The Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass

67. The Liturgical Act of the Fraction of the Host and the Mingling of the Consecrated Elements

The breaking of the Host is connected with the concluding formula belonging to the Embolism: Per eundem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen. While the priest says in silence: “Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son,” with both hands he holds the Host over the chalice and reverently breaks it in half, one half of which he lays with his right hand on the paten; and while continuing: “Who liveth and reigneth with Thee,” from the other half he breaks from below¹⁰⁰¹1001Pars inferior praecidi debet (S. R. C. 4. Aug. 1663). a particle and holds it firmly in the right hand; after which he proceeds: “in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God,” and at the same time joining the other half in the left hand with that on the paten in such wise that the Host again appears entire and round;—at the last words: “World without end,” to which the acolyte answers Amen, the priest raises his voice, and then says aloud: Pax † Domini sit † semper vobis†cum—“May the peace † of the Lord be † always with † you,” while with the small particle he makes the sign of the Cross three times over the chalice. After the acolyte has given to this salutation the answer: Et cum spiritu tuo—“And with thy spirit,” the priest drops the particle of the Host into the chalice, and whilst doing so he says, not aloud, but in silence:¹⁰⁰²1002In the Mozarabic Rite the prayer for the mingling is as follows: Sancta sanctis (τὰ ἅγια τοῖς ἁγίοις) et conjunctio corporis (et sanguinis) D. N. J. Ch. sit sumentibus (= edentibus) et potantibus nobis ad veniam, et defunctis fidelibus praestetur ad requiem;—in the Ambrosian Missal: Commixtio consecrati corporis et sanguinis D. N. J. Ch. nobis edentibus et sumentibus (= potantibus) proficiat ad vitam et gaudium sempiternum.

The liturgical fraction of the Host and the mingling of the consecrated elements is a rite very simple, but exceedingly rich in mysteries. This small portion of the Eucharistic Celebration is of profound significance and of the highest importance; this is even proved by the circumstance that this rite of the fraction and the mingling, although greatly modified, yet as to its essential features is found to agree in the liturgies of all countries and times. Even if this rite in former times was occasioned and influenced by natural reasons and considerations, still it is to be absolutely held that both the fraction and the mingling have a higher symbolical signification. In their explanation, it must not be forgotten that the breaking and mingling of the consecrated elements are intimately connected, that is, constitute a liturgical whole.

1. The Fraction of the Host (fractio, κλάσις). — The great importance of this rite is already indicated by the fact that the bishop after the ordination of the newly ordained priests, urges them to carefully study the entire rite of the Mass, before they celebrate, especially the Consecration, the Fraction and the Communion. Although here the fraction of the Host is mentioned together with the Consecration and Communion, still it would be erroneous to describe it as an essential or even as an integral part of the Eucharistic Sacrificial action.¹⁰⁰³1003Fractio hostiae consecratae et quod una sola pars mittatur in calicem, respicit corpus mysticum, sicut admixtio aquae significat populum et ideo horum praetermissio non facit imperfectionem sacrificii, ut propter hoc sit necesse aliquid reiterare circa celebrationem hujus sacramenti (S. Thom. 3, q. 83, a. 6 ad 6). The ritual fraction of the Host is, indeed, very significant in the constitution of the sacrificial celebration, but in no wise does it touch upon the essence or integrity of the Sacrifice. — The peculiar importance of this breaking of the Host is manifold. At one time it is done in imitation of what the Lord did at the Last Supper, when He broke the Eucharistic Bread before distributing it (fregit deditque); hence in the early ages, the Eucharistic Sacrifice and Communion celebration were designated by the name of the breaking of bread (fractio panis—cf. Act. 2, 42; 20, 7. 11. 1 Cor. 10, 16). — Consequently, the liturgical breaking of the Host has a profound significance in a twofold connection, first, with the preceding sacrificial action, and, secondly, with the Communion which follows.

The Host is broken in order more vividly to represent in a liturgical manner the Eucharist’s character as a Sacrifice; for the breaking symbolizes in an expressive way Christ’s violent and bloody death on the Cross, inasmuch as it indicates that wounding and lacerating which caused the separation of His soul from His body, that is, brought about and resulted in His death.¹⁰⁰⁴1004Sicut species sacramentales sunt sacramentum corporis Christi veri, ita fractio hujusmodi specierum est sacramentum dominicae passionis, quae fuit in corpore Christi vero (S. Thom. 3, q. 77, a. 7). In the fraction of the Host, Christ is figured as the Lamb that was slain and bruised for our sins (Is. 53, 5). The breaking of the Host, therefore, expresses the same as is represented by the double Consecration under the two different and separate appearances. To this is added the circumstance that the Host is broken over the chalice.¹⁰⁰⁵1005In the eleventh century the Host was broken on the paten. Archidiaconus patenam osculatam dat uni ex diaconibus tenendam, ad confractionem in ea faciendam. Unde sacerdos sine ministro sacrificans ad eundem locum eam de sub corporali absconditam resumit et osculatam in altari deponit, ut hostiam in ea confringat (Microl. c. 17). This rite may be founded especially on great reverence towards the Most Holy Sacrament, so that any loose particles may fall into the Precious Blood¹⁰⁰⁶1006Super calicem frangitur, ne minutiae spargantur, sed in ejus concavitate caute recipiantur (Durand. Ration. l. 4, c. 51).; but, nevertheless, the breaking can have, besides, and it really has a mystical signification.¹⁰⁰⁷1007Confractio et commixtio corporis Domini tantis mysteriis declarata antiquitus sanctis Patribus fuit, ut dum sacerdos oblationem frangeret, videbatur quasi Angelus Dei membra fulgentis pueri cultro concaedere et sanguinem ejus in calicem excipiendo colligere (S. Germanus, Expositio brevis antiquae Liturgiae Gallicanae [Migne 72, 94]). The fraction of the Eucharistic Bread over the chalice is intended to indicate that the Blood contained in the chalice proceeds from the broken, that is, from the wounded and mangled Body of Christ, and, therefore, belongs to it and is one with it, and with it constitutes but one Sacrifice and one Sacrificial Gift.¹⁰⁰⁸1008Fractio significat passionem Domini . . . frangitur autem supra calicem propter reverentiam Sacramenti, ne aliqua ejus particula aliorsum prosiliat . . . praeterea ad significandum, quod in fractione, h. e. in vulneratione corporis Christi, sanguis, qui in calice continetur, continue fluxit de corpore (Gabr. Biel, Expos. Can. Miss. lect. 80).

That the fraction of the Eucharistic species has also a connection with Communion, that is, is a preparation and introduction to it, is universally acknowledged; for “to break the bread” means the same as to prepare it for food, to present or distribute it for participation.¹⁰⁰⁹1009“The breaking of the Body takes place at the sacred Banquet; on the Cross it did not occur, but rather the contrary, since it is said: ‘ Neither shall you break a bone thereof ’ (Exod. 12, 46). What He did not suffer on the Cross, He suffers for thy sake at the Holy Sacrifice, and He permits Himself to be broken that He may satiate all” (St. Chrysostom, 24th Homily on 1 Cor. 10, 27). But this connection ought to be more deeply and more fully understood. The fraction characterizes the Eucharistic Bread of Life as a sacrificial food; for it means that the Body of Christ broken for us, that is, sacrificed, is given in Communion to be eaten. The Lord Himself has promised: “The (heavenly) bread, that I will give (sacrifice), is My flesh for the life of the world” (John 6, 52). Inasmuch as Christ gave His Body to God for us in His bloody death of the Cross, and daily on the altar gives it in a mystical sacrificial death—which twofold giving is symbolized by the liturgical breaking of the Host—, He makes it a sacrificial food, which is administered and partaken of in Holy Communion.

According to the Roman rite the consecrated bread, at least since the ninth century, is divided into three parts, as is still done¹⁰¹⁰; all three parts are consumed by the celebrant, the two larger together, the smallest with the sacred Blood, into which it was dropped. — Formerly the usage was somewhat different. As the Hosts were much larger, one of these three parts was subdivided into several particles and used differently, that is, distributed to those present, or sent to the absent,¹⁰¹¹1011Sacerdos rumpit hostiam ex dextro latere juxta Ordinem ad designandam dominici lateris percussionem. Deinde majorem partem in duo confringit, ut tres portiones de corpore dominico efficere possit. Nam unam in calicem, faciendo crucem, mittere debet, cum dicit: “Pax Domini . . .”, ad designandum corporis et animae conjunctionem in resurrectione Christi. Alteram vero ipse presbyter necessario sumit ante calicis participationem juxta dominicam institutionem. Tertiam autem communicaturis sive infirmis necessario dimittit (Microl. c. 17). — Diaconus sacerdoti offerat patenam, in qua sacerdos corpus Domini tripliciter dividat, quarum partium unam sacerdos calici immittens “Pax Domini” alta voce dicendo, protinus subdat secrete: “Fiat commixtio corporis et sanguinis Domini nobis accipientibus in vitam aeternam.” Alia se, diaconum subdiaconumque communicet. Tertiam viaticum, si opus fuerit, in patena usque ad finem Missae reservet; si autem opus non fuerit, tertiam sacerdos aut unus ministrorum accipiat (Joann. Abrincens. [† 1079], De offic. eccles.). or put into the chalice at the next sacrificial celebration.¹⁰¹²1012A particle previously consecrated was preserved and united to the Precious Blood at the following Sacrifice, to represent, in all probability, the continual succession of the Sacrifice, as well as the unity of the last with the present celebration (Fortasse ut sacrificii unitas et perpetuitas hoc ritu inculcaretur—Mabillon). Participation in the same Holy Sacrifice was regarded as a sign and pledge of ecclesiastical Communion; mutually to prove and maintain this, Popes and bishops sent to other bishops, or priests too, parts of Consecrated Hosts, which the recipients dropped into the chalice and consumed.¹⁰¹³1013This custom existed in Rome until about the ninth century. There the Pope on Sundays and feast-days sent to those priests who had charge of Divine service at the churches within the city, the Eucharist as a symbol of communion with the ecclesiastical Head, and as a sign that they were empowered to celebrate. To more distant churches, situated outside the city, the Eucharist was not permitted to be borne,—through reverence for the Holy Mysteries and also because the priests in those places had already permission to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice. The name “fermentum”, whereby these consecrated particles were designated by Popes Melchiades, Siricius and Innocent I., has received various interpretations. (Cfr. the Brief [epistola regularis] of Pope Innocent I. [402–417] to Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio.) — Mabillon, In Ord. Rom. comment. praevius c. 6. This division of the Host into three parts was also in various ways symbolically interpreted. The three parts were, for example, referred to the Holy Trinity or to the earthly life, to the sacrificial death and the eternal glory of Christ, but generally and principally to the mystical Body of Christ, which is represented by the true Body of Christ, that is, the Church, and the three parts of the Host were interpreted to refer to the Church militant, suffering and triumphant; and on this again views differed.¹⁰¹⁴1014Clichtov. Elucid. eccles. l. 3, n. 69. — Sylvius, In III. S. Thom. q. 83, art. 5.

2. The Mingling of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Chalice.¹⁰¹⁵1015Ancient writers have various designations for this universally prescribed rite, for example, commixtio corporis et sanguinis Domini—conjunctio panis et calicis—immissio panis in vinum v. calicem—officium consecrationis; the Greeks and Orientals ἡ ἁγία ἕνωσις (= sacra unitio)—consignatio et commixtio mysteriorum. — Hac oratione (the Embolism) expleta, commiscens sacerdos Dominicam oblationem, ut calix Domini totam plenitudinem contineat sacramenti, tamquam per ejusdem mysterii copulationem imprecatur Ecclesiae pacem, dicens: Pax Domini... (Pseudo-Alcuin. c. 40). — Immissionem panis in vinum cerno apud quosdam varie actitari, ita ut aliqui primo mittant de sancta in calicem et postea dicant: Pax Domini...; econtra aliqui reservent immissionem, usque dum pax celebrata sit et fractio panis (Amalar. l. 3, c. 31). — There is an immediate and intimate union between the fraction of the Host and the mingling¹⁰¹⁶1016In Rome for a considerable time (perhaps until the ninth century) it was customary to unite the Sacred Body and Blood of Christ twice in the chalice when celebrating Mass. The first time, when a previously consecrated Host, or a Host received from another place, was used, it took place at the salutation of peace (Pax Domini . . . ) after the Our Father; the second time, for which was used a particle broken from the Host just consecrated, did not take place until the Communion. (Cfr. Ordo Rom. I, n. 18. 19. 22. — II, n. 12. 13.) Hence Amalarius in his explanation of the Roman Rite speaks of a bis positus panis in calicem (De eccles. offic. l. 3, c. 31). But when the custom of sending the Eucharist to other churches as a sign of union ceased, only one immission of a particle in the chalice was retained—the first one at the kiss of peace. Only when the Pope officiated, the union of the sacramental species at this point was omitted, taking place after the consuming of the Sacred Body. This variation continued until about the fifteenth century, when at the Pontifical Mass of the Pope the universal and still existing mingling rite came into use. (Cfr. Ordo Rom. IV et XIV. — Innocent. III. De sacr. alt. myst. l. 6, c. 9.) — According to the Ordo Rom. I, n. 8, as the Pope advanced to the altar, the Eucharist (Sancta, τὰ ἅγια) was carried before him in an open case (capsae) by two acolytes. This particle, preserved from the previous Consecration, was dropped into the Precious Blood after the salutation of peace Pax Domini . . . — Ex his conjicere licet, recentiorem morem Eucharistiam praeferendi Pontifici, cum aliquo proficiscitur, forsitan manasse non solum ex communi primorum christianorum more, qui peregrinantes Eucharistiam secum gestare solebant, sed etiam ex veteri consuetudine deferendi sacrosancta mysteria ante Pontificem, cum ad Missarum solemnia celebranda ad altare procederet, qui tamen ritus in primo tantum Romani Ordinis libello praescribitur, non in aliis. Nam secundus libellus praecipit, ut Pontifex, cum venerit ad altare, “primo adoret Sancta”, quae proinde ibidem antea exstitisse necesse est (Mabillon, In Ord. Rom. comment. praev. c. 6). of the Eucharistic species. If we pay attention to this connection, the object and meaning of the rite of mingling will easily be seen from the stated symbolism of the fraction. In the separate consecration under two species, as well as in the liturgical fraction of the Host, Christ’s Body and Blood appear as though they were separated from each other; but from the fact that the consecrated elements are united with each other by mingling, it is thereby symbolically expressed that in reality on the altar the Body is not without the Blood, and the Blood not without the Body, but under each species the whole Christ is present as one sacrificial gift and one sacrificial food. — As, furthermore, the mystical separation of the Body and Blood of Christ by the Consecration and fraction represents His bloody sacrificial death, so the mystical union of the Body and Blood of Christ by this mingling symbolizes His glorious resurrection, in which His Body and Blood were again united and vivified.¹⁰¹⁷1017Per particulam oblatae immissae in calicem ostenditur corpus Christi, quod resurrexit a mortuis (Joann. Abrinc. De officiis ecclesiast.). — Pax Domini... dicens, sacerdos vel episcopus ter super calicem cum particula signat et infundit calici, quia cunctis in coelo et terra pacificatis ad corpus rediit anima Jesu Christi. Quidam infundunt, antequam dicant Pax Domini..., quod etiam non vacat a mysterio, quia post resurrectionem manifestum est pacem datam hominibus bonae voluntatis (Sicard. l. 3, c. 8). If we consider both of these meanings together, we can then say that the liturgical act of mingling is intended to represent the Eucharistic Saviour as the undivided and living Victim on the altar. — As the breaking of the Host, so likewise can the mingling be referred to the Communion, for the union of the Eucharistic Body and Blood contains an allusion to the fact that the whole Christ, and indeed the gloriously risen, is the Bread of Life for the world.

The rite of the fraction and the mingling, therefore, announces in a mystical but eloquent manner the sufferings destined for Christ and His subsequent glory (1 Peter 1, 11), in this that it represents Him as the Lamb that was slain and now lives eternally (Apoc. 1, 18). Therein is placed before our eyes that “wonderful battle, in which death and life contended with each other,” and we behold how “the Prince of Life died and now living reigneth.”

3. The Threefold Sign of the Cross.¹⁰¹⁸1018As may be seen from the most ancient Roman Ordines, as early as the ninth century the sign of the Cross was made three times over the chalice with a small particle—but not until the dropping of the (second) particle (immediately before receiving the Precious Blood), when the present prayer at the mingling (Fiat commixtio et consecratio...) was recited. (Cfr. Ordo Rom. I, n. 19. — II, n. 13.) — According to Ordo IV no prayer was then said: Quando communicat domnus apostolicus, partem sibi mordet et reliquam in calice mittit, faciens crucem de ea tribus vicibus super calicem nihil dicens. — Crux quae formatur super calicem particulae oblatae, ipsum nobis corpus ante oculos praescribit, quod pro nobis crucifixum est. Ideo tangit quattuor latera calicis, quia per illud hominum genus quattuor climatum ad unitatem unius corporis accessit et ad pacem catholicae Ecclesiae (Amalar. l. 3, c. 31). — Cum dicitur: Pax Domini... inter calicem fit triplex signaculum crucis ad laudem et honorem ss. Trinitatis, quae misit Agnum qui per crucem salvavit mundum et fecit pacem hominum et angelorum (Stephan. Augustod. De sacram. altar. c. 18). After the breaking and before the mingling, the priest makes with the piece of the Host broken off in his right hand, three signs of the Cross over the chalice, using the salutation: “May the peace of the Lord be always with you.” The fact that this salutation of peace is made precisely between the symbolical fraction and mingling, signifies that Christ by His redeeming death and glorious resurrection has become the author and source of true peace; likewise does the sign of the Cross over the chalice, containing the Precious Blood, allude to the fact that the peace of God was purchased and negotiated for us by the holy Cross and the blood shed thereon: “for through the blood of the Cross hath Christ made peace, both as to the things on earth and the things that are in heaven” (Col. 1, 20). Moreover, in this connection the sign of the Cross illustrates and completes the meaning of the previous fraction, inasmuch as it more particularly characterizes the thereby symbolized immolation of the divine Victim as a Sacrifice accomplished on the Cross. Finally, with regard to the mingling that follows, the crossing of the chalice with the Host expresses that the glory of the resurrection was given to the Saviour as a reward for His ready self-humiliation even to the death of the Cross.

4. The Prayer at the Mingling. — The dropping of the small particle of the Host into the most precious Blood is designated in the accompanying prayer as the mingling (commixtio) and consecration (consecratio) of the Body and Blood of Christ. The question, what is here the sense and signification of the word consecratio, presents great difficulties, as is already evident from the many readings of said passage in the liturgical documents¹⁰¹⁹1019Commixtio consecrati corporis et sanguinis—haec sacrosancta commixtio corporis et sanguinis—conjunctio corporis et sanguinis—haec commixtio corporis et sanguinis—fiat commixtio et consecratio corporis et sanguinis—fiat commixtio et consecratio corporis et sanguinis D. N. J. Ch. nobis accipientibus vita aeterna—haec sacra commixtio corporis et sanguinis D. N. J. Ch. and from the numerous attempts at explanation by liturgical writers.

The words haec commixtio et consecratio have been frequently understood in a concrete sense = may these mingled and consecrated¹⁰²⁰1020Both expressions are also correctly used in another sense (= commixtum et consecratum); for example, in Leviticus 27, 29 we find consecratio = dedicated. sacrificial gifts of the Body and Blood of Christ be effectual to us unto life everlasting.¹⁰²¹1021The words consecration of the body and of the blood signify here merely the consecrated body and blood (Lebrun p. 5, art. 5). — Respondeo, consecrationem hic objective sumi pro rebus consecratis, non formaliter pro actu, quo res consecrantur (Tournely, Tract. de Euchar. p. 2, c. 10, art. 2). — In support of this conception are adduced the words of the holy deacon Lawrence to Pope Xystus II., when the latter was led to martyrdom: Experire, utrum idoneum ministrum elegeris. Cui commisisti dominici sanguinis consecrationem, cui consummandorum consortium sacramentorum, huic sanguinis tui consortium negas? (S. Ambr. De offic. ministr. l. 1, c. 41.) Sanguinis consecratio, namely, is conceived as = sanguis consecratus, the distribution of which was a function of the deacon. But the reception of the Precious Blood forms, as Micrologus asserts (c. 19), the complementum communionis, and the Holy Communion generally as the Sacrificial Banquet is the termination of the Sacrificial Mysteries, so that we can say the deacon shares (consortium) in the consummatio, that is, in the accomplishment of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This interpretation may of course be accepted, but it does not appear to exhaust the full sense of the expression consecratio sanguinis dominici. The deacon is ordained mainly, ut proxime assistat sacerdoti sacra facienti sitque ejus in tanti mysterii celebratione adjutor (Menardus), and in the Pontif. Roman. he is called comminister et cooperator corporis et sanguinis Domini; hence a certain participation not merely in dispensing Holy Communion, but also in the celebration of the Sacrifice can and must be ascribed to him. In this sense, then, is the deacon admitted “to the consecrating and offering of the Blood of the Lord, to the accomplishment of the Holy Mysteries.” (Cfr. Bona, Rerum liturgic. l. 1, c. 25, § 4, cum notis et observationibus R. Sala.) This conception is assuredly favored by the circumstance, that not the mingling and consecration act as such, but the mingled and consecrated elements are for us the source of life¹⁰²²1022Commixtio et consecratio dicuntur fieri in nostram salutem, non quod ipsa actio commiscendi et consecrandi nos salvet, sed quia res ipsae commixtae et consecratae, dum a nobis devote suscipiuntur, multum prosunt ad salutem; unde hic dicimus: fiat sumentibus nobis in vitam aeternam (Bellarm. De Missa l. 2, c. 27). — Non ex ipsa commiscendi cum sanguine corporis actione salutem et vitam exspectamus, sed ex corpore et sanguine Christi, quae commiscentur a nobis, ut post adumbratam passionem, adumbremus et resurrectionem, quae ad justificationem nostram cum ipsa passione suo modo concurrit (Tournely l. c.).; but this explanation cannot altogether suffice, because it does not explain or take into consideration at all the act of commixtio et consecratio occurring at the same time.

If, as evidently must be done, we note and emphasize the present act also, then the difficult question arises: In what sense can we say that Christ’s Body and Blood are consecrated by the mingling, that is, as though in consequence of the mingling? To solve the difficulty, it has been said that the word consecratio does, indeed, refer to the Eucharistic change of substance, but to it as already previously accomplished,—and that here we pray only for the fruit thereof¹⁰²³1023Non petimus, ut nunc fiat consecratio, sed ut consecratio antea facta sit nobis at vitam aeternam salutaris (Bellarm. l. c.).; this explanation is inadmissible, for the formula without any doubt whatsoever mentions in this place an action accomplished at the very moment of the mingling, that is, of a present consecration (haec commixtio et [haec] consecratio).

Just as little can these words and the rite therewith connected mean an “Epiklese concisely expressed”, that is, a petition for the transsubstantiation of the bread and wine.

Others endeavor to settle the existing difficulty precisely in the opposite way, by taking the word consecratio as having always the same meaning as commixtio, that is, they would thereby understand only the mingling of holy things. But such an explanation weakens entirely too much the signification of the expression consecratio; for it would and should prove more than the mere mingling of sanctified objects.¹⁰²⁴1024With reference to Pope Pelagius I. consecrare should be also = simul sacrare (i. e. res sacras commiscere). In what consists this more, that is, what further and new quality does the consecratio add to the commixtio? We are going to indicate some points, which may be of advantage in elucidating the subject under consideration.

Let us recall the essence and object of the liturgical act of mingling. Among other reasons it is intended to symbolize the resurrection of Christ. Whilst Christ’s Body and Blood in the previous separation of the species represent His bloody death, they afterward by the union of the species become the symbol of His glorious resurrection, that is, they receive a new and at the same time a holy significance, for which reason one may say they are (in a certain sense) consecrated.¹⁰²⁵1025Posset etiam fortasse commode responderi, agi hoc loco de nova quadam consecratione, quae ex commixtione nunc primum exsurgit, . . . Porro haec consecratio nihil aliud est, nisi nova quaedam significatio sacramentalis: ut enim consecrari dicitur, quod acquirit sacramentalem significationem, ita etiam dicitur iterum consecrari, quod acquirit aliam significationem sacramentalem. Significatur autem per illam commixtionem resurrectio Domini . . . nam in resurrectione iterum caro Domini cum sanguine suo conjuncta fuit. Itaque in illa commixtione nova fit consecratio, dum species illae, quae divisae Christi mortem repraesentabant, nunc inter se conjunctae resurrectionem Domini repraesentant (Bellarm. De Missa l. 2, c. 27). Suarez (disp. 83, sect. 2, n. 19) says of this opinion: probabilitate non caret. The liturgical act of mingling, accordingly, effects a certain consecratio corporis et sanguinis Domini, inasmuch as it further imparts to them a holy and a mystical signification, for by Consecration (consecratio) one may denote an action by which an object is raised unto and made a symbol of a holy mystery.¹⁰²⁶1026The word sacramentum (τὸ μυστήριον) is often = signum rei sacrae, signum sacrum, significatio arcana, figura, typus. Hence consecrare may also signify as much as making something a sacramentum, that is, sacrum signum, a holy symbol, imparting to it a sacred mysterious character. — By Consecration (consecratio) we, therefore, frequently understand the dedication and gift of a person or object to God, and this feature also is found in the act of mingling; for Christ appears therein as the resuscitated, living Pasch, and as such is represented or offered to God.¹⁰²⁷1027Quae verba (at the mingling) precantur, ut fiat corpus Domini praesens oblatio per resurrectionem, per quam veneranda et aeterna pax data est, non solum in terra, sed etiam in coelo (Amalar. l. 3, c. 31). In the mingling Christ’s glorious sacrificial Body is consecrated and dedicated to God for us.¹⁰²⁸1028Cfr. S. Thom. 3, q. 22, a. 2 ad 3. — Of a translation to a more holy state, of a real, or a greater sanctification the word consecratio never can nor should be understood, when reference is made to the Body and Blood of Christ. Even at the moment of the Eucharistic Consecration, Christ’s Body and Blood are not in themselves sanctified, but only transformed into the sacramental, that is, into a special sanctifying state. This is what is meant by the expression “Consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ,” when it is used to designate the Elevation. Therefore, in the mingling Christ’s Body and Blood cannot be still further sanctified; but may this be asserted of the Eucharistic species? As is evident to us, it may. The reason consists in this that the species of bread and wine are in a true sense mingled (united), which cannot be said of the Body and Blood of Christ concealed in them. The ordinary mode of expression: that the Body of the Lord is broken and united with His Blood, would in no way denote a change in the Body and Blood of Christ, but merely in the sacramental species¹⁰²⁹1029Illud quod manducatur in propria specie, ipsum et frangitur et masticatur in sua specie; corpus autem Christi non manducatur in sua specie, sed in specie sacramenti et ideo ipsum corpus Christi non frangitur nisi secundum speciem sacramentalem (S. Thom. 3, q. 77, a. 7 ad 3).—and at the same time set off in a striking manner, that under the Eucharistic species, which are in reality broken and mingled, the substances of bread and wine are no longer present, but truly the Body and Blood of Christ are present and with them constitute a whole, that is, one Sacrament. The species are already holy by their connection with the Body and Blood of Christ; but when united to each other, they become still more sanctified. Inasmuch, therefore, as the sacred species of the Eucharist are truly mingled (united), they reciprocally impart their sanctity to each other, becoming thereby still more holy.¹⁰³⁰1030Cfr. the blessing of the Baptismal water, when the aqua benedicta (which serves for the liturgical sprinkling of the people), by mingling with it the Oil of Catechumens and the Chrism, is still further consecrated and rendered more perfect. Sanctificetur et foecundetur fons iste (which is already sanctified) oleo salutis. The aforesaid features—namely, the symbolizing of the Resurrection, the Consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ for God, the renewed sanctification of the visible sacramental sign—may serve in some degree to make us comprehend the liturgical act of mingling as a consecration (consecratio) of the consecrated elements.

5. Therefore, the mystical rite of fraction¹⁰³¹1031Fractio hostiae tria significat: primo quidem ipsam divisionem corporis Christi, quae facta est in passione; secundo distinctionem corporis mystici secundum diversos status; tertio distributionem gratiarum procedentium ex passione Christi (S. Thom. 3, q. 83, a. 5 ad 7). and mingling¹⁰³²1032Fit haec permixtio: primo ad notandum, quod Christi corpus non fuit sine sanguine nec sanguis sine corpore; secundo ad designandum, quod unum sacramentum conficitur ex speciebus panis et vini; tertio corporis et sanguinis post trinum crucis signum permixtio est animae ad corpus reditio (Durandus l. 4, c. 51, n. 17). brings vividly before our eyes, in what manner the Divine Victim died and rose again for us, in order to become for us in the Eucharistic Sacrifice and in the Sacrificial Banquet the inexhaustible source of a higher heavenly life (fiat accipientibus nobis in vitam aeternam). “The Body of Christ, born as the Divine Victim for the sins of the world, was also the heavenly grain of wheat sown by the Holy Ghost in the virginal earth; it was the heavenly grape on the virgin vine which sprung up under the breath of the Holy Spirit. In order to become our sacrifice for the atonement of sins, the Body of Christ was to die and shed its blood upon the altar of the Cross; the heavenly grain of wheat was to die in the earth, the heavenly grape was to be trodden down. To become food and drink for the nourishment of our life of grace, the Body of Christ was again to resume its vitality. The heavenly wheat was to be ground and baked into the life-giving bread. The heavenly juice of the grape was to be pressed and fermented into the inebriating wine of life. Thus life and death were to be swallowed up in Christ, in order to make Him our life’s bread and drink. He was to be dead and yet live, He was to be alive and yet die. How was this to be effected? This was accomplished at the Last Supper. This continually takes place in Holy Mass, where by virtue of the words of Christ, His Blood is represented separated from His Body, as the Blood of the immolated Victim to be shed and shed once for all on the Cross, but where in virtue of the blessed immortality of the Risen Christ, His living Body is permeated with His living Blood, to be to us the nourishment and refreshment of eternal life.”¹⁰³³1033Laurent, Christol. Predigten I, 284. Once when Blessed Angela of Foligno assisted at the Mass of an unworthy priest, at the Fraction of the Host she heard a low voice of murmuring, piercing sweetness thus complain: “Alas! how they break Me and make the Blood flow from My limbs!” “Ah! my Brothers in this intolerable grace” (of being permitted to break the Body of the Lord), remarks Father Faber, alluding to this circumstance, “do we not each of us know in his own secret soul at least one priest, and that there can be but one, who, if he had his due, could never break the Host without having his own heart broken also by the lamentable sweetness of that plaintive cry?”

68. The Agnus Dei, the Prayer for Peace and the Kiss of Peace

The Holy Eucharist is “the sign of union, the bond of charity, the symbol of concord,”¹⁰³⁴1034Trident. sess. 13, c. 8. — Unitas signum, vinculum caritatis, concordiae symbolum. that is, the Sacrament of peace; for peace is one of the principal effects of the reception of the Eucharist, but, at the same time, it is also a necessary requisite for participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice and Banquet of Love. At the table of the Lord the bond of love and concord should be formed ever more closely and more intimately between the faithful, until they have “but one heart and one soul” (Acts 4, 32); “for we, being many, are one bread, one body, all that partake of one bread” (1 Cor. 10, 17). Peace must reign in the heart into which the “God of peace and love” enters and takes up His abode. Therefore, after the Pater noster there are such frequent and fervent prayers for the great gift of peace in preparation for the Communion. In the Embolism we meet with urgent supplication: “Graciously give peace in our days” (da propitius pacem in diebus nostris), and at the fraction of the Host follows the threefold sign of the Cross, accompanied with the salutation of peace: “May the peace of the Lord be always with you” (Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum); at the Agnus Dei we now implore of the Lamb of God, enthroned on the altar, peace for ourselves (dona nobis pacem), and in the prayer immediately following, this petition is further prosecuted, and the Lord implored that He would impart peace to His entire Church and preserve it—and, finally, peace prayed for in so manifold a way is sealed by the holy kiss.

1. The Agnus Dei. — The holy Pope Sergius I. (687–701) is said to have been the first to order that at the breaking of the Host, the Agnus Dei should be sung by the clergy and people.¹⁰³⁵1035Hic statuit, ut tempore confractionis dominici corporis, “Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi,” a clero et populo decantaretur (Lib. Pontific.). Now since the Agnus Dei occurs already in the Sacrament. Gregor., Mabillon (In Ord. Rom. c. 8, n. 7) infers that it was said already before the time of Sergius, but only by the choir, as was again the case soon after Sergius. (Cfr. Ordo Rom. I, n. 19; II, n. 13.) In Missa Sabbati sancti, quae veteri more etiam nunc celebratur, omittitur Agnus Dei cum Antiphonis ad Offertorium et ad Communionem, quae primarii non esse instituti Walafridus Strabo et alii observarunt (Mabillon l. c.). — The original rite differs in some respects from the present one, which was developed from the eleventh to the thirteenth century.¹⁰³⁶1036The most ancient Roman Ordines and the earliest liturgical writers say nothing with regard to the repetition of the Agnus Dei. Gradually the rite became fixed and general of singing, or reciting it three times. Agnus Dei ter canitur (Beleth). At the same time the practice was also introduced of saying the third time dona nobis pacem. Bis repetitur “Miserere nobis” et tertio variatur per “Dona nobis pacem” (Beleth). On Holy Thursday alone was an exception made during the Middle Age, probably because the kiss of peace was not given. In coena Domini ter debet dici cum Miserere nobis (Beleth c. 48). According to Durandus the Roman schola cantorum still observed in the thirteenth century the ancient custom of singing three times miserere nobis, which is done at present only in the Basilica of St. John Lateran (cfr. l. 4, c. 52). Usually the choir sang it—chorus psallat Agnus Dei (Joann. Abrinc.); chorus clamat ad Jesum et postulat: Agnus Dei . . . (Innoc. III.); sometimes also the people (cfr. Pseudo-Alcuin. c. 40; Sicard. l. 3, c. 8). — Quidam sacerdotes dicunt “Agnus Dei” manibus super altare depositis . . . alii vero stant manibus junctis, parum super altare inclinati (Durand. l. 4, c. 52). — Pontifex, junctis ante pectus manibus, dicit “Agnus Dei” submissa voce cum ministris adstantibus (Ordo Roman. XIV, c. 53). At this time we meet everywhere the threefold repetition of the Agnus Dei—and that not merely on the part of the choir, but also of the celebrant,¹⁰³⁷1037Generally in former times the priest, as a general custom, did not recite what the choir sang and what was recited by the assistant ministers (deacon, subdeacon, lector), as he directed his attention either to the singing or to the reading, or was in the mean time engaged in other liturgical functions.—and, instead of concluding, as previously, each time with the same petition “have mercy on us” (miserere nobis), they commenced at this date to repeat the third time “grant us peace” (dona nobis pacem). This last petition was occasioned by all manner of calamities and disturbances that had befallen the Church.¹⁰³⁸1038Postmodum autem multis et variis adversitatibus et terroribus Ecclesiae ingruentibus, coepit ad Dominum clamare de tribulatione: “dona nobis pacem.” Et ut clamor ejus facilius audiretur, in ipsa duxit immolationis hora clamandum (Innoc. III. De sacr. alt. myst. l. 6, c. 4). The reason for it lies indeed in the relation of the Agnus Dei to the imparting of the kiss of peace, or to the reception of Holy Communion.¹⁰³⁹1039Postquam ad communicandum et ad percipiendum corpus perventum fuerit, pacis osculum sibi invicem tradunt, cantantes: “Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis,” ut pacifici sacramentum perficientes, in filiorum Dei numero (remissis delictis omnibus) mereantur copulari (Raban. Maur. De clericor. institut. l. 1, c. 33).

In the foregoing act of fraction and mingling, Christ is liturgically and mystically placed before our eyes as the Victim immolated by shedding His Blood and again gloriously risen to life; therefore, this humble, heartfelt supplication of the Agnus Dei, in which the priest addresses himself to the Saviour, concealed and offered under the Eucharistic species, appropriately concludes with the twofold cry for mercy and the single cry for peace:¹⁰⁴⁰1040Sequitur vox Ecclesiae supplicans Agno largitori pacis et misericordiae. Ter cum eodem principio cantatur et duplici fine terminatur; itaque orat: miserere nobis, dando veniam; miserere nobis, conservando justitiam; dona nobis pacem, quae superat omnem sensum et intellegentiam. Miserere captivis, miserere peregrinis, da nobis finem laboris;—miserere peccatoribus, miserere exsulibus, da requiem laborantibus;—tribue peccatorum remissionem, perduc ad patriae certam mansionem, da post laborem pacem et requiem (Stephan. Augustod. c. 18). — Agnus Dei ter cantatur, ut verus Agnus, cujus carnem et sanguinem sumimus, nobis propitietur. Primo rogamus, ut nobis misereatur peccata relaxando; secundo, ut nobis misereatur devotos sibi faciendo; tertio, ut nobis pacem donare dignetur, quae hic initium habet in sanctis, et in beata vita perficietur (Robert. Paulul. l. 2, c. 40).—and, in order to express the consciousness of his sinfulness and compunction in a strong and lively manner, he at the same time strikes his breast three times.¹⁰⁴¹1041Ad “Agnus Dei” sacerdos manus jungit et caput inclinat, ut nimirum non tantum verbis, sed etiam actione statum supplicantis exprimat: manibus autem altare non tangit ad majorem erga Christum in illo quiescentem venerationem. Elata voce illud recitat ad excitandam populi attentionem eumque exstimulandum, ut simili oratione ac pectoribus percussione Dei misericordiam imploret. Post primum “Agnus Dei”, deposita sinistra, ne sola pendula maneat, super corporale usque ad tertium “Agnus Dei”, postremis dexterae digitis pectus percutit in signum compunctionis, dum bis profert, “miserere nobis”, itemque dum inquit “dona nobis pacem”, quum cordis compunctio sit optima dispositio ad pacem obtinendam. In Missis defunctorum sacerdos non percutit sibi pectus, dum pronuntiat “dona eis requiem”, ut nempe significet, se in hisce Missis pro defunctis specialiter celebratis ipsorum magis quam sui memorem esse (De Carpo, Biblioth. liturg. p. 1, art. 50, n. 202).

In the Old Law a lamb was one of the usual animals of sacrifice, and all these sacrificial lambs were types of Jesus Christ, the one true Lamb, who took away the sins of the world, that is, who atoned for and effaced them in His Blood. The designation of Christ as a Lamb expresses His sacrificial character, at the same time denoting His purity and freedom from guilt; but prominently it refers to the gentle patience and voluntary resignation with which He subjected Himself to the most painful sufferings and most bitter death.¹⁰⁴²1042Agnus propter innocentiam, mansuetudinem, obedientiam et immolationem vocatur Christus (Dion. Carthus. In Apocal. c. 5, v. 6). The name “Lamb of God” (Agnus Dei) not merely signifies, that Christ by the will and for the honor of God became a sacrifice slain for the world; but it, moreover, includes the deeper meaning that He is the well-beloved Son of God (Filius Dei dilectus), that is, that the fulness of the divinity dwells in Him.¹⁰⁴³1043The addition of “God” is variously explained, for example, the Divine Lamb; the Lamb belonging to God, His property; the Lamb destined by God for sacrifice; the Lamb submissive or pleasing or dedicated to God. (Cfr. Haneberg-Schegg, Das Evangelium nach Johannes 1, 125.) — This formula of prayer (taken in part from Holy Scripture, John 1, 29) has a wealth and profundity of meaning. In the first place, it discloses the entire sublimity of the nature and mission of Jesus Christ, since the highly significant designation of Agnus Dei characterizes the Saviour as the Son of God, as the Divine Sacrificial Lamb given by God and again offered to Him, who innocently, meekly and freely underwent the death of the Cross; in the next place, it exalts the sin-effacing, world-redeeming power and efficacy of His sacrificial death; finally, it contains an humble, sorrowful, contrite appeal for mercy and for the obtaining of peace. In reality Christ is the Sacrificial Lamb, that takes away the sins of the world, only because He is the beloved Son, in whom God is well pleased. Besides the name Lamb (Agnus), the appellation Lion (Leo) is also employed to designate the royal strength and power of Christ. He is the Lamb that suffered not only with patience, but who conquered, moreover, with the strength of a lion—and who now reigns and triumphs as Lord of lords and King of kings on the throne of heaven. Emitte Agnum, Domine, dominatorem terrae! — “Send forth, O Lord, the Lamb, the ruler of the earth!” (Is. 16, 1)—thus implores the same prophet who compared the Saviour to a dumb and willing sacrificial Lamb (Is. 53, 7). As a lamb Christ was promised in the Old Law through figures and prophets; as a lamb He was pointed out in the New Law by John the Baptist and extolled by the Apostles. With marked preference St. John in his mystical Revelations calls (about twenty-seven times) the Son of God a lamb.¹⁰⁴⁴1044Cfr. Hundhausen, Das erste Pontificalschreiben Petri S. 196–197. In a mystical ecstacy he beholds Jesus as the Lamb that was slain and that purchased souls for God out of all tribes and nations, that washed them clean in His Blood and thereby made of them a royal priestly people;—as the Lamb that with His Blood strengthens the Church militant, making it victorious in its combats with Satan;—as the Lamb, that is, the brilliant light of the heavenly Jerusalem, conducting the blessed to the fountains of the waters of life;—as the Lamb worthy to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and benediction;—as the Lamb to whom all creation and all the choirs of angels present praise and adoration.

As the lamb in Holy Scripture is a standing symbol of Christ, and as the citizens of heaven bless the Lamb without ceasing, so also does the Church love to invoke Jesus Christ in a simple, touching manner as the “Lamb of God”. Throughout all ages there continues ever to resound in her liturgy of the Mass this fervent supplication to the divine, eternal sacrificial Lamb, who has taken upon Himself the sins of the world and thereby effaced them. As often as she administers Holy Communion to the faithful, does she exhort them in the words of St. John the Baptist: Ecce Agnus Dei! ecce qui tollit peccata mundi! to realize and value the wealth of grace contained in this heavenly sacrificial food. Almost all her litanies conclude with this solemn invocation to the Lamb of God, “to spare us, to hear us and to have mercy on us.”

The Church has ever been accustomed to represent the Divine Saviour both under the figure of the Good Shepherd and also under the symbol of the lamb: both images are intimately connected with each other. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, who became Himself our Sacrificial Lamb on the Cross, and who daily becomes the same again on the altar; He is the Good Shepherd, who gave His life for us and who, with His living flesh and Heart’s blood, nourishes us to an eternal life of blessedness.

From the Sacrificial Lamb present on the altar there streams forth salvation and redemption, there flows to us all the favor of God, all the blessing of God and all the peace of God. This Lamb, that was slain from the beginning of the world and that will be slain unto the end of the world, we should during Mass, filled with humility and fervor, adore and invoke, in order that we may obtain the fulness of mercy and peace, whereby we shall be prepared for admittance to the “royal banquet of the lamb.”¹⁰⁴⁵1045Sancta Mechtildis: “Eia mi Domine, modo mihi aliquid ex praesentibus Missae verbis dona, unde anima mea spiritualiter consoletur.” Cui Dominus: “Ecce jam mihi canitur ter Agnus Dei: in primo me offero Deo Patri cum omni humilitate et patientia mea pro vobis; ad secundum, offero me cum omni amaritudine passionis meae in plenam reconciliationem; ad tertium, cum toto amore divini Cordis, in supplementum omnium quae homini desunt bonorum” (S. Mechtild., Lib. special. grat. p. 3, c. 19).

In Requiem Masses the petition of the Agnus Dei—perhaps since the eleventh century, surely since the twelfth—is differently rendered, inasmuch as we twice implore from the Divine Sacrificial Lamb “rest” for the suffering souls from their pains and torments, and the third time we implore for them “eternal rest” in heaven (dona eis requiem—dona eis requiem sempiternam).¹⁰⁴⁶1046The Ambrosian Rite has the Agnus Dei only in Requiem Masses. The formula is the same as in our Missals; but the third time the petition is enlarged by an additional clause: “Dona eis requiem sempiternam et locum indulgentiae cum Sanctis tuis in gloria.”

2. The Prayer for Peace (Oratio pro pace vel ad pacem).¹⁰⁴⁷1047Micrologus (in the eleventh century) is still ignorant of this prayer; while Durandus (in the thirteenth century) mentions it. According to the Roman Rite the kiss of peace was formerly imparted after the salutation: Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum, without the preceding special prayer for peace. The Mozarabic and the ancient Gallican Liturgies have an Oratio ad pacem which varies according to the Mass. In many Oriental Missals we find likewise a similar prayer (oratio ante pacis osculum, oratio osculi pacis, oratio amplexus, εὐχὴ τοῦ ἀσπασμοῦ). — Infertur oratio pro osculo pacis, ut caritate omnes reconciliati invicem digne sacramento corporis et sanguinis Christi consocientur (S. Isidor. De ecclesiast. offic. l. 1, c. 15).—p. 417As the Agnus Dei, so are also the following prayers until the Communion no longer addressed to the Father, but to the Saviour present in the Blessed Sacrament. The longing for the peace of the Lamb is so great and so ardent, that the priest—bowing humbly and looking intently upon the Most Holy Sacrament—continues to beg for this precious gift, and that for the whole Church.

How agreeable, unworldly, superhuman sounds the word “peace”! Powerfully does it seize upon the inmost chords of the human heart, which longs for peace and finds no rest, until it has found true peace. For “so great,” says St. Augustine, “is the gift of peace, that even in worldly and mortal things nothing more pleasant can be heard, nothing more desirable can be longed for and nothing better can be found.”¹⁰⁴⁸1048De civit. Dei l. 19, c. 11. To understand this, it must be remembered that the word peace has a profound, manifold and comprehensive signification. In the first place we should distinguish interior peace of soul with God and with one’s self; then exterior peace with one’s neighbor.¹⁰⁴⁹1049Continet pax Christi 1. amicitiam cum Deo; 2. tranquillitatem animi et serenitatem in tentationibus et persecutionibus; 3. mutuam inter ipsos homines concordiam (Corn. a Lapide, In Joann. 14, 27).

Interior peace is a state of the soul, and that a state of spiritual well-being and prosperity, which by the dominion of divine grace and love is effected and diffused into all its powers.¹⁰⁵⁰1050Pax (quae est gaudium imperturbatum) in contemplatione fundatur et ex ea causatur, sicut et gaudium, mediante tamen dilectione, cujus gaudium et pax immediati effectus et fructus dicuntur. Siquidem Deum contemplando non in eo gaudemus nec in ipso mente quiescimus, nisi eum sincere diligamus (Dion. Carthus. In 1 Petr. 1, 2). To this well-being belongs, before all, the consoling consciousness that by the remission of sin we are reconciled to God, as also by the holy bond of a mystical friendship we are united to Him,—and, consequently, that we either already possess or at least may confidently expect the plenitude of all the gifts and blessings that flow from this abundant source of friendship. Then it is requisite that all the inclinations and desires of the heart should be directed to God and to His holy will, that is, that in perfect harmony they be so far ordered, tranquillized and sanctified as is possible in this mortal life. This peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding (Phil. 4, 7), comprises, therefore, all the beneficial, refreshing, blissful effects of divine truth and grace, all the sweet and precious fruits of supernatural faith, hope and love in the sanctified soul, which is the dwelling and temple of God. This disposition of the heart is a gift that the Holy Ghost imparts, in so far as “sweet guest” and “sweet refreshment” He enters into man, pervading his interior with the agreeable odor of His heavenly unction.

We frequently meet with the word peace, especially in the apostolic formulas of salutation, together with the word grace.¹⁰⁵¹1051Gratia vobis et pax multiplicetur, that is, “Grace unto you and peace be multiplied” (1 Petr. 1, 2). — Sit vobiscum gratia, misericordia, pax a Deo Patre et a Christo Jesu Filio Patris in veritate et caritate (2. Joann. 3). In such a connection both include the whole interior contents of Christianity and the Christian life: grace is the root whence springs the sweet, heavenly fruit of peace, developing to perfect maturity.¹⁰⁵²1052Nota, quod Apostolus in qualibet salutatione optabat gratiam et pacem: gratiam tamquam primordialem, pacem sicut complementum. Ad Timotheum autem interponit misericordiam, quae est utriusque principium (S. Bonav. De tripl. via c. 2, § 5, n. 12). — Here below, indeed, this peace is more or less imperfect,¹⁰⁵³1053Hic (on earth) talis est pax nostra, ut solatium miseriae sit potius quam beatitudinis gaudium (S. Aug. De civ. Dei l. 19, c. 27). because it is mingled with sorrow, pain and sadness; perfect and imperturbed it will be only above in heaven, where all woe shall cease.¹⁰⁵⁴1054Dicendum, quod cum vera pax non sit nisi de bono, sicut dupliciter habetur verum bonum, sc. perfecte et imperfecte, ita est duplex pax vera. Una quidem perfecta, quae consistit in perfecta fruitione summi boni, per quam omnes appetitus uniuntur quietati in uno—et hic est ultimus finis creaturae rationalis, secundum illud (Ps. 147, 14): “Qui posuit fines tuos pacem.” Alia vero est pax imperfecta, quae habetur in hoc mundo; quia etsi principalis animae motus quiescat in Deo, sunt tamen aliqua repugnantia et intus et extra, quae perturbant hanc pacem (S. Thom. 2, 2, q. 29, a. 2 ad 4). The more a man rids himself of attachment to the world and recollects his heart in God, the more he mortifies and overcomes his passions, the more he lives a life of faith and grace, the more also will he taste the consolation and sweetness of that interior peace which the Lord pours out, as a stream, on humble and self-sacrificing souls (Is. 66, 12). True piety is joy and peace in the Holy Ghost—it is godliness. Delectare in Domino et dabit tibi petitiones cordis tui—“Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the requests of thy heart” (Ps. 36, 4).

This is the peace which Christ left to His own, and which the world can neither give nor take away (John 14, 27). Such peace of heart the world cannot bestow; for it has and offers only treasures that do not satiate, that is, earthly goods, vain honors and sensual pleasures. All these things are but apparent goods, they are vanity and vexation of spirit (Eccles. 2, 17), and, consequently, they cannot impart true peace, but only a transitory, counterfeit peace. Sensual pleasures “go in pleasantly, but in the end they will bite like a snake and will spread abroad poison like a basilisk” (Prov. 23, 32). The world, tossed about and turbulent like a restless ocean, is unwilling to understand what conduces to its peace (Luke 19, 42); at present this knowledge is concealed from its eyes and it lives in a false peace.¹⁰⁵⁵1055Dicendum, quod pax consistit in quietatione et unione appetitus. Sicut autem appetitus potest esse vel simpliciter boni vel boni apparentis, ita etiam et pax potest esse et vera et apparens. Vera quidem pax non potest esse nisi circa appetitum veri boni, quia omne malum, etsi secundum aliquid appareat bonum, unde ex aliqua parte appetitum quietat, habet tamen multos defectus, ex quibus appetitus remanet inquietus et perturbatus. Unde pax vera non potest esse nisi in bonis et bonorum. Pax autem, quae malorum est, est pax apparens et non vera; unde dicitur (Sap. 14, 22): In magno viventes inscientiae bello, tot et tam magna mala pacem appellant (S. Thom. 2, 2, q. 29, a. 2 ad 3). — But the world cannot rob us of the peace of God; for it is deeply rooted in the heart, it is elevated above earthly conditions and external influences. This peace comes from heaven and leads to heaven: it is neither affected by the alluring pleasures nor by the oppressive sufferings of this transitory life. If mind and heart are firmly centred in God, then they will also remain calm and tranquil, placid and serene amid the storms of persecution, temptation and distress—full of holy peace.¹⁰⁵⁶1056Orat Archiapostolus, ut pax nobis multiplicetur, i. e. abundanter ac multipliciter divinitus detur et conservetur, videlicet pax pectoris, quae est tranquillitas mentis in Deo, pax temporis, quae est quies ab exterioribus impugnationibus, et pax aeternitatis, quae est tranquillissima quies beatorum in patria imperturbatumque gaudium eorum in Deo. Quantumcumque autem forinsecus impugnemur aut corporaliter molestemur, semper tamen pro posse conemur pacem pectoris conservare, ut tranquilletur in Deo cor nostrum et spiritaliter gaudeat in adversis. De qua pace ait Psalmista: “Pax multa diligentibus legem tuam.” Qui enim divinae legis praecepta amorose custodiunt, mentis inquietudinem vincunt in omni eventu, in prosperis scilicet et adversis in Deo se figunt ac bene agendo gloriantur in Domino: estque in eis corpus subditum animae, sensualitas rationi, ratio Deo, ex qua optima ordinatione consurgit et manet in eis pax pectoris, quae ab Augustino vocatur tranquillitas ordinis (Dion. Carthus. In 1 Petr. 1, 2). To such a peace the seraphic virgin St. Theresa exhorts us: “Let nothing trouble thee—nothing frighten thee—all things pass away—God is immutable—patience obtains all—he that possesses God, can want for nothing—God alone suffices.”¹⁰⁵⁷1057This Letrilla of the Saint in the original Spanish runs thus: Nada te turbe,—nada te espante;—todo se pasa;—Dios no se muda;—la paciencia—todo lo alcanza;—quien á Dios tiene,—nada le falta;—solo Dios basta.

Exterior peace consists in concord and union with our neighbor,—therefore, it presupposes a meek, gentle, accommodating disposition, and that even towards those who injure, oppress, or pain us. With them that hate peace, I am peaceable (Ps. 119, 7). — A peaceful disposition, free from irritation, aversion and bitterness, should reign among Christians; “of one mind, having compassion one for another, being lovers of the brotherhood” (1 Peter, 3, 8), they should live together. Unity of sentiment should animate to mutual, sincere participation in one another’s welfare and woe, in joy and sorrow,—and to true, sincere fraternal love. For this unity among His disciples the Saviour prayed shortly before His death: “The glory which Thou hast given Me, I have given to them, that they may be one, as We also are one; I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one” (John 17, 22–23). And the Apostle of the Gentiles exhorts us: “If it be possible, as much as is in you, having peace with all men” (Rom. 12, 18), and “Follow peace with all men” (Heb. 12, 14). How beautiful and edifying it is to see so strong a bond of union and harmony bind together all the members of the Church! It gives joy, consolation, strength amid all the trials and persecutions on the part of a hostile, God-estranged world. “Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est”—the Church chants at the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday.

This peace—interior and exterior—Christ acquired by His death, and bequeathed to us as a precious heritage. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, do I give unto you” (June 14, 27). To this promise and legacy of the Saviour we here appeal, when we implore peace for the Church militant, which principally consists in this, that all “with humility and mildness, with patience, support one another in charity, being careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4, 2–3). At the same time the petition is therein comprised that the Lord would rescue His Church from all the hostility, violence and persecution to which she is exposed in the world. Why should the Lord not listen to such supplication? Is it not altogether in accord and in compliance with His holy will (secundum voluntatem tuam), that is, does He not wish that the Church should live in peace and concord? For He underwent the painful death of reconciliation to destroy the wall of separation, and to gather into one body the dispersed children of God. In humble fear that his own sinfulness should be an impediment to the granting of this petition, the priest implores that the Lord would not look with anger upon him, the unworthy minister of the Church, but behold rather the worthiness and holiness of His beloved Spouse the Church (ne respicias peccata mea, sed fidem Ecclesiae tuae), in order to impart to her and increase in her the gift of peace and concord.

3. The Kiss of Peace (osculum pacis, pax, salutatio).¹⁰⁵⁸1058The (chaste) osculum was always and everywhere regarded as a sign (symbol) and expression of love, of veneration, of friendship, of peace, of reconciliation, of gratitude, of joy. In Christianity, and especially by its reception into the liturgy, it received a supernatural character and a higher consecration. The osculum sanctum, of which the Apostles speak, does not proceed merely from natural affection, but from caritas, from Christian brotherly love, which it would nourish and strengthen—this spiritual, divine love which has for its root Christian faith, and which is poured out by the Holy Ghost into our hearts and, therefore, appears, not as the work of nature, but of grace. The liturgical osculum (kiss of peace and the kissing of the hand of the celebrant at Solemn High Mass by the assistants) is given to persons and to things. As the hand is an emblem of power, of protection, of help and of blessing in general, kissing the hand symbolizes the veneration and esteem bestowed upon some one on account of the authority and blessings conferred upon him. This actus reverentialis is certainly appropriate toward the person who celebrates the Eucharistic Sacrifice—this act of omnipotent love—and who holds in his consecrated hand the Most Holy, who administers Holy Communion and blesses all present. (Cfr. Augsburg. Pastoralblatt, Jahrgang 1879, S. 249 etc.) — Erat osculum non solius communionis, sed et omnium ecclesiasticarum functionum signaculum et sigillum, quod in omnibus Sacramentis adhiberi solebat (Bona l. 2, c. 16, § 7). — In the Apostolic Epistles we frequently meet the admonition to the Christians, that with the kiss of love (φίλημα ἀγάπης), or with the holy kiss (φίλημα ἅγιον), they should salute one another (1 Peter 5, 14; Rom. 16, 16; 1 Cor. 16, 20). This salutation took place after reading the Apostolic Epistles in the assemblies for divine worship in individual congregations. Thus it came to pass that the holy kiss formed a constituent part of the Eucharistic Celebration from the days of the Apostles, as a symbol and confirmation of Christian love that lives in peace with all. In the Roman rite the kiss of peace has always been placed before the Communion¹⁰⁵⁹1059Pope Innocent I. writes to Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio, that the kiss of peace is not to be given until after the completion of the Holy Mysteries, that is, immediately before Communion. “You assert that some persons recommend the kiss of peace to the congregation before the completion of the Mysteries (ante confecta mysteria, that is, before the Consecration), or the priests mutually give it, when necessarily it should be given only after all is over, that by it may be revealed that the congregation give their consent to all that has been done in the Mysteries and celebrated in the church, and to prove by this sign of the concluding kiss of peace the completion of the celebration of reconciliation (finita esse pacis concludentis signaculo demonstrentur).”; in the Oriental Church, on the contrary, as well as in the Mozarabic and Gallican liturgies, it is placed already before the Consecration.¹⁰⁶⁰1060In many churches it was (with reference to Matt. 4, 23: si offers munus tuum ad altare etc.) given only before the Oblation (S.Justin. M. Apol. II, n. 65), that is, immediately before the Preface (Constit. Apostol. l. 2, c. 61). Moreover, the mode and manner of imparting the Pax varied at different epochs and in different churches.¹⁰⁶¹1061At the salutation of peace (Pax Domini . . .) the celebrant made the sign of the Cross over the chalice three times and then dropped the (reserved) particle into it, after which he gave the Pax to the archdeacon. Sed archidiaconus pacem dat episcopo priori, deinde ceteris per ordinem et populis (Ordo Rom. I, n. 18). — Archidiaconus pacem dat episcopo priori, qui et ultra dabit juxta se stanti ac deinde per ordinem ceteri, atque populus osculantur se invicem in osculo Christi (Ordo Rom. III, n. 16). — Veniens presbyter accipiat pacem ab episcopo, eandem ceteris oblaturus (Ordo Rom. V, n. 12). — Pontifex osculato altari (after the prayer for peace) convertat se ad capellanum et det ei pacem dicendo “Pax tecum”, quam ille recepturus prius inclinet reverenter ante Pontificem absque genuflexione; deinde recepta pace respondet “Et cum spiritu tuo” et osculetur pectus Pontificis . . . postea det pacem diacono, et diaconus subdiacono . . . et sic pax diffunditur per circumstantes (Ordo Rom. XIV, c. 53). Since the end of the thirteenth century, the real kiss (osculum oris)¹⁰⁶²1062Innocent III. and Durandus affirm that kissing on the mouth was still the custom in the thirteenth century. Sacerdos praebet osculum oris ministro... pacis osculum per universos fideles diffunditur in ecclesia (Innoc. III. l. 6, c. 5). — Sacerdos facta commixtione et finita oratione accipit in quibusdam ecclesiis pacem ab eucharistia sive ab ipso corpore Domini, vel secundum alios ab ipso sepulchro, i. e. calice vel altari, et mox praebet oris osculum ministro, sc. diacono (Durand. l. 4, c. 53). was gradually omitted, and only the embrace (amplexus) formerly connected with it has been retained. In consequence of this the Pax also began to be imparted in another way, namely, by presenting and kissing the so-called Osculatorium, that is, a small tablet to which was affixed the picture of the Saviour or of a saint. Later on, however, the general imparting of the Pax ceased and it was, as is the case at present, limited almost entirely to Solemn High Mass,¹⁰⁶³1063Cf. Erker, Enchiridion liturgicum sect. 3, tr. 2, c. 2. in which only the clergy assisting in the sanctuary receive the kiss of peace by embracing one another. On special occasions dignitaries of the laity are permitted to receive the kiss of peace through the Osculatorium.¹⁰⁶⁴1064In Solemn Requiem Masses the kiss of peace is omitted, since St. Thomas remarks (3, q. 83, a. 4), sacrificium offertur non pro pace praesenti, sed pro requie mortuorum. In the liturgy for the dead the Church is entirely engrossed in her care for the departed and, therefore, omits in all Requiem Masses also the preceding petition for peace for all present (dona nobis pacem) and the prayer for peace (Domine J. Chr. . . .) for the entire Church. Inasmuch as the osculum pacis is at the same time a symbol of joy and enhances the solemnity, it is likewise appropriately omitted in Solemn Requiem Masses. The opinion that the kiss of peace is omitted in Solemn Requiem Masses, because in them Holy Communion is not administered, is now untenable; for according to the general decree of S. R. C. 27. Jun. 1868 it is permitted to administer Holy Communion also with previously consecrated particles in black vestments as well during, as also immediately before and after the Requiem Mass. — On Holy Thursday the Church omits the osculum pacis, to express her sorrow and abhorrence of the deceitful kiss of Judas, as on Good Friday she omits the genuflection at the prayer for the Jews, because they reviled the Saviour on the day of His death by scornful genuflections. — The celebrant imparts it to the deacon, who gives it to the sub-deacon etc. Previously the priest, together with the deacon, kisses the altar, to salute Christ and His saints in love and reverence, and thus to confirm and renew the mystical relation to the heavenly Church. For this connection is the necessary condition and source of the holy Communion and Christian fraternal love which should reign among the members of the Church militant, and which finds its expression and seal in the mutual kiss of peace. In so far, therefore, as the kiss of peace is still in use, it has its proper place after the prayer for peace, and it serves as a preparation for the actual or spiritual reception of the Sacrament of charity and concord.¹⁰⁶⁵1065Liturgists of the Middle Age often regard not only the eulogies (hostiae non consecratae—panis benedictus sanctae communionis vicarius) and the Oratio super populum, but also the kiss of peace as a kind of surrogate (substitute) for the general Communion of the congregation, which at that epoch had ceased for a considerable time to take place daily. Contra hunc primae institutionis defectum triplex est remedium. Primum est pacis osculum ideoque in gallicana ecclesia datur in omni Missa nisi defunctorum; secundum est panis benedictus, qui eulogia dicitur, qui quia in Quadragesima propter abstinentiam dari non debuit, institutum est tertium remedium, sc. Oratio super populum, cui praedicitur: “Inclinate capita vestra Deo” (Sicard. l. 3, c. 8). — Cfr. Beleth. c. 48. — Durand. l. 4, c. 53, n. 3. This holy kiss “reconciles and unites souls to one another, promising an entire oblivion of all offences. It is a sign that the minds are again reconciled with one another, and that all remembrance of injustice suffered in the past is banished from the heart” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 5. Mystag. Catechism).