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The discussion continues with Fr. Greg.  I’ll put his comments on my last post in with my reply.

First, I’m confused, how is my account of the Eucharist as sacrifice any different from what you seem to approve of in this post, or, for that matter, different from the standard RC (and yes, Orthodox:  see K. Ware) account of the Eucharist as sacrifice?  The Christ-event, including His death, is once for all;  however, the Eucharist is the way in which the offering of ourselves and our world becomes acceptable in, with, and through the offering of Christ.  Each celebration of the Eucharist is thus a manifestation, a making present, of the Christ-event, at a specific time and in a specific space, “until He comes” so that we can participate in it with our whole being, including those aspects of us which are physical and which are social, not simply those which are psychological, mental, and/or emotional.

Re:  Christian priesthood:  analogical or real?  Christ is THE priest.  His priesthood is primordial, archetypal, eternal, and precedes both creation and the incarnation.  The priesthood of the Church IS the priesthood of Christ.  The priesthood of Aaron foreshadows the priesthood of Christ but does not participate in it as does the Christian priesthood.  Therefore, which priesthood is real and which is “analogical”?  The answer is obvious:  the Christian priesthood is real and true priesthood and, precisely because it is the priesthood Christ, not only replaces, but supersedes the now-obsolete priesthood of Aaron for Christ and the Church, the “whole Christ”, is the “True Israel”.

The one thing we agree on is that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is a fait accompli as a complete offering for sin.  But therein lies the problem re the priesthood.

If we consider the Jewish priesthood, the priests offered sacrifices.  These sacrifices were efficacious (if not particularly comprehensive or permament) as propitiations for sin.  The Jewish priests were performing real sacrifices and achieving present forgiveness of sins.

Christian priests, however, are not doing this.  The sacrifice they celebrate is done.  There’s no doubt that the atonement Christians have–and celebrate in the Eucharist–is superior to that in Judaism.  That not only relieves real priests of their duties; it also relieves them of their raison d’être as well, which is why I don’t think that there can be a formal priesthood in Christianity.

This, I admit is a subtle distinction, but I make it because, as I explained earlier, Roman Catholicism’s way of presenting the Mass as a sacrifice doesn’t always make the eternal nature of Jesus’ work obvious to the faithful.  One is left with the idea that the priest is actually performing a sacrifice on the altar, and that in turn leads to the misconception that the sacrifice is present the same way it was in Judaism.  I laid this out in the original post on the sacrifice of the Mass.

Re:  Mediation:  Speaking of analogies:  I find your use of I Timothy 2: 5 (“…there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”) analogous with the way in which Jehovah’s Witnesses use John 17: 3 (“…that they know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”) Taken in isolation, the latter would seem to state that the Father is “the only true God,” thereby excluding the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Of course, as you have documented so well, such an interpretation flies in the face of all the rest of the New Testament, not to mention the rest of the Tradition, and is therefore excluded.

I don’t remember bringing up 1 Timothy 2:5, but we can discuss it anyway.  Obviously you have spent some time in My Lord and My God, so I’ll use that explanation to elucidate my response.  Jesus’ reference to the Father as “the only true God” is true re Jesus because a) the Father is the arche of Jesus and b) the Father is greater than the Son.  His statement is only operative in the context of God himself.  In getting into this, I know I’m running the same risk that Origen did: “…it is possible that some may dislike what we have said representing the Father as the one true God…” (Commentary in John, II, 3) but that will just have to be as it was for Origen.

Turning to 1 Timothy 2:5, just as the Father is the “one true God” only to the Son, so also is Jesus Christ the “one mediator between God and men” only to us.

The same is true for I Timothy 2:5.  Even the context suggests something else is going on here.  In 2:1-4, St. Paul is calling for intercession by the Christian community on behalf of basically everyone, to the end that the Church may live in peace, being undisturbed in the pursuit of holiness and to the end that “all be saved”.  The implication, then, is that the Church, in making these intercessions, is PARTICIPATING in the one mediation of Christ, and this is reinforced by the fact that the request for these prayers continues in verse 8.  (BTW, a rule of thumb concerning interpretation of the Bible:  if a given interpretation is at odds with what the universal Church as a whole has done and/or believed and continues to do and/or believe, that interpretation is wrong.)

This concept, that of participation, is crucial.  Another word is sharing or communion, or fellowship.  The underlying Greek word is koinonia.  God the Son shares our humanity so that we can share/partake of/be in communion with his Deity, as in II Peter 1:4.  The Church, either as a whole, or through individual members, shares in everything that Christ is and that Christ does, including His mediation between God and humanity.

There is no argument re the importance of participation.  It’s even more basic than you state: we, as created beings, cannot be in relationship with God on our own, created goodness, but only by participation in his uncreated goodness, which is why we need a fully divine Saviour to make that a reality.  But that participation does not equate with the church being a formal mediator between man and God; in fact, as is the case with the priesthood, such participation can be seen to obviate the need for another formal mediator.

However, relating to the exercise of Church discipline, I’m not sure that “mediation” is the proper concept here.  In any event, the authority being exercised is that given to the Apostles (and through them, to their successors, the bishops, as Clement of Rome, c. AD 96, documents) in Matthew 16:18-19, 18:18, and John 20:22-23. St. Paul uses this same authority in I Corinthians 5, especially 3-5.

And the rules you mention:  they have been under development since virtually Day One of the Church.  Much of the Church’s conciliar activity has been devoted to the development of these rules.  Such discipline is not a “withholding of grace”.  Since its purpose is the ultimate salvation of the one who is disciplined, it is actually an administration of grace even if it involves withholding of one or more of the sacraments.

In Roman Catholicism at least the idea is stronger than that: through the withholding of the sacraments (excommunication,) the church is capable of denying eternal life.  Althought there are many caveats to that (RC canon law is complicated if nothing else) that’s the concept.

Further (to answer what seems to be your underlying issue), there is of course a relationship between the individual believer and Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  However, if such a relationship is completely what it is supposed to be, it will entail being in full communion with one branch or another of the Church, which is the social, visible, historically continuous Community which Christ himself founded and which, according to the NT, is the “body of Christ,” “the fullness of him who fills all in all” and “the pillar and ground of the truth”.  This Church, although divided, is in fact one, and has matured, and remains alive, because the Holy Spirit is its very soul.  As Bishop Zizioulas puts it, the Church, instituted by Christ, is constituted by the Holy Spirit.  Again, to be fully reconciled with God is to be in full communion with the Church.  One cannot love God and “hate” his brother.

If one has accepted Christ apart from this Church, he has learned of Christ, in the final analysis, only by way of the Church, even if that knowledge of Christ came only by way of reading Scripture, for Scripture would not have come down to any of us except through the Church.  If that person has been validly baptized, he is, in fact, a member of that Church and by that very fact is called to full communion with the Church through one of its branches.  (If he is not baptized, his acceptance of Christ is not yet complete.)  If there are Christian communities in existence which are apart from this Church, these communities are called to re-organize themselves such that they become manifestations (“hypostates”) of the one Church.

The “one branch or another” and “these communities are called to re-organize themselves such that they become manifestations (“hypostates”) of the one Church” bring up many intriguing possiblities.  Let me restrict the discussion to the churches which have (or claim) the apostolic succession.

Roman Catholicism, of course, claims not only the apostolic succession but also the centrality of the see of Peter, in Rome.  As is the case with the sacrifice of the Mass, the way they present this is misleading.  They know that the apostolic succession doesn’t hang on the Papacy (they have the Orthodox churches to remind them of that) but they tend to conflate the two issues to the extent that they leave the impression that apostolicity and the see of Peter are an absolute unity.  That is why I think the TAC people are so obsessed with communion with Rome.

Orthodox churches maintain this in a more collegial fashion amongst the national churches (complicated by events such as the Coptic churches, the New World and the Communists.)

There are, of course, those who claim the apostolic succession via bishops who departed the RCC in the wake of Vatican I (like the Charismatic Episcopal Church.)  They have the succession; how much they are in “unity” with the rest of Christianity is open to debate.

Finally we have the Anglicans.  At the time that Rome ruled Anglican orders to be invalid such a declaration was unreasonable and probably driven by the fact that Anglicanism directly seceded from Rome.  Subsequent events have complicated things and it’s hard to know how it will sort out.  As I’ve said before, however, the Anglicans were and are the greatest missed opportunity in Christianity for a long list of things.

At the same time, it is true that sometimes, the Holy Spirit speaks prophetically through an individual Christian, in opposition to what some portion of the hierarchy is saying, or more often, doing.  When this happens, as with many RC Saints, such as John of the Cross for example, or Sister Faustina, the Saints are eventually vindicated, the hierarchy learns something, and the Church as a whole is enriched.  It is interesting that this drama plays out much less frequently in the Eastern Churches;  these Churches are clearly not bereft of the Spirit of Prophecy, but the manifestations of such prophecy usually do not run afoul of the hierarchy as it sometimes does in the West (and of course there are false prophets in both East and West).

This, more than anything else, is where “the rubber meets the road.”

I’ve spent enough time on this blog on two examples of this from the seventeenth century that ended disastrously: the Old Believers and the Jansenists.  I’ll try not to belabour either but both illustrate the problem that anyone has in renewing either the Roman Catholic or an Orthodox church.  I’ll stick to what I know best and run through the RCC’s typical response to such challenges:

1. We are the true church.
2. The church is infallible and, to boot, so is the Vicar of Christ (i.e., the one who hold’s Christ’s place on earth.)
3. We hold the keys to eternal life.
4. You have none of these.
5. You do not know what you are talking about.
6. You should obey us.
7. If you don’t, we’ll use the keys, and you’ll have no recourse.

Beyond that, Roman Catholicism has the bad habit of desiring mediocrity amongst the faithful so as to insure good (if not very uplifting) order in the church.  So renewal movements, far from being desirable things, tend to be pidgeonholed and/or supressed.

The last point isn’t restricted to Roman Catholicism; it’s found amongst Protestant churches as well, although they don’t tend (until recently, at least) to be as forceful in grinding down their opposition.

Regarding the OT citations:  they are predictions of ongoing sacrifice in the Messianic era.  They must either refer to the Eucharist or, as Dispensationalism claims, to some resumption of animal sacrifice in Jerusalem during some millenial reign.  The latter is simply impossible since Christ has done away with these sacrifices one and for all, and return to them is a rejection of Christ.  Also, the Church has read at least Malachi 1:11 as a prediction of the Eucharist going back as far as the Didache.

There’s no doubt that the Old Testament sacrificial system prefigured the New Testament sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  How far one wants to take the connection has been, of course, the central point of this discussion.

The form and structure of liturgies is something that churches which employ these in worship either take for granted or argue over intensely. But very few people understand how a) these came into being or b) how they should be revised or replaced in times of liturgical change. What kind of theology is embodied in a liturgy? What attention to the rhythm and metre is given? How will a liturgy work in a language other than one the one it’s written in? How well does a liturgy communicate its message, in addition to being the setting for the “sacred pledge” of the Eucharist? All of these important questions frequently get the short shrift, either by defenders of an existing liturgy of by proposers of a new one?

Liturgical change is the time when these questions do get asked the most. Probably the most important liturgical transition of the last one hundred years took place when the Roman Catholic Church promulgated the Novus Ordo Missae, which was instituted in 1970. That mass was the result of both theological and liturgical forces that had been going on in the Church for most of the preceding century.

Many of those changes—and probably some of the process that led to the NOM—were set forth in Cipriano Vagaggini’s book The Canon of the Mass and Liturgical Reform. Published in 1967, it is a careful and thorough treatment of the subject, and probably represents the thinking of those in charge of the liturgical reform initiated by Vatican II.

The focus of his work is the anaphora, which is, by Vagaggini’s definition, “the liturgical text which accompanies and expresses the offering of the Church’s sacrifice to the Father.” The RCC had used the Roman Canon for nearly fourteen centuries and, while Vagaggini is careful to underline the importance of the Roman Canon to the life of the Church, he is also clear that it has its defects as well.

In this series (which starts here,) we will reproduce the various historical anaphorae he sets forth, plus two Projects “B” and “C” which are his proposals (or perhaps those at the Vatican in the process of formulating the then really “new” NOM) for new anaphorae to be used in the church. Vagaggini also has extensive explanations for all of this; consult the book for these.

I will reproduce the English translations of these anaphorae only. Serious liturgists would do well to consult his original Latin, as the translations look like they were taken from the Italian without consideration of the original Latin text. I have tried to winnow out errors in the OCR process but, if you find some, please bring them to my attention.

A general overview of this topic can be found here.

(Here ends the fixed portion of the introduction; the variable portion follows.)

Today we head east and look at the “Anaphona of St. Basil,” which Vagaggini characterises as in the “Antioch tradition,” although this rendition is actually Greek Alexandrine.

I

Let us lift up our hearts.

We have lifted them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right and fitting.

II

It is right and fitting: right and fitting; it is truly right and fitting. It is you who are the supreme ruler, Lord, God of truth, who exist before the ages and reign through the ages; who live on high and regard the humble, who have made heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them: Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, through whom you have made all things, visible and invisible: who are seated upon the throne of your glow and adored by every holy power;

(Deacon: Let those who are seated rise.)

before you stand the angels and archangels, the princes and powers, the thrones, the dominations and hosts of heaven.

(Deacon: Face towards the East.)

Before you stand ranged the many-eyed cherubim, the six-winged seraphim ceaselessly praising, proclaiming and announcing:

(Deacon: Be attentive!)

People: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts.

III

You are indeed holy, holy, holy, Lord our God. Who shaped us and established us in a paradise of delights. When we transgressed your commandment by the serpent’s fraud, and had lost eternal life and had been banished from the paradise of delights, you did not abandon us forever, but carefully visited us through your holy prophets. And in these last days, when we sat in darkness and the shadow of death, you enlightened us through your only begotten Son, our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

He was born of the Holy Spirit, incarnate of the holy Virgin Mary and made man, and showed us the way of salvation, granting us eternal regeneration by water and the Spirit, and made us his own people, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

He loved his own who were in the world and gave himself as a ransom for us, when we lay under the domination of death, poisoned by sin. He descended into hell from the cross and rose on the third day from the dead and ascending into heaven he sat at your right hand, Father, appointing the day of wrath in which be will be manifest, judging the world in justice, and will render to each according to his works.

(People: According to your mercy and not. ..etc.)

IV

He left us this great mystery of love. When he was about to hand himself over to death that the world should live, he took bread in his holy, immaculate and blessed hands, looked up to heaven on high to you, his Father, our God, and God of all things: he gave thanks.

(People: Amen)

blessed,

(People: Amen)

sanctified,

(People: Amen)

broke, and gave it to his holy disciples and apostles saying: Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for YOU and for many and shared among you for the remission of sins. Do this in memory of me.

Similarly, after he had eaten, he took a chalice, mixed water and wine, gave thanks,

(People: Amen)

blessed,

(People: Amen)

sanctified,

(People: Amen)

tasted it and again gave it to his holy disciples and apostles saying: Take and drink of this, all of you: this is my blood, of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins.

Do this in memory of me. As often as you shall eat this bread and drink this cup you announce my

death and proclaim my resurrection and ascension, until I come.

(People: Amen. Amen. Amen. Your death, O Lord…etc.)

V

Remembering his holy passion, resurrection from the dead, his ascension into heaven and installation at your right hand, God and Father, and his glorious and fearful return, we offer you this, from your own gifts. Among all things, through all things and in all things.

(People: We praise you. We bless you.)

(Bow your heads in awe.)

VI

We sinners and your unworthy servants adore you, lover of men, the Lord, the Good, and we pray and beseech you that, in your merciful goodness, your Holy Spirit may come upon us your servants and upon these offered gifts and sanctify them and make them holy nourishment for your holy people.

(Deacon: Be attentive! People: Amen!)

(Priest: in a loud voice:)

And may he make this bread become the holy body of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and the eternal life of those who partake of it.

(People: Amen)

And this chalice, the precious blood of the New Covenant of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins and the eternal life of those who partake of it.

(People: Amen. Kyrie eleison, three times.)

And make us worthy, Lord, of participating in your holy mysteries for the sanctification of soul, body and spirit, so that we may be made one body and one spirit, and take our place and succeed to the inheritance with all the saints who have pleased you in ages past.

VII

Remember, Lord, your holy, one, catholic Church, which you have bought by the precious blood of your anointed, and keep her at peace.

Remember first of all, Lord, our holy father Archbishop Abba N., Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria; grant of your mercy to keep him in peace, safe, glorious, in good health, with length of days, rightly spreading the word of truth, and feeding your flock in peace.

Remember, Lord, orthodox priests, the whole order of deacons and ministers, all those observing chastity and all your faithful people.

Remember us, Lord, and all we do, and have mercy upon us now and forever.

(People: Have mercy on us O God, Father, Lord.)

Have mercy on us God, Lord (three times).

(People: Kyrie eleison: three times.)

Remember also, Lord, the well-being of this our city, and of those who live here in the faith of God. Remember, Lord, the weather and the harvest of the soil. Remember, Lord, the rains and the seeds of the earth. Remember, Lord, to let the waters flow in accordance with the measure of each month. Renew the face of the earth and make it thrill with joy, fill its furrows to overflowing, multiply its seed. Grant us what we need for the sowing and the harvest, and bless it with your blessing. Govern our lives. Bless the new year in your mercy, for the sake of the poor among your people, for the sake of widows and orphans, for the sake of strangers and travellers, and for our sakes, who hope in you and call upon your holy name. The eves of all look to you in hope and you give them food at the right time. You give food to all living things-deal with us according to your merciful goodness. Fill our hearts with gladness and joy, so that having a sufficiency of everything we need, we may abound in all good works in fulfilling your holy will.

(People: Kyrie eleison.)

Be mindful, Lord, of those who offer you these precious gifts, and of those for whom and through whom they offer them, and grant them all a heavenly reward.

Since, Lord, it is a command of your only Son that we should play our part in the communion of the saints, graciously be mindful, Lord, of those who pleased you in ages past, the fathers, patriarchs, apostles, prophets, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors and souls of the just who have died in the faith of Christ. Especially be mindful of our most holy, most glorious, immaculate, most blessed Lady, Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary; of your holy and glorious prophet, John the Baptist, precursor and martyr: of St Stephen, first deacon and first martyr: of our holy father St Mark, apostle and evangelist, of our holy father Basil, the wonderworker: of Saint N. whose memory we celebrate today, and of all your choir of saints. By their prayers and intercession have mercy on us and save us for the sake of your holy name which is invoked upon us.

(The deacon reads the dyptych: the priest reads it secretly) Similarly, be mindful, Lord, of all those of the priestly order who have gone to rest, and those of the lay state. Grant that the souls of all may repose in the bosoms of our holy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Guide and gather us in green pastures by the waters of repose, in that paradise of delights from which pain, sadness and mourning are banished, in the splendour of your saints.

(After the dyptych the priest says)

Grant, Lord, to those whose souls you have received there to find repose, and mercifully transfer them to the kingdom of heaven.

Keep us in faith, Lord, who live here in exile, and lead us to the kingdom, granting us your peace at all times.

VIII

So that in this, as in all things, you most holy, most glorious and blessed name may be glorified, exalted, praised, blessed and sanctified, with Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. (People: As it was [is and will be from age to age and forever, Amen.])

The form and structure of liturgies is something that churches which employ these in worship either take for granted or argue over intensely. But very few people understand how a) these came into being or b) how they should be revised or replaced in times of liturgical change. What kind of theology is embodied in a liturgy? What attention to the rhythm and metre is given? How will a liturgy work in a language other than one the one it’s written in? How well does a liturgy communicate its message, in addition to being the setting for the “sacred pledge” of the Eucharist? All of these important questions frequently get the short shrift, either by defenders of an existing liturgy of by proposers of a new one?

Liturgical change is the time when these questions do get asked the most. Probably the most important liturgical transition of the last one hundred years took place when the Roman Catholic Church promulgated the Novus Ordo Missae, which was instituted in 1970. That mass was the result of both theological and liturgical forces that had been going on in the Church for most of the preceding century.

Many of those changes—and probably some of the process that led to the NOM—were set forth in Cipriano Vagaggini’s book The Canon of the Mass and Liturgical Reform. Published in 1967, it is a careful and thorough treatment of the subject, and probably represents the thinking of those in charge of the liturgical reform initiated by Vatican II.

The focus of his work is the anaphora, which is, by Vagaggini’s definition, “the liturgical text which accompanies and expresses the offering of the Church’s sacrifice to the Father.” The RCC had used the Roman Canon for nearly fourteen centuries and, while Vagaggini is careful to underline the importance of the Roman Canon to the life of the Church, he is also clear that it has its defects as well.

In this series (which starts here,) we will reproduce the various historical anaphorae he sets forth, plus two Projects “B” and “C” which are his proposals (or perhaps those at the Vatican in the process of formulating the then really “new” NOM) for new anaphorae to be used in the church. Vagaggini also has extensive explanations for all of this; consult the book for these.

I will reproduce the English translations of these anaphorae only. Serious liturgists would do well to consult his original Latin, as the translations look like they were taken from the Italian without consideration of the original Latin text. I have tried to winnow out errors in the OCR process but, if you find some, please bring them to my attention.

A general overview of this topic can be found here.

(Here ends the fixed portion of the introduction; the variable portion follows.)

Today’s anaphora is the Paleo-Hispanic.  As the name implies, it comes from Spain, probably during the last century of Roman rule.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION AND THE RITE OF PEACE

Prayer for the Church:

Let us remember in our prayers the holy Catholic Church, that God in his goodness may be pleased to increase her faith, her hope and her love. Let us remember all sinners and captives, the sick and pilgrims, in order that in his goodness, the Lord may look on them, redeem them, heal them and strengthen them.

R. Graciously hear us, eternal and almighty God.

Another Prayer:

O God without beginning, who created all that is eternal, who created beings that are perpetual in their origin, but who yourself are perpetual in an absolute way; we implore you with all our heart: in giving us your pardon in this present world, make us worthy to enjoy your mercy eternally, and grant that you may always find in us the dispositions to receive your forgiveness.

R. Amen.

Through your mercy, our God, before whom are proclaimed the names of the holy apostles and martyrs, the confessors and virgins.

R. Amen.

Our bishops, the Pope of Rome and the others, offer this oblation to the Lord God for themselves, for all the clergy and the people entrusted to them, and for all the brethren. All the priests, deacons, clergy and people offer it also in honour of the saints, for themselves and for theirs.

R. They offer it for themselves and for all the brethren.

We honour the memory of the holy apostles, of the glorious Virgin Mary, of Zachary, John, Stephen, Peter and Paul, John, James, Andrew, Fmctuosus, Saturninus, Eulogius, Vincent, Felix, Acisclus, Eulalia, Engratia, Justina, Leocadia.

R.And of all the martyrs.

We honour the memory likewise of the confessors Hilary, Athanasius, Fulgentius, Leander, Isidore, Eugene, Hildephonsus, Julian.

R. And of all the confessors.

The holy and catholic Church of God offers the sacrifice for the souls of all the faithful departed, that the Lord may in his goodness number them among the ranks of the blessed.

R. Graciously hear us, almighty and eternal God.

Prayer after the names (variable):

Almighty God, grant that we may overcome the desires of the flesh and find our true glory in your cross. By your cross, may the faults of the living be blotted out and the sufferings of the dead taken away; by your cross receive the offerings of your faithful, and may the faithless, ashamed, return to Christ. May we, who firmly believe in your resurrection be able to please you by our acts, so that, thanks to this sacrifice, you may show us your mercy granting peace to the living and the desired rest to the departed.

R. Amen.

For you are the life of the living, the health of the sick and the repose of all the faithful departed for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

PRAYER FOR PEACE (variable):

Flying like spiritual eagles over the body of our kind Redeemer, and contemplating in the light of faith the splendour of the risen Lord, we offer you, most merciful Father, the thanks which is your right: we also ask that, invited to the feast of this heavenly table, we may also be renewed in this paschal banquet with the gift of eternal peace.

R. Amen.

May the grace of God the Father almighty, the peace and love of our Christi et communicatio Spiritus Lord Jesus Christ and the gift of Sancti sit semDer cum omnibus the Holy Spirit be with you all for vobis. ever.

R. And with all men of good will.

The deacon: Give one another the kiss of peace.

ANTIPHON FOR PEACE:

I give you my peace, I entrust my peace to you; I do not give peace as the world gives it.

V. I give you a new commandment, that vou should love one another.

R. I give you . . .

V. Glory and honour to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit for ever and ever, Amen.

R. I give you. . .

ANAPHORA

I will go to the altar of God.

R. The God of my gladness and joy.

Listen to the Lord.

R. We open ourselves to the Lord.

Lift up your hearts.

R. Let us lift them up to the Lord.

To our God and Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God who is in the heavens, let us sing our praises and thanksgiving.

R.That is right and fitting.

II

PREFACE (variable):

It is right and fitting, truly glorious and sublime, to recall in our hearts, voices and mouths, O God, your gifts and kindnesses which pass all counting, and to flavour the insipidity of our voices with the savour of your holy word. But man’s heart is too small for the praise of such magnitude, and the more each one contemplates you in the depths of his being, the greater you become in his eyes, because you are always ancient and always new.

You sent your Son into this world, born under the Law. He was in the Virgin’s womb before his birth, was with you before all time and created all things. The elements of the world that saw him born were those same elements that had seen him putting them in their first order. Peoples were astonished at his tender age-those whose ancestors had known his ancient power.

If his birth was so great and beautiful a mystery, bow much more wonderful yet was his death! Death in fact was deceived by his incarnation; not recognising God hidden in the flesh which clothed him, he bit upon the hook that was hidden under the bait, and fastened by nails to the cross, began to weep and groan. Lord, with what wonderful skill you baffled the greed of the ancient dragon-so that when you seemed to him a prey upon the cross, it was then that he himself was nailed to the wood. Shedding your flesh, you, the Word, enter the underworld with complete freedom. You break open the doors which encircle it and free the captives from their chains. Free among the dead, you fill the darkness with new light.

In no way was your majesty, Lord, obliged to undergo this suffering, hut we were your necessity. In fact, Lord, our life would have been lost, if by the death of your Son it had not been found again. Against the debt of our sins you produced the surety of your only Son, and you have can-celled it by right of the victor. By his wounds you have healed our wounds, and you have redeemed us through your only Son, without in any way injuring the rights of the Godhead: God himself has made himself man’s ransom.

What shall we do then, now that we have been redeemed with such a ransom and one of such magnitude? What work of ours can compensate this price? In what way can we serve such a Lord, who bas promised us liberty and offers us his inheritance? Realise in us Lord whatever pleases you, and in order that we may possess you, take possession of us yourself. We shall not stray far from you, you will give us life and we shall invoke your name, that name which is above all names, and which the angels and archangels praise saying:

R. Holy, holy, holy, the Lord, God of the universe! Heaven and earth are filled with the glory of your majesty. Hosanna to the Son of David, Blessed is be that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven. Agios, agios, agios. Kyrie o Theos.

III

AFTER THE SANCTUS(variable)

Truly holy and truly blessed is our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son. He alone, by the power of his word governs the universe, bears and sustains all things through his cross. He shattered the doors of iron and smashed the gates of bronze; he descended into the depths of hell, and for those who sat in the shades of death he shone forth with the splendour of unknown light. At last, he, the sun of justice, came out of the tomb in his risen body, and, in a marvellous way dispersed the darkness with the rays of his brightness, he, the Lord Christ and eternal Redeemer.

SECRET MASS (fixed)

On the day before he suffered, he took bread, and, giving thanks, blessed and broke it and gave it to his disciples saying: Take and eat, this is my body which is given for you. Whenever you eat it, do this as a memorial of me.

R. Amen.

Likewise after the meal, he took the chalice, saying: This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which will be poured out for you and for the many in forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do so as a memorial of me.

R.Amen.

Every time you eat this bread or drink this cup, you will be proclaiming the death of the Lord until he comes from heaven in glory.

R. We believe it, Lord Jesus.

V

AFTER THE PRIDIE (variable)

We acknowledge, Lord, we acknowledge and believe that it was for our faults that you underwent the pains of death in your body, and that afterwards, for the salvation of all, having conquered death, you returned amongst the triumphant angels to the heavenly dwelling place of your Father from which you had come. That is why, almighty God, we ask and pray you willingly to accept these offerings which we, your servants, bring before you. Deign, too, through your holy Angel, to distribute these gifts to us which you have accepted and sanctified, so that while you purify our hearts in uniting us to the body and blood of your Son our Saviour, you may also receive our prayers in the odour of sweetness.

R. Amen.

DOXOLOGY (fixed)

Grant this, uncreated Father, through your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, you do not cease, for us your unworthy servants, to create, sanctify, vivify and bless these good things so as to make a gift to us, so that they may be blessed by you, our God, for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

I’m currently in the middle of a series on ancient (and a couple of modern) anaphorae, taken from Cipriano Vagaggini’s The Canon of the Mass and Liturgical Reform.

It seems that Dom Vagaggini wasn’t afraid of controversial topics.  Consider this, from a 2003 article on Catholic women deacons:

The question of women deacons has been before the commission for at least 20 years. The original study on women deacons, requested by Pope Paul VI, was suppressed. While that document remains unpublished, an article published in Orientalia Christiana Periodica in 1974 by then-commission member Cipriano Vagaggini concluded that the ordination of women deacons in the early church was sacramental. What the church had done in the past, he suggested, the church may do again. Other scholars, before and after Vagaggini, have reached similar conclusions, but the current document only refers to the debate and strenuously avoids concluding that women ever received the sacrament of holy orders…

The form and structure of liturgies is something that churches which employ these in worship either take for granted or argue over intensely. But very few people understand how a) these came into being or b) how they should be revised or replaced in times of liturgical change. What kind of theology is embodied in a liturgy? What attention to the rhythm and metre is given? How will a liturgy work in a language other than one the one it’s written in? How well does a liturgy communicate its message, in addition to being the setting for the “sacred pledge” of the Eucharist? All of these important questions frequently get the short shrift, either by defenders of an existing liturgy of by proposers of a new one?

Liturgical change is the time when these questions do get asked the most. Probably the most important liturgical transition of the last one hundred years took place when the Roman Catholic Church promulgated the Novus Ordo Missae, which was instituted in 1970. That mass was the result of both theological and liturgical forces that had been going on in the Church for most of the preceding century.

Many of those changes—and probably some of the process that led to the NOM—were set forth in Cipriano Vagaggini’s book The Canon of the Mass and Liturgical Reform. Published in 1967, it is a careful and thorough treatment of the subject, and probably represents the thinking of those in charge of the liturgical reform initiated by Vatican II.

The focus of his work is the anaphora, which is, by Vagaggini’s definition, “the liturgical text which accompanies and expresses the offering of the Church’s sacrifice to the Father.” The RCC had used the Roman Canon for nearly fourteen centuries and, while Vagaggini is careful to underline the importance of the Roman Canon to the life of the Church, he is also clear that it has its defects as well.

In this series (which starts here,) we will reproduce the various historical anaphorae he sets forth, plus two Projects “B” and “C” which are his proposals (or perhaps those at the Vatican in the process of formulating the then really “new” NOM) for new anaphorae to be used in the church. Vagaggini also has extensive explanations for all of this; consult the book for these.

I will reproduce the English translations of these anaphorae only. Serious liturgists would do well to consult his original Latin, as the translations look like they were taken from the Italian without consideration of the original Latin text. I have tried to winnow out errors in the OCR process but, if you find some, please bring them to my attention.

A general overview of this topic can be found here.

(Here ends the fixed portion of the introduction; the variable portion follows.)

Today’s anaphora is from the “Early Roman Canon.” “Early” represents a “composite” liturgy that was celebrated in Rome between 370 and 416. St. Jerome lived in Rome during part of that time.

I

The Lord be with you.

And with you.

Let us lift up our hearts.

We have raised them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is right and fitting.

II

It is right and fitting, good and just, that we should always give thanks to you for all things.

Lord, holy Father, almighty eternal God, who in your incomparable goodness were pleased to make light shine in darkness when you sent Jesus Christ to us as protector of our souls. For our salvation he humbled himself, and subjected himself to death, so as to restore to us that immortality which Adam had lost, and to make us God’s heirs and sons.

III

For such goodness and generosity we can never praise and thank you sufficiently, and so we ask you in your great love and compassion to accept this sacrifice which we offer you in the presence of your divine goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord and God.

IV

Through him we humbly ask and pray you, almighty Father, to accept and to bless these gifts, these pure offerings. We offer them to you, first of all,for your holy catholic Church: be pleased to give peace to her, spread over all the earth (We offer them to you at the same time, for our blessed bishop, N., and for all the bishops faithful to the true doctrine, who are the guardians of the apostolic faith).

Remember also, Lord, your servants who address their prayers to you, the living and true God, in honour of your saints, N.N., for the forgiveness of their sins.

V

(Send, Lord, your Holy Spirit from heaven) and mercifully bless and accept this offering which is the image and likeness of the body and blood of Jesus Christ your Son, our redeemer.

For on the day before he suffered, he took bread into his holy and blessed hands, looked up to heaven, to you, holy Father, almighty eternal God, and giving thanks, blessed and broke it and gave it to his apostles and disciples, saying “Take and eat this, all of you, for this is my body that will be broken for you.”

In the same way, on the day before he suffered, after he had eaten, he took the cup into his holy and blessed hands, looked up to heaven, to you, holy Father, almighty eternal God, and giving thanks, blessed and gave it to his apostles and disciples, saying “Take and drink of this, all of you, for this is my blood which shall be poured out for you and for everyone to take away all sins. Each time that you do this, you will do it in memory of me until I return.”

VII

That is why, mindful of his most glorious passion and of his resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, we offer you this spotless victim, this unbloody victim, this holy bread and cup of eternal life.

VIII

And we ask and pray you to accept this offering carried by your angels to your heavenly altar, as you wished also to accept the gifts of your just servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, father of our race, and the offering of your high priest Melchisedech.

IX

(We ask you that through the grace of the Holy Spirit the gift of your love may be confirmed in us, and that we may possess in eternal glory what we already receive from your goodness.)

X

Through our Lord, Jesus Christ, in whom and with whom honour, glory, might, and power are yours with the Holy Spirit, from the beginning, now and always, for ever and ever. Amen.