Brief But Beautiful: a meditation on the Pascha Nostrum

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In the Ordinariate Mass, after The Peace, a beautiful exchange takes place that adds to the distinct flavour of Divine Worship among Catholic liturgies. That exchange, our anthem to Christ crucified, is commonly referred to as the Pascha Nostrum.

Rubrics from Divine Worship: the Missal

The People kneel. 
As the Priest takes the Host and breaks it, he sings or says: 
(Alleluia.) Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
People: Therefore let us keep the feast. (Alleluia.)

The Fraction (Fractio Panis and Comingling). The Priest places a particle of the Host in the Chalice, making the Sign of the Cross with it, saying quietly:

May this mingling and consecration of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.
 
The Priest genuflects, and then the Agnus Dei is sung or said.

 The Biblical Text

1 Corinthians 5:7–8 Biblia Sacra Vulgata
Expurgate vetus fermentum, ut sitis nova conspersio, sicut estis azymi. Etenim Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus. Itaque epulemur: non in fermento veteri, neque in fermento malitiae et nequitiae: sed in azymis sinceritatis et veritatis.
1 Corinthians 5:7–8 KJV
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 RSV-CE

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

We are Present to Jesus

A guest welcomed into Catholic liturgy from the Anglican Patrimony, the Pascha Nostrum exposes our identity wedded to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In the Mass, we are embedded in the Sacrifice of Calvary, present to Jesus in His Passion. Attentive to the mystery before us, we share a sober recollection of the crucifixion, the redemption of man, and a cascading joy streaming into our hearts in the resurrection of the Lord.

Imagine the reaction of the disciples who accompanied Jesus on the road to Emmaus (St. Luke 24:13–32) who, when gathered with Jesus at table, recognized him in the breaking of the bread. Jesus "disappeared from their sight", though he did not leave them. Jesus remained present to the disciples in His Eucharistic form.

Jesus is really and truly present to us, among us, in the Mass. Do we share the joy of the disciples? Do we recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread? The feast we are meant to keep, to enter into, is the one ongoing eternal and glorious feast of Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Bread of Life, is our daily bread.

Our Father... Give us this day our daily* bread.

*St. Jerome has supersubstantialem in St. Matthew 6:11 and quotidianum (daily) in St. Luke 11:3. The Greek is epiousion, which is equivalent to supersubstantialem.

1. Greek | Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν έπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον
The bread of us the epiousion give us today

2 & 3. Latin | Panem nostrum quotidianum (supersubstantialem) da nobis hodie.

4. Aramaic of the Peshitta | ܗܰܒ݂ ܠܰܢ ܠܰܚܡܳܐ ܕ݁ܣܽܘܢܩܳܢܰܢ ܝܰܘܡܳܢܳܐ
haḇ lan laḥmā dəsūnqānan yawmānā
  1. Greek to English | Give us today our epiousion bread.
  2. Latin to English | (Lk) Give us this day our daily bread.
  3. Latin to English | (Mt) Give us this day our supersubstantial bread.
  4. Aramaic (Etheridge translation) to English | Give to us the bread of our need today.

Can we say with the disciples, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures"? Do our hearts burn with eager anticipation through and throughout the Liturgy of the Word? Do we hear Jesus present in and through His word, whispering to our hearts, inviting us to join Him, preparing us for the most sublime event this side of heaven when He comes to meet us - each one of us - as we receive Him and are embraced by Him in Holy Communion? 

The grace to be able to recognize Jesus is available for the asking.

Heavenly Father, grant me a mind cleared of every distraction, a heart open to Thy Gift, so that I may taste, savour, see and be filled with the very life of Thy Son, the Bread of Life; vouchsafe, O Lord, to pour out Thy grace into my heart, so that I may lovingly and reverently adore Thy Son in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Ordinariate Catholics typically kneel after The Peace, then chant together the Pascha Nostrum. Our uniting anthem - the Pascha Nostrum - is accompanied by a solemn gesture of adoration in the Presence of the Lord. Body-Mind-Spirit moments - kneeling/adoring, speaking/praying, acknowledging/assenting to - such as the Pascha Nostrum, can greatly aid a renewal of Eucharistic piety among Catholics.

In the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer designated the Pascha Nostrum for Mattins on Easter Day to replace the Venite (Psalm 95). We are blessed to have the words of the Pascha Nostrum retained in the Ordinariate Mass. In the Rubrical Directory of Divine Worship: the Missal, we find Cranmer's Sarum-aligned thought preserved, accompanied by a gentle reminder that unity among the brethren is not an option but a mark of true discipleship.

36. At The Fraction, the Priest begins breaking the Eucharistic Bread while singing or saying the anthem Christ our Passover. Christ's gesture of breaking the bread at the Last Supper, which gave this action its name, signifies that the many faithful are made one Body (Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:17) by receiving Communion from the Bread of Life which is Christ, who died and rose for the salvation of the world. The Fraction or breaking and distributing hosts into other vessels for distribution to the faithful is carried out with proper reverence by the Priest, assisted by the Deacon or a Concelebrant. The Priest then places a piece of the Host into the Chalice. The supplication Agnus Dei accompanies The Fraction. (...) 

Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, unites us in Himself. What obstacles do we put in the way of Jesus giving us the peace of being united with Him?


Dominica Paschæ in Resurrectione Domini
Ad Missam in Die (Mass of the Day | Easter Day)
  • Introitus: Ps. 138, 18.5.6 et 1-2 Resurrexi (cum Gloria Patri)
  • Graduale: Ps. 117, 24 et 1 Hæc dies... V. Confitemini
  • Alleluia: 1 Cor. 5, 7 Pascha nostrum
  • Sequentia: Victimæ paschali laudes
  • Offertorium: Ps. 75, 9.10 Terra tremuit
  • Communio: 1 Cor. 5, 7.8 Pascha nostrum
  • ad dimitendum populum: Ite, Missa est

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