| Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
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| Propitiatory Sacrifice | Rich | Sunday, November 28, 2004 |
Question: The Divine Mercy prayer says, "Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world". Likewise also a venerable old prayer of St. Gertrude the Great says, "Eternal Father, I offer You the most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family." I always thought these prayers were an incredible summa of basic Christian Faith in Christ and the efficacy of His Cross. In fact, I thought they represented a devotional synopsis of the sacrificial meaning of the Eucharist. But this is not really the style of contemporary worship, is it?No one would ever newly compose those prayers based on the way Mass is celebrated today. I've definitely noticed that this core "ethos" seems to have been marginalized as much as possible in contemporary worship. Frankly, I'm perplexed. Can you offer some perspective on this? |
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| Question Answered by Mr. Jacob Slavek
Dear Rich, Yes I agree with most of what you have said, all I can really do though is offer an opinion. I am also perplexed that this style of prayer is rare in today's Liturgy, my hope is that the new translation will bring back some of the beauty. Of course though we still won't have the prayers you mentioned, they are devotional and not part of the Liturgy. As Catholics it is obvious we need to get back to saying these prayers in the home and in the church outside of Mass. They need to be taught to children in religious education. Also it is my hope that new prayers will be composed despite an absence of this style from the modern Liturgy. Mr. Slavek Footer Notes: (a) A Eucharistic Minister is clergy (Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion). Laity are Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and should never be called Eucharistic Ministers. (b) There is no such Mass called the Novus Ordo. The Current Mass is the Roman Missal of 2000, or the Oridinary Form of the Mass. The Tridentine Mass is the Roman Missal of 1962, or the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Please refrain from using the term, Novus Ordo. Thanks. (c) The titles of Acolyte and Lector belong exclusively to the Installed Offices of Acolyte and Lector, who are men (only) appointed by the Bishop. These roles performed by others are Altar Servers and Readers, respectively. |
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