Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus

Missale Romanum 1962

Nobis quoque peccatoribus famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam, et societatem donare digneris, cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus: cum Joanne, Stephano, Matthia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnete, Caecilia, Anastasia, et omnibus Sanctis tuis: intra quorum nos consortium, non aestimator meriti sed veniae, quaesumus, largitor admitte. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.1

To us also, sinners, yet Thy servants, trusting in the greatness of Thy mercy, deign to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy apostles and martyrs: with John, Stephen, Matthias, Baranabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and all Thy saints; into whose company we implore Thee to admit us, not weighing our merits, but freely granting us pardon. Through Christ our Lord.2

To us also, Thy sinful servants, who hope in the multitude of Thy mercies, vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy Apostles and Martyrs: with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnaby, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and all Thy Saints: into whose company, not weighing our merits, but granting us pardon, we beseech Thee to admit us. Through Christ our Lord.3

To us sinners, also, Thy servants, who put our trust in the multitude of Thy mercies, vouchsafe to grant some part and fellowship with Thy holy apostles and martyrs: with John, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicitas, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia, and with all Thy saints. Into their company do Thou, we beseech Thee, admit us, not weighing our merits, but freely pardoning our offenses: through Christ our Lord.4

Missale Romanum 1970

Nobis quoque peccatoribus famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam, et societatem donare digneris, cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus, cum Joanne, Stephano, Matthia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucia, Agnete, Caecilia, Anastasia, et omnibus Sanctis tuis, intra quorum nos consortium, non aestimator meriti sed veniae, quaesumus, largitor admitte. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.5

For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, [Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia] and all the saints. Though we are sinners, we trust in your mercy and love. Do not consider what we truly deserve, but grant us your forgiveness. Through Christ our Lord.6


The first three words "us sinners also" (nobis quoque peccatoribus) are said aloud in the former missal and the priest strikes his breast at this time. These words do not draw the attention that they once did since the Canon is hardly ever said silently (sotto voce); I note at this time that the Eucharist Prayer in the revised missal need not be spoken outloud, but that the rubrics say that it "may" be said outloud. "Both (the somewhat loud tone of voice and the striking of the breast) indicate to the celebrant with what great sorrow and compunction he is to make the acknowledgment of his sinfulness, and admonish all the faithful present, to unite with the officiating priest in these selfsame penitential sentiments which animate him, since he recites this prayer for them and in their name."7

This petition proceeds to ask favors of God for even though we are sinners, we are also His servants who hope in the multitude of His mercies (...famulis tuis, de multitudine miserationem tuarum sperantibus). It is hope that leads us to implore that He might deign to grant us some part and fellowship with the Apostles and Martyrs. Of course by this we mean to be received into the Beatific Vision but even more we implore a share in the part of the holy martyrs. As if to prove what we mean by this, the Church then lists fifteen matryrs. This petition we ask to be granted, not on the basis of our merits, but granting us pardon. The phrase "non aestimator meriti, sed veniae largitor" is explained as "in that Thou wilt not consider, make account of, regard, what we deserve, that is, our trifling merits, or also our misdeeds, to influence Thy judgment according to them, but in abundant measure to impart to us merciful indulgence and forgiveness."8

On the whole the ICEL translates the meaning of the prayer but one wonders at yet another instance of their ommission of significant words. "[T]uis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus" is literally "Your holy Apostles and Martyrs." ICEL likes to drop words such as holy for an unknown reason. They do it again in this prayer when they translate "omnibus Sanctis tuis," which is literally "all Your Saints" as "all the saints." Of course, they rearrange the order of the prayer and obscure the imprecation that we might share in the part of the Martyrs. The part that we beg is two-fold: that we might be granted entrance into the heavenly City and that we might die a holy death, perhaps martyrdom but in the righteousness of holy faith whatever manner of death is our mortal end.

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1. My Sunday Missal, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, Msgr. Joseph F. Stedman, 1962, p. 55.

2. Ibid. 55.

3. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Litugically and Ascetically Explained, Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 1877 1st edition, 1897 6th edition, translated from German ©1902, printed 1924, pp. 675-76 .

4. The New Roman Missal, Fr. Lassance, 1993 reproduction of the 1945 edition, p. 785.

5. Daily Roman Missal, Rev. James Socias, Midwest Theological Forum, 2003, p.

6. Ibid., p.

7. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Litugically and Ascetically Explained, Rev. Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 1877 1st edition, 1897 6th edition, translated from German ©1902, printed 1924, p. 676.

8. Ibid., p. 687.

Anaphora of St. Mark

Priest (makes the sign of the cross upon the People, and says aloud): The Lord be with all.

People: And with thy spirit.

Priest: Let us lift up our hearts.

People: We lift them up to the Lord.

Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord.

People: It is meet and right.

Priest (silently): O Lord God, Sovereign and Almighty Father, truly it is meet and right, holy and becoming, and good for our souls, to praise, bless, and thank Thee; to make open confession to Thee by day and night with voice, lips, and heart without ceasing; To Thee who hast made the heaven, and all that is therein; the earth, and all that is therein; The sea, fountains, rivers, lakes, and all that is therein; To Thee who, after Thine own image and likeness, hast made man, upon whom Thou didst also bestow the joys of Paradise; And when he trespassed against Thee, Thou didst neither neglect nor forsake him, good Lord, But didst recall him by Thy law, instruct him by Thy prophets, restore and renew him by this awful, life-giving, and heavenly mystery. And all this Thou hast done by Thy Wisdom and the Light of truth, Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, Through whom, thanking Thee with Him and the Holy Spirit, We offer this reasonable and bloodless sacrifice, which all nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun, from the north and the south, present to Thee, O Lord; for great is Thy name among all peoples, and in all places are incense, sacrifice, and oblation offered to Thy holy name.

We pray and beseech Thee, O lover of men, O good Lord, remember in Thy good mercy the Holy and only Catholic and Apostolic Church throughout the whole world, and all Thy people, and all the sheep of this fold. Vouchsafe to the hearts of all of us the peace of heaven, but grant us also the peace of this life.

Guide and direct in all peace the king, army, magistrates, councils, peoples, and neighbour-hoods, and all our outgoings and incomings.

O King of Peace, grant us Thy peace in unity and love. May we be Thine, O Lord; for we know no other God but Thee, and name no other name but Thine. Give life unto the souls of all of us, and let no deadly sin prevail against us, or against all Thy people.

Look down in mercy and compassion, O Lord, and heal the sick among Thy people. Deliver them and us, O Lord, from sickness and disease, and drive away the spirit of weakness. Raise up those who have been long afflicted, and heal those who are vexed with unclean spirits.

Have mercy on all who are in prison, or in mines, or on trial, or condemned, or in exile, or crushed by cruel bondage or tribute. Deliver them, O Lord, for Thou art our God, who settest the captives free; who raisest up the downtrodden; who givest hope to the hopeless, and help to the helpless; who liftest up the fallen; who givest refuge to the shipwrecked, and vengeance to the oppressed.

Pity, relieve, and restore every Christian soul that is afflicted or wandering. But do Thou, O Lord, the physician of our souls and bodies, the guardian of all flesh, look down, and by Thy saving power heal all the diseases of soul and body.

Guide and prosper our brethren who have gone or who are about to go abroad. Whether they travel by land, or river, or lake, by public road, or in whatever way journeying, bring them everywhere to a safe and tranquil haven. Be pleased to be with them by land and sea, and restore them in health and joy to joyful and healthful homes. Ever defend, O Lord, our journey through this life from trouble and storm.

Send down rich and copious showers on the dry and thirsty lands. Gladden and revive the face of the earth, that it may spring forth and rejoice in the raindrops. Make the waters of the river flow in full stream. Gladden and revive the face of the earth with the swelling waters. Fill all the channels of the streams, and multiply the fruits of the earth.

Bless, O Lord, the fruits of the earth, and keep them safe and unharmed. Fill them with seed, and make them ripe for the harvest. Bless even now, O Lord, Thy yearly crown of blessing for the sake of the poor of Thy people, the widow, the orphan, and the stranger, and for the sake of all of us who have our hope in Thee and call upon Thy holy name; for the eyes of all are upon Thee, and Thou givest them bread in due season. O Thou who givest food to all flesh, fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that at all times, having all sufficiency, we may abound to every good work in Christ Jesus our Lord.

O King of kings and Lord of lords, defend the kingdom of Thy servant, our orthodox and Christ-loving sovereign, whom Thou hast deemed worthy to reign over this land in peace, courage, and justice. Subdue under him, O Lord, every enemy and adversary, whether at home or abroad. Gird on Thy shield and armour, and rise to his aid. Draw Thy sword, and help him to fight against them that persecute him. Shield him in the day of battle, and grant that the fruit of his loins may sit upon his throne. Be kind to him, O Lord, for the sake of Thy Holy and Apostolic Church, and all Thy Christ-loving people, that we too in his peaceful reign may live a calm and tranquil life, in all reverence and godliness.

O Lord our God, give peace to the souls of our fathers and brethren who have fallen asleep in Jesus, remembering our forefathers of old, our fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, bishops, and the souls of all the holy and just men who have died in the Lord. Especially remember those whose memory we this day celebrate, and our holy father Mark, the apostle and evangelist, who has shown us the way of salvation.

Deacon: Lord, bless us.

Priest: The Lord will bless thee in His grace, now, henceforth, and for evermore.

Deacon: (Reads the record of the dead).

Priest (bowing, silently): Give peace, O Sovereign Lord our God, to the souls of all who dwell in the tabernacles of Thy saints. Graciously bestow upon them in Thy kingdom Thy promised blessing, which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man what Thou, O God, hast prepared for those who love Thy holy name. Give peace to their souls, and deem them worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

Grant that we may end our lives as Christians, acceptable unto Thee and without sin, and be pleased to give us part and lot with all Thy saints.

Accept, O God, by Thy ministering archangels at Thy holy, heavenly, and reasonable altar in the spacious heavens, the thank-offerings of those who offer sacrifice and oblation, and of those who desire to offer much or little, in secret or openly, but have it not to give.

Accept the thank-offerings of those who have presented them this day, as Thou didst accept the gifts of Thy righteous Abel: (offering incense): As Thou didst accept the sacrifice of our father Abraham, the incense of Zacharias, the alms of Cornelius, and the widow's two mites, accept also the thank-offerings of these, and give them for the things of time the things of eternity, and for the things of earth the things of heaven. Defend, O Lord, our most holy and blessed Papas N, whom Thou hast fore-ordained to rule over Thy Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and our most pious Bishop N, that they through many years of peace may, according to Thy holy and blessed will, fulfil the sacred priesthood committed to their care, and dispense aright the word of truth.

Remember the orthodox bishops everywhere, the elders, deacons, sub-deacons, readers, singers, monks, virgins, widows, and laity.

Remember, O Lord, the holy city of our God, Jesus Christ; and the imperial city; and this city of ours, and all cities and all lands, and the peace and safety of those who dwell therein in the orthodox faith of Christ.

Be mindful, O Lord, of the return of the back-sliding, and of every Christian soul that is afflicted and oppressed, and in need of Thy divine mercy and help.

Be mindful, O Lord, of our brethren in captivity. Grant that they may find mercy and compassion with those who have led them captive.

Be mindful also of us, O Lord, Thy sinful and unworthy servants, and blot out our sins in Thy goodness and mercy.

Be mindful also of me, Thy lowly, sinful, and unworthy servant, and in Thy mercy blot out my sins.

Be with us, O Lord, who minister unto Thy holy name.

Bless our meetings, O Lord.

Utterly uproot idolatry from the world.

Crush under our feet Satan, and all his wicked influence.

Humble now, as at all times, the enemies of Thy Church. Lay bare their pride. Speedily show them their weakness. Bring to naught the wicked plots they contrive against us. Arise, O Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let all who hate Thy holy name be put to flight.

Do Thou bless a thousand times ten thousand Thy faithful and orthodox people while they do Thy holy will.

Deacon: Let those who are seated stand.

Priest (silently): Deliver the captive; rescue the distressed feed the hungry; comfort the faint-hearted, convert the erring; enlighten the darkened; raise the fallen; confirm the wavering; heal the sick; and guide them all, good Lord, into the way of salvation, and into Thy sacred fold. Deliver us from our iniquities; protect and defend us at all times.

Deacon: Turn to the east.

Priest (bowing, silently): For Thou art far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. Round Thee stand ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of holy angels and hosts of archangels; and Thy two most honoured creatures, the many-eyed cherubim and the six-winged seraphim. With twain they cover their faces, and with twain they cover their feet, and with twain they do fly; and they cry one to another for ever with the voice of praise, and glorify Thee, O Lord, singing aloud the triumphal and thrice-holy hymn to Thy great glory:- Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth. Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. (aloud) Thou dost ever sanctify all men; but with all who glorify Thee, receive also, O Sovereign Lord, our sanctification, who with them celebrate Thy praise, and say:

People: Holy, holy, holy Lord.

Priest (makes the sign of the cross over the sacred mysteries, silently): For truly heaven and earth are full of Thy glory, through the manifestation of our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Fill, O God, this sacrifice with Thy blessing, through the inspiration of Thy all-holy Spirit. For the Lord Himself, our God and universal King, Christ Jesus, reclining at meat the same night on which He delivered Himself up for our sins and died in the flesh for all, took bread in His holy, pure, and immaculate hands, and lifting His eyes to His Father, our God, and the God of all, gave thanks; and when He had blessed, hallowed, and broken the bread, gave it to His holy and blessed disciples and apostles, saying: (aloud): Take, eat.

Deacon: Pray earnestly.

Priest (aloud): For this is my body, which is broken for you, and divided for the remission of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest (silently): After the same manner also, when He had supped, He took the cup of wine mingled with water, and lifting His eyes to Thee, His Father, our God, and the God of all, gave thanks; and when He had blessed and filled it with the Holy Spirit, gave it to His holy and blessed disciples and apostles, saying:(aloud): Drink ye all of it.

Deacon: Pray earnestly again.

Priest (aloud): For this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for you and for many, and distributed among you for the remission of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest (silently): This do ye in remembrance of me; for as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show forth my death and acknowledge my resurrection and ascension until I come. O Sovereign and Almighty Lord, King of heaven, while we show forth the death of Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ, and acknowledge His blessed resurrection from the dead on the third day, we do also openly declare His ascension into heaven, and His sitting on the right hand of Thee, God and Father, and await His second terrible and dreadful coming, in which He will come to judge righteously the quick and the dead, and to render to each man according to his works.

O Lord our God, we have placed before Thee what is Thine from Thine own mercies. We pray and beseech Thee, O good and merciful God, to send down from Thy holy heaven, from the mansion Thou hast prepared, and from Thine infinite bosom, the Paraclete Himself, holy, powerful, and life-giving, the Spirit of truth, who spoke in the law, the apostles, and prophets; who is everywhere present, and filleth all things, freely working sanctification. in whom He will with Thy good pleasure; one in His nature; manifold in His working; the fountain of divine blessing; of like substance with Thee, and proceeding from Thee; sitting with Thee on the throne of Thy kingdom, and with Thine only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Send down upon us also and upon this bread and upon these chalices Thy Holy Spirit, that by His all-powerful and divine influence He may sanctify and consecrate them, and make this bread the body.

[Deacon]: Amen.

Priest (aloud): And this cup the blood of the new testament, of the very Lord, and God, and Saviour, and universal King Christ Jesus.

Deacon: Deacons, come down.

Priest (aloud): That to all of us who partake thereof they may tend unto faith, sobriety, healing, temperance, sanctification, the renewal of soul, body, and spirit, participation in the blessedness of eternal life and immortality, the glory of Thy most holy name, and the remission of sins, that Thy most holy, precious, and glorious name may be praised and glorified in this as in all things [with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, now and ever unto ages and ages.]

People: As it was and is [and shall be, unto generation and generation and for all ages and ages. Amen.]

[Priest: And grant unto us that with one mouth and one heart we may glorify and hymn Thy most honorable and majestic name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.]

[Choir/People: Amen.]

Sources: Divine Liturgy of St. Mark. I have supplied certain rubrical directions for clarity and edited others for brevity. I have also edited the text according to the Divine Liturgy of St. Mark translated by Rev. Fr. John Shaw of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia who followed in large part the text published by St. Nectarios of Pentapolis.These editions are placed in []. I have also grouped some of the litanies where the ideas correspond.

Kyrie Eleison

This is Kyrie XVI the version that Pope Pius XII selected for his Missa Simplex and that Pope Paul VI selected for his Missa Jubilate Deo. It is found in the Graduale Romanum under the title "in ferris per annum."

The Kyrie eleison, which means Lord have mercy, is a development to all liturgies both East and West. It appears in the West taken from the East around the 6th century and is not even found in the East before the 4th century. It originated in the liturgy at Antioch and Jerusalem as the response to litanies. Although it appears in scripture, this is not strictly just borrowing from the scriptural expression. In scripture is appears with an object (i.e. Lord have mercy on us/me). In any case it starts to be used in the Antiochene rite and from there it spreads to the rest of the Church.1

It seems that at some point the Roman liturgy had litanies, which were sung by deacons or other clerics.2 Pope St. Gregory I, defending the use of the Kyrie as no mere adaptation towards the liturgy of Constantinople, writes that at daily Mass the litanies were left out so that the people might dwell on the meaning of the Kyrie. He explains that “kyrie eleison” was sung and the people responded with the same text. 3 There was no fixed number of repetitions originally when the litanies were left out, the leader of the choir watching for the sign to end the invocations. Eventually it was settled into a nine-fold invocation. 4 Another difference is the Roman adaptation of singing “Christe eleison,” which is done nowhere else but in the West. Over time the litany apparently fell out of use except for special masses like Easter Vigil, Whitsunday, and ordination Masses. 5 This dwelling upon the words, which originally are intended as responses to the litany, caused the musical notion to have many long neumes (e.g. the last syllable of the last Kyrie is a good example of a stretched neume), which stretch the Kyrie out over a length of time. In the Middle Ages they began to add words (tropes, the adding of which is a convention called farcing) to the text. The Kyriale still reminds us of this practice by its convention of naming Mass settings: Kyriale Rex Genitor (Mass VI), Orbis factor (XI), etc. 6 Sometimes these farces were done using a mixture of Latin and Greek: "Deus creator omnium, tu Theos ymon nostri pie, eleyson" from the Missale Sarum. 7 The use of farced liturgical texts was abolished by the reform of Pope St. Pius V.

In the reform of Pope Paul VI, the nine-fold repetition was abrogated. In its place is a single versicle and response for each invocation. The letters ij mean repeat again (the Graduale Romanum has "bis." meaning the same thing). In former times with the ninefold repetition after the first invocation the letters iij would appear meaning repeat two more times and after the first Kyrie of the third invocation the letters ij for repeat again, the last Kyrie being the one sung with the longest neumes. Sometimes in the Missal of Paul VI it is altogether left out when either the Asperges is done or the form for general confession includes the response itself (Cf. Option C in the Penitential Rite). This has some basis in an older rubric at Rome where the Kyrie was left out if it had been said before in the Litany (Kyrie non dicitur propter Litaniam processionis, ubi dictum est Kyrie; Ord. Roman. XI, n. 63, as was done apparently up to the twelfth century).8

"As long as we children of Eve are constrained to remain in this vale of tears weeping and mourning," as we pray in the Salve Regina, "in exile and misery (in exsilio), no prayer is so necessary, none so befitting our condition as the Kyrie, this heartfelt appeal, this humble cry for mercy to the triune God, who is compassionate and merciful, long suffering and plenteous in mercy (Ps. 102:8)."9 "[I]n order that the plentitude of Divine Mercy may descend upon us, the cry of the Kyrie must proceed from a heart penetrated with a lively sense of its poverty and misery." 10 "The Kyrie is, moreover, a fitting preface to the Gloria; filled with joy and gratitude at the very thought of the graces and favors of our merciful God, we are impelled to bless His holy name. "The Kyrie eleison, - that cry for mercy which is to be found in every liturgy of East and West, - 'seems introduced as if to give grander effect to the outburst of joy and praise which succeeds it in the Gloria in excelsis; it is a deepening of our humiliation, that our triumph may be the better felt.'"11

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1 The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy, Rev. Dr. Adrian Fortescue, Loreto Publications, 2003: original printing 1912, p. 231.

2 Ibid., pp. 232-33.

3 Ibid., p. 234.

4 Ibid., pp. 236-37.

5 Ibid., p. 235.

6 Ibid., p. 238.

7 Ibid., p. 239, ft. 1 .

8 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; Dogmatically, Liturgically and Ascetically Explained, Rev Dr. Nicholas Gihr, 6th edition, B. Herder Book Co, 1924, p. 390.

9 Ibid., pp. 392 –93.

10 Ibid., p. 393.

11 Ibid., p. 392, quoted from Cardinal Wiseman, location not cited.

Anaphora of St. James

Priest: The love of the Lord and Father, the grace of the Lord and Son, and the fellowship and the gift of the Holy Spirit, be with us all.

People: And with thy spirit.

Priest: Let us lift up our minds and our hearts.

People: It is becoming and right.

Priest (silently): Verily it is becoming and right, proper and due to praise Thee, to sing of Thee, to bless Thee, to worship Thee, to glorify Thee, to give Thee thanks, Maker of every creature visible and invisible, the treasure of eternal good things, the fountain of life and immortality, God and Lord of all: Whom the heavens of heavens praise, and all the host of them; the sun, and the moon, and all the choir of the stars; earth, sea, and all that is in them; Jerusalem, the heavenly assembly, and church of the first-born that are written in heaven; spirits of just men and of prophets; souls of martyrs and of apostles; angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, and authorities, and dread powers; and the many-eyed cherubim, and the six-winged seraphim, which cover their faces with two wings, their feet with two, and with two they fly, crying one to another with unresting lips, with unceasing praises: (aloud) with loud voice singing the victorious hymn of Thy majestic glory, crying aloud, praising, shouting, and saying:

People: Holy, holy, holy, O Lord of Sabaoth, the heaven and the earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest; blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Priest (making the sign of the cross on the gifts, silently): Holy art Thou, King of eternity, and Lord and giver of all holiness; holy also Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom Thou hast made all things; holy also Thy Holy Spirit, which searches all things, even Thy deep things, O God: holy art Thou, almighty, all-powerful, good, dread, merciful, most compassionate to Thy creatures; who didst make man from earth after Thine own image and likeness; who didst give him the joy of paradise; and when he transgressed Thy commandment, and fell away, didst not disregard nor desert him, O Good One, but didst chasten him as at merciful father, call him by the law, instruct him by the prophets; and afterwards didst send forth Thine only-begotten Son Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, into the world, that He by His coming might renew and restore Thy image; Who, having descended from heaven, and become flesh of the Holy Spirit and Virgin Godmother Mary, and having sojourned among men, fulfilled the dispensation for the salvation of our race; and being about to endure His voluntary and life-giving death by the cross, He the sinless for us the sinners, in the night in which He was betrayed, nay, rather delivered Himself up for the life and salvation of the world, (holding the bread in his hands) having taken the bread in His holy and pure and blameless and immortal hands, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and showing it to Thee, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hallowed, and brake, and gave it to us, His disciples and apostles, saying:

Deacons (while the Priest continues): For the remission of sins and life everlasting.

Priest (aloud): Take, eat. This is my body, broken for you, and given for remission of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest (taking the cup): In like manner, after supper, He took the cup, and having mixed wine and water, lifting up His eyes to heaven, and presenting it to Thee, His God and Father, He gave thanks, and hollowed and blessed it, and filled it with the Holy Spirit, and gave it to us His disciples, saying, Drink ye all of it; this is my blood of the new testament shed for you and many, and distributed for the remission of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest: This do in remembrance of me; for as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death, and confess His resurrection, till He come.

Deacon: We believe and confess.

People: We show forth Thy death, O Lord, and confess Thy resurrection.

Priest (Oblation, silently): Remembering, therefore, His life-giving sufferings, His saving cross, His death and His burial, and resurrection from the dead on the third day, and His ascension into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of Thee, our God and Father, and His second glorious and awful appearing, when He shall come with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and render to every one according to His works; even we, sinful men, offer unto Thee, O Lord, this dread and bloodless sacrifice, praying that Thou wilt not deal with us after our sins, nor reward us according to our iniquities; But that Thou, according to Thy mercy and Thy unspeakable loving-kindness, passing by and blotting out the handwriting against us Thy suppliants, wilt grant to us Thy heavenly and eternal gifts (which eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man) that thou hast prepared, O God, for those who love Thee; and reject not, O loving Lord, the people for my sake, or for my sin's sake: (the Priest repeats thrice aloud): For Thy people and Thy Church supplicate Thee.

People: Have mercy on us, O Lord our God, Father Almighty.

Priest (Invocation, silently): Have mercy upon us, O God Almighty. Have mercy upon us, O God our Saviour. Have mercy upon us, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and send forth on us, and on these offered gifts, Thy all-holy Spirit. (Bowing his neck): The sovereign and quickening Spirit, that sits upon the throne with Thee, our God and Father, and with Thy only-begotten Son, reigning with Thee; the consubstantial and co-eternal; that spoke in the law and in the prophets, and in Thy New Testament; that descended in the form of a dove on our Lord Jesus Christ at the river Jordan, and abode on Him; that descended on Thy apostles in the form of tongues of fire in the upper room of the holy and glorious Zion on the day of Pentecost: this Thine all-holy Spirit, send down, O Lord, upon us, and upon these offered holy gifts; (rising up, aloud): That coming, by His holy and good and glorious appearing, He may sanctify this bread, and make it the holy body of Thy Christ.

People: Amen.

Priest: And this cup the precious blood of Thy Christ.

People: Amen.

Priest (by himself standing, silently): That they may be to all that partake of them for remission of sins, and for life everlasting, for the sanctification of souls and of bodies, for bearing the fruit of good works, for the stablishing of Thy Holy Catholic Church, which Thou hast founded on the Rock of Faith, that the gates of hell may not prevail against it; delivering it from all heresy and scandals, and from those who work iniquity, keeping it till the fulness of the time. (Bowing): We present them to Thee also, O Lord, for the holy places, which Thou hast glorified by the divine appearing of Thy Christ, and by the visitation of Thy all-holy Spirit; especially for the glorious Zion, the mother of all the churches; and for Thy Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church throughout the world: even now, O Lord, bestow upon her the rich gifts of Thy all-holy Spirit.

Remember also, O Lord, our holy fathers and brethren in it, and the bishops in all the world, who rightly divide the word of Thy truth.

Remember also, O Lord, every city and country, and those of the true faith dwelling in them, their peace and security.

Remember, O Lord, Christians sailing, travelling, sojourning in strange lands; our fathers and brethren, who are in bonds, prison, captivity, and exile; who are in mines, and under torture, and in bitter slavery.

Remember, O Lord, the sick and afflicted, and those troubled by unclean spirits, their speedy healing from Thee, O God, and their salvation.

Remember, O Lord, every Christian soul in affliction and distress, needing Thy mercy and succour, O God; and the return of the erring.

Remember, O Lord, our fathers and brethren, toiling hard, and ministering unto us, for Thy holy name's sake.

Remember all, O Lord, for good: have mercy on all, O Lord, be reconciled to us all: give peace to the multitudes of Thy people: put away scandals: bring wars to an end: make the uprising of heresies to cease: grant Thy peace and Thy love to us, O God our Saviour, the hope of all the ends of the earth.

Remember, O Lord, favourable weather, peaceful showers, beneficent dews, abundance of fruits, and to crown the year with Thy goodness; for the eyes of all wait on Thee, and Thou givest their food in due season: thou openest Thy hand, and fillest every living thing with gladness.

Remember, O Lord, those who bear fruit, and labour honourably in the holy service of Thy Church; and those who forget not the poor, the widows, the orphans, the strangers, and the needy; and all who have desired us to remember them in our prayers.

Moreover, O Lord, be pleased to remember those who have brought these offerings this day to Thy holy altar, and for what each one has brought them or with what mind, and those persons who have just now been mentioned to Thee.

Remember, O Lord, according to the multitude of Thy mercy and compassion, me also, Thy humble and unprofitable servant; and the deacons who surround Thy holy altar, and graciously give them a blameless life, keep their ministry undefiled, and purchase for them a good degree, that we may find mercy and grace, with all the saints that have been well pleasing to Thee since the world began, to generation and generation--grandsires, sires, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, teachers, saints, and every just spirit made perfect in the faith of Thy Christ.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed the fruit of thy womb, for thou didst bear the Saviour of our souls.

Priest (aloud): Hail in the highest, our all-holy, pure, most blessed, glorious Lady, the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary.

Choir/Cantors: Truly it is becoming to bless Thee, the God-bearing, the ever-blessed, and all-blameless, and Mother of our God, more honourable than the cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the seraphim. Thee, who didst bear with purity God the Word, thee the true Mother of God, we magnify.

Choir/Cantors: In thee, highly favoured, all creation rejoices, the host of angels, and the race of men; hallowed temple, and spiritual paradise, pride of virgins, of whom God was made flesh and our God, who was before eternity, became a little child. For He made Thy womb His throne, and Thy bowels more capacious than the heavens. In thee, O highly favoured one, all creation rejoices. Glory unto thee.

Deacon: Remember us, O Lord God.

Priest (bowing, silently): Remember, O Lord God, the spirits and all flesh, of whom we have made mention, and of whom we have not made mention, who are of the true faith, from righteous Abel unto this day: unto them do Thou give rest there in the land of the living, in Thy kingdom, in the joy of paradise, in the bosom of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, our holy fathers; whence pain, and grief, and lamentation have fled: there the light of Thy countenance looks upon them, and enlightens them forever.

Make the end of our lives Christian, acceptable, blameless, and peaceful, O Lord, gathering us together, O Lord, under the feet of Thine elect, when Thou wilt, and as Thou wilt; only without shame and transgressions, through Thy only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ: for He is the only sinless one who hath appeared on the earth.

Deacon: And let us pray: For the peace and establishing of the whole world, and of the holy churches of God, and for the purposes for which each one made his offering, or according to the desire he has: and for the people standing round, and for all men, and all women:

People: And for all men and all women. (Amen.)

Priest (aloud): Wherefore, both to them and to us, do Thou in Thy goodness and love:

People: Forgive, remit, pardon, O God, our transgressions, voluntary and involuntary: in deed and in word: in knowledge and in ignorance: by night and by day: in thought and intent: in Thy goodness and love, forgive us them all.

Priest (aloud): Through the grace and compassion and love of Thy only-begotten Son, with whom Thou art blessed and glorified, together with the all-holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to all eternity.

People: Amen.

Source: Divine Liturgy of St. James. I have edited rubrical directions in order to make more explicit those prayers which are silent and which are said aloud. Some sources end the anaphora at: "We show forth Thy death, O Lord, and confess Thy resurrection." This cannot be correct because the Invocation (epiclesis) and commemorations follow this. I have ended it immediately before the Rite of Communion which begins with the Our Father as in most liturgies.

Anaphora of St. Hippolytus of Rome

Bishop: The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Bishop: Lift up your hearts.

All: We lift them up to the Lord.

Bishop: Let us give thanks to the Lord.

All: It is proper and right.

Bishop: We give thanks, O God, through your beloved Child Jesus Christ, whom you have sent us in these last days as Savior, Redeemer, and Messenger of your counsel. He is your Word, inseparable from you, through whom you created all things and in whom you are well pleased. From heaven you sent him into the womb of the Virgin, and, once conceived within her, he was made flesh, and was shown to be your Son, born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin. Fulfilling your will and winning for you a holy people, he stretched out his hands as he suffered, that by his death he might free those who believed in you.

When he was betrayed to his willing death, so that he might abolish death, break the bonds, of the devil, trample hell under foot, give light to the righteous, set a term of sentence, and manifest his resurrection, he took bread and, giving thanks to you, said: "Take, eat: This is my body, which is broken for you."

In the same way, the cup, saying: "This is my blood, which is shed for you. When you do this, do so in memory of me."

And so, keeping in mind his death and resurrection, we offer you the bread and cup, giving thanks because you have counted us worthy to stand before you and serve you.

We pray that you would send your Holy Spirit upon the offerings of your holy Church. Gathering them together, grant that all your saints who partake may be filled with the Holy Spirit, that their faith may be confirmed in truth, that we may praise you and give you glory and honor, with the Holy Spirit in the holy Church, now and forever. Amen.

Mike Aquilina, The Mass of the Early Christians, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, 2001, pp. 107-108.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Anaphora of Bishop Serapion of Thmuis

1. “It is meet and just to praise thee, to sing and glorify thee, the uncreated Father of thine only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 2. We praise thee, O uncreated God, inscrutable, unspeakable, incomprehensible to all created nature. 3. We praise thee, thou ‘who art known by thine only begotten son,’ and who hast been made manifest, explained and revealed by Him to all created nature. 4. We praise thee, ‘who dost know the son’ and dost manifest His glory to the saints, thee, who art known and contemplated by the Word generated by thee, and who art revealed to the saints. 5. We praise thee, indivisible Father, author of immortality; thou art the fountain of life, the source of light, the font of all grace and truth, thou lover of mankind and the poor, who hast pity on all and dost ‘draw’ them to thee by the advent of thy beloved Son.

6. “We pray thee, make us living men; give us the spirit of light, that we may ‘know thee the true [God], and Him whom thou hast sent, Jesus Christ;’ give us the Holy Spirit, that we may be able to preach and explain thine ineffable mysteries. 7. Let the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit speak in us, and He shall glorify thee through us.

8. “For thou art ‘above all principality and power and virtue and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come.’ 9. ‘Thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand stand before thee,’ angels, archangels, ‘thrones, powers, dominations, principalities, and virtues;’ before thee stand the two most glorious seraphim, ‘with six wings, covering their face with two, and their feet with two; flying with two and proclaiming thee holy.’ 10. With them accept also our adoration, for we say: ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory.’

11.”Heaven is full, the earth is also full of thy sublime glory, O Lord of hosts. Extend thy power upon this sacrifice, and grant thy aid to its fulfillment; for it is to thee that we have offered this living victim, the unbloody sacrifice. 12. To thee have we offered this bread, the likeness of the body of thine only Son. This bread is the image of His holy body; for ‘the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, broke it, and gave it to His disciples and said: Take and eat, this is my body, which shall be broken for you,’ for the remission of sins. 13. Therefore have we, by repeating the figure of His death, offered the bread and pray: By this sacrifice reconcile thyself with us all and have mercy upon us, O God of truth. And as this bread was scattered upon the hills and brought together into one, so do thou unite thy holy Church from every people and every land and every city and every village and house, and build up one living Catholic Church. 14. We have also offered the chalice, the symbol of the blood; for the Lord Jesus, ‘after He had supped, took the cup and said to His disciples: Take, drink, this is the new covenant, which is my blood, which shall be shed for the remission of sins.’ Therefore have we also offered the chalice, because we have consummated the symbol of the blood.

15. “Let thy holy Word (Logos), O God of truth, come down upon this bread, so that the bread may become the body of the Word, and on this chalice, so that the chalice may become the blood of Truth. And grant that all who partake of them, may receive the medicine of life, as a cure for all sickness and as an increase and progress in virtue, not, however, as judgment, O God of truth, nor as punishment and disgrace.

16. “For we have besought thee, O uncreated God, through they only-begotten [Son] in the Holy Spirit: Have mercy on this nation, make it worthy of increase, send forth angels to assist the people in overcoming evil and to strengthen the community. 17. We also pray for those who are asleep, of whom we also make commemoration. 18. (After the mention of their names.) Sanctify these souls, for thou knowest them all. Sanctify those who have died in the Lord, number them among thy holy principalities and grant them a place and a dwelling in thy kingdom!

19. “Likewise accept the thanks of thy people, and bless those who have offered gifts and prayers of thanks to thee, and give health and strength, joy and prosperity to the soul and the bodies of this whole people, through Jesus Christ, thine only Son, in the Holy Ghost, as it was, and is, and shall be from generation to generation for all eternity. Amen.”

Source: Rauschen, Gerhard, Ph.D., S.T.D., Eucharist and Penance: In the First Six Centuries of the Church, B Herder, St. Louis, 1913

N.B. St. Serapion of Thmuis is also called St. Serapion the Scholastic. Thmuis is a titular see and suffragan of the Metropolitan See of Pelusium. It is independent of the See of Alexandria and therefore does not follow the unique Alexandrian liturgical structure in it's anaphora but instead is of the Antiochene family.

Does 'for all' Invalidate the Consecration?

Quaestio Unus

Whether Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum (this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven) is a valid form for consecration?

Obj. 1. It seems that the aforesaid form of the consecration is not a valid form, for as St. Thomas says, “the words which follow (of the New and Eternal Testament, the Mystery of Faith, which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins) are determinations of the predicate, that is of Christ’s blood. Consequently they belong to the integrity of the expression” [ST III Q78 Art. 3]. Further, St. Pius V expressly declares, “defects on the part of the form may arise if anything is missing from the complete wording required for the act of consecrating” [De Defectibus, V]. It is apparent that the words mysterium fidei (mystery of faith) are omitted. Therefore, the preceding words are not a valid form of consecration.

Obj 2. Further, Pope Leo XIII writes, “All know that the Sacraments of the New Law, as sensible and efficient signs of invisible grace, ought to both signify the grace which they effect and effect the grace which they signify” [Apostolicae Curae, 24]. The words “mystery of faith” signify justifying grace, which is by faith (Rom 3:25, 26) [ST III Q78 Art. 3]. Therefore, the form that omits these words fails to signify justifying grace. The same holds true for the omission of any part of the following words.

Obj. 3. Further, St. Pius V declares, “If any omission or alteration is made in the formula of consecration of the Body and Blood, involving a change of meaning, the consecration is invalid” [De Defectibus, V]. We have already spoken of the omitted word above. The ICEL translation changes the meaning of pro multis (for many) to for all. This change of wording changes the meaning and therefore invalidates the form.

Obj. 4. Further, the Roman Catechism says, “with reason, therefore, were the words for all not used, as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation” [Catechismus ex decreto Concilii Tridentini, p. 277]. Therefore, the form is invalid.

Obj. 5. Further, the reality of this sacrament is the union of the Mystical Body [ST III Q73 Art. 3]. Now the effect (res tantum/res sacramenti) must be signified in the form since Pope Leo XIII says, “it still pertains chiefly to the "form"; since the "matter" is the part which is not determined by itself, but which is determined by the "form"” [Apostolicae Curae, 24]. However, for all does not signify the union of the mystical body and therefore the form is invalid.

Sed contra, the Church, which is both indefectible and infallible, uses this form.

Respondeo dicendum, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith made it clear that all translations are to be understood in accordance with the mind of the Church expressed in the original Latin text [Instauratio Liturgica, SCDF: AAS, 66[1974] 661]. Further, all sacramental formulas are presented personally to the Holy Father for his approval [SCDW: AAS 66[1973] 98-99; SCDW: Notitiae 12 [1976] 300-302]. Since it is well known that the Church is the sacrament of salvation, it is contrary to Catholic faith to hold that she could positively teach or hold up for the belief of the faithful an invalid sacrament. The abhorrence of such an accusation is increased in great measure when we consider that were the form invalid then the Church encourages the adoration of an empty sign, thereby positively regulating idolatry. It is impossible for this to be the case for then the Church would not be indefectible.

Reply Obj. 1. St. Thomas does indeed teach that the words that follow are of the integrity or substance of the form. In the first article, St. Thomas seems to say that the short form (excluding the words that follow) is the form of the sacrament. This is why many theologians (Fr. Doronzo, S.J., St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, et al.) consider that the opinion of the Angelic Doctor is unclear [Theologia Moralis, VI, Tract. 3, Ch. 1, Nos. 220-221]. More to the point, St. Pius V was dealing with a peculiar time in Church history and wished to make clear that every priest was under the obligation to pronounce each word. For that reason we assume the proper intent of the priest who follows the lawful form(s) of the sacraments. Since the Church lawfully obligates the revised form, it is validly and lawfully used for consecration.

Reply Obj. 2. The Byzantine Rites omit the words “Mystery of Faith” from the form of consecration yet their priests validly consecrate the sacrament. This is aptly explained according to Pope Benedict XIV when he declared, “For it would of course be unjust, mistaken, and opposed to the peace and unity of the Church to make judgments concerning the Greek Rites solely on the basis of a knowledge of the Latin Rituals,” a problem not uncommon for those who “are uninstructed in Greek customs, and do not know how the Apostolic See has always regarded them” [Ex Quo, 7]. It must also be noted that St. Thomas was entirely familiar with the Greek Rites, and did not admonish them in any way, as to defects in validity of their rites of celebration. Furthermore, when we consider that in the first article St. Thomas quotes St. Ambrose from his work De Sacramentis, wherein the form of the consecration for the Chalice is simply: “For this is My Blood” (Hic est enim Sanguis Meus), we have additional evidences against this objection. Since Pope Leo XIII in his many overtures towards reunion with the Eastern Churches never once admonished them for lack of sacramental validity in their ancient rites, the arguments from Apsotolicae Curae cannot be legitimately applied to the moving of the phrase mysterium fidei.

Reply Obj. 3. The change from for many to for all does not change the meaning in the sense that St. Pius V teaches a change in meaning invalidates the consecration. The meaning of efficacy (for many) is not contrary to that of sufficiency (for all), rather these meanings are complementary [Trent Sess. VI, Ch 2; Leo XIII, Annum Sacrum, 5]. Thus the orthodoxy of for all cannot invalidate the consecration (objections to the accuracy of the words so translated not withstanding). De Defectibus teaches the invalidation of the consecration on the basis that the “change of words does not signify the same thing.” But the form here accepted by the Church signifies the same reality and therefore is valid.

Reply Obj. 4. It is with good reason that the fruits of the Passion were spoken of in the Latin expression for unto (in) denotes actuality. Hence, in speaking of the fruits or efficacy of the Passion one should say many and not all. Likewise, when speaking of the sufficiency aspect of the Passion, it is still to the Precious Blood to which we refer for as St. Thomas says, “This is denoted by the blood being consecrated apart from the body; because it was by the Passion that the blood was separated from the body” [ST III Q78 Art. 3]. In the English the expression is in the subjunctive: so that...may be. This denotes not actuality but wish/desire. Therefore, the construction of the English properly expresses for all and not for many, because the sufficiency of the Passion is spoken of and not the efficacy.

Reply Obj. 5. St. Thomas does teach that the res sacramenti is the union of the mystical body (res sacramenti est unitas coporis mystici) [ST III Q73 Art 3]. Elsewhere he establishes that the res sacramenti is charity (res autem huius sacramenti est caritas) [ST III Q79 Art 4]. The increase of charity in the soul has the effect of bringing about the increase of the unity of the mystical body. St. Denis, the Aeropagite, says that love always tends towards union with the object beloved. And because food becomes one thing with him who eats it, therefore our Lord would reduce himself to food, in order that, receiving him in Holy Communion, we might become of one substance with him: Take ye and eat, said Jesus; this is My body [The Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ, St. Alphonsus de Ligouri, Reflections Ch V]. Thus the res sacramenti is signified in the form of consecration: Hoc est enim corpus meum…et Hic est enim calix sanguinis meis.

The res sacramenti need not be explicitly signified in the form but it does need to be signified in some manner according to Pope Leo XIII [Apostolicae Curae, 24]. For instance, the res sacramenti/res tantum of Baptism is interior justification (…interioris iustificationis. Quae est res tantum huius sacramenti…) [ST III Q66 A1]. The signification of the res sacramenti is with the sacrament of baptism done by a single word: baptizo. Hence the grace of justification is signified both in the water (matter) and in the word baptize (form), but in neither explicitly as in delineating all of the effects of baptism. By corollary extension, this principle applies to all of the sacraments in like manner. (Cf. Reply Obj. 3 on De Defectibus.)

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Crossposted over at The Lidless Eye Inquisition

Commentary on Psalm 22(21) by St. Robert Bellarmine

Exposition of Psalm 22 (21)
St. Robert Cardinal Bellarmine

1 “O God, my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.”

David speaks here in the person of Christ hanging on the cross, in the height of his suffering, as appears from Matt. 27, in which we read that the Redeemer, just before he expired, exclaimed: “O God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The words, “Look upon me,” are not in the Hebrew; they were added by the Septuagint, for explanation sake. When Christ complains of having been forsaken by God, we are not to understand that he was forsaken by the Second Person, or that there was a dissolution of the Hypostatic Union, or that he lost the favor and friendship of the Father; but he signifies to us that God permitted his human nature to undergo those dreadful torments, and to suffer and ignominious death, from which he could, if he chose, most easily deliver him. Nor did such complaints proceed either from impatience or ignorance, as if Christ were ignorant of the cause of his suffering, or was not most willing to bear such abandonment in his suffering; such complaints were only a declaration of his most bitter sufferings. And whereas, through the whole course of his passion, with such patience did our Lord suffer, as not to let a single groan or sigh escape him, so now, lest the bystanders may readily believe that he was rendered impassible by some superior power; therefore, when his last moments were nigh, he protests that he is true man, truly passible; forsaken by his Father in his sufferings, the bitterness and acuteness of which he then intimately felt. “O God, my God;” looking upon himself as a mere servant, he addresses the Father as his God, because, at that very moment, he was worshipping him as the true God, offering to him the most perfect sacrifice that ever had been offered, the sacrifice of his body. “Look upon me;” he asks him to behold how he suffers for his honor, to acknowledge, therefore, the obedience of his Son, and to accept the sacrifice so offered for the human race. “Why hast thou forsaken me?” As if he were surprised! Is it possible you could allow your beloved and only begotten Son to be overwhelmed in such an abyss of pain and sorrow? Similar expressions are met in John 3, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son;” and Rom. 8, “He did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.” “Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.” Many, afraid of imputing sin to Christ, give a very forced explanation of these words. Some read them by way of interrogation, without any authority whatever. Others explain thus, “My sins,” having none, “are far from my salvation;” that is, are no obstacle to it. Without entering into other interpretations, mere gratuitous ones, inconsistent with the punctuation, the meaning simply is: With justice I said I was forsaken in my sufferings, because my exemption from them would be incompatible with my satisfying for the sins of the human race, which I have taken upon me, and which I mean to wipe away. And that Christ could take the sins of the human race upon himself, as if they were his own, is plainly shown in the Scripture, 1 Peter 2, “Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree:” Isaias 53, “And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all:” and, 2 Cor. 5, “Him who knew no sin he hath made sin for us;” that is, a victim for sin. As a victim for sin, then, must be immolated, in order to cleanse from the sin, so Christ, having undertaken to become the victim for the sins of the world, with much propriety says, “Far from my salvation are the words of my sins;” that is, I cannot avoid death, since the sins of the whole world are upon me to satisfy for them. “The words of my sins” is a Hebraism, meaning the sins themselves. “Are far from my salvation,” are inconsistent with my salvation, and I must, therefore needs suffer.

2 “O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.”

He assigns another proof of his being forsaken by God, and without any hope of temporal salvation. Though I may cry out day and night to be delivered from this death of the body, you will not hear me. He alludes to his two prayers, one at night in the garden, the other by day on the cross. “And it shall not be reputed as folly in me.” Though I may cry, and though I know you will not hear me, so far as escaping temporal punishment or suffering is concerned; still, it will “not be folly in me,” because my principal object, the redemption of the human race, will be effected, and I will not be kept in death, but will rise to life everlasting.

3 “But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.”

He proves that it was not folly in him to cry out at night, even though he was not heard by day, and that for four reasons. First, because God is holy and merciful. Secondly, because he is wont kindly to hear those who call upon him. Thirdly, because he is in the greatest straits. Fourthly, because, from his nativity, he has confided in God, and in him alone. The present verse contains the first reason. “You, O Lord, will certainly hear me, for you “dwell in the holy place;” you are all sanctity and piety; malice or cruelty cannot come near you, and therefore, you are “the praise” of thy people “Israel;” both because the people of Israel praise thee, and they are praised on your account. For the greatest praise thy people can have is their having a God so holy in every respect.

4 “In thee have our fathers hoped; they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them.”
5 “They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.”

Reason the second, from the instances of his kindness, numbers of which are to be found in Judges. As often as the children of Israel appealed to him, so often did he send them one of the Judges to deliver them, such as Gedeon, Samson, Samuel, etc.

6 “But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.”
7 “All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with lips, and wagged the head.”
8 “He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him.”

The third reason, derived from the straits in which Christ is placed. “But I am a worm, and no man:” I am just now in that position that I am not only “made less than the angels,” but even made less than man. “Despised and the most abject of men,” Isaias 53, nay, even beneath them, when even Barabbas and the robbers were preferred to me, and thus, I am now become so wretched, more “a worm than a man;” “the reproach of men;” at whom men blush, as they would at some opprobrious character; as did Peter, when he swore a solemn oath, “he knew not the man;” and “the outcast of the people;” one so rejected by the very scum of the people, that they called out, “Not this man but Barabbas.” “All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn:” When they saw me in that state they all mocked me, all manner of persons, high and low, priests and laics, Jews and Gentiles; which was fulfilled when, as St. Luke in chapter 23 writes, “And the people stood beholding, and the rulers with them derided. And the soldiers also mocked him.” “They have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head.” This, too, was accomplished, as St. Matthew writes, in chapter 27, “They blasphemed him, wagging their heads, and saying, Vah, thou who destroyest the temple of God.” “He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him.” St. Matthew testifies in the same place that the Jews made use of the very words, saying, “He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will.” Wonderful prophecy, predicting not only the facts, but the very words that would be used on the occasion.

9 “For thou are he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother.”
10 “I was cast upon thee from the womb: from my mother’s womb thou art my God.”

The fourth reason, drawn from the eternal innocence of Christ. The word “For” does not imply consequence; it is very often used in Scripture as a mere copulative; sometimes it is quite redundant. “You are he that hast drawn me out of the womb.” I am thine from my birth; specially so, because I have no been born like others; but, through thy singular favor, have been both conceived and born, my mother’s virginity remaining intact. “My hope from the breasts of my mother.” Not content with having “drawn me out of the womb,” it is you who principally nourished me; for, though apparently on the breast of any mother, I know milk from heaven was supplied by you; and, therefore from her very breasts, I learned to hope and confide in thee. “I was cast upon thee from the womb;” The moment I left my mother’s womb, I fell into thy bosom, where I was cared for with such singular love and affection. “From my mother’s womb thou are my God.” As well as you, from the moment of my birth, so providentially protected me, so I, from the earliest dawn of my life, began to serve and to love you as my God.

11 “Depart not from me. For tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me.”

“Depart not from me,” according to some, is a part of the preceding verse, a matter of no great moment; it means, since “I was cast upon thee from the womb,” since “thou are my God,” I may with justice ask you to “depart not from me,” especially when my most grievous and my last “tribulation is very near;” that is, my death. “For tribulation is very near.” This verse may, perhaps, apply to his agony in the garden, when he was so overwhelmed with fear at the idea of his approaching passion; but, I am more inclined to think it should be understood of his actual passion at hand, both because he uses the perfect tense, when he says, “They have dug my hands and feet.” “They parted my garments amongst them;” and because he, before that, quoted the language of the Jews, boasting of their having nailed him to the cross; and, finally, because the very first verse of this Psalm was quoted by our Savior, when hanging on his cross. According, then, to his expression in the 2nd verse, “it shall not be reputed as folly in me.” I will not cry to thee to deliver me from death, but no to detain me therein.

12 “Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me.”

An account of the cruelty of his enemies, whom he compares to bulls, lions, and dogs. He alludes to the High Priests and Pharisees, who insult him like bulls, goring him, as it were, with their horns, saying, “Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God;” or, like lions with their mouths open, hungering for him; thirsting for his blood, and bellowing, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him;” or like dogs gnawing and biting him when they belied him, saying, “We have found this man perverting our nation;” and again, “If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up to thee:” which calumnies and detractions were the cause of our Lord’s immediate crucifixion; and, therefore, he says presently, “They have dug my hands and feet.” To come now in particulars. “Many calves have surrounded me.” We are not to understand young weak calves, but grown, with horns, almost bulls; for the following, “fat bulls have besieged me,” is only a repetition. The High Priests and Pharisees are called “strong” and “fat,” because they were powerful and rich. Some will have it that by the “calves” he meant the populace; by the “bulls,” the Pharisees; not at all improbable; but I prefer the first explanation.

13 “They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring.”
The High Priests and Pharisees panting for his death.
14 “I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels.”
15 “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death.”

He tells in these verses how he dealt with the cruelty of his enemies. He offered no opposition to their violence, but always exhibited the humility, patience, and mildness, spoken of in Isaias 50, “I have not turned away my face from them that rebuke me and spit upon me;” and by 1 Peter 2, “Who when he was reviled, did not revile; when he suffered he threatened not, but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly.” He, therefore, says, “I am poured out like water;” I made no resistance, allowed myself to be turned, driven in all directions, as one would turn a stream of water. “And all my bones are scattered;” I have lost all my strength, not in reality, but I do not with to exercise it. I let my enemies use theirs, according to Luke 22, “This is your hour and the power of darkness.” I have, therefore, shown myself weak and feeble in my resistance, as if I were flesh entirely; “And all my bones are scattered;” and thus incapable of resistance. “My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels;” I have patiently borne, and meekly borne, all those injuries before man, but I have been also interiorly “humble of heart;” which heart has not been swollen with anger, nor hardened with rage, in a spirit of vengeance, but has been on the contrary, like “melted wax,” in the spirit of affection and love to them, in the spirit of mercy for their blindness, by virtue of which I prayed of you, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” “In the midst of my bowels;” a usual phrase in Scriptures, to express our internal feelings; thus, John 7, “Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water:” and, Cant. 5, “My bowels were moved at his touch:” “My strength is dried up like a potsherd.” My whole strength has dwindled away, dried up like a brickbat, when I allowed myself to be tied and beaten as if I were incapable of resisting them. “And my tongue adhered to my jaws:” I did not choose to say an offensive word to my enemies, or to complain of their wrongs. “And thou hast brought me down into the jaws of death.” In consequence of their persecutions, and my nonresistance, you have, my God, without whose permission nothing can happen, brought me to my death and burial.

16 “For many dogs have encompassed me; the council of the malignant hath besieged me. The have dug my hands and feet.”
17 “They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked up and stared upon me.”

He tells us how he was “brought to the dust of death:” “For many dogs have encompassed me;” meaning many detractors, namely, the High Priests and Pharisees, who, by accusing me falsely of seducing the people, of refusing to pay tribute, of aiming at the sovereignty, and similar charges, forced Pilate to give me up to the soldiers for crucifixion. “The council of the malignant hath besieged me;” and explanation merely of the last passage; for “the many dogs” are no other than the council; that is, the assembly “of the malignant.” The same malignant set, thought they did not so with their own hands, did it through others. “They have dug my hands and feet.” They drove the nails through. “They have numbered all my bones,” a thing they could easily do, when his blessed hands were stretched out, and the strain on his whole body rendered his ribs and other bones so visible and so easy of counting. “And they have looked and stared upon me.” To add to the punishment of the cross, there was ignominy of his nakedness. They inspected my whole person with the greatest curiosity, there being nothing to cover it.

18 “They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots.”

All which was fulfilled to the letter as may be read in John 19.

19 “But thou, O Lord, remove not they help to a distance from me; look toward my defense.”

He returns to the prayer with which he commenced the Psalm, and to which he recurred again in verses 10 and 11, and now resumes it here. Having gone through the details of his passion, he now prays to God for a speedy resurrection, as it is it that will deliver him perfectly from the persecution of his enemies. “But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me.” My enemies have arrived at the height of their malice, have put out all their strength against me; it is, therefore, your part to look to me now, to defer you help no longer, but kindly to defend me against their machinations.

20 “Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand of the dog.”
21 “Save me from the lion’s mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns.”

He tells the sort of assistance he requires. “Deliver my soul from the sword.” Deliver me from the instrument of death, making use of the word sword for any instrument, a thing common in the Scriptures, 2 Kings 12, “The sword shall not depart from thy house;” Ezech. 33, “And see the sword coming upon the land;” Rom. 8, “Who, then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or persecution? Or the sword?” In like manner, the word soul is used here for life, a thing not uncommon in the Scriptures. “My only one from the hand of the dog;” by “the dog,” he means those dogs he had already spoken of; but he makes use here of the singular number by a figure, to show that the malice of them all appeared to be now concentrated in one, and, therefore, so much the more violent and malignant. “My only one;” he means his own life, which he loved in a singular manner, as being that of the Incarnate Word. “Save me from the lion’s mouth;” that lion of which ver. 13 says, “They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring;” “and my lowness from the horns of the unicorn.” He said before, “Fat bulls have besieged me.” Unicorns are now substituted for bulls, being much more fierce and wild, to show that the cruelty and ferocity of his enemies, so far from being softened by his many sufferings, was only excited and increased. Now, in all these petitions the Lord does not ask to have his temporal life spared; but, as we have repeatedly explained before, he asks that his life may be repaired quickly, and so repaired that he shall be no longer exposed or subject to the bite of the dog, the claws of the lion, or the horn of the bull or the unicorn.

22 “I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I praise thee.”

He now begins to tell the fruit of his Resurrection, the conversion of the world to God. “I will declare thy name to my brethren:” when I shall have risen, I will send my apostles through the entire world, and through them, “I will declare my name;” that is, I will impart the knowledge of thy name and of thy Godhead to all men through them; all being my brothers, by reason of the flesh I assumed; and thus, “in the midst of the church I will praise thee;” no longer in a corner of Judea, but in the midst of the immense church, composed of Jews and Gentiles, through the mouths of my ministers will I praise thee. St. Paul, writing to the Hebrews, quotes this passage, in chapter 2, “For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church I will praise thee.”

23 “Ye that fear the Lord praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob glorify him.”
24 “Let all the seed of Israel fear him: because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man. Neither hath he turned away his face from me: And when I cried to him he heard me.”

Having said that he would “praise God in the midst of the church,” which was to be effected by getting his faithful to do so, he now exhorts the faithful to praise God, “Ye that fear the Lord;” ye who know and worship him; for fearing God, in the Scriptures, is synonymous with worshipping him; thus, Jonas, then questioned about his people, says, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the God who made the heavens and the earth;” and Daniel says, “Let all fear the God of Daniel;” and it is said of Judith, “that she feared God exceedingly.” The meaning, then, is: You who know and worship the true God, praise him; and, lest we should imagine this exhortation was addressed to a few, the Jews, for instance, he adds, “All ye seed of Jacob, glorify him. Let all the seed of Israel fear him;” that means, glorify, praise, and fear God, all ye children of Israel, and not only ye who are children in the flesh, but ye who are children according to the promise, namely, all the Gentiles converted to Christianity; “Because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man.” He assigns a reason for wishing God to be praised by all, namely, because he heard the prayer he put up to him for his Resurrection and glory, for his victory over the devil, and for the redemption of the human race. He calls himself “a poor man,” as, in truth, he was, when, in his agony, hanging on the cross, he hung naked, deserted, and suffering from hunger and thirst. “Neither hath he turned away his face from me, and when I cried to him he heard me.” A repetition of the preceding sentences.

25 “With thee is my praise in a great church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him.”

Having encouraged his faithful to praise God, he now predicts the certainty of it. The praise I will chant to thee through my faithful will not be from a corner, nor from a handful of the Jews, but from the church of all nations. “I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him.” Vows here signify sacrifices and oblations, as Isaias 19 has it, “They shall worship him in victims and offerings, and they shall make vows to the Lord, and perform them;” for when Christ saw how agreeable was the holocaust of his death to the Almighty, he promises now that through his ministers he will, in the best manner he can, most frequently renew the same holocaust, which he says, in the words, “I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him;” through my ministers, the priests of the New Testament, I will most constantly immolate that most agreeable of all sacrifices to God; “in the sight of them that fear him;” of those that acknowledge, worship him, for the sacrifice may not be performed by infidels.

26 “The poor shall eat and shall be filled; and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live forever and ever.”

Of this sacrifice “the poor shall eat,” when they acknowledge their spiritual neediness and poverty; “and shall be filled,” because they will taste of the good, exceeding all good; “and they shall praise the Lord,” thanking him for such an immense favor: “that seek him;” those that hunger for and eagerly seek him; “their hearts shall live forever.” Such will be the fruit of this reflection, that the hearts nourished by such excellent and noble food will lead to a spiritual life – a life of grace here, and of glory forever; for so the Truth speaketh, in John 6, “Whosoever eateth of this bread shall live forever.” For, as perishable food supports the body for a time, so the imperishable food confers life everlasting.

27 “All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord: and all the kindred of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight.”

He shows how it will happen that he shall have to praise God “in a great church,” because all nations will be converted to God through the merits of the sacrifice of the cross. “They shall remember” their first origin, how they were formed in their first parent, a thing they had quite forgotten, through original sin; and, therefore, they said to the wood and the stones, “Thou art my father, “ Jer. 2. “They shall remember” their first creation, “and all the ends of the earth shall be converted to the Lord;” that is, all the nations on the face of the globe, even to its remotest ends; that is to say, some from every nation. “And all the kindred of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight.” An explanation of the preceding verse; because, “adoring” the Lord, and being converted to the Lord, imply the same thing; namely, the abandonment of idolatry by the whole human race all over the world.

28 “For the kingdom is the Lord’s; and he shall have dominion over the nations.”

They will deservedly be converted to and adore the Lord, because he, not the infernal spirits, being the true and natural king of all, will justly ‘have dominion over the nations.”

29 “All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth shall fall before him.”

Having stated that “The poor shall eat and shall be filled, and shall praise the Lord;” and that “All the kindred of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight,” for feat any one may suppose it was only the poor and the hungry would be called and converted, he now introduces the rich and the powerful. “All the fat ones have eaten, and have adored.” The very “fat ones” of this world, who abound in its blessings, such as princes, emperors, kings, they, too, shall eat of the Lord’s table, and will adore and praise the common Lord, whose sway is over all nations. In the style of the prophets, the perfect tense is used here for the future. Finally the words “that go down to the earth,” mean all mortals who to earth must return. “Shall fall before him;” shall bend their knees, and adore; and thus the conversion of the Gentiles, the fruit of our Lord’s passion and Resurrection, will be truly general.

30 “And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him.”

He concludes by saying, that he and his posterity would thence forward live for God’s glory alone, and for his faithful service; the soul is put here for the entire man, which is often done in the Scripture.

31 “There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall show forth his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.”

An explanation of the expression, “My seed shall serve him,” for “the generation to come;” meaning the people, under the new dispensation, will get good news concerning the Lord and his justice, the justice of Faith. “Then shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come;” that means, the generation to come shall get the news; it shall be announced to them, for it is a Greek phrase, like the expression, “The poor have the gospel preached to them;” whereas, literally translated, it would mean, the poor preached the gospel: the meaning, then, is, not that the Lord will be declared to the generation to come, but the generation to come will be declared, as enlisted to the Lord; this is plain from the following, where he says, “The heavens shall show forth his justice to a people that shall be born;” now, “that shall be born,” and “the generation to come,” are one and the same. The Lord, then, will be declared to the coming generation, for the heavens, that holy people, will do it. The justice of faith is called the justice of God, which makes men truly just, and which God gratuitously gives to those who believe in Christ. For the gospel strongly inculcates that we are all sinners, that we cannot be justified of ourselves, but that through faith in Christ we are to expect justice from God alone.

St. Bellarmine, A Commentary on the Book of Psalms, translated by Ven. John O'Sullivan, D.D., Archdeacon of Kerry, Loreto Publications, Fitzwilliam, NH, 2003.

The Use of the Slavonic Language in the Liturgy

THE USE OF THE SLAVONIC LANGUAGE IN THE LITURGY

Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites
December, 18, 1906
(De usu linguae Slavonicae, Decreta Authentica Congregationis Sacrorum Rituum VI, 4196)

1. Seeing that the Apostolic See has judged it to be fitting now to limit within certain bounds what it before legislated concerning the use of the Glagolitic language in the liturgy, the use of this language ought to be considered and held by everyone to be a local privilege, belonging to certain churches; it should by no means be considered a personal privilege belonging to certain priests. For this reason, those priests who are trained in the use of Old Church Slavonic will not be able to use this language when celebrating Mass in a church which does not have this privilege.

2. Once the index of privileged churches has been compiled and published, it will be allowed to no one for whatever cause or pretext, to introduce the use of Old Church Slavonic into any other church. If any priest, whether secular or regular, does otherwise, or attempts to, he remains ipso facto suspended from the celebration of Mass and the performance of his other priestly duties until he has obtained pardon from the Holy See.

3. In churches which enjoy the privilege, it will be allowed that Mass may be celebrated and office recited according to public and solemn rite, only in Old Church Slavonic. The admixture of any other language whatsoever is excluded (except as is provided for in the eleventh article of this decree).

4. Wherever the people are accustomed to reply to the celebrant or sing parts of the Mass, this also may be done in the privileged churches only in Old Church Slavonic. That this may be done more easily the ordinary may allow for the faithful exclusively the use of a hand missal written in Latin characters, rather than in Slavonic letters.

5. In these aforesaid churches which undoubtedly possess the privilege of the use of the Slavonic language, the ritual, printed in that language, may be used in the administration of sacraments and sacramentals, provided that the ritual is one approved and recognized by the Holy See.

6. The bishops should take care that in their seminaries the studies of both Latin and Old Church Slavonic should be carried on, so that the priests may be ready to serve in either a Latin or Slavonic diocese as necessity may dictate.

7. Unless some other necessity dictates a different course of action, it will be the duty of the bishops, before holy ordination, to designate those clerics who are going to be sent to Latin churches and those who are going to be sent to Slavonic churches; the bishops shall do this after they have looked into the wishes and dispositions of the candidates.

8. If any priest, attached to a church where the Latin language is used, should be assigned to another church, which enjoys the privilege of using Old Church Slavonic, he will be obliged to sing the solemn Mass and the divine office in Slavonic; however, he may celebrate the liturgy privately and fulfill the canonical hours privately in the Latin language.
A priest, however, attached to a church of Old Slavonic, but by chance serving a Latin church, is obliged to celebrate both the solemn and private Mass and also to sing the canonical hours in the Latin language; but he has the faculty of reciting the office privately in Glagolitic.

9. It is likewise permitted for priests, attached to Latin-speaking churches, to celebrate Mass privately in Latin in another church which enjoys the privilege of Old Slavonic. However, priests attached to churches of Old Slavonic may not celebrate in this language even privately in churches where the Latin language is used.

10. In a church of the Latin language, where it is customary to sing at solemn Mass the epistle and gospel in Slavonic after it is sung in Latin, this custom may be preserved. At parish Masses, it is permitted, after the recitation of the gospel, to read it in the vernacular for the instruction of the faithful.

11. In those parishes where the privilege of using Old Slavonic prevails, if one of the faithful so desires, baptism or the other sacraments, including marriage, may be administered according to the Roman Latin ritual, and this may be done publicly. The ritual prayers for the burial of the dead may be in the same language. Priests are severly forbidden to oppose such a desire in any way.

12. In preaching the word of God or in other acts of cult which are not strictly liturgical, the vernacular Slavonic language may be used for the convenience and welfare of the people, but the general decrees of this Sacred Congregation of Rites must be observed.

13. The bishops of those regions where the language in use is a vernacular language should seek to provide for a uniform version of prayers and hymns in which the people participate, so that when they move form one diocese or parish to another there may be no conflict in any of the prayers or hymns.

14. Devotional books in which there is a vernacular edition of liturgical prayers issued for the private use of the faithful, are to be authorized and approved by the bishops.

R. Kevin Seasoltz, The New Liturgy: A Documentation, 1903 to 1965, Herder and Herder, New York, 1966.