66

Lord, for the purposes recited in the prayer, where he entreats the Almighty graciously to accept this oblation of his servitude" in the ministry, "as also of his whole family," that congregation of which he is the head. The special objects now enumerated are first" the disposition of our days in peace." That peace which is the result of a good conscience, that peace which the world cannot give, (John xiv. 27,) -because the world frequently lulls the conscience into a deceitful repose, saying peace, peace, and there is no peace; the second object is to “ preserve us from eternal damnation," by keeping us in this life from sin, which alone can produce damnation; and the third object is, to "rank us in the number of the elect;" because in his mercy he can choose us, and select us, and give us extraordinary aid, whereby favouring us in his good will, more than others, to whom he gives a sufficiency of grace to enable them to be saved, if they will correspond therewith; he can pour forth his assistance more abundantly upon us, and thus insure our salvation by his extraordinary mercy. All this we implore "through Christ our Lord," (John xvi. 24,) who exhorts us to ask in his

name.

The expression of the three great objects of our offering in this prayer was added to the Canon by St. Gregory the great, as we read in his life by John the Deacon, L. 2. n. 17, in Walfridus lib. de rebus. Eccl. c. 22, in the sixth lesson of his festival in the Breviary, March 12, and from the venerable Bede, Hist. Eccl. 1 2 c. 1. "And also in the celebration of the Mass, he superadded these phrases full of he greatest perfection diesque nostros," &c. However Amalarius in prefat 2, in lib. de Off. states that the objects were substantially contained in the Canon in the times of St. Ambrose, which was two hundred years earlier.

We now come to the prayer which immediately precedes the consecration, and which we find in

every Latin formula that is extant, and which has always been looked upon as having been altogether derived from the Apostles. And as regards the substance of the prayers, the only difference between the Latin and Eastern liturgies on this point, is, that the Greeks repeat the prayer which they have correspondent to this, after the form instituted by our Saviour, and the Latins place it immediately before the words of his institution.

We are now arrived at that part which is the most solemn, important, and interesting of the entire ; every thing hitherto had reference remotely or proximately to the awful moment which approaches. For now the true victim is about to be produced. Ir a well regulated Cathedral, this indeed is a moment of splendid, improving, and edifying exhibition to the well instructed Christian. The joyful hosannas of the organ have died away in deep and solemn notes which seemed to be gradually lost as they ascended to the throne of God, and solemn silence pervades the church the celebrant stands bareheaded about to perform the most awful duty in which man could possitiv be engaged. His assistants in profound expectation await the performance of that duty; taperbearers line the sides of the Santuary, and with their lighted lamps await the arrival of their Lord. Incense-bearers kneel, ready to envelope the altar in a cloud of perfumes which represents the prayers of the Saints; and at the moment of the consecration when the celebrant elevates the host, and the tinkling of a small bell gives notice of the arrival of the lamb, every knee is bent, every head is bowed, gratulating music bursts upon the ear, and the lights which surround the throne of him who comes to save a world, are seen dimly blazing through the clouds of perfumed smoke, which envolopes this mystic place. Yet even on the most humble altar which religion rears, and at which poverty attends, though stripped of all external pop and circumstance of

show; the same victim is found, the same graces may be obtained, and purer piety may kneel with more sensible devotion, and form a closer alliance with the Saviour of the world, especially if by eating his flesh and drinking his blood, the union of abode in Christ should take place, for his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed. (John vi. 56.)

We have in the Gospels a short record of the acts of the Saviour, at the institution. Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake; and he gave to his disciples and said: take ye and eat: this is my body, and taking the chalice, he gave thanks and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many, unto remission of sins. (Matt. xxvi. 26, 27.) Here we find the acts to be taking bread, blessing it, breaking it, giving to his disciples what he held, accompanied by a declaration that it was his body. This is no place to enter upon an examination of the word brake, as this is not a controversial disquisition; but it may be observed that many eminent linguists, and deep antiquarians, and learned divines, state the meaning to be breaking in sacrifice, because the word has been frequently used in that sense; and this they state to be the key to the explanation of the words in St. Mark xiv. 22, where the whole is described as one act, blessing broke; that is, by his blessing offered the sacrifice; and to that of St. Luke xxii. 19. This is my body which is given FOR you, not only given to you, for they say, if it were only a sacrament it would have been then only given to them, but not for them; as there was no other person to whom it could be given for them, because it was given to no other, and the verb is in the present tense, and must refer to some act then in performance; and the distinction of tenses is made by each of the three Evangelists, where speaking of the blood in the subsequent verse, each says, shall be shed, that is futule, referring to the next day. But if by his blessing

he did offer it in sacrifice, then indeed we can clearly see the acts to be taking bread, by blessing it for them, and afterwards giving the Sacrament to them.

Our only object at present is to trace as well as we can the origin, and to find the exact meaning of the prayer which immediately precedes the words of consecration in the Roman Missal. Christ used prayer, gave thanks, and he blessed the bread which he took, and then declared what substance was there; and he commanded the Apostles, and through them their successors, to do what he did, Do this.

*

It has been before remarked, and no fact is better established than it is, that in the early ages of the Church, the forms or words for the Sacraments were not committed to writing: thus St. Basil says "who is it that has left us in writing the words which are used for the consecration of the Eucharist."And just after he continues, "we are not content with using only those words which are reported by the Apostle, and the Gospel; but we add to them others before and after, as of great efficacy for the mysteries, and which we have learned only from this unwritten doctrine." Justin Martyr in his apology says, that our ordinary food "is changed into the Eucharist by the word of God and by prayer." Origent says, that "we eat of this bread sanctified by the word of God and by consecration." Tertullians says that Christ "made the bread his body by the words this is my body." St. Ambrose says || "The change of the bread and wine into the body and blood takes place the moment the words of Christ are pronounced: "before the consecration, it is bread, out when the words of Christ are added, it is no longer bread, but the body of Christ." The same writer says " Blessing is of more efficacy than nature,

* Li de Spiritu S. c. 27. † Apolog.2 ad Antonin. Hom. 15. in Matt. Tert. adver. Marc 1. 4. c. 40. De Sacrant De iis qui. init, c. 9.

14. c. 4.

for the blessing changes nature itself" and the example he adduces is the consecration of the Eucharist by the blessing. St. Augustine says,* "But our bread and chalice become mystical to us by consecration ;" and in another place,† "It is consecrated by the mystic prayer." Thus we find, prayer, blessing and the words of Christ all through used for the consecration.

The prayer which next follows has been looked upon at all times as that which has come down from the Apostles, in the way mentioned by St. Basil. In repeating it the celebrant thrice makes the sign of the Cross over the offerings, then once over the bread, and once over the wine, and lifting his eyes to heaven to invoke the power of the eternal God, and in imitation of the Saviour, he again holding the bread in his hand, makes the sign of the Cross over it at the word blessed, and pronouncing the words of Consecration bending over the altar, and holding the host in his hands, he kneels to adore his Lord and Saviour then concealed under the appearance of bread, and rising, elevates it to be seen and adored by the people; and having again made his adoration, he repeats the same ceremony with regard to the Chalice.

In the prayer the celebrant entreats of the Lord "that he would vouchsafe in all respects to bless the oblation" now made, by separating it from common use to be a holy oblation, "to approve" it by ranking it amongst those, which having been sanctified, are looked upon with peculiar favour "to ratify," the same, by so fully confirming his benediction, as that these gifts may never more be taken from the Lord, "To make it rational" as well by enabling us to appear in a rational and becoming manner before our God, according to that of the Apostle. I beseech you brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living Sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God your

* Iib. 20. Contra Faust. Lib. 3 de Sacerd.