Trying to appreciate mass a bit better. Some questions

[TIK]

tl;dr
1. At what exact point in the mass does the transubstantiation occur?
2. At what exact point in the mass does the sacrifice occur? (and is it accurate to say that Jesus “dies” at that point?)

I’m slowly coming to learn more about the mass and really deepen my appreciation of it, and it makes the whole experience rather wonderful when you have some idea of what is actually going on. (I can imagine children and hardline scientific athiests would find it rather boring, tedious and esoteric)
Obviously a high point of the mass is the real presence, made possible via transubstantiation. I’m really dying to know exactly when this happens though. I’ve heard something about the “epiclesis” and “amenuesis” and I think they have something to do with it, although I forget the details of what is what.
My current theory is that the transubstantiation happens at one of the following three points:

1. 
   *]when the priest repeats the words of christ “This is my body which will be given up for you” and “this is the blood of the new and eternal covenant…”. I’ve noticed that some priests lean towards the communion host and sort of whisper the words as if they are talking to the bread and the cup. There is just a general sense of “this part is really important” which makes me suspect that this is where the transubstantiation occurs.
   *]Alternatively, it could be when the priest then holds up the bread and then the wine above his head for the congregation to see. I note that in the vast majority of masses I’ve been to, there is an assistant who rings some bells at this point. The combination of the bells and the “lifting up” make this part seem very important, which again, makes me suspect that this is where the transubstantiation occurs.
   *]There is another point where I could swear the assistant rings some bells, although it’s not as obvious as the other time. I think it happens right after the priest holds his hands over the bread and the wine and delivers a lengthy prayer which concludes with something along the lines of “we pray that by your spirt these may become the body and blood of christ”. I think this part is called the epiclesis. Is this where the transubstation happens?
   
   My theory for when the sacrifice happens is that it is at one of the following three points
   1. 
      *]after the priest holds up the bread and the cup, he places it on the back on the alter and then bows down to it for a few moments. Is this an indication that the sacrifice has just happened? Or is it just an expression of worship/a form of eucharistic adoration?
      *]At a certain point in the mass - although I forget exactly when - the priest holds up the large communion wafer and breaks it in half. This breaking in half usually makes me think that “Christs body has just been broken” and I just think about sacrifice in general.
      *]Just a minor hunch, but does the sacrifice happen at the point where we eat the bread/body?
      
      If anyone who is knowledgeable about the mass could take the time to explain what all these things I’ve identified signify/what is happening in them, It would be much appreciated.
      
      Please note that I’m not trying to grasp the ungraspable and reduce to a neat formula something that is ultimately a mystery. I just want to more effectively immerse myself in the mass and deepen my appreciation for what is going on when I participate in it.
      
      If anyone can direct me to some good blog posts or books or online articles or papers which explain the significance of the various parts that make up the mass (eg what all the sitting and kneeling and call and response and motions and words of the priest signify) I would be very thankful.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

tl;dr
1. At what exact point in the mass does the transubstantiation occur?
2. At what exact point in the mass does the sacrifice occur? (and is it accurate to say that Jesus “dies” at that point?)

I’m slowly coming to learn more about the mass and really deepen my appreciation of it, and it makes the whole experience rather wonderful when you have some idea of what is actually going on. (I can imagine children and hardline scientific athiests would find it rather boring, tedious and esoteric)
Obviously a high point of the mass is the real presence, made possible via transubstantiation. I’m really dying to know exactly when this happens though. I’ve heard something about the “epiclesis” and “amenuesis” and I think they have something to do with it, although I forget the details of what is what.
My current theory is that the transubstantiation happens at one of the following three points:

1. 
   *]when the priest repeats the words of christ “This is my body which will be given up for you” and “this is the blood of the new and eternal covenant…”. I’ve noticed that some priests lean towards the communion host and sort of whisper the words as if they are talking to the bread and the cup. There is just a general sense of “this part is really important” which makes me suspect that this is where the transubstantiation occurs.
   *]Alternatively, it could be when the priest then holds up the bread and then the wine above his head for the congregation to see. I note that in the vast majority of masses I’ve been to, there is an assistant who rings some bells at this point. The combination of the bells and the “lifting up” make this part seem very important, which again, makes me suspect that this is where the transubstantiation occurs.
   *]There is another point where I could swear the assistant rings some bells, although it’s not as obvious as the other time. I think it happens right after the priest holds his hands over the bread and the wine and delivers a lengthy prayer which concludes with something along the lines of “we pray that by your spirt these may become the body and blood of christ”. I think this part is called the epiclesis. Is this where the transubstation happens?

1. 1. This is the correct answer. It is the words of the institution narrative, spoken by the priest presiding/priests concelebrating, that effect the transubstantiation of the two elements…the bread and the wine respectively.
   He is bowing not because he is talking to the bread and wine but as a gesture of reverence that the words he is pronouncing are the words of Christ, which he is speaking in persona Christi
   1. The bell is rung to indicate that the Eucharist is being shown to the people who adore the Lord, now present. At the moment of the showing, the transubstantiation has already occurred.
   Indeed, the lifting up of the consecrated elements at this moment – and at the conclusion of the anaphora/Eucharistic prayer are indeed liturgically significant and you have correctly intuited that.
   1. The epiclesis immediately precedes the institution narrative. A bell can indeed be rung at this moment as it indicates that the consecration is now proximate. The epiclesis constitutes that moment in the anaphora when the Holy Spirit is invoked by word and priestly gesture to descend upon the gifts of bread and wine. As this invocation occurs with words, the priest who presides (and any priests who concelebrate) extend hands over the gifts in an epicletic gesture…the palms of the hands facing down and over the gifts of bread and wine to be consecrated.
   Following the consecration (and the memorial acclamation of the people who are present) is when the anamnesis occurs as the salvific events of the Passion, Death, Resurrection and Glorification of Christ are recalled and at this point in the anaphora intercession is offered.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

My theory for when the sacrifice happens is that it is at one of the following three points

1. 
   *]after the priest holds up the bread and the cup, he places it on the back on the alter and then bows down to it for a few moments. Is this an indication that the sacrifice has just happened? Or is it just an expression of worship/a form of eucharistic adoration?
   *]At a certain point in the mass - although I forget exactly when - the priest holds up the large communion wafer and breaks it in half. This breaking in half usually makes me think that “Christs body has just been broken” and I just think about sacrifice in general.
   *]Just a minor hunch, but does the sacrifice happen at the point where we eat the bread/body?

1. 1. The genuflections are an act of adoration for Christ now present on the altar as the Blessed Sacrament. These occur after the respective consecrations of first the bread and then the wine; the genuflections occur in the moments after transubstantiation has occurred for each element.
   2. This is the rite of the commingling. It accompanies the singing or recitiation of the triple Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)
   The elements are consecrated separately – the bread becomes the Body of Christ and the wine becomes the Blood of Christ. Because the Eucharist is the living Christ, resurrected and glorified, the doctrine of Eucharistic concomitance teaches that where the Body is present the Blood and Soul and Divinity are concomitantly present by necessity – and that where the Blood is present, the Body and Soul and Divinity of Christ are concomitantly present by necessity – the Divinity being present in virtue of the Hypostatic Union.
   
   The Sign is broken at this moment of the liturgy – although Christ is not thereby divided but remains whole and entire in each of the divided fragments – and a tiny fragment of the Host is placed in the chalice as the Body of Christ (the Host) is thus joined to the Blood of Christ (the contents of the chalice) in an action by the priest who is presiding that places before us the resurrection of Christ just as the consecration of the elements separate and distinct places before us the death of Christ.
   1. The consummation of the sacrifice is when the priest who consecrated the elements consumes both of them. If this does not occur, the sacrifice would not be effected for not having been completed by the priest celebrant.
   (Actually, this is also done by each concelebrant in respect to his part in the Mass he concelebrates but when we speak of concelebration, it is slightly different. Each of the concelebrants must say the words of the institution narrative and partake of the elements they consecrated so that each of them will have offered and consummated the Mass that they have attempted to offer. The liturgical act qua act would be effected by any one of them achieving it even if all of them did not individually…as, for example, if one concelebrant were to have a heart attack or otherwise have to leave the sanctuary, the others would continue and the Mass would be completed – but the priest who was overcome would simply have not completed his proper participation in the liturgical rite…obviously through no fault of his own.)
   
   There is one instance in which this can be begun by one priest and completed by another – if the priest, who is a sole celebrant of the Mass, consecrates the bread (or the bread and wine) and becomes incapacitated before he is able to consume the consecrated elements and finish the Mass. It is the only time as a priest that I could consecrate one element without the other…if a priest consecrates the bread but falls unconscious or dead before he can consecrate the wine. At such a point, the Mass begun is to be seen to completion.
   
   Thus, another priest would have to proceed to consecrate the wine only (if only the bread had been consecrated) or take up in the rite wherever the priest stopped when he collapsed and continue the Mass to its consummation when he would consume the elements to consummate the sacrifice.
   
   That would complete the sacrifice even though it was begun in this singular instance by one priest and completed by another (either in completing the second consecration and consuming or in continuing from wherever the priest collapsed and consuming the elements). Otherwise there is to be a continuity of consecration and of consummation of the sacrifice by consumption of the elements that were consecrated.
   

   If anyone who is knowledgeable about the mass could take the time to explain what all these things I’ve identified signify/what is happening in them, It would be much appreciated.

   Please note that I’m not trying to grasp the ungraspable and reduce to a neat formula something that is ultimately a mystery. I just want to more effectively immerse myself in the mass and deepen my appreciation for what is going on when I participate in it.

   If anyone can direct me to some good blog posts or books or online articles or papers which explain the significance of the various parts that make up the mass (eg what all the sitting and kneeling and call and response and motions and words of the priest signify) I would be very thankful.

   Two books I would recommend are “The Hidden Manna: A Theology of the Eucharist” by Father James O’Connor and “The Sacraments and Their Celebration” by Father Nicholas Halligan, OP
   
   If you are not intimidated by reading the Summa Theologica of Saint Thomas Aquinas, you will find his treatment here
   
   newadvent.org/summa/4073.htm
   
   You will find a concise presentation of what he says in these questions of the Summa here
   
   catholictheology.info/summa-theologica/summa-part3.php?t=34

 

[TIK]

Thank you for your very helpful answers father! I’m sure this will further enrich my experience at mass next Sunday

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Thank you for your very helpful answers father! I’m sure this will further enrich my experience at mass next Sunday

You’re welcome.

It is worth quoting the text of Aquinas on the Eucharist that is used as a Sequence on the Solemnity of Corpus Domini…Lauda Sion.

I will bold the parts that deal with the fracture rite that you were asking about…when the Host is broken and a particle is added to the chalice. The underlying theology, derived from the Theology of Sign as it relates to the Eucharist, is important to understand.

It can happen that it is necessary to break consecrated Hosts if there has been a miscalculation of the number needed for the communicants. Dividing the Hosts does not diminish the Real Presence that is received in Holy Communion.

Laud, O Zion, your salvation,
Laud with hymns of exultation,
Christ, your king and shepherd true:

Bring him all the praise you know,
He is more than you bestow.
Never can you reach his due.

Special theme for glad thanksgiving
Is the quick’ning and the living
Bread today before you set:

From his hands of old partaken,
As we know, by faith unshaken,
Where the Twelve at supper met.

Full and clear ring out your chanting,
Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting,
From your heart let praises burst:

For today the feast is holden,
When the institution olden
Of that supper was rehearsed.

Here the new law’s new oblation,
By the new king’s revelation,
Ends the form of ancient rite:

Now the new the old effaces,
Truth away the shadow chases,
Light dispels the gloom of night.

What he did at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
His memorial ne’er to cease:

And his rule for guidance taking,
Bread and wine we hallow, making
Thus our sacrifice of peace.

This the truth each Christian learns,
Bread into his flesh he turns,
To his precious blood the wine:

Sight has fail’d, nor thought conceives,
But a dauntless faith believes,
Resting on a pow’r divine.

Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things are all we see:

Blood is poured and flesh is broken,
Yet in either wondrous token
Christ entire we know to be.

Whoso of this food partakes,
Does not rend the Lord nor breaks;
Christ is whole to all that taste:

Thousands are, as one, receivers,
One, as thousands of believers,
Eats of him who cannot waste.

Bad and good the feast are sharing,
Of what divers dooms preparing,
Endless death, or endless life.

Life to these, to those damnation,
See how like participation
Is with unlike issues rife.

**When the sacrament is broken,
Doubt not, but believe ‘tis spoken,
That each sever’d outward token
doth the very whole contain.

Nought the precious gift divides,
Breaking but the sign betides
Jesus still the same abides,
still unbroken does remain**.

Lo! the angel’s food is given
To the pilgrim who has striven;
see the children’s bread from heaven,
which on dogs may not be spent.

Truth the ancient types fulfilling,
Isaac bound, a victim willing,
Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling,
manna to the fathers sent.

Very bread, good shepherd, tend us,
Jesu, of your love befriend us,
You refresh us, you defend us,
Your eternal goodness send us
In the land of life to see.

You who all things can and know,
Who on earth such food bestow,
Grant us with your saints, though lowest,
Where the heav’nly feast you show,
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

 

[pianistclare]

I’m bookmarking this for my students!

:heaven:

 

[ichabode]

**
2. At what exact point in the mass does the sacrifice occur? (and is it accurate to say that Jesus “dies” at that point?)**

You can see other postings about this topic.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=976952

On your point #2 It is not accurate to say that Jesus “dies” at that point. Jesus died once for all on Calvary, and does not, nor will He ever die again. The Mass makes present for us that historically one time sacrifice by Jesus on the cross. The book of Hebrews brings out the eternal element of the sacrifice as Jesus (the second person in the Trinity) is presenting himself to the Father. You can also read the Catechism CCC 1366.

 

[Vico]

tl;dr
1. At what exact point in the mass does the transubstantiation occur?
2. At what exact point in the mass does the sacrifice occur? (and is it accurate to say that Jesus “dies” at that point?)

I’m slowly coming to learn more about the mass and really deepen my appreciation of it, and it makes the whole experience rather wonderful when you have some idea of what is actually going on. (I can imagine children and hardline scientific athiests would find it rather boring, tedious and esoteric)
Obviously a high point of the mass is the real presence, made possible via transubstantiation. I’m really dying to know exactly when this happens though. I’ve heard something about the “epiclesis” and “amenuesis” and I think they have something to do with it, although I forget the details of what is what.
My current theory is that the transubstantiation happens at one of the following three points:

1. 
   *]when the priest repeats the words of christ “This is my body which will be given up for you” and “this is the blood of the new and eternal covenant…”. I’ve noticed that some priests lean towards the communion host and sort of whisper the words as if they are talking to the bread and the cup. There is just a general sense of “this part is really important” which makes me suspect that this is where the transubstantiation occurs.
   *]Alternatively, it could be when the priest then holds up the bread and then the wine above his head for the congregation to see. I note that in the vast majority of masses I’ve been to, there is an assistant who rings some bells at this point. The combination of the bells and the “lifting up” make this part seem very important, which again, makes me suspect that this is where the transubstantiation occurs.
   *]There is another point where I could swear the assistant rings some bells, although it’s not as obvious as the other time. I think it happens right after the priest holds his hands over the bread and the wine and delivers a lengthy prayer which concludes with something along the lines of “we pray that by your spirt these may become the body and blood of christ”. I think this part is called the epiclesis. Is this where the transubstation happens?
   
   My theory for when the sacrifice happens is that it is at one of the following three points
   1. 
      *]after the priest holds up the bread and the cup, he places it on the back on the alter and then bows down to it for a few moments. Is this an indication that the sacrifice has just happened? Or is it just an expression of worship/a form of eucharistic adoration?
      *]At a certain point in the mass - although I forget exactly when - the priest holds up the large communion wafer and breaks it in half. This breaking in half usually makes me think that “Christs body has just been broken” and I just think about sacrifice in general.
      *]Just a minor hunch, but does the sacrifice happen at the point where we eat the bread/body?
      
      If anyone who is knowledgeable about the mass could take the time to explain what all these things I’ve identified signify/what is happening in them, It would be much appreciated.
      
      Please note that I’m not trying to grasp the ungraspable and reduce to a neat formula something that is ultimately a mystery. I just want to more effectively immerse myself in the mass and deepen my appreciation for what is going on when I participate in it.
      
      If anyone can direct me to some good blog posts or books or online articles or papers which explain the significance of the various parts that make up the mass (eg what all the sitting and kneeling and call and response and motions and words of the priest signify) I would be very thankful.

1. 1. 
      Also, in other rites the precise moment of consecration will not be defined, such as in the Assyrian Church of the East (determined to be Valid consecration by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church), the Eucharistic prayer (Anaphora) of Addai and Mari starting just after the Holy, Holy:
      
      Do you, O my Lord, in your manifold mercies make a good remembrance for all the upright and just fathers, the prophets and apostles and martyrs and confessors, in the commemoration of the Body and Blood of your Christ, which we offer to you on the pure and holy altar, as you have taught us in his life-giving gospel …
      
      And we also, O my Lord, your servants who are gathered and stand before you, and have received by tradition the example which is from you, rejoicing and glorifying and exalting and commemorating this mystery of the passion and death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
      
      And let your Holy Spirit come, O my Lord, and rest upon this offering of your servants, that it may be for us for the pardon of sins and for the forgiveness of shortcomings, and for the resurrection from the dead, and for new life in the kingdom of heaven.
      
      And for your dispensation which is towards us we give you thanks and glorify you in your Church redeemed by the precious Blood of your Christ, with open mouths and unveiled faces offering glory and honor and thanksgiving and adoration to your holy name, now and at all times, and for ever and ever. Amen!
      
      See: “A long and careful study was undertaken of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, from a theological, liturgical and historical perspective, at the end of which the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith on January 17th, 2001 concluded that this Anaphora can be considered valid. Pope John Paul II subsequently approved this decision.”
      vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20011025_chiesa-caldea-assira_en.html

 

[Church_Militant]

I suggest that you get hold of Dr, Edward Sri’s book A Biblical Walk Through the Mass which is one of the best sources I have ever found anywhere. If you want to really bless your parish talk to your Religious Education director and get the video series. It would also be a great for part of RCIA.

 

[otjm]

While we are adding books, I would strongly recommend Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, by Dr. Brant Pitre. It is a real eye opener.

 

[fred_conty]

The Nature of the Sacrifice of the Mass from Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma.

In the Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross is made present, its memory is celebrated, and its saving power is applied. (De fide.)

In the Sacrifice of the Mass and in the Sacrifice of the Cross the Sacrificial Gift and the Primary Sacrificing Priest are identical; only the nature and mode of the offering are different. (De fide.)

The essential Sacrificial Action consists in the Transubstantiation alone. (Sent. communis.)

The Sacrifice of the Mass is not merely a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, but also a sacrifice of expiation and impetration. (De fide.)

In attending Mass many think the Mass is only about Communion. It is being at Calvary with Christ on the cross offering ourselves with him in our daily living. St. Augustine has this to say:

“Man himself, consecrated in the name of God and vowed to God, is therefore a sacrifice insofar as he dies to the world in order to live for God.”
the City of God

It is a sacrifice of expiation for ourselves and the whole world…the one offering that God the Father would never refuse(impetration) because it is his beloved Son(s).