Kitchen Catechism: Featured Articles
PART II
by Lois Donahue
Back to Part I | On to Part III
PART II - Hi again! In the THIRD CENTURY the celebrant of the Mass, for the most part at least, used certain formulas of prayers but was free to elaborate on them. However, in the course of time, the Church gave much thought as to what prayers should be used and how the Mass should be appropriately celebrated.
The conclusions reached were put into book form. Speaking of books dealing with the Mass, two such books, the Sacramentary (prayers and directives for Mass) and the Lectionary (readings for the Mass) will most likely be found in every Catholic parish today. Glancing through those in our parish, I learned they are both in accord with, even part of, the Roman Missal which was originally published in l570. At that time, the entire Western Church was obliged to adhere to the contents of that Missal.
It continues to be of great importance as evidenced by the fact that the book, "General Instruction of the Roman Missal" is (or, as I am told, should be) on every Parish bookshelf. Its importance is also evidenced by the frequent reference made to it in all types of Catholic communications. By the way, I also read that the Roman Missal was the origin of the personal ‘Missals’ so many of us once carried to Mass (with the prayers in Latin on one page and in English on the opposite page) as well as the adapted versions we now find waiting for us in Church.
In looking back to those early Church years, I learned some interesting things….not necessarily earth shaking but somewhat fascinating to me. For instance, since I was not aware that in the third century the Christians were still having an ordinary meal before Communion, I was surprised to read that toward the end of that century the practice was reportedly discontinued because of occasional abuses such as overeating and over drinking. (Obviously, even then, the Holy Spirit had to deal with the weaknesses of our humanity).
Something less mind boggling I learned was that because there was such a growing number of Christians, it became necessary to build separate buildings in which to hold their services. Also, when the priest was ‘celebrating’ those special ‘services’ he wore the same kind of ordinary clothing as the people to whom he was speaking - clothes, which, having been obviously adapted, we now call ‘vestments’. He spoke the language of the day for the service which made me wonder about languages used as the celebration of the Mass began and then spread to other countries.
In searching for an answer I was reminded that Jesus and the Apostles spoke Aramaic, a Semitic language the dictionary says was the everyday language spoken in Palestine, and that pretty much answered my language question regarding the Last Supper. After that and as time passed, the Apostles and those God chose to follow in their footsteps, traveled fairly extensively in their effort to teach ‘all nations’. Inevitably they had to make language adjustments. As an example, I found that possibly as early as the fourth century, in at least most all of the large cities in the Roman Empire, the Gospel could be preached and understood in Greek. Later came Latin and then, of course, came the variety of languages acceptable today.
But moving on -- all was far from calm and peaceful during those beginning years. Christians were persecuted because of their beliefs and practices as early as 64 AD and that persecution lasted into the fourth century. We are told that fear prompted them to meet in underground cemeteries called catacombs where they celebrated their "Masses" using tombs for altars. Finally, in the year 3l3 the Roman Emperor Constantine "granted toleration for all religions". Christians were now able to openly practice their faith and it seems that, possibly in the late fourth century, daily Mass was being celebrated in all Catholic Churches.
So we move into the Middle Ages which, taking into consideration differences of opinion, extended from the fifth century to the end of the fifteenth. Here come more changes and, as usual, I continue to find myself unable to keep things in orderly sequence –
It is said that by this time the word "Mass" came into common use and many people from different cultures entered the Church. Understandably, they brought with them their customs which, before too long, began to be seen in the liturgy. For instance - kissing holy objects as a sign of reverence, showing special devotion to relics, genuflecting and using ceremonial features such as candles and incense. Not surprisingly, it took time for the Church to officially relate some of these customs to the Mass. For instance, it wasn’t until the l7th century that the Church obliged the use of candles -- saying Mass could not be celebrated without them. The reasoning was that they were a sign of Christ, showed reverence and honor to God and were a symbol of joy. (As a kind of footnote, I also read, in only one source however, that in about this same time period, Christians, evidently including the celebrant at Mass, began to face the east when they prayed and consequently the priest now had his back to the congregation.)
Pope St. Gregory I was known to have made some changes during the years of his pontificate (590-604). At this time, so few people could speak or understand Greek, he changed the language of the Mass to Latin. He also brought to the Mass a form of musical worship that bears his name – the Gregorian Chant –and he is believed to be the author of one of the earliest Roman liturgical books. It seems that this same Pope gave fixed form to the Eucharistic Prayer, the essential part of the Mass, which was to remain unchanged. It came to be known as the ‘Canon’ of the Mass – meaning ‘fixed’. Since I have just passed along an explanation of the word Canon which I found when reading about ‘the Mass’, let me add a few more Mass-related things I learned.
I’ll begin with some of the different names used throughout time to identify this official worship of the Church.
Breaking of the Bread – The Lord’s Supper – (both of which are obvious references to the ‘biblical Last Supper’)
Eucharistic Sacrifice - Eucharistic Celebration – the word ‘eucharist’ never appears in the New Testament. However, one source says that it was early being used as part of one of the original names given to what we now know as the "Mass" and in the second century St. Justin wrote "this food is known among us as the Eucharist". All of that seems logical since the Dictionary of the Bible defines it as coming from the Greek word ‘eucharistia’, meaning thanksgiving, which again reflects back to the Last Supper when, as St. Luke tells us, Jesus "gave thanks".
Mass (from Latin words for "Go, the Mass is ended"- words of dismissal used at the end of Mass)
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass – because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior
Liturgy (a public service or worship) In early Church history it applied only to the celebration of the Eucharist. Much later, the Latin Rite (the West) began using it when referring to the entire official worship of the Church.
Now just a couple of words with which we are all familiar –
Holy Communion – Holy, meaning sacred, connected with God and Communion used to signify ‘common union’.
Host (from the Latin word ‘Hostia’ meaning sacrificial offering)
(Unfortunately, it wasn’t always made clear as to just when each title began to be used.)
Now from definitions back to changes - and we cannot possibly talk about changes without mentioning Charlemagne. Charlemagne was a great European historical figure, primarily viewed by his contemporaries as a "successful war leader". He responded successfully to Pope Adrian I’s request for help when the papal territories were being attacked and he continued to be a great ally of the Church. Not only that but with the Pope’s appreciative approval, he became very active in ‘things of the Church’.
As an example, he attended Mass wherever he traveled throughout his huge empire and found that the Mass was being celebrated in different ways. That bothered him and Pope Adrian, along with the priests and people of the Church, had the same thinking. After a great deal of work by all of them in appropriately modifying and blending the different ways of celebrating, the somewhat new, and no doubt Holy Spirit approved, Mass became standard throughout the Roman Empire.
It is also said that Charlemagne played a role in introducing the Spanish custom of praying the Nicene Creed during Mass. Here, on perhaps a lower scale of importance, are some other changes apparently attributed to the very strong influence of Charlemagne. The two-piece wood clappers used to call the people to Mass were replaced with bells and it is said that for Charlemagne – the louder they rang the better. Incense, considered in Rome to be pagan perfume was rarely used at Mass.
In Charlemagne’s time it was evidently used frequently. Something else Rome frowned upon was any musical instruments in the Church so, not surprisingly, people apparently loved it when Charlemagne had an organ installed.
Time to say good-bye to Charlemagne and to you --- here’s to next time!