May 2008 Print

 

TITLE: The Mass

author: Fr. Joseph Dunney

Publisher: Angelus Press

Distributor: Angelus Press. Price: $19.95

Reviewer: Anthony Cornwell

SUMMARY: A book suited for the clergy and laity alike. It is an authoritative explanation of the Roman liturgy, explaining every part of the Mass carefully and in depth, including a discussion of vestments, Church architecture, etc. Loaded with examples from Holy Scripture and the lives of the saints.

On Christmas Day 1889, his last Christmas on earth, John Henry Cardinal Newman experienced enormous difficulty in celebrating Mass; afterwards, he was heard to mutter the words "Never again." Aged 88, his eyesight almost faded, his memory impaired and his movements unsteady, he was no longer willing to put at risk the tender care and devotion with which he had habitually celebrated Mass over the previous 40 years. Thereafter, he said by heart a "dry" Mass without the consecration. This he found a severe penance, as he indicated in a letter dictated to a priest friend on 10th March 1890: "...thinking of you with a sort of sad and almost keen sense of the intensity of the contrast to you who have had given you those great privileges which I have not myself" (L & D, XXXI, 283). Consciously or unconsciously, he was echoing the thoughts of Thomas à  Kempis, "Great is this mystery, and great the dignity of priests, to whom that is given which is not granted to angels" (The Imitation of Christ, IV, 5).

It is, then, fitting that the book under review should be prefaced by a quotation from Newman's fictional work about conversion, Loss and Gain, published in 1847, some two years after his own submission to the Catholic Church. The opening runs as follows:

"To me nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Masses forever, and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words–it is a great action, the greatest action that can be on earth. It is not the invocation merely, but, if I dare use the word, the evocation of the Eternal. He becomes present on the altar in flesh and blood, before Whom angels bow and devils tremble." (II, XX)

It was precisely to bring as wide a range of readers as possible to a realisation of the unique genius and mystery of the Roman Rite that, in 1924, Fr. Joseph Dunney of the Archdiocese of New York published his book entitled The Mass. In addition to his scholarship, Fr. Dunney had considerable pastoral experience, both of which are reflected in his writing. The work had been out of print for more than half a century until the Angelus Press was inspired to make it available once again. In a new Foreword, Fr. Daniel Cooper, SSPX, reminds us that there is "a hidden depth and meaning to the Latin Mass that many Catholics have never grasped or have forgotten" (p. xi). The present book is the remedy.

How does Fr. Dunney set about his task? In 36 chapters, each treating a part of the Mass in sequence, he provides a full, clear, informed and systematic commentary, by turns historical, liturgical, doctrinal and devotional. Each prayer of the common and each part of the proper, taken from the second Mass of Christmas, are given in Latin with a facing translation. Two additional chapters are appended on the respective subjects of Mass Vestments and the Mass of the Catechumens, and the whole is illustrated by more than 120 small engravings. Further, as the foreword emphasises,"every chapter reads like a meditation on a part of the Mass....It has also many lessons for life on virtue and character; it is loaded with examples from the Holy Scriptures and the lives of the saints" (pp. xii-xiii).

This rich storehouse of treasures offers an extensive knowledge of the historical and liturgical development of the Mass of the Roman Rite, a deep appreciation of its doctrinal significance and an evocation of appropriate dispositions. Selective exemplification will best demonstrate the merits of the work.

The brief exclamation of welcome, Dominus vobiscum, occurs no fewer than eight times; on four of these occasions the priest faces the people with arms extended, on the other four occasions not; on each occasion the greeting is returned by the server with the words Et cum spiritu tuo. This leads to a consideration of the Mystical Body of Christ, the metaphors of head and member, vine and branch and the need to be faithful in giving good example in the Lord's service.

While it is true that the Latin noun collecta means a gathering of people, usually those taking part in a penitential procession to one of the Station churches in Rome, its other meaning, a gathering together of the petitions of the people for inclusion in the prayers, more closely accounts for the name collect given to the prayer recited immediately before the Epistle; some collects were composed by the fifth-century Popes Leo and Gelasius. Fr. Dunney pertinently comments on the characteristics of the collects: economy of expression, symmetry, contrast, variation and rhythm. An example occurs in the collect for the Friday of the third week of Lent: "ut, sicut ab alimentis abstinemus in corpore, ita a vitiis ieiunemus in mente–that, just as we deprive ourselves of food for the body, so we may abstain from an intention to sin." Similar features characterise the prayer Deus, qui humanae substantiae said by the priest as he pours wine and water into the chalice in preparation for the Offertory–eius divinitatis consortes is perfectly balanced by humanitatis nostrae particeps.

Immediately before the Secret prayer, the priest turns towards the people with arms outstretched and recites silently, apart from the opening words, the Orate Fratres in a kind of leave-taking, since from then until the Communion he remains steadfastly facing the altar. It is a prayer which emphasises the unity of action by priest and people, as together, after Christ Himself, they offer the Holy Sacrifice. It is a theme taken up most noticeably in three of the prayers preceding the Orate Fratres–at the offertory of the chalice (offerimus), in the prayer In spiritu humilitatis, as he places the chalice on the altar (suscipiamur and nostrum) and in the prayer to the Trinity after the Lavabo, suscipe sancta Trinitas (offerimus, nobis and agimus) and later in the opening prayer of the Canon, Te igitur (rogamus ac petimus).

The triple invocation of the Sanctus and the glad Hosanna of welcome accompanied by the ringing of the bell create a sense of anticipation and awe at the imminent arrival of Christ Himself on the altar at the Consecration. Hushed reverence and words whispered by the priest create the setting for the homage the people pay as they gaze upon the elevated host and chalice and silently invoke the words of the Apostle Thomas, no longer incredulous, "My Lord and my God."

Mention of the elevation leads to an account of its liturgical history: before the year 1210, the priest would elevate the host and the chalice only slightly, making it difficult for the people to see and venerate; moreover, since this slight elevation coincided with the whole of the words of consecration, the people were unable to be certain whether at a particular point they were venerating a consecrated or an unconsecrated host. Hence, the change to an extended and visible elevation which not only satisfied the insatiable desire of people to direct their gaze towards the consecrated host, but also emphasised the Church's opposition to the dualist heresy of the Albigenses, prevalent at the time in the south of France, which denied belief in the sacraments and particularly in the divine presence in the Eucharist.

The Greek derivative embolism, meaning simply "an insertion," is the name given to the prayer Libera nos which immediately follows the Pater Noster, the final petition of which it elaborates as a liturgical epilogue. It asks for deliverance from all evils past, present and to come (ab omnibus malis, praeteritis, praesentibus, et futuris) through the intercession of the Mother of God and all the saints.

An early patristic description of the dispositions for receiving Holy Communion–cum amore ac timore (with love and awe)–characterises the two sets of triple invocations preparatory to Communion. The Agnus Dei, with its allusion to Christ the Paschal Lamb who atones for our sins, expresses wholesome fear and humility and sorrow for sin, reminiscent of the attitude of the publican in the temple. Similar sentiments are conveyed by the prayer of the centurion, Domine, non sum dignus, said by the priest at the altar silently, apart from the opening words, and again, aloud in its entirety, as the priest faces the people before distributing Holy Communion.

Because it is recited inaudibly and occurs immediately before the final blessing, the short prayer to the Trinity, Placeat tibi, tends to be overlooked. The priest begs that, despite his own unworthiness, his offering may find acceptance and grant forgiveness to himself and to those for whom he has made the offering.

This is a comprehensive work which has much more to offer than a restricted selection can encompass. Fr. Dunney has succeeded admirably in his purpose. No serious reader of his book can fail to acquire a deeper understanding and appreciation of the prayers and ceremonies of the Mass of the Roman Rite; this, in turn, will lead to an increased devotion and to a desire to be present as frequently as possible at what Jeremias, Archdeacon of Cleveland in the 12th century, referred to as "The worthiest thing, most of goodness, in all this world, it is the Mass" (The Lay Folk's Mass Book [EETS, 1879], p. 2, lines 1-2).

Mr. Anthony Cornwell taught Latin and Greek at Cardinal Newman's foundation, the Oratory School, now situated in Oxfordshire, England. He also holds a degree in Patristic Theology from the University of Oxford and is a regular reviewer for the journal Recusant History.