A Look at the Mass: The Orate Fratres

While we must remember that the Form of the Mass which we are primarily meditating upon is the Ordinary Form, and therefore there are parts of the Extraordinary Form which we will skip, nevertheless we have considered various aspects of the Extraordinary Form, as well as additional prayers of it, when it behooved us to do so, and we will continue in this practice for the remainder of the Mass. Before we move on to the next part of the Ordinary Form, then, we will pause and consider what may be called the final Offertory Prayer in the Extraordinary Form, which is especially a looking forward to what is to come.

For this reason it is especially important for us to consider it, because regardless of the Form or Rite of the Mass used, these affections are what are contained within the Sacrifice and Sacrament of the Mass. The prayer, then, prayed silently by the priest is:

“Receive, most Holy Trinity, this oblation which we are making to Thee in remembrance of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and in honour of Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, Blessed John the Baptist, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of these (names of the saints whose relics are in the altar), and of all the Saints; that it may avail unto their honour and our salvation, and may they vouchsafe to intercede in heaven for us who honour their memory here on earth. Through the same Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

As Gueranger points out, this prayer is a looking ahead at what is to come, for he says:

"Receive this Oblation. The Priest says these words of the Bread and Wine just offered by him, nevertheless, he has really in view neither this Bread nor this Wine. . . . the Oblation here presented to the Divine Majesty, could never be confined to an order of Sacrifice purely material, as was that of the Jews; it is evident, therefore, that the Priest is here stretching forward in thought to a something far higher: he is presenting the Offering of the Great Sacrifice which is soon to be accomplished (The Holy Mass, Section: Suscipe, Sancta Trinitas)."

While this reminds us that the Sacrifice the priest is offering is not simply a material sacrifice, as that of the Jews or the Pagans, but is the Divine Sacrifice, to further stress this the Paschal Mystery of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord is mentioned. By attending the Holy Mass, we attend all of these events. We are present at the suffering and Death of the Lord for our salvation, but the mystery does not end there, for if it did it would be of no profit to us. The Death pays the penalty for sin, but does not restore us to life. Rather, it is through the Resurrection of Christ that we are restored to life, and then our nature and life is glorified and raised to a new level by Christ's Ascension into Heaven, beginning the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Church. Finally, it is because of the Church's ministry that we may even be present at this great Sacrament and Sacrifice and receive the Body and Blood of the Lord!

The prayer next moves on to the mention of saints, specifically chosen for their relation to their presence in the Holy Mass. First is mentioned our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady - perfectly united in will with our Lord - must be found wherever He is, for she was never absent from His love or in His ministry. Indeed we find reference to her presence throughout the Gospels (Matthew 12:46; Luke 8:19), and especially she is mentioned as present standing at the foot of the Cross (John 19:25). Mary must be present to us, then, for we are mystically present at the Crucifixion through the Mass.

However, we must also recall Mary's place as co-Redemptrix in the plan of salvation, and consequently her appropriateness to be named here.  Through her, Jesus Christ received His humanity, and thus, as one Person Who was both God and man, He was able to redeem the human race from sin. As the Liturgy so often sings, the salvation of the human race came forth from Mary; of her was fulfilled the ancient prophecy of the serpent being crushed (Genesis 3:15)! Therefore, how appropriate it is that within the celebration of the holy mysteries of our redemption, we beg Mary's intercession that we may personally be saved through the Blessed Sacrament.

Next named is St. John the Baptist, he of whom our Lord said there was no man born of women greater (Luke 7:28). He it was who declared Jesus to be, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)" We shall encounter these words again before the distribution of Communion, but it is appropriate here, for we must remember that in the person of the priest, we are beholding Jesus Christ, Who is about to make present the Sacrifice to take away our sin.

St. Peter and St. Paul, the two pillars of the Church are then invoked. These two Apostles are traditionally associated with the full Apostolic authority, for the Church was founded on the rock of St. Peter (Matthew 16:18), who preached and taught the Jews, and the Faith was spread from there and elaborated upon by St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:7). To mention them here, is to remind us that the Sacraments come to us through the Church of Christ, one of the marks of which is that She is apostolic, as we proclaim in the Creed. The Sacrifice and Sacrament which we celebrate, then, is the same as that which the Apostles celebrated.

The final saints which were to be mentioned were those whose relics were reposed in the altar in which Mass was being celebrated at. This is the only part in the Mass where they would be mentioned by name; at all other points they were only referenced. The importance of their mentioning however, should not be overlooked, for while all the saints are present at the Mass, through the union of the Heavenly and earthly liturgies, these saints have part of their mortal remains present. While their souls are separated from their bodies, the mortal remains are those which were sanctified in life through the presence of the Holy Spirit, as taught by the Council of Trent (Decree on the Invocation, Veneration, and Relics of the Saints and on Sacred Images, December 3, 1563). Therefore, the Church continues to honor them and prays that as the Holy Mass is celebrated upon their mortal remains, so we may be filled with the graces they received through It. Lastly, by recalling to mind the presence of the relics of the saints, we recall the text from the Book of Revelation, "I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne (Revelation 6:9)."

This prayer then closed with the request that the Sacrifice of the Mass would profit for the honor of the saints whose memory we call to mind, and that we may attain salvation through Its celebration and through their intercession. As the Council of Trent also teaches, when Mass is celebrated in honor of a saint it is to give thanks to God for the victory they achieved by His grace and to implore Him that we may imitate them and also gain their intercession (Canon of the Council on "Masses in Honor of the Saints," Session 22, September 17, 1562).

Within this prayer, then, the Church recalled for the first time the Paschal Mystery about to made present for our salvation, and implored the intercession of the saints that we may profit through its celebration and attain the graces they received in their lives, so that we, like them, may attain the crown of eternal life, which the Lord promises to those who are faithful to Him (Revelation 2:10)! Although this prayer is no longer recited, these are the thoughts we must bear as we enter into the celebration of the Sacrifice, especially throughout the Eucharistic Prayer, which is about to commence.

Let us now move to the next progression in the Mass, for from this point forward, the priest will go forth to fulfill his highest office and offer the Sacrifice. This task is his alone, and he alone can fulfill it. While the full import is not necessarily clear in Masses where the priest faces towards the people, this address the priest makes to the people is important and shown especially in Masses celebrated ad orientem, for from this point forward the priest acts solely as the mediator between God and men and will not address the people again until after the Eucharistic Prayer is complete.

Turning towards the people, if not already facing them, the priest says to them:

“Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters),
that my sacrifice and yours
may be acceptable to God,
the almighty Father.”

The people then respond, as the priest turns back towards the altar (if he is celebrating ad orientem): 

“May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands
for the praise and glory of his name,
for our good
and the good of all his holy Church.”

Let us examine first the address of the priest to the people. This is a prayer that has undergone very little development and change over the ages, which speaks of the sufficiency found in it for expressing the needs and sentiments for this moment. As we have noted, it is the priest alone who offers the Sacrifice in persona Christi, but it is on behalf of and for the people gathered, nay for all the members of the Church, both living and deceased. Thus, we must understand, that the priest is really asking all of the members of the Church, those on earth, those in Heaven, and those detained in Purgatory for prayers that he may worthily and well accomplish for the benefit of all the Faithful, this great work.

The title, "brethren," may be confusing to us at first, and it is for this reason the Church allows the use of, "brothers and sisters," in its place. However, as the use of, "brethren," is allowed and quite old, we should have a proper understanding of it. It is not simply an address to the males gathered, or even more exclusively to any other priests who may be present. Rather, this term is addressing all members of the community, just as St. Paul used it, and it is on account of its presence in Scripture the Church has preferred it for the Liturgy over "brothers and sisters," (E.g. Romans 7:1,4; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Galatians 6:1).

We may note that the priest here addresses us, not as a father (which he properly is to the faithful), but as a fellow Christian, a brother in Christ. He has been chosen from among the people; in nature he is the same as us, but in dignity he is higher. But, just as our Lord, Who shared our nature in all things but sin, His ministry is one of service. And thus, he begs us for prayers that he may serve us as Christ did.

The next line is a most interesting one, for it speaks of two sacrifices, yet we know there is but one Sacrifice of Christ, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, "He [Christ] entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12)."

To have a proper understanding of this we must turn to both Jungmann and Gueranger, for they each explain both this twofold and single sacrifice. First, Jungmann points out:

"The priest feels very strongly that he is exalted above the people - a matter the early medieval Church [when this petition was developed] was fully conscious of - and even in his sacrificial prayer he realizes he stands alone before God as the people's mediator (83)."

We turn, then, to Gueranger, who says:

"The Sacrifice is the Priest's, for he is the direct agent therein; the Sacrifice belongs to the Faithful, because Jesus Christ instituted it for their particular profit . . . . he [the priest] re-awakens the attention of thee Faithful, urging them more and more to earnestness; for it behoves them not to forget, that they too have a share in the Priesthood (The Holy Mass, Section: Orate Fratres)."

We see herein, the meaning of the double sacrifice being offered in the two priesthoods. First, there is the ministerial Priesthood, in which the priest himself participates, who acts in persona Christi to offer the actual Sacrifice of the Cross - the Sacrifice of God the Son to the God the Father in the unity of God the Holy Spirit. However, there is also the priesthood all the baptized share in, a priesthood where they may, in union with Christ, offer sacrifice. The Faithful will, then, be offering a sacrifice of their own, their very selves and the prayers they bring to the Holy Mass. These, however, depend on the Sacrifice of the priest, to Which they are united, and for this reason we have the final words of the priest's petition to the people that they, "may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father."

Because the primary Sacrifice is that of God the Son, It is being offered to God the Father, and for this reason the prayers of the Faithful are also being offered to God the Father, just as the central prayers of the Mass are all directed towards Him. But this petition is also a request that we trust in the providence and power of God, for the naming of, "the almighty Father," would have us recall that no prayer is too great for God to grant, by His power all things are possible, even the accomplishing of this great work through the hands of the priest!

The Faithful send the priest to his work with firm faith that God will give unto him the graces necessary for him to worthily perform the work. Additionally, we trust that God will give us the graces, through His benevolent and loving graciousness, so that we may offer ourselves fully and efficaciously to Him.

Within the response of the people, there is the acknowledgment the Eucharist will be made present and the Sacrifice will be offered to God through the hands of the priest alone - "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands." The prayers of the people depend upon the priest, for without the Sacrifice of the Cross, they cannot offer worthy sacrifice to God. But first, and foremost, we are present at the Holy Mass for the purpose of adoration of God, as we see in the Book of Revelation. The saints who stand before the throne of God at the heavenly liturgy cry out, "Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power . . . (Revelation 4:11)," and the angels who stand in the Lord's presence sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty . . . (Revelation 4:8)." The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

"Adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before his Creator. It exalts the greatness of the Lord who made us and the almighty power of the Savior who sets us free from evil. . . . Adoration of the thrice-holy and sovereign God of love blends with humility and gives assurance to our supplications (2628, emphasis in original)."

It is not supplication, nor thanksgiving, nor reparation which is the primary focus of the Holy Actions in the Mass, but pure unadulterated adoration of God. Christ upon the Cross gives glory to the Father, and so through our participation in the Mass so do we, and thus we say, "for the praise and glory of his name."

The last part of the response of the Faithful is the reason for our participation, i.e. for our good and that of the entire Church. As Sacrosanctum Concilium states:

"The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the church is directed; it is also the source from which all its power flows. . . .

"From the liturgy, therefore, and especially from the Eucharist, grace is poured forth upon us as from a fountain, and our sanctification in Christ and the glorification of God to which all other activities of the church are directed, as toward their end, are achieved with maximum effectiveness (10)."

The good of the Faithful, which will be achieved is their sanctification, through partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion worthily, for the Eucharist completes one's initiation into the Body of Christ, which is Itself Holy, begun in Baptism and strengthened in Confirmation. The Church also receives grace from the Eucharistic celebration, since it is from the Cross that She derives Her powers of sanctification, and it is from the Blessed Sacrament the the other Sacraments and the sacramentals of the Christian Life flow.

As we send the priest forth to accomplish the work of our redemption, let us not cease to pray for him, since it is account of his actions that we can participate in the Sacrifice of the Cross. Christ has ordained to give this most exalted honor and role to the priest; we cannot neglect to pray for him then, since, "Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required (Luke 12:48)."