by the celebrant from the Faithful it is time for the Liturgy of the Eucharist to truly commence. The history of the prayers for this part of the Mass is extremely complex and does not seem to have truly hit standardization until the Council of Trent, when the Mass of the Latin Rite was standardized. As Jungmann points out:

"All this liturgical growth [in the Offertory rites] in the Frankish realm was not regulated from one appointed center, but emanated rather from different points and criss-crossed in the most diverse ways over all the lands of Christendom. As a result the Mass books of the later Middle Ages contain at the oblation a veritable jungle of new prayers and texts. The diversity and multiplicity of these formulas and their grouping is so great that a classification appears well-nigh impossible (41-42)." 

For our considerations, then, we will content ourselves with looking at the text of the Ordinary Form as well as the text of the Extraordinary Form, for they bear no resemblance to each other and come from completely different sources. Nevertheless, both can lead us deeper into an understanding of the mystery occurring.

We will look first at the text of the Ordinary Form. If the Offertory Chant or a hymn is occurring, or at his discretion, the priest says this prayer silently; otherwise he says it out loud. As he holds the paten/ciborium over the altar, he says: 

“Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for through your goodness we have received
the bread we offer you:
fruit of the earth and work of human hands,
it will become for us the bread of life.”

If done in an audible voice, the people respond:

“Blessed be God for ever.”

This prayer finds its roots in the ancient Jewish meal prayers, especially in the Passover meal, which of course was a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. The inclusion of a meal prayer, should not seem strange to us, for the Eucharistic liturgies of the early Church were celebrated in the context of a meal, known as an agape, or a "love meal." The use of this prayer reminds us that we are gathered around the table of God, as referenced in Psalm 23, "Thou preparest a table before me . . . thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows (5)." God provides us not only with the Sacrament of the Eucharist, but as Creator of the world, He is the Author of the very means whereby the Sacrament comes to us!

Nevertheless, although God has provided us with the basic means whereby we may bring forth the bread for the Eucharist, His Providential Goodness has deigned to preserve the order of nature, even when it was disturbed by sin. In the original order, the man was given dominion of the earth to show his supremacy in the physical order of nature (Genesis 1:26-30). However, sin disturbed the order and now man must harvest wheat among thorns and thistles and make his bread through the sweat of his face (Genesis 3:18-19).  

Even under the consequences of sin, though, we may perceive God's Goodness, for the earth still yields its fruit to men and the man still maintains a supremacy, even if it not one of perfect subjection. This toil, though, is meant to focus our eyes upon God, and this is accomplished because the only way to truly and perfectly find joy in our labors is to remember the original order, which places God at the summit, for "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4)." Thus our toil is designed to reorder our natural rebellious dispositions of body and soul back to God, Who never ceases to lavish His blessings upon us in ever-increasing measure. And thus we say, "Blessed be God for ever!"

The second formula we will examine for the offering of the host to God is from the Extraordinary Form, which is always said silently by the priest, once again with the paten raised above the altar. It finds its origins in the Middle Ages, especially in Gallic regions of Europe, where there was a great desire to have every action accompanied by a prayer. The prayer, translated, is as follows:

“Accept, O Holy Father, almighty and eternal God, this spotless host, which I, Thy unworthy servant, offer unto Thee, my living and true God, to atone for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligences, and for all here present; also for all faithful Christians both living and dead, that it may profit me and them for salvation unto life everlasting. Amen.”

While we do not have the room for an in-depth analysis of this great prayer, we will briefly examine the main parts and themes of it. The first is that the offering is addressed to God, for the Sacrifice of Christ was to His Father, which is why He cries out to God as Father upon the Cross (Luke 23:46). The priest is an alter Christus - conformed to the image of Christ - and thus He acts as Christ in offering Himself to God the Father in reparation for sin.

The host receives its name from the Latin word, hostia, meaning victim, and since it becomes Christ, the victim on the Cross, the bread is called the host. And it is called spotless, because Christ was the Lamb of God (John 1:29), and in the Passover offering, the lamb had to be without spot or blemish (Exodus 12:5).

Lastly, this Sacrifice of the Cross is done for the salvation of mankind. Jesus is made the sin offering for our salvation, as Paul says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)." And this Sacrifice is done for all sins and for all mankind, both living and dead. As Gueranger says, "The action of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass extends so far, that the Priest speaks also of all the faithful, and takes care not to omit the dead . . . for not only is the Sacrifice intended to give glory unto God, but it is meant likewise to procure good things for man (The Holy Mass, Section: The Offertory)."

May our thoughts throughout the offering of the host to God, as it is raised above the altar, have all these intentions present. Let us adore the Father, Who has granted us the grace to be present at the Mass and to unite ourselves in the Offering of His Son. Let us remember all of our sins, which we wish to be wiped away and remedied through the Cross. Finally, let us not only unite ourselves spiritually with the offering, but let us unite all of those souls, for whom we are bound to pray or for whom we wish to pray to the Sacrifice, now begun mystically before our eyes!   

All historical information taken from:
Rev. Joseph A. Jungmann, S.J. The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development. Volume 2. Part IV: The Offertory Chant, 26-31; The Matter for the Sacrifice, 31-41; Laying the Offerings on the Altar. The Accompanying Prayers, 41-70. Translated by Rev. Francis A. Brunner, C.SS.R. (Christian Classics: Notre Dame, Indiana, 1951).

A Look at the Mass: The Offertory Procession

The Mass began with a procession and will end with one. To highlight the importance of the Gospel reading, the Book of the Gospels is taken in solemn procession to the place it will be read from. It is only fitting, then, this shift in the focus of the Mass from Word to Altar should be accompanied by a procession. In fact, this procession is the most ancient and notable of the processions in the course of the Mass. This may be accounted for because this procession served a twofold purpose - practically to provide the matter requisite for the celebration of the Eucharist and spiritually to show the union of the Faithful with the priest in the offering of the Sacrifice.

In the early Church, the offering here by the people was of the actual matter of the bread and wine used for the Sacrifice. Jungmann points out that this was to emphasize the "earthly origins," of what would become the Body and Blood of Christ, for here we can see a reference to the Incarnation. He Who was purely spiritual, deigned to take on a human nature and become man, and consequently corporeal. In the Eucharist, that which is purely corporeal is given a spiritual Nature by becoming God, truly present!

But there is also emphasis to be made on the Sacrifice being offered on behalf of the people. Here we may see the bread and wine as symbolizing the prayers the Faithful present, to be united with the Sacrifice of Christ, which the very bread and wine will become. Within this understanding, we see the greatest unity between the Faithful and the Sacred Ministers. The priest is offering all of the prayers of the people, some of which were just formulated in the General Intercessions, to God the Father, through the Sacrifice of the Son on the Cross, in the Holy Spirit!

The foregoing is a reason there can never be such a thing as a "private Mass," for the priest is always praying for the prayers of the Universal Church, and the Faithful in union with the Church are thus implicitly spiritually present for the Mass.
 
However, as a perceived disconnect between the Faithful and the Sacred Ministers grew in certain regions, over time, this practice of the Offertory Procession fell into disuse. It is important to note, though, in those regions where the disconnect was less prominent, the offering of the people simply changed, for there remained a sense of its importance. Following the Second Vatican Council's liturgical reforms, the Offertory Procession found a revival in many places.

It the exact lack of a disconnect between what the Priest is doing and the people that this Procession signifies! Throughout the Liturgy of the Eucharist, we must remember that the Eucharist is both a Sacrifice and a Sacrament. St. Thomas Aquinas observed that the Eucharist, "is a sacrifice insofar as it is offered, and a Sacrament insofar as it is received." Thus, it is offered on behalf of the Faithful and for the Faithful to God, but it is also a Gift of Grace for the Faithful from God. Consequently, there are two processions, we may say, associated with the Eucharist. The first is now, i.e. the Offertory Procession, when the Faithful present the gifts for the Sacrifice. The second will be when the Faithful proceed forward to receive our Lord, who comes to them in Holy Communion.

Let us now look at a brief history of the offerings by the people, at least in the Roman Liturgy. Although the offering by the people, or the oblatio, were originally exclusively the matter for the Eucharist, i.e. bread and wine, it became customary to make other offerings for the church at this time. Thus, it became common to offer gifts such as chalices and the like by the nobility, or simply money, for the normal Faithful, to provide for the Church's needs, especially as increased reverence for the Blessed Sacrament made it more difficult for the Faithful to procure the bread used for Communion. This also became the customary part of the Mass to even give titles for land and buildings. Even today, we continue to take up the collection at this part of the Mass, and we should not in any way think less of this offering, for as Jungmann points out:

"There is no reason why this [the offertory collection instead of the offering of bread] should not be permitted to serve a more than merely utilitarian purpose, no reason why it should not be given a deeper spirit and a more vivid form than it ordinarily presents - a spirit, by harking back to the living roots of this contribution which is primarily intended as a gift to God and which is destined for the earthly recipient only through and over the altar . . . . Even though this is a collection and not an offertory procession, the basic idea of a genuine oblation is not excluded any more than it was at the rite in vogue in the stational services in the city of Rome (25-26)."

The use of this spot for rituals and for the exchanging of goods for the service of God may find reflection in today's Ordinary Form of the Mass, for we should remember that the use of the General Intercessions were out of use in the Church by the time many of these more ornate offerings and rites were included here. Thus, the sequence would be Gospel, homily, Creed, and Offertory Procession. Thus, the various ceremonies we do after the homily, which are many, would find no strange part being done at the Offertory in the Medieval Church. However, in our day, it has been deemed more fitting to perform these blessings, consecrations, and exchanges, immediately after the homily to better preserve the flow of the Mass.

The symbolism remains intact in either regard, however, and should not be overlooked. Before the rituals of the Sacrifice begin, which will be with the prayers offering the host to God, it is deemed necessary that all lesser ceremonies be concluded, and since the Eucharist is the greatest of all rituals, all things fall under this category, although many rites do have small commemorations and prayers which follow upon the Eucharist. Nevertheless, the essential part of any rite is completed by this point. Therefore, the Faithful, or the items, are sufficiently prepared to enter into the Mystery which is the Consummation, for through participation in the Eucharist, Heaven and earth are wed, and man is made one with God, which every ritual in the Church some way mirrors.

In conclusion, then, when the offerings for the Mass are brought forward to be accepted by the celebrant, generally by two or three representatives of the entire Faithful, we must unite ourselves spiritually with the offering. We must present ourselves as an offering to God, for we read in the Prophet Hosea, "Come, let us return to the LORD. . . . Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD (Hosea 6:1, 3)," and there is no more intimate way to know Him than through the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Indeed, the sacrifice of ourselves is the sacrifice the Lord desires, for He says, "I desire steadfast love. . . the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6)." We must offer our entire selves throughout the course of the Sacrifice to take place during the Offertory and Eucharistic Prayer, so that we may be perfectly transformed by the Sacrament to come!

All historical information taken from:
Rev. Joseph A. Jungmann, S.J. The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development. Volume 2. Part IV: The Offertory Procession of the Faithful, 1-26; The Offertory Chant, 26-31; The Matter for the Sacrifice, 31-41. Translated by Rev. Francis A. Brunner, C.SS.R. (Christian Classics: Notre Dame, Indiana, 1951).

First Sunday of Lent: Meditation on the Entrance Antiphon

“When he calls on me, I will answer him; I will deliver him and give him glory, I will grant him length of days.” – Entrance Antiphon for the First Sunday of Lent

Although we began our commemoration of the season of Lent on Wednesday today marks the beginning of “Lent Proper,” in that it is the first of the forty days before the Holy Triduum, which are a separate liturgical season of their own. The previous four days were added to the season of Lent because Holy Mother Church deemed it inappropriate to do penance upon Sundays, and thus they were excluded from the Great Fast, but desiring to keep the days of fasting at forty, Lent was then assigned to begin on Ash Wednesday.

It is for the original counting that we do not encounter the Gospel account which relates the Fasting and Temptation of Jesus until today, for this was the original beginning of the Forty Days, and this account, always related on this day from one of the three Synoptic Gospels, of course reminds us of the reason for our forty days fast. We fast for forty days in imitation of our Lord, and like our Lord, we do so “in the desert,” albeit in a figurative and spiritual sense, although many of the holy fathers in the early Church would literally retire into the desert for forty days of fasting and prayer to imitate Christ even more perfectly.

While this is normally not possible in today’s time, we should not allow this to in any way diminish our fervor, for that can be equal to those ascetics of old. However, our fervor, must, of course be manifested differently from theirs, for while we cannot retreat into the physical desert, we can certainly enter into a figurative one. St. Francis de Sales, in one of his sermons for Ash Wednesday, speaks concerning fasting and how it must be done with all of one’s senses. He says:

“This is what the Church wishes to signify during this holy time of Lent, teaching us to make our eyes, our ears and our tongue fast. For this reason she omits all harmonious chants in order to mortify the hearing; she no longer says Alleluia, and clothes herself completely in somber and dark colors. And on this first day she addresses us in these words: Remember, man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return, as if she meant to say: ‘O man, quit at this moment all joys and merrymaking, all joyful and pleasant reflections, and fill your memory with bitter, hard and sorrowful thoughts. In this way you will make your mind fast together with your body.”

In the season of Lent it is appropriate to remove many of the joyful foretastes of the heavenly glory we hope to one day possess for ourselves, not because they are bad (for in themselves they are either indifferent or good), but so that we may be reminded more easily that we have not yet attained that glory, and truly how difficult the struggle is! Nay, it would be impossible without the grace of God. Martin Luther was correct in saying that works do not account for our salvation, for the works of man can never perfectly overcome the trials of this world, except by the sheer grace of God! Thus, we call upon Him, that He may act in and through us, and so that He may deliver us from the evils of this world.

Nevertheless, we cannot completely make the mistake of discarding the necessity of works, for although we do not attain salvation through them, without them we can be certain we do not possess the faith that saves, for "faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead (James 2:17)." A living faith will display itself in works, towards God, our neighbor, and in ourselves, and these three directions are the three pillars of our Lenten observance. To God we pray, to our neighbor we give alms, and to discipline ourselves we fast.

Let us first look at fasting; the point of the austere fast of Lent is not to make us sad or sorrowful, but to remind us of the mystery proposed to us on Ash Wednesday – one day we will pass from this world. We know not the day or hour, but one day our soul will quit this body and stand before the Judge. At that moment, all we will have is our love, the love we showed to Him and to our neighbor.

The reason for our fasting from the pleasures of the world, then, is to focus our attention more on our Lord and on the needs of our neighbor. Legitimate pleasures are used by us for ourselves. By sacrificing them, we force ourselves to look outward. Our fasting, however, must be accompanied by prayer and almsgiving, or it will be to no avail for our souls. When Jesus went out into the desert, He was driven by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1). He shows us that fasting must be from God and directed to God. His fasting began in prayer and it culminated in His ministry, which was one of almsgiving, for it was directed to us, His brothers and sisters.

Likewise, our fasting must be begun through prayer. It is through prayer that we are connected to God and are able to discern His will for us. By constant prayer, we are transformed more and more to the likeness of Christ. As Pope Francis says in his Message for Lent 2015, "Let us all ask the Lord: “Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum”: Make our hearts like yours (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this way we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent or prey to the globalization of indifference." Through constantly beseeching the Lord through the cry of prayer, we will be led, like Jesus, to where we must go and what we must do.

Now, we can have no greater sign than the mark of charity that our prayer has born fruit within us, since it is God's personal stamp on a soul. Charity orders our souls aright, and consequently we can see it in the event of Jesus' Temptation in the Desert. The charity that perfectly filled the soul of our Lord prevented Him from serving Himself, which would be what all three of the devil's trials did; instead, He gives glory to God alone. In the words of Christ, "Each tree is known by its own fruit....The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good (Luke 6:44-45)." The love of God, and consequently humility, for these two virtues always go together, will be the certain sign of authentic prayer bearing fruit. 

Nevertheless, charity will also display itself in love of neighbor, which takes place in almsgiving. Thus, through this season, we must give of ourselves to help our brothers and sisters in their needs, for in doing so, we show our love for God (Matthew 25:21-36) and imitate our Divine Master, Who gave completely of Himself.

This is the order then, that our penitential works during Lent must take. They must begin in prayer first, which will lead us to fasting, in order that we may be purified of love of self and likened unto God. This purification of our souls and emptying of self-love will fill us with the love of God, which will overflow in charity for our neighbor. And that will take place in almsgiving.

Let us then beg the Lord for His aid in granting us a new heart and spirit, that He may take our hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh, that we may walk in His statutes and observe His ordinances (Ezekiel 36:26-27). This is a prayer He will not detest. Even if we are in the depths of sin and it is as if our very bones are dried up, so dead are we, let us recall that even there, the Lord can raise the deadest of the dead, as shown in the vision to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:1-14)! The Lord promised Ezekiel that, "I will put my Spirit within you [Israel], and you shall live (Ezekiel 37:14)." Let us then cry on the Lord, so that He may fulfill His promise to us from the Entrance Antiphon - He will deliver us and give us glory. In God, we shall be able to conquer the temptations of the world, the devil, and the passions just as Jesus did in the desert!

Quote of St. Francis de Sales from: The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales for Lent Given in 1622, Edited by Fr. Lewis S. Fiorelli, O.S.F.S., Translated by Nuns of the Visitation, Tan Books and Publishers: Rockford, Illinois (1987).

Ash Wednesday: Meditation on the Entrance Antiphon

“You are merciful to all, O Lord, and despise nothing that you have made. You overlook people’s sins, to bring them to repentance, and you spare them, for you are the Lord our God.” – Entrance Antiphon for Ash Wednesday

There is a unique atmosphere that penetrates this day. It is not a holy day of obligation, nor is it rated as a solemnity in the Church, yet it affects the lives of the Faithful more than almost all of those days. Today begins the holy season of Lent. 

Upon this day the Faithful will engage in a ceremony which goes all the way back into the Old Testament. They will receive ashes upon the forehead as a sign of their lowliness, sinfulness, and repentance. This practice is a most confounding one to our world, for not only is the practice "archaic," it goes against the very spirit of our world which both desires that one's religion be kept in the private sphere and that there is no such thing as sin. The reception of ashes, however, both declares to the Church and the world that we are guilty of sin!

In the early Church, there were three special features that marked the Season of Lent. First, the Church took a special interest and focus, liturgically, in the Passion of the Lord. Secondly, the intense final period of preparation of the Catechumens to be baptized at the Easter Vigil would begin. Finally, Lent was a period in which the reconciliation of public penitents would take place.

We must recall that the Sacrament of Confession, as we have it today, took an especially long time to develop, and it didn't reach its final form until the period of the Scholastic theologians in the Medieval Ages. The early Church often celebrated the Sacrament with a public confession of sins, and consequently, there was a desire amongst Church leaders that those sins which caused a more serious scandal should not be taken lightly in their absolution. Thus, those guilty of such sins were required to show their contrition through profound humiliation and public penance.

Part of this public penance would be to remain in the back of the church during services, clothed in sackcloth and ashes. Dom Prosper Gueranger, in his section of The Liturgical Year on Ash Wednesday, explains the ceremony of how the penitents began their period of penance. After being clothed in their penitential garments and signed with ashes, and prayers of penance being chanted, the doors of the church building would be shut to the penitents, as Adam and Eve were shut out of the Garden (Genesis 3:23-24).

While the other parts of this admirable rite fell into disuse and slowly faded away, the use of ashes continued and even gained favor among the Faithful, who were desirous to receive them as an exterior reminder of their transgressions and a sign of their repentance. Thus, the practice of distribution of ashes to all the Faithful on the Wednesday preceding the first Sunday of Lent became common practice, and eventually lent itself to the name of this day, i.e. Ash Wednesday.

Let us observe the words of Gueranger in regards to the attitude we must have in receiving the ashes upon our foreheads:

"When the priest puts the holy emblem of penance upon you, accept in a spirit of submission, the sentence of death, which God Himself pronounces against you: 'Remember, O man, that thou art dust, and into dust thou shalt return!' Humble yourself, and remember what it was that brought the punishment of death upon us: man wished to be as a god and preferred his own will to that of his sovereign Master. Reflect, too, on that long list of sins, which you have added to the sin of your first parents, and adore the mercy of your God, who asks only one death for all these your transgressions (Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, "Ash Wednesday")."

We should notice the mention of "one death" for our sins. It is important to remember that the spiritual authors often speak of two "deaths," one of the body and the other of the soul. Our Lord Himself speaks in this way (Matthew 10:28). There is the separation of the soul from the body, and this is the result of sin (Genesis 3:19). It is the condemnation we recall when we receive the ashes upon our foreheads and the minister gives us the sentence, "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return." Nevertheless, the second death, eternal separation from God in Hell, is not required by the Lord, but in His infinite mercy, He spares us from this, even though it is the fitting punishment for sin!

This is part of the great mystery that is God's love though, and which penetrates so deeply into the spirit of Lent - God is merciful! It is interesting to note that in the Rite of Penance one of the conclusions may be "Give thanks to the Lord for he is good," to which the response may either be, "For his love endures forever," or "For his mercy endures forever." When speaking of the mercy and love of God, we are really speaking of the same thing. The Lord is merciful because He is loving, and His love shows itself in His mercy.

Though the original order of creation was disrupted by sin, the Lord wished, and continues to desire, the restoration of the original order, for it was an order directed to Him. This is why the Entrance Antiphon for the first day of Lent chants, "You overlook people’s sins, to bring them to repentance, and you spare them, for you are the Lord our God." The overall purpose of this Holy Season of Lent is to bring us to a conversion of heart; God desires us to draw closer to Him. It is not a season in which we dwell on our sins; rather, it is a season in which we take note of our sins and failings in order to see both God's manifold and merciful love for us in sparing us of them and to find ways in which we may eliminate them from our lives, by His grace.

Any chastisement we receive from the Lord is for our benefit, as St. Paul says (Hebrews 12:6). Likewise, any penance we take upon ourselves should also be for our benefit. It should bring us closer to the Lord our God. Fasting is useless without prayer, for prayer is what unites us to God. Fasting, however, gives us a chance to make more room for God.

In this season of Lent, then, let us open our hearts more fully to the One Who calls us to Himself. Let us purge out all that hinders us from being authentically united to Him. And, lastly, may our hearts overflow with love, which we will show in mercy to our neighbors, just as God's love shows mercy unto us.