Faith

Perhaps nowhere else in the Missal is the oft-quoted advice "Read the black; Do the red" more applicable.

Father Robert M.
O'Grady

In English grammar class, did you dread getting your papers returned with so much red ink on them that you couldn't believe the teacher had that much ink? Well, if you look at the Roman Canon, you will see lots of red ink; it is also in a smaller type than the rest of the text, which is in black and a larger font. But these are not corrections but directions. For the most part, these are for the principal celebrant, but there are a few for the rest of the assembly.
Rubrics are there to protect the assembly from the "creativity" of the principal celebrant and to protect the principal celebrant from himself. Keep that "we" versus "I" in mind.
We saw the complex history of this prayer in previous columns. The rubrics underline the complexity even more. Most rubrics are directions regarding posture, e.g., genuflect, stand, sit, or gestures such as raising arms, folding or extending hands, or making the sign of the cross.
The Roman Canon cannot properly be prayed by opening the Roman Missal to the tab "I" and starting. It requires the principal celebrant to be familiar with both the black and the red. Perhaps nowhere else in the Missal is the oft-quoted advice "Read the black; Do the red" more applicable. This very complexity, together with the already noted length of this prayer, may be why we do not hear it prayed frequently.

Many of the directions within this prayer are evident in the other three. In all four, the priest takes, blesses, breaks, and gives the host and the chalice. Only here is the chalice called "precious." And only here do we hear the hands of the Lord called "venerable."
Several times, we see the priest instructed to "join hands" and then "extend hands." There are at least nine in this prayer, while in Prayer II and III, there are only four. A few of the nine are optional, which also underlines the preparation needed.
Likewise, there are additional bows. Four in this prayer, and two in the others. The bows are modified with the word "slightly." Again, the bow is such that the priest bows without losing contact with the others in the assembly. He should direct our attention to the sacred action, surely, but he is not speaking either exclusively or primarily to the host or the chalice as if the rest of the assembly were not present.
As noted previously, there are two places in this prayer where the priest may, as an option, mention names. Before the words of institution in the prayer for the living, and after those words in the prayer for the deceased.
There are also the special commemorations of feasts and the option of prayers, for e.g., newly baptized or newly confirmed at the Mass where the baptism or confirmation was celebrated; there is a bit of a surprise with the commemoration of the saints.
This prayer does not permit the addition of names of saints to the two existing lists, one list prior to and the other after the words of institution.
The likely explanation is the structure of the lists, which we saw last week. The lists underscore the "Romanness" of this prayer.
This limitation is not unique to this prayer. Only Eucharistic Prayer III provides for the insertion of saints' names. We'll see that in the coming weeks. So, if the celebrant wants to mention the name of a saint, e.g., the patron of the parish, then he must use Prayer III. If the place is named after a blessed, and a church so dedicated requires the consent of the Holy See, then in that place the name of the blessed may be invoked.
Nowhere does it provide for an "explanation" of the saint or blessed. No need to add the patron of this parish, or diocese, or the pastor. Sometimes a longer id is needed, but that is usually provided by the saint's name in the Roman Missal. For example, Teresa of Jesus or Theresa of Lisieux; John the Baptist or John the Evangelist; Thomas the Apostle or Thomas Aquinas or Thomas More.
Another caution is adding the name of the patron saint of a deceased at a funeral Mass or another Mass for the dead. This can lead to the unfortunate conclusion that the priest has just canonized the deceased. Only the pope can canonize an individual, as we know.
Any or all of this should not lead to setting aside this venerable prayer. It is very appropriate to pray this on Easter Sunday, Christmas, Epiphany, Ascension, and Pentecost. It could also be prayed on the solemnity, feast, or memorial of any of the saints whose names are mentioned in the prayer.
We priests need to become familiar with the prayer's beautiful complexity so that it becomes familiar to us and the other members of the assembly hear and pray it with us.

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