Mystagogy Reading: Know Him in the Breaking of the Bread

Reading Know Him in the Breaking of the Bread is a continuation of my reading the Bibliography from Stratford Caldecott's The Seven Sacraments: Entering the Mysteries of God as personal mystagogy. 

Know Him in the Breaking of the Bread: A Guide to the Mass by Fr. Francis Randolph (Ignatius Press, 1998) is a very instructive description of the elements of the mass in the order they're celebrated, with a little prescriptive opinion thrown in to spice things up. The book is non-technical, free of theological or liturgical jargon, and easy to read. Fr Randolph is clear and concise in explaining the parts of the Mass, and several of his insights and explanations have altered the way I will be present to Mass and even the way I live out my every day participation in Christ's priestly office for the better. I recommend this to just about anyone who desires greater understanding and deeper participation of the Most Holy Sacrament.

Years ago, I led a program called Religious Reflections within the local Catholic Young Adult group, and for a season we went through the parts of the Mass reflecting on out what's going on, who the celebrant and/or the congregation is addressing (sometimes God, sometimes each other), some history of the form the prayers take in the mass, and some thoughts about our interior response or movement. If I'd had this book then, it probably would have been my main source after the Missal itself and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM). 

Fr. Randolph mostly uses those two primary sources himself with the occasional foray into the Documents of Vatican II, a Papal document, or historical source, and it grounds his commentary from getting too speculative. Thus, the descriptive parts of his book cover what's actually going on—he even refrains from using a particular translation of the mass so that he can talk about the action of the prayer without getting caught up in particular words—and even the prescriptive comments, which he always clearly announces as personal preference or observations, tend to be backed up by some section of the GIRM or Pope John Paul II quote. When he uses a historical source, it's usually to explain some apparent eccentricity of the mass: about the source and meaning of the fraction and the commingling, and what we mean by "purification" of the vessels, he was especially enlightening. 

The prescriptive parts of the book were a bit odd; not that I didn't enjoy them or find them thought-provoking, but it made the intended audience of the book a little fuzzy. The descriptive parts are straight-forward enough that I can't imagine any priest didn't get something similar in seminary (though, I suppose it's possible) and thus the book seems aimed at the general laity. However, barring a strong-willed Liturgy Commission in a parish, I'd think the prescriptive parts would be relevant only to the celebrant and thus not particularly helpful to the laity, especially if it makes the lay reader think, with even the slightest frustration, "Well, we SHOULD do that!" 

Fr Randolph, in his introduction, self-proclaims himself part of the "reform of the reform" movement, so I was prepared for a little but of concern/grumbling about the Mass as it's celebrated in the Ordinary Form, the Norvus Ordo, but the tone really is more concern. The Ordinary Form is what he's describing and addressing, and for him it's the form of the Roman Rite the Magisterium intends to be ordinarily celebrated which he does so obediently, no matter his concerns. So the book is itself about celebrating the Norvus Ordo more deeply. The book was written during the use of the 2nd Edition of the Roman Missal, and some of Fr. Randolph's concerns were answered by the new translation. But he's obviously got a soft spot for the Extraordinary Rite, regardless of translation fixes, and is sympathetic to those who prefer it. However, he actually warns against enthusiasm for the Tridentine Mass for its own sake and has stern words for those who use the Tridentine Mass as an expression of dissent against the authority of the Magisterium or co-opted to represent certain political stances. He actually seems to balance a preference for the Tridentine with a preference for celebrating the Norvus Ordo in Latin (which would be my personal preference). His concerns are always rooted in the expression of theological concepts in the prayers and actions and how the Ordinary Rite does or does not foster prayer. 

Regardless of which Rite is being celebrated, Fr Randolph wants all his readers to be able to celebrate the Mass more prayerfully, more joyfully, and with greater understanding. This book can only help the reader do so and be more faithfully drawn up into the "source and summit of our faith."