The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-10-29


Ollie Worship" This sermon was
prepared by the Rev. Frank o'Far
rell, pastor of St. Matthew's church.
kalispeli, Mont.
"PREFAcE AND THE sANcTus."
We read in the Holy Scripture that
before changing bread and wine into
His own body and blood at the Last
Supper, Christ gave thanks to His
heavenly Father. In imitation of this
example of her divine founder, the
of the Mass, the hymn of thanksgiv.
ing known as the preface, which
means forward" 1t is the prologue
to the canon of the Mass. The custom
of saying the preface dates back to
apostolic times. The eastern liturgies
ming, whilst in the western rite the
number of prefaces steadily grew dur
ing the early centuries. At the time
of Pope Gregory the Great (590-610)
the number of prefaces in the western
rite was reduced to 10. Pope Urban
preface for the feasts of the Blessed
Virgin, and finally, Pope Benedict XIV,
gave us two more special prefaces,
one for the feasts of st. Joseph and
one for the Masses of the dead. Thus
we have 10 in all.
Today, we shall explain the COM
mon or ordinary preface, which is
said at all Masses not having one of
the special prefaces. You will notice
that the preface begins with little
dialogue between priest and people,
and closes with the chant of the an
gels. The ordinary preface has these
parts in common with the special
prefaces, while it differs from them
in the words found in the body of the
preface, which vary according to the
season of the ecclesiastical year or
the sacred mystery, which the church
specially commentaries on certain
days.
The First Words.
The first words of the preface are
but the concluding words of the secret
prayer. The priest gives out these
words in a loud tone of voice to call
TO signify this union of sentiment
with the priest, the people through the
server reply, amen" The priest and
people then hail one another in the
usual manner by saying, THE Lord be
with you," and and with thy spirit"
Hitherto the celebrant always turn
ed to the congregation when address
ing to them these words of saluta-
ton. Now, however, since he has en-
tered the Holy of Holes of the Mass,
like Moses whom the Lord led into
cloud on the mountain (Eccles. XIV,
15), he shall turn no more towards the
people, nor shall they see his face
again until the great sacrifice is COM
pleted.
After this exchange of salutations,
the priest invites those present to set
aside all earthly thoughts and to fix
the eyes of their mind on the heaven
ly things soon to materialize on the
altar, by saying, Lift up your hearts
to God" To emphasize the thought
contained in these words. the priest
raises his hands from the altar in &C.
cordance with the admonition of the
prophet: LET us raise our hearts to-
gether with our hands to the Lord in
the heavens" Liam. III, 40 To this
the people reply, "We have them lifted
up to the Lord" The priest follows up
his invitation to the people to raise
their hearts to God by specifying the
distinct purpose he has here in view,
namely the praising of God, who call
ed us, though most unworthy, to the
celebration of the divine mysteries:
Let us give thanks unto the Lord our
Cod" While uttering these words, the
priest joins his hands and bows his
head to the crucifix to signify the rev.
erence and ardor of his innermost
thoughts. The people reply: ct is
meet and just that we give thanks"
The Preface.
Now begins the preface proper. The
priest confirms and evolves the last
response of the people, addressing
his words to God the Father: at is
truly meet and just, right and salu-
tary that we should always and in all
places give thanks to Thee, o holy
Lord, Father Almighty, eternal God,
through Christ our Lord
'It is meet" that is, it is fitting to
thank Cod 1t BELTS Doth His dignity
and ours, it acknowledges Him to be
the source of all blessings, and it re-
veals the nobility of our nature, for
gratitude is the sign of a noble soul.
'Tt is just to thank God, not in the
sense that we. can make adequate re-
turns for His favors, but in the sense
that we are obliged to repay Him as
far as we are able.
''It is right" to thank God, not that
the letter of the law requires it, but
that the sense of propriety and equity
demands it in view of Gods infinite
goodness and mercy towards us.
But it is not only meet and just, it.
is eminently salutary that we return
thanks to God. For gratitude blesses
him that gives and pleases him that
takes. The thanks of the grateful
leper and the hymn of thanksgiving
of the three young men in the furnace
at Babylon we're most pleasing to God.
Gratitude is the key that unlocks the
treasure-house of divine grace and is
the surest means of obtaining fresh
favors from God