BOOKS

Taking a deeper look at the Mass through the saints

Reviewed by Andrew Junker | June 4, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

As the Diocese of Phoenix prepares to welcome three new priests to its fold, I think it’s appropriate that I should review a book about the Mass.

Without priests, of course, there would be no Mass. And the identity of the priest seems to be linked very closely to his celebration of the Mass.

It’s where he really acts as an alter Christus, or “another Christ,” during the eucharistic prayer. In a real and mystical way, when he consecrates the bread and wine, Christ acts through him and provides the Church with its spiritual nourishment.

Anyway, to honor — in a small way — the great gift of celebrating the Mass that will soon be given to Deacons Robert Bolding, Thielo Ramirez and William Schmid, and also to reacquaint myself with the spirituality of the Mass, I read the newly published book, “The Mass and the Saints,” by Dominican Father Thomas Crean.

Fr. Crean combed the writings of great saints, doctors of the Church, priests, religious and lay writings on each part of the Mass. They’re presented as little block-quoted meditations.

Like many aspects of Catholicism, the Mass is enormously rich in symbolism and meaning, action and meditation, physical realness and mystical reality.

In other words, what’s actually going on is often much more than what we are able to appreciate at Sunday Mass. This book can help expand one’s knowledge of the Rite of the Mass, while also broadening an appreciation of the many mysteries it contains.

“The Mass possesses both a literal and a mystical sense,” Fr. Crean writes. “It is both the offering of Christ’s body and blood, to God the Father then to the faithful, and a memorial of all God’s dealing with mankind since the Fall.”

It’s also a topic that Christian writers have been writing about since the very beginning, so Fr. Crean had plenty of authors to choose from.

He does give a warning at the beginning of the book that some of the quotes may be jarring to our modern ears. Some of these writers were very … direct, and their insights into the Mass might not prove particularly edifying.

But I’d wager most people would find plenty in here that does inspire. For instance, here’s a quote from St. Vincent Ferrer on the Kyrie Eleison.

“We can put forward three reasons why Christ should hear us and have mercy on us: because He is our brother; because He is our Redeemer; because He is our God. Therefore in the Mass we say three times, Christe, eleison.”

Now, this quote should give a clue as to why a number of Catholics would be hesitant to purchase it, even if they were interested in learning more about the Mass.

In the ordinary form of the Mass — the Mass that a huge majority of Catholics attend each week — “Christ have mercy” is not repeated three times.

“Lord have mercy,” is prayed twice, and “Christ have mercy” is offered just once. Of course, since the priest and congregation appeal for Jesus’ mercy three times in total, the insight still works very well.

So, why the discrepancy?

Because St. Vincent Ferrer never celebrated the Ordinary Form of the Mass. Or, rather, his “ordinary” form is what is now called the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, or the Gregorian Rite, or a host of other names.

But what could Fr. Crean do in writing a book collecting quotations on the Mass? The vast majority of the Church’s saints and writers lived and died before 1969, which was when the newer form of the Mass was introduced.

Much of the basic structure of the Mass has been carried into the newer form, albeit with many permutations, and readers who have never attended an Extraordinary Form of the Mass might be a bit confused at first, but Fr. Crean helpfully explains the difference between the two forms and the way the parts of the newer form correlate to the older form.

“I believe that whatever the form of Mass at which someone assists, these quotations may prove inspiring,” Fr. Crean writes.

I agree wholeheartedly, and the book also engages in a stated liturgical wish of Pope Benedict XVI as set out in his motu proprio, “Summorum Pontificum,” which liberalized the Tridentine Mass.

He wrote that one of his hopes was that the “two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching.”

“The Mass and the Saints” succeeds in this hope, but it also does something more important. It reminds the reader of the huge supply of enriching aspects at every Mass that are often easy to miss. 

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Media critic Andrew Junker is a staff writer for The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.