I think I’ve shown that the extension of the wording of Can. 899 to the conclude that the list (or set) of eucharistic celebrations is populated by only one liturgy – the Mass, to be illogical although possible.
You have not convinced me of that.
Can. 899 §1
The celebration of the Eucharist is an action of Christ himself and of the Church. In it Christ the Lord, through the ministry of the priest, offers himself, substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine, to God the Father, and gives himself as spiritual nourishment to the faithful who are associated with him in his offering.
§2 In the eucharistic assembly the people of God are called together under the presidency of the Bishop or of a priest authorised by him, who acts in the person of Christ. All the faithful present, whether clerics or lay people, unite to participate in their own way, according to their various orders and liturgical roles.
§3 The
eucharistic celebration is to be so ordered that all the participants derive from it the many fruits for which Christ the Lord instituted the eucharistic Sacrifice.
The two phrases “celebration of the Eucharist” and “Eucharistic celebration” are referring to the same thing here. In fact, let’s use the
normative official Latin text of the CIC to remove all doubt:
DE EUCHARISTICA CELEBRATIONE
Can. 899 — § 1.
Eucharistica celebratio actio est ipsius Christi et Ecclesiae, in qua Christus Dominus, ministerio sacerdotis, semetipsum, sub speciebus panis et vini substantialiter praesentem, Deo Patri offert atque fidelibus in sua oblatione sociatis se praebet ut cibum spiritualem.
§ 2. In eucharistica Synaxi populus Dei in unum convocatur, Episcopo aut, sub eius auctoritate, presbytero praeside, personam Christi gerente, atque omnes qui intersunt fideles, sive clerici sive laici, suo quisque modo pro ordinum et liturgicorum munerum diversitate, participando concurrunt.
§ 3.
Celebratio eucharistica ita ordinetur, ut omnes participantes exinde plurimos capiant fructus, ad quos obtinendos Christus Dominus Sacrificium eucharisticum instituit.
The same Latin phrase is used in both places. Thus, since 899 § 1
defines what the
eucharistica celebratio is (and in no way that I can see which infers the existence of other rites that constitute a
eucharistica celebratio), I think it is understood universally (or
should be) that
eucharistica celebratio = Mass.
And the Church might very well be currently using wordy and ambiguous expressions to her detriment. I don’t know why or when the English phrase “Eucharistic celebration” came into vogue. The first place I know of its use in a Church document is the English translation of
De Musica Sacra et Sacra Liturgia from 1958:
The more noble form of the Eucharistic celebration is the solemn Mass because in it the solemnities of ceremonies, ministers, and sacred music all combine to express the magnificence of the divine mysteries, and to impress upon the minds of the faithful the devotion with which they should contemplate them
It was also used in Vatican II:
Priests themselves extend to the other hours of the day the praise and thanksgiving of the
Eucharistic celebration Eucharistiae celebratione: “celebration
of the Eucharist (noun)”] in praying the Divine Office, offered in the name of the Church for all the people entrusted to their care, and indeed for the whole world. (
Presbyterorum Ordinis 5)
Everyone also knows with what great love the Christians of the East celebrate the sacred liturgy, especially the
eucharistic celebration celebrationem eucharisticam: “eucharist
ic (adjective) celebration”], source of the Church’s life and pledge of future glory, in which the faithful, united with their bishop, have access to God the Father through the Son, the Word made flesh, Who suffered and has been glorified, and so, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they enter into communion with the most holy Trinity, being made ``sharers of the divine nature’’. Hence, through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist in each of these churches, the Church of God is built up and grows in stature and through concelebration, their communion with one another is made manifest. (
Unitatis Redintegratio 15)
Read
Redemptionis Sacramentum or
Sacramentum Caritatis and you’ll see that “Eucharistic celebration” means
precisely the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
