Agimus Tibi gratias, Omnípotens Deus, pro univérsis benefíciis Tuis.
"...So our Mass goes back, without essential change, to the age when it first developed out of the oldest Liturgy of all. It is still redolent of that Liturgy of the days when Cæsar ruled the world and thought he could stamp out the Faith of Christ, when our fathers met together before dawn and sang a hymn to Christ as to a God. The final result of our enquiry is that, in spite of unsolved problems, in spite of later changes, there is not in Christendom another Rite so venerable as ours." ~Fr. Adrian Fortescue, The Mass
But rather than "back" to an old Liturgy in the age of Caesar, doesn't our Mass in fact go back to those very words of Christ: ..do this in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19), and the very first Eucharist therein instituted?
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by an apparent belief that there was no Christian life before Christians lived in Rome.
Respectfully yours,
Dear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteYou are right.
However, if you take the entire quote, you will also read "...without essential change, to the age when it first developed **out of the oldest Liturgy of ALL**..." The quote does not start and focus on the line where Caesar is mentioned.
Also, to put all this in context, Fr. Fortescue is talking about the esentials of the Order of the Mass throughout the book, but, of course, I could/can not quote the entire book. A little before this quote, he also mentiones the three oldest Sacramentary that we have.
So, according to Fr. Fortescue, the **oldest Liturgy of all** is the very first Eucharist. The other historical figues and times are mentioned to emphasize the idea of how old the Roman Mass is and how it survived despite the times, rulers, and forgotten/lost historical facts about It.
Thanks for your comment!