A Reflection on the Prayers of Preparation

We are blessed in the Ordinariate to retain in Divine Worship the Prayers of Preparation, also known as the Prayers at the Foot.

The 43rd Psalm (42nd in the Latin Vulgate) begins the Preparation. From this text one may gain great consolation and the strength to persevere during times of acute and chronic adversity. 

The Psalm invites the believer to trust the Lord, to enlist the aid of God in his encounters with people who reject the will of God. God embraces the struggles of the faithful person who, in humble recognition of his dependence upon God for everything, and his willingness to cooperate with God to enact God's will in this life, confidently submits himself and accepts God's terms.

PRAYERS OF PREPARATION

If the following is prayed at the foot of the altar, the People may join in saying the responses and praying the Confiteor, kneeling. If so, this form may replace the usual Penitential Rite.

Priest: X In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 

Servers: Amen.

We always begin by consecrating ourselves to the Holy Trinity. Our gesture is a request for the grace to pray well, to enter into the prayer of Jesus to the Father in the Holy Spirit.

Priest: I will go unto the altar of God. 

Servers: Even unto the God of my joy and gladness.

St Matthew 18:1-4 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Et introíbo ad altáre Dei: ad Deum, qui lætíficat iuventútem meam.

And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth.

Youth is a time of gladness, a time free from adult worries,... or it should be. In many lands, children are treated like slaves. Sweatshops exploit child labour to produce cheap throwaway products. Families remain impoverished and children suffer and die.

In developed countries, school-age children are fed dangerous ideologies that can rob them of their innocence, health and wellbeing. Rather than gifts from God to be loved and cherished, children are seen as the means to some disordered end, and they are groomed to think that they are capable of only the crudest and most self destructive behaviour.

The Christian's role in promoting the dignity of every human person has only just begun.

"Even unto"

Not only do we approach the altar of God, a sacred place, but there we encounter God Himself.

At Masses for the Dead and during Passiontide,

the following Psalm is omitted.

Psalm 43. Judica me, Deus.

Priest: Give sentence with me, O God, and defend my cause against the ungodly people; O deliver me from the deceitful and wicked man. 

Ministers: For thou art the God of my strength; why hast thou put me from thee? and why go I so heavily, while the enemy oppresseth me?

This couplet captures the soul reaching out to God seeking His alliance. It is a bold request, a request that requires a contrite heart. The petitioner feels abandoned and needs reassurance from God, to know that the Lord is there beside him, to deliver him from his adversaries.

God never leaves our side. At times we may feel abandoned. If we have not sinned, it is likely that God is calling us to a deeper communion during such experiences, beyond our narrow conceptions about God, about Who He is. It is far too easy to fashion a god in our own image and worship it. If we have sinned, the feeling of abandonment is likely due to our own fault. We have cleaved our relationship with God by having sinned. The darkness of destitution due to sin is different from the dark night of the soul that Saint John of the Cross spoke about. The dark night of the soul is a period of final and complete purification, of dying to self and surrendering to the will of God.

In this day and age when workplaces, school communities, governments and other social institutions are battlegrounds for hearts and minds, the mere thought of confronting woke ideologues can trigger in even the most balanced and resilient individual anxiety and fear of reprisal. And yet, we must find ways to resist and deter the progression of evil that pretends to offer social or spiritual benefits.

Philippians 2:14-18 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Faced with seemingly overwhelming challenges, we turn to God for His wisdom and strength to meet "ungodly people, the deceitful and wicked man", not with condescension nor anger but with confident resolve and practiced insights expressed in a manner that reaches the ears of our listeners. We are required to be models of charity: "Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15)." We must be relentless in our defence of the dignity of every person, yet not badgering those who are in most need of the truth spoken in a beautiful way.

Priest: O send out thy light and thy truth, that they may lead me, and bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy dwelling.

Ministers: And that I may go unto the altar of God, even unto the God of my joy and gladness; and upon the harp will I give thanks unto thee, O God, my God.

We rightly reaffirm our dependence upon God, the source of light and truth. "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”" - St John 8:12

Whether the hill is the Horeb (Sinai) of Moses or the Mount of the Transfiguration (Tabor), or the altar of God, we seek to dwell with God and to learn His wisdom. For the gift of God's very life, our hearts overflow with joy accompanied by the harp, a noble instrument found in the courts of royalty and in the Temple precincts.

Priest: Why art thou so heavy, O my soul? and why art thou so disquieted within me? 

Ministers: O put thy trust in God; for I will yet give him thanks, which is the help of my countenance, and my God.

We look into a mirror and what do we see? Has God done anything to bring into question His devotion to us? "What am I doing?! Why am I so upset?" By placing our trust in God, we are not absolving ourselves from the responsibility to cooperate with God's grace and to act decisively, not defensively, for truth and justice.

Trust in God is a comfort ("the help of my countenance"), uplifting and sustaining. We must give thanks for God's gifts. We are reminded to trust in God Himself ("... and my God"), the Giver of all that is good. 

There will be times - because God knows us best, better than we know ourselves - when what is good for us eludes our understanding, a mental faculty and capacity that, allied to God and enlightened by the Holy Ghost, expands with time and experience. Our limited awareness can be transformed by God so much so that wounds become windows into reality and self knowledge, wounds that open in us the way of God Who, loving us as He does, enters into our wounds. Christ's wounds open in God a place for us; our wounds open in us a place for God. Jesus takes us into His wounds.

Remember the good thief, St Dismas, hanging on his cross beside Jesus on Good Friday? "One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other (Dismas) rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation. And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” - St Luke 23:39-43

Dismas, nailed to a cross, understood Jesus' mission. In the throes of death, pierced by nails and bleeding, physically devastated as was Jesus, Dismas recognized the need for repentance, and his need for Jesus. Dismas' wounds and Jesus' wounds aligned, and Jesus affirmed the good thief's hope (cf St Matthew 9:22; St Mark 5:34, 10:52; St Luke 7:50, 8:48, 17:19, 18:42).

Priest: [Priest and servers bow] Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;

Ministers: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

The Lesser Doxology - Glory be &c - expresses our thanksgiving for God's wisdom, His consolation, His timeless beauty, eternal truth and everlasting goodness, and for God Himself beyond His gifts to us.

Imagine being appreciated only because of the gifts we give to others. From a human point of view, it is far too easy to stop liking someone because they stop giving us money or attention or what-have-you. The Catholic vision of marriage, contrary to the "get what you can while you can" model, sees each spouse willing the good of the other, not merely giving the material benefits one has to offer but the gift of one's entire being for the good of the other. That is a tall order only possible when one is immersed in the Fount of all love, the Lord.

Is God to be loved merely because of the gifts He gives to us? God makes known that He desires an intimate communion with each and every one of us. For that to happen, we must accept God's invitation on His terms, and learn how we may honour that communion by requesting the grace we need to grow in love, mercy, truth and goodness. The Church, true to her Lord and Saviour, offers us the sacraments - which impart the life and mercy of God - to sustain us as we work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12).

Through our gratitude, which is itself a gift of God, God helps us to be configured to Him. This gift can only come from God. Through the trust and gratitude God enables in us, we acknowledge Him as God, the One Who sustains us through adversity, mundanity and prosperity.

Priest: I will go unto the altar of God.

Ministers: Even unto the God of my joy and gladness.

Where are we headed? Not the altar of me-myself-and-I but to the altar of God. If we need the reminder, the compass needle of the Catholic heart points always and everywhere to God.

When we make the Sign of the Cross, we use our own bodies to confess and witness to Christ’s crucifixion, and to call upon the Triune God.

Priest: Our help is in the X Name of the Lord. 

Ministers: Who hath made heaven and earth.

Enough said.

Priest: I confess to Almighty God, to Blessed Mary ever-Virgin, to Blessed Michael the Archangel, to Blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed; [he strikes his breast thrice] by my fault, by my own fault, by my own most grievous fault. Wherefore I beg Blessed Mary everVirgin, Blessed Michael the Archangel, Blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brethren, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

A few paragraphs earlier we acknowledged the boldness of the psalmist's request. Here we witness the necessary contrition - sorrow for sin - and humility that undergirds a childlike confidence that permits the weary soul to reach out to God his loving Father and to accept the assistance that God offers. The petitioner calls upon the Blessed Virgin, the angels and saints, and the gathered assembly to pray for him. Taken seriously, this form of the Confiteor reinforces the sense that we rely upon one another for help in order to not merely survive but thrive as Christians.

Ministers: May almighty God have mercy upon thee, forgive thee thy sins, and bring thee to everlasting life. 

Priest: Amen.

Instead of consigning the ordained minister, the priest, to pray with the congregation the Confiteor and the reminder of God's mercy, the priest submits himself first to the practice of humility before the ministers (servers and congregation) take up their/our expression of contrition and plea for mercy.

Ministers: I confess to Almighty God, to Blessed Mary ever-Virgin, to Blessed Michael the Archangel, to Blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the Saints, and to thee, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, deed; [they strike their breast thrice] by my fault, by my own fault, by my own most grievous fault. Wherefore I beg Blessed Mary ever-Virgin, Blessed Michael the Archangel, Blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, all the Angels and Saints, and thee, Father, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Priest: May almighty God have mercy upon you, forgive you your sins, and bring you to everlasting life. 

Ministers: Amen.

Having prayed the Confiteor and having received the reminder and reassurance of God's mercy, the chorus of the lay faithful is made transparent to the light of God. Of course, the absolution here does not absolve one of mortal sin. The Sacrament of Penance is the required surgery for serious sins.

This form of the Confiteor, familiar to 1962 Latin Mass enthusiasts, is richer in its appreciation of the intercessory role of the saints and our peers than the later version found in the Novus Ordo Missae. Note the hierarchical progression of the petition, which reminds one of the ordering of persons that one would find in a litany:

1. Almighty God
2. the Blessed Virgin Mary
3. the Archangel Michael
4. Saint John the Baptist
5. the Apostles Peter and Paul
6. all the saints
7. the priest

We acknowledge that the priest is an intercessor lodged within the Communion of the Saints, an intercessor ordered to the salvation of souls. The repetition of the brief litany is a reminder to us that we have a place and role in the plan of God, and that we are not alone but well supported. We can reach out to all our friends, beginning with God (see St John 15:15), for help.

We graft our request to the priest who offers the Mass on our behalf.

Priest: The almighty and merciful Lord grant unto us pardon, X absolution, and remission of our sins. 

Ministers: Amen.

The priest makes known God's mercy. This devotion before the beginning of Mass, as mentioned, points to the Sacrament of Penance. We may have arrived at Mass thinking we're fit to receive Holy Communion. With a little prodding, provided by this examination of conscience, we may reconsider the state of our soul and choose to make a spiritual act of communion rather than receive the Body and Blood of Christ in an unworthy manner.

Priest: Wilt thou not turn again and quicken us, O God? 

Ministers: That thy people may rejoice in thee.

It is God who quickens - that is, enlivens - our lives made dull by our having sinned. Have we become indifferent to sin? Have we become desensitized to violence to the point we have become violent, passive aggressive, demeaning toward others? If so, we must turn away from sin - which is the very definition of conversion.

conversion (n.)

mid-14c., originally of religion, "a radical and complete change in spirit, purpose, and direction of life away from sin and toward love of God," from Old French conversion "change, transformation" from Latin conversionem (nominative conversio) "a turning round, revolving; alteration, change," noun of action from past-participle stem of convertere "to turn around; to transform," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + vertere "to turn" (from PIE root *wer- (2) "to turn, bend").

A dead soul does not bend. A soul that is alive is pliable and can conform to the will of God.

Priest: O Lord, show thy mercy upon us. 

Ministers: And grant us thy salvation.

The request for mercy becomes a call and response. If the alternations between priest and people seem rushed, it may be useful to remind oneself that it is God in Whom we trust, not necessarily the quality of the drama we invest in our responses. We can speak the words confidently and promptly with conviction because God's mercy lends confidence to our prayer.

Yes our hearts are laid bare, and our intentions do tend to be reflected in the character and tone of the spoken responses. However, we should not put on airs nor act out our intentions with any kind of drama in order to prove the quality of our contrition. It is enough to be true to one's word and the fact that God knows and weighs the condition of the heart.

Priest: O Lord, hear my prayer. 

Ministers: And let my cry come unto thee.

This familiar exchange can become mundane if we lose sight of the glory of God that calls us into communion. Prayer is not anything like making a phone call. There is no signal drop off; the line is always open. We are speaking to God Who already knows what we are going to say and do. Because we are weak, and our commitment to the Gospel wains from time to time, He knows that we need His reassurance to convince us of His mercy.

Priest: The Lord be with you. 

Ministers: And with thy spirit.

By His Word God brought all of creation into being, and He sustains all of creation by that same Word. The priest is stating a fact: God created us, redeemed us and sustains us. Our response is an 'amen' affirming God's omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence.

Priest: Let us pray.

When the Preparation is prayed at the foot of the altar, the Priest concludes with the Collect for Purity.

The Introit is sung or said, and Mass continues with the Kyrie.