Purification of the Sacred Vessels & the "Quod ore sumpsimus..."

[japhy]

I am curious about the prayer to be recited during the purification of the sacred vessels: Quod ore sumpsimus Domine, pura mente capiamus: et de munere temporali fiat nobis remedium sempiternum.

Was this prayer said by EMHCs who purified the vessels after Mass (when that indult was allowed)? Is it said by the priest when he purifies the vessels after Mass now?

This is why I think purification should take place during the Mass: first, that’s how it’s arranged in the Sacramentary itself; second, when it takes place outside of Mass, I think it is more prone to being done hastily and as a “cleaning” process, not as a ritual. I wonder if the quod ore is prayed when purification happens outside of the Mass.

 

[John_Lilburne]

I am not sure. I don’t think there is anything explicit directing a lay minister (such as an instituted acolyte) to say this prayer.

From the 2002 General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) approved for the USA, which can be accessed from romanrite.com/girm.html :
“163. … Upon returning to the altar, the priest collects any fragments that may remain. Then, standing at the altar or at the credence table, he purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice then purifies the chalice, saying quietly, Quod ore sumpsimus (Lord, may I receive), and dries the chalice with a purificator. If the vessels are purified at the altar, they are carried to the credence table by a minister. Nevertheless, it is also permitted, especially if there are several vessels to be purified, to leave them suitably covered on a corporal, either at the altar or at the credence table, and to purify them immediately after Mass following the dismissal of the people.”

This is the only place where “Quod ore” are found in the GIRM.

The Order of Mass part of the 2002 Missale Romanum has:
“137. Distributione Communionis expleta, sacerdos vel diaconus vel acolythus purificat patenam super calicem et ipsum calicem.
Dum purificationem peragit, sacerdos dicit secreto:
Quod ore sumpsimus, …”.
(Missale Romanum, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2002, ISBN: 8820972719, page 602.)

A translation of these words in a book I have “Daily Roman Missal” (Scepter Publishers, 1996, ISBN 0-933932-58-8, page 741) is:
“The vessels are cleansed by the priest or deacon or acolyte after the communion or after Mass, if possible at the side table. [footnote 18: General Instruction, no. 238.]
Meanwhile he says inaudibly:
Lord, may I receive …”.

These are also the instructions found in the currently used Roman Missal (Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1985, page 565.)

The translation “he says inaudibly” means that the acolyte should say this. But the Latin says “sacerdos dicit” which I think would normally be translated as “the priest says”.

Things may be clearer when the new translation of the Order of Mass is published.

 

[japhy]

The Order of Mass part of the 2002 Missale Romanum has:
“137. Distributione Communionis expleta, sacerdos vel diaconus vel acolythus purificat patenam super calicem et ipsum calicem.
Dum purificationem peragit, sacerdos dicit secreto:
Quod ore sumpsimus, …”.
(Missale Romanum, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2002, ISBN: 8820972719, page 602.)

Here’s what the 1985 Roman Missal has (in its appendix containing the Latin for the Novus Ordo ordinary):
138. Distributione Communionis expleta, sacerdoes vel diaconus purificat patenam super calicem et ipsum calicem.

Dum purificationem peragit, sacerdos dicit secreto:

Quod ore sumpsimus…
This is essentially identical with the 2002 Ordo Missae, with the exception of “vel acolythus”.

A translation of these words in a book I have “Daily Roman Missal” (Scepter Publishers, 1996, ISBN 0-933932-58-8, page 741) is:
“The vessels are cleansed by the priest or deacon or acolyte after the communion or after Mass, if possible at the side table. [footnote 18: General Instruction, no. 238.]
Meanwhile he says inaudibly:
Lord, may I receive …”.

Except that’s not a translation. Let me try:
The distribution of Communion being completed, the priest or the deacon [or the acolyte] purifies the paten over the chalice, and the chalice itself.

While the purification is being carried out, the priest says inaudibly: “That which we have taken by our mouths…”
So I am curious if the priest says the prayer, regardless of who does the purification, or if sacerdos dicit is shorthand for sacerdos vel diaconus [vel acolythus] dicit, given the prescription for who can do the actual purifying.

Granted, the 2002 GIRM (#279) says: “Vasa sacra purificantur a sacerdote vel a diacono vel ab acolytho instituto post Communionem vel post Missam, quantum fieri potest ad abacum.” (“The sacred vessels are purified by the priest, the deacon, or an instituted acolyte after Communion or after Mass, insofar as possible at the credence table.”) GIRM #163 also covers the purification in slightly more detail:
Sacerdos, ad altare reversus, colligit fragmenta, si quae sint; deinde, stans ad latus altaris vel ad abacum, purificat patenam vel pyxidem super calicem, postea purificat calicem, dicens secreto: Quod ore súmpsimus, et calicem purificatorio exterget. Si vasa purificata sunt ad altare, a ministro deferuntur ad abacum. Licet tamen vasa purificanda, praesertim si sint plura, opportune cooperta, in altari vel in abaco super corporale relinquere eaque statim post Missam, populo dimisso, purificare.

Upon returning to the altar, the priest collects any fragments that may remain. Then, standing at the altar or at the credence table, he purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice then purifies the chalice, saying quietly, Quod ore sumpsimus (Lord, may I receive), and dries the chalice with a purificator. If the vessels are purified at the altar, they are carried to the credence table by a minister. Nevertheless, it is also permitted, especially if there are several vessels to be purified, to leave them suitably covered on a corporal, either at the altar or at the credence table, and to purify them immediately after Mass following the dismissal of the people.
Here there is preference (by virtue of the order of the options) for the purification to take place at Mass at the altar.

I find it unsettling, sometimes, how much of the Mass is left up to the whim of the priest. There are so many options in the Novus Ordo Mass.

 

[drafdog]

My St. Joseph Daily Missal (copyright 1959 by Catholic Book Publishing Co.) translates the prayer:
“What has passed our lips as food, Lord, may we possess in purity of heart that what is given us in time may be our healing for eternity.”
This is a prayer which asks God to open the hearts of the congregation to the efficacy of the sacrament. It is completely unrelated to the act of purification of the sacred vessels. The prayer is followed by:
“May your body, Lord, which I have eaten and your blood which I have drunk cleave unto my very soul, and grant that no trace of sin be found in me whom these pure and holy mysteries have renewed. Who live and reign world without end. Amen.”
Again a prayer for openness to the graces of the Eucharist, but for the celebrant specifically.
I have from my boyhood made these prayers part of my Eucharistic devotion and I firmly believe that all recipients of Eucharist would benefit by praying them as have I.

Matthew

 

[japhy]

This is a prayer which asks God to open the hearts of the congregation to the efficacy of the sacrament. It is completely unrelated to the act of purification of the sacred vessels.

Right, I can understand it as a prayer that doesn’t have anything to do with the purifying, but it is still prescribed to be said during the purification. So the question becomes, if the purification happens after Mass, is the prayer said to coincide with the purification, or during the part of Mass normally occupied by the purification?

 

[Fr_Albert]

I think everybody will agree that Ordo Missae nº137 now directs only the priest to pray “quod ore sumpsimus…” while purifying sacred vessels. However, Ordo Missae nº24 directs also a deacon (not only the priest) to pray "haec commixtio … " when pouring a little water into the chalice with wine. From the comparison between both rules, it might be concluded that also a deacon, and even an acolythe, should use the above said prayer while purifications take place, and that the omission on rule nº 137 is not intented, but just a mistake. Msgr. Elliot so seems to think for he teaches whomsoever is to purify sacred vessels to recite “quod ore sumpsimus” (Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite, nº348). At any rate, only the Congregation for Divine Worship can have the final word about it, so their recently edited INDICES should be consulted in case an authorised response has already be given to this question, or else the question is to be put direct to Them, for the Supreme Authority to decide.
As to the doubt whether this prayer still makes sense when purification takes place after Mass, let me regard it as irrelevant. In this case, purification ought to be made immediately (lat. “statim”) after Mass, so “quod ore sumpsimus” continues to keep all its meaning in obvious relationship with preceding holy communion.