Understanding the votive mass of the Holy Spirit and its pastoral implications

• Main Author: Cejuela, Maria Gina G.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Mass—Celebration; Mystagogy—Catholic Church; Religion
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/13461
• Institution: De La Salle University

For "through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full collaboration" (SC 48). The practice of mystagogy as demonstrated by the ancient Fathers of the Church such as St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Cyril of Jerusalem provides historical and comparative grounding of the whole analysis and discussion. This paper is a critical review of the euchological texts present in the Collect, Prayer Over the Offerings and Prayer Communion of the Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit based on the hermeneutical method extensively discussed by Renato De Zan in his article "Criticism and Interpretation of Liturgical Texts". In particular, this paper examines the prayers (preces) and its strict relationship to the liturgical rites (ritus) according to the great categories of anamnesis and epiclesis. This is in view of understanding the theological and liturgical foundations of this Mass which hopes to bring about more meaning and pastoral benefits for communities or schools where this is celebrated.