The text of the Canon shows that the Intercession of the Saints begins with the words "in communion with"; in Latin, "communicantes." Hence this prayer is known as the "Communicantes." On the five feasts of Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost mention is made here of the mystery celebrated. Thus at Christmas it runs as follows:
"In communion with and celebrating the most holy day on which the spotless virginity of the Blessed brought forth a Saviour for this world; and also venerating the memory chiefly of the same glorious and ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the same God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and also of Thy blessed Apostles," etc.
On certain great feasts a special commemoration was added to the Great Intercessions. The commemoration came into daily use in a shortened form, but in memory of its original intention the unabridged prayer is employed at Easter and Pentecost. The influence of the Church year is therefore in the Canon limited to those two clauses of the Great Intercessions, namely, the "Communicantes" and the "Hanc Igitur," and to a slight change made in the commencement of the Consecration on Holy Thursday.
"Who on the day before He suffered for our salvation and the salvation of all men, that is, on this day, took bread," etc.
In the eleventh century a French writer named Berengarius invented the theory now held by the Protestants that Christ is not really present in the Blessed Eucharist. As a protest against this heresy his own countrymen, the French, introduced the custom of lifting up the Sacrament after the consecration, so that the people could see It and adore It. In many places, the bread alone was lifted up, and this custom the Carthusians retain to this day, as it was over two hundred years old at the last reform of the Missal (No. 189). By the first half of the fourteenth century the elevation of the Chalice was practiced in Rome, and the double elevation became general by the adoption of the Mass Book of Pius V. This ceremony is now known as the Elevation. The old Elevation (No. 155) has fallen into the background. It is still retained, however, and Chalice and Host are lifted up a few inches from the altar during the Doxology of the Canon. At the Elevation during the Consecration, the bell is rung as at the Sanctus, and at High Mass incense is used as a mark of honor. It is to be noted that the new Elevation takes place immediately after each Consecration. The bread is consecrated and shown to the people, and the wine is consecrated and shown to the people. While this is doing, it will be remarked that the deacon or altar boy lifts up the priest's chasuble. The reason may be found in the description of that garment given in No. 118. When the ceremony of the Elevation was introduced the chasuble was a heavy garment which completely enveloped the body. If the priest wished to lift the Sacred Species above his head, as he was compelled to do in order that the people might be able to see them, some assistance in holding the chasuble was necessary. In modern times the cutting away of the sides has made it possible to perform the Elevation without assistance, but the old ceremony still remains.
Since the twelfth century the Agnus Dei (No. 184) was not only sung by the choir, but was also repeated by the priest. Originally said but once, it has since the same date been said three times, and the proximity of the Kiss of Peace caused the third ending to be changed from "have mercy on us" to "give us peace." In Masses of the dead the words "give them rest" take the place of the "have mercy on us," and "give them eternal rest" of "give us peace." The text of the prayer before the Pax is as follows:
"O Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst unto Thine Apostles, Peace, I leave you, My peace I give you; look not upon my sins, but upon the faith of Thy Church, arid vouchsafe to keep it in peace and knit it together according to Thy will, who livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen."
In Masses for the dead the Kiss of Peace is never given because of the sadness prevalent on such an occasion. One who is in deep sorrow passes along saluting nobody, so the salute of the Pax was not considered in place at Masses offered up for the departed. Of course with the Pax the accompanying prayer is omitted. At Low Masses, where the Pax is not given, simply because there are no ministers, the ceremony itself is omitted, but the prayer is retained.
The silent prayers said before the Communion were originally left to the choice of the priest; but by the Missal of Pius V the following were adopted, of which the latter is by far the older:
"O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, who by will of the Father and the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, gavest life to the world through Thy death; deliver me by this Thine all holy Body and Blood from all mine iniquities and every evil, and make me cleave to Thy commandments always, and never suffer me to be separated from Thee, who with the same God the Father and the Holy Ghost, livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.
"May the receiving of Thy Body, Lord Jesus Christ, which I, unworthy, presume to take, turn not unto my judgment and condemnation; but it may be, through Thy loving kindness, profitable unto me as a safe guard of mind and body, and as a receiving of the remedy, who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost God, world without end. Amen."
In the later middle ages the following sentences were said immediately before the Communion. The priest took the Host in his hand, saying:
"I will take the bread of heaven and I will call upon the name of the Lord."
Then, striking his breast, he repeats three times:
"O Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed."
This prayer is an adaptation of the words of the Centurion in Matthew 8.
"And when He was entered into Capharnaum, there came unto Him a Centurion, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in my house sick of the palsy, and is sore tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. And the Centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed."
From the Latin words for "O Lord, I am not worthy," the prayer is known as the "Domine Non Sum Dignus." While the priest is saying it, the minister rings the little bell as a warning to the communicants to approach the Communion table.
After the Domine Non Sum Dignus," the priest takes the Host, and, having repeated the ancient formula, "May the Body of our Lord Jesus guard my soul unto life everlasting," he consumes the sacred species. Then he collects any fragments or crumbs which may be on the corporal with the paten, and drops them into the chalice, saying the following verses from Psalm 115:
"What shall I render unto the Lord
For all the things He hath rendered unto me?
I will take the chalice of salvation,
And I will call upon the name of the Lord.
Praising will I call upon the Lord,
And I shall be saved from mine enemies."
He repeats over the chalice the words, "May the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ guard my soul unto life everlasting," and drinks the wine and the leaven (No. 183).
As we have seen in No. 156, the Christians received Communion under both kinds, under the form of bread and under the form of wine. As Christ lives now to die no more, His body is a living body, and in a living body the blood flows. Hence, if the bread is really and truly the body of the living Christ, it must contain His blood, and if the wine is really and truly the blood of the living Christ, it must contain His body. This truth was recognized by the Christians in the first ages of the Church, when they gave Communion to children under the form of wine alone, and to the sick under the form of bread alone. Saint Paul himself had that practice in view when he said: "Whosoever shall eat this bread or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." If, therefore, it be recognized that Communion in one kind is sufficient, there are many reasons why the custom of receiving the bread only should grow up. In the first place, in administering the Chalice there is much danger of spilling the Precious Blood; in the second place, there are some with whose stomachs wine does not agree, and there are others who do not relish drinking out of a common cup. As early as the fourth century, the Manicheans took advantage of the freedom given to the faithful of communicating under one kind, to abstain systematically from the cup, because they considered wine the creation of the evil god (No. 172). In the fifth century Popes Leo and Gelasius made the use of the chalice obligatory on all, in order to detect those heretics. When, however, the cause disappeared, their legislation was abrogated, and by the thirteenth century the custom of Communion under one kind was making headway. In the beginning of the fourteenth century, John Huss, a Bohemian heretic, taught that the Church erred in permitting this custom. He held that Christ was not wholly present under the form of bread, and, therefore, that the people should receive the chalice also. As a protest against this error the Council of Constance (1414-1418) decreed that in the Latin Liturgies all the clergy and people, with the sole exception of the celebrant, should receive Communion only in one kind. The errors of the Protestant sects of the sixteenth century were much the same as the Hussite heresy, and the Council of Trent (1545-1563) retained the discipline of Council of Constance to counteract those errors. Therefore, according to the present law of the Roman Liturgy, the Communion is administered in the form of bread to all except the priest who says Mass. In solemn Masses, however, celebrated by the Pope, the deacon and the sub-deacon receive under both kinds.
The ceremonies in the administration of the Communion have varied considerably. As we saw in No. 156, the bread was given into the hands of the communicants, but by the beginning of the sixth century the custom of placing it in the mouth had begun, and before the close of that century had become universal. The Chalice was formerly presented by the deacon, and each one drank directly from it. In the early Middle Ages silver tubes were attached to the Chalices, in order to avoid the danger of spilling the Sacred Blood. At the Pope's Mass, referred to in the preceding number, the Pope still uses such a tube, but the deacon drinks directly from the chalice, as it is his duty to consume all the sacred species. The prayers used at the Communion of the people, with the exception of the formula, "May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ guard thy soul unto life everlasting," are all of comparatively recent date. The ministers say the Confiteor in the name of the people, and the priest says the two versicles following, "May the Almighty God have mercy on you," etc. At the Absolution he makes the Sign of the Cross over the people. Then he takes the ciborium from the altar, and, holding a particle of the Body aloft, he says:
"Behold the Lamb of God. Behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world.
"Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof; but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." (Three times.)
After this he goes to the Communion table, lays the bread on the tongue of each communicant, saying, "May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ guard thy soul unto life everlasting. Amen."
After the Communion, the deacon and sub-deacon cleanse the sacred vessels. The first "ablution," as it is called, or "washing," consists of a little wine poured into the Chalice; this the priest drinks, and then he holds his thumbs and index fingers over the mouth of the cup while wine and water are poured over them. These fingers are washed because they have touched the Blessed Sacrament. At present the priest drinks all the ablutions, but formerly they were thrown into a special receptacle called the "sacrarium." At the first ablution the priest says:
"May we receive, Lord, with a pure mind what we have taken with our lips, that of a temporal gift it may become unto us an eternal remedy."
At the second ablution he says:
"May Thy body, Lord, which I have received, and Thy blood which I have drunken cleave to mine in most parts, and grant that no stain of sin may remain in me whom Thy pure and holy sacraments have refreshed, who livest and reignest world without end. Amen."
At a Low Mass the priest attends to the cleansing of the Chalice. After the ablutions the corporal is folded, and the sacred vessels are restored to the place they occupied at the beginning of the Mass.
As in the Offertory, the Psalm formerly sung at the Communion is reduced to a single verse. At a High Mass it is sung by the choir after the Agnus Dei and said by the priest after the ablutions. At a Low Mass the priest reads it as soon as he has arranged the Chalice. After the Communion he salutes the people, says "Let us pray," and reads the Post Communion, which has the form of a Collect, and varies with the Church year.
After the Post Communion on ordinary days the priest salutes the people, and the deacon turns to them and says, "Ite, Missa est, " Go, it is the dismissal. The choir answers, "Thanks be to God." In the middle ages there was a custom on certain days that the people should remain to sing God's praises after Mass. On such days the dismissal was not given, but, instead, the deacon invited the people to remain with the words, "Let us bless the Lord." This invitation is still retained in the Roman Missal for days which are not festivals. When the prayers to be said after Mass are for the dead, that is to say at Masses of the dead, the closing is, "May they rest in peace."
Before leaving the altar the priest bowed down and said the following prayer, inaudibly:
"May the homage of my service be pleasing to Thee, Holy Trinity, and grant that the sacrifice which I unworthy have offered up in the sight of Thy Majesty, may be acceptable unto Thee, and through Thy mercy serviceable unto me, and unto all those for whom I have offered it, through Christ our Lord. Amen."
Then he saluted the altar, and proceeded to the sacristy. As the Bishop passed through the people he blessed them with his hand, saying, "May the Lord bless you," after which he recited the beginning of the Gospel according to Saint John.
During the middle ages the Bishop began to give this blessing before he left the altar and with much formality. When he was ready to go to the sacristy he said:
"V. Blessed be the Name of the Lord
"R. From henceforth now and forever.
"V. Our help is in the Name of the Lord.
"R. Who hath made heaven and earth."
Turning to the people, he blessed them with the three-fold Sign of the Cross, saying:
"May the Lord Almighty bless you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. R. Amen."
In the course of time this blessing was also given by priests, but the Missal of Pius V restricts them to the simple words of the blessing; the preceding versicles are used only by Bishops. Moreover, the old discipline still holds when a Bishop is present at a sung Mass; he then gives the blessing instead of the priest. At requiem Masses the ancient custom is preserved, and no blessing is given in this place.
Towards the end of the middle ages many priests, while going to the sacristy, recited the beginning of the Gospel of Saint John as a thanksgiving after Mass. The Missal of Pius V made this custom obligatory, and ordered that it be read at the altar on the Gospel side. When a feast comes upon a Sunday or week day which has a proper Gospel, this Gospel is read instead of that of Saint John. At a High Mass celebrated by a Bishop the Gospel of Saint John is still said on the way from the altar, as was the custom in the beginning.
By command of Pope Leo XIII, certain prayers are said after the Last Gospel by the priests and people. As they do not belong to the Liturgy proper, they may be said in the vernacular. In Ireland the priest says the psalm, "De Profundis," or "Out of the Depths," at the end of the Mass. The origin of the custom is obscure, but some think that, as the prayer is offered for the faithful departed, it is intended to take the place in some way of many prayers for the dead which were provided in the ancient churches by bequests and donations, and were all swept away when the Protestants stole those churches and their endowments.
- taken from The Mass, by Father Peter Christopher Yorke