On the Preparation of Altar Bread in the ciborium

I offered Mass in another parish and during communion, I discovered that there were a lot of broken pieces of the Sacred Species in the ciboria taken from the tabernacle. During the purification of the vessels, I decided to collect the broken pieces of the Sacred Species and all these filled one fourth of a ciborium (added to this would be the thick mound of Sacred Particles / "crumbs" for the uncatechized).

St. Therese as sacristan

I was saddened by this because such should show so much carelessness in the preparation of the gifts for the Mass. It seemed that the sacristan / some other minister in charge simply opened a plastic bag of altar bread and poured the contents into the ciboria without even bothering to check if the bread poured were broken or damaged. He might even have carelessly poured in the crumbs also.

Does the presence of the crumbs in the ciborium matter? So what if there were broken pieces of altar bread included in the gifts to be consecrated? I think proper attention should have been given to the preparation of the hosts not simply on account of some "pickiness" on my part but rather in the theology that goes with it.

I remember the Rev. Fr. Frederick Fermin, OP, our rector, once reprimanded me regarding the preparation of the altar bread. He insisted that the big host and the small hosts should be carefully selected. Care must be taken in the selection of the altar bread. The one in charge of this must make sure that there are no breakage in each piece.  This is because the lamb selected for the sacrifice must always be unblemished and uninjured. This is the reason why the shepherds kept watch during the night of the birthing season of the sheep. They have to make sure that each lamb born from the Temple flock would be wrapped in swaddling clothes to keep them from injuring themselves. The lambs born from the Temple flock had to be unblemished so that they can be offered in sacrifice during the Paschal feast.

If we keep in mind that the Mass is truly the Sacrifice of Christ, we will understand the necessity of carefully selecting the altar bread to be used. The "lamb" must be unblemished. The only time the Lamb is broken would be at the breaking of the bread. The ritual of the breaking of the bread is not done only to distribute and share the Body of Christ among those who take part in the sacrifice. The breaking of the bread is also the moment of destruction of the Sacred Victim. It is the moment when the Holy Sacrifice is consummated. Thus, the spotless, unblemished, uninjured Host is destroyed in an act of Sacrifice which renders God the highest act of worship.

Thus, the sacristans must be mindful of their job. I have offered Masses in convents of consecrated women and I truly appreciate how the altar bread are selected and neatly arranged in the ciborium. This care and attention for such details indicate true devotion and a real appreciation of what is about to transpire at Mass: the offering of the unblemished Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 

The Mishandling of the Octave

I am disappointed with the way we treat the Christmas Octave. Churches are filled with people for the 9-day Simbang Gabi. There is a heavy turnout of parishioners, servers, musicians, lectors, and other ministers. Even in the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, servers and choir members are excited over the Rorate Masses. So many candles were lit and so much incense was burned to make the days of the Rorate more solemn.

But after the Midnight Mass, everything changes. On the morning itself of Christmas day, the churches are almost empty. Maybe, it is because people have fulfilled their Christmas obligation with the Midnight Mass that they saw it unnecessary to return for Church on Christmas day. However, it becomes more disappointing beginning the Feast of St. Stephen. There, we begin to see less and less people coming to Mass. Lectors and other ministers do not report for duty. Servers were limited to the minimum (1). Even the Sacristan did not see it necessary to light all the 6 candles on the Altar nor to light the Christmas Lanterns in and outside of the Church. The Choir and Cantors are nowhere to be found. And I am not referring only to the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. This year, I committed myself to a daily offering of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite throughout the octave and also until Epiphany. I was dismayed by how the octave of Christmas is being treated.

There is something wrong with our liturgical culture. So many assist Mass during the last 9 days of Advent but almost nobody will be there during the Octave. Isn't the Octave the extension of Christmas day? I recall our studies on the Liturgical Year. We were taught that the celebration of the Octave is due to the fact that the Divine Mystery commemorated on Christmas (or Easter) day is so rich that one day is not enough to celebrate it. And so the celebration is extended to 8 days. The 8 days are considered as only 1 day. Thus, the Gloria and the Creed are sung as on the day of Christmas (or Easter). And so everyday of the Octave is Christmas day (or Easter Sunday).

If this were so, why do we treat the Octave days so very badly? Have the Simbang Gabi exhausted us so much that we find it reason enough to stay at home and sleep throughout the Octave? It is as if were have been very busy preparing for the Fiesta and so we disappear and sleep off the actual festivity itself. And allow me to remind you that Advent, the Simbang Gabi, the Rorate Masses are but preparations. YES, ONLY PREPARATIONS!!!!! The Christmas (or Easter) Octave is the REAL CELEBRATION.

We have allowed the commercialism of the secular Christmas to creep into the sacred liturgy itself. We have anticipated Christmas in Advent that there seem to be nothing else to celebrate when the real Christmas came. Where are the servers? Where are the cantors? Where are the lectors? Where are the other ministers? (Where are the priests?)  If only our Lord could speak directly to us, he might say: "There were so many of you present during the preparations for my coming but when I can, everybody went out for their vacation."

Is this the way to treat the Octave days? If this were so, then I might take my vacation as well. This is no way the Octave should be treated. This is simply WRONG LITURGICAL CULTURE.

Truth in Liturgy

Over the social networks, I found out that TV Masses here are shot weeks before the actual Sunday when they are supposed to be aired. A Palm Sunday Mass was offered in some church on the first week of Lent for the purpose of airing it on Palm Sunday. I am concerned about the way the Mass is treated like a TV series which may be taped many weeks before the actual airing. Is it right to shoot the Mass weeks before the actual feast?

In the liturgical reform after the second Vatican Council, there was an emphasis on the return to the "Truth of the Hours" in matters concerning the Liturgy of the Hours. This is the reform of a prevalent liturgical practice wherein the celebration of matins and lauds were anticipated on the night before (as in the case of the Tenebrae of Holy Week) or the celebration of all the hours were lumped together at the most convenient time of the priest. Also, in the 1955 reform of Holy Week, the hour of the celebration of Easter Vigil was transferred from the morning of Holy Saturday to the hours of the night. 

If the "truth of the hour" mattered, should the "truth of the day" be treated differently? The Liturgy is not a game of "make believe" but an actual encounter with the Blessed Trinity. It is not honest (and therefore not right) to offer the Mass of Palm Sunday when it is not yet Palm Sunday. Perhaps it is true that the Mass will be aired on Palm Sunday itself but when it was actually celebrated, it was not yet Palm Sunday.

The Holy Father Benedict XVI reminded us that the Liturgy is not a show. It is not meant to be a form of entertainment. Liturgy is an encounter with God.  Liturgy is prayer in Spirit and in TRUTH.

Clerical Narcissism and Lent

Clerical Narcissism is a problem that afflicts many priests who think that the Mass is a venue to assert their own personality and preferences. I agree with George Weigel with his observation that this narcissism needs to be corrected.

"One implicit purpose of the new translations, with their deliberate recovery of a sacral vocabulary and their adoption of a more formal literary rhythm, was to discipline the tendency of priests to turn the Mass into an expression of the celebrant’s personality. The difficulties some priests have had with adjusting to the changes suggests that this tendency was, in fact, a real problem in implementing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Prominent Catholic psychologist Paul Vitz once wrote of this as a problem of “clerical narcissism,” and while the phrase undoubtedly stings, there’s something to it—something that needs correcting."

Clerical Narcissism and Lent | First Things