The Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

49. The Self-Offering of the Priest and Faithful

1. Bread and wine are now on the altar, set apart from profane use and dedicated to the service of the Sacrifice; soon their substance will disappear, and under their appearances Christ’s Body and Blood will be offered. In union with this divine Sacrifice, we should offer ourselves with all that we are and have. Where Christ, the Head, offers Himself, there the members of His mystical Body must also be offered together with Him. Thus the Church prays, that God would sanctify not only the elements of bread and wine just offered, but that He would also, by the Eucharistic Sacrifice, make us wholly worthy to be presented to Him as an eternal sacrificial gift.⁵²¹521Sanctifica, quaesumus Domine Deus noster, per tui sancti nominis invocationem hujus oblationis hostiam, et per eam nosmetipsos tibi perfice munus aeternum (Secreta in festo ss. Trinit.). This self-offering of the Christian people, united to Christ’s Sacrifice, has indeed been already symbolically effected in the previous offering of the wine mixed with water; but now the self-offering is to be made especially and expressly for the purpose of awakening and enlivening the more in the heart the sentiments of self-sacrifice. On this disposition the worthiness of the self-offering principally here depends: it imparts, first of all, to the offering of ourselves true value and the proper consecration, making of it an act of virtue pleasing to God and rich in blessing for ourselves. — This interior sentiment of prayer and of self-sacrifice is also a necessary requisite, then, to fit us to offer in a proper manner the Sacrifice of the Altar. For God favorably receives the Sacrifice from our hands and for our salvation, only when we present ourselves in the sanctuary, animated with pious and devout sentiments.

2. Therefore, the priest now in the name of all the faithful offering with him recites the following prayer of offering, during which in sentiments of humble compunction he makes a moderate inclination of the body, and, to express fervent supplication, he supports his joined hands on the altar.

In order perfectly to appreciate the full sense of these words, and to recite them in the proper spirit, we should remember by whom and in what place they were spoken for the first time. They are taken from a longer, humble, penitential prayer, recited by the three young men in the Babylonian furnace. Since, faithful to God’s law, they would not adore the statue of the king, they were cast into a furnace heated seven-fold. Praising God, they walked about in the flames which did them not the least harm. And because they were prevented from offering exterior legal sacrifices, they offer themselves as a propitiatory sacrifice for their sins and for those of their people, in order to obtain mercy. “In a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted (in animo contrito et spiritu humilitatis suscipiamur); so let our sacrifice be made in Thy sight this day, that it may please Thee (sic fiat sacrificium nostrum in conspectu tuo hodie, ut placeat tibi)” (Dan. 3, 39–40). In similar words, the celebrant here prays that the Lord would graciously receive him and the faithful people, for the sake of their humble, penitential sentiments, as a spiritual sacrifice; and if so accepted, then the Eucharistic Sacrifice, when offered by them, in the sight of God, with these dispositions will be such as God will behold and accept with pleasure from their hands.

The three young men were ready to offer their lives cheerfully in sacrifice to God by a bloody martyrdom; after their example we should present ourselves to God to suffer a life of perpetual sacrifice and an unbloody martyrdom. “As gold in the furnace He hath proved them and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them” (Wis. 3, 6). Thus should we also, filled with humility and compunction, offer ourselves to God as a holocaust in the furnace of suffering and tribulation, of persecution and temptations. A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit; a contrite and humbled heart He does not despise (Ps. 50, 19). Yes, a heart penetrated with penitential love and sorrow, a mind bowed down with compunction will always be favorably received and accepted by the Lord. It is the best disposition that we should bring with us to the altar. When the Lord breathed forth His spirit amid the darkness that enshrouded Mount Calvary, many of the beholders were seized with such fear and sorrow, that they returned to their homes striking their breast (Luke 23, 48). Should not we also be penetrated with regret and contrition, with a penitential sorrow, as often as we celebrate in the Mass the remembrance of Christ’s bloody death? “During this holy p. 216function,” writes St. Gregory the Great,⁵²²522Dial. IV, c. 59. “we must offer ourselves with compunction of heart as a sacrifice; for when we commemorate the mystery of the passion of our Lord, we must imitate that which we celebrate. The Mass will be a sacrifice for us to God, when we have made an offering of ourselves. But we should, moreover, after retirement from prayer, endeavor as far as we are able with God’s assistance, to keep our mind in recollection and renewed strength, so that passing thoughts may not distract it, nor vain joy find its way into the heart, and that thus our soul may not, by carelessness and fickleness, again lose the spirit of compunction it has acquired.” Our entire life should be a cheerful, uninterrupted offertory. We should present ourselves in body and soul⁵²³523Quid, fratres, nos offerimus aut quid retribuimus Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit nobis? Christus pro nobis obtulit hostiam pretiosiorem quam habuit, nimirum qua pretiosior esse non potuit—et nos ergo faciamus quod possumus, optimum quod habemus offerentes, quod sumus utique nosmetipsi. Ille seipsum obtulit: tu quis es qui teipsum offerre cuncteris? Quis mihi tribuat, ut oblationem meam dignetur majestas tanta suscipere? Duo minuta habeo, Domine, corpus et animam dico: utinam haec tibi perfecte possim in sacrificium laudis offerre! Bonum enim mihi longeque gloriosius atque utilius est, ut tibi magis offerar, quam ut deserar mihi ipsi. Nam ad meipsum anima mea conturbatur, in te vero exsultabit spiritus meus, si tibi veraciter offeratur (S. Bernard. De Purific. B. M. serm. 3, n. 3). as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God (Rom. 12, 1). “All the prayers and acts of divine worship, all the charitable and benevolent works, all the practices of mortification and penance, all the labor and fatigue, all the trials and sufferings of her militant children; all the pains and torments, all the patience and longing of her children suffering in the other world; all the virtues and merits, all the holiness and glory of her children already in heaven; the fruitful sweat of the Apostles, the vivifying blood of the martyrs, the devout tears of the anchorets, the chaste, loving sighs of the virgins, the great deeds and still greater fortitude of all the saints,—all these the Church places on her Divine Victim, all these she pours into the chalice of His holy sacrificial Blood” (Laurent).

The Holy Mass is the great heart of the whole body of the Church: whatever the Church, with her members, believes and hopes and loves and suffers and cares and prays for, all this she collects in Holy Mass into the common heart, and in and with the selfsame Sacrifice she carries it up to the throne of God. Whatever moves and affects the soul in joy and sorrow, in prosperity and adversity, in distress and death—we place upon the altar during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we place it directly upon the Heart of our Redeemer who is present, and we are sure of consolation and relief. Yes, all the children of the Church should unite in the offering, all the faithful should be incorporated into and offered along with the one, great and eternal Sacrifice. To all the events in the life of her children the Church would, by this Sacrifice, impart consecration, and p. 217thereby increase the happiness of her children, alleviate their distress, bless and sanctify their whole life and their death, so that at all times they may live unto the Lord and die in the Lord (Rom. 14, 8).⁵²⁴524Cf. Geissel, Schriften und Reden I, 461 etc.

50. The Oblation Invocation⁵²⁵525Cf. Hoppe, Die Epiklesis S. 248–273. — Franz, Die eucharistische Wandlung II, 187 etc.

The so-called Invocation,⁵²⁶526By the word ἐπίκλησις (from ἐπικαλέω) = invocation, a liturgical prayer is designated, which implores the consecration of the sacrificial elements and the imparting of the sacrificial fruits by the Holy Ghost, or at least through the Holy Ghost. that is, the prayer that, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, the Eucharistic Sacrificial gifts may be transubstantiated, is found in all liturgies. But in the Greek and in the Oriental it follows the act of Consecration; in the Roman it has its place among the oblation prayers, which precede the Consecration. Simple, yet expressive and majestic, are the ceremonies and words of this Invocation, that is, of the supplication that the Holy Ghost would deign to bless and change the sacrificial elements. — Just before, at the offering of himself, the priest took a posture full of humility; but now he again raises his person and lifts up his head, and in an erect posture he solemnly invokes the Holy Ghost, whilst looking heavenward, raising, extending, and then immediately joining his hands before his breast, and at the word benedic (bless), making at the same time the Sign of the Cross over the chalice and Host.⁵²⁷527In celebratione quisque calicem et oblata non circulo aut digitorum vacillatione, ut quidam faciunt, sed junctis et extensis digitis cruce signet sicque benedicat (Pontif. Roman. Ordo ad Synodum). While this ceremony symbolically represents the act of blessing implored of the Holy Ghost and consecrates the gifts, the raising of the eyes and the motion of the hands denote longing and desire for the descent of the Holy Ghost from on high, and for His benediction.

That this Invocation is directed to the Holy Ghost⁵²⁸528Mitte, Domine, quaesumus, Spiritum Sanctum, qui et haec munera praesentia nostra tuum nobis efficiat sacramentum, et ad hoc percipiendum nostra corda purificet (Sacrament. Leonian.). is beyond doubt.⁵²⁹529In the Mozarabic Missal this prayer is as follows: Veni sancte Spiritus sanctificator: sanctifica hoc sacrificium de manibus meis tibi praeparatum (Migne 85, 113). In the sacramentary manuscripts of the Middle Age it is, for instance, given as follows: Veni Sanctificator omnium, S. Spiritus, et sanctifica hoc praesens sacrificium ab indignis manibus praeparatum et descende in hanc hostiam invisibiliter, sicut in patrum hostias visibiliter descendisti. He is called Sanctificator (the Sanctifier) in the language p. 218of the Church to distinguish Him from the Father and the Son, because and inasmuch as the imparting of all sanctifying graces and charismatical gifts belongs and is ascribed to Him. — From this prayer it is clearly evident that up to the present the Sacrifice has been but “prepared”. For its object there is assigned the glorification of the divine “name”, that is, the acknowledgment and the praise of the infinite majesty and perfection of God. Only by honoring and adoring God do we obtain His gifts and graces; only inasmuch as we seek God’s honor and glory, do we secure our well-being and salvation. — Of the Sacrifice it is here especially said, that it is prepared in order to glorify and magnify among the nations the “name” of the Holy Ghost; for the Holy Ghost, with the Father and the Son, is one and the same “almighty, eternal God,” to whom alone sacrifice is due. — The concluding words implore the blessing of the Holy Ghost over the gifts of bread and wine. To understand this petition, three questions must be answered: What does benedicere (to bless) in general mean? What blessing is here asked? Why is this blessing expected only from the Holy Ghost?

Benedicere properly means to speak well, to say what is good. This can be done in many ways: if one already possesses the good that is said of him, then benedicere is to exalt, to magnify, to praise, to glorify the possessor; if a person (or thing) does not as yet possess the good, but if the speaker by his words wishes to procure it for him or to give it to him, then benedicere means speaking well for some one, wishing him something good, blessing him. In this we must especially distinguish as to the one who speaks the words of blessing. The blessing word of God is efficacious and all-powerful, it is an actual benefit and infallibly imparts good to the creature. — The liturgical blessing of the Church also is never without fruit, but it is always a “good wish imparting sanctification and good gifts;”⁵³⁰530Benedictio est sanctificationis et gratiarum votiva collatio (S. Ambros. De benedict. patr. c. 2). for Christ has commissioned her with full power to bless. — Finally, the simple faithful also may bless, that is, impart good by desire and prayer,⁵³¹531Dividi solet benedictio etiam in ecclesiasticam et laicam. Ecclesiastica vim habet ex meritis et intercessione Ecclesiae, et ex institutione ejusdem Ecclesiae competit solum ministris sacris, videlicet episcopis vel aliis sacerdotibus. — Benedictio vero laica vim habet ex merito personali eam conferentis: unde peti solet benedictio a viris sanctis vel etiam fundatur in auctoritate naturali, sicut ea quae confertur a parentibus suis filiis et utraque dici solet benedictio privata, quatenus confertur privata auctoritate; e contra benedictio ecclesiastica dicitur publica, quatenus confertur publica Ecclesiae auctoritate (Quarti, De bened. t. 1, s. 1, d. 2). but this blessing is evidently not always crowned with success.⁵³²532Benedicere est bonum dicere. Contingit autem bonum dicere tripliciter. Uno modo enuntiando, puta cum quis bonum alterius laudat. — Alio modo imperando, et sic benedicere per auctoritatem est proprium Dei, cujus imperio bonum ad creaturas derivatur; ministerium autem pertinet ad ministros Dei, qui nomen Domini super populum invocant. — Tertio benedicit quis optando, et secundum hoc benedicere est bonum alicui velle et quasi bonum pro aliquo precari (S. Thom. in Epist. ad Rom. c. 12, lect. 3).

In this place there is question especially of the blessing of consecration, which is to be effected by the descent of the Holy Spirit. No higher blessing can assuredly be imparted to the gifts prepared, than that they be consecrated, that is, changed into the Body and Blood of Christ by the almighty power of the Holy Ghost. The material elements of the Sacrifice receive the most perfect blessing imaginable, in that they become Christ’s Body and Blood offered in sacrifice, which again on their part are sources of blessing, that is, of life and salvation to us.⁵³³533The Eucharist is blessing (benedictio, εὐλογία) in its highest meaning. It is for the gracious presence of the Divine Victim and for the plenitude of blessing flowing from His wounds—that the priest prays, while with the Sign of the Cross he blesses and sanctifies the gifts on the altar. Since he implores of the Holy Spirit the miracle of the Eucharistic Consecration, he invokes the Holy Ghost as the “almighty, eternal God” who, by reason of His unlimited power, can bestow and impart every blessing.

Why, finally, is the third Person of the Deity—the Holy Ghost—invoked, to change the material elements by His almighty blessing into heavenly sacrificial gifts? The proximate reason lies in the analogy which the Consecration bears to the Incarnation. The great similarity and manifold relation between the accomplishment of the Eucharist on the altar and the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God in the bosom of the Immaculate Virgin Mary are often commented on by the Fathers, and are expressed also in the liturgy.⁵³⁴534Thus, for example, on the feast of Corpus Christi the Christmas Preface and the concluding stanza Jesu, tibi sit gloria—Qui natus es de virgine are prescribed. Altari tuo, Domine, superposita munera Spiritus Sanctus assumat, qui hodie beatae Mariae viscera splendoribus suae virtutis replevit (Sacr. Gregor.). — The Incarnation is, in a manner, renewed and enlarged in the Eucharistic Consecration—and that at all times as well as in numberless places.⁵³⁵535St. Chrysostom compares (De beato Philog. hom. 6) altar and crib, remarking that on them the Body of Christ reposes no longer wrapped in swaddling bands, but wholly reclothed by the Holy Ghost (πνεύματι πανταχόθεν ἁγίῳ περιστελλόμενον). — An instrument customary in the Greek liturgy and known by the name of star (ἀστήρ, ἀστερίσκος) also reminds us of the Incarnation. It consists of two intersecting arcs turned downwards. Assuredly the asterisk serves, in the first place, as a protecting cover for the Eucharistic Bread, that—especially after the Consecration—it may not be touched by the velum spread over it; at the same time it symbolizes by its appearance the star that stood over the place where the Child Jesus lay. When, therefore, the priest has incensed the asterisk, and placed it on the discus under the veil, he says: καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ ἀστὴρ ἔστη ἐπάνω οὗ ἦν τὸ παιδίον (et veniens stella adstitit ubi erat puer). In like manner and for the same reason is it that the miracles of the Incarnation and Consecration are ascribed to the efficacy of the Holy Ghost.⁵³⁶536Quando congruentius quam ad consecrandum sacrificium corporis Christi sancta Ecclesia (quae corpus est Christi) Spiritus sancti deposcat adventum, quae ipsum caput suum secundum carnem de Spiritu sancto noverit natum? (S. Fulgent. Ad Monim. l. 2, c. 10.) This happens because both mysteries, being works of divine favor and love, as well as works full of infinite purity and holiness, have a special resemblance to the peculiar character of the Holy Ghost, who is personal love and sanctity.⁵³⁷537Opus incarnationis manifestativum est divinae bonitatis et caritatis: sed hoc appropriatur Spiritui sancto.… In incarnatione fuit copiosissima divinae bonitatis effusio (S. Bonav. III, dist. 4, a. 1, q. 1). — Quoniam liberalitas Spiritui Sancto appropriatur et sanctificatio Virginis, in qua peracta fuit Verbi conceptio, hinc est, quod licet opus illud sit a tota Trinitate, per appropriationem tamen dicitur Virgo concepisse de Spiritu sancto (S. Bonav. Brevil. IV, c. 3). Therefore, although in reality all the three Divine Persons⁵³⁸538Sanctifica, quaesumus, Domine Deus noster, per Unigeniti tui virtutem hujus oblationis hostiam, et cooperante Spiritu sancto, per eam nosmetipsos tibi perfice munus aeternum (Sacram. Gregor.). accomplish the act of Consecration, yet it is most frequently ascribed to the power of the Holy Ghost.⁵³⁹539The golden or silver vessel for the preservation of the Holy of Holies had often, in ancient Christian times, the form of a dove, and was, therefore, called columba, περιστερά, περιστέριον. This dove-like vessel indicated in a realistic manner, that the blessed Body of Christ, concealed therein, was formed by the Holy Ghost (Sanctusque columbae—Spiritus in specie Christum vestivit honore—Sedulius), and was, at the same time, a symbol of Christ (Tu mihi, Christe, columba potens—Sanguine pasta cui cedit avis—the bird nourished with blood [eagle] is a symbol of Satan. — Prudent. Cathem. III, 166). As it is said in the Creed, that the Son of God “became incarnate by the Holy Ghost, of the Virgin Mary,” we also acknowledge that the Holy Ghost, by His creative power as “Lord and Dispenser of life,” changes the inanimate elements of bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. “How shall this be done,” says the holy Virgin, “because I know not man?” The Archangel Gabriel, answering, said to her: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.” “And now you ask: How shall the bread become the Body of Christ, and the wine, mingled with water, become the Blood of Christ? And I also answer you: The Holy Ghost shall overshadow each and shall effect that which is beyond language and conception.”⁵⁴⁰540S. Joan. Damasc. De fide orthod. l. 4, c. 13. “We invoke our merciful God, that He would send down the Holy Ghost upon the gifts before us, we invoke Him that He change the bread into the Body of Christ and the wine into the Blood of Christ. Whatever the Holy Ghost but touches is sanctified and changed. That which lies on the altar as an offering is holy after it has received the descent of the Holy Ghost.”⁵⁴¹541S. Cyrill. Hieros. Catech. myst. V, n. 7. 19. — “You must believe that which was announced is now done by the fire of the Holy Ghost (per ignem divini Spiritus id effectum quod annuntiatum est credas): for what you receive is the Body of that heavenly bread and the Blood of that holy vine. When Christ gave the consecrated bread and the consecrated wine to His disciples, He said: ‘This is My Body! This is My Blood!’ Let us, therefore,—I beseech you—accept the word of Him whom we have (heretofore in other p. 221instances) believed! Truth hath no commerce with lying (nescit mendacium Veritas)!”⁵⁴²542S. Gaudent. Serm. 2.

The Holy Ghost, consequently, effects the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ, and one that is full of grace—in view of the salvation of the faithful, and inasmuch as they are to draw therefrom the fulness of graces, light, purification, sanctification, strength and fervor. Hence it is certainly not without a deeper signification that almost all the preparatory prayers of the priest for Holy Mass, as given in the Missal and recommended by the Church, invoke the Holy Ghost.⁵⁴³543We mean the concluding prayers of the Preparation: Aures tuae pietatis.… Ure igne S. Spiritus, etc. — In the very ancient Oratio s. Ambrosii, that has been likewise inserted in the Missal, among the preparatory prayers of the priest we read: Peto clementiam tuam, Domine, ut descendat super panem tibi sacrificandum plenitudo tuae benedictionis et sanctificatio tuae divinitatis. Descendat etiam, Domine, illa Sancti Spiritus tui invisibilis incomprehensibilisque majestas sicut quondam in patrum hostias descendebat, qui et oblationes nostras Corpus et Sanguinem tuum efficiat et me indignum sacerdotem doceat tantum tractare mysterium cum cordis puritate. This prayer is originally from St. Anselm (Or. 29).

51. The Incensing of the Sacrificial Gifts at Solemn High Mass

1. The oblation-rites considered up to this point (in Missa solemni) are followed most beautifully and symbolically by the incensing,⁵⁴⁴544“Otherwise the incensing follows after the offering of the bread and wine, thus on great feast days at High Mass during the Little Canon it enhances the devotion of the faithful” (Tewtsch Rational Kap. 8, § 4). which has been observed in the Roman liturgy in this part of the Mass since the eleventh or twelfth century.⁵⁴⁵545Romanus Ordo praecipit, ut incensum semper praecedat Evangelium, cum ad altare sive in ambonem portatur; non autem concedit, ut oblatio in altari thurificetur, quod et Amalarius in prologo libri sui de Officiis Romanos devitare fatetur, quamvis modo a pluribus, imo paene ab omnibus usurpetur (Microlog. De eccles. observat. c. 9. — Cfr. Krazer Sect. IV, art. 1, cap. 8, § 251). This incensing partly differs from the one that took place at the Introit of the Mass, since it has a richer rite and a more significant symbolism. When we go into particulars, we shall see that this exalted and grand ceremony is a poetical development and extension of the preceding Offertory.⁵⁴⁶546Cf. Köln. Pastoralbl. 1875, No. 2. 3.

First, by virtue of the Sign of the Cross and an impressive prayer for its blessing, the incense is made a Sacramental, that is, something holy, which has not only a holy meaning, but also a wholesome effect. While the priest puts the grains of incense on the live coals, he says:

The prayers of the Church are always heard. In this instance she prays verbally and with the Sign of the Cross, that the Lord would bless the incense and graciously accept it as a thing dedicated to His service.⁵⁴⁷547Incense is also a material offering made to the Lord in connection with the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This connection of the incensing with our Sacrifice is, according to some, mentioned in Mal. 1, 11, where the Hebrew word, rendered by sacrificatur, is properly = suffitur. To obtain a fuller answer to her petition, the Church has recourse to the intercession and mediation of the holy Archangel Michael and all the elect of God. The name of St. Michael⁵⁴⁸548On account of the addition stantis a dextris altaris incensi, which in St. Luke, 1, 11–19 is stated literally of the Archangel Gabriel, there is to be found in many of the more ancient Missals the name of Gabriel instead of Michael; therefore, many liturgists would have this prayer thus changed. But they are mistaken. For well established reasons the Church adheres to the name of Michael; she will here invoke the Archangel Michael. The name of Michael is, consequently, not from oversight or by mistake placed in this benediction prayer, but that of Gabriel would be (cf. S. R. C. 25. Sept. 1705). occurs in the Confiteor and it is again mentioned in this place, because he is at the head of the angelic choirs, and, at the same time, the heavenly protector of the Church on earth. It certainly is proper that the Church at the moment when there is question of a favorable reception of her offering, symbolized by the incense, should invoke her great and powerful protector in heaven, St. Michael, for his assistance and intercession. This is all the more appropriate, because by incensing the sacrificial gifts, she would emulate the celestial choirs in paying homage to the Divine Lamb on the throne; for when the earthly altar of the Church is enveloped in clouds of incense, it is in the eyes of all truly indeed a figure of the heavenly Holy of Holies, which is perpetually fragrant with the prayers of the blessed. — St. Michael stands at the right hand of the altar of incense, that is, he presents before the face of God in golden censers the incense of prayer and sacrifice. On Mount Gargano St. Michael appeared with a censer in his hand, on the spot where a church was to be built; hence it is said of him in the Office of the Church: “The angel stood before the altar of the temple, having a golden censer in his hand;” an unmistakable allusion is here made to the vision of the heavenly altar which St. John saw (Apoc. 8, 3–4).

The sacrificial gifts—the bread and the wine mixed with water—are first incensed by swinging the censer three times in the form of a cross and then three times in the form of a circle over the Host and chalice,⁵⁴⁹549Sicut per altare significatur Christus, ita etiam et quidem expressius per Oblata in Christi corpus et sanguinem convertenda, et idcirco sicut in thurificatione altaris per odorem, qui inde emanat, significatur effectus gratiae, qui a Christo derivatur ad fideles, ita in hac thurificatione, qua incensantur Oblata, per odorem inde emanantem significatur effectus uberrimus gratiarum ex sacrificio provenientium, in quo Christus est hostia. Ducitur autem thuribulum primo per modum crucis, quia fructus gratiarum hujus sacrificii incruenti a sacrificio crucis tanquam a fonte proveniunt; secundo etiam ter ducitur circumcirca a dextris et a sinistris, ut indicetur, nos usquequaque adjuvari virtute sacrificii in prosperis et adversis (Quarti, Comment. in Rubr. Miss. p. 2, tit. 7, n. 10). while the following prayer is recited:

The rite and prayer constitute the symbolical representation of the previous offering. The separation and dedication of the sacrificial gifts consists in this, that they are enveloped in a holy atmosphere by the swinging of the censer, containing the fragrant, hallowed incense, in the form of a cross and in the form of a circle. — The grains of incense, consumed in the fire and ascending heavenward as an agreeable sacrificial odor, also symbolically express the petition, that the substance of the material elements, by the fire of the Holy Ghost, be changed into the Divine Victim, under the appearances of bread and wine.⁵⁵⁰550Sacrificia, Domine, tuis oblata conspectibus, ignis ille divinus absumat, qui discipulorum Christi Filii tui per Spiritum sanctum corda succendit (Orat. secret. fer. VI. p. Pent.). — The incense, ascending in clouds and descending upon the faithful and spreading round about, indicates that the Eucharistic Sacrifice may be accepted for the salvation of the faithful and of the whole world.

2. Thus by the incensing a hallowed circle has been drawn around the sacrificial gifts; the incensing is now continued and extended to the Crucifix on the altar, or the Blessed Sacrament, to the relics or images of the saints, to the altar itself, to the celebrant together with his attendants, to the clergy and people present. This incensing rite is but the further representation and development of the oblation ideas which were just before expressed in the prayer: “May this incense which Thou hast blessed, O Lord, ascend to Thee, and may Thy mercy descend upon us.”

The burning, fragrant incense, which goes up in light clouds, symbolizes the Eucharistic Sacrifice⁵⁵¹551Eucharistia vocatur incensum vel thymiama. Primo, quia continet Christi corpus quasi hostiam Deo in ara crucis igne caritatis incensam, quae quasi thymiama odorem suavissimum Deo exhalavit, quo ejus iram placavit eumque hominibus reconciliavit. Secundo, quia Eucharistia conficitur et conditur sacris precibus, quae sunt thymiama Deo.… Denique Eucharistia vocatur incensum, quia non tantum repraesentat, sed et re ipsa continet Christum in ara crucis pro nobis incensum, i. e. dolore et amore tostum Deoque sacrificatum (Cornel. a Lapide in Malach. 1, 11).; and also the oblation prayers connected therewith, in which the celebrant’s interior dispositions and those of the devout participants manifest themselves.⁵⁵²552Thymiama sunt ignitae orationes, suspiria et vota tam sacerdotum quam fidelium, dum Eucharistiam vel consecrant et conficiunt, vel sumunt et manducant (Cornel. a Lapide l. c.). This is clearly evinced by the verses of the Psalm which accompany the sacred ceremony of incensing. — By the three swings of the censer (ductu triplici) the prayer and sacrifice of adoration are offered to the three Divine Persons, either in the figure of the Crucifix or in the Blessed Sacrament.⁵⁵³553When the Blessed Sacrament is not exposed, the Cross on the altar forms the principal visible object and is, therefore, the first to be incensed after the offerings; coram exposito it should not be incensed in case it should, according to the custom of some places, be on the altar. The Blessed Sacrament enclosed in the tabernacle is not incensed, but it is adored before and after the incensing of the Crucifix by the genuflection of the celebrant and the ministri. — Relics and images are incensed,⁵⁵⁴554As a distinction from the Cross on the altar, they are incensed only ductu duplici (first, those on the Gospel side, then those on the Epistle side); the inclinations of the head which precede are not made to them, but to the Cross. — Pictures painted on the wall of the altar are not incensed, but only pictures or statues placed on the altar (though even no relics are enclosed in them). — If relics, besides pictures of the saints, are on the altar, the relics only, and not the pictures, are incensed. If at Christmastide the image of the Divine Infant, and at Eastertide that of the Risen Saviour be exposed for public veneration in a prominent place of the altar (principi loco super altari), then it must likewise be incensed after the Cross on the altar triplici ductu. (Cfr. S. R. C. 15. Febr. 1873.) to honor the saints and, at the same time, to express thereby the desire we entertain that our sacrifice and prayers, supported by their powerful intercession, may be favorably received, that is, be made the more pleasing to God and profitable to ourselves. — The clouds of incense which envelop the altar from all sides, indicate that, at the moment of Consecration, it becomes a mystical Mount Calvary, a mysterious mountain of myrrh and hill of frankincense (Cant. 4, 6), from which ascend to heaven the sweetest odor of sacrifice and the most delightful perfume of prayer. — The words said while incensing the Cross and altar are as follows (Ps. 140, 2–4):

David, an exile in the wilderness and, therefore, far removed from the sanctuary in Jerusalem, begs of the Lord that He would deign to receive his prayerful pleading, made with uplifted hands, with the same favor as He received the evening incense and food-offering which terminated the daily sacrificial service. But well aware that God willingly answers the prayer of man, only when it proceeds from clean lips and a pure heart, he utters the additional petition: Guard and protect my mouth, close my lips, that I sin not with my tongue—and if through weakness I have sinned in the past, grant by Thy powerful grace, that at least my heart may not swerve from the straight path, and that it may not, for the purpose of self-justification, still add, through excessive pride, excuse to excuse for sin. — Incomparably more profound and abundant is the meaning which these words of the Psalm have in the mouth of the incensing priest. While fragrant clouds of incense envelop the altar and ascend on high, the celebrant implores above all and most fervently that his sacrificial prayers and those of the faithful may, in union with Christ’s most holy Sacrifice, ascend direct to the throne of God as an odor equally agreeable and precious, and that they may draw down upon those who are praying and sacrificing the divine good pleasure.⁵⁵⁶556Declinante jam die in vesperum Dominus in cruce animam deposuit recepturus, non amisit invitus.… Illud ergo est sacrificium vespertinum, passio Domini, crux Domini, oblatio victimae salutaris, holocaustum acceptum Deo. Illud sacrificium vespertinum fecit in resurrectione munus matutinum. Oratio ergo pure directa de corde fideli tanquam de ara sancta surgit incensum. Nihil est delectabilius odore Domini: sic oleant omnes qui credunt (S. Aug. Enarr. in Ps. 140, n. 5). To this petition the following additional one is appropriately joined, that the Lord would Himself, by His grace, assist those present to attain and preserve the interior disposition, which, before all, is requisite to render prayer acceptable to God. If prayer is to ascend in a manner agreeable to God as a spiritual odor of sacrifice, then it should proceed from a heart and from lips that are not profaned by worldly and sinful conversation, or that have, at least, by a sincere, humble and contrite confession of sins been purified anew. He who has sinned, must beware of alleging all kinds of pretexts and plausible reasons in excuse and in palliation of his evil conduct. The tongue sins with great facility and in manifold ways: when it speaks at a time in which it should be silent, or when it is silent when it should speak; it sins in the matter and in the manner of its speech. It is very difficult to govern and control perfectly this unruly member, the tongue; hence the priest prays for the assistance of God’s grace, to which, however, must be added one’s energetic co-operation.

If in the previous act of incensing, the petition for a gracious acceptance of the Sacrifice and of prayer assumed the character of a striking symbolism under the figure of smoking incense, then the additional act (of incensing the celebrant, clergy and people) is principally a symbolic expression of the desire that the divine mercy may sweetly and plentifully descend on all assisting at Holy Mass. Inasmuch as the fragrant clouds of incense penetrate everywhere and from the altar spread throughout the entire house of God, they symbolize the sweet fruit of the Sacrifice and of prayer, that is, the divine good pleasure and complacency, the divine benediction of grace. Grace is dispensed from the Sacrifice, first to the priest and through his ministrations to the faithful. This idea is conveyed in the ceremony of incensing, first, the celebrant, then the clergy and finally the faithful.⁵⁵⁷557Ritus incensandi eos, qui Missae assistunt in choro et in ecclesia, laudabilis et conveniens est: tum quia laudabile est, moderatum honorem exhibere iis, qui Missae deserviunt et assistunt, tanquam Christi fidelibus; tum ob significationem, quia pie exprimitur, virtutum odorem a Christo derivari ad fideles officio ministrorum secundum illud (2 Cor. 2, 14): “Odorem notitiae suae spargit per nos in omni loco.” Et ideo, ut docet S. Thom. (3, q. 83, a. 5 ad 2), undique thurificato altari, per quod Christus designatur, thurificantur omnes per ordinem (Quarti, l. c. tit. 4, sect. 1, dub. 3). — At the same time the incensing of persons co-operating in and assisting at the Sacrifice contains, moreover, a lesson and an admonition to them ever to be mindful of their priestly dignity, of their nobility as members of Christ and temples of the Holy Ghost, that by their conduct they may spread everywhere the good odor of piety and godliness. — That this incensing is also to be understood as a mark of honor, as a religious distinction in favor of all those who are incensed, is self-evident from what has been said of the signification and use of incense in general. When the priest returns the censer to the deacon, he says: Accendat in nobis Dominus ignem sui amoris, et flammam aeternae caritatis. Amen. — “May the Lord enkindle within us the fire of His love and the flame of eternal charity. Amen.” With these words the celebrant finally expresses the desire that Christ the Lord would, by the grace of His Sacrifice, enkindle in all that inflamed and ardent love which is the real and deepest source whence rises aloft the incense-offering of prayer, with a right intention, without being misled by worldly-mindedness, as also with constant devotion; without being carried away by sinful distractions.⁵⁵⁸558Mystica sunt vas, thus, ignis, quia vase notatur—mens pia, thure preces, igne supernus amor. And this wish the Lord will assuredly fulfil, since He Himself came to bring this pure, heavenly fire upon the earth, and He desires nothing more than that it be kindled in all hearts and that it continue to burn without ever being extinguished (Luke 12, 49).