The Preparatory Prayers

While I usually attend the Ordinary Form of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, I am also very much a proponent of the Extraordinary Form. It’s hard to ignore wonderful reflections as these on the Preparatory Prayers, something that is not part of the Ordinary Form of the Liturgy. These were written by a Roman Catholic priest as he reflects on the Tridentine Liturgy. The prayers reflected upon can be found here.

Preparation of the People
The preparation of the people is subdivided into two parts, the penitential and instructive parts.

The Penitential Subdivision
Robed in his sacerdotal garments, the priest, entrusted with the most august and most redoubtable ministry, proceeds with humility and awe to the foot of the altar, where he is to consummate the great act that reconciles heaven and earth.

Of all the dispositions with which we should approach the altar of God, humility and contrition of heart are the most essential. Woe to that man who encompasses the altar of God and is present at the august Sacrifice, without feeling a regret for his sins, and a desire to be freed from them!

Wherefore, the priest commences the Mass at the foot of the altar; he does not presume to ascend to it till he has first humbled himself before God, and implored His mercy and forgiveness. Like the publican, he stands afar off, striking his breast, and acknowledging his unworthiness.

The priest commences by making on himself the Sign of the Cross, together with an express invocation of the Most Holy Trinity; because it is in the name and in honor of the Holy Trinity that he is about to renew the Sacrifice of Christ’s Passion and Death.

He then recites, alternately with the ministers, the forty-second Psalm, which is one of preparation to the Sacrifice, and which was used during the Mosaic dispensation.

This Psalm encourages him, notwithstanding his unworthiness, not to be dejected, but to put his confidence in God, and to approach His altar with a cheerful heart; because the Almighty, Who is our salvation, will make glad the hearts of all who confess to Him, and put their trust in Him. He implores the assistance of the Almighty against his enemies; he reproves his soul for being disheartened, while it ought to trust in God; and finally, he prays to God to illuminate and console him. The priest recites this alternately with the ministers of the people, because the people, as well as the priest, should excite themselves to approach the altar with faith and confidence.

The Confiteor
While at the foot of the altar, the priest, though encouraging himself not to be dejected, but to put his confidence in God, does not lose sight of his unworthiness. He therefore makes, together with the people, a general and public confession of his sins.

In the old law, previously to the offering up of sacrifice, a general confession of his sins was required by the high priest. An acknowledgement of sins is still more necessary in the new law, as a preparation for the Sacrifice.

The formulary of confession of sins, used by the Church, consists of two parts: in the former, we confess to the Almighty, and to the whole court of heaven, that we have sinned exceedingly in every way, in thought, word and deed; and in the latter part, we appeal to the whole court of heaven, to pray to the Almighty, to obtain of Him for us the remission of our sins. This confession is mutually made, by both priest and people; they repeat the prayer, which contains an avowal of the sins of which they are guilty. It is first made by the priest, because he should set the example of those holy dispositions, and testify and acknowledge that he stands in need of the same indulgence which he solicits for others. Conscious of his unworthiness, and of the holiness of the function which he is about to perform, He calls on God for His assistance, saying: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”

He thus commences (with the Confiteor).

Explanation of the Confiteor
I accuse myself, in the presence of Almighty God, of all the injustices of my past life. Not only does he confess to God, and to the spirits of the just made perfect, who at the last day shall sit in judgment on us, but also to his fellow creatures on earth. The angels and saints have been witnesses of his sins; he therefore acknowledges his guilt in their presence, that he may conciliate their intercession. First, he makes this confession to the most merciful of Virgins, who herself never knew the least defilement of sin; to an archangel, who triumphed over the chief of the rebellious spirits and over his followers; to the Baptist, the most holy of men, who was the friend of the Spouse; to the two chief apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, the most powerful of all the saints upon earth, who were vested with the power of binding and unbinding consciences; and lastly, to all the saints, the friends of God, and to his brethren on earth.

Striking his breast, in imitation of the publican, who by his humility before God, he says, “through my fault,” for I have had so many motives and means of avoiding sin; “through my fault,” my perversity has alone been the cause of my sins; I do not attribute them to either the occasions of sin, or to the violence of temptation; “through my most grievous fault,” my sins are most grievous, owing to the obligations of my baptism, and to the great and numerous graces that, in preference to many others, I have received from God.

The second part of the Confiteor consists of an invocation of all the angels and saints to pray to God for him.

Sinking under the burden of his sins, he says: Shall I despair? God forbid! Religion inspires me with other sentiments; it commands me to pray, and to invoke all the angels and saints, that they may pray to God in my behalf. I no longer presume to address God directly; I confine myself to entreating all the saints of heaven, and my brethren on earth, who have been witnesses of my sins, to become my intercessors with my Lord and my God.

By means of this general confession of sins, made by both priest and people, a sort of concert, a kind of unison of sighs and tears is established.

The two absolving prayers, Misereatur and Indulgentiam, which immediately follow the Confiteor, these prayers, I say, are not authoritative, but supplicatory prayers, being used in the same sense by both priest and people; for in them the priest makes himself a part of the people.

With short and energetic expressions do the priest and his ministers terminate the prayers which detain them at the foot of the altar.

Thus the devotion with which the faithful ought to be occupied while the priest remains at the foot of the altar, is chiefly to excite themselves to sorrow for their sins, which render them unworthy to be present at the Sacrifice, and earnestly to beseech the Almighty to remove the cause of their unworthiness. They should then particularly implore the grace of God, which alone can discover to them the malice of sin, and obtain for them true repentance.

The last words which the priest pronounces at the foot of the altar, are Dominus Vobiscum; by which he prays that Christ may be in the midst of them, that the Spirit of God may repose on them, that He would grant them the spirit of prayer, and the dispositions of fervor and repentance, so necessary to obtain the objects of their supplications.

Dominica Tertiadecima per Annum - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
The author of the Book of Wisdom identifies himself as Solomon but many scholars believe that the writings are of Greek origin. Wisdom is often portrayed in Scripture as female in gender evidenced by the use of feminine pronouns. That may be due to the fact that the Greek word for wisdom is “Sophia”. Mystically, the Virgin Mary is addressed in her Litany with the Latin words, “Sedes Sapientiæ” -- “Seat of Wisdom”.

“God formed man to be imperishable” but man’s gift of free will succumbed to “the envy of the devil” sentencing man to death. But God entered into the world through the Seat of Wisdom to experience the life of man in every facet, even to the point of death. Christ suffered death on the Cross but in doing so confronted man’s adversary. He took on man’s eternal sentence and defeated it fulfilling God’s will that man should be imperishable.

To choose God is to choose eternal life. Because of free will, however, it is possible to choose the devil and “belong to his company.” As absurd as that choice sounds, we’re all very much aware of our own weaknesses, and the struggles we go through to not surrender to the temptations that appeal to those weaknesses. Without the existence of prayer and penance in one’s life, it’s very possible to not only give in to those weaknesses constantly but also dig a hole that is too deep to get out of because the pleasures that feeds those weaknesses becomes a god. The devil can only offer an eternity of condemnation, but he is quite capable of making the deceptive road that leads to it very attractive.

2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15
The opening verse is a little confusing as Saint Paul prays for us to excel in our Christian walk; but when he writes, “and in the love we have for you” almost reads like we are to excel in the love Paul has for us, which doesn’t make sense. What follows clears it up a little with the words, “may you excel in this gracious act also”; in other words, excel in the love we have for each other using Paul’s love for us as a model, which, of course, is a model of Christ’s love. The Latin translates more clearly as it reads: “abound… in your charity towards us.”

To excel or abound in the Christian faith and all that goes along with it, first and foremost requires a trusting relationship with Jesus Christ. In His poverty He wore the crown of thorns in order that we may wear the crown of glory. He accepted the hatred from His enemies, even though He prayed for them, so that we may know the love of the Father. He lived in poverty so that we may live in the mansions of His Father’s Kingdom.

When Paul speaks of equality, certainly this could be applied to temporal goods -- those who have much helping those who have little to nothing. On a spiritual level, however, those with a rich faith, through means of evangelization and living out a life of faith, by the charity of the Holy Spirit, can bring comfort and build up those who struggle with matters of faith. We are all made in the Image and likeness of God and are called to share in an eternal destiny which promises the riches of the Father’s Kingdom.

Mark 5:21-43
Parish communities, id est, crowds gather on Sunday for Mass and sometimes crowds will gather for Eucharistic Adoration. Jesus welcomes us together as His Mystical Body but as also evidenced in this Gospel, Jesus gives His undivided attention to us as individuals as well.

Being in the Presence of Jesus as a community of believers doesn’t require us to be pushing each other in order to get His attention or vie for position. He loves us communally and individually with a boundless dose of unconditional, perfect Divine Love. Receiving Jesus in the Eucharist is an inexpressible joy and blessing both communally and individually. And our community is not limited to those within the walls of our parish church. Mass is an eternal event which connects us to every Mass that has ever occurred or will occur in both heaven and earth as well as to every soul because we are the Mystical Body of Christ.

Walls as well as the laws of time and space cannot divide us nor can they disturb the re-presenting of One Supreme Sacrifice. When looking at a community from that perspective, Jesus loving us as individuals becomes even more mind boggling.

When Jesus heals the twelve year old girl, He orders her to be given something to eat. Now ask yourself, which is better: To be physically healed and fed a hamburger, or to continue with a physical frailty and have your soul fed with the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ? Even when given a second chance at life, one should consider how that second chance can be used to grow closer to Jesus. Another example for your consideration: Is it better to touch the garment of Jesus and have your physical infirmity healed even though your physical body will continue to decay as the years pass by; or is it more desirable to have your soul touched and healed by Christ’s Eucharistic Self -- a soul, by the way, that will live on forever?

If you have a personal prayer need, there is no better time to ask our Lord than right after receiving the Eucharist. You will never in this life be more intimately connected to Jesus than right after being fed with His Precious Body and Blood. Hear the Voice that comes from your soul when He says: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Jesus praises the faith of the woman who touched His garment. But perhaps a more praiseworthy faith is one that does not despair when a prayer need is not met, but instead simply and submissively accepts that Christ’s perfect and Divine will always is and forever shall be superior to our own. It is then that our Lord’s words to the woman in this Gospel have a much deeper and intimate meaning: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

The Carthusian Priest: A Vocation of Conformity to Jesus

A priest of the Carthusian Order spends a great deal of his day in a hermitage; there he conducts his activities, which, as their vocational brochure reads, “nurture a deeply contemplative life.” The priest’s day of activities in the hermitage include prayer, studying, reading and manual labor. Before his day ends he will have prayed all the hours of the Canonical Office as well as all the hours of Our Lady’s Office. Once a week the Office of the Dead is also prayed.

Only three times per day does the Carthusian Father leave his cell: Canonical Matins and Lauds (Night Office), Mass and Canonical Vespers, all of which are done in the Church and make up the monks’ life in community. All other Offices are prayed in the solitude of the cell. Because of this schedule, a Carthusian Father’s priestly ministry is exercised for his fellow Carthusian brothers and vocational retreatants.

Generally, the Carthusians do not accept retreatants unless they feel they may have a Carthusian vocation. This makes a Carthusian’s priestly ministry different than most since they will have virtually no contact with the outside world; his vocation is designed for “greater conformity to Jesus, the High priest, Who unites the monk in a special and sacramental way to His life of prayer and sacrifice.”

Here is a typical Horarium of a Carthusian Father, which is different than that of a Brother:

11:30 PM

Rise
Matins of Our Lady in the cell

12:15 AM

Canonical Matins and Lauds in the Church
Angelus

Between 2:15 & 3:15 AM

Return to the cell
Lauds of Our Lady
Retire to bed

6:30 AM

Rise – Remain in the Cell
Prime of Our Lady
Canonical Prime
Mental Prayer

7:45 AM

Angelus
Community Mass in the Church
Private Masses

Between 9:00 & 9:30 AM

Return to the Cell
Free Time
Mental Prayer
Terce of Our Lady
Canonical Terce
Spiritual Reading
Study
Manual Work

11:45 AM

In the Cell
Angelus
Sext of Our Lady
Canonical Sext
Dinner (always meatless – bread and water on Friday)
Free time

2:00 PM

In the Cell
None of Our Lady
Canonical None
Study
Spiritual Reading
Manual Work

4:00 PM

Vespers of Our Lady in the Cell

5:00PM

Canonical Vespers in the Church
After Vespers, return to the Cell for free time and a light meal

7:00 PM

In the Cell
Angelus
Examination of Conscience
Canonical Compline
Compline of Our Lady

8:15 PM

Retire to Bed

You may have noticed that the Carthusians pray the Angelus four times per day instead of the usual three times and they have a divided sleep schedule.

A few words about life in the Charterhouse:
There are no radios, televisions or secular newspapers and magazines. Any noteworthy news occurring in the world is left to the wisdom of the Prior as whether or not to share such news with the monks. The monks may not know specifics but they know this is a troubled world and its healing is what they pray for – that the Light of Christ will overcome the darkness.

Scripture is very important in their spiritual reading. The Carthusian Statutes read: “For they are mistaken who think they can easily attain to interior union with God, while previously having neglected the study of the Word of God, or later abandoned it altogether” (5:2).

Please remember these dedicated men in your prayers in this “Year for Priests” whose life is hidden with God.

In Nativitate Sancti Ioannis Baptistæ

O house of Zachary greeted with a voice
The barren one’s infant leaps in her womb
Reproach removed, thy child doth rejoice
‘Tis the Ark, carrying the Victor over the tomb

Elizabeth, thy husband at the altar of incense
Met with great fear the angel hailed as Gabriel
Zachary, thy prayer has been heard, hence
Your wife bears a son, thinkest thou surreal

Armed with the spirit and power of Elias
His voice in the wilderness will cry for penance
More than a prophet, your son, and pious
Thy disbelief has reduced thee to silence

O priestly voice cut off from the outside world
Hear the inner Voice of God speaking to thee
His plan of salvation is about to be unfurled
Thy son preparing the way for this mystery

At thy house is the blessed who has believed
For three months she will stay with thy wife
She too, although a Virgin, has conceived
And she shall bring forth the Bread of Life

O house of Zachary thy kindred greets thy son
Circumcised before witnesses more than a few
Isaias foretold of this child of God’s creation
The dividing line of Testaments Old and New

What shall he be called, a kinfolk’s name no less
Zachary, the name given to his father the priest
Nay, the pronouncement of angelic lips: Ioannes
His name be, on locusts and honey shall he feast

Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, Zachary speaks
For salvation from our enemies is made present
Ninety-nine may be safe, but one lost He seeks
Whether that be man or woman, rich or peasant

You, my son, prophet of the Appeaser of wrath
Prepare ye the way for heaven to meet earth
From the desert shall you make straight His path
This Child of Spirit presented by Virgin birth

The repentant shall come to thee to be baptized
The Jordan shall hear many confessions of guilt
And now comes to thee prophecies now realized
The Cornerstone on which the house of God is built

I should be baptized by Thee, the precursor pleads
For within Thee there is found not spot or stain
Suffer it be so now, fulfilling all justice’s needs
That which I do My heavenly Father ordain

Thou brood of vipers O Pharisee and Sadducee
Think ye not Abraham an enemy of the Lamb
Faith’s Father longed to hear: “Ecce Agnus Dei”
And see Him Who’ll be sacrificed for thy scam

The Tetrarch’s fear renders the baptizer incarcerated
The femme fatale of Herodias, a promise discussed
Dance for me and I give thee till thy heart is sated
The man of God beheaded because of Herod’s lust

The netherworld where waits Patriarch and Prophet
Ye men of God, let us continue with prayer and fasting
For He Whom thou have preached of, thus have I met
He will soon join us here and take us to life everlasting

~Jeff~

Ecce Sacerdos Magnus

On the day of my ordination I made two resolutions:

1. I would offer the Holy Eucharist every Saturday in honor of the Blessed Mother to solicit her protection on my priesthood.
2. I resolved also to spend a continuous Holy Hour everyday in the Presence of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

In the course of my priesthood I have kept both resolutions. The Holy Hour had its origin in a practice I developed a year before I was ordained.

Here are some reasons why I have kept up this practice:

The Holy Hour is not a devotion; it is a sharing in the work of redemption. Our Blessed Lord uses the words “hour” and “day” in two totally different connotations in the Gospel of John. “Day” belongs to God; the “hour” belongs to evil. Seven times in the Gospel of John, the word “hour” is used, and in each instance it refers to the demonic, and to the moments when Christ is no longer in the Father’s Hands, but in the hands of men. In the Garden, our Lord contrasted two “hours” – one was the evil hour, “this is your hour” – with which Judas could turn out the lights of the world. In contrast our Lord asked: “Could you not watch one hour with Me?” In other words, He asked for an hour of reparation to combat the hour of evil; an hour of victimal union with the Cross to overcome the anti-love of sin.

The only time our Lord asked the apostles for anything was the night He went into His agony. Then He did not ask all of them… perhaps because He knew He could not count on their fidelity. But at least He expected three to be faithful to Him: Peter, James and John. As often in the history of the Church since that time, evil was awake, but the disciples were asleep. That is why there came out of His anguished and lonely Heart the sigh: “Could you not watch one hour with Me?” Not for an hour of activity did He plead, but for an hour of companionship.

As Paul puts it: “We are transfigured into His likeness, from splendor to splendor.” We become like that which we gaze upon. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way as the face of Moses was transformed after his companionship with God on the mountain. Something happens to us similar to that which happened to the disciples at Emmaus. On Easter Sunday afternoon when the Lord met them, He asked why they were so gloomy. After spending some time in His Presence, and hearing again the secret of spirituality – “The Son of Man must suffer to enter into His glory” – their time with Him ended, and their “hearts were on fire.”

The Holy Hour. Is it difficult? Sometimes it seemed to be hard; it might mean having to forgo a social engagement, or rise an hour earlier, but on the whole it has never been a burden, but a joy.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Great Dignity = Tending the Flock

Jesus said to Simon Peter: Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him: Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him: Feed My lambs. He said to him again: Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him: Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him: Feed My lambs. He said to him the third time: Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved because He had said to him the third time: Do you love Me? And he said to Him: Lord, You know all things: You know that I love You. He said to him: Feed my sheep. (John 21:15-17)

What advantage could be greater than to be seen doing those things which Christ with His own Lips declared to be proofs of love to Himself? The Master asked the disciple if He was loved by him, not in order to get information but in order to teach us how great an interest He takes in the superintendence of these sheep. It will likewise be manifest that a great and unspeakable reward will be reserved for him whose labors are concerned with these sheep, upon which Christ places such a high value. For when we see anyone bestowing care upon members of our household, we count his zeal for them as a sign of love towards ourselves; yet all these things are to be bought for money -- with how great a gift then will He requite those who tend the flock which He purchased, not with money, nor anything of that kind, but by His own death, giving His own Blood as the price of the herd.

His words were, "Peter, do you love Me more than these?" Yet He might have said to him, "If you love Me practice fasting, sleeping on the ground, and prolonged vigils, defend the wronged, be as a father to orphans, and supply the place of a husband to their mother." But as a matter of fact, setting aside all these things, what does He say? "Tend My sheep."

The priestly office is indeed discharged on earth, but it ranks among heavenly ordinances; and very naturally so; for neither man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor any other created power, but the Paraclete Himself, instituted this vocation, and persuaded men while still abiding in the flesh to represent the ministry of angels. Wherefore the consecrated priest ought to be as pure as if he were standing in the heavens themselves in the midst of those powers.

When you see the Lord sacrificed, and laid upon the altar, and the priest standing and praying over the Victim, can you then think that you are still among men, and standing upon the earth? Are you not, on the contrary, straightway translated to Heaven, and casting out every carnal thought from the soul, do you not with disembodied spirit and pure reason contemplate the things which are in Heaven? Oh what a marvel! What love of God to man! He Who sits on High with the Father is at that hour held in the hands of all, and gives Himself to those who are willing to embrace and grasp Him. And this all do through the eyes of faith!

If any one will consider how great a thing it is for one, being a man, and compassed with flesh and blood, to be enabled to draw near to that blessed and pure nature, he will then clearly see what great honor the grace of the Spirit has vouchsafed to priests. For they who inhabit the earth and make their abode there are entrusted with the administration of things which are in Heaven, and have received an authority which God has not given to angels or archangels. For it has not been said to them, "Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven" (Matthew 18:18). What authority could be greater than this? The Father has committed all judgment to the Son (cf. John 5:22). But I see it all put into the hands of these men by the Son. For they have been conducted to this dignity as if they were already translated to Heaven, and had transcended human nature, and were released from the passions to which we are liable. For transparent madness it is to despise so great a dignity, without which it is not possible to obtain either our own salvation, or the good things which have been promised to us.

~Saint John Chrysostom~

Adorned with All Virtues and All Graces

O Lord Jesus, my God, I give You thanks for Your boundless love, and for the favors bestowed upon the Angels and men, and upon the whole world, from the noblest and worthiest of all Your creatures, the most holy Virgin Mary, Your Mother, down to me the most unworthy of all, unfit to appear before You on account of my sins and ingratitude.

Be forever blessed, O infinitely good Jesus, Who has from all eternity chosen Mary, this matchless Virgin, to be Your Mother! You made her wholly Immaculate. You preserved her from all sin. You prepared and possessed her soul, and adorned it with the fullness of all virtues and all graces. You were conceived in her womb; she is Your Mother. You were nourished at her holy breast. You willed that she should be present at Your preaching and at the sufferings of Your Passion and death. You allowed her to take part in our redemption. And now that she has been taken up to Heaven in body and soul, and is crowned with very great glory, You have given her to us to be our advocate, the Queen of mercy, and our Mother. Praise, glory and honor be to You forever for all these benefits! Most sweet Jesus, I offer you the heart of Mary and her merits, and through her I commend myself to Your most kind Heart.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Mary, may I be all yours and you all mine! Keep me, guide me, deliver me, preserve me from all sin, from all harm, from all danger, and remove from me everything that might come between my soul and God.

~a Carthusian monk~