Offertory Procession

Introduction: The professionalelement is found in almost all forms of religion and is used for a variety of purposes.In the middle ages processions were extremely popular; they were associated with the Mass and the chanting of the Divine Office.Most important was the Offertory procession. Various forms of offertory procession could be found in Eastern and Western rites. It is one way of making the Mass look different, without breaking any rules. We are now going to discuss its significance in liturgy and theology; the background of it and Biblical source and the teaching of the Church as well as the critical analysis.

What is offertory procession: First we must know what is procession. Procession is the name, which is used for the manner in which God the Son comes forth from God the father, and the manner in which the Holy Spirit comes forth from God the Father and God the Son. The Word “procession” is taken from the Latin word procedere, which means “to come forth.

            [1]“The part of the Mass at which the bread and wine are prepared and offered for the approaching sacrifice is called offertory”. And when it is brought to the altar by the faithful in a procession, is called the Offertory procession.

            A group of people moving in orderly formation and in a ceremonial manner is known as procession.

Before offertory prayer, priest comes forward and receives bread and, wine, and other offertory gifts from the faithful of the Church. And the faithful, they come towards the Altar with a queue, and offer bread and wine, and the gifts, which are produced by the human hands, to the hands of the priest to be offered to Christ. When after gathering all the gifts, priest offers them to God by saying the offertory prayer. 

Historical Background: The various forms of offertory procession were introduced in the Eastern and Western rites that we found in the Roman Ordines, in the middle age. The origin is the Gallican rites that have been preserved in the Roman Mass. “[2] In the Middle Ages procession were extremely popular; they were associated with the Mass and the changing of the Divine Office. Most important was the Offertory procession in which the faithful presented their gifts at the altar. This custom fell into decline about the eleventh century and, in spite of repeated urgings from the bishops, all but disappeared by the end of the sixteenth century.”

            -[3] The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus (c. 215-218) is the first major liturgical document so far discovered. And in it are two vivid descriptions of the Eucharistic rite. Here deacons are expressly mentioned as “Presenting the oblation” to the bishop, but there is no evedence in these texts of any ritual oblation of the bread and wine by the faithful. Tertulian gives important evedience of usage in Africa in the 3^rd century. There seems little doubt that it was the custom for the faithful to present the bread and wine for the sacrifice. But there is as yet no indication of the time when these elements were presented. It would seem therefore that the Offertory rite of the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries was something almost informal.

By the 4^th century there is abundant evidence of an astonishing flowering of the liturgy when peace came to the Church. In the East the faithful provided the oblations, but except in the Egyptian rite, the exact time of their offering is not known.

The 5^th century witnessed a widening of the divergence between the rites of East and West. Theodore of Mopsuestia gave a complete picture of the Antiochene Offertory rite, in his Catecheses delivered c. 410. It had become a “processional” as opposed to an “oblation” rite. In Africa, however, it seems certain from Augustine that the faithful were offering the elements at the Offertory.        

Order and signs of offertory Procession: [4] “For the order of processions certain rules are laid down in the Rituale Romanum (Roman Ritual), the book of liturgical procedures issued by the Holy See. They should, for example, be headed by a cross; the priests and people should proceed separately and in pairs; men and women should be separated from each other; and the general behavior should be dignified and reverent.” 

The offertory things bread and wine and the collection of money as well as gifts are kept apart from the altar. People carry these things and the bread and wine to the Alter as token of self-surrender to the view of God in a procession. In the procession, man and women both they take part. First they bring the gifts and money then they bring bread and wine and give them to the priest.                        

Biblical source: 1) Procession: “[5] In the Judaeo –Christian tradition there are many forms and Occasions of profession. The idea dates back to Old Testament times. II Kings 6 describes King David and the chosen men of Israel carrying the Ark of the Covenant in procession into the city of David; and in III Kings 8 all Israel assembles to carry the Ark into the Temple of Jerusalem.

            In the gospel of St. Mark, in the New Testament, the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem had a definite influence on liturgical processions from early Christian times to the present day”.

                            2) Offertory: In the Old Testament we see that many, the prophets and kings were offered to the temple of God, some time to do the will of God. Such as Prophet Samuel, King David. Even among the women we find Mother Mary was also offered to the temple.

            In the New Testament we see that Jesus himself was offered to the temple of God, and so, the prophet Semion uttered the word, “ Lord now let… salvation of your people”. In the works Jesus, we see that before any banquet or supper, he offers and give thanks to God for the gifts.

Liturgical Importance: It is one way of making the Mass look different and to make more of the offertory prayers. Another, favoured by the influence of the Shape of the Liturgy, was to ply them down and tell the congregation and the servers that what they offer is taken and transformed in the canon into the body and blood of Christ.

Theological Importance: “Altogether this offertory theology is not satisfactory, where the object of the offering is concerned. The reason why rites of preparation have arisen in the East and in Gaul and Spain and have remained in the Roman liturgy is that what we offer does not simply represent the fruits of the earth and our life and work. If the sacrifice of Christ is present in he whole action of the Mass this presence cannot be limited to the time beginning after the words of consecration have been completed. There are some theological justification for treating the unconsecrated elements as symbols of Christ both in Eastern and Western rites.” Actually, the entire life Jesus is a procession of Offertory. This procession started from the history of the mankind, when Adam and Eve went far away from the grace of God. And God did not want that his beloved man would be rejected from his grace love. Therefore he offered his only beloved son to save the man from sin, so that the man may get back their dignity with his son before him and receive his grace.       

Teaching of the Church (Vatican Council II):

Critical analysis:

Conclution:

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[1]. The Catholic Encyclopedia for School and home, Vol-7, p. 678, Mc Graw-Hill Book company, New York, May14, 1965.

[2].  I.V.E.D.

[3].  EVERY George,  The Mass,  Meaning , Mystery and Ritual, Our Sunday Visitor, inc, U.S.A, 1978.

[4]. The Catholic Encyclopedia for School and home, Vol-7, p. 678, Mc Graw-Hill Book company, New York, May14, 1965.

[5]. I. V. E. D.