The Extraordinary Form for Ordinary Catholics (2/3)

An Introduction to the Traditional Latin Mass (Part Two)

“It is a long-established principle of the Church never to completely drop from her public worship any ceremony, object or prayer which once occupied a place in that worship.”[1]

Prior to Mass, in the sacristy, the celebrants and servers will put on their vestments which, as Cardinal Ratzinger explained, represent Christians who have “put on Christ” in Baptism according to St. Paul. (Gal 3:27 DRA) Medievals also compared it to putting on the armor of God, (cf. Eph 6:10-18) like those wearing robes made white in the blood of the Lamb in the armies of Heaven in Revelation, (Rev 7:14) with the Mass representing the cosmic struggle between good and evil, in which Christ vanquishes the devil in the spiritual warfare of our salvation. In the Mass, the priest acts as the general, the king in Revelation leading the armies of the saints.[2] (Rev 19:11-14)

The Mass begins, at a High Mass, as the celebrants and servers enter the nave in procession from the west to the east, symbolic of the divine Bridegroom coming at the Incarnation, the Son sent on mission by the Father to be united with His Bride the Church and coming forth from the Blessed Virgin Mary for the salvation of the world, while the east, toward which the priest, as an alter Christus acting in persona Christi as His representative,[3] with all the people will face for most of the liturgy, represents the rising Sun, from which Christ will return in the Second Coming. This is the reason for ad orientem (to the east) posture, opening the Mass toward eternity and emphasizing the adoration of God over the performance of the priest or the entertainment of the people.[4]

The Introit, consisting of an antiphon and psalm verse, is then sung by the choir as the celebrants, continuing their private preparatory prayers from the sacristy, process to the foot of the altar; there they recite a series of psalms and prayers after kneeling and making the Sign of the Cross, the people also kneeling as the choir sings. Music at the EF will be solemn, joyous and reverent, and ordinarily, the only instrument used, if any, will be a pipe organ, placed suitably toward the back of the church. Then the priest and server, who represents the people, pray the Confiteor, striking his breast three times, like the publican (Lk 18:13), both for personal repentance to God and to repair the damage caused by sin in the Body of Christ and the communion of saints.

Mass continues with the Asperges or sprinkling rite, wherein the celebrants and ministers first sprinkle the altar and anoint themselves with holy water, then process around the church sprinkling the congregation, as a reminder of Baptism and the water that poured from the side of Christ, according to the prayers used, to prepare the soul for repentance and solemnity in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.[5] Mass properly begins when they return to and approach the altar, the “true Calvary,”[6] ascending steps to the elevated sacred space of the sanctuary, “introibo ad altare Dei” as one of the first psalms of Mass intones, symbolic of Christ's Via Dolorosa to Calvary and His Ascension into Heaven where He stands before the Father as High Priest of the New Covenant.

The people stand as the celebrants incense the altar as a sacramental visualization of the prayers of the saints and the adoration of the participants taken up to God by the angels in Heaven, fulfilling the essential purpose of worship in the Jewish Temple which Scripture identifies as the burning of incense[7] (2 Chron. 2:5–6) and using frankincense and myrrh in a gold thurible as an image of Epiphany. The people then join them in praying the Kyrie, an urgent prayer in Greek, using a litany adapted in the sixth century from Eastern use, imploring God's mercy.[8]

The priest then chants the Gloria, a hymn or series of acclamations to Christ first used in the Roman liturgy for the Papal dawn Christmas Mass; it thus begins with the words sung by the angels announcing the Birth of Christ to the shepherds. The celebrants then kiss the altar, venerating the relics of the saints contained within, as early Christians did at the tombs of the martyrs. The priest then greets the faithful, praying that the Lord may be with them, to which the people pray in response that He may be with the priest's spirit; this is not a mere “hello” but a preparation for the offering of the sacrifice of Christ, by the priest acting as the Head of and with the Mystical Body, emphasizing its solemnity and uniting priest and people together. This is suitably followed by the Collect of the day, one of the most ancient parts of the Mass, to conclude the prior rites and introduce the subsequent Scripture readings.[9]

The reading of Scripture, with the Epistle and the chanting of the Gradual and Alleluia, during which the faithful sit and then stand in reverence for the Gospel, follows the traditional one-year cycle used by both the Latin and Byzantine churches throughout history until Vatican II.[10] The Gospel is particularly honored by ancient and solemn rituals, including a blessing of the deacon-reader, incense and candles, and small signs of the cross made only by the reader on his forehead, lips and heart, praying for purity.

Scripture reading at Mass is not a mere Bible study: it is a form of worship parallel to the Eucharist, since through both the faithful receive the Word of God, Jesus Christ, first in human words, then under the signs of bread and wine. (CCC 103) The homily, during which the people sit, following the readings and given only by those ordained with Holy Orders, signifies Christ explaining His revelation to His people, just as He elucidated parables privately to the apostles; (e.g. Lk 8:9-18) it is thus meant to focus on the readings but may also mention the saint venerated that day in the Church's sanctoral calendar. Its primary purpose is to connect the Gospel to the Eucharist, thus emphasizing the dual worship of the Logos.[11]

Concluding the Mass of the Catechumens, the faithful stand and chant the Credo with the priest. This is the Niceno-Constantinopolitan creed, originally designed to refute the grave and widespread errors of Arius and his denial of Christ's divinity in the early Church; this should inspire participants to focus intently on every verse and meditate on Christ's divine sovereignty.[12] It also includes the Filioque, dogmatically proclaimed at the Fourth Lateran Council and added to the creed by the Council of Florence to refute a heresy denying the double procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son.[13]

(Cover image source: By Emilio Rizzi: https://www.reddit.com/r/Catholicism/comments/bre5vn/how_the_mass_should_always_be_said_a_lot_of/)

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[1] Fulton Sheen, “Traditional Latin Catholic Mass: Easter Sunday,” YouTube video, from trady, posted on July 28 2006, at http://www.youtube.com.

[2] Monti, A Sense of the Sacred, 23-24.

[3] Monti, A Sense of the Sacred, 29.

[4] Ratzinger, Spirit of the Liturgy, loc 949-955.

[5] Michael Sternbeck, The Order of Mass (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2008), 12.

[6] Moorman, Latin Mass, 56.

[7] Kwasniewski, Roman Rite, 71.

[8] Sternbeck, Order of Mass, 13; Adrian Fortescue, The Mass: A Study in Roman Liturgy, (public domain: 27 March, 2014), 230-231. Kindle.

[9] Cf. Sternbeck, Order of Mass, 12-14.

[10] J.P. Parsons, “A Reform of the Reform?” in A Reform of the Reform? ed. Thomas Kocik (San Franciso: Ignatius, 2003), 243.

[11] Sacramentum caritatis, §46.

[12] Sternbeck, Order of Mass, 15.

[13] Anthony Maas, “Filioque,” in Catholic Encyclopedia, ed. Kevin Knight, vol. 6 (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909), at New Advent, www.newadvent.org.