James W. Jackson - Nothing Superfluous

Nothing Superfluous

An Explanation of the Symbolism
of the Rite of St. Gregory the Great

By The Rev. James W. Jackson, FSSP

Imprimi Posit:

The Very Rev. John Berg, FSSP , Superior General

June 14, 2015.

Nihil Obstat:

The Rev. Msgr. Timothy J. Thorburn, JCL , Censor Librorum

February 9, 2016

Imprimatur:

+ The Most Rev. James D. Conley , DD, STL , Bishop of Lincoln

February 9, 2016

2016 :

LCCN :

ISBN : - - 9970329 - -

ePub ISBN : - - 9970329 - -

ISBN : - - 9970329 - -

MARY

VIRGIN AND MOTHER

INCOMPARABLE HOST OF ABANDONMENT

IN YOUR UNIQUE

FIAT

THAT GAVE US

JESUS

I DEDICATE THESE PAGES TO YOU

(Dom Eugene Vandeur, O.S.B.)

The Sacrifice [of the Mass] is celebrated with many solemn rites and ceremonies, none of which should be deemed useless or superfluous. On the contrary, all of them tend to display the majesty of this august Sacrifice, and to excite the faithful when beholding these saving mysteries, to contemplate the divine things which lie concealed in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. On these rites and ceremonies we shall not dwell, since they require a more lengthy exposition than is compatible with the nature of the present work; moreover priests can easily consult on the subject some of the many booklets and works that have been written by pious and learned men. What has been said so far will, with the divine assistance, be found sufficient to explain the principal things which regard the Holy Eucharist both as a Sacrament and Sacrifice. (Council of Trent)

Contents

The House of the Lord

Foreword

In the history of the liturgy wrote Pope Benedict XVI, there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Churchs faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.

The Churchs liturgy is a repository of her patrimonya lived, and prayed, expression of the deposit of faith, in which the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ is made present through the sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. Since the foundation of the Church at Pentecost, the Church has expressed, with beauty and grace, the meaning of salvations mystery. In liturgy, the Church expresses through symbolism what is often inexpressible in words. Pope Benedict was rightknowing, understanding, and preserving the riches of the Churchs liturgical history helps us to know Christ more intimately through the sacred liturgy.

Nothing Superfluous is a guide to the Rite of St. Gregory, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In clear language, Fr. Jackson reveals the rich theological meaning behind the art, architecture, words, and gestures of the Rite of St. Gregory. His work is a simple guide for those who have been moved by the beauty of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and who wish to move from apprehension to appreciationfrom wonder to knowledge. Of course, in the face of divine realities, knowledge itself leads back to wonder, and from wonder to love. And the instruction of Nothing Superfluous will help Catholics to appreciate ever more deeply the profound beauty expressed in the Mass.

In Evangelii Gaudium , Pope Francis expresses hope that beautiful liturgy will form missionary disciples of Jesus Christ. The Church evangelizes, he says, and is herself evangelized through the beauty of the liturgy. I believe firmly that understanding the depth of beauty expressed in the Rite of St. Gregory will serve as a source of renewal for liturgy celebrated in the ordinary and extraordinary forms, and in every rite of Holy Mother Church.

I have known Fr. James Jackson for nearly forty years. We were ordained priests together on the same day thirty years ago. I am honored to call him a friend. And I know that the meaning of the Mass is not an academic subject to him. I know that beauty, in liturgy, has captivated his heart and formed him as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Nothing Superfluous is rich with the insights of a pastor, a scholar, and a disciple.

I pray that Nothing Superfluous will be a resource for priests, scholars, students, and all those whose hearts have been moved to wonder by the beauty of the liturgy. Ultimately, said Cardinal Ratzinger in The Spirit of the Liturgy, it is the very life of man, man himself as living righteously, that is the true worship of God, but life only becomes real life when it receives its form from looking toward God. Looking toward God, in holy worship, is the transformative experience of the liturgy. May Nothing Superfluous aid Catholics in seeing the face of God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Most Rev. James D. Conley
Bishop of Lincoln

Benedict XVI, motu proprio Summororum Pontificum , 2007 .

Foreword II

Eminent among the Popes who showed such proper concern was Saint Gregory the Great, who sought to hand on to the new peoples of Europe both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture amassed by the Romans in preceding centuries. He ordered that the form of the sacred liturgy, both of the sacrifice of the Mass and the Divine Office, as celebrated in Rome, should be defined and preserved. He greatly encouraged those monks and nuns who, following the Rule of Saint Benedict, everywhere proclaimed the Gospel and illustrated by their lives the salutary provision of the Rule that nothing is to be preferred to the work of God. In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman usage, enriched the faith and piety, as well as the culture, of numerous peoples.

There is nothing on earth quite like the Holy Sacrifice of Mass. St. Padre Pio is quoted as saying, It would be easier for the world to survive without the sun than to do without the Holy Mass. To speak of such an exalted reality requires much humility and supernatural realism. The one who would do so must refrain from expounding mere personal opinions, not to mention whatever might be doctrinally questionable. After Our Lord Himself, only the Church, founded on the Rock, possesses the faculty of speaking without error of this Most Blessed Sacrament. And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts ( Pet. :). There must be nothing vain here. There must be nothing superfluous.

In this little gem of a book, Father Jackson has left out much. He has left aside the heated controversies over liturgical matters that so marked the latter part of the twentieth century and to our day. He has left to experts the finer points of the liturgical science and the speculations of a Theology of the Sacraments. He does not even discuss the more recent liturgical books and what has become the Ordinary Form of the Roman rite. There is a reason.

The purpose of this work is to place in the hands of the faithful in the pews, precisely those attending what has come to be called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or the forma antiquior , a simple but enriching explanation, responding to the questions that typically come to mind, as one gazes upon this traditional rite with its incomparable symbolism and harmony. It may be that something more than what is superfluous is left out here, but this book responds to a particular pastoral need. The focus is on what has been the common thread of this liturgical celebration of the greatest of the Sacraments from time immemorial, especially since it was given a more definitive form by Pope St. Gregory the Great in the sixth century.

For the rest, with the help of the light contained in these pages, it will suffice to enter into the mystery of Holy Mass, imitating the noble simplicity of the rite itself, woven of spiritual words, gestures, and sacred silence. There is no need here for ideologies or idols, whether ancient or of the more modern sort. There is not even any need for human creativity, however valuable in other walks of life. Let there be nothing profane, nothing shallow, nothing superfluous.