Q&A with Fr John Flader: This week, when priests change the words at Mass.
Question: Recently my wife and I attended a Mass in which the priest seemed to be making up his own prayers in the Presentation of the Gifts, the Preface and the Eucharistic Prayer. The words of the Consecration were those of the Missal. What does the Church say about this and was the Mass valid?
By Fr John Flader
I hear of cases like this reasonably often, so it is likely that others would have the same experience and raise the same questions as you do.
In answer to your first question, I offer some ideas from the Vatican’s Instruction Redemptionis sacramentum, issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on March 25, 2004.
The Instruction, mandated by Pope John Paul II and prepared in conjunction with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was approved by Pope John Paul on March 19, 2004.
In its Preamble, the Instruction states that it seeks to safeguard the Most Holy Eucharist, “in which the whole spiritual wealth of the Church is contained” and which is “the source and summit of the whole of Christian life” (n. 2).
It goes on to say why it is important to observe the norms and texts of the liturgy faithfully: “The liturgical words and rites, moreover, are a faithful expression, matured over the centuries, of the understanding of Christ, and they teach us to think as he himself does; by conforming our minds to these words, we raise our hearts to the Lord” (n. 5).
The general criterion regarding freedom to change the prayers of the liturgy is given in the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: “Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See, and, as laws may determine, on the bishop… Therefore no other person, not even a priest, may add, remove or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority” (n. 22).
The reason is clear: “The Mystery of the Eucharist is too great for anyone to permit himself to treat it according to his own whim, so that its sacredness and its universal ordering would be obscured… For arbitrary actions are not conducive to true renewal, but are detrimental to the right of Christ’s faithful to a liturgical celebration that is an expression of the Church’s life in accordance with her tradition and discipline… The result is uncertainty in matters of doctrine, perplexity and scandal on the part of the People of God…” (Instr., n. 11).
As regards the Eucharistic Prayer in particular, the Instruction states: “Only those Eucharistic Prayers are to be used which are found in the Roman Missal or are legitimately approved by the Apostolic See, and according to the manner and the terms set forth by it. It is not to be tolerated that some priests take upon themselves the right to compose their own Eucharistic Prayers or to change the texts approved by the Church, or to introduce others composed by private individuals” (n. 51).
Although you do not mention it, another abuse is to invite the congregation to recite the Doxology or any other part of the Eucharistic Prayer along with the priest: “The proclamation of the Eucharistic Prayer, which by its very nature is the climax of the whole celebration, is proper to the priest by virtue of his ordination. It is therefore an abuse to proffer it in such a way that some parts of the Eucharistic Prayer are recited by a deacon, a lay minister, or by an individual member of the faithful, or by all members of the faithful together. The Eucharistic Prayer, then, is to be recited by the priest alone in full” (n. 52).
The Instruction calls both of these abuses in the Eucharistic Prayer “grave matters” (cf. n. 173).
Is the Mass you attended valid? That is, did you receive the true Body and Blood of Christ in Communion? The answer is yes, as long as the priest used the prescribed words for the Consecration, as you say he did.
But the Mass was highly illicit. It is up to the diocesan bishop to correct such abuses (cf. nn. 176-180).
Fr Flader: director@caec.com.au