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Views from the Choir Loft

The Mass

Fr. David Friel · January 20, 2013

E’VE ALL SEEN THE CLASSIC magician’s trick of pulling a rabbit out of a hat. First, the magician shows everyone a top hat. He turns it upside-down to prove that it’s empty. Then, maybe he’ll wave a wand or shake the hat a bit, and he pulls out of it a living rabbit. It’s the most basic, most iconic magic trick of them all. The magician makes something appear out of nothing.

So it might seem like what Jesus did at the wedding feast at Cana was magic. At the request of His Mother, He takes six huge jars of water—about 150 gallons (!)—and, presto-chango, turns them into wine. But this wasn’t a magic trick. It was Jesus’ first miracle.

Something similar happens at every Mass. Whereas Jesus took water and changed it into wine, in every Mass, the priest takes wine and, by God’s power, changes it into the Precious Blood of Christ. That change is utterly complete. When Jesus turned the water into wine at Cana, He turned it into the best kind of wine. He didn’t make just some ratty batch of Shiraz. It was so good, the headwaiter says, “You have kept the best wine until now.”

In much the same way, at Mass, the wine that’s sitting there on the offertory table is brought to the altar and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is utterly transformed into the Precious Blood of Christ. There’s a special word for that transformation; it’s called “transubstantiation,” the complete changing of bread and wine into Christ’s Body & Blood at the words of consecration. The Mass is not magic. It is, however, miraculous. What transpires before us every Sunday—what I, as a priest, celebrate every single day—is a miracle of the first order.

Many folks have accused the Mass of being magical, although it is not. In fact, the magician’s phrase, Hocus pocus, came about as a parody of the words said by the priest at Mass. In Latin, the priest prays, Hoc est enim corpus meum, “This is my body.” That was shortened to Hocus pocus, and it came to be used by magicians when bringing about some sort of change.

In the rabbit-from-a-hat trick, the magician makes something appear out of nothing. Differently, at Cana, Jesus took water and changed it into wine. And at every Mass, the priest takes wine, mingled with water, and consecrates it to become the Precious Blood of Christ. As astonishing as this is, the Mass is not magical. It is marvelous, mysterious, and miraculous.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The liturgical reform bears absolutely no relation to what is called “desacralization” and in no way intends to lend support to the phenomenon of “secularizing the world.” Accordingly the rites must retain their dignity, spirit of reverence, and sacred character.

— Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (5 September 1970)

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