Many people who witness the Holy Mass, but don’t fully understand
it, will often come away thinking that it is a beautiful ritual – but nothing
more than that. Then there are others who, in their misguided zeal, say that
the Holy Mass is far from beautiful...in fact they claim that it is naught but
an idolatrous religious affair filled with empty and pagan rituals. Fortunately,
those who understand the depth of what is taking place in the Mass know better...
When we celebrate Mass, time and space are transcended, and
we in fact enter into the Heavenly Jerusalem where we celebrate the Heavenly
Liturgy with the Angels and Saints of all ages (see Heb 12:22). This is one reason
for the responsorial at different points in the Mass: “Lift up your hearts”......“We lift them up to the Lord”.
To begin to understand the Mass, we first need to understand
that it is not just some human ritual invented by the Apostles or Church
Fathers. On the contrary, the Mass is the Divine Liturgy that has been
instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ for His Holy Church; and all the rituals contained
within the Mass have as their Author the Holy Spirit. As such, they can never
be empty or idolatrous. In fact, to even say that the Mass is simply “beautiful”
would be a gross understatement. The Mass is not simply beautiful – it is so
much more than that....it is Divine!
To illustrate this, I’d like to take a look at just one very
“small” ritual within the Mass – so small that it can easily go unnoticed...but
if we miss it, we also miss something that has the deepest theological
significance. I am speaking of the moment in the Mass when the priest adds the
water to the wine before the Consecration.
To casual onlookers, this little act may seem a bit peculiar,
and they may shrug it off without thinking much of it; but the truth is that this
little act carries with it amazing relevance. For example, when the water is
added to the wine, it is basically turned into wine – and this might remind us
of the first sign performed by our Blessed Lord – when He miraculously turned
the water into wine (see Jn 2:1-11). And if He can turn water into wine, then
we have no reason to doubt that He can also turn the same wine into His Most
Precious Blood.
But wait...there's more...
The Catechism of the Council of Trent reminds us that this
practice of adding water to the wine for Consecration is actually derived from
Apostolic tradition. And the Catechism goes on to provides us with three principal
reasons for this practice:
Firstly, water must be added to the wine in imitation of Our
Lord; who mingled water with wine at the Last Supper. This was attested to by St.
Cyprian:“[Solomon] declares the wine mingled [referring to Prov 9:1-2], that is, he foretells with prophetic voice the cup of the Lord mingled with water and wine, that it may appear that that was done in our Lord’s Passion which had been before predicted.” – Epistle 62, Chapter 5
Thirdly, water in Scripture often symbolises “the peoples, and multitudes, and nations” (e.g. Rev 17:15). It is the same “peoples, and multitudes, and nations” that Jesus Christ died for, and so the water mingled with wine signifies the union of the redeemed with Christ their head.
Without even going into any great detail in respect of the
above points raised by the Catechism of the Council of Trent, one can begin to
appreciate that there is a depth of Mystery in this simple little action in the
Mass.
But wait...there's more...
The points raised by the Catechism
are just a beginning. There is another point that I believe is worth adding,
derived from the ritual itself.
When the priest (or deacon, if present) adds the water to the wine, he silently
prays the following prayer:
“By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.”
But wait...there’s more...
By this mingling of water and wine, we are not only being
reminded of the Incarnation, but we are being reminded of the very reason for
the Incarnation. But not only that...we are also being reminded of the very
reason for the Mass!
St. Athanasius reminds us what the reason for the
Incarnation was:
“God was made man, so that we might be made God” - On the Incarnation; Chapter 54:3
And as I have pointed out previously
, this reality is brought about most especially in Most Blessed Sacrament when
we receive the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion. We bring our gifts of bread and
wine, as symbols of all that we are and have; then the Lord Jesus Christ turns
these gifts into His Own Precious Body and Blood, which He in turn offers to us
in Holy Communion...and in this Holy Communion we become united with Him so
that we can be drawn more and more into His Divine Nature and be conformed to
His image.
Isn’t that amazing? Who would’ve thought that all this could
be represented by the simple act of adding a few drops of water to a chalice filled
with wine? Often it’s the little things that teach us the greatest lessons...
Neat article.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to point out that during the Offertory, it is the deacon (or the priest if there is no deacon) that pours the wine and water into the chalice.
The full text of the prayer is:
"By the mystery of this water and wine
may we come to share in the divinity of Christ
who humbled himself to share in our humanity."
Hi Paul
DeleteGood point(s)...thanks for pointing them out :)
I have made the relevant corrections :) :) :)
God bless
Justin