> [[js-cm-12|← Evening Prayer]] | [[the-carmelite-manual-toc|TOC]] | [[js-cm-14|The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass →]] # An Exposition of the Order, Canon, and Ceremonies of the Mass Q. What is the Mass? A. It is the unbloody sacrifice of Christ's body and blood, under the forms of bread and wine. The word Mass, used in English, may be said to come from the Hebrew word Messach. Ravelin and Munster, two etymologists, say that this word Missa, is neither Greek nor Latin, but radically Hebrew, and signifies an oblation made to an higher Lord, for some personal duty; whereof mention is made in Deut. 16 Chap., a voluntary oblation; the Hebrew word is Messach, whence Missa, Mass in our language. So that Mass is nothing else but an oblation made to God, by which we pay an homage or tribute due to him. Q. Who instituted the substance or essence of the Mass? A. Our Saviour, Christ, at his Last Supper, when he consecrated, that is, converted the substance of bread and wine into his own true body and blood, and gave the same to his disciples under the outward forms of bread and wine; commanding them to do what he had done, in commemoration of him. - Luke, xxii. 19. Q. Who ordained the ceremonies of the Mass? A. The Church, directed by the Holy Ghost. Q. For what end did the Church ordain them? A. To stir up devotion in the people, and reverence to the sacred mysteries. Q. For what other end? A. To instruct the ignorant in spiritual and high things, by sensible and material signs; and by the glory of the Church militant, to make them comprehend something of the glory of the triumphant Church. Q. What authority hath the Church to ordain ceremonies? A. The authority of God himself in the Old Law, commanding many and most stately ceremonies in things belonging to his service. See the whole Book of Leviticus. Q. What besides? A. The example of Christ in the New Law, using dust and spittle to cure the blind, the deaf, and the dumb. He prostrated himself at prayer in the garden, three times. He lifted up his eyes to heaven and groaned, when he was raising Lazarus from the dead; which were all ceremonies. Q. Did he use any ceremonies at his Last Supper, where he ordained the sacrifice of the Mass P A. He did: for he washed the feet of his disciples; he lifted up his eyes to heaven; blessed the bread and the cup, and exhorted the communicants. Q. What do the several ornaments of the priest signify? A. They are used for the same ends as ceremonies, and may also serve to put us in mind of the events of our Saviour's passion and death; as follows: 1\. The Amice; or, linen veil, which the priest first puts on, represents the veil with which the Jews covered the face of Christ when they buffetted him in the house of Caiphas, and bade him prophesy who it was that struck him. 2\. The Alb signifies the white garment which Herod put on him, to intimate that he was a fool. 3\. The Girdle, Maniple, and Stole, signify the chords which bound him during his passion. 4\. The priest's upper Vestment represents both the seamless coat of Christ, as also the purple garment with which they clothed him in derision, in the house of Pilate. 5\. The Altar Stone represents the cross on which he offered himself to the Father. 6\. The Altar Cloths, with the Corporal and Pall, signify the linen in which the dead body of Christ was shrouded and buried. Finally, the candles on the altar, puts us in mind of the light which Christ brought into the world by his passion; as also of his immortal and ever-shining divinity. Q. Why does the priest bow down before the altar at the beginning of Mass? A. To signify the prostrating of Christ in the garden, when he began his passion. Q. Why does the priest bow again at the Confiteor? A. To move the people to humiliation, and to signify that by the merits and passion of Christ, (which they are there to commemorate,) salvation may be had, if it be sought with a contrite and humble heart. Q. Why does he strike his breast at Mea Culpa? A. To teach the people to return into the heart; and signifies that all sin is from the heart, and ought to be discharged from the heart with hearty sorrow. Q. Why does the priest, ascending the altar, kiss it in the middle? A. To do reverence to so holy a place. Q. What does the Introit signify? A. It is, as it were, the entrance into the office, or that which the priest says first, after his coming to the altar; and signifies the desires and groanings of the ancient Fathers, longing for the coming of Christ. Q. Why is the Introit repeated twice? A. To signify the frequent repetition of their desires and supplications. Q. Why do we add to the Introit, Gloria Patri, &c., Glory be to the Father, &c., Amen? A. To render thanks to the most blessed Trinity, for our redemption, accomplished by the cross. Q. What means the Kyrie Eleison? A. It means "Lord have mercy on us," and is repeated thrice in honour of the Father, thrice in honour of the Son, and thrice in honour of the Holy Ghost. Q. Why so often? A. To show our earnest desires to find mercy. Q. What means the Gloria in Excelsis? A. It means "Glory be to God on high," and is the song which the angels sung at the birth of Christ; used in this place to give us to understand that the mercy which we beg was brought us by the death of Christ. Q. What means the Oremus? A. It means "Let us pray," and is the priest's address to the people, by which he invites them to join with him, both in his prayer and intention. Q. What is the Collect? A. It is the priest's prayer, and is called a Collect, because it collects and gathers together the supplications of the multitude, speaking them all with one voice; and also because it is a collection or sum of the Epistle and Gospel, for the most part of the year, especially of all the Sundays. Q. Why does the clerk say Amen? A. He says it in the name of the people, to signify that all concur with the priest in his petitions of prayer. Q. What means the Dominus vobiscum?" A. It means "Our Lord be with you," and is used to beg God's presence and assistance to the people, in the performance of that work. Q. Why is it answered Et cum spiritu tuo, " and with thy spirit?" A. To signify that the people, with one consent, do beg the like for him. Q. Why are all the prayers ended with Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, &c., "Through our Lord Jesus Christ?" A. To signify that whatsoever we beg of God the Father, we must beg it in the name of Jesus Christ, by whom he hath given us all things. Q. Why is the Epistle read? A. To signify the Old Law, as also the preaching of the prophets and the apostles, out of whom it is commonly taken; and it is read before the Gospel, to intimate that the Old Law being able to bring nothing to perfection, it was necessary the New Law should succeed it. Q. What means the Gradual? A. It signifies the penance preached by St. John Baptist, and that we cannot attain the salvation of Christ but by the holy degree of penance. Q. What means the Alleluia? A. It is the voice of men rejoicing and aspiring to the joys of heaven. Q. Why is the Alleluia repeated so often at the feast of Easter? A. Because it is the joyful solemnity of our Saviour's resurrection. Q. Why, between Septuagesima and Easter, is the Tract read in the place of the Gradual? A. Because it is a time of penance and mourning, and therefore the Tract is read with a mournful and slow voice, to signify the miseries and punishments of this life. Q. What is the Tract? A. Two or three versicles between the Epistle and the Gospel, sung with a slow, long, protracted tone. Q. Why do we rise up at the reading of the Gospel? A. To signify our readiness to go, and to do, whither, and whatsoever, it commands us. Q. What means the Gospel? A. It means the preaching of Christ; and is the happy embassy or message of Christ unto the world. Q. Why is the Gospel read at the north end, or left side of the altar? A. To signify that by the preaching of the Gospel of Christ, the kingdom of the devil was overthrown. Q. How do you prove that? A. Because the devil has chosen the north, (figuratively infidels and the wicked,) for the seat of his malice: "From the north shall all evil be opened upon all the inhabitants of the land."-Jer. i. 14. Q. Why does the priest, before he begins the Gospel, salute the people with Dominus vobiscum? A. To prepare them for a devout hearing of it, and to beg of our Lord to make them worthy hearers of his word, which can save their souls. Q. Why then does he say Sequentia sancti Evangelii, "The sequel of the holy Gospel?" A. To move attention, and to signify what part of the Gospel he then reads. Q. Why does the clerk answer Gloria tibi Domini, "Glory be to thee, O Lord?" A. To give the glory of the Gospel to God, who hath of his mercy made us partakers of it. Q. Why then does the priest sign the book with the sign of the cross? A. To signify that the doctrine there delivered, appertains to the cross and passion of Christ. Q. Why, after this, do both priest and people sign themselves with the cross in three places? A. They sign themselves on their foreheads to signify they are not, nor will, be ashamed to profess Christ crucified; on their months, to signify they will be ready with their mouths, to confess unto salvation; and. on their breasts. to signify that with their hearts they believe unto justice. Q. What means the Creed? A. It is a public profession of our faith, and the wholesome fruit of preaching the Gospel. Q. What means the first Offertory, where the priest offers the bread and wine mingled with water? A. It means the freedom wherewith Christ offered himself in his whole life unto his passion, and the desire he had to suffer for our sins. Q. Why does the priest put a drop of water into the wine? A. To represent the blood and water flowing from the side of.Christ, as also the union.of the faithful with Christ. Q. Why, then, does the priest wash the ends of his fingers? A. To admonish both himself and the people to wash away the unclean thoughts of their hearts, that so they may partake of that clean sacrifice. As also to signify, that the priest is, or ought to be, clean from mortal sin. Q. Why, then, after some silence, does he begin the Preface with an elevated voice, saying Per omnia srecula sreculorum? A. To signify the triumphant entry of Christ into Jerusalem, after he had lain hid a little space; and therefore it is ended with Hosannah, Benedictus qui venit, &c., which was the Hebrew children's song. Q. What else does the Preface mean? A. It is a preparation of the people for the approaching action of the sacrifice, and therefore the priest says Sursum corda, " Lift your hearts to God," so to move them to lay aside all earthly thoughts, and to think only on heavenly things. Q. Why, at these words, Benedictus qui venit, " Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord," does he sign himself with the sign of the cross? A. To signify that the entry of Christ into Jerusalem, was not to a kingdom of this world, but to a death upon the cross. Q. What is the Canon? A. It is the most sacred, essential, and substantial part of the Mass, because in it the sacrifice is effected. Q. Why is the Canon read with a low voice? A. To signify the sadness of our Saviour's passion, which is there effectually represented. Q. Why does the priest begin the Canon bowing his head? A. To signify the obedience of Christ unto his Father, in making himself a sacrifice for sin. Q. What means the Te igitur, clementissime Pater, &c., " Thee, therefore, O most clement Father," &c.? A. It is an humble and devout application to God, our heavenly Father, made in the name of all the people, that be would vouchsafe to accept and bless the sacrifice, which we are offering unto him for the peace, unity, and preservation of the whole Catholic Church, and likewise for the Pope, our Prelate, and all others truly faithful. Q. Why, in the middle of this prayer, does the priest kiss the altar, and sign the Host and Chalice thrice, with the sign of the cross? A. He kisses the altar, to show the kiss of peace, which Christ gave us, by reconciling us to God in his own blood. He signs the Host and Chalice thrice, to signify that our redemption, made upon the cross, was done by the will of the Holy Trinity. Q. What means the Memento Domine famulorum famularumque tuarum, " Remember, O Lord, thy servants, men and women," &c. P A. It is a commemoration of the living, in which the priest remembers by name, such as he intends chiefly to say Mass for, and then, in general, all present, and all the faithful, beseeching God, by virtue of the sacrifice, to bless them and be mercifully mindful of them. Q. What means the Communicantes et memoriam venerantes, &c., " Communicating and venerating the memory," &c.? A. It is an exercise of our communion with the saints; in which, having recounted the name of the. blessed Virgin Mary, and many other glorious saints, we beg of God, by their merits and intercession, to grant us his assistance and protection in all things. Q. What is the Hanc igitur oblationem, " This offering, therefore, of our servitude," &c., when the priest spreads his hands, over the Host and Chalice? A. It is an earnest begging of God to accept the sacrifice that is presented to be offered for the safety of the whole Church, and salvation of all from eternal damnation. Q. What means Qui pridie quam pateretur, " Who the day before he suffered," &c.? A. It is but a repetition and representation of what Christ did at his Last Supper, when he took bread, blessed it, &c.; and immediately precedes the words of consecration spoken by the priest, by which he sacrificeth to God. Q. What are the words of consecration? A. Hoc EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM, &c., " This. is my body; this is the cup of my blood, of the New and eternal Testament: a mystery of faith, which shall be shed for you, and for many, to the remission of sins."-Matt. xxvi. 27, 28. Q. What do these words mean? A. According to the letter, what they effect and cause: namely, a change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Q. Why, after consecration of the Host, does the priest kneel and adore? A. He kneels and adores, to give sovereign honour to Christ, and to signify the real presence of his body and blood in the blessed sacrament, which he then holds in his hand. Q. Why, after the consecration of the wine, does the priest kneel and adore, saying Hrec quoties cumque feceritis, &c.; that is " As often as you shall do these things, you shall do them in remembrance of me?"-1 Cor. xi. 25. A. He kneels and adores, to give sovereign honour to Christ, and to signify the real presence of Christ's body and blood in the chalice, then on the altar, and he speaks these words to signify that as often as we say, or hear Mass, and offer up this sacrifice, we must do it as Christ hath commanded us, in memory of his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension; and therefore he goes on, beseeching God by all those mysteries, to look propitiously upon our holy and immaculate Host, as he did upon the sacrifices of Abraham, Abel, and Melchisedech, and to replenish all that partake thereof, with heavenly grace and benediction. Q. Why, after consecration of each, does the priest elevate, or lift up, the consecrated Host, and also the Chalice? A. That all the people may adore Christ present; as also to signify, that, for our sins, his body was lifted on the cross and his blood shed. Q. For what other end does he elevate the Host and Chalice? A. That he, with the whole multitude, may make oblations of Christ's body and blood unto God, which, after consecration, is one of the most essential parts of the whole service of the Mass; and signifies that oblation wherewith Christ offered himself to God upon the altar of the cross. Q. Why, then, does be again sign the offerings five times with the sign of the cross? A. To signify the five wounds of Christ, which he represents to the Eternal Father for us. Q. What means the Memento? A. It is a commemoration of the dead, in which the priest first nominates those for whom he intends especially to apply the sacrifice; and then prays in general for all the faithful departed; beseeching God, by virtue of that sacrifice, to give them rest, refreshment, and everlasting life. Q. Why, after the Memento for the dead, does the priest elevate or raise his voice, saying, Nobis quoque peccatoribus, " And to us sinners also, &c." A. In memory of the supplication of the penitent thief, made to Christ on the cross; that so we also, though unworthy sinners, by the virtue of the sacrifice, may with him, and all the holy saints, be made partakers of the heavenly kingdom. Q. Why, uncovering the chalice, does he sign it five times with the Host? A. His uncovering the chalice is to signify that, at the death of Christ, the Veil of the Temple was rent asunder. The three crosses made over the chalice, signify the three hours which Christ hung dead on the cross; The other two, made at the brim of the chalice, signifying the blood and water flowing from his side. Q. Why is the Host divided into three parts? A. To signify the separation of our Saviour's soul from his body, on the cross. Q. Why, after this, does be sign the chalice three times with a particle of the Host, and raise his voice, saying, Pax Domine, &c., " The peace of our Lord be always with you? " A. To signify the frequent voice of Christ to his apostles, Pax Vobis, " Peace be with you." Q. Why, then, is the Pax; or, kiss of peace, given before communion? A. To signify that peace and mutual charity, which ought to be among the faithful, who all eat of one bread, the Eucharist, and are all members of one mystical body. Q. What means the three prayers, said by the priest before communion? A. They are said in honour of the blessed Trinity. In the first he begs peace for the whole Church, and perfect charity among all Christians; in the second, he beseeches God, by the body and blood of Christ, (which he is there about to receive,) to free him from all evil; in the third, that it may not prove to his damnation and judgment, by an unworthy receiving of it, but to the defence and safety of his soul and body. And this immediately precedes the communion of the Host and chalice, which is another of the most essential parts of the whole service of the Mass. Q. What means the consummation, or communion? A. It represents Christ's burial, and the consummation of his passion. Q. What means the Domine non sum dignus, &c.? A. It means "O Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof, but only say the word," &c., and was the Centurion's prayer; by which he obtained health for the sick boy.-Matt. viii. 8. And teaches us not to approach the sacrifice but with an humble and contrite heart. Q. What means the prayers said by the priest after communion? A. They are thanksgivings to God, for having made us partakers of the unbloody sacrifice of the altar, and by it also of the bloody sacrifice of the cross. Q. What means the words Ite Missa est P A. They signify that the Host is offered, Mass ended, and the people dismissed; representing the voice of an angel dismissing the apostles and disciples, when they stood looking up, after Christ ascended into heaven, with "O ye men of Galilee, why stand ye here, looking up into heaven."-Acta, i. 11. Q. Why does the priest lift up his hands and bless the people? A. To represent the blessing which Christ gave his apostles and disciples at his ascension, with his hands lifted up. Q. Why is the Gospel of St. John read? A. To signify the apostles preaching the Gospel to all nations.-Luke, xxiv. 50. Q. What is the Missal? A. It is the Mass Book, wherein this holy service is contained. --- ![[maps/bibliography#^biblio-spratt]] > [[js-cm-12|← Evening Prayer]] | [[the-carmelite-manual-toc|TOC]] | [[js-cm-14|The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass →]]