This is the fifth and last in Father Ho’s series of articles on the Holy Mass.

The Communion Rite of the Mass begins with the “Our Father.” It was Pope St. Gregory the Great (ca. 540 – 604) who mandated that the Lord’s Prayer to be said after the Eucharistic Prayer. It is a great privilege for us to be able to address God as “Father,” hence the priest introduces the “Our Father” by saying: “At the Saviour’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say...”

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states: “In the Lord’s Prayer a petition is made for daily bread, which for Christians means principally the Eucharistic Bread, and entreating also purification from sin, so that what is holy may in truth be given to the holy.” Developing the last petition of the Lord’s Prayer, the priest asks for deliverance from the power of evil for the whole community of the faithful.

The doxology after the Lord’s Prayer, “For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever,” is from a prayer of thanksgiving used in the Eucharist in the first generation of Christianity after the Apostles. This doxology reflects similar acclamations found in the Bible: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.” (1 Chron. 29:11) “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!” (Rev 5:12) “Salvation and glory and power belong to our God” (Rev 19:1)

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states: “There follows the Rite of Peace, by which the Church entreats peace and unity for herself and for the whole human family, and the faithful express to each other their ecclesial communion and mutual charity before communicating in the Sacrament … The Priest breaks the Bread and puts a piece of the host into the chalice to signify the unity of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the work of salvation, namely, of the Body of Jesus Christ, living and glorious.”

Author Edward Sri explained: “This ritual, known as the commingling, was used at one time to express the unity of the Church. In Rome, the Pope had a small particle of the consecrated host called the fermentum (leaven) sent to priests in the city, who placed it in their chalices as a sign of their union with the bishop of Rome. Some also have interpreted this ritual as a symbol reenacting Christ’s resurrection. In this view, which has roots in eighth-century Syria, the separate consecrations of the bread and wine in the Mass symbolize the separation of Christ’s body and blood in his death, whereas the commingling rite expresses the reunion of Christ’s body and blood in his resurrection.”

Pope Francis said, “We know the words that ring out from the sacred altar: ‘Happy are those who are called to his Supper. This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,’ Inspired by a passage in the Book of Revelation – ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb’ (Rev 19:9): it says ‘marriage’ because Jesus is the Spouse of the Church – this invitation calls us to experience intimate union with Christ, the source of joy and holiness.”

The Holy Father added: “To nourish oneself of the Eucharist means to allow oneself to be changed by what we receive.” The Church mandates that: “The faithful are to be recommended not to omit to make a proper thanksgiving after Communion. They may do this during the celebration with a period of silence, with a hymn, psalm or other song of praise, or also after the celebration, if possible by staying behind to pray for a suitable time” (Inaestimabile Donum 17).

Pope Francis said that the Mass concludes “with the blessing imparted by the priest and the dismissal of the people. As it began with the Sign of the Cross, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, it is again in the name of the Trinity that the Mass, that is the liturgical action, is sealed.”

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神父在領聖體前祈求和平

彌撒的領聖體禮以「天主經」開始，是教宗聖額我略(大約在公元540年至604年)規定在感恩經後要頌念「天主經」。能夠稱呼天主為「天父」是我們極大的榮幸，因此神父在引領「天主經」時說：「我們既遵從救主的訓示，又承受祂的教導，才敢說…」。《羅馬彌撒經書總論》指出：「在天主經中，我們祈求日用的食糧，這對信友而言，尤指基督聖體。我們也求主寬免罪過，為能以聖潔的心靈領受聖物。」然後主祭一人繼續念「附禱經」。附禱經把天主經最末的祈求，加以發揮，為全體信友祈求脫免凶惡的力量。

「天主經」後的讚主頌：「天下萬國，普世權威，一切榮耀，永歸於祢。」源自宗徒時代後第一代基督徒在聖祭禮中所使用的感恩禱文。這讚主頌反映了聖經中類似的讚美：「上主！偉大、能力、榮耀、壯麗和威嚴都歸於你，因為上天下地所有的一切都是你的。上主！王權屬於你，你應受舉揚為萬有的元首。」（編上29:11）「被宰殺的羔羊堪享權能、富裕、智慧、勇毅、尊威、光榮、和讚頌！（默示錄5:12）「亞肋路亞！勝利、光榮和能力，應歸於我們的天主。」（默示錄19:1）

《羅馬彌撒經書總論》指出：「跟著是「平安禮」，教會藉此為自己及普世人類，祝禱和平與團結，而信友於領受共融（聖體）聖事之前，也以此禮，表達教會內的共融和相親相愛。主祭擘開祝謝了的餅，將一小分聖體放入聖爵內，以表示在救贖工作中主的身體和血的合一，即耶穌基督的身體，活著而榮耀。」

作者愛德華·斯里解釋道：「這個禮儀，被稱為攙合 (commingling)，曾經被用來表達教會的團結。在羅馬，教宗會將一小塊被祝聖的聖體，稱為酵母，送給城內的神父，他們將這一小塊聖體放入聖爵中，作為與羅馬主教的團結的象徵。有些人也將這個禮儀解釋為再現基督的復活的象徵。在這種觀點中，這個禮儀源於八世紀的敘利亞，彌撒中的麵餅和葡萄酒的分開祝聖象徵著基督的身體和血的分離，而攙合禮儀則表達了基督的身體和血在他的復活中的重聚。」

教宗方濟各說：「我們知道從祭台上主祭說的話：『請看，天主的羔羊；請看，除免世罪者。蒙召來赴聖宴的人，是有福的。』受默示錄中的一段啟發「被召赴羔羊婚宴的人，是有福的！」（默示錄19:9）：這裏說「婚宴」是因為耶穌是教會的配偶 — 這個邀請呼喚我們體驗與基督的密切結合，祂是喜樂和聖潔的源泉。」

教宗補充說：「以聖體為食糧意味著允許自己被所接受的事物改變。」教會規定：「教會建議信眾在領聖體後不要忽略進行適當的感恩。他們可以在彌撒中以沉默的方式，唱一首聖詩、詩篇或其他讚美詩歌，或者在彌撒後停留一段時間，如果可能的話，留下來作祈禱。」 (Inaestimabile Donum 17).

教宗方濟各說，彌撒結束時「以神父的祝福和信眾的派散結束。就像開始時以聖十字架的標誌，因父、及子、及聖神之名開始一樣，結束時也以這禮儀，再次以聖三的名義封存。」

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