The Roman Canon

by Fr. John Granato  |  09/22/2024  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

We begin with the first Eucharistic prayer, the Roman Canon. At the time of the Reformation, many who left behind the Catholic faith and joined with Martin Luther or John Calvin or Queen Elizabeth, or Ulrich Zwingli did all they could to rid their new liturgies of this venerable Roman Canon that was composed before the reign of Pope St. Gregory the Great and remained unchanged until the reforms of the post Second Vatican Council.

Those who identified as Protestants believed the Roman Canon to be “the embodiment of all that was superstitious, corrupt, works-oriented, regressively pagan, popish and medieval.” (Peter Kwasniewski).

The Council of Trent, which was called to address the protestant heresies, wrote about the Roman Canon: “Since it is fitting that holy things be administered in a holy manner, and of all things, this sacrifice is the holiest, the Catholic Church, to the end that it might be worthily and reverently offered and received, instituted many centuries ago the holy canon, which is so free from error that it contains nothing that does not in the highest degree savor of certain holiness and piety and raise to God the minds of those who offer. For it consists partly of the very words of the Lord, partly of the traditions of the Apostles, and also of pious regulations of holy pontiffs.” The Roman Canon stresses the need for fidelity, devotion, and orthodox belief as we come to celebrate these sacrifices.

There is a focus on the merits of the offerings and sacrifices before the consecration, whereas the newer Eucharistic prayers pay lip service to these after the consecration. Also, Mary the Mother of God is mentioned before the consecration as well, along with 24 other saints. In fact, it is only in the Roman Canon that Mary is identified as ever Virgin, referencing the dogma of our faith of Mary being a perpetual virgin, before, during, and after birth. There is also this moment in the Roman Canon where the very next line mentions the divinity of Jesus. In the translation of the Roman Canon from 1960, we hear, “Having communion with and venerating the memory, first, of the glorious Mary, ever a virgin, mother of Jesus Christ, our God, and our Lord.” Calling Jesus “our God” is a direct expression against the Arian heresy where then priest Arius taught that Jesus was not divine.

As we call upon the Mother of God we also look to the merits of the saints, humbly beseeching God to admit us into their company “not weighing our merits, but freely pardoning our offenses.” The newer Eucharistic prayers downplay the notion of merit (an issue that Protestants disagree with Catholics), and they name only the Mother of God and her spouse, St. Joseph (interestingly his name was only added to the Eucharistic prayers during Pope Francis’s pontificate.) St. Joseph first saw his name in the venerable Roman Canon in 1962 when Pope St. John XXIII added his name to the list of saints, which can be argued that adding his name shifts the balance of the names of saints that were codified before Pope St. Gregory the Great. We will continue with these lists of saints in the Roman Canon in an upcoming bulletin letter. God bless