'ORATE FRATRES' AN ARTICLE FOR THE LAITY

New Zealand Tablet, 4 October 1906, Page 12

'ORATE FRATRES' AN ARTICLE FOR THE LAITY

(By the Bey. J. Golden, Kaikouba.)

In the Old Dispensation there were whole burnt offerings, sin offerings, thanksgiving offerings, peace offerings. The Book of Leviticus abounds with directions respecting these different kinds of sacrifice. 'If his offering be a holocaust.' Again : ' And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace-offerings, and >he will offer of the herd.' 'Once more: "These are the sacrifices which you shall offer.' In Ecclesiasticus we read : 'Do not offer wicked gifts.'

Sacrifices were offered to Almighty God from the very beginning. ' Abel also offered of the firstlings of his flock, and of their tat, and the Lord had respect to Abel and to his offerings (Gen. iv., 4) St'Paulin treating of the fruits and efficiency of faith refers as follows to the sacrifice of Abel the just : ♦By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice exceeding i/hat* of Cam, by which he obtained the testimony that he 1 was just, God giving testimony, to his gifts. The expression under review is consonant with altar and sacrifice. ' And he (David) built there an altar- to the Lord, and he offered holocausts and peace-offerines ' (i Paral. xxi). .In Exodus we read: ' These : are the*" sacrifices which you shall offer.' And again : 'So

Jethro the kinsman of Moses offered holocausts and sacrifices to God.' ' Rising early in the morning, the -Israelites offered holocausts and . peace-offerings.' And the people"^ of God were forbidden under penalty of #eath to offer their children to 'the idol Moloch.' ;! his was' an •' abomination which the Lord afohorreth, offering their sons and daughters and burning them .with lire' (Deut. xii,- 31). Those who were guilty of Such heathehis-h abominations, ' dying let them die : the people of the land shall stone them.' One quotation more. This illustrates the "ancient doctrine and practice of making oblations for the happy repose of the faithful departed. The valiant Jewish captain, Judas Machabe^us; making a gathering, sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifices to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection. . . 'It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins ' (ii. Mach., xii).

To sum up what has been so far advanced : The word offer ' harmonises exactly with the idea of priest, altar, sacrifice. It is of ancient usage. It is the very best conceivable. Another

Apt and Time-honored Express-ion is 'celebrate,' which comes in as a valuable auxiliary to express a definite meaning of its own. The priest has celebrated Mass is an orthodox expression But a sacrifice is ' offered.' How forceful and appropriate are these terms in contrast with 'the T>ald expressions 'read,' and • said.' It follows -that the sound and logical words should be carefully cultivated while the objectionable modes of expression should be ruled out of court.

. When we consider the nature of the Adorable Sacrifice offered on our altars, and when account is taken of the reverence, attention, and devotion requited on the part of the congregation, how weak and inapt the common expression, ' hearing Mass.' Evidently assisting at holy Mass ' and ' attending- at holy Mass 'are far better phrases, being more consonant with the obligation of the people. They harmonise with the meaning of Sacrifice and offering, as well as with the close connection existing between the congregation and the officiating priest. This intimate relation has already come under brief review It is expressively set forth in the ' Orate Fratres "' of the priest : ' Pray, brethren, that my Sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Father Almighty ' The writer in the ' Ecclesiastical Review ' bans the expression ' hearing Mass. 1 Enough has now been advanced to show that he is amply justified in condemning this phrase. But a more suitable mode of expression he does not supply or suggest, We venture to offer attending and ' assisting ' as far more becoming and logical phrases. °

We now come to a brief notice of other modes of speech respecting holy Mass, but which ' Layman ' has not mentioned. Possibly America is not afflicted with them. Perhaps they are peculiar to this country At all events, they are unknown in the land of St Patrick s inheritance. We venture to say they are ' never heard of in any Catholic country. But they are abuses of language very rife in this fair Colony It is self-evident they are not of Catholic growth or origin. They are aliens of a most undesirable nature. No Catholic should admit them into his vocabulary. _ Those who have adopted them should take and expel them forthwith. They are the offspring of an irreligious world and generation. Let them be cast forth to their owners.

Here are some specimens to illustrate our conten.t. t V on /~i 1) ,9 h ' uroh , is in ' : ( 2 ) ' CMiurch is out ' • (3) Late for Church ' ; (4) • Missed Chu.rch.' If by ' the word ' Church ' is meant the people, surely the 'expression is most unsuitable. The people or the con gregation are not known by the name ' Church ' The phrases ' Cfcurch is in ' and" ' Church is out ' are flippant modes of speech, bald attempts at expressing the proper thing. What is this proper thing ? It il that the determined hour for holy Mass has arrived or that Mass is concluded. Why not say 'It is time for Mass ' ; ' The people are in the Church ' ■ 'The priest) is on the altar ' ? Instead of ' Church is out ' why not use the natural expression, ' The neonle are out of Church ' ? or again, 'Mass in ftnfshed '? j n ! stead of 'late- for Church,' why not say 'late for holy Mass ' ? Instead of .the slipshod phrase, 'missed Church,' why not employ the more apt and correct expression ' lost Mass,' or « neglected Mass,' or ' late for Mass ? $ In the sense we are considering,. ' Church is neither the sacred edifice nor the .congregation. And surely the Holy Sacrifice cannot be designated by the term 'Church.' Neither is it apt or proper -to^alldivLe worship -by the meaningless name of • Church.'

'Church ' is neither t 'in ' nor ' out,' ' late ' or ' early.' The expressions have no definite or correct meaning. They are altogether devoid of the- fragrance of proper Catholic expressions. « Mass timei' ,and . 1 late .fotr Mass,' and ' lost Mass,' and ' neglected Mass ' are Catholic expressions. They convey correct ideas and meanings. They are dignified and respectful to religion. But the floundering and cant expressions we have pointed out should be utterly discarded. They are un-Catbolic modes of speech, devoid of commonsense and good taste, and lacking in reverence to the Adorable Sacrifice. They are a debasement of religious ideals, and calculated to lead to indifferentism. They weaken the idea of duty and obligation on the part' of the people. Is it not, then, the height of folly to exchange our proper and hallowed modes of expression for the empty and un-Catholic phrases we hear so often ? Surely it is high time to enter a strong protest against them. They are of recent origin, and are begotten of an unwholesome atmosphere. They have sprung up in an irreligious age, which has lost reverence for hallowed and sacred things. The freethinking world ignores all duty to God and invents words and phrases to suit its vitiated taste. Wayfaring man needs wholesome doctrine and true worship to attain his destiny, and both doctrine and worship are sustained by their own time-honored modes of speech, which >go to the very heart of religion. Alien words and phrases are unsuitable, misleading, and dangerous. They engender false ideals and debased conceptions of divine faith and its obligations on mankind. The venerable Sacrifice of the Mass is not ' Church.' Catholic worship is not ' Church.' The faithful are not ' Church.' The expression is out of 'all harmony with the heart and soul of religious teaching and practice.

In the second Epistle to the Thessalonians, the great St. Paul exhorts his converts in the following terms : ' Brethren, stand firm ; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.' Similarly may our people be admonished to stand fast by

The Language and Traditions of the Church of ages. The sound words and phrases she has sanctioned 'by ancient usage are some of the safeguards of faith. Such expressions the catechism, works of instruction, and prayer books supply in abundance. They are taught through the medium of sermons and lectures. They abound in Catholic literature. Why go beyond them to express our thoughts respecting Catholic doctrine and usage ? Why employ strange and unsound and jingling modes of speech? Principle is at stake ; truth is at stake. The honor and reverence due to religion and its sacred rites are involved. There is question of Holy Mass, the central worship of Christianity. There is question of its celebration, and of the olbSigation devolving on the faithful to assist, from beginning to end, with proper dispositions. The deposit of faith is concerned. ' .Sound words ' are a safeguard of sound faith. Every ■stronghold of faith, worship, and religious usaee should be ' held fast.' The language of unbelief is grating and offensive to ears attuned to fine ideals The Church has given her children the genuine coin of her realm— the Kingdom of God upon earth. She has supplied her adherents with words and phrases that bear the stamp of her authority, and which express hei- mind, as no other language can express it. These are forceful and true ; brimful of religious thought; worthy of zealous cultivation; and, therefore, of vital interest to the faithful. The constant and reverent use of them very materially helps to maintain the faith and to cherish religious fervor. May our faithful people guard themselves against unCathohc and illogical, flippant and irreverent modes of speech respecting faith and practice.