Pondering the Penitential Rite of Divine Worship during the Eucharistic Revival

Unlike the Novus Ordo Missae which has the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass, Divine Worship - the Mass of the Ordinariate, also known as the Traditional English Mass - has the Penitential Rite placed at the transept of the Liturgy. That is, it is located after the Prayers of the People and before the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, previously known as the Liturgy of the Faithful, when the non-baptized - i.e., those being schooled in the Way and not yet admitted to Holy Communion - would be excused from the Mass.

The Ordinariate Liturgy is a member of the family of Latin Rite liturgies, a relative newcomer to that family which includes, for example, the Novus Ordo Missae, the Usus Antiquior (1962 Missal), the Dominican Rite, the Mozarabic Rite, the Rite of Braga, the Zaire Use, and the Ambrosian Rite. The Penitential Rite of Divine Worship invites worshippers of God to abandon the lazy slang of dower and dull religionists to allow God to sing in and through hearts purified of timidity and sloth.

The Penitential Rite of Divine Worship provides worshippers the benefit of a practical spiritual formation by the Liturgy of the Word, previously known as the Liturgy of the Catechumens, to help listeners shed unholy preoccupations and distractions. The Lesson and the Epistle, the Holy Gospel and the Homily, dispose the worshipper - the entire congregation - to receptivity to the Offertory in the walk up to the summit of the Mass, i.e., the sacrifice of the Mass, the consecration and Holy Communion.

The Kyrie, a "little penitential rite" and the remnant of a much longer litany, offers hearers of Holy Scripture the opportunity to ready their hearts and minds to receive Christ, the Word of God, in and through His word. The Kyrie offers worshippers a glimpse of Lent, a pre-Lent or mini season of Advent of sorts, a brief period of reflection that hints at the longer Lent to follow, the Penitential Rite. The pre-Lent of Advent (Kyrie) is followed by an "Epiphany", a manifestation of the Lord through/at the proclamation of the word of God. Advent (Kyrie), Christmas (Gloria), Epiphany (Liturgy of the Word, Homily, Prayers of the People) and Lent (Penitential Rite) and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (the Passion, Holy Week, the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, sacrifice), Easter (transubstantiation, resurrection), Pentecost (the blessing) and Trinitytide (mission, sending forth: St. Matthew 28:16-20): we see in Divine Worship the liturgical year in microcosm.

In many ways, Divine Worship, the Mass of the Ordinariate, is a more sober rite or use than the more well known Novus Ordo Missae. More sobering, perhaps, than even the 1962 Missal. There are several prayers drawn from the Anglican Patrimony which capture a uniquely English sobriety as well as the virtuosic balance of contemplative and active spirituality one finds among the saints of the British isles. Those prayers provide worshippers with reassurance and ample room for examining their individual consciences and for measuring the depth (or lack thereof) of their convictions. Sober, not somber. And, because it is more sober, Divine Worship provides room for the soul to shed useless preoccupations to discover and enter into the jubilation of the Holy Spirit, the Love-Person of the Father and the Son. The great hymns of the Anglican Patrimony are prayers that capture the exuberant praise, solemn adoration, heartfelt contrition, joyful thanksgiving and hope-filled supplication of the soul enticed by the Holy Spirit into the embrace of the Holy Trinity.

THE PENITENTIAL RITE

Received into the Catholic Church from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer compiled by Thomas Cranmer, the solemn rite of repentance was included in the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549. Notice how the prayer provides an immediate and explicit orientation for the penitent. There is no doubt that the prayer of the Penitential Rite is directed to God. The priest or deacon reminds us, too, in the introduction to the Penitential Rite, that our hope and trust is in God.

We admit our faults, acknowledging the severity of our sins and the threat they pose to our communion of love with God. Dare we let such wounds go unattended for even a day, and hour, a minute, and risk further loss of intimacy with the Lord?

Facing the People, the Deacon or Priest says:

Ye that do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways: draw near with faith, and make your humble confession to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.

Or: Draw near with faith and make your humble confession to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.

The priest calls us to the truth, to verify the content of our hearts. The priest could say to us, "You have lied to yourself and God by sinning; do not lie now. God awaits you, His beloved child, and calls you to abandon your faults and return home, to draw closer to Him and be welcomed once again into His loving embrace. Speak truthfully, therefore, about what you have done. God sees all. But how will you change unless you admit to that lingering effect on you, the drag of concupiscence, and expose your need for God's grace to be forgiven by Him and to live freely as children of God?"

The People kneel. Silence may be kept, and then the Priest, facing the altar, begins as follows and the People join in saying:

ALMIGHTY God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all men: We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is grievous unto us, the burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father; for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honour and glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This sublime prayer of humility, of intimate conversation with the Lord, accompanied by the act of kneeling, expresses 1) the heart of a child of God who truly loves his Lord and Saviour, of 2) the Christian who desires to be closer to his Heavenly Father. In response to the movement of grace, we place ourselves before the throne of God mindful of our weakness(es), trusting in the mercy of God.

Structure of the General Confession

Orientation to God and acknowledgement of God's jurisdiction; a hint of the Creed.

• ALMIGHTY God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, maker of all things, judge of all men

Admission of carelessness and behaviours internal and external that merit just punishment.

• We acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word, and deed, against thy divine majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against us

Expression of repentance and sorrow; the burden of having offended God and having wounded our communion with Him.

• We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is grievous unto us, the burden of them is intolerable. 

Request for mercy; God's very nature is mercy.

• Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, most merciful Father

Appeal for forgiveness and restoration; the desire to honour and serve God.

• for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please thee in newness of life, to the honour and glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Reassurance

In the forum of the Mass, we acknowledge contrition for those venial sins which, if left unattended, could fester and kill the soul. We implore God to remove the cataracts that blind us to the seriousness of sins great and small.

The Priest says:

May Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him, have mercy on us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The priest again reminds us of God's mercy and that we should have hope. This language or the character of this prayer points us in the direction of the Confessional where we can offer our deepest sorrow for mortal sins and receive particular counsel from the priest who helps us examine our souls, and offers timely guidance and proportionate correction (penance) to help us make amends for what we have done and for what we have failed to do, for what we have left undone.

THE COMFORTABLE WORDS

Then, facing the People, the Deacon or Priest may rehearse one or more of the following sentences:

Hear what comfortable words our Saviour Christ saith unto all who truly turn to him.

Truly, the following words are words of comfort, of serenity, of the peace which only Christ can provide to the soul wearied by fears, faults and failures.

Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. St. Matthew 11:28 

God so loved the world, that he gave his Only Begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. St. John 3:16

Hear also what Saint Paul saith: This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15

Hear also what Saint John saith: If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins (and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world). 1 John 2:1-2

Refreshment and everlasting life offered by the one true Saviour of sinners, our Advocate Jesus Christ. Amen? Amen.

The Penitential Rite of Divine Worship is a chapter in the Mass that immerses the penitent soul in the mercy and love of God, so that that same soul, by the power of the Holy Ghost, may enter into communion with Jesus Christ Who is present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.