5 Secret Rituals Priests do at Mass

When I was young my best friend was Catholic like me. We went to public school so that was something that we had in common that a lot of the other kids didn’t have. I don’t know why but I remember one time we were at our parish for a CCD assembly and we were in the church looking at the crucifix and the stained glass windows and the furnishings in the sanctuary. I remember him saying, “You know what’s cool about being Catholic?” He answered before I could take a guess at what he was thinking, He said, “Everything means something else. In Catholicism, there’s always a deeper meaning to everything”. I didn’t appreciate it at the time but that was a very astute observation for a 6th grader. He was right. Now, as an adult, I agree. It is cool.

With that in mind, I would like to share some of the deeper meaning that I discovered along the way regarding Mass. Some actions and words that the priest does at Mass are covert or quiet. We may miss them unless we know what to look for. Here are five rituals that mean more than meets the eye…

1. The Book of the Gospels held directly in front of the priest or deacon covering their face.

Having a separate Book of the Gospels as a symbol of Christ as the Word of God, dates back to the 12th century. Befiore he picks up the Book of the Gospels during the singing of the Alleluia, the priest bows and says inaudibly,  “Cleanse my heart and my lips, almighty God, that I may worthily proclaim your holy Gospel”, then he picks up the book for the procession to the ambo. As he processes, or when he reaches the ambo, he may cover his face with the holy book. This is to say that it is Christ who is proclaiming and it is Christ who is being proclaimed, 'He must increase, but I must decrease' (Jn 3:30). Throughout the Mass, including the Gospel reading, the priest is acting, en persona Christi, in the person of Christ. 

2. Water mixed with wine when preparing the gifts at the altar.

Water signifies humanity and wine signifies divinity. As the priest pours a little water in to dilute the wine he says, “By the mystery of this water in wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity”.  In Catholic theology this is called the Marvelous Exchange. St. Athanasius the defender of the Faith against the Arian Heresy has a really cool quote about this, “God became man, so that man might become like God”. 

3. The special meaning of using third person and the switching to first person in the institution narrative. 

The priest, as he reads the institution narrative (the story of what happened at the Last Supper where Jesus instituted the Holy Mass), switches from reading it in third person (someone on the outside looking in) to first person (someone who is experiencing the story in real time). Here’s an excerpt from Eucharistic prayer #1. The first part, not in bold, is spoken in the third person. The second part, in bold, is spoken in the first person and includes the words of consecration when the bread and wine become the Real Presence of Christ: 

“The day before he suffered he took bread in his sacred hands and looking up to heaven, to you, his almighty Father, he gave you thanks and praise. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said: Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you.”

Through the sacrament of Holy orders, the priest receives special grace so that when he says the words of consecration in the first person, it is actually Christ saying those words through the priest. This special grace to act and speak as Christ is called en persona Christi. 

4. The separate consecration of the bread and wine.

The separate consecration of the bread and wine signifies the separation of Jesus’ Body and Blood. This act, followed by the fraction rite all signify the death of Christ. Putting the piece of the Host back into the chalice is the reversal of death or the resurrection of Christ. Hence, both the death and resurrection are being ritually re-enacted on the altar.  

5. The Fraction Rite and Commingling.

After the consecration of the bread and wine, the priest breaks a piece of the consecrated Host. This is called the fraction rite. He puts a piece in the chalice, an action called commingling. As he does this, he quietly says a prayer, “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it”. Putting the piece of the Host back into the chalice, comingling, is a sign of the resurrection of Christ.