Liturgically Speaking: The Greeting and the Penitential Act

Still within the Introductory Rites of the Mass, after the sign of the cross, the priest greets the congregation.  Like so much of our Liturgy, the greetings reflect the words of scripture.  For instance, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all” is a quote from the closing words of the Second Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians (13:14).  “The Lord be with you” is from 2 Thess 3:16.  “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” reflects Phil 1:2, Eph 1:2, Philemon 1:3, and 1 Cor 1:3.  Finally, only a bishop may use the very words of Christ in his greeting: “Peace be with you” (John 20:21).

We respond, “And with your Spirit.”  This greeting also reflects scripture: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers,” (Gal 6:18) and “The Lord be with your spirit.  Grace be with all of you” (2 Tim 4:22).  The response “and with your spirit” is found in the liturgy from the earliest days of the Church. One of the first instances of its use is found in the Apostolic Tradition of Saint Hippolytus, composed around 215.  It’s also important to note that “Spirit” here doesn’t refer primarily to the priest’s human soul, but to the Spirit of God he received at the sacrament of ordination.  In the fifth century, Narsai of Nisibis wrote, “The name ‘spirit’ [refers] not to the soul of the priest but to the spirit he has received through the laying on of hands.”  St John Chrysostom said, “By this cry [and with your spirit], you are reminded that he who stands at the altar does nothing, and that the gifts that repose there are not the merits of a man; but that the grace of the Holy Spirit is present and, descending on all, accomplishes this mysterious sacrifice. We indeed see a man, but it is God who acts through him. Nothing human takes place at this holy altar.”  Hence, in our response, we assure the priest of the divine assistance of God’s spirit for the priest to use the gifts given to him in ordination to fulfill his priestly and prophetic role in the Church.

Next the Mass moves into the Penitential Act.  It is noteworthy that, as we begin the holy sacrifice of the Mass, our first spiritual posture is one of contrition – sorrow for sin.  This should recall to us the words of Matthew 5:23-24:  “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”  The Penitential Act is both an admission of our guilt and unworthiness, as well as trust in God’s mercy and his initiative in granting His grace and mercy.  The Penitential Act is not a sacramental confession, and will not forgive mortal sins, for which one needs to receive sacramental confession before receiving communion. 

There are a few different options for the Penitential Act.  The first is the Confiteor.  You’ll recognize this prayer as “I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters….”  When we speak of our fault, our most grievous fault, we make the gesture of striking our breast.  This is the gesture of the tax collector in Luke 18:13, who Jesus gives as an example of true humble repentance.   St Augustine wrote, “"No sooner have you heard the word 'Confiteor' than you strike your breast. What does this mean except that you wish to bring to light what is concealed in the breast, and by this act to cleanse your hidden sins?"  St Jerome said “We strike our breast because the breast is the seat of evil thoughts: we wish to dispel these thoughts, we wish to purify our hearts."

Another form of the Penitential Act, one not often used, is as follows:  Priest: Have mercy on us, O Lord.  People: For we have sinned against you.  Priest: Show us, O Lord, your mercy.  People: And grant us your salvation.”  This exchange echoes Psalm 41:4 and Psalm 85:7.

Another form, The Kyrie eleison, or “Lord have Mercy” formula is also biblical; we hear it on the lips of the blind men of Jericho (Matt 20:30) and the Canaanite woman (Matt 15:22): “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  The Kyrie is a vestige of what were once long litanies usually accompanying the procession to the altar.  It originated in the East where Greek was spoken, and was brought from Jerusalem to the West by pilgrims.  This is why, even in the Latin Rite Mass, it is still maintained in the original Greek.  Around the eighth century, the number of acclamations was reduced to nine: three to the Father, three to Christ (Christ have mercy), and three to the Holy Spirit.  The reforms of the Second Vatican Council gave us the simple threefold “Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy; Lord have mercy,” with which we are familiar.

Since our worship should be a fully conscious and active participation, at this point in the Mass we should take efforts that our inward prayer and disposition matches the action of the Mass.  When Father invites us to call to mind our sins, we should do just that.  We should consider those things we need to bring to the cross of Christ for mercy, those things we need to have washed in the precious blood of the lamb.  Moreover, as we confess our sinfulness and plead for God’s mercy, we ought to move our hearts to contrition, to sorrow for sin.  The Penitential Act is a spiritual moment in the Mass where we come before the infinitely loving God, recognizing our sinfulness, are really imploring Him for His abundant mercy.

Liturgically Speaking: The Sign of the Cross

Once the priest has processed to the altar and reverenced it, he leads us in the sign of the cross.  The sign of the cross is an incredibly meaningful symbol.  

In the Old Testament, the prophet Ezekiel spoke of God’s faithful being signed with a mysterious mark:

“Then he called to the man dressed in linen with the writer's case at his waist, saying to him: Pass through the city (through Jerusalem) and mark an X on the foreheads of those who moan and groan over all the abominations that are practiced within it.  To the others I heard him say: Pass through the city after him and strike! Do not look on them with pity nor show any mercy!  Old men, youths and maidens, women and children--wipe them out! But do not touch any marked with the X; begin at my sanctuary.” (Ezekiel 9:3-6)

In Ezekiel, this sign marks those who are faithful to God’s law, and serves as a sign for their protection.  In the Greek version of Ezekiel, the “mark” he mentioned is the Greek letter “Tau.”  A Tau looks like a capital “T.”  It was not a far stretch for the early Christians to see in this mysterious sign a foreshadowing of the sign of the Lord’s cross. 

The book of Revelation seems to take on the imagery of Ezekiel, speaking of a “seal” on the foreheads of God’s chosen people, a sign of their election and protection:

“Then I saw another angel come up from the East, holding the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, "Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."  I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the Israelites…”(Rev 7:2-4)

The words of the sign of the cross recall to us our baptism.  Before his ascension, Christ commanded his Apostles: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)  Our baptism is our entrance into the Church and the foundation of our life in the grace of Christ, which allows us to approach Him in the Eucharist.

The words of the sign of the cross also profess our belief in the central mystery of our faith – who God is in His deepest identity.  We proclaim one God in three equal Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The sign of the cross also recalls the pinnacle event of God’s love for us and the means of our salvation – the Paschal Mystery – the suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.  Continually makeing the sign of the Lord’s cross, we echo St. Paul, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Cor 2:2)

In the early Church we have positive evidence that the sign of the cross was familiar to Christians in the second century:

"In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting of our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupieth us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross". (Tertullian, c. 200AD)

The sign of the cross must soon have passed into a gesture of blessing, as St. Cyril of Jerusalem in his Catechesis (386) describes:

"Let us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the cross our seal, made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings and in goings; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are travelling, and when we are at rest".

Liturgically Speaking: The Introductory Rites of the Mass

For the last few weeks these posts have focused on different aspects of the liturgy, trying to get a sense of what the liturgy is and how it is a distinct and unique form of prayer.  Now over the next several months, we’ll be focusing on the parts of the Mass, seeking a deeper understanding of the mysteries in which we are participating.

The Mass is divided into two major parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  These describe the two principle means by which we encounter Christ in the Mass: through His word in the Scriptures and through His body and blood in the Eucharist.  In the Mass is spread the table both of God’s Word and of the Body of Christ, from which we are instructed and refreshed.  We also find the Introductory Rites at the beginning of Mass, and the Concluding Rite at the end.

The Introductory Rites are intended to bring us together as one and to prepare us to listen to the Word of God and to worthily celebrate the Eucharist.

Mass begins with the entrance procession.  The procession is not merely a pragmatic means of getting from point “A” to point “B.”  Like so many elements of the liturgy, the entrance procession is pregnant with meaning.  It symbolizes the pilgrim Church, those of us still on our journey, approaching our heavenly homeland.  From the doors of the Church and the fallen world outside, the priest and other ministers process to the sanctuary and the altar, where Heaven meets earth.  This pilgrim journey is emphasized by carrying in procession a Crucifix, symbolizing Christ guiding us safely on our journey.  Each procession can also remind us of the procession we specifically celebrate once a year on Palm Sunday.  It reminds us that Jesus has entered into our presence as he once triumphantly entered into Jerusalem at the beginning of His Passion.

When the priest and deacon reach the sanctuary, they reverence the altar with a kiss.  Why kiss the altar?  The altar is a symbol of Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “the Christian altar is the symbol of Christ himself, present in the midst of the assembly of his faithful, both as the victim offered for our reconciliation and as food from heaven who is giving himself to us. ‘For what is the altar of Christ if not the image of the Body of Christ?’ asks St. Ambrose” (CCC 1383).  So to kiss the altar is to kiss Christ, and is an image of the Church and Christ, Bride and Bridegroom in the wedding feast of the Lamb.

The kissing of the altar is also an act of veneration of the relics of the saints contained in the altar stone.  In the early Church, Mass was often said at the tombs of the martyrs.  This is the origin of having relics in most altars.  In the traditional Latin Mass, as he kissed the altar, the priest would pray “We beseech You, O Lord, by the merits of Your Saints whose relics lie here, and of all the Saints, deign in your mercy to pardon me all my sins.” 

This action is accompanied by the Entrance Antiphon.  For decades now, most parishes have completely replaced the Entrance Antiphon with various opening hymns.  There is a very real difference here.  While a hymn chosen from a hymnal is singing at Mass, singing the Entrance Antiphon is singing the Mass.  A hymn is something brought from outside the Mass itself to be used within the Mass (and there’s nothing wrong with this; it’s given by the Church as an option).  The Entrance Antiphon, however, is an actual prayer text of the Mass for the day, just like the Collect (opening prayer) or Prayer after Communion.  Besides accompanying the procession, the Entrance Antiphon is meant to open the celebration, foster our unity, and introduce us to the mystery being celebrated in that particular liturgy.  For instance, the Entrance Antiphon for “Laetare Sunday” the 4th Sunday of Lent, is “Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her.  Sing out in exultation…”  If we drop these antiphons completely, we are replacing the very texts the Church is asking us to pray!