the Preface), the Post-Sanctus and the Post-Pridie, that is the prayer said between the Institution narrative and the doxology in place of the Intercessions which are placed before the Sursum Corda. How should we respond to the new situation? The Celebrant, whether bishop or priest, faces them and sings or says The Lord be with you. 4. For example, the guidelines issued on June 2, 1968 to assist catechesis on the anaphoras of the Mass say: In the existing Roman Canon its unity and the logical sequence of its ideas are not immediately or readily perceptible. The Second Vatican Council happened to coincide with a period in western history marked by a profound and revolutionary upheaval in societal thought and mores. To describe the structure of the Anaphoras as it became standardized from the 4th century, we can look at the structure of the anaphoras in the Antiochene family of liturgies (West Syriac Rite and Byzantine Rite) [2]:6 which display an order and logic that finds no equal elsewhere. The accout of what happened to the Roman Canon continues in Part II following. After the Sanctus follows a recapitulation of salvation history, especially the Incarnation, and leads into the words of Jesus over the bread and wine at the Mystical Supper, as Eastern Christians often refer to the Last Supper: "Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you, for the forgiveness of sins." Beginning with the Oxford Movement of the 1840s and after the Liturgical Reform Movement of the 1950s, a systematic examination of historic anaphoras began and this in turn has caused the reform of many Eucharistic prayers within mainline Protestant denominations. We cannot follow the path to a foreign liturgy without carefully examining and fostering our own inheritance. But the pope did not elaborate on “specified times”. Each eucharistic prayer has its own internal logic, its own way of unfolding the sacrifice and paschal mystery. (He does treat the merits of the Roman canon as well, but that section is much shorter.). The Canon is unsatisfactory from a stylistic viewpoint.”, Despite pressure from advocates of alternative prayers, Pope Paul VI objected to changing the Canon. The other collaborators for the volume were Louis Ligier, Joseph Jungmann, Alphonse Raes, Leo Eizenhöfer and Jordi Pinell. 6 the Order of Mass Eucharistic Prayer iii 3 115. Copyright © 2020 Adoremus. messages and emissaries between the Netherlands and Rome in order to resolve the problem. It is appropriate that the commemoration of the … Steps in the process toward official promulgation. [3]:140 The Roman Canon's prayers Communicantes, Hanc igitur, and the post-consecration Memento etiam and Nobis quoque were added in the 5th century,[12] and it achieved practically its present form when modified by Gregory the Great (590-604)[13] (see History of the Roman Canon). On November 17, 1972, the Secretary of State sent the draft Instruction to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In any case, neither the Schema nor the final text of Sacrosanctum Concilium make any mention of new Eucharistic Prayers. In a very schematic way, these are the steps which the texts of the new Eucharistic Prayers went through in order to receive final approval (cf. A sixth reason for the change from one Eucharistic Prayer to many is a very simple shift from old-rite formalism to new-rite formalism. (i.e. This was not always so, however. Bugnini, p.482, n.50. (Note the pattern: unauthorized experimentation first, pressure for permission later). If this applies to homes, it applies all the more to public buildings, which in this century have achieved new heights of ugliness. Bugnini, pp.478-479. How much more time does it add to the Mass: three or four minutes perhaps? The anaphoras are addressed by the Church to the Father, even if in antiquity there were cases of Eucharistic prayers addressed to Christ, as the anaphora of Gregory Nazianzen or partially the Third Anaphora of St. Peter (Sharar). “This did not happen” (Bugnini, p.465). Bugnini, pp. For the English translation, cf. 3 Josef Jungmann, “Um die Reform des römischen Kanons: eine kritische Stellungnahme zu C. Vagagginis Entwürfen“, Liturgisches Jahrbuch 17 (1967) 2. 4) Should the episcopal conferences be able to compose new Eucharistic Prayers that satisfy criteria set down by the Holy See and are then submitted to the latter? It was decided to act upon Pope Paul’s instructions by adopting two already-existing anaphoras, that of Hippolytus (the inspiration for Eucharistic Prayer II) and the Alexandrian anaphora of St. By formalism I mean the desire to observe the prescribed rituals, but to get them done as quickly as possible so as to move on to more important things. 2) Because of its distinctive features, Eucharistic Prayer II is better suited to weekdays or to special occasions. 3) Is it enough that the Holy See should provide some models to be adapted by the episcopal conferences? In the secular order, this time period was marked by a massive and sometimes anarchic rejection of structure and authority. (This norm, in effect, limits the use of this Eucharistic Prayer to rare occasions: it cannot be used during any of the strong seasons when there is a proper preface, i.e. The people remain standing. La comparaison est boiteuse.” Bernard Botte, “Où en est la réforme du Canon de la Messe?“, Les Questions Liturgiques et Paroissiales 49 (1968) 139. 14 There is an error here in Bugnini’s text, as the numbers do not add up. One could recommend that priests read and study in this area, but practically speaking, most priests have little time for extra study. In the East the more ancient text is probably the ancient form of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, followed by the East Syriac Rite Whether speaking of structure or of theology, the main argument seems to be that the Roman canon is untidy. On the contrary, it is judged that the wiser course is to counsel a more complete catechesis on the real nature of the eucharistic prayer…”22. What we have here, says Jungmann, is the personal theology of the author (emphasis added), not the universal theology of the Church.31 In addition, it must be noted that while Vagaggini’s pneumatological preoccupation is in itself praiseworthy, it is anachronistic to blame an ancient text for lack of clarity in this area, especially when the Roman canon was composed quite outside of the ambit of fourth-century doctrinal controversies over the nature and role of the Holy Spirit. Bugnini personally, however, lobbied the Holy Father to make some sort of positive gesture even if the entire request could not be granted: namely, that Belgium be allowed one of the five anaphoras requested, and that the Netherlands be allowed continued use of the Eucharistic Prayer that had already been approved for the Dutch Pastoral Colloquium the year before. The first approved Eucharistic Prayers are four: In the years after the reform of Pope Paul VI other Eucharistic Prayers were authorized: A typical characteristic of the Latin rites different from the Roman Rite is the great variability of portions of the Roman Canon which change according to the liturgical year and the Mass. Brazil also received permission for a new anaphora on November 11, 1974 for its National Eucharistic Congress. The Eucharistic Prayer is the heart of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. E-mail: [email protected]. The first reason is quite straightforward. The Canons suggested by various sources tend to be revisions of the text with a view to curtailing the elements just mentioned and relocating other intercessory prayers (Memento, Communicantes, Nobis quoque) so as to make the Eucharistic Prayer more of a single unit that includes the Preface, Sanctus and anamnesis. 17 “La publication“, Notitiae 4 (1968) 146-148; DOL #243, pp.612-613. V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is necessary to follow closely the various twists and turns in the path of this development, however, in order to be in a position to understand why things happened the way they did. In western Christian traditions which have a comparable rite, the Anaphora is more often called the Eucharistic Prayer for the four modern anaphoras in the Latin liturgy, with the first anaphora having the additional name of the Roman Canon. Eucharistic Prayer n. 3: it is a new composition that uses the Antiochene structure filled with Alexandrine and Roman themes. Diverse forms of the Eucharistic prayer … At a plenary meeting of the special Study Group, March 7-11, 1972, the Secretariat of State asked that the members be brought up to date concerning the recent communications sent by him to the Congregation for Divine Worship, lest the Fathers “in ignorance of the real thinking of his Holiness, proceed along the path traced out by the periti, although this is not fully in conformity with the directives given to them… (Bugnini, p.471, n.31)”. In order to prepare these texts, another study group was set up. The new compositions adopted were the two proposed by Vagaggini. 4 – 6 : September – November 1996 (Originally published in three parts, but reproduced in full here). I would like to propose six basic reasons. The “particular times” are not specified, and the Holy Father left open the possibility of borrowing the new anaphoras from the tradition or composing entirely new prayers. Dissatisfaction with the Roman Canon and architectural functionalism. For the English text cf. [22] In addition, the "offering was our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, and ourselves," reflecting the theology of Thomas Cranmer and Methodism's Anglican patrimony in general.[22]. All these put pressure on the Supreme Pastor… (Bugnini, p.474, n.32). Bugnini, p.466 for a list of these concessions. … In the average parish today, Eucharistic Prayer II is the one most frequently used, even on Sunday. (Bugnini, p.449). These requests received a decidedly negative reaction at the ordinary joint meeting of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments. 471-472): 1) In view of the present situation regarding the development and use of Eucharistic Prayers, should competent authority takes some steps to increase the number of these prayers? News of these experiments soon got out, and various people complained to the Holy See. The Eucharistic Prayer itself was not originally a concern of the Consilium, but rather the revision of the Ordo Missae. The new Eucharistic Prayers should be restricted to special, well-prepared groups. DOL #248, pp.623-629. This is the most solemn point of the anaphora, as it is from that point on the bread and wine are considered to be the literal body and blood of Christ and not from the Words of Institution as in some other traditions. 24 For information about the composition of these texts, cf. Bugnini interprets the matter thus: “The intention was that the Congregation should adhere strictly to the juridical procedure of the Roman Curia. Most of these texts became parts of anaphorae still in use. Churches. The fourth Eucharistic prayer is hardly ever used; in part because it is long, in part because in some places in the U.S. it has been unofficially banned because of its frequent use of the word “man”. The Preface to Sarapion’s Eucharistic prayer bears resemblance in its cadence and rhythm to extant Gnostic anaphoras. Pastorally, the Eucharistic Prayers are three-way conversations involving God, the gathered assembly, and the ordained presider (priest or bishop). The Eucharist & Social Justice 10. All Rights Reserved. From October 1971 to March 1972, this special Study Group met several times, producing a working document of some one hundred pages analyzing the problem and proposing solutions. I am to tell you that, all things considered, it is perhaps better to leave the traditional text unchanged; this, however, does not mean that study of the subject is not to continue (Bugnini, p.152, n.30). 5) Are the guidelines set down in Chapter VI for preparing and evaluating Eucharistic Prayers acceptable? Problems after official promulgation of the new Eucharistic Prayers, One might have expected that the official publication of the new Missal with three new Eucharistic Prayers in addition to the Roman Canon would have put an end to unbridled experimentation. Scholars find structural similarities in between the Roman and Egyptian anaphoral traditions:[3]:141 for instance the Barcelona Papyrus, as well as Deir Balyzeh Papyrus, include an epiclesis before the Words of Institution as in the Roman Canon. For the official texts, cf. 5. He recently retired as prior but continues to serve the community and teach liturgy at the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm in Rome. While the door had certainly been drawn to, it had not been slammed shut, since the circular letter included the following proviso: Moved by a pastoral love for unity, the Apostolic See reserves to itself the right to regulate a matter so important as the discipline of the eucharistic prayers. In the Fall of 1966, there was much coming and going of Later, those changes would be introduced into the Roman canon as well. Bugnini reports that the Secretary of State, Cardinal Cicognani, wrote to the president of the Consilium, Cardinal Lercaro, on October 25, 1965 and again on December 10, 1965, urging extreme caution (Bugnini, p.152, n.30). The lists of saints are too local; 3. Bugnini, p.465). Hence when the Eucharistic Prayer began to be said aloud in the vernacular, with four to choose from — and the Roman canon chosen rarely, if ever — the average layman did not realize that 1600 years of tradition had suddenly vanished like a lost civilization, leaving few traces behind, and those of interest only to archaeologists and tourists. The summer months, and the Congregation for Divine Worship then dutifully drafted Instruction. – 6: September – November 1996 ( originally published in three.. 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