THE DRAMA OF

Eternal Love

Narrated by

RT. REV. MSGR. WILLIAM J. MCDONALD, Ph.D.

Celebrated by

REV. THOMAS O’DONNELL, C.S.C.



/



The Drama Of

Love Eternal

An Explanation Of The Mass

Narrated by: Rt. Rev. Msgr. William J. McDonald, Ph.D.

Celebrated by: Rev. Thomas O'Donnell, C.S.C.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC MEN
1312 Massachusetts Avenue, N. W.

Washington 5, D. C.



Nihil Obstat:

VERY REV. MSGR. T. E. DILLON

Censor Librorum

Imprimatur:

JOHN FRANCIS NOLL, D.D.

Bishop of Fort Wayne

Deaddfffed



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Know the Mass - .. 5

/

Pray the Mass 14

Love the Mass .’. •- 22

Live the Mass 32



Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2016

https://archive.org/details/dramaofloveeternOOmcdo



KNOW THE MASS
Address delivered on February 3

Part I. Beginning to Gloria

“I will go to the altar of God”

1. Introduction

Welcome to our program! We

think you will find it not only

different but, in a real sense,

unique! We are going to present,

in a friendly and informal—al-
though, we hope, reverent

—

manner, what has rightly been

called the most wonderful and

impressive drama in all the

world, a drama not just of hu-

man but also of Divine love,

namely, the Holy Sacrifice of the

Mass. Whether you are one who,

as a Catholic, attends Mass reg-

ularly or one who goes only on

special occasions as a guest

—

perhaps to the wedding of a rela-

tive or the funeral of a friend,

—

you must have sometimes wond-

ered about the real reason for

the Mass and the precise mean-

ing of what the priest wears and

says and does. To some, I sup-

pose, it may appear to be just a

mere pantomime, or a gorgeous

but meaningless pageant of

ritual. Now suppose that you

were to come into my study to

ask for an explanation of the

Mass and that while we were

talking together we could also

watch a priest offering the Holy

Sacrifice. I could then tell you in

a much more vivid way what was

going on and why. This is the

fortunate position we happen to

be in here. I have asked a friend

of mine, Father Thomas O’Don-

nell, to be the celebrant of our

televised Mass and he is now

making his preparation.

The Mass is in reality one

continuous action and since we

intend for your benefit to break

it up into four parts—one part
for each succeeding Sunday—as
well as to show certain features

in slow motion, as it were, there-

fore you will understand that

this will not be a real sacrifice

although every detail will be pre-

sented precisely as if it were. In

any event the obligation that

Catholics have to hear Mass on

Sundays and holidays could not

be fulfilled through television

but it is our fervent hope that

“shut-ins” and those who be-

cause of some disability or grave

reason are prevented from ac-

tually attending the Holy Sac-

rifice will derive some consola-

tion and spiritual profit from

our portrayal. It is to such souls

and to all who are honestly seek-

ing truth and self-betterment



6 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

that our program is especially

dedicated.

2. Preparation for Mass

i. The Altar

And now while Father is get-

ting ready suppose we take a

look at the altar or the scene

where Mass is to take place. It

is, first of all, specially blessed

or consecrated for this purpose.

The flat part of the altar is,

simply, a table resembling the

table you have seen in pictures

of the Last Supper at which

Christ sat with his companions

on the night before He died. This

as we shall see is the great his-

torical event, the death of

Christ, which the Mass commem-

orates and continues. The entire

altar, especially of course, the

cross at the top reminds us of

Mount Calvary where He was

crucified. The table is covered

with three linen cloths represent-

ing those wrapped around Our

Lord’s Body while He was buried

in the tomb before His Resurrec-

tion.

The missal, a word coming

from the same origin as Mass

itself, is the book on the wooden

stand on your right as you face

the altar. (That’s called the

epistle side, the other is the gos-

pel side). It contains the prayers

and Scriptural lessons read at

Mass while the three altar cards,

one in the center and one on

either side, conveniently repro-

duce certain prayers said while

the priest happens to be in that

particular place. The flowers are

ornaments. They betoken the

graces and virtues which adorn

the soul close to God. The acolyte,

or altar boy as he is generally

called, is now lighting the

candles. These servers, incident-

ally, are important helpers who

play a special role because they

represent the people in their ac-

tions and responses. At every

Mass there must be candles burn-

ing on the altar, at least two,

and four for a sung Mass such

as we are to have here. These

candles were practical necessities

in the early days of the Church

when Mass was often said under-

ground in the darkness of the

Catacombs. They still retain

their mystical significance.

What a wealth of meaning there

is in such a simple thing as a

lighted candle! Light, in gen-

eral, signifies faith. The burn-

ing candle represents the God-

man, the light of the world; the

bright flame symbolizes His Di-

vinity, the candle itself His hu-

manity. The wick is His soul and

since the candle must be of pure

beeswax we have here also an

emblem of Our Blessed Lord’s

most pure body.



KNOW THE MASS 7

ii. The Vestments t

Comparatively few lay persons r

ever have occasion to see the

sacristy or room near the altar

wnere we now join the celebrant.

He has washed his hands in or-

der, as it were, to wash away the

dust and stains of the world. Be-

fore him you see, neatly

arranged, the costume or special

articles of dress he is to put on.

These, as practically everything

else in the Mass, are saturated

with history and meaning. The

outer garb may be of different

colors depending upon the Saint

or mystery in honor of which

Mass is offered. These colors

lend beauty and variety as well

as a rich and deep symbolism.

Red is for martyrs who have

shed their blood for the faith,

also for the Holy Spirit who

kindles in our hearts the red

flame of love. Green, often used

on Sundays, denotes the spring-

time of hope, purple is for pen-

ance; black appears in requiem

Masses for the dead
;
while white

(used today because we have se-

lected, for special reasons, not

the Mass of this Sunday but that

in honor of Our Lady of Mercy)

signifies the bright lustre of

purity, holiness and heavenly

joy.

Altogether the priest wears

gsix special vestments for Mass.

QAs he puts on each one he says

r a special prayer which indicates

the dispositions he should bring

to the altar, driving home the

fact that his whole life should

be a preparation for Mass as the

life of Our Lord was for Calvary.

Although these garments do not

conform to today’s style most of

them would appear familiar to

a Roman citizen of the early

Christian centuries since they

are simply the “Sunday clothes”

worn generally at that time.

Not so, however, the amice or

oblong piece of linen which he

now places on his head, wraps

around his shoulders and fastens

with strings. This was intro-

duced in the Middle Ages and

worn first as a hood or head-

dress. It is the helmet of hope

and salvation and takes the place

of the cloth with which Christ

was blindfolded.

Next the alb, a wide white lin-

en robe covering the entire body.

This is the old tunic once worn

by persons of dignity. Our Lord

was so clothed by Herod in the

garment of a fool but, signifi-

cantly, it represents spotless in-

nocence.

The tunic was bound around

the waist by a belt or sash. This

is now the cincture or rope with

which the Redeemer was tied



8 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

while being scourged. It means

mortification, the quenching of

the fires of passion.

The remainder of the vest-

ments are always of the color re-

quired by the occasion. The

maniple, which he \isses and

places on his left arm, was

originally a handkerchief carried

in the hand or thrown over the

arm much as a waiter carries a

napkin. It suitably reminds us of

Christ’s passion. We should puri-

fy our souls with the perspira-

tion of good works and tears of

penance.

The stole is a long silken strip

with a cross in the center which

he also kisses before placing it

over his shoulders and tying it

in the form of a cross. It is a

sign of office, the distinctive

badge of the deacon, once worn

by judges and those in authority

much as traffic officers wear

their safety straps today. In the

Mass we may conceive it as the

cord tied around Our Savior’s

neck. It also signifies immortal-

ity regained through His suf-

ferings.

Finally he puts on the chas-

uble which gets its name from

casula, meaning a little house.

This broad cape-like garment

with ample folds began as a

weather cloak and is still used as

such today in some parts of the

world. It signifies the warmth of

charity and protection against

the powers of evil. It covers the

other vestments as charity does

the virtues. The cross on the

back is the sweet burden of

Christ. Together the front and

back represent love of God and

of neighbor and the twofold ob-

ject for which every Mass is

offered, namely, to honor God

and to sanctify our fellow hu-

man beings.

iii. The Choir

As he puts on his cap or

biretta, takes the covered chalice,

which we shall explain later,

bows to the cross and proceeds

toward the altar the people stand

as a mark of respect and the

choir begins to sing the first

part of the Mass, the Introit,

which means “he is entering.”

The official music of the Church

when Mass is sung is plain chant

and like other parts of the sacred

liturgy, the bows of the head,

the bending of the knee, it is in-

tended to appeal to the whole

human being and to bring every

power of our personality into an

attitude of reverence. The Mass

is a community, not an individ-

ual, service. Many parts, such

as the Introit, the Kyrie, and the

Gloria are frequently sung by

the whole assembly, otherwise



KNOW THE MASS 9

they lose much of their force.

Music helps to elevate the mind

and heart and makes divine wor-

ship more solemn and majestic.

St. Paul advises that we should

be “singing and making melody

in our hearts to the Lord.”

(Ephesians, V, 19). We know

that Christ Himself sang with

his followers. St. Matthew tells

us that “they sang a hymn and

went out to Mount Olivet.”

(Matthew XXVI, 30). Pliny the

Younger refers to chants in hon-

or of the Christ-God in the first

Christian assemblies.

3. Beginning of Mass

i. Preliminaries and Opening

Prayers

Now the priest genuflects at

the center and goes up to the

middle of the Altar. He places

the veiled chalice on a square

white linen cloth called the cor-

poral because on it the conse-

crated Host, the Body of Christ,

will later rest. He moves to the

epistle side and marks in the

missal the Mass to be said.

(Sometimes the chalice and its

appurtenances are put on the

altar before Mass and the mis-

sal is already prepared). Re-

turning to the center he bows to

the cross and descends to the

foot of the altar where, having

genuflected again, he begins the

Mass by making the Sign of the

Cross. This is part of the sym-

bolic language of the liturgy and

since earliest Christian times has

been the sacred symbol of sal-

vation. It is a digest of essential

Christian beliefs representing

not only the Cross on which

Christ died for all but also in-

voking at the same time the

Three Persons of the Holy Trin-

ity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Notice the celebrant is speak-

ing in Latin. People often ask

why the Mass is in a language

they can’t understand. Well, not

all of it or everywhere. The Mass

is said in other tongues Greek,

Syriac, Coptic, for instance and

even in our Western world,

where Latin is now used almost

exclusively because of its uni-

versal and changeless character,

words from other languages still

remain as we shall see. How won-

derful to think that we are ac-

tually pronouncing the exact

words used by the great saints in

ages past and that the Mass is

the same no matter where you

may be! Besides Latin is one of

the languages in which the in-

scription over the Cross was

written. Thus it is not only con-

secrated by long use giving us as

in the case of the vestments, a

panoramic sweep of the ages but

it has also a clearness and dig-



10 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

nity befitting the great central

act of Christian worship. Its use

in no way prevents understand-

ing since all are urged to follow

what the priest says word for

word in a translation. Using

your English Missal is the ideal

way to know and participate in

the Holy Sacrifice.

Most of the Mass prayers are

taken from the Bible; thus they

have a beauty and sublime

quality surpassing human gen-

ius. The priest begins by saying

“I will go to the altar of God, to

God who gives joy to my youth.”

This expresses the dominant note

of the early part of the Mass

which is one of gladness not sad-

ness. Whether young or old we

can all say it because it expresses

a longing for the altar of God

where alone real rejuvenation, a

new spiritual life, is possible.

This longing is continued in the

42nd psalm now being recited.

This psalm, ascribed to King

David, expresses in the beautiful

lyric poetry of the Hebrews the

desire of the chosen people to re-

turn to the Holy City of Jerusa-

lem. Anciently it was recited by

those not yet baptized as they

marched in procession for the

early part of the Mass which is

mostly intended for their in-

struction. Aware of his own im-

perfections the priest implores

the heavenly Father to distin-

guish his purpose from that of

the godless. Hope is restored as

he recalls the mercy of the Lord

and bows his head saying “Glory

be to the Father, and to the Son

and to the Holy Spirit,” the end-

ing which most frequently con-

cludes all our prayers.

The Confiteor or Confession,

which he now makes while in-

clining profoundly in humble

self-accusation is an admission

of sin and a petition for help. It

has been well said that to appre-

ciate its dramatic nature we

must picture the penitent stand-

ing at the throne of God around

Whom are the Blessed Virgin,

the angels and saints. There is

the Archangel Michael who stood

at the gate of Eden with a flam-

ing sword; yonder is St. John

the Baptist, the great Apostle of

penance who announced the com-

ing of Christ. The sinner, bow-

ing low, admits before all heaven

he has erred. His act of contri-

tion rises to a climax in the mea

culpa
,
“through my fault,” and

mea maxima culpa, “through my

most grave fault.” Then he ap-

peals for help to all the heavenly

court and to the good Lord Him-

self. And he hears the promise of

God’s pardon coming from the

servers who likewise now confess

in the name of all the people



KNOW THE MASS 11

their sense of unworthiness.

They, in turn, receive absolution

from the priest, who then says a

few more short verses and as he

goes up the steps two prayers,

further pleas for mercy and ex-

pressions of reliance, because he

is now approaching the Holy of

Holies. At the words “whose

relics are here” of the second

prayer he kisses the altar be-

cause there, in a small stone slab

embedded in the wood are the

relics of the saints and also be-

cause it represents Christ, the

corner-stone of the Church. Thus

the Church, that is, the bride

salutes Christ, the bridegroom.

ii. The Introit

What we have seen so far is

really only the prologue. The

drama proper now starts with

the Sign of the Cross made by

the priest as he reads the Introit.

Certain parts of the Mass are

always the same while others

vary. Here begins the change-

able portion of the Mass. Gen-

erally consisting of a fragment

of Scripture and part of a psalm

the Introit strikes the keynote

of the particular feast or season.

Sometimes it is in a vein of joy

and praise such as “To thee have

I lifted up my soul” and some-

times, as today, in a strain of

tenderness, pity and love. Often

the opening verse ends with a

twofold “alleluia” which as in

the case of Amen meaning Truly

or “may it be as you say,” is also

a Hebrew word for “Praise ye

the Lord.” These have a force

and compactness that cannot

really be translated. The fre-

quent repetition of the lovely

liquid Alleluia reminds one of

waves of prayer washing, so to

speak, around the throne of God.

iii. The Kyrie Eleison

The next prayer which the

priest says standing at the

middle of the altar with hands

united in supplication is not in

Hebrew or in Latin but in

Greek, Kyrie eleison, Lord have

mercy on us, said three times to

God the Father, then changing

to Christe eleison, Christ have

mercy on us, repeated three

times to God the Son and again

a triple Kyrie eleison to the Holy

Spirit. The Kyrie is also a link

with antiquity since it was given

its present form in the Mass by

Pope St. Gregory the Great near-

ly 1500 years ago. Originally it

was part of a much longer litany

sung alternately by two choirs

or by clergy and lay people.

Nothing illustrates better the

back and forth dialogue of the

Mass between God and us as

well as between priest and people



12 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

than this plaintive plea remin-

iscent of the touching appeal of

the poor blind man in the Gospel

who when he heard that Jesus

was passing by cried out repeat-

edly “Jesus, son of David, have

mercy on me.” (Mark X, 46-54).

The Mass is indeed the “transi-

tus Domini,” the passing of the

Lord, but to see this we must

have eyes of faith.

iv. The Gloria

Suddenly the whole tone

changes. On festive occasions the

celebrant, standing in the center,

elevating and uniting his hands

in a sweeping gesture of invita-

tion intones the opening words

of the beautiful song of the

angels on the first Christmas,

“Gloria in excelsis Deo,” “Glory

to God in the highest,” and the

choir takes up its heavenly

strains. The initial sentence of

the Gloria is found in the 2nd

chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke

and the rest “We praise Thee, we

bless Thee, we adore Thee, we

glorify Thee” and so on, was

added by the early Fathers of

the Church. Its meaning here is

clear. Christ Who was born at

Bethlehem is about to be re-born

on the altar. Hence the joyous

outpouring of the heart of the

Church, the notes that peal forth

in a torrent of unremitting

praise. This exquisite song has

been compared to “the roaring

of many Waters,” to Niagara

with its endlessly cascading

stream of prayer bringing the

only shimmer of hope for our

poor broken bleeding world.

Truly “more things are wrought

by prayer than this world

dreams of” and the Mass is the

prayer par excellence.

4. Conclusion to this Section

“Know the Mass”

And so with the singing of

this glorious hymn of praise and

with the strains of its heavenly

harmony in our ears we conclude

this first part of our presenta-

tion of the Mass. The Gloria

summarizes very well the two-

fold purpose of the Holy Sac-

rifice. 1) Glory to God. He is the

reason for our existence as well

as for our presence at Mass. The

most perfect glory given to God,

the only really adequate worship

is through Christ, His Divine

Son made man. As God He can

speak to God, as man He can

speak for us. He alone can com-

pletely appease the Eternal Fa-

ther. 2) Peace on earth. The re-

sult is reconciliation, peace, and

peace here includes all blessings,

love and joy and hope and secur-

ity. These are promised to all

persons of good will.



KNOW THE MASS 13

So the Mass brings us a mes-

sage from heaven as quickening

and refreshing as rain upon the

parched earth. That is why we

believe that in the Mass we have

the greatest treasure in all the

world and because it's so good

and precious we want you to

know about it, too. We hope you

found this first part of interest.

It's only the beginning and

we’ll be looking forward to hav-

ing you with us next week.

Meanwhile why not drop in to

the Catholic Church in your

neighborhood preferably when

Mass is going on and say a

prayer. Talk to the priest: he’ll

be happy to give you fuller infor-

mation. And if you would like to

study further what we have

tried to tell you today please

write in for a free printed copy

of our description. We’ll be glad

to send it to you. So until next

Sunday may the good Lord Who

comes to us in the Mass be with

you and may Mary, His Blessed

Mother, protect you in her shel-

tering embrace.



PRAY THE MASS

Address delivered on February 10

End of Gloria to Sanctus

“Pray, brethren, that my sac-

rifice and yours may be accept-

able.”

1. Introduction

Welcome once again to the

great drama of the Mass! Last

week we saw the first act in our

portrayal of the Holy Sacrifice.

We learned that the Mass is not

just an empty spectacle; that, on

the contrary, every word and

every action is filled with mean-

ing. Even the vestments or

clothes worn by the priest speak

eloquently of the agelessness of

the sacred rite. Besides they im-

press on him, and indeed, on all

of us the purity and perfection

we should try to bring with us to

the altar of God. The laity are

not passive but active partici-

pants in the Mass
;
each one pre-

sent is a co-actor in the drama.

It is especially this unity and

co-operation of priest and people

that is emphasized in the second

part which we are about to pre-

sent.

The prologue was mainly con-

cerned with the work of prepara-

tion, that is, the interior cleans-

ing of the soul. In the opening

prayers, notably the Confiteor,

we strive to remove obstacles im-

peding our approach to God by

a humble admission of guilt. The

vivid realization of our condi-

tion fills us with dread and deep-

est sorrow. In ascending the

steps, approaching as it were the

Holy of Holies, the priest in-

vokes the help of the saints,

those close to God, and kisses

the altar where their relics are

kept. The Introit sets the tone

proper to the particular feast or

season. At the Kyrie eleison we

are so overpowered by a sense of

weakness and unworthiness that

we break into the touching and

oft-repeated plea for pity, Lord,

have mercy on us, Christ, have

mercy on us. Then filled with the

thought of the helps God will

give us we are impelled to cry

out in joy and gratitude the

Gloria, Glory to God in the high-

est, that jubilant hymn of praise

which sums up the two great

purposes for which Mass is of-

fered, to honor Almighty God

and thus bring much-needed

peace to the world.

2. Collects, Epistle and Gradual

i. The Prayers

The process of cleansing con-

tinues but now begins also the



PRAY THE MASS 15

enlightening of the soul by

means of prayers and heavenly

messages contained in readings

from Sacred Scripture. Having

once more ascended the steps

the priest kisses the altar as if to

say, “Pardon me Lord, for turn-

ing my back on you” and then

facing the people, who remain

standing, he makes a compre-

hensive gesture with his hands

in order to include everybody

and sings a greeting which is

to recur many times during the

Mass, Dominus vobiscum, the

Lord be with you. This was the

way the early Christians salut-

ed each other and it is still used

in certain countries, Syria, for

instance, and Ireland where such

beautiful phrases as “The Lord

prosper you,” and “God be with

you” are often heard along the

road. Our familiar “Goodbye” is

the same thing in short form,

“God be with you.” The meaning

is obvious. As long as you are in

God’s friendship, that is, in the

state of grace, all is well. And

the servers replying for us wish

the same to the priest, “And

with thy spirit.” Actually as in

the early times we should all

answer this greeting and try to

translate it into action. How can

we expect the Lord to be with us

unless we put ourselves definite-

ly on His side? “He who is not

with Me is against Me.”

Immediately after the Domi-

nus vobiscum the priest goes to

the book, holds his hands up and

apart, as Moses did of old, and

sings “Oremus.” This is the

crisp, rousing call to prayer. He

says to us with alarm clock ef-

fect: “Come, let us pray.” The

name given to these prayers

—

there may be more than one de-

pending on the occasion—Co-
llecta or combined prayers again

stresses the notion of unity. In

former times Collect actually

meant the whole assembly gath-

ered for divine worship. Like

the others in the Mass it is not

private but a liturgical or pub-

lic prayer. It should be said in

common by all for all. Prayer,

of course, is our life-line to God.

Our Lord assured us “If you ask

the Father anything in My

Name, He will give it to you.”

This is an opportune time and so

the S.O.S. signals to heaven dur-

ing Mass may be for various

purposes. In the Missal we find

them under such headings as,

“For Our Holy Father,” “For

our civil rulers,” “For our fami-

ly” and “For devoted friends.”

“For fine weather” and so on.

With slight variations the end-

ing is “Through Our Lord Jesus

Christ, Who with Thee and with



16 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

the Holy Spirit lives and reigns

for ever and ever,” to which we

answer, “Amen,” “May it be as

you say.” We make the priest’s

request ours, asking God to

count us in, too.

ii. The Epistle

Having finished the prayer or

prayers, the priest places both

hands on the book grasping, as

it were, the hand of the Church

for guidance and reads the epis-

tle. The people are seated. So far

we have been talking to God.

Now, He speaks to us. Through

His revealed Word, we hear

news-flashes, words of advice,

encouragement or warning from

His chosen saints and writers.

In this Mass the lesson is from

the Book of Wisdom, a passage

from the Old Testament refer-

ring typically to Our Blessed

Lady. Frequently the epistle is

taken from one of St. Paul’s

many letters and contains some

appropriate message such as

“Now is the hour to rise from

sleep” or “We exhort you not to

receive the grace of God in vain”

or “Charity is patient, is kind.”

At the end we thank God with a

fervent Deo gratias.”

iii Gradual and Tract

Now occurs possibly the only

gesture in the Mass not prescrib-

ed by the liturgy. At the end of

the epistle the priest turns his

head slightly or places his left

hand on the altar but this is

simply a signal to the server to

come and move the book. In old-

en times a procession formed at

this point—we still have it in a
Solemn Mass—and during the
procession the Gradual and Tract

now being read by the priest

were sung. Gradual comes from

gradus, a step, because the one

who intoned it was standing on

a step and Tract is from Trac-

tus, a musical term referring to

the slow, protracted measure. On

special occasions, Easter, say, or

Pentecost, the Gradual is omit-

ted and instead the powerful

cry, Alleluia falls on our ears

repeatedly like claps of thunder

followed by what is called the

Sequence, generally a long can-

ticle or hymn. However, all this

chant in between serves only to

form a transition or dying away

echo between the epistle and the

gospel.

3. The Gospel

While the server moves the

book the celebrant comes to the

center of the altar, raises his

eyes toward the cross and then,

with head bowed and hands

joined, says the Munda cor

meum begging Almighty God to

give him the right kind of heart



PRAY THE MASS 17

and to sear his lips with a burn-

ing coal, in order that he might

be worthy to announce the gos-

pel, the “good news” which

Christ brought into the world.

The priest goes to the book, now

on the other side which is re-

served solely for the Gospel,

said here and at the end of the

Mass. The change of sides signi-

fies the difference between the

Old Law and the New. As the

people stand (they do so when-

ever the priest sings) the cele-

brant gives the familiar greet-

ing “The Lord be with you”

which receives the customary re-

sponse. Then he chants the head-

ing “The continuation (or be-

ginning) of the Holy Gospel ac-

cording” to whichever one of the

four Evangelists it happens to

be. In this Mass it is from St.

Luke. The gospel, as you know,

is the living word of God. It con-

tains an authentic record of the

sayings, doings, and sufferings

of Christ. That is why as the

priest pronounces this opening

sentence he imprints a cross with

his thumb on that part of the

book and then on his forehead,

mouth and breast. The sign on

the book is to express that the

whole doctrine of salvation con-

veyed by the gospel is summed

up in the mystery of the Cross

and by the other signs the priest

and faithful show they wish to

preserve the symbol of their Re-

demption in mind and heart and

proclaim it with their lips. At

the end of the gospel the priest

lifts the book, inclines a little

and kisses it at the beginning

of the passage read thereby

showing our great reverence and

affection for the Holy Scripture.

At the same time he says in a

low tone, “By the words of the

Gospel may our sins be blotted

out” and the server addressing

Christ directly says in the name

of all, “Praise be to Thee.”

U. The Credo

If there were a sermon it

would come naturally at this

point by way of an explanation

of the gospel. Otherwise the cele-

brant, standing once more in the

middle of the altar, and again

extending, raising and joining

his hands intones the initial

words of the Credo, I believe in

one God, and the choir and peo-

ple unite with him in the great

act of faith. Each one, as it

were, answers the voice of God

heard in the gospel by saying “I

believe.” A summary of Chris-

tian doctrine the Nicene Creed

here recited is so-called because

its central truth, the Divinity of

Christ, is almost literally repro-

duced from the words of the



18 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

Council of Nice held in 325. This

was the first general meeting of

the Bishops after the Church

was first granted freedom under

Constantine. The Creed, corre-

sponding on the religious level

to our Declaration of Independ-

ence and Constitution, contains

the things we stand for. It repre-

sents the bond which unites all

believers, priests and people, in

mind and heart and to hear it

chanted in unison by representa-

tives of various nationalities, as,

happens at Lourdes, is a truly

unforgettable experience. One

understands then that interna-

tional peace and harmony de-

pend not on externals, not on

material possessions or on a

forced uniformity; they can be

attained only through the free

acceptance of common beliefs

and principles. The best formu-

la was given long ago, ‘Tn es-

sentials unity, in non-essentials

liberty, in all things charity.”

This is the ancient faith for

which men and women have

suffered and are still suffering

even in our age of freedom. It

is the victory which conquers

the world. Without faith — a
guiding star not just a leap in

the dark—there can be no hope
here or hereafter.

You noticed that all genu-

flected toward the middle of the

Credo. That was at the words

which recall the fact that Our

Lord “was incarnate by the Holy

Ghost, of the Virgin Mary; and

was made man.” (Also the priest

bowed his head a couple of times

during its recital and at the final

words made the sign of the

Cross.)

5. The Offertory

Now we come to the Euchar-

istic Sacrifice properly so-called.

In olden days all those not yet

baptized or not in full member-

ship with the Church had to

leave before the Credo. Hence

the distinction, between the

Mass of the Catechumens (those

under instruction) and the part

which begins here. This Mass of

the Faithful, as it is called, com-

prises the three essential acts

of sacrifice, (1) the Offertory or

offering, (2) the Consecration or

sacrificial action proper, (3) the

Communion, which is the par-

ticipation in and completion of

the sacrifice. Today we shall

have time to show you only what

happens at the Offertory or Obla-

tion.

First there is a repetition of

the Dominus vobiscum. The

priest will not turn to give this

greeting again for quite some

time. Then he sings with the

same awakening effect the Ore-



PRAY THE MASS 19

mus after which he says in a

low voice an anthem or short

verse. Actually the term Offer-

tory includes the whole series of

prayers that is to follow. It was

at this time that the people once

brought their gifts, bread and

wine to be used in the Holy Sac-

rifice. It must be unleavened

bread, from pure wheaten flour

mixed with natural water. Now

the priest spreads the corporal so

called because on it the Body of

Christ will rest and, having re-

moved the veil and the pall (a

square piece of carboard cover-

ed with linen), he lifts up the

paten, a little plate of gold or

silver on which is the altar bread

or round white wafer specially

baked for this purpose. It must

be unleavend bread, from pure

wheaten flour mixed with natur-

al water. On presenting it he

says a prayer in which he tells

God that he is offering “this un-

spotted victim” (the Mass being

one action the priest can call it

that already) not only for his

own sins and failings but for

all present and for the dead as

well as the living. Then taking

the chalice, a gold or silver cup

—

the interior at least must be gilt

with gold—he pours in wine, the
other element required for the

Holy Sacrifice. The wine used

must be pressed from ripe

grapes, fully fermented, and not

falling below or exceeding a

certain alcoholic content. To this

the priest, having first blessed it,

adds a few drops of water (the

amount must be less than one

eighth the quantity of wine)

saying at the same time a signifi-

cant prayer, “0 God Who in

creating human nature did

wonderfully dignify it” etc.

which brings out the idea that

the mingling of the wine and

water is not only a symbol of

the union in Christ of two na-

tures, human and divine, but also

of the fact that- we are “made

partakers of His divine nature.”

When Our Lord’s side was pierc-

ed on the Cross blood and water

gushed forth. The cup and its

contents thus suggest union

through suffering. “Father,” He

said during His Passion, “if it

be possible let this chalice pass

from Me, nevertheless not My

Will but Thine be done.”

Now the priest lifts up the

chalice saying the prayer “We of-

fer” (note that “We”) “to Thee,

0 Lord, the Chalice of salvation”

and then having covered it he

bows down fittingly for the “In

spiritu humiltatis” begging God

to accept the sacrificial elements

now prepared. Then arising and

elevating his hands he blesses

them and goes over to the epistle



20 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

side where he washes the thumb

and forefinger of both hands and

dries them reciting the Psalm:

“I will wash my hands among

the innocent.” We wash our

hands before we eat; therefore

this action besides its purifying

signification also points to what

is to come. Before the last Sup-

per the Master washed the feet

of His followers, a rite still ob-

served on Holy Thursday.

Having said, while inclining

before the center of the altar,

another prayer of offering in

which he asks the Holy Trinity

to accept the gifts “Which we

make Thee, in memory of the

Passion, Resurrection, and As-

cension of Our Lord” the priest

turns and by action and word in-

vites those present to unite with

him saying, “Orate fratres,”

“Pray, brethren that my sacri-

fice and yours may be acceptable

to God,” and we obey by asking

the Lord to “receive this sacri-

fice for the praise and glory of

His name, for our benefit and for

that of His Holy Church.” As

the priest recites the secret

prayer a holy sense of quiet, of

anticipation falls over the group.

The climax is now approaching.

But before the great silence the

stillness is broken for a while by

the tones of the Preface, begin-

ning with a sublime dialogue

which exhorts us amongst other

things to “lift up our hearts”

and to “give thanks to God.”

This gratitude on our part is

right and fitting. It is profitable

for us “at all times and in all

places to give thanks to our

Eternal Father.” So at the end of

the Preface we should join with

the priest who, bowing low, says

(while the choir sings) the Sanc-

tus, Sanctus, Sanctus etc. “Holy,

holy, holy, Lord God of hosts..

Heaven and earth are full of Thy

glory. Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is He who comes in the

name of the Lord. Hosanna in

the highest.”

Concluding Message

“Pray that my sacrifice and

yours may be acceptable.” Why

shouldn’t we all take this invi-

tation seriously? Each one—you,
and you and you—can be a co-
actor in this drama. Why not

pray the Mass along with us?

Surely here is one place we can

all get together no matter what

our differences of race or color,

temperament or outlook. The

Mass is for everybody; we have

seen how it stresses the notion of

unity. The prayers and ceremon-

ies insist on the share of the

faithful in the offering of the

Holy Sacrifice. Although not pos-

sessing the sacerdotal charac-



PRAY THE MASS 21

ter lay persons may have, in a

true sense, certain priestly pow-

ers. This follows from our incor-

poration into the Mystical Body

of Christ. He is the Head; we

are the members. So when

Christ, our Head, offers the Holy

Sacrifice—we shall see that the
priest takes His place and speaks

in His Name—then all Christians
offer it with Him. The various

parts of the body cannot be pass-

ive; they get life and motion

from and share vitally in those

of the brain and soul. In the

Mass we do not pray alone. In

fact it is not we who pray; rath-

er it is Christ and the Church

praying through each one of us.

Thus we derive support and

strengthen from unity.

Last week we invited you to

know the Mass. Now we may go

further and beg of you to PRAY

the Mass with us. Maybe it will

mean a little self-denial but that,

too, is part of the idea of sacri-

fice. Both wise and simple

brought their offerings to

Christ. No matter who you are

you can bring Him yours too, the

greatest gift outside of the Mass

—the gift of yourself. And in
that offering of yourself with all

you have, including your wor-

ries, you will find the greatest

peace you have ever known. How

could we hate somebody if we

recall : “He and I pray together”

“We knelt together at Mass this

morning”? So write to us for

our free booklet which will give

you more information and be

with us again next Sunday for

the high-point of our program.

Meanwhile pray and, if possible,

speak to some priest. He will tell

you exactly how you can dis-

cover what the one-time great

sinner, St. Augustine, found;

that in the Mass we have “the

mystery of devotion, the center

of unity, and the bond of peace.”



LOVE THE MASS

Address delivered on February 17

The Mass—Drama of Eternal
Love

Part III : Love the Mass

Beginning of Canon to Pater

Noster

“This is My Body: This is

My Blood”

I. Introduction (Choir picks up

from last week: Celebrant says

Sanctus—Bells ringing—Then
silence.)

Have you ever stood in a

crowd awaiting the arrival of

some great hero or* important

person? For a while there is a

buzz of confusion and anticipa-

tion. Then as the appointed time

draws near the noise dies down

and a hushed silence falls over

the scene. Somebody says “He is

coming,” a quiver runs through

the crowd and each one, caught

up by the enthusiasm of the mo-

ment remains still. Such is the

atmosphere now as we approach

the most solemn part of the

Mass. The sacred moment of

sacrifice is near: the tension in-

creases. We are on our way to

Calvary to await the Divine

Guest, the Conqueror of sin and

death. Truly we can say: “This

is our finest hour.” And the

silence, the profound stillness

which reigns, is most fitting. The

priest, like Moses, is now on the

mountain top communing with

God. Besides did not Our Blessed

Lord Himself before His Mass

on Calvary maintain silence in

the face of His accusers?

So the drama of the Mass is

now rapidly approaching its

climax. You who have patiently

followed us so far will have

noticed not only a unity which

runs like a thread through the

first two parts but also a gradual

heightening, an increasing in-

tensity rising from the Confiteor

or Confession through the read-

ings from Sacred Scripture,

the Epistle and Gospel, to the

Credo or testament of faith and

the Preface, the prayer of

thanksgiving which we have just

concluded. We saw that the Mass

is a two-way communication.

First, we speak to God, then He

speaks to us. But not content

with just talking to God we offer

Him something, bread and wine,

common elements which in a

sense represent all creation.

This offering is the first essent-

ial idea in the notion of sacrifice

which might be described as an



LOVE THE MASS 23

act of Divine worship whereby

something is destroyed, or

changed and then presented to

God in recognition of His Su-

preme mastery over all. We shall

see in a moment how this hap-

pens in the Mass. We shall see

also that our poor humble gifts

to God are not rejected. He not

only accepts them but He gives

us something in return, some-

thing far beyond our deserts.

II. The Canon

1. General

Meanwhile let us pick up the

sequence from last week. On

that as well as on the previous

occasion we concluded with the

singing by the choir of an

angelic song. The first part end-

ed with the Gloria and last Sun-

day we closed with the singing

of the Sanctus. That followed

the Preface and a preface is

always by way of introducing

something. Here it ushers in

what may be called the nucleus

or the very heart of the Mass.

This part, in itself a complete

unit, is called the Canon. Canon

means a set rule, a fixed formula,

and indeed it has remained es-

sentially unchanged since about

the year 600. Its lovely literary

style, its beauty and simplicity

are such that it would almost

seem to be heaven inspired. But

the Canon is not simply a matter

of words, important as each

word is. Words are but signs,

especially when we are in in-

timate contact with the unseen

world. What is done is even

more important. Therefore the

Canon is also called the “action”

of the Mass. In point of fact the

phrases so often used such as

“the priest says Mass” and “the

people hear Mass” are somewhat

misleading. We saw already

that the people are not just list-

eners or bystanders; they play

an active role in union with the

celebrant and with Christ Whom

he represents. Perhaps a better

expression, if it were permis-

sible, would be to say that the

priest “did” Mass and the people

helped him do it. At any rate to

derive maximum profit we must

never lose sight of the fact that

the Mass is an action and the

proper attitude is one of active

participation.

2. The First Three Prayers

of the Canon

This part of the sacred ritual

brings out very well the four

purposes for which every Mass

is offered, to adore, to thank, to

ask, and to atone. In the Preface

as, of course, in the Gloria and



24 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

elsewhere, we give thanks; soon

at the Consecration we shall

unite in the infinite act of

adoration and atonement which

Christ offers to His Eternal

Father. But immediately preced-

ing this almost frightening event

the priest now says three

prayers of petition and of re-

membrance. They are really one

as appears from the single con-

clusion at the end of the third

prayer. The priest standing in

the middle of the altar, extends

and raises his hands, lifts his

eyes to the Cross and then join-

ing his hands again bows low

for the beginning of the Canon.

i. The Church: First he prays

for the Church. Bending he kis-

ses the altar in reverence and

then makes the sign of the Cross

three times over the bread and

wine. It is interesting to note

the relation between the kiss and

the Cross. At one time the priest

kissed not the altar but the first

letter of the Canon, which is a

capital T, resembling one form

of the Cross. From now on the

Cross becomes more and more

prominent, its shadow begins to

fall heavily across the liturgy

and our lives. Having asked

the Father to bless “these gifts,

these offerings, these holy and

unspotted sacrifices” the priest

extends his hands and makes

his first request, for the Church.

Often hated and attacked, either

openly or otherwise, because she

opposes the evil of the world,

the Church needs, as the prayer

puts it, unity, protection, and

peace. She, like her Divine

Founder, has two aspects. In her

Divine aspect she is beyond the

reach of all human and diaboli-

cal agencies but in her human

development she patterns her-

self after the earthly life of

Our Blessed Lord. Hence it is

fitting that we should remember

here those to whom Christ com-

mitted the governing of His

Church on earth, our Holy

Father, the Pope, its visible

head
;

our bishop, the local

superior from whom the priest

immediately gets his authority.

And then as if to show that

there is nothing narrow about

the Church, that she is truly

catholic or universal the prayer

ends by broadening out its scope

to include all true believers and

promoters of the faith.

ii. The Living: The second

prayer (of this sequence) is for

the living. This shows the

thoughtfulness of the Church in

our regard. Every Mass is offer-

ed for the living and the dead

and here the priest prays silently



LOVE THE MASS 2$

for those who asked that he

would include especially their

intention. By the way, perhaps

this is a good place to mention

the offering made to the priest

by persons who request him to

offer his Mass for their special

ntention. Frequently by such a

•equest the priest is offered a

lonation or gift. This means of

supporting the clergy, which

has replaced the offerings of the

early Christians during Mass,

is sometimes misunderstood.

There can be no question of

“buying a Mass.” That would

be impossible since the Mass is

infinite in value. Nor does it

mean that only the wealthy who

can afford it receive benefit from

the Mass. True the special fruits

are applied for the donor’s in-

tention but the general fruit of

the Holy Sacrifice is still shared

by the whole community of the

faithful. We may be sure that

the good God Who makes the

sun shine on all alike would per-

mit no injustice in this respect.

iii. The Saints and Martyrs:

The third prayer “within the

Action” or Canon of the Mass

gets us into communication with

the other branch of the Church,

the blessed in heaven. As we

come closer to the arrival of the

Divine Guest we remember those

intimately associated with Him

and we review them in rapid

succession calling on some of

them by name, His Blessed

Mother, His twelve apostles, five

of His Popes, three of them im-

mediate successors of St. Peter,

also St. Cyprian, bishop of

Carthage, St. Lawrence, arch-

deacon of Rome and others, all

celebrated martyrs of the early

centuries. We cannot help think-

ing of our modern martyrs,

those who are now suffering and

dying for the faith in Eastern

Europe, in the Orient and else-

where today. Then as now the

only retaliation the Church

makes is to plead, as the next

short prayer emphasizes, for

“peace in our days.” This is in

accordance with the advice and

example of Christ Who, on the

eve of His Passion prayed to

His Eternal Father for unity

“that they may be one as We

are One” after He had predicted,

“the hour comes and now is that

whosoever kills you thinks he

does a service to God.”

3. The Consecration

Now the supreme moment has

arrived! The warning bell rings

as the priest holds his hands

over the bread and wine. By

that action he offers himself



26 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

and the people together with the

elements about to be consecrated

just as under the Old Law those

offering an animal in sacrifice

placed their hands on the victim

to signify their union with it

and through it with God. Thus,

as in the case of the early Chris-

tians bringing their gifts to the

altar, it became in a sense their

victim, their sacrifice. But, of

course, the Old Testament sacri-

fices were merely types, “weak

and needy elements,” St. Paul

calls them, when compared with

the great and real Sacrifice of

the New Law.

Now the priest makes the

sign of the Cross five times in

all asking God for a final bless-

ing and ratification of what he

is about to do so that, as he says,

our offering “may become for us

the Body and Blood of Thy most

beloved Son, Jesus Christ Our

Lord.” Then completely casting

off, as it were, his own person-

ality and taking on the Person

of Christ, Whose representative

he is, the priest follows in every

detail during the Consecration,

the words and actions of Our

Lord as recorded in Sacred

Scripture. You may compare for

yourself the text of the Missal

here with the account of the Last

Supper given in the gospel of

St. Matthew, the 26th chapter,

St. Mark the 14th, St. Luke, the

22nd chapter and especially St.

Paul’s 1st Epistle to the Cor-

inthians, the 11th chapter. As

we read along with the priest

the words of Consecration notice

the exactness with which he fol-

lows the direction given: The

words are:

“Who,” (this refers back to

Our Lord mentioned at the end

of the previous prayer) “Who,

the day before He suffered, took

bread into His holy and venera-

ble hands, and having lifted up

His eyes to heaven, to Thee, 0

God, His Almighty Father, giv-

ing thanks to Thee, blessed it,

broke it (this action comes later)

and gave to His disciples saying

:

Take all ye and eat of this:

—

“For This is My Body”

As he pronounces these divine

words (notice he says “My body”

because he is taking the place of

Christ,) a tremendous, awe-

inspiring change takes place. In

a real Mass the bread would no

longer be bread, its appearances

alone would remain but its sub-

stance would have been changed

and instead Christ’s living Body

would become truly present on

the altar. The gates of heaven

open and the Divine Guest is

with us. No wonder the priest



LOVE THE MASS 27

falls on one knee in reverent

adoration. The soldiers who came

to arrest Our Lord fell back in

terror when they must have

glimpsed one blinding flash of

His Divinity. But there is no

such manifestation now. He

comes to us quietly, not as when

He appeared to Moses midst the

thunders and lightenings of Mt.

Sinai. It is all so simple and

unobtrusive. The bell rings as

the priest lifts up the Sacred

Host, as the Sacrificial Body of

Christ was lifted up on the

Cross, so that all may gaze on it

and say “My Lord and My God.”

With the keen vision of faith

the people at this moment see

the glory of the coming of the

Lord. They know He is there

just as I know you are there

even though I do not see you.

Now comes the essential re-

quirement for the sacrifice in

the separate consecration of the

wine. The priest takes the chal-

ice in his hands (from now until

after the Communion the thumb

and forefinger of both hands

will remain together) and again

suiting the action to the word

he says:

“In like manner after He had

supped taking also this excellent

chalice into His holy and venera-

ble hands, again giving thanks to

Thee, He blessed it and gave it

to His disciples saying : Take

all ye and drink of this:

—

“For this is the chalice of

My Blood, of the new and

eternal testament
;

the

mystery of faith, which

shall be shed for you and for

many, unto the remission of

sins.”

As he genuflects again the priest

repeats the words whereby

Christ gave to His Apostles and

to every priest the power to do

what He Himself did: “As often

as you do these things you shall

do them in memory of Me.” Then

lifting the chalice for the adora-

tion of the faithful as the bell

rings again three times, he

places it on the altar, covers it,

and genuflects once more.

The mystery of faith! Here

indeed we walk among mysteries.

In a real Mass the very ground

we tread becomes holy. And yet

the explanation of it all is not

too difficult. Christ died for us

on Calvary. That historical act

of Redemption, His complete

self-offering to His Eternal

Father, happened once and for

all. But the Mass re-presents in

a mystical, though none the less

real, manner what happened

physically on the Cross. The

victim is the same, namely, Our



28 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

Blessed Lord, true God and true

man, Who becomes present under

the form of bread and wine. The

Offerer is also the same Jesus

Christ Our Lord, Who through

the human priest his representa-

tive came down on the altar to

praise and thank God and to win

for us pardon and help. There-

fore the Sacrifice of the Mass

continues the Sacrifice of the

Cross. They are not two sacri-

fices but one. The sole differ-

ence lies in the fact that in the

Mass there is no shedding of

blood because Christ’s death

occurs in a mystical manner.

How does this happen? Quite

simply in the separate consecra-

tion of the bread and the wine

thereby representing the sepa-

ration of Christ’s Body from His

Sacred Blood.

This is how Our Lord Him-

self wished it. This is what He

did and this is what He com-

manded others to do. “Do this

in memory of Me.” But the Mass

is more , than a memory, more

than a mere recalling of some

great event of the past. The

Sacrifice of Christ becomes

really, not just mentally, present.

As often as Mass is celebrated

the fruits of Christ’s redemptive

death are being applied to the

souls of man. But Christ is no

longer alone on Calvary. Now

His Church, His Mystical Body,

is with Him and each one of us

who participate in the Mass

should, as it were, die in spirit

with Him. In this way our union

as well as our offering becomes

complete.

4. Prayers after the Consecra-

tion

i. First Three Prayers after

Consecration:

The high-point of the Mass is

now reached but we are not per-

mitted to stop. Having bid Our

Lord “a hundred thousand wel-

comes” we continue the prayers

prescribed by the Church. The

first one after the Consecration

appropriately calls to mind the

blessed Passion, Resurrection,

and Ascension of Christ. These

are all included in the sacrifice

which is here offered to God.

In the early and middle ages

Christ was often depicted as a

vested priest on the Cross,—His
wounds now glorious—crowned
as a King ruling over the world.

• The priest again makes the sign

of the Cross, three times as he

speaks of the “pure,” “holy” and

“spotless Victim” and twice over

“the holy bread of eternal life

and the chalice of everlasting

salvation.” Suddenly in the next



LOVE THE MASS 29

prayer the scene switches back

for a moment to pre-Christian

times,—only the Church can
take such a sweeping view of

history—and we recall the sacri-
fices of Abel, Abraham, and Mel-

chisedech. These, as we said,

were but faint foreshadowings

of the Mass. Melchisedech, how-

ever, is regarded as especially

the type of Christ, the High

.Priest. Consequently every

priest, because he shares in the

Priesthood of Christ, is remind-

ed on his ordination day, “Thou

art a priest forever according to

the order of Melchisedecli.”

ii. The Commemoration of the

Dead:

The priest now asks that the

Divine Offering be carried by

an angel to God’s Altar in heaven

which is one with that on earth

and again makes a sign over the

Sacred Body and Blood. The

Mass is not really in time but in

eternity. All share in it whether

living or dead as we are remind-

ed now in the special remem-

brance of those “who have gone

before us with the sign of faith

and who sleep the sleep of

peace.” These are the souls in

Purgatory who are being puri-

fied and prepared for the blessed

Vision of God. With head bowed

—Our Lord bowed His head on
the Cross when He died—the
priest now mentions those for

whom he wishes especially to

pray. What a consolation to

know that even though we should

forget them, our loved ones are

always remembered in the Mass

just as we ourselves will be long

after we have passed away! The

Church has a long memory!

iii. The “Nobis quoque,” “Per

quern haec omnia,” the Little

Elevation.

The silence is now broken by

the voice of the priest as, once

again stricken with a conscious-

ness of sin, he strikes his breast

and cries : “To us, also, sinners.”

Continuing in a low tone he

again goes down a brief list of

apostles and martyrs, athletes of

Christ such as Stephen, Mat-

thias, Ignatius and strong

women such as Lucy, Cecilia and

Agnes (who was only about 12

years old when she suffered

martyrdom). Here we recall our

union with them and ask for a

share in their heavenly bliss.

Finally the Canon closes with

two short prayers during which

the priest makes the sign of

the Cross many times—seven in
all—first with his hand and then
with the Sacred Host after



30 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

which occurs what is known as

the Little Elevation. This is so-

called because the priest raises

the Host and Chalice together

slightly from the altar, not how-

ever above his head as before.

Prior to the 12th century he gen-

erally faced the people when say-

ing Mass, and therefore, this

action could be easily seen. Then

with a brief introduction the

priest extending his hands and

gazing at the Host chants the

beautifully simple Pater Noster,

Our Father. What is more ap-

propriate than that he should

now recite the prayer composed

by Christ Himself and at the

same time look directly at Our

Blessed Lord while doing so ! His

mind is now wholly centered in

Christ.

III. Pater Noster and Con-

cluding Message.

Our Father Who art in

heaven/’ This prayer is always

recited aloud at Mass so that all

of us may join in saying it and

in entering into the spirit of it

with child-like confidence. God

is our Father : heaven is our

home. In the Mass we really

venerate His Name and we act-

ually see His kingdom come on

earth. By assisting at Mass de-

voutly we are doing His Will.

“Do this” He said, “in memory

of Me.” Through the Mass as we

shall see in our next and final

program, He gives us our daily

bread, not just food for the

body, but for the soul. Together

at Mass we can ask and find for-

giveness of God for our offences

against Him and against each

other. And above all in these

days we need the Mass to deliver

us from evil. Sometimes when

we shudder at the thought of all

the crime and iniquity in our

large cities and in the world

generally we wonder why God

did not wipe it out even as He

destroyed the sinful cities of

old. Why doesn’t He? Because

daily from millions of altars

“from the rising of the sun to

its going down” the chalice of

benediction is lifted up to ap-

pease God’s anger and bring sal-

vation to the world.

For all these reasons we

should love the Mass but espec-

ially because in the Mass there

comes to us One Who loved us

so much that He laid down His

life for us. “Greater love than

this no man hath.” At every

Mass myriads of angels, God’s

ministering spirits, are present

but the Mass is not intended

for the angels. It was given, as

a result of sheer love, to you



LOVE THE MASS 31

and to me that we might profit

from it and be holy; for to be

holy is simply to be close to God.

Learn to know and pray and

love the Mass. And if you do no

matter who you are or what

your condition, whether you be

like John the beloved disciple or

like Peter who once betrayed

the Master, whether you be like

Mary, the sinless one, or Mary,

the sinner in the city, you too

can go to Mass, which means

that you, too, can run to Calvary

and there, standing at the foot

of the Cross, you too, can be

bathed in the torrent of love

and of mercy that gushes out

from the open heart of Christ.



LIVE THE MASS

Address delivered on February 24

“Never permit me to be separ-

ated from Thee

”

Pater Noster to the End of

Mass

1 Introduction

Today we come to the final act

in the drama of love that is the

Mass! And may we say how de-

lightful it has been to have been

able to visit with you and talk to

you in this way about the Holy

Sacrifice. Now at the end we

would ask you to picture once

more a scene which took place

long ago when his faithful

friends gathered around Christ

in an upper room in Jerusalem.

It was the eve of His death on

the Cross. For years He had

been with them and now that He

was about to leave they began to

realize how weak they would be

without Him. Then they remem-

bered how after the miracle of

the loaves and fishes when He

had fed five thousand in the

wilderness He promised He

would give them a much more

important food later. ‘‘I am the

living bread that has come down

from heaven,” He had said,

“
. . . and the bread that I will

give is my flesh for the life of

the world.” (John, VI, 52). We

shall see how well He kept this

promise.

Last week at the Consecration,

which follows exactly the in-

structions given by Our Lord at

the Last Supper, we learned that

the bread and wine presented to

God at the Offertory are changed

into the Body and Blood of

Christ. This is the essence of

the Sacrifice but it is still not

quite complete. The priest and

people have yet to participate in

it. In other words, the Holy Eu-

charist is both a sacrifice and a

sacrament or food. Today we

shall bring our series to a close

by showing you how through

the Mass you can achieve a life

of union with Christ, physically

and spiritually. Hence this part

will be divided into the prepara-

tion for Communion, the receiv-

ing of Our Lord and the con-

cluding prayers and ceremonies.

2. Preparation for Communion

i. Libera nos
;
haec commixtio.

The Lord’s Prayer is really a

grace before meals. Its first half,

as we saw, has reference to God

and the rest is concerned with

saving us from sin, temptation,

and evil but both parts are close-

ly connected with the central re-



LIVE THE MASS 33

quest in which we ask for our

daily bread. This includes food

not only for the body but also

for the soul. Have you ever

thought that if we ate only as

frequently as we pray and take

spiritual sustenance how quickly

we would starve to death ?

The next prayer which the

priest says continues in the

strain of the Our Father. We are

now in God’s presence but fear-

ful of the things which may

cause us to lose Him. So we ask

Him, again through the good of-

fices of the saints especially the

Blessed Virgin, the apostles Pet-

er, Paul and Andrew—powerful
intercessors—to deliver us from
all evils, past, present and to

come, to “graciously grant peace

in our days” so that “we may al-

ways be free from sin and se-

cure from all disturbance.” As

he says this prayer the priest

takes the paten or plate in his

right hand, wipes and kisses it

and then places it under the Sa-

cred Host. He uncovers the chal-

ice, genuflects, and taking the

Host begins to break it rever-

ently into two parts. (Recall here

the words of the Consecration,

“And taking bread he blessed

and broke it.”) This action syn-

chronizes with the ending of the

prayer. He places one half of the

Host on the paten and having

broken off a small particle from

the other half, chants the last

words of the prayer, “World

without end,” followed by “May

the peace of the Lord be always

with you.” As he sings the last

phrase he makes a triple cross

with the particle over the Chal-

ice and then drops it in to mingle

with the Precious Blood. Form-

erly a fragment of the Host

from a previous Mass was here

mixed with the present sacrifice.

This is still done on Good Friday

in the Mass of the Pre-Sancti-

fied.

This breaking and mingling

are simple acts with great mean-

ing. They are linked up with the

sacrificial action going before as

well as the Communion which

follows. The early Christians

called the Mass “the breaking

of the bread” and you remember

how the two companions who

walked with the Master after

His Resurrection did not know

who He was until they saw Him

perform this action. May we, too,

learn to recognize Christ in the

“breaking of the bread.” At the

Consecration we told you the

Sacrifice consisted in the mysti-

cal separation of the Body and

Blood. On the Cross Our Lord’s

Body was bruised and mangled

and broken but in the Mass He

suffers no pain nor is there shed-



34 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

ding of blood. Nevertheless there

is a severance and the mingling

now implies a re-union. The Sa-

cred Body and Blood are again

brought together as it were and

re-vivified symbolically. This

means that we become witness-

es of His Resurrection. We have

now an undivided and living Vic-

tim. The whole Christ is one sac-

rificial food which we are to re-

ceive in Holy Communion.

ii. Agnus Dei.

Now comes the triple recital

of the Agnus Dei, “Lamb of God

who takes away the sins of the

world.” In the parable of the

pharisee and the publican we

read that the publican struck his

breast and said “0 God, be mer-

ciful to me a sinner.” Such are

our sentiments now. To the first

two invocations we answer,

“Have mercy on us.” The remov-

al of sins recalls the purpose of

the sacrifice. Our Lord on the

Cross is the true Paschal Lamb

and as His death was crowned

with victory in His Resurrection

so our death in sin will soon be

changed into the supernatural

life we find through union with

Christ.

In the third response we beg

for peace. Whenever we want to

show real friendship we ask

somebody to break bread with

us. Hence in the breaking of the

bread we wish to express friend-

ship and union with each other

in Christ. Thus it is connected

with the Kiss of Peace and for

many centuries this mark of af-

fection was exchanged by all

present. Now it is restricted to

clerics and occurs only at a

Solemn Mass. Perhaps this omis-

sion is indicative. We no longer

seem to feel the same sense of

solidarity. Yet love, as expressed

by the Kiss of Peace, is the

touchstone of Christianity. It

was so evident amongst the early

followers of Christ that it ex-

cited the admiration of those

amongst whom they lived. Only

Judas betrayed the Master with

a kiss. We must re-capture this

feeling of community and ex-

press it not only in our spiritual

but also in our social and eco-

nomic life. “Because the bread is

one, we though many, are one

body, all of us partake of the one

bread.” (I Corinthians X, 17,

18).

iii. The Three Prayers before

Communion.

-Christ by His glorious death

and resurrection became the au-

thor and source of peace. This

note runs all through the Mass

but it is especially prominent

now. The first of the three pray-



LIVE THE MASS 35

ers immediately before Com-

munion reproduces the words of

His final discourse at the Last

Supper, “Peace I leave with you,

My peace I give to you.” (John

XIV, 27). In this prayer we ask

that the Church be preserved

from external disturbances

whereas in the second prayer we

again address Our Lord directly

and ask for internal peace.

“Make me always obey Thy

commands and never allow me to

be separated from Thee.” The

third prayer refers to the Holy

Eucharist and contemplates the

dread possibility of receiving

unworthily. While it is to be

so conceived as a means toward,

rather than solely a reward for,

sanctity we must have for the

feast the wedding garment of

sanctifying grace; otherwise it

may result in “judgment and

condemnation” rather than be,

as was intended, “a safegurad

and remedy for soul and body.”

3. Communion

i. Of Celebrant.

Now the priest genuflects and

while rising says “I will take the

bread of heaven and call upon

the name of the Lord.” Then in-

clining he holds both parts of the

Sacred Host in his left hand and

with his right hand he strikes

his breast three times repeating

almost exactly the words of the

centurion who, when Christ of-

fered to come and cure his ser-

vant, said “Lord, I am not

worthy that Thou shouldst come

under my roof
;
but only say the

word and my servant (soul)

shall be healed.” (Matthew

VIII, 8). Our attitude at this

stage recalls also the humility of

St. Peter when he fell on his

knees and said: “Depart from

me for I am a sinful man, 0

Lord.” (Luke V, 8).

The priest now lays one part

of the Host over the other and

makes the sign of the Cross with

them saying “May the Body of

Our Lord Jesus Christ preserve

my soul unto life everlast-

ing.” Then leaning forward

he reverently consumes the

Host thus completing the

mystical destruction of the

Victim. After a brief pause

he expresses a sentiment in the

form of a question which should

be frequently on our lips if we

but realized God’s goodness to

us, especially in the Mass, “What

return shall I make to the Lord

for all the things He has given

to me?” While saying this pray-

er he uncovers the chalice, genu-

flects, and collects any scattered

fragments of the Host by sweep-

ing the paten over the corporal.

These he puts into the chalice be-



36 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

fore drinking which he says,

“The Blood of Our Lord Jesus

Christ preserve my soul unto life

everlasting, Amen.” Making the

sign of the Cross with the chal-

ice he consumes its contents and

then prepares to give Holy Com-

munion to the people present

who wish to receive it.

ii. Of People.

As distinct from the priest

the people assisting at Mass do

not now receive Our Lord under

both species but only under the

form of bread. It is obvious that

if they receive Christ’s living

Body, as they do, then they must

at the same time also receive His

Sacred Blood. For the reception

of Holy Communion only two

conditions are necessary. We

must be in the state of grace,

that is, we are not conscious of

any grave sin and, normally, we

must be fasting from the pre-

vious midnight. It will be readily

understood that these are but

minimum requirements arising

out of respect for the Blessed

Sacrament. As the servers recite

the Confiteor or Confession the

priest opens the Tabernacle

where the small consecrated

Hosts are reserved or kept in a

vessel called a Ciborium. Note

that Christ not only comes to us

in the Mass but remains with us

in the Tabernacle. Therefore it

is the holiest and most import-

ant place in your community.

This explains why so many per-

sons not of the faith tell us that

when they pray alone in a Cath-

olic Church they are comforted

by a feeling of some indescrib-

able Presence. Like Mary Mag-

dalene they might well say,

“Rabboni, Master.” The Master

is indeed here and calls for you.

The priest now genuflects and

facing the people pronounces the

Absolution by making the sign

of the Cross and asking God to

grant them pardon for their sins.

Then, taking the Ciborium he

holds up a Host saying “Behold

the Lamb of God, behold Him

who takes away the sins of the

world” after which he again re-

peats three times the “Lord, I

am not worthy.” Assisted by one

of the acolytes he goes down the

altar rail where the people are

kneeling. (In olden days the pro-

cession to the altar to receive

was the counterpart of the

earlier procession when they

came up at the Offertory to

give.) The priest places a Host

on the tongue of each one say-

ing, “May the Body of Our Lord

Jesus preserve your soul unto

life everlasting, Amen.” Choir

sings here. Having finished he

goes back to the altar, replaces



LIVE THE MASS 37

the Ciborium in the Tabernacle,

and continues with the Mass.

J. Post Communion to End.

Now occurs the process of

cleansing the Chalice so as to re-

move all stains of the Precious

Blood. The altar boy pours in a

little wine which the priest

drinks, having said a short pray-

er. Then he takes the Chalice,

and reciting another prayer

holds the thumbs and forefingers

of both hands over it in such a

way that the server can pour on

them first wine and then water.

Then the priest returns to the

middle of the altar and wipes his

fingers and consumes the second

ablution or cleansing. He dries

and covers the Chalice and goes

to the book to read the Com-

munion verse which varies with

the occasion. Returning we hear

once more the greeting, “The

Lord be with you” after which

he sings the Postcommunion, a

sort of thanksgiving which gen-

erally stresses the theme of love,

union, and perseverance. Quick-

ly the Mass runs on to the end

as he sings another Dominus vo-

biscum and the dismissal, from

which the Mass gets its name

“Ite Missa est,” “Go the Mass

is ended.” Then, having recited

another short prayer, in which

he asks that “the humble tri-

bute of my worship may be

pleasing” he turns and gives

final blessing. The Mass is con-

cluded by the reading of the last

gospel, which is generally the

opening part of the gospel of St.

John. (In a Low Mass this would

be followed by some prayers in

English at the foot of the altar,

ordered, incidentally, for the

special purpose of converting

the Russian people. The Mass is

truly universal in its scope!)

The gospel read here is most

appropriate. One of the m6st

profound passages in all Scrip-

ture it describes not the earthly

coming but the eternal genera-

tion of the Word, the Son of

God. In Him is life. He is, in

fact, the Way, the Truth, and

the Life. He is the true Light

but, tragically, He came, then

and now, unto His own and His

own receive Him not. But to

those who receive Him He gives

power to become the sons of God.

At the beginning we make the

sign of the Cross on forehead,

mouth, and breast signifying our

desire to know, to speak and to

love the truths it contains and

we genuflect at the end when we

reflect once more that God has

come down, taken human flesh

and continues to dwell amongst

us in the Mass and in the Taber-

nacle.



38 THE DRAMA OF LOVE ETERNAL

Concluding Message

The Mass is ended! We come

down from the holy mountain

where we have seen His Glory to

go back to our daily round of

work but now even the grimy

business of making a living

seems different. Our hearts burn

within us because of the precious

privilege that has been ours.

Having offered ourselves up with

Christ and united ourselves with

Him everything we do is trans-

muted, raised to a higher plane.

We have learned to know and

pray and love the Mass. Now we

want to live the Mass. It becomes

the center, the focal point in our

life. It is like a rainbow or a

bridge to heaven. The highest

act of human adoration it is the

sun around which we revolve and

from which we draw life and

vigor and hope. We are, in a

sense, deified. “I live” said St.

Paul, “now not I but Christ lives

in me.”

The Mass is also the rallying

point for the whole community

of the faithful. “And I, if I be

lifted up, will draw all things to

myself.” He draws us by the

sheer force of love. In Holy Com-

munion we are united with God

but we must think of it not as

an individual privilege but rath-

er as a union of all of us, the

whole family, at a common table.

The Mass is many things. It is

not only a re-union (the very

word “Church” means calling

the gathering together”)
;

it is

also a conversation with God and

a festival (the priest “cele-

brates” Mass). Moreover, it is

an offering—all our work and
pain find meaning in the Mass

—

and, above all, it is a living, real,

and true sacrifice. Perhaps, as

has happened elsewhere, we will

not fully appreciate it until it is

taken away from us. Then what

a dreary desolate place our world

would be. Truly as a discerning

statesman, not a Catholic but one

anxious to suppress the faith,

once said, “It is the Mass that

matters.” If God is here with us

then what else really does mat-

ter?

“O Sacred Banquet” says St.

Thomas Aquinas, “in which

Christ is received, the memory

of His Passion is renewed and a

pledge of future glory is given

to us.” The Mass is a foretaste

of heaven. The kingdom of heav-

en is like a man who planned a

great feast. You are invited. So

the Mass to you, then, is some-

thing else. It is a call and a chal-

lenge. You, too, can unite your-

self with God at Mass. Even

when you cannot be present in

person at Mass you can con-



LIVE THE MASS 39

stantly unite yourself in spir-

it with all the Masses going on

at every moment in some part of

the world. Our missionaries and

our brave and devoted Chaplains

in the service have brought the

Mass literally to the very ends

of the earth. Maybe you, too, will

recognize Christ in the breaking

of the bread and say to Him:

“Stay with me, Lord, for the day

is far spent.” “Never permit me

to be separated from Thee.”

Then no matter what may hap-

pen you are safe, safe for etern-

ity. Truly the Mass is our only

hope if we are again to enjoy

the God-given blessings of love

and of lasting peace.