E SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
Mass takes the paten from the deacon, after the
oblation of the chalice, and covering it with a long veil
holds it at the foot of the altar until the end of the
Pater noster. The Church is very conservative, and
sooner than part from an old custom she retains it
though
its raison d etre has ceased. The custom can
be traced to the time when the faithful offered bread
and wine on the paten. As these offerings were large
and larger hosts were customary then, the size of the
paten was in proportion, and being inconvenient on the
altar, it was removed and kept by the subdeacon until
needed again by the priest.
Let us pass now to another vestige of an ancient
Rubric kept in a Votive Mass. The nuptial blessing
is given in the Mass for the Bride and Bridegroom after
the Pater noster and again after the lie Missa est.
Why is the blessing given
after the Pater noster ? The
blessing is the survival of a ceremony which has long
ceased to exist. Bishops before the sixteenth century
gave a special blessing after the Pater noster perhaps to
friends and benefactors, and again at the end a general
blessing to the congregation. The special blessing to
the bride and bridegroom in this place reminds us
of that special blessing given by the Bishop. The
second prayer at the end for bride and bridegroom
may have been found in the Mass before the practice
began of a priest blessing the congregation
after the
lie Missa est. And it naturally kept its place.
Once more. In churches abroad and at home