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).