CANON
264
CANON
St. Matthew; and the last clause, "Hsec quotiescum-
que feceritis", etc., is again slightly modified from
St. Paul. Moreover, two additions have been made
to it that are not in the New Testament at all, "et
aeterni" and "mysterium fidei". This last clause
especially has been much discussed (Gihr, 599). It
seems that it was originally a warning spoken by the
deacon. The catechumens have been sent away be-
fore the Offertory; at the Consecration he again warns
the people that it is not for catechumens, it is a "mys-
tery of Faith", that is a mystery for the faithful (the
baptized) only. The ceremonies at this Consecration
are the same as those for the preceding one, except
that the deacon (at low Mass here, as always, the
celebrant must supply the deacon's part himself)
takes the pall from the chalice before the words of
Consecration and replaces it as soon as the chalice is
put down after its Elevation. The words "Haec
quotiescumque", etc., are now generally said during
the first genuflexion. In the Middle Ages they were
often said after the Elevation (Ordo Rom. XIV, 53).
At high Mass a certain amount of very natural ritual
has been added to both elevations. At least two
torches are lit or brought in by the acolytes, which
are removed after the elevation (on fast days and for
requiem Masses they stay till the end of the Com-
munion). The thurifer puts incense into his thurible,
and incenses the Blessed Sacrament thrice at each
elevation (Ritus eel., VIII, 8).
Vnde et memores. — A solemn memory of Christ's life, death and resurrection (the Anamnesis,' Avi/ivT)<ns) , naturally following the words "as often as you shall do these things, do them in memory of me", comes immediately after the words of Institution in all liturgies (Apost. Const. ; Brightman, 20, St. James, ib., 52, St. Mark, 133). The five signs of the cross made over the Blessed Saciament during this prayer have often been discussed. Before the Consecration such signs are obviously blessings of the offering. How can blessings be given to what is now consecrated and has become the Real Presence? St. Thomas says the blessings refer to the "terminus a quo", the bread and wine, not to the "terminus ad quern", the Body and Blood of Christ (III, Q. lxxxiii, a. 5 ad 3). Peo- ple have seen in them symbols representing our offer- ing to God, memories of the Crucifixion, blessings for the future communicants (Bossuet, M£dit. sur I'Evang., I, 63 e jour.), or merely a way of pointing to the Blessed Sacrament. It seems that really here again is one more case of what is very common in all our rites, namely, a dramatic representation that does not consider at what moment the effect of a Sacra- ment is really produced. Such effects must really all happen at one instant, the moment the matter and form are complete. But the Church cannot with words express everything in one instant; moreover before scholastic clays people did not ask very closely about the actual moment. So we continually have such dramatic divisions of one simple act, and con- tinually in her prayers the Church goes on asking for something that really must already have been granted. So in our baptism service t he devil' is driven out before, and the white robe and candle given after the actual baptism. The truth of these symbols presumably occurs at one instant. Our ordination service io a still more striking instance. Long after the subject is ordained priest, after he has concelebrated, the bishop gives him the power of forgiving sins which is certainlv involved in the priesthood he has already received. So these blessings after the Consecration
need be (inly such dramatic forms as our expression, " Receive . . . t his spotless Host", said at the Offertory long before. The question is important because of the Epiklesis.
Supra quae. — This prayer, too, with its memory of sacrifices in the Old Testament (Abel, Abraham, Melchisedeeh), is common to other liturgies. St.
Mark's Rite mentions the offerings of Abel, Abra-
ham, Zachary's incense, the alms of Cornelius and
the widow's mite (Brightman, 129; cf. the Coptic
form, 171). The words sanctum sacrificium mma-
culatam Hostiam are said to have been added by
St. Leo I (440-61; Ben. XIV, "De SS. Missaa
Sacr., II, xii. p. 161). They do not occur in the text
as given in "De Sacramentis". Grammatically they
must refer to Melchisedech's sacrifice.
Supplices te rogamus. — This prayer is commonly believed to be the remnant of the Roman Epiklesis (Duchesne joins the preceding "Supra qua?" to it as making up the Invocation, "Origines", 173). It seems certain that our liturgy, like all the others, once had an Epiklesis, and this would be its natural place. Even as late as the time of Pope Gelasius I (492-96) there seems to have still been one. He writes : " How shall the Heavenly Spirit, when He is invoked to con- secrate the divine mystery, come, if the priest and he who prays Him to come is guilty of bad actions?" (Ep.,vii; Thiel. Ep. Rom. Pont., I, 486: "sisacerdos, et qui eum adesse deprecatur". By striking out the " et " we have a much plainer sentence: " If the priest who prays Him to come".) Watterich (Konsekra- tionsmoment, 166), and Drews (Entstehungsgesch., 28) think that several of the Secrets in the Leonine Sacrament ary (which does not contain the Canon) are really Epikleses. For instance: "Send, we pray Thee O Lord, thy Holy Spirit, who shall make these our present gifts into thy Sacrament for us", etc. (ed. Feltoe. p. 74; XXX Mass for July). The chief reason for considering our prayer "Supplices te rogamus" as the fragment of an Epiklesis is its place in the Canon, which corresponds exactly to that of the Epiklesis (following the Anamnesis) in the Syrian Rite (Bright- man, 54). But its form is hardly that of an Epiklesis. The first words of the preceding prayer, "Supra quae propitio ac sereno vultu respicere digneris", suggest the beginning of the Alexandrine Epiklesis: "Look down upon us and upon this bread and this wine" (Brightman, 134), and the last part (Sacrosanctum Filii tui Corpus et Sanguinem) have perhaps a vague resemblance; but certainly the chief thing, the Invo- cation of the Holy Ghost to change this bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, is wanting. Moreover there is a prayer in the Alexandrine Liturgy which corresponds singularly to these two prayers ("Supra quae" and "Supplices"): "the Sacrifices . . . of them that offer honour and glory to thy holy name receive upon thy reasonable altar in heaven . . . through the ministry of thy holy angels and arch- angels; like as Thou didst accept the gifts of righteous Abel and the sacrifice of our father Abraham", etc. (Brightman, I, 17(1, 171; the Greek form, 129). And this is not an Epiklesis but an Offertory prayer, com- ing in the middle of the Intercession that with them fills up what we should call the Preface. On the other hand the end of the "Supplices te rogamus" (from "ut quotquot") corresponds very closely to the end of both Eastern Epikleses. Antioch has here : "that it may become to all who partake of it " (quotquot ex hac Altaris participatione) "for a forgiveness of sins ainl fur life everlasting", etc. (Brightman, 54); and at Alexandria the form is: "that it may become to all of us who partake of it (a source eft Faith", etc. (ib., 131). It seems, then, that this prayer in our (anon is a combination of the second part of an Invocation (with the essential clause left cut | anil an old Offertory prayer. It has been suggested that the angel mentioned here is the Holy < ihosl an attempt to bring it more into line with the proper form of an Invocation. There is however no foundation for this assertion. We have seen that the Alexandrine form has the plural "thy holy angels"; so has the Latin form in " De Sacramentis": "per maims angelorum tuorum " (IV, v). The reference is simply to an angel or to angels who assist at the throne of God and carry
