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I. Religion (religio)2 is a special moral virtue, which enables and
inclines the will to give to God the
supernatural honor and adoration due to Him as the Creator and Supreme Ruler, as
well as the last end of all things, and particularly of man. The Holy Ghost
plants this virtue in the garden of the soul it is our duty, with the help of
grace, so to nourish this noble and precious gift of heaven that it may bear
abundant fruit for the honor and glory of God and our own blessing and ultimate
salvation.
The virtue of religion makes us courageous and willing to
offer to the Divine Majesty due veneration. By means of this virtue we honor
the Lord our God inasmuch as we acknowledge and proclaim His greatness, majesty
and dominion over us, and at the same time confess our own littleness, lowliness
and dependence upon Him. Religion, consequently, includes in itself two
requisites first, lively acknowledgment of His infinite perfection and dignity
and then, an humble subjection to His unlimited power and dominion. This
cheerful submission, this humbling of self under the power of God (I Peter, 5 6)
is required and commanded by the fundamental relations that exist between us as
creatures and God as our Creator. And this relation is one of the most absolute
and entire dependence upon God, for He is our first beginning and last end, our
Redeemer and Sanctifier. We belong entirely to God and it behooves us to
consecrate our being wholly to God “in God we live and move and are" (Acts 17,
28).
"All my bones shall cry out: Lord, who is like to Thee?" (Ps. 34,
10.) God is a fathomless and shoreless sea of the most perfect being and life
His perfections are inexhaustible and incomparable, surpassing and excelling all
things, incomprehensible and unspeakable. God possesses infinite grandeur and
dignity. Therefore all rational creatures, being immeasurably below Him, owe Him
the profoundest respect and veneration. God is not only inconceivably exalted
above heaven and earth but by His creative power He is also the source of all
things, for they absolutely depend on Him as to their being, their existence,
their activity. Since God is the Creator of all things visible and invisible, He
is therefore the sovereign Master and Lord of all that lives and moves in the
universe consequently, He is "the King of kings and the Lord of lords" (I Tim.
6, 15), to whom all beings owe unconditional and constant service. Since the
Almighty God has made all things and since all creatures are the work of His
hands, they belong to Him as His property He has, then, the highest and the most
absolute dominion over all creatures, for they exist only for Him, and must act
only for Him, and serve Him alone. Most beautifully does the Church express this
thought in the Invitatory of the Office of the Dead: Regem, cui omnia vivunt,
venite adoremus "Come let us adore the King unto whom all things live."
Holy Scripture frequently delivers these truths in most vivid and
striking descriptions. "The Lord is terrible and exceeding great and His power
is admirable" (Kcclus 43, 31). "The Lord's ways are in a tempest and a whirlwind
and clouds are the dust of His feet" (Nah. 1,3). God is the Supreme Master and
Proprietor of the universe, because it has come forth from His creative hand and
is His work hence the Psalmist joyfully sings "The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof the world and all they that dwell therein. For He hath founded
it upon the seas and He hath prepared it upon the rivers" (Ps. 23, i 2). "Who
hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and weighed the heavens in
His palm? Who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth ? Behold the
gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a
balance behold the islands are as a little dust. It is He that sitteth upon the
globe of the earth He that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth
them out as a tent to dwell in. ...Who bringeth out their host by number, and
calleth them all by their names by the greatness of His might and strength and
power, not one of them was missing" (Is. 40, 12 26). "And the stars have given
light in their watches, and rejoiced. They were called and they said Here we are
and with cheerfulness they have shined forth to Him that made them" (Bar. 3, 34
35). "O Lord, great art Thou, and glorious in Thy power, and no one can overcome
Thee. Let all Thy creatures serve Thee because Thou hast spoken, and they were
made Thou didst send forth Thy spirit, and they were created, and there is no
one that can resist Thy voice. The mountains shall be moved from the
foundations, with the waters the rocks shall melt as wax before Thy face"
(Judith 16, 16 18). "He looketh upon the earth, and maketh it tremble He
toucheth the mountains, and they smoke" (Ps. 103, 32).
And what is man
in comparison with the Most High, with the Almighty Creator and powerful King,
greatly to be feared, who sitteth upon His throne and is the God of dominion?
(Ecclus. I, 8). "Man's days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he
flourish. For the spirit shall pass in him, and he shall not be and he shall
know his place no more" (Ps. 102, 15 16). Man is earth and ashes (Ecclus. 17,
31) he is a leaf and a dry straw carried about by the wind like a flower he
cometh forth and is destroyed and he fleeth as a shadow (Job 13, 25; 14, 2). Now
should not man a weak, frail, miserable creature bow down and humble himself to
the dust, should he not tremble with awe, reverence and astonishment before the
power, grandeur and majesty of God, "whose throne is the heavens and whose
footstool is the earth" (Is. 66, i). The pillars of heaven tremble and dread at
His beck the morning stars praise Him and the sons of God make a joyful melody
to Him (Job 26, ii 38, 7). The choirs of holy spirits sing in the highest
heavens to the Lord day and night their never-ceasing "Holy, holy, holy;" the
glorified saints prostrate themselves before Him that sitteth on the throne and
adore Him that liveth forever and ever they lay down their crowns before the
throne, saying: "Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and
power because Thou hast created all things and for Thy will they were and have
been created" (Apoc. 4, 10 11). In this jubilation of eternal praise and
adoration man also should unite, according to his ability, in glorifying God,
who is justly exalted above all.
2. The virtue of religion, moreover,
quickens our zeal and spurs us on to the performance of acts calculated to
render to the Divine Majesty due honor and glory and these acts may be divided
into two classes.
a) In the first class are comprised all acts which in
themselves refer to the honor of God and promote it, that is, those which by
their nature are intended and calculated to render to the greatness of God due
acknowledgment and worship. We perform such acts when, for instance, we pray and
offer sacrifice, make and fulfill vows, adorn churches and decorate altars
honoring Him, consequently made with a view and intention of giving glory to
God. The virtue of religion can and must direct to the glory of God all the
works and exercises of a Christian life, that it may become a perpetual divine
service. "Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do. do all for the
glory of God" (i Cor. 10, 31). 2
To this effect St. Augustine says: "God
is to be honored by faith, hope and charity" (Manuale I, 3). The acts of faith,
hope and charity are in themselves acts, not of the moral virtue of religion,
but of the three essentially different theological virtues yet they may be
elicited with the intention of acknowledging the divine truth, fidelity and
goodness, and God is thereby greatly honored and glorified. In believing, hoping
and loving we give ourselves to God with all the powers of our soul, we lean
upon God and rest in God as our last end, in other words, we render to the divine
perfections and majesty due homage and submission. The three divine virtues also
condition the development and completion of the Christian life, which is founded
on faith, nourished by hope and animated by charity. Faith enlightens the
understanding with celestial light, hope endows the soul with supernatural
strength, and love inflames the heart with divine fire thus these, three virtues
enable us by a new and holy life to announce to men the glorious prerogatives
and perfections of God, that they may see our works and glorify our Father who
is in heaven (I Peter 2, 9 Matt. 5, 16). They give rise to the virtue of
religion, and excite us to glorify God through works of piety, mercy and
penance.
We read in the epistle of St. James (I. 27) these words:
"Religion (religio) clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this to
visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep one's self
unspotted from the world." The meaning of the above is that if we would honor
God the Father in a sincere and proper manner, we must be assiduously intent
upon assisting the poor, the abandoned and the distressed, upon consoling and
comforting them, and, at the same time, endeavor, amid the universal corruption
of the world, to serve God alone and to please Him by purity of heart and the
righteousness of our ways. Thus the virtue of religion will produce abundant
fruits “that in all things and above all things God may be glorified" (ut in
omnibus glorificetur Deus).
3. Religion holds the first place among the
moral virtues. Although, like all other moral virtues, the virtue of religion is
inferior in merit and dignity to the divine virtues of faith, hope and charity,
it is, nevertheless, most intimately connected with them, for it regulates the
conduct of man toward God. It holds the first rank among the moral virtues,
because it approaches nearer to God than the others, in so far as it produces
and has for its primary object those acts which refer directly and immediately
to the honor of God that is, whatever acts pertain to the divine service. The
sublime virtue of religion ennobles man precisely in this, that it completely
subjects him to the will and dominion of God and brings him into the closest
communication with the primal Source of all holiness. "For in offering honor and
homage to God we submit our mind to Him, and it is in this submission that its
perfection consists. An object is perfected by its submitting to its superior.
Thus the; perfection of the body consists in its being vivified by the soul and
the perfection of the atmosphere in its being thoroughly illumined by the light
of the sun." Honoring God fervently renders man truly great and exalted, and
imparts to him abundant gain and blessing for his spiritual life.
4. The
worship due to the Divine Majesty consists principally in acts of adoration,
thanksgiving, petition and propitiation.
As we have seen, God
immeasurably excels all creatures, even the highest and the sublimest of the
heavenly spirits He excels them not merely by His infinite dignity and
perfection, but also by reason of His boundless power and dominion. Hence at all
times and in all places, every creature is dependent upon God. It behooves man
as a rational creature consciously and freely and actively to acknowledge his
absolute dependence upon God in a word, to adore God. By adoration ( latria,
adoratio latreutica, cultus latreuticus), we understand that supreme and most
perfect homage due, not to any mere creature, but only and solely to God on
account of His infinite perfection, majesty and sovereign authority. God alone
is adorable; He alone is the Most High, the Almighty Creator and Ruler of
creation. Those rights and perfections which belong exclusively to God, are also
to be acknowledged and honored by a special worship, the worship of adoration.
Hence to adore God is at the same time to acknowledge, admire and to praise His
majesty and sovereign power; it is profoundly to humble and, in a manner, to
annihilate ourselves in the presence of His infinite grandeur and dignity it is
to submit, to consecrate and to resign ourselves unreservedly to Him as our
first beginning and our last end. Consequently, adoration is the most excellent
and the most precious homage that God can receive from creatures endowed with
reason, man included.
Two other religious duties and acts are
inseparably connected with adoration namely, thanksgiving and petition. Because
God is adorable, that is, because He possesses infinite perfections, unlimited
power, and boundless goodness, He is the inexhaustible fountain whence proceeds
every good and perfect gift, in heaven and upon earth. All that we are, that we
have and can do, both in the order of nature and in the order of grace, is the
outpouring of the overflowing love of God. Now, with respect to the numberless
gifts and graces which we have already received and daily yet receive, we owe
heartfelt thanks for them, one and all, to God, our greatest Benefactor
moreover, all the good that we may expect, hope for and implore, can likewise
come to us only by the infinitely bounteous hand of God hence it behooves us to
turn to Him in humble supplication.
To adore God, to thank Him and to
implore of Him His gifts is therefore a threefold duty incumbent upon man, for
the simple reason that man is altogether dependent upon God. But in consequence
of his having fallen away from God and become corrupt by sin, there devolves
upon him, now laden with iniquity and deserving of punishment, still another
obligation, namely, that of appeasing an offended and irritated God, by
appropriate propitiation or satisfaction.
5. The acts of religion must
above all be interior, that is, be performed with mind and heart furthermore,
they must also reveal themselves externally, appear visibly and in a manner
become corporeal. The virtue of religion, as it must be exercised by man,
comprises therefore interior and exterior acts. At the same time it must not be
forgotten, that exterior acts of divine worship, to be pleasing to God and
conducive to His honor, should always be animated and enlivened by the interior.
The exterior acts of religion should proceed from the heart, should express the
interior life of the soul, and practically show forth the mind's religious
reverence and submission, according to the words of the Royal Prophet: "My heart
and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God" (Ps. 83, 3).
Why is man
commanded to honor God by outward acts?
a) Man is not, as the angels,
purely spiritual, but a creature composed of spirit and body. As such he must
honor and glorify God in a manner appropriate to his corporeal and rational
nature. But man renders the homage of his whole nature only when his body also
takes part in his acts of divine worship, so that the interior worship is
manifested by outward acts. Man in his entire being, created by God and
dependent upon Him, belongs in body and soul to God therefore is man bound to
serve and to worship God, his Creator, Preserver and Lord, with the powers of
his soul and body, by spiritual and corporal acts. Moreover, the body of a
Christian is the temple of the Holy Ghost, for it becomes sanctified by grace,
and is to be transfigured by glory. Hence the Church implores God to grant "that
we may serve and please Him not only with the soul, but also with the body."
b) The most intimate reciprocity exists between man's interior and
exterior acts they proceed from one another, they mutually assist and complete
each other. Those things which stir man's inmost soul such as joy and sorrow,
love and anger, hope and fear involuntarily betray their impression in his
exterior: and this is especially the case with regard to the interior acts of
religion. And why should not the fervent interior life, the ardent devotion and
divine love of a pious soul, be spontaneously manifested in the outward man, and
so take possession of his entire being, as to impel him not only "to sing in
grace in his heart to God," but furthermore to pour himself out "in psalms and
hymns and spiritual canticles" (Coloss. 3, 16), to join his hands, bend his
knees and prostrate his form upon the earth before the face of the Most High?
"My heart hath been glad and my tongue hath rejoiced" (Ps. 15,9), exclaims
therefore the Royal Prophet. "Let my soul be filled with marrow and fatness, and
my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips" (Ps. 62, 6). Reversely, the
exterior also affects the interior man outward signs and acts arouse the
affections of the spirit, inflame and nourish the fervor of devotion, refresh
and invigorate the life of the soul. The interior acts of religion grow in
perfection, become durable and constant, when they thus live and exercise their
activity in the body, that is, when they, so to speak, assume flesh and blood.
When, however, exterior divine worship is neglected, the interior soon
languishes and dies.
c) Man is lord and master of irrational creatures,
which also must be led to glorify the Creator. But it is principally by exterior
worship that man can and must lead the visible creation to serve and . praise
the Creator. The use in religious service of creatures imparts to external
nature a higher consecration and activity. "For the building up and the
adornment of the temple, the earth presents its treasures and precious metals
the ocean, its pearls spring, the magnificence of its flowers."
d) Not
the individual man alone, but society also, as a religious body, must render to
God due homage and submission. Now a common public service (cultus socialis)
requires external acts. Hence visible, outward worship is necessary as the bond
of the religious community, namely the Church.
It behooves us, then, in
accordance with our own nature and the express divine commandment, to honor God
with our mental and corporal powers, that is, we must not merely by interior but
also by outward acts adore Him, thank Him, beseech and propitiate Him.
This fourfold duty is fulfilled principally by prayer and sacrifice,
which are intimately connected with each other, which permeate and complete one
another. The interior acts of divine worship manifest themselves outwardly, in
the first place, by vocal, that is, by corporal, prayer then in the offering of
sacrifice, which, as the most sublime act of religion, is far more excellent and
meritorious than prayer.
6. The virtue of religion is exceedingly
precious and rich in blessings. It teaches us humbly to acknowledge our own
littleness and misery, and to render to God, of whose goodness there is no end
(Ps. 144, 3), due honor in all things, thereby winning for us the richest
blessings. A spirit of reverential homage should, as a heavenly spice and
consecration, pervade our whole life, in order to render it daily more and more
pleasing and meritorious in the eyes of God. To worship God should be our joy
and happiness! "Come let us praise the Lord with joy, let us joyfully sing to
God our Saviour. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving and make a
joyful noise to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King
above all gods. For in His hands are all the ends of the earth, and the heights
of the mountains are His. For the sea is His, and He made it and His hands
formed the dry land. Come let us adore and fall down and weep before the Lord
that made us. For He is the Lord our God, and we are the people of His pasture
and the sheep of His hands" (Ps. 94, i 7). A true knowledge of God and a correct
understanding of ourselves furnish the solid basis upon which rest the virtue of
religion and the spirit of the most submissive adoration. Ever seeking to know
God and ourselves more perfectly is the higher wisdom and the science of the
Saints, and after this we should incessantly strive. Noverim te Noverim me!
prayed St. Augustine. O God, grant that I may know Thee Noverim te! Give me an
intimate knowledge of Thy adorable perfections, which are without measure or
number of Thy infinite grandeur and glory, Thy inconceivable power, wisdom and
goodness, Thy unspeakable beauty, sweetness and amiableness penetrate me with a
deep knowledge of "the profound things of Thy divinity, which only the Holy
Spirit searcheth" (I Cor. 2, 10), that is, the works and riches of Thy grace and
glory, Thy infinitely just and merciful decrees, the wonderful and inscrutable
dispensations of Thy providence! Noverim me! Grant me, moreover, a wholesome
knowledge of myself ! "O my God, illumine my darkness" (Ps. 17, 29), that Thy
light may permit me to look down deeply into the abyss of my nothingness, my
misery, my helplessness, my frailty and my sinfulness!
SACRIFICE IN ITS
PROPER SENSE
Among the requisites of sacrifice, the gift and
its presentation, as well as the object and meaning of the exterior act, chiefly
deserve consideration.
1. Sacrifice is the offering of a visible
object; hence, in the first place, a visible gift is necessary as an offering to
God. This gift ought to correspond to the object in view, and should, therefore,
be selected with due regard thereto. Consequently, the offering most appropriate
to God is that which is the noblest in the visible creation human life.
Wherefore Christ, in order to present the most perfect sacrifice, offered His
precious life on the Cross, according to the will of His Father. In every other
case God did not wish that human life should be sacrificed to Him, but rather
contented Himself with the interior offering of the heart and its symbolical
expression namely, with the presentation of an irrational creature substituted
for human life and offered in its stead.
l. It is at once evident that especially
the living and inanimate things which serve directly for the support of man, and
thus may represent his life, may be appropriately substituted as offerings for
man himself. Before Christ such offerings consisted, for example, of lambs,
heifers, doves; bread, wine, oil, salt, incense.
As such gifts were
offered to give honor to God, it is self-evident that they had to be as perfect
as possible, without blemish or defect. In as far as sacrifice is an external
act of worship, its value depends chiefly on the dignity and interior
disposition of the person who offers; the value of the gift presented also
contributes to make the sacrifice more acceptable to God. Hence when proper
sentiments animate the heart, only precious gifts will be selected as offerings
for an action so exalted and holy. On the other hand to make choice of
indifferent, trifling or imperfect objects as offerings is a sign that the
proper spirit of sacrifice and respect for the Divine Majesty are wanting (cf.
Mai. I, 7 8).
2. Not every gift offered to God is a sacrifice. It
greatly depends on the way and manner of offering. Some change or destruction of
the gift must take place to constitute a sacrifice. An entire destruction of the
gift, or such as is at least morally equivalent, pertains essentially to the
idea of sacrifice; hence its outward form. Whatever has not been liturgically
transformed, v. g. destroyed, cannot be a real sacrifice (sacrificium) , but is
only a religious gift (oblatio), essentially different from sacrifice.l Thus we
find in all sacrifices mentioned in Holy Writ, that there was ever some mode of
destruction or dissolution, appropriate to the nature of the matter of the
sacrifice. Thus, the animals were slain and their blood spilled on the altar,
incense was consumed by fire, and wine was poured out. The intrinsic and more
weighty reason why such a transformation, or destruction, of the gift is
requisite for the act of sacrifice, lies in the peculiar meaning and in the
special object of sacrifice.
3. Sacrifice, that is, the transformation
of the gift offered, is intended to represent symbolically that God possesses
absolute authority and dominion over all things and, consequently, that man is
essentially dependent upon God, belongs and is subject to Him and, therefore,
that he is bound and is ready to give and dedicate his life entirely to God. God
is the Supreme Ruler, infinitely holy, the primal source of all being, and the
last end to which all being should return, "that He may be all in all" (I. Cor.
15, 28). And now how could this grandeur and sovereignty of God over all that is
and that can be outside of Him, be more appropriately expressed than by the
destruction of a visible object, as is done in sacrifice? How could man's
dependence on and obligation to serve God be more suitably made apparent than in
sacrifice, wherein a tangible, material object, is destroyed in the place of a
human life? If the exterior rite of sacrifice is in reality to have the above
meaning and be a worship acceptable to God, then it must also be an expression
of the interior and spiritual sacrifice, and be animated and vivified by the
essential sentiments of sacrifice. "The visible sacrifice," says St. Augustine,
"is a holy sign of the invisible offering."
Hence the offering up of
sacrifice essentially aims to glorify God as the absolute Lord and supreme
Legislator of all creatures, and this is to adore God. This meaning is
inseparably connected with sacrifice; it holds the first place, and is ever an
act of worship due to God alone, an act of adoration. With this main object,
thanksgiving and petition are naturally combined, inasmuch as the gift is
presented also to honor and acknowledge God as the omnipotent and merciful
Dispenser of all good gifts, that is, to show one's self grateful for benefits
received, and to supplicate for new graces. In consequence of the fall of man,
sacrifice assumes the additional characteristic of atonement. It is offered to
express the need and desire of appeasing the irritated justice of God and of
being thereby freed from sin and its punishment. Atonement for sin committed is
made by sacrifice, inasmuch as the offended majesty of God is glorified, in
order to restore to God the honor of which He had been deprived and to make
satisfaction for the injury done to Him. The destruction of the offering is
especially suitable to this end. How could sinful man more worthily and more
strikingly acknowledge himself deserving of death on account of his fault, and,
willing to undergo death in satisfaction for it, than when, by the laying of his
hands on the victim, he transfers to it his sins, and slaying it and shedding
its blood, offers it to God instead of his own life ?
2 History shows us
atonement as always accompanying adoration and holding the rank next to it in
the idea of sacrifice. The first and greatest want and desire of fallen man was
to appease the anger of an offended God, to obtain mercy and forgiveness for sin; hence it is quite natural that among the guilty, unredeemed generations living
before Christ the character of atonement should have been impressed in a marked
manner upon their sacrifices.
3 In whatever necessity sinful man
presents himself before God, whether to adore, to thank or to petition Him, his
first and deepest conviction is that he is a poor sinner, unworthy of being
heard and answered by God; hence it is most natural that precisely in the most
ardent acts of worship, such as sacrifice, he will always, and at the very
start, feel deeply conscious that he is laden with sins and debts to God. How
could he, a sinner, more worthily acknowledge the Divine Majesty of the
infinitely holy and just God, show his gratitude towards Him in a more
appropriate way, and approach Him with greater confidence of being heard?" It is
for this fourfold end that sacrifices are offered: hence there are sacrifices
of adoration, of thanksgiving, of petition and of propitiation. These divisions
are not made according to the exclusive object of Sacrifice, but only with
reference to its predominant end. This means only that in the rite of
celebration and in the intention of the person offering, one of these ends is
chiefly intended, without, however, excluding the others. Every sacrifice has in
itself a fourfold signification: it serves at one and the same time to glorify
the Divine Majesty (sacrificium latreuticum); to return thanks for benefits
received (sacrificium eucharisticum); to petition for new benefits (sacrificium
impetratorium); and finally, to satisfy for sin and its punishment (sacrificium
propitiatorium) .
4. In so far as sacrifice has a symbolical meaning and
is a constituent part of public worship, it must positively be instituted by a
legitimate authority. The sacrificial service of the Old Law was regulated and
ordained by God Himself in its most minute details; in the New Law the essential
elements and features of worship proceed directly from Jesus Christ hence, first
of them all, sacrifice, which constitutes the fundamental and central act of
divine service. Neither to the Synagogue nor to the Church did God impart the
right or the power to institute sacrifices: in His infinite mercy He Himself
condescended to prescribe the sacrifices by which He would be honored and
propitiated. No mere man, but our Divine Saviour alone could institute so
sublime and so excellent a Sacrifice as we possess in the Holy Mass.
5.
Sacrifice is an act of worship which can not be performed by anybody but a
priest. He alone who has been especially chosen, called and empowered, that is,
only the priest can and may perform the office of sacrificer. Sacrifice and
priesthood are inseparably connected: no sacrifice can exist without a
priesthood, and no priesthood without a sacrifice. A special priesthood is,
therefore, required by the very nature of sacrifice, which, as a public, solemn
act of worship, must be performed in the name and for the welfare of the
religious body by a duly authorized person. Consequently, it is highly proper
that only he who is, at least by his office and dignity, especially separated
from sinners and sanctified, should present himself in sacrifice as mediator
between an offended God and sinful man. "For every highpriest taken from among
men," so writes the Apostle, "is ordained for men in the things that appertain
to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins" (Heb. 5, i). It is
clear that it belongs to God alone to bestow the honor of the priestly vocation
and office, and to determine "who belong to Him, and the holy He will join to
Himself; and they whom He shall choose shall approach to Him" (Num. 16, 5).
6. Nor is it less evident that for the celebration of so holy and solemn
an act of worship it is especially becoming to make choice of a sanctified place; such a place, where sacrifice is offered, is called an altar. Wherever
sacrifice and priesthood are found, there also is always an altar.
7.
From the above it follows that sacrifice is the most exalted and perfect manner
of honoring God, and, therefore, excels all other acts of worship. It also
constitutes the principal act, and is the central point of the whole divine
service. In this all agree that man by the offering of sacrifice renders to God
the highest possible honor and homage. In sacrifice the interior adoration of
the Divine Majesty attains its fullest expression. Sacrifice is essentially an
act of adoration, and, therefore, always includes the acknowledgment of the
divinity of Him to whom it is offered. It is among all acts of worship the
prerogative of God, and may be offered only to the one true God. * To offer it
to a creature, even to the greatest saint or the most exalted of the angels,
would be heinous idolatry. At all times sacrifices have been offered to God, 2
to acknowledge in the most perfect and solemn manner His sovereignty, to express
gratitude for favors, to implore fresh blessings from Him and especially to
avert the scourges of His avenging justice.
3. Sacrifice in a
Figurative Sense.
1. Only such acts of divine worship as contain in
themselves all the essential requisites and characteristics of the idea of
sacrifice as explained above, are and may be called sacrifices in their proper
sense. In the religious, ascetical life virtuous acts, differing essentially
from sacrifice, are often called by that name. The term sacrifice applied to
such acts is not to be taken in its original and strict meaning, but is to be
understood in a derivative and improper sense: acts of virtue are and are called
sacrifices in a broader sense. The word sacrifice, for example, is often used
figuratively to designate good, meritorious actions, inasmuch as they bear a
certain resemblance and relationship to true and real sacrifices. This
resemblance and relationship consists chiefly in two points: sacrifice serves
to glorify God and is accomplished by the destruction of a sensible object. The
various acts of virtue, therefore, resemble sacrifice in so far as they are
performed with the right disposition and intention of giving glory to God,
and in so far as they require a certain destruction, that is, the mortification
of the perverse and sensual nature of man. The base, sensual, earthly,
material life must be curbed and overcome, must die, so that the higher,
spiritual, heavenly life of grace may be vigorously and fully developed in man.
Mortification, however, is painful to man and costs labor and exertion. We are
accustomed to think of this necessary renunciation and self-denial chiefly when
we designate as a sacrifice individual acts of virtue, and also a life that is
wholly Christian and perfect. Some examples may throw light upon the above and
confirm what has been said.
2. Acts of charity, works of
mercy, whereby the poor and needy are assisted and consoled, are called
sacrifices by the Apostle and this in so far as the Christian intends, in the
person of the poor, to give something to God Himself by the alms which he
bestows: "Do not forget to do good and to impart; for by such sacrifices God's
favor is obtained. " The same Apostle called the alms sent to him by the
Christians of Philippi, u an odor of sweetness, an acceptable sacrifice,
pleasing to God." To renounce sensual pleasures, to treat the body with rigor
and austerity, is still more difficult than to forego worldly goods and
possessions; hence St. Paul exhorts the Christians "by the mercy of God that
you present your bodies (through mortification) a living sacrifice, holy,
pleasing unto God, your reasonable service."
3 A "sacrifice" which God
does not reject, but graciously accepts is "an afflicted spirit," "a contrite
and humble heart," that is, a spirit and a heart which, wounded with love and
sorrow, penitently bewails and detests the sins and transgressions of its past
life.
4 Prayer stands in intimate relation and connection with sacrifice; for the spirit of prayer and the sentiments of the heart constitute the
intrinsic being of sacrifice, the soul of the exterior rite of sacrifice. Hence,
as sacrifice is called effective or real prayer (oratio realis), on the other
hand, prayer is also called sacrifice. Thus the Prophet designated the prayer of
praise and thanksgiving as "the sacrifice of the lips" (vituli labiorum Osee 14,
3). Referring to this the Apostle writes: "Let us offer the sacrifice of prayer
always to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name."In the Psalms
we are invited "to offer to God the sacrifice of praise."
A
life that is entirely consumed amid suffering and struggle, in labor and
fatigue, for God and His honor, is a holocaust: "As gold in the furnace He hath
proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them." 1 "The man
also who in God's name consecrates himself wholly to God is a sacrifice, in so
far as he dies to the world, to live to God."2 A sacrifice most perfect and
acceptable to the Divine Majesty is pre-eminently the renunciation and
consecration of religious persons, who by the threefold perpetual vows of
poverty, chastity and obedience, freely and cheerfully renounce the earth and
its goods, the world and its pleasures, in order to devote and dedicate
themselves in body and soul forever to the service of God.3 Sacrifice in a
broader sense made up the unspeakably humble and painful life of the poor,
virginal and obedient Jesus, whilst His death on the Cross for the redemption of
the world is a sacrifice in the strictest sense. The same cannot be said of the
bloody death of the martyrs, however precious it was in the sight of the Lord;
their martyrdom had not the character of a real sacrifice. The martyrs indeed
(as the Church sings in the divine Office) loved Christ during life and imitated
Him in their death, for God's sake they indeed offered their bodies to the
torments of death and shed their blood gloriously for the Lord, thereby
obtaining unfading crowns; still they were destined neither as sacrificing
priests nor as sacrificial victims to consecrate their lives to the adoration
and propitiation of the Divine Majesty, but they suffered a violent death only
in testimony and in defense of the truth, holiness and divinity of the Catholic
faith.4 Now, "although in the sight of the Lord the death of many saints was
precious (Ps. 115, 15), yet none of these innocent victims accomplished the
redemption of the world. The just received crowns of victory, but they did not
bestow them; from the fortitude of the faithful proceeded models of patience,
not gifts of justice."5
3. To sacrifice taken in a broad or figurative
sense corresponds the figurative or general priesthood of all the faithful.
Hence the prince of the Apostles called all Christians "a holy priesthood,"
chosen and qualified "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ."6 The faithful constitute "a holy priesthood," in so far as they
have by the sacramental character and the sacramental grace of baptism,
separated themselves from sinners, being dedicated and sanctified, that by the
"spiritual sacrifices" of a new and virtuous life, that is, by prayer, fervor,
piety, self-denial, patience, compunction, benevolence and charity for the
neighbor they may honor and glorify God. As often as we perform a good action,
with an upright intention directed to God, especially if in the midst of
temptation and struggle, we offer a sacrifice to God. 1
4. With sacrifice and
priesthood the altar is inseparably connected. The word is also not infrequently
used in a broader sense, that is, figuratively. Thus St. Augustine writes: "We
are the temple of God, because He deigns to dwell in us. Our heart is His altar,
when it is raised toward Him (cum ad ilium sursum est, ejus est altare cor
nostrum); to Him we immolate bloody sacrifices (cruentas victimas), when we
combat unto blood for His truth; to Him we burn most fragrant incense
(adolsuavissimum emus incensum), when we are on fire in His presence with devout
and holy love; to Him we present the sacrifice of humility and praise upon the
altar of our heart in the fire of inflamed love (hostiam humilitatis et laudis
in ara cordis igne fervidae charitatis)." 3
4. The Meaning and
Efficacy of the Sacrifices of the Old Law.
By the sin of our
first parents, in whom all mankind fell, the original plan of salvation was
frustrated. But God did not wish the unhappy world to perish in an abyss of
temporal misery and eternal death; in the excess of His goodness and love, He
determined to raise man from his fall and again to enrich him with gifts of
grace and glory. This restoration was to be effected in the fullness of time,
"through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3, 24). Jesus Christ by
His sacrifice on the Cross for the redemption of the world, is the salvation of
all ages; from the beginning, there was no name under heaven given to men
whereby they were to be saved, other than the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ (Acts 4, n). Already before the Christian era no one could obtain the
life of grace and eternal salvation except by adhering to Christ; this adhesion
could then be effected only by supernatural faith in the promised and coming
Redeemer.
That this faith, necessary to salvation, as well as
the hope and charity springing therefrom, might be within reach of all men, God
always imparted His supernatural help and grace. "The mystery of the redemption
was at no time inefficacious, not even in the Old Testament. It was not by a new
decree nor through a later mercy that God cared for the welfare of man, but from
the beginning of the world He opened and designated for all one and the same
fountain of salvation. For the grace of God, whereby all the Saints have ever
been justified, was merely increased at the birth of Christ, and not then first
imparted. This mystery of ineffable love, which at present fills the world, was
so powerfully efficacious even in all its figures, that they who believed in the
promised redemption did not receive less than they who have received the
gift." 1
2. Among the means of bringing man into supernatural
communication with God and the expected Redeemer, sacrifices already before the
coming of Christ held a prominent place, yea, the very first place. As Abel even
at the threshold of Paradise, so during the patriarchal age, Noah, Melchisedech,
Abraham, Jacob, offered sacrifices to God, and God graciously accepted them.
Then God Himself through Moses most precisely and minutely regulated and
prescribed the entire sacrificial rite of the Old Law. As the Mosaic sacrifices
were celebrated by the express will and command of God, thus also were
sacrifices in patriarchal times undoubtedly offered up in consequence of a
clearer light and by divine inspiration; hence the Apostle writes: "By faith
Abel offered to God a sacrifice exceeding that of Cain" (Heb. n, 4). In the
Ceremonial of the Old Law there were bloody and unbloody sacrifices. The bloody
sacrifices were the principal and the most frequent; they again were subdivided
into various kinds:
a) holocaust (holocaustum): in this the animal to
be sacrificed was entirely consumed by fire; it was chiefly a sacrifice of
praise and worship in acknowledgment of the Divine Majesty; 3
b)
peaceoffering (hostia pacifica) , in which a portion of the flesh was burned,
another part was eaten at the sacrificial meal by those who had offered it, and
the third part was reserved for the priests; the same had pre-eminently the
character of thanksgiving or petition;
3 c) offering of propitiation,
called also sin or debt-offering (hostia pro peccato). In this a portion of the
flesh was burned and the remainder consumed by the priests; whenever the
offering was made for the sins of the whole people, or in a particular manner
for the sins of the priests, then all was burned. The sacrifice of propitiation
had principally for its object to appease the wrath of God and to obtain the
pardon of sin.
3. These sacrifices previous to the Christian era had mainly the
meaning and object essential to every sacrifice: they were acts of adoration,
gratitude, petition and atonement. But in order to be truly acceptable to God,
to possess value and merit in His sight, they were to be offered with the proper
dispositions, that is, the exterior rite was to be the true expression of the
interior act of sacrifice, of submission, resignation, homage, worship, praise,
gratitude, sorrow and compunction. In consequence of the divine dispensation,
the sacrifices of the Old Law had a still higher meaning, inasmuch as they were
typically to prefigure and represent the approaching sacrifice of Christ on the
Cross.2 In this consisted their chief object and value. 3 The typical character
of these sacrifices, which rendered them figures of the sacrifice of Christ, is
beyond all doubt most exalted, for St. Paul fully explains and proves this
(Hebr. 8 10). The Old Law was, indeed, "the bringing in of a better hope, by
which we draw near to God" (Hebr. 7, 19), that is, the preparation for the New
and Eternal Covenant. As St. Augustine teaches, 1 'in the Old Law the New was
hidden, and in the New Law the Old was unfolded." 4 "In the Old Testament the
New was prefigured; the former was the figure (figura), the latter is the full
expression of truth (expressio veritatis)." 5 Now, if the entire Old Testament,
and especially its religious rite, was figurative for the future and preparatory
for Christ, should not also the sacrifices which formed the essential part of
the exterior service have borne the same character and have served the same end
? The Old Law contained "only the shadow of the good things to come,,' 6 that
is, the heavenly gifts of grace which Christ acquired for us and which He
entrusted to the Church; for this reason the ancient sacrifices were but
shadows of the great atoning sacrifice of Redemption on Golgotha.
4. If
we inquire into the efficacy of these sacrifices prior to the time of Christ,
their propitiatory character is most striking. This is more clearly and forcibly
evidenced in the bloody sacrifices, which were also the most frequently offered,
since in the Old Law the consciousness of unpropitiated and punishable guilt was
still predominant. But these bloody sacrifices had not the power of appeasing an
offended and irritated God and of releasing wretched man from the crushing
burden of sin. The Apostle says, indeed: "It is impossible that with the blood
of oxen and goats sins should be taken away" (Heb. 10, 4), and he therefore
calls those sacrifices "weak and needy elements" (Gal. 4, 9), which could by no
means make the persons who offered them perfect (Heb. 10, i), that is, which
could neither procure for man the pardon of sin nor effect interior purification
and sanctification. The carrying out and offering (ex opere operato) of the
Mosaic sacrifices imparted only the exterior or legal purification, 1 that is,
they caused the Israelite to be no longer regarded as legally unclean, and he
was, consequently, again permitted to take part in the public service of God.
Thus these sacrifices expressed the necessity of real atonement and interior
purification, and, at the same time, referred to the future sacrifice of the
Cross as the only source of reconciliation, forgiveness of sin and
sanctification. As these imperfect sacrifices foreshadowed, promised and pledged
the perfect redeeming sacrifice of Christ, they were capable of exciting and
fostering true sentiments of sacrifice, that is, they animated the Israelites to
faith and hope, and disposed them to contrition and penance, which are the
necessary conditions of acquiring interior justification (ex opere
operantis) 2 . In the Old Law there was no sacrament which by its own power and
efficacy (ex opere operato) could justify and sanctify the properly disposed
recipient; perfect contrition was then the only means left to adults of
obtaining true sanctity and becoming children of God. Only by a believing hope
and contrite love could men (ex opere operantis) draw remission of sin and
justification beforehand from the fountain of grace which was to be opened at
the foot of the Cross. Thus "the old sacrifices were varied and manifold figures
of the real sacrifice of Christ, inasmuch as this one sacrifice was prefigured
by many, just as when one idea is expressed in many ways, in order to make a
deeper impression 1 . In this manner the eye of faith was directed to the
future, the coming Sacrifice of the Redeemer was confidently and eagerly grasped
by the Jews and thus the fruit of the Sacrifice of the Cross was won beforehand.
For this the presentiment, the obscure knowledge of the higher meaning concealed
in the sacrificial rite was sufficient; such an understanding of what these
sacrifices prefigured could not have been unknown even to the mass of the
people, still less could it have been wanting to the specially favored, to whom
higher lights concerning the work of redemption were imparted. 2
The Language
Used in the Celebration of the Holy Mass.
1. All the requisites for the
celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice have been selected with especial care,
and nothing has been adopted but what has been found best suited unto this end.
This applies also to the language in which the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated; for
the liturgical language should correspond to its liturgical object. The Mass
considered in itself could assuredly be celebrated in any language, but by the
Providence of God the Latin language has become, and still continues to be of
all languages the most widely diffused for divine worship. The very ancient
practice of the Church of celebrating Mass in the West, not in the living
language of the country, but in a dead language, that is, in Latin, for the most
part a language unintelligible to the people, has since the twelfth century to
the present epoch been frequently made the subject of attack. Such attacks
originated principally in an heretical, schismatical, proudly national spirit
hostile to the Church, or in a superficial and false enlightenment, in a shallow
and arid rationalism entirely destitute of the perception and understanding of
the essence and object of the Catholic liturgy, especially of the profoundly
mystical sacrifice. In the attempt to suppress the Latin language of the liturgy
and to replace it by the vernacular, there was a more or less premeditated
scheme to undermine Catholic unity, to loosen the bond of union with Rome, to
weaken the Catholic spirit, to destroy the humility and simplicity of faith.
Therefore, the Apostolic See at all times most persistently and inflexibly
resisted such innovations; for it is an invariable principle of the Church never
to alter the ancient liturgical language, but inviolably to adhere to it, even
though it be no longer the living language spoken or understood by the people.
The Church likewise, when introducing the Roman liturgy among newly converted
nations, has for many centuries permitted the Latin language only. She
excommunicates all those who presume to declare the vernacular to be the
necessary or the only permissible language for the liturgy; she
stigmatizes as impertinent effrontery for any one to censure or combat the
retention of the Latin language for divine worship. This is just; for, as St.
Augustine remarks, "to question what the united Church practices as a rule is
the most daring madness." In all such general decrees and usages appertaining
to divine worship, the Church is directed and preserved from injurious blunders
by the Holy Ghost. Instead of censuring the Church on account of her practice,
that has endured more than a thousand years, of conducting her liturgical
worship in a dead language, we should rather acknowledge and admire her
supernatural wisdom; she counts her experiences by centuries: ours we can
enumerate only by days. The Church is moved by interests most sacred to
maintain and to introduce wherever she is spread in the world and receives new
nations into her pale, the Latin as the common language of her liturgy. This
conduct on her part does not rest on a discipline of secrecy. The Church does
not wish to conceal her mysteries from the faithful. It is rather her very
ardent desire that her children should understand all the wealth and beauty of
her divine worship; hence she obliges and admonishes her priests to unfold to
the people the meaning of the celebration of the mystical Sacrifice by clearly
and devoutly explaining from time to time the holy Sacrifice of the Mass with
all its ceremonies and prayers in the school-room and in the church, in the
catechetical instructions and in sermons. After the fathers of the Council of
Trent had subjected the objection raised to the Latin tongue in Church service
to thorough examination, they unanimously declared that, although the Mass
embodied a vast amount of religious instruction, they still deemed it
inexpedient that the Holy Sacrifice should be everywhere (passim) celebrated in
the vernacular; that, on the contrary, everywhere the rite (custom) authorized
by the Holy Roman Church should be maintained. But in order that the sheep of
Christ may not hunger and the children may not ask for bread without there being
some one to break it unto them, the Council commands pastors of souls, that
during the celebration of Mass they frequently explain some part of what has
been read in the Mass, and that especially on Sundays and holidays they give
instruction of some mystery of this most Holy Sacrifice. The Church acts thus,
because she is persuaded that an unchangeable and universal language for divine
worship prevents, on the one hand, much harm and danger, and, on the other hand,
offers numerous advantages for her liturgical object, as well as for her
activity and efficiency in general. These advantages are so great, that the
profit the people might in a certain respect and in some cases derive from
understanding the language used in the divine service, bears no comparison
thereunto, and is far surpassed thereby; besides said profit may be secured in
some better and more sure way and thus be easily compensated. Latin is the
language almost universally employed in the divine service all over the Catholic
world; other cult languages are comparatively but little disseminated. Only the
most weighty reasons will be given here for the use of the Latin language in the
liturgy of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
a) The Latin language is
consecrated by the mystic inscription attached to the Cross, as well as
sanctified by the usage of nearly two thousand years, and hence it is most
closely interwoven with the primitive Roman Catholic liturgy of the holy
Sacrifice. The inscription on the Cross: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,"
was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin (John 19, 19, 20). These were the three
principal languages of that epoch, and by divine dispensation they were, so to
say, destined and consecrated on the Cross for the liturgical use of the Church.
Through the inscription on the Cross they proclaimed to the whole world the
dignity, power and glory of the Redeemer, the royalty and dominion of grace
which He acquired by His bloody death; at the altar these languages continue to
live throughout all ages, and serve to announce and to celebrate until the end
of time the death of Christ for our redemption, whereby the reign of grace is
ever more widely extended and firmly established, the kingdom of peace
progresses ever more towards its happy consummation. In the first centuries
these three languages were employed predominantly, if not exclusively, in the
liturgical service. Of these three languages the Latin at an early date gained
the precedence; for, being the language of the Roman world, it became throughout
the West with the spread of Christianity also the language of the liturgy.
Divine Providence selected Rome as the centre of the Catholic Church; from Rome
the messengers of the faith were sent forth in all directions to spread the
light of the Gospel. Along with the grace of Christianity, together with the
Catholic faith and its divine worship the western nations also received Latin as
the Church-language; for in that tongue the Holy Mysteries were always
celebrated, though the nations recently converted spoke a different language and
did not understand Latin. Thus the language of the Mother Roman Church became
the common language of worship of all her daughters, the Catholic Christian
Churches established from Rome in the West. In the beginning Latin was
understood and spoken in many localities by the people, but it continued to be
the liturgical language even after it had been superseded by other tongues in
civil life, and had ceased to be the language of the people and of the country.
For centuries the Latin language has ceased to be spoken in the daily life and
intercourse of the world, but it will continue to live immortal by
ecclesiastical usage and in the sanctuary of divine worship unto the
consummation of ages. The most sacred reminiscences, the history and the acts of
the Catholic Church are intimately connected with it. From the beginning of
Christianity the sublime mystery of the Mass was celebrated, the sacramental
means of grace were administered, God was glorified, men were sanctified and led
to salvation in this language. It is without doubt elevating and inspiring to
offer sacrifice and pray in the very language and in the very words, whose
forcible yet sweet tones once resounded in the mouths of the primitive
Christians and our forefathers in the dark depths of the Catacombs, in the
golden areas of the ancient basilicas, and in the sumptuous cathedrals of the
Middle Age. In the Latin language of divine worship innumerable saints, bishops
and priests of all times have offered sacrifice, prayed and sung; in it the most
magnificent liturgical formulas are composed prayers of incomparable beauty and
''marvelous hymns, which echo throughout the vaults of Catholic churches, now
resounding in great exaltation or sung in soft strains of sweet joy, now weeping
in sorrow, at another time lamenting in sympathetic grief for Christ." Should
not this ancient Latin language of divine service, so venerable and hallowed in
its origin and use, be extremely dear and precious to us, so that we would not
for any price give it up or be deprived of it at the celebration of Holy Mass?
b) The Latin language is better suited than the languages of different
countries to the celebration of divine worship, not only because it is very
perfect, but furthermore because, as a so-called dead language, it has the
incomparable merit of being at the same time unchangeable and mysterious. The
genus of the Latin language possesses great perfection: it is distinguished for
its dignity and gravity, clearness and precision, for its richness and euphony.
It is, therefore, often difficult to render the complete sense, and still more
difficult, and sometimes utterly impossible, to bring out in a translation the
beauty, the strength, the dignity, the unction, the depth and the wealth of
thought of the original Latin. To convince one's self of this, one should
compare, for example, the various translations of the Mass prayers and sequences
with the Latin text. In addition to all this, Latin is the language Urbis et
Orbis (the language of the world), the official Church language, the language of
communication between the Pope and the Bishops, the language of the Councils and
of theological science. Because of such advantages it is eminently fitted to be
used the world over as the language of the Catholic Church in the celebration of
her divine worship.
Latin survives no longer in the converse of the
common people, but in the sanctuary of the Church. As a so-called dead
language, (The Oriental churches also reject the principle, that the vernacular
language of a country or people should be used in the celebration of Holy Mass.
This is proved by the most decisive facts. The united and the schismatical
Greeks celebrate the Holy Sacrifice in the ancient Greek, which the people do
not understand) it is unchangeable, while the languages of the people undergo
constant improvement and remodeling, and are ever liable to go on progressing
and altering. What would become of liturgical books, if, with time and the
changes of the vernacular, they were subjected to perpetual change and
reconstruction By such necessary, incessant remodeling and alteration of the
liturgical formulas of prayer, the original text and context would lose not only
much of their incomparable force and beauty, but often notwithstanding strict
surveillance on the part of the Church would be disfigured and spoiled by
circumlocutions, interpolations, omissions, incorrectness, errors and
misrepresentations. Hence it would be impossible to preserve and maintain
uniformity of divine worship at different times among even one and the same
people, much less throughout the world. All these inconveniences are obviated by
the use of an unchangeable language for divine worship. In the unchangeableness
of the Latin for divine worship the Roman Missal appears as an intangible and
inviolable sanctuary, deserving of admiration and profound respect.
Since the Latin language has been withdrawn from daily life, from the
ordinary intercourse of mankind, since it is not heard on the street or in the
market-place, it possesses in the eyes of the faithful a holy, venerable, mystic
character. Under this aspect also it is eminently suited for the celebration of
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which in itself comprises many mysteries. The
celebration of this mystic Sacrifice fittingly calls for a language elevated,
majestic, dignified and consecrated; religious sentiment demands this, and the
Latin tongue answers this requirement. Just as the silent saying of the Canon,
so also the use of a sanctified cult language, different from that of profane
intercourse, points to the unfathomable and unspeakable depth of the mystery of
the altar, and protects it against contempt and desecration. The majesty of the
divine worship depends, indeed, chiefly on the devout, dignified and
reverential The Abyssinians and Armenians celebrate Holy Mass respectively in
the ancient Ethiopian and the ancient Armenian, understood only by the learned.
The same holds good with regard to the Syrians and Egyptians, who celebrate Holy
Mass in the ancient Syrian, and also with regard to the Melchites and Georgians
(Caucasian province) who at Holy Mass make use of the ancient Greek. The same is
observed by the Russians, although Greek is not the language of the people, who
speak only a Slavonian dialect. Here we may also refer to the practice of the
Church in the Old Law. Up to the time of Christ and the Apostles, the ancient
Hebrew was the language of the Patriarchs, the cult language, although no longer
understood by the Jewish nation, who after the Babylonian Captivity made use of
the SyroChaldaic idiom. It was this divine worship in the ancient Hebrew that
our Lord and His disciples attended, thus actually approving a language for
divine worship that was not the language of the people. Neither the Lord nor His
Apostles designated or censured this as an abuse. The use of a particular cult
language, differing from the ordinary current and spoken language, was,
therefore, practiced for a long time in the Church of the Old Testament, and was
unequivocally approved of by the conduct of our Saviour and of His Apostles.
(Cf. Augsburg. Pastoralblatt, Jahrg. 1877, S. 166.) demeanor of the
celebrant; but the liturgical language contributes also its share thereunto, and
a foreign language is suitable, in a measure, to veil the defects and repulsive
routine of many a priest, and to prevent them from appearing so glaring. Thus
the Latin language elevated above the time and place of every day life, is a
mystic veil for the Adorable mysteries of the Holy Sacrifice, which here below
we acknowledge only in the clear obscurity of faith, but whose clear vision
shall be our portion in heaven as a recompense for our humble faith. The use of
the Latin language in nowise prevents the faithful from participating in the fruits of the Sacrifice, notwithstanding assertions to the
contrary. The demand that the Mass should everywhere be celebrated in the
vernacular, is based for the most part on ignorance, or on an entire
misconception of the real nature and object of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The
liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice contains "much that is instructive" (magnam
eruditionem Trident.), but instruction is by no means its principal object. The
altar is not a pulpit, the Holy Mass is not primarily a doctrinal lecture or an
instruction to the people. The Sacrifice is essentially a liturgical action
performed by the priest for propitiating and glorifying God, as well as for the
salvation of the faithful. In this sacrifice the Christian people should take a
lively part, full of profit to themselves, and they should in spiritual union
with the celebrating priest plus medullis cordis quam labiis vocis more with the
heart than with the lips join in prayer and sacrifice. And this is not possible
for them to do without some understanding of the liturgical celebration; for
"although devotion consists principally in an abundance of devout sentiments
and, consequently, belongs more to the heart than to the understanding, there
is, however, no perfect devotion without the enlightenment of the understanding.
But in order to acquire the requisite knowledge to join in devout union with the
priest celebrating the Mass, various means are at the disposal of Catholics; the
celebration of the Church service in the vernacular is not at all requisite
therefore, and would oftentimes prove of little or no avail. By means of oral
teaching, with the aid of books of instruction and devotion, every Christian may
obtain a sufficient knowledge of the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice, of the
prayers which the priest recites at the altar. For this purpose the mere recital
of formulas of prayer in the vernacular by the celebrant would not suffice: for
in many cases, for example, in large churches, at High Mass, or when several
priests celebrate at the same time, it would be impossible, or at least
disedifying, to pray so loud at the altar that all present could distinctly hear
and understand the words of the officiating priest. Even if they did understand
the words which the priest sings or recites at the altar, but little would be
attained for the real understanding of the sense; for the formulas of the Mass,
taken principally from Holy Scripture, are often mystical and difficult to
comprehend; the mere rendering of them into the vernacular would not always
disclose the hidden meaning, and the translation might often be the occasion of
misconceptions, of misunderstandings, it might arouse the desire for disputation
and dangerous hypercriticism.
When man subjects science and any
perfection whatever totally to God, his devotion is thereby increased;
therefore, a clear, profound, comprehensive knowledge of the Holy Sacrifice and
its prayers is without doubt very useful and greatly to be recommended. The
prayers of the Church are to be preferred to all private prayers; they are the
sweetest manna, the most solid nourishment of the soul. Therefore, it is very
desirable that the faithful should assiduously strive to increase more and more
their knowledge of the precious treasure of the liturgical prayers, to the end
that they may join their voices in prayer the more intimately and perfectly with
the voice of the Church at the altar. The mere understanding of the prayers
which the priest utters or sings does not assuredly suffice to enable us to
share abundantly in the advantages and the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Mass.
The most perfect disposition for this is a lively faith, fervent love, sincere
compunction, profound reverence and devotion, humility of heart, a longing for
mercy and help. Such devout sentiments may exist independently of the knowledge
of the particular Mass prayers, and are produced by the worthy, holy and
mysterious Sacrifice, which, having a varied symbolical character, possesses,
therefore, a peculiar, significant and eloquent language of its own. This
language can be perfectly understood only by him who, by previous instruction,
has learned the purpose and meaning of the ceremonies of the Church. Latin is,
therefore, no hindrance to the
Catholic Christian, preventing him from
deriving from the source of the liturgy of the Holy Sacrifice life, light and
warmth, in order to nourish his piety and devotion. It serves rather to awaken a
holy awe and reverence in his heart in the presence of the obscure mysteries of
the Divine Sacrifice.
c) As a universal language of worship, Latin is
an admirable means not only of presenting, but also of preserving and promoting
the unity and harmony of the Church in divine worship, in divine faith, and in
conduct.
a) The unity of the liturgy for all time and place can be
perfectly maintained only inasmuch as it is always and everywhere celebrated in
the same language. By the introduction of the various national languages, the
uniformity and harmony of Catholic worship would be imperiled and, in a measure,
rendered impossible. How beautiful and sublime is that uniform celebration of
the Holy Sacrifice in the Catholic Church from the rising to the setting of the
sun! Thus every priest is enabled to celebrate Mass, over the whole world, no
matter what country he visits. And "how consoling is it not for a devout
Catholic, whilst dwelling in a foreign land in the midst of strangers, hearing
no sounds but those of an unknown tongue, to able at least when assisting at
the celebration of divine service, to hear again the words of a language which,
as the accents of a second mother-tongue he has listened to from childhood in
his native country? He feels then as though he were in a spiritual home, in a
universal fatherland of the faith, and for the moment he forgets that he is
dwelling in a strange place." Thus travel on our altars "the same prayers in the
same language all around the globe. When the sun rises and the morning flush
shows itself on the mountain tops, we awaken, and the celebration of Mass begins
with these same prayers and continues until noon. Then other countries have
their morning, and take up the same Sacrifice with the same prayers. And when in
the evening the sun sinks beneath the horizon, it rises in another part of the
globe, and the same Sacrifice is there repeated with its identical prayers.”
b)
The unity of the liturgical language and of the divine worship in the Church is,
therefore, a very efficient means for preserving the integrity of faith. The
liturgy is, indeed, the main channel by which dogmatic tradition is transmitted;
dogma is the root of all ecclesiastical life, of discipline and of worship.
Worship is developed out of the doctrine of faith; in the liturgical prayers, in
the rites and ceremonies of the Church the truths of Catholic faith find their
expression, and can be established and proved therefrom. But the more fixed,
unchangeable and inviolable the liturgical formula of prayer is, the better it
is adapted to preserve intact and to transmit unimpaired the original deposit of
faith. Therefore, all the primitive liturgies proclaim and prove that our faith
is in perfect harmony with that of the first ages of the Church.
c)
Unity of liturgical language and the consequent uniformity of divine worship
form, finally, a strong bond for uniting indissolubly the churches dispersed all
over the world, among themselves and with their common centre the Roman Church,
the chief and Mother-Church of them all. The bond of a universal language of
worship, which embraces the head and the members of the Church, supports and
promotes everywhere the unity and the common life and operation of the Church.
History confirms this; for it proves that a difference of liturgies, that is,
the introduction of national languages into the liturgy, frequently gave or
threatened to give rise to heresy and schism. We need only recall to mind the
eastern nations, which, for the most part, have a ritual of their own and in the
liturgy make use of a language different from the Latin. While, therefore, the
use of the various national languages for divine service is peculiar to the
sects and to national churches, the use of the Latin as the common language for
divine worship harmonizes perfectly with the essence, the object and the
workings of the Catholic Church. In her bosom we behold how the Holy Ghost has
"gathered all the nations from out of the Babel of tongues into the unity of
faith." Being formed of "all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues," she
constitutes but one family of God, one kingdom of Christ, a kingdom not of this
world, but exalted above every nation of the earth. Therefore, it is proper that
the Church, when celebrating divine worship, when offering the divine Sacrifice,
should make use not of the language of some one single country or nation, but of
a language that is universal, consecrated and sanctified. Thus at the altar it
is a figure of the heavenly Jerusalem, where all the angels and saints in unison
(una voce) sing their "Holy, holy, holy" and Alleluia. Jesus Christ Himself
offered the first Eucharistic Sacrifice in the Supper Room of Jerusalem, and
this in close connection with the eating of the Paschal Lamb of the Old
Testament. At the same time He ordered the celebration of this Sacrifice in His
Church for all times, when He gave to the Apostles and their successors in the
priestly office the command and the power to do the same as He had done. After
the example and by the order of Christ, the Apostles celebrated everywhere on
their missionary journeys the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In all probability they did
not celebrate it for the first time previous to Whitsunday, but they most likely
did so on that grand day, when the Holy Ghost descended on the infant Church;
this view is made evident by the fact that the Holy Ghost performs forever the
mystery of the Consecration as He once did the mystery of the Incarnation.
Christ's example was the norm for the Apostles; at the celebration of the
Sacrifice they did, first, only that which Christ had done before. According to
His directions and under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost they observed other
things besides, namely, according to circumstances of time and place, to the
simple, essential act of sacrifice they added various prayers and observances,
in order to celebrate the Holy Mysteries as worthily and as edifyingly as
possible. Those constituent portions of the sacrificial rite, which are found in
all the ancient liturgies, have incontestably their origin from Apostolic times
and tradition; such, for example, as the preparatory prayers, the readings from
Holy Scripture, the Psalms, the offering of bread and wine mixed with water, the
supplications for the living and the dead, the Offertory prayers and the words
added to those of the Consecration, the reference to the death and resurrection
of Christ, the Lord's Prayer, the sign of the Cross, the kiss of peace, the
fraction and distribution of the Host, the thanksgiving after Communion. The
Apostles, who had been instructed by the Lord Himself in the mysteries of the
kingdom of God, and were filled with the Holy Ghost, assuredly observed a fixed
order in the daily celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, although they did not
establish and bequeath a written liturgy.The first offering of the Holy
Sacrifice by our Lord was the rule and the model for the Apostles; and the
essential and fundamental features of the sacrificial rite, introduced and
enlarged upon by the Apostles, were preserved with fidelity and reverence in the
churches founded by them and their successors; but in the course of time,
according as it was deemed necessary or expedient, it was always more and more
developed, enriched and perfected, yet after a different manner, in the various
churches of the East and West. “The Lord never ceases to be present to His
beloved Spouse the Church, never fails to be at her side in her office of
teaching and to accompany her in her operation with His blessing," consequently,
He had the power, as He also had the will, to bequeath to the chiefs and
shepherds of the Church the right to give to the Sacrifice instituted by Himself
the most natural and the wisest development and the best adapted form, that is,
to give it due liturgical form and solemnity. 1. Thus there originated in
different places, at different times and among different nations also different
liturgies, that is, ecclesiastical formulas for the celebration of the
Eucharistic Sacrifice. In the main features, in the essential points of the
Sacrifice, all these various rites of the Mass agree; but in the rest they all
differ more or less, both in substance as well as in construction. With regard
to their origin and their affinity, they may be divided into different classes;
in general they are divided into two extensive groups the liturgies of the East
and the liturgies of the West. This division is warranted and well grounded, for
the Eastern liturgies are characteristically distinguished from those of the
West, not only by reason of their country and language, but also because of
their spirit, contents and form. The liturgies of the East have a more stable,
unchangeable character, since the same divine praises, the same petitions and
thanksgivings are nearly always repeated; they present very little variety in
the daily celebration of the ecclesiastical year. The liturgies of the West, on
the contrary, exhibit a greater variety, fresh life and constant progress, for
the celebration of the ecclesiastical feasts and seasons is most intimately
connected and interwoven with the Holy Sacrifice. While the Oriental liturgies,
for the most part, contain more lengthy prayers, a greater abundance of
symbolical customs and acts, the Western, and especially the Roman-Latin rite,
is marked by a significant brevity, as well as by a dignified simplicity and a
marvellous sublimity in word and action.While the liturgies of the East are very
numerous, there are but few in the West. The principal are the Mozarabic, the
ancient Gallic, the Ambrosian and Roman liturgies. The last named has at all
times had the precedence, and is now found in all parts of the world. Already
Pope Innocent I. (402 417)? in writing to Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio, about
ritual matters, traces the origin of the Roman liturgy to the Prince of the
Apostles: "Who does not know," he writes, "that what has been handed down by
Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, to the Roman Church is still observed unto
this day, and must be observed by all?" St. Peter, consequently, must be
regarded (in a more general sense) as the founder of the Roman liturgy, for the
method of celebration followed and introduced by him was, without doubt, the
essential and permanent foundation for its later development and form. "This
liturgy, as yet a tender plant, was brought by St. Peter, the Prince of the
Church, into the garden of the Roman Church, where by his nursing care and that
of his successors, assisted by the Holy Ghost, it has grown to a large tree, and
although the trunk has long ago attained its full growth, it nevertheless shoots
forth in every century new branches and new blossoms" (Kossing).The most ancient
written inventories of the Roman liturgy we possess in three Sacramentaries,
which bear the names of Pope Leo I. (440 461), Gelasius I. (492 496) and Gregory
I. (590 604) ( Sacramentarium Leonianum, Gelasianum, Greg-orianum) . These
Sacramentaries contain a precious treasure of liturgical traditions, which date
from the most ancient period of the Roman Church. The above named Popes deserve
well of the liturgy, inasmuch as they faithfully preserved the ancient formulas,
and, at the same time, enriched and perfected them with additions suitable to
the times. Our Missal is principally derived from the Sacrameutary of St.
Gregory the Great. Under him the Canon of the Mass received its last addition.
The rest of the constituent parts of the Roman liturgy of the Mass (the Introit,
the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Collect, the Epistle, the Gradual, the Gospel, the
Secreta, the Preface, the Pater Noster, the Communion and the Post-Communion)
date back at least to the fifth or even the fourth century. Toward the close of
the Middle Age the Missals were much disfigured by particular changes and
unsuitable additions, so that there was urgent need of a reform. This was
accomplished under the Popes Pius V. (1560 1572), Clement VIII. (1592 1605) and
Urban VIII. (1623 1644), who carefully revised and corrected the Missal. Thus
the Gregorian Rite was, as far as possible, restored to its original purity,
simplicity and dignity, while at the same time the desired unity of divine
worship was brought about.
2. Thus has the Church in the course of time set the
jewel of the Holy Sacrifice in the most magnificent manner with heavenly wisdom
and skill for the praise of God and the edification of the faithful, by
surrounding it with the precious decorations of holy prayers, of holy hymns,
lessons and ceremonies. She has enveloped the celebration of the adorable
Sacrifice in a mystic veil, in order to fill the hearts and minds of the
faithful with religious awe and profound reverence, and to urge them to earnest,
pious contemplation and meditation. The beauty, the worth and the perfection of
the Roman liturgy of the Mass are universally acknowledged and admired. Father
Faber styles the Church's Rite of the Holy Sacrifice "the most beautiful thing
this side of heaven," and, as he remarks, "it came forth out of the grand mind
of the Church, and lifted us out of earth and out of self, and wrapped us round
in a cloud of mystical sweetness and the sublimities of a more than angelic
liturgy, and purified us almost without ourselves, and charmed us with celestial
charming, so that our very senses seem to find vision, hearing, fragrance, taste
and touch, beyond what earth can give." The Church prayers of the liturgy are
superior to all other prayers; Nor in fact can any human genius hope to attain
their beauty and sublimity. In these two qualities, the Mass differs from all
other offices in a remarkable manner. It has not merely flights of eloquence and
poetry strikingly displayed in particular prayers, but it is sustained
throughout in the higher sphere, to which its divine purpose naturally raises
it. If we examine each prayer separately, it is perfect; perfect in
construction, perfect in thought, and perfect in expression. If we consider the
manner in which they are brought together, we are struck with the brevity of
each, with the sudden but beautiful transitions, and the almost stanza-like
effect, with which they succeed one another, forming a lyrical composition of
surpassing beauty. If we take the entire service, as a whole, it is constructed
with the most admirable symmetry, proportioned in its parts with perfect
judgment and so exquisitely arranged, as to excite and preserve an unbroken
interest in the sacred action. No doubt, to give full force and value to this
sacred rite, its entire ceremonial is to be considered. The assistants, with
their noble vestments, the chant, the incense, the more varied ceremonies which
belong to a solemn Mass, are all calculated to increase veneration and
admiration. But still, the essential beauties remain, whether the holy rite be
performed under the golden vault of St. Peter's, with all the pomp and
circumstance befitting its celebration by the Sovereign Pontiff, or in a
wretched wigwam, erected in haste by some poor savages for their missionary"
(Wiseman). "That overruling influence of the Spirit of God, that directs even in
secondary matters the affairs of the visible Church, nowhere else appears so
marked and evident as in the arrangement of the rite of the Holy Mass, which,
although only monumental, yet in its present state forms such a beautiful,
perfect whole, yea, a splendid work, that it excites the admiration of every
reflecting mind. Even the bitterest adversaries of the Church do not deny it;
unprejudiced, aesthetic judges of good taste admit that even from their own
standpoint the Mass is to be classed as one of the greatest masterpieces ever
composed. Thus the momentous sacrifice is encompassed with magnificent
ceremonies; it is our duty to study to penetrate more and more into their
meaning, and to expound what we have learned to the people according to their
capacity" (Oswald).The Roman liturgy has for some centuries been a complete
masterpiece of art, wonderful in the harmony and union of its parts. The most
sacred and venerable prayers and chants, breathing religious fervor and
tenderness, follow most ingeniously upon one another, and together with the most
appropriate and significant actions and ceremonies, form a beautiful whole,
serving as a protecting garment and a worthy ornament to the divine mystery of
the Holy Sacrifice. Their language, for its kind and object, cannot be
surpassed; for it is biblical, ancient, simple, grave, dignified, solid, full
of the spirit of faith, humility and devotion, and penetrated with the perfume
of piety and holiness.
3. This glorious rite of the Sacrifice of the Mass is an
unfailing mine of religious instruction and edification; it is like an immensely
rich mine, where always new gold veins are disclosed to the searching look. Even
if we were to devote our entire life to considering in our meditations and
prayers the mystical liturgy of the Mass, there would still remain for our heart
and mind new treasures, still new riches would reveal themselves and new
beauties would be disclosed. And yet though it be so deep and impenetrable as to
prove inexhaustible to even the greatest contemplative saint, it is, at the same
time, so clear and easy of comprehension, that the most artless child as well as
the most simple of the faithful finds therein light, incentive, strength and
nourishment for his religious life. But is this precious liturgical treasure
valued and turned to good account, as it deserves to be, by the ministers of the
Church, in other words, do they study it for their own sanctification and make
it available to the faithful in the school, in catechetical instructions and
sermons?""
The liturgy is a constant mysterious sermon, but it is by the mouth of
the priest that the laity must learn to understand its language. Without
liturgical instruction the participation of the faithful in the functions of
divine worship will be in many instances only external and mechanical. The
mighty stream of the ecclesiastical year flows by, the faithful stand on its
bank, they look on, and of its waters they receive but a few drops which the
waves of themselves cast upon the shore" (Amberger). In order to discover the
true and full meaning of the rite of the Mass, we must view it from the proper
standpoint, and be guided by those correct maxims which give the sense of the
liturgical words and actions. It is self-evident that that unecclesiastical view
is to be rejected which, while discarding all the higher and mystical sense,
seeks to explain the mysterious liturgy after a mere natural or historic manner,
by trying to ascribe all ceremonies exclusively to reasons of necessity,
expedience and propriety. Yet, on the other hand, in the mystical explanation of
the liturgy the opposite mistake is to be avoided, which consists in giving
arbitrary explanations without regard to the intentions of the Church, and in
indulging in silly trifles and affected subtleties.The Church herself applies
symbolical meanings in her liturgy; therefore, in explaining the liturgy we
must, above all things, attend to what the Church would express by her
ceremonies. "Since by reason of his nature man is so constituted that without
exterior aid he cannot easily rise to the contemplation of divine things, the
Church, as a devoted Mother, has, therefore, introduced into her liturgy certain
usages, as, for example, that some portions of the Mass should be recited in a
low tone, others in a loud tone of voice. In like manner certain ceremonies, for
instance, the mystical blessings, the use of lights, incense, vestments and many
things of that nature, she employs by Apostolic prescription and tradition, in
order both to manifest thereby the majesty of the great Sacrifice, as well as to
animate the minds of the faithful by these visible signs of religion and piety
to the consideration of the sublime mysteries hidden within this
Sacrifice." The ceremonies of the liturgy of the Mass, accordingly, have in
general for their purpose a twofold object; in the first place they are intended
to enhance and adorn the celebration of Mass, to serve for the honor and the
worship of God; then, too, they are designed as a means to place before the eyes
of the faithful in a lively manner the sublimity, the holiness and the efficacy
of the Sacrifice, that the faithful, being thereby moved to sentiments of
devotion, may be better disposed in heart to glorify God and to obtain grace.
Now the honor of God and the sanctification of man invariably constitute the
principal object of all liturgical acts, and this, consequently, in their
explanation must be always kept in the foreground; whatever is instructive
therein is merely subordinate, and should be made to serve the main object.The
different ceremonies may, according to their object and signification, be more
succinctly grouped into three classes.
a) All the ceremonies of Mass conduce to
the order, beauty and adornment of divine worship. Now while some ceremonies,
nay, even many, have yet a higher mystical meaning, others are prescribed merely
to invest the celebration of divine worship with decorum, dignity and reverence.
The latter ceremonies are based merely on a just regard to propriety, decorum
and suitableness. To this class belongs, for example, the prescription that the
priest approach the altar with downcast eyes and measured step; that he place
the left hand on his breast when making the sign of the Cross; that he turn
toward the faithful, when greeting or blessing them.
b) Most of the ceremonies
are outward forms of worship, that is, they are the outcome of an interior
emotion, expressions of religious thought and sentiments. Among these are the
different positions and movements of the body, of the members of the body, for
example, the bending of the knee, the striking of the breast, the bowing of the
body and the head, the raising up and the joining of the hands. Such acts are
outward signs which express, accompany and awaken devout sentiments of the
heart; for instance, sentiments of adoration, humility, desire, sorrow and
confidence. "They who pray, bend the knee, raise the hands or prostrate
themselves to the ground, thereby expressing outwardly what they feel inwardly.
Their invisible will and the intention of their heart is indeed known to God,
and their interior sentiments need not be made known to Him by such signs; but
by their means we are to pray and sigh more humbly and more ardently; and
although these bodily motions are made through a previous impulse of the heart,
nevertheless, the emotion of the heart is, I know not how, again increased by
these exterior signs, which it had produced, and the interior devotion, which
preceded them, grows more intense through the exterior devotion which it had
brought forth."
c) A third group is prescribed especially because of
their symbolical signification; these ceremonies are destined prominently to
indicate the mysteries of Christian faith and life. To this class, for example,
belong the mixing of wine and water, the washing of the hands at the Offertory,
the placing of the hands over the oblation before the Consecration, the breaking
of the Host and the dropping of a small particle of it into the chalice, the
frequent making of the sign of the Cross, the use of lights and incense.
Accordingly the ceremonies of the liturgy in the intention of the
Church serve not merely for the proper, the worthy and the edifying celebration
of the Sacrifice, but also for the exterior honor of God, of the Eucharistic
Saviour, of the saints, of relics and pictures, as well as for the symbolical
expression of the different mysteries. These different objects do not exclude
one another, but are often united together in one and the same liturgical act,
for example, sometimes in the use of the sign of the Cross, the honor paid the
Cross. Along with the natural reason and object of a ceremony the Church not
unfrequently combines a higher, mystical sense.
Finally, we must not
overlook in the ceremonies their sacramental character, which consists in this
that they in their own way produce spiritual effects and obtain divine grace.
4. Catholic ceremonies, therefore, are not the relics of heathen or
Jewish customs, but Apostolic and ecclesiastical ordinances, forms of worship
created and pervaded by a higher spirit. Consequently, the priest should highly
esteem and love them, and therefore perform them with punctuality and dignity.
St. Teresa was ready to sacrifice her life for even the least ceremony of the
Church. In the service of the Almighty, in the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
even the smallest thing has its meaning and importance; and, therefore, the
Church has so exactly and minutely regulated by her rubrics the entire
deportment of the priest at the altar. Whosoever conscientiously complies with
these ecclesiastical regulations, has the special merit of practising the virtue
of obedience in all his actions and movements when celebrating. To all applies
the admonition of the Apostle: "Glorify and bear God in your body!" (i Cor. 6,
20
Tanta gravitate, tanto religionis cultu (sacerdotes) Missae
sacrificium celebrent, ut per visibilem ministri pietatem invisibilia aeterni
sacerdotis mysteria conspiciantur. Nihil igitur obiter in hac divina actione,
nihil perfunctorie, nihil praecipitanter, nihil inconditis gestibus, omnia vero
graviter, otnnia secundum ordinem fiant, juxta receptos et approbates Ecclesiae
ritus, qui vel in minimis sine peccato negligi, omitti vel mutari baud possunt
(Concil. prov. Quebec. II, a. 1854).
A modest demeanor and a becoming
exterior, regulated according to the requirements of reason and faith, honors
God, edifies our neighbor and promotes our own spiritual life. Therefore, the
priest at the altar should, above all, not neglect the exterior. In his whole
deportment should be reflected his faith, his reverence, his recollection of
mind, his heartfelt devotion.
The Council of Trent gives this
Admonition:
What great care is to be taken to celebrate Holy Mass with
all religious solemnity and devotion, every one will easily understand, when he
reflects that in Holy Scripture a curse is pronounced upon those who do the work
of God negligently.
Since we must confess that the faithful can perform
no action so holy and so divine as this adorable mystery, in which that
life-giving Victim, which has reconciled us with God the Father, is daily
offered by the priest on the altar. It is, then, self-evident that all pains and
care should be taken to perform this Sacrifice with the greatest purity of heart
and with all the marks of exterior devotion and piety." The priest at the altar
should render to God in the name of the Church a homage of the highest
veneration: in the first place, interiorly by acts of faith, of hope, love,
humility, contrition, praise, thanksgiving and petition; then also exteriorly by
bows, by genuflections, by striking his breast, raising his hands and eyes,
kissing the altar and many other ceremonies. All these acts should be performed
with devotion, reverence and dignity in the presence of God and of His holy
angels, otherwise they become occasions of distraction, of scandal and of all
manner of irreverence.
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2 The Word religio comes principally from religare
(to bind namely to God Diximus nomen religionis a vinculo pietatis esse
deductum, quod hominem sibi Deus religaverit et pietate constrinxerit, quia
servire nos ei ut domino et obsequi ut patri necesse est (Lactant. Divin.
institut. 1. 4. c). . 28). The thought underlying this explanation is assuredly
true yet the derivation from religere (from relegere) would grammatically be
more correct. In Gellius (4, 9, 1) is found the participle, used adjectively,
religens = God-fearing. The term religio (from religere = to take carefully into
consideration, to ponder over, to weigh conscientiously and reflect upon with
due care especially that which is divine and holy) would, according to its
original signification, be intimately connected with. cultus (careful nursing
and waiting upon, honor, veneration from colere, cherishing and caring for,
esteeming and regarding as holy). Religiosus, ait Cicero, a relegendo
appellatur, qui retractat et tamquam relegit ea quae ad cultum divinum
pertineant (S. Isidor. Etymolog. 1. 10. n. 234). Of this explanation Suarez
remarks: Est probabilis deductio, sive vocum similitudinem sive munus ipsum
religionis spectemus. (Cfr. De Religione tr. I. 1. I. c. 1). Cfr. Gutberlet,
l>hrbuch der Apologetik. I. 6f
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