table of contents

[p. 207]

The Holy Mass in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century China:

Introduction to and annotated translation of

Yu Misa gongcheng 與彌撒功程 (1721),

Manual for attending Mass.

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Table of contents

Introduction [pp. 208-228]

Text 1: Translation of the instruction for attending Mass in the prayer book Tianzhu shengjiao nianjing zongdu (1628). [p. 229]

Text 2: Translation of the instruction for attending Mass (Yu Misa li) in later prayer books (based on Giulio Aleni’s Misa ji yi lüe). [p. 232]

Text 3: Translation of Giulio Aleni’s general introduction (zongshu 總述) to his ‘expositio Missae’ (Misa lijie) in juan xia of his Misa jiyi (1629). [p. 236]

Table 1: Summary of Yu Misa gongcheng and Misa lijie (thirty-three section in three parts). [p. 237]

Table 2: Yu Misa gongcheng compared with the ‘Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae’ in the Missale Romanum. [p. 242]

Text 4: Translation of Yu Misa gongcheng (ca. 1721). [pp. 245-294]

Appendices:

1) Yu Misa gongcheng 與彌撒功程 (bibliographical note). [p. 295]

2) The prayer Shanyuan wuduan 善願五端 to be read before the Mass.

3) The Chinese text of the Confiteor. [pp. 297-299]

4) The Chinese text of the hymn Gloria in excelsis Deo. [p. 300]

5) Note on section I.8. [p. 301]

6) Note on section I.11 (The Latin text and Chinese translation of the Twelve Articles of the Faith, or the Creed of the Apostles, and the Nicean Creed). [pp. 302-304]

7) Note on section I.14 (Two Chinese versions (A and B) of the prayer Anima Christi). [pp. 305-306]

8) Note on section II.2 (The prayer to be said after the Veneration of the Five Wounds (which takes place right after the Consecration). [p. 307]

9) Note on part II, sections 6-7

10) The ceremony of the Communion of the faithful during the Mass.

11) At the left or the right side of the altar? [pp. 313-316]

12) The suite Misa yueyin 彌撒樂音 by the Chinese Jesuit Wu Li 吳歷 (1632-1718).

13) Pedro de la Piñuela’s Ting Misa fanli compared with Misa lijie (Aleni). [pp. 318-319]

Bibliography (and abbreviations) [pp. 320-326]

Introduction (

[208]

Yu Misa gongcheng 與彌撒功程 (1721), later entitled Yu Misa guicheng 與彌撒規程 or Misa guicheng 彌撒規程, enjoyed an enormous success in Catholic China, according to Paul Brunner who in 1959 published a French translation of the text. For more than two centuries, it shaped the eucharistic piety of Chinese Christians (1959, p. 271). In 1721, this text was not entirely new: it had only added prayers to an explanation of the Mass, Misa lijie 彌撒禮節, which is found for the first time in an undated prayer book of probably the 1640s (Tongku jingji 痛苦經蹟). Brunner attributed this anonymous Misa lijie to Niccolò Longbardo SJ (1565-1655, in China since 1597). In fact, Misa lijie is an abridged version (“for daily use” 以備日用) of the second juan of Misa jiyi 彌撒祭義 (The Meaning of the Sacrifice of the Mass, 1629) composed by Giulio Aleni SJ (1582-1649).

Already before 1629, explanations of the Mass must have circulated. When Yang Tingyun 楊廷筠 in his Daiyi pian 代疑篇 (1621) speaks of the Mass, he refers for further information to an essay (or section of a work) [209] which gives an explanation of the Mass (Misa jie yibian 彌撒解一編), but there is no indication what kind of explanation this precisely was. The same applies to Misa yi lüe 彌撒義略 (Summary of the Meaning of the Mass) which Michael Zhang Shi 張識 mentions in a letter (1623) to Aleni.

The first preserved instruction for attending Mass is found in Tianzhu shengjiao nianjing zongdu 天主聖教念經總牘 (1628), one of the first Catholic prayer books in China, published one year before Aleni’s Misa jiyi. This instruction is included in the section “Daily Exercises” (Shengjiao rike 聖教日課) of that prayer book (j. 1, ff. 7a-22b), exercises that Longobardo is said to have composed. The instruction virtually only concerns nine prayers to be recited: when leaving home to go to church; when entering the church; at the beginning of the Mass; during the Elevation of the Host and the Chalice; during the Communion of the priest (when the faithful practice ‘spiritual communion’); and at the end of the Mass. In his Misa jiyi 彌撒祭義 (juan 1, section 7) Aleni supplied an additional instruction on the way the faithful should act during the Mass (when to kneel, bow, kowtow, strike the breast, etc.) and which prayers they had to recite (Aleni did not supply the text of them). It is entitled Yu Misa li 與彌撒禮 (The ritual of attending Mass) and in a slightly abridged form was included in later prayer books, starting with the Tongku jingji 痛苦經蹟 of the 1640s.

According to the 1628 instruction, “seeing the Mass is seeing how Our Lord Jesus suffered the passion, died nailed on a cross and gave his blood, [210] offering it to the Lord of Heaven, the Great Father, to ransom the sins of all people.” The instruction does not further explain this. It is Aleni who in juan 2 of his Misa jiyi will tell in detail how the Mass represents, in thirty-three sections (that is, rites or ceremonies), not only the story of the birth, life, passion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Lord of Heaven who became incarnate for thirty-three years, but also the entire history of salvation, from the time before the Creation (when there was only the Trinity) to the time after the Last Day.

This story can be uncovered by interpreting the movements and gestures (and sometimes the sounds of high or low voice) which the priest during the Mass is making and not in the first place by the contents of the texts he recites. In other words, it concentrates on what is visible (and audible) to the spectator. This way of explaining the Mass had originated in Carolingian times, when lay people no longer understood Latin. Moreover, they were not expected to precisely know the prayers and formulas spoken by the priest, as the Mass gradually had become the special domain of the [211] clergy. Before early medieval times, the Mass had been a community celebration, in which one praised the divine deeds of salvation and in which the Communion was the central structure. During the early Middle Ages, however, this notion shifted to a view in which the Eucharist was seen as a ‘holy object’ and the priest as a ‘holy man’. One focused on the ‘real presence’ (realis presentia) of Christ, and so the priestly act of the ‘change’ (consecration) constituted the new centre of the Mass. The priest became the representative of Christ on earth; he was no longer the ‘choirmaster’ of the praying community bringing its sacrifice of praise. The form itself of the Mass, however, did not change and remained the heritage of an urban church based on a local community. When during the early Middle Ages this kind of church disappeared, the rites of the Mass were no longer clear; in fact, they had become superfluous and therefore needed explanation.

So the faithful were given an allegorical explanation of the Mass (a special type of what technically has become known as ‘expositio Missae’): they should learn the deeper meaning of mainly movements and [212] gestures, in order to participate in the mystery celebrated at the altar. Several people, however, were opposed to allegorical interpretation, for example, Florus of Lyon (d. ca. 860) who heavily criticized Amalarius of Metz (775-852), the ‘father’ of the allegorical explanation of the Mass. Also more recently people were irritated by the arbitrariness of this kind of explanation. Nevertheless, taking this kind of ‘expositio Missae’ seriously does not imply that one should not be aware of the inconsistencies in, and the arbitrariness of, allegorical interpretation.

Some events of the Mass are interpreted as moral lessons and some as re-enactments of Old Testament practices; some refer to the life of Christ, and some have eschatological significance. Not infrequently, a single event bears two or more interpretations simultaneously. By the same token, the roles of the participants are fluid. […] Numerous conflicts among levels of interpretation, inconsistencies [213] of chronology, and abrupt shifts of meaning are apparent. On the other hand, in the midst of these anomalies one element stands out sharply. From beginning to end, but especially during the Canon and Communion, the Mass is a rememorative drama depicting the life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. Although other elements vary according to the interpreter, rememorative allegory is always present.

One example from the ‘Chinese’ expositions may suffice to further illustrate this. According to the ‘Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae’ in the Missale Romanum, the Mass starts with the priest leaving the sacristy holding the chalice in his hands; he then ascends the altar and puts the chalice in the centre of it, goes to the Epistle side of the altar, opens the Missal at the text of the Mass of that day and puts ribbons at the pages with the text of other prayers he has to read during the Mass, and finally he descends to the foot of the altar where he actually starts the Mass. Aleni (or his source) only explains this morally: the descending of the priest signifies his humbleness (see below, Text 4, sub I.1). Rui de Figueiredo (in ca. 1635) explains these preparatory acts as signifying the fact that Jesus’ work of salvation (which becomes ‘visible’ in he Mass itself) is the outcome of a well arranged plan; moreover, the descending of the priest signifies the incarnation of Jesus, his descent into this world. A similar explanation is [214] found in Pedro de la Piñuela’s Ting Misa fanli (ca. 1698): already before the beginning of time, the plan of salvation had been settled and the priest’s going out (from the sacristy) to the altar signifies Christ’s birth or leaving his mother’s womb, a well known theme in allegorical explanation.

The inconsistencies in allegorical explanation, mentioned by Hardison (see above), are found too in Aleni’s explanation of the Mass. Eleven of the thirty-three sections (that is one third) are without any reference to an episode in the history of salvation and often give a moral lesson. And also in his expositio a ‘single event’ sometimes bears two or more interpretations simultaneously. In general, his ‘expositio’ is sometimes quite catechetical; attending Mass is another opportunity to teach the faithful some fundamentals of the Christian faith.

[215] Unfortunately the Western source for Aleni’s Misa jiyi (or Misa lijie) is not known. Paul Brunner looked in vain for the source of Misa lijie. I also could not find Aleni’s source (admitting that I consulted only a few sources), which is a pity because one cannot check to what extent he adapted a Western tract. A similar explanation, of some 15 pages, is found in Trattato del valore e meravigliosi frutti della S. Messa (Napoli, 1606, 364 pages) written by the Jesuit Luca Pinelli (1542-1607). His tract is also divided into thirty-three sections, but several of them differ from those in Aleni’s tract and, if they are the same, the allegorical ex-planation is not always the same.

[216] The seventeenth century, however, seems to mark the beginning of a gradual decline of this genre of ‘expositio Missae’. So the missionaries in China may have introduced a method of attending Mass that in Europe was already becoming outmoded.

Although Aleni’s Misa jiyi was not reprinted (until 1849) and may not have circulated widely, his manual for attending Mass, Misa lijie, certainly circulated by way of the abridged version included in prayer books such as the Tongku jingji of the 1640s (see above). For example, the juren (1648) Cosmas Zhu Zongyuan 朱宗元 (ca.1616-1660), who probably served the missionaries as a catechist, was familiar with the division of the Mass into thirty-three sections or ceremonies: “the Mass is offered to the Lord, and is accomplished in thirty-three ceremonies” (彌撒獻主, 成儀于三十三種), a remark he made in an undated preface (1649?) to Manoel Dias’ Shijie zhiquan (天主聖教十誡直詮) and therefore he must have known Aleni’s [217] Misa lijie (if not his Misa jiyi itself). However, the abridged Misa lijie was not immediately accepted generally. While Aleni’s Yu Misa li was included in the definite edition (‘ne varietur’) of the prayer book Shengjiao rike 聖教日課 (ca. 1665), his ‘expositio Missae’ (Misa lijie) was not. Not only is Misa lijie lacking in this ‘official’ prayer book, but also the 42 decisions of the Canton Conference (1667/68) do not mention this text, or the allegorical explanation of the Mass that it employs, and when dealing with the Mass only treat questions such as appropriate dress. There is also no trace of Misa lijie (or allegorical explanation) in the 45 instructions composed around the same time by probably the same missionaries detained in Canton and recorded in the manuscript Shengjiao guicheng 聖教規程, which was published and translated (into French) by Hubert Verhaeren in Monumenta Serica of 1939-1940. As regards the Mass there are only a few instructions. Number XXXI says: “Before the Mass one recites the Litanies and after the Mass one recites … (a number of prayers)”, but nothing is said about the Mass itself. The next instruction (XXXII) reads:

For the recitation of prayers only two persons should pray in a loud voice, one beginning at one side and the other responding at the other side, while the crowd follows praying in a low voice. To pray too loud and to utter clamours (gaosheng farang 高聲發嚷), or even to remain silent and not to open one's mouth, also implies a lack of respect. When, at the moment of the Elevation, everyone is doing his act of contrition (zhongren tonghui 眾人痛悔), one should also avoid [218] striking one's breast too hard and uttering clamours (yi wude gaosheng fuxin fahan 亦勿得高聲拊心發喊).

There is no trace of allegorical explanations. Moreover, the instructions in the prayer books of 1628 (see Text 1) and Yu Misa li (see Text 2) do not speak of saying an act of contrition at the moment of the Elevation. This entry in Shengjiao guicheng shows that one experienced, in a rather ‘traditional’ way, the Elevation as the high point of the Mass (as opposed to Aleni’s explanation, in which in addition to the Elevation, or the physical presence of Christ, also the reading of the Gospel, or his words, constituted an important moment, see below, I.10).

A certain reserve toward Misa lijie (if we may interpret in this way its absence in the just mentioned three documents of the 1660s), or at least toward the version which began to circulate since the 1630s, is also seen in the following printed document (BAV, Borg.cin. 345.9), with the rather confusing title Misa jiyi lüe 彌撒祭義略 (on the title-strip on the cover), confusing because it has the same title as the summary of juan 1 of Aleni’s Misa jiyi in the prayer book Tongku jingji of the 1640s (WXSB 3:1181-1191), while the summary of juan 2 of Misa jiyi which actually contains Aleni’s expositio Missae is entitled Misa lijie (WXSB 3:1147-1180). Misa jiyi lüe (Borg.cin. 345.9) consists of 30 folios and contains two parts:

1) Misa jiyi lüe (ff. 1a-5b6), ending, like in Tongku jingji, with Yu Misa li, but now with the text of some ten additional prayers (ff. 5b7-11a6):

[219]

1)5b7 (chumen 出門);

[21]

comment (6a3-5);

[22]

2)6a6 (dian shengshui 點聖水);

[23]

3)6b2 (sa shengshui 灑聖水);

[24]

4)6b5 (ru shengtang 入聖堂);

prayer (6b6): Wuzhu zhiren 吾主至仁 … ;

[25.1]

prayer (7a1): Wuzhu tianzhu 吾主天主 … ; [25.2]

5)

comment (7b4-6): 撒責耳鐸德初出來 …;

[26]

prayer (7b7): Wanci zhi dafu 萬慈之大父 …

[27]

(= Dingxin zhuwen 定心祝文);

6) 8a7 (juyang shengti shi 擧揚聖體時);

[28]

7)8b4 (juyang shengjue shi 擧揚聖爵時);

[29]

8)8b7 (wushang jing 五傷經);

[x]

10a2 (concluding prayer, cf. note 228);

[x]

9)10b5 (prayer during the communion of the priest);[30]

10)11a3 (final prayer after the Mass).

[31]

2) Misa lijie (ff. 12a-30a4).

The first part is virtually the same (except for the added prayers) as Misa jiyi lüe in the prayer book Tongku jingji and the most conspicuous change is found in the section on the liturgical dress of the priest during the Mass: the character xuan 玄 which designates the black colour used in requiem masses (and for the jijin) was changed into hei 黑. Possibly this indic-ates that the text was published during the Kangxi period (1662-1722), because the personal name of the Kangxi emperor was Xuanye 玄曄 (ECCP 327). But also for other reasons (such as the resemblance of some of the added prayers to those in the prayer book of ca. 1665 and not [220] to those in the prayer book of 1628) it seems to date from roughly the second half of the seventeenth century.

The second part of this rare version of Misa jiyi lüe is a new version of Misa lijie, the summary of Aleni’s expositio Missae (in juan 2 of Misa jiyi). It is certainly based on the ‘old’ version, found in the Tongku jingji (1640s), but with a number of revisions mostly made on the basis of the original text, Misa jiyi. Most interesting are not these revisions as such, but the idea that a better summary was needed in order to convince apparently sceptical people that, in essence, Misa jiyi (Misa lijie) offers a good method for attending the Mass. The earlier version of Misa lijie concluded like this:

… so that, when the end of time has come, we should clearly see Our Lord, the one after the other ascending to Heaven and obtaining happiness, at which time the great meaning of our Lord's instituting the Mass and the great merit of our attending the Mass will be accomplished (… 已成矣). [A note in characters of a smaller size reads:] For more explanation, see Misa jiyi (詳見彌撒祭義).

Instead of the note “For more explanation, see Misa jiyi”, the revised version of Misa lijie (BAV, Borg. cin. 345.9) continues:

“If not, then one could see it (the Mass) as something without meaning (xuwen, an empty text), or dislike its complexity. In that case one might well consult the [Misa] jiyi for further explanations. The present text only explains ten percent of it. If someone who attends Mass is willing to study it for a long time, he certainly will begin to appreciate it, [and realize that] a summary is indeed an abridgement” (… 始成矣.) 否, 則或視為虛文, 或嫌其繁瑣, 庶幾祭義詳明, 玆纂, 其十 一, 以爲詁譯, 與者服習久, 而必有味乎, 其略節也哉 .

In other words, the author keeps to the excellence of the method in Misa jiyi and only revises the summary of it. At the same time he felt the need to add (already known) prayers after the text of Yu Misa li (in which no allegorical explanations are found) to make that text more convenient [221] for users. Apparently this Misa jiyi lüe (Borg.cin. 345.9) was written and published in response to some criticism on using Misa jiyi (or Misa lijie) as the sole method for attending Mass. Such a criticism was expressed by the Franciscan Pedro de la Piñuela in his Ting Misa fanli 聼彌撒凡例 (Directions for hearing Mass, ca. 1698). Although praising the Misa jiyi (of Aleni) for its content, he concludes that the meditations (that is, what one has to see in the gestures, etc. of the priest) are too difficult for most people:

Each time the great rite of the Mass is celebrated, the priest on behalf of the people brings a sacrifice to the Father Lord of Heaven (Tianzhu Ba-de-le 天主罷德肋). He prays for the living, that they may avoid suffering in purgatory and increase the glory of the saints in Heaven. It is a most important rite. The details of its meditation are all recorded in Misa jiyi, which is a clear translation, but it is hard to impose this act of meditation on all people (其默存要端具載彌撒祭義, 翻譯明白, 默想工夫, 難以概責之人人也). Therefore, I took prayers that Saint Francis and other saints prayed while hearing Mass, and translated them one by one in order to help the faithful to pray with their mouth and (then) to meditate in their mind, so that they do not show themselves to be ungrateful for this great ceremony, through which one receives great favours.

[222] In his tract, de la Piñuela omits the allegorical explanations and only shortly mentions various stages of the Mass (twenty-six as opposed to the thirty-three in Aleni’s text), that is, a number of successive acts of the priest. This is immediately followed by the text of a prayer, but several of these prayers show that they are based on an allegorical explanation of the concerned section of the Mass.

One may indeed wonder whether the allegorical explanation of the Mass, as a means of silent meditation, proved to be too difficult for many of the faithful. After all, in a simple Mass with one priest (as was usually the case in China), there is not much to see, from a dramatic point of view, except seeing the priest move from the centre to the right or left, etc., turning to the people, elevating the Host and Chalice, making crosses above the Host and Chalice. Moreover, in Europe there often were altarpieces or retables depicting the life, passion, death and resurrection of Christ which could help the faithful in their meditation.

[223] Ting Misa fanli was never reprinted and its method of attending Mass did not gain acceptance. Part of its introductory paragraphs (ff. 1a3-2b2) and the final sentence (f. 11a2-3) were used by the compiler of Yu Misa gongcheng (ca. 1721) at the end of his text, in a kind of afterword (see below, notes 294-304), but he did not reproduce the prayers. Around the time (ca. 1698) that de la Piñuela published his Ting Misa fanli, probably in Jiangxi, the Franciscans in Ji’nan (Shandong) published the prayer book Shengjiao zongdu jingwen 聖教總牘經文, which was reprinted in late 1701 or early 1702 (twelfth month of Kangxi 40). It is a slightly revised edition of the official, ‘Jesuit’ prayer book of ca. 1665 (Brunner 1964, p. 99). It did not contain Ting Misa fanli, which was also not added in later reprints, of which there at least two: one with an additional juan 5 (our present copy of 1701) and one with an additional juan 6. This prayer book, however, replaced Yu Misa li with the ‘original’ Misa lijie (that is, not the version as in Misa jiyi lüe, Borg.cin. 345.9), but with some prayers inserted in the text itself:

[224]

j. 1, ff. 15a-33b1, Misa lijie

(cf. index, f. 2b3: 彌撒禮節, 内附五傷經 通功神課 祈求聖教大行祝文);

inserted at the end of I.1:

1) ff. 15b3-16a3, Dingxin zhuwen 定心祝文 (see below, note 116);

inserted at the end of II.1:

2) ff. 25a3-6, (擧揚聖體, 三拊心, 念:) prayer at the Elevation of the Host; 3) ff. 25a7-25b2, (擧揚聖爵, 三拊心, 念:) at the Elevation of the Chalice;

4) ff. 25b3-27a3, prayers to adore the Five Wounds of Christ;

after folio 33 and before folio 34, a later reprint inserted three folios

(又33-35) with another two prayers:

5) ff. 33a1-34a4, Tonggong shenke 通功神課 ;

6) ff. 34a5-35a2, Qiqiu shengjiao da xing zhuwen 祈求聖教大行祝文 .

While this ‘Franciscan’ prayer book (1701) replaced Yu Misa li with Misa lijie, the Augustinians in Canton published in 1715 a prayer book (Tianzhu shengjiao rike 天主聖教日課) in which (ff. 14-19) we find again Yu Misa li followed by some prayers (as Misa jiyi lüe, Borg.cin. 345.9, had done) such as “Tonggong shenke”, but at the end of the book (ff. 196-208) it also included Misa lijie.

[225] Some five years later there followed the Yu Misa gongcheng (ca. 1721). It omitted Yu Misa li (in later prayer books it preceded Yu Misa gongcheng) and definitely returned to Misa lijie, but now with more prayers inserted than in the 1701 prayer book: in the first place the prayers (I.1, II.1, II.9, III.6) which already since at least 1628 were recommended for prayer during the Mass (see above, the list after note-number 36), augmented with the prayer of the Spiritual Exercise for Transfer of Merits (II.1, from the 1701 prayer book) and with a prayer for the Five Wounds (II.2, from the ca. 1665 prayer book). Some other prayers were well known as they were taken from the catechism, such as the Sign of the Cross (I.2 and III.5), the Act of Contrition (I.3), and the Twelve Articles of the Faith (I.11). Other prayers were new, although not all were composed by the compiler of [226] Yu Misa gongcheng. Finally, seven of the thirty-three sections of the Mass remained without a prayer.

Later in the eighteenth century, the Augustinian Sigismondo Meinardi (Xi Dengyuan 席澄元, 1713-1767) will ask Rome for permission to have a choir sing on high feasts certain parts of the Mass such as the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, or Agnus Dei in Chinese, accompanied by musical instruments. Propaganda Fide instructed him (15 September 1759) as follows: “As regards the prayers which the Chinese Christians during the celebration of the Holy Mass are used to sing or to recite in a loud voice, in their native language, […] these prayers should not be the same as the prayers which the celebrant, or deacon, or server, or even the choir, is saying in Latin, in such a way that these prayers would be recited, instead of by them, by lay people in the vulgar language, and in that manner would be part of the Mass.” Propaganda Fide had first understood that Meinardi wanted the choir to sing parts like the Kyrie and Gloria instead of the priest, but Meinardi answered (25 Nov. 1756) that this had never been his intention, he only had permitted his Christians (but not the priest or the server) to recite during the Mass the Credo and other prayers in their native language, and in this respect he was only acting not only as the Jesuits fathers had done, but also the Vicars Apostolic and missionaries of the Propaganda Fide in the provinces. After all, Propaganda Fide was somehow over-reacting (Margiotti speaks of ‘rigid instructions’), because from Yu Misa [227] gongcheng it is clear that the prayers never replace those of the priest or server and, except for the Our Father (II.5), they are not translations of the Latin prayers which the priest is saying; even the Latin Credo, recited by the priest, is another text than the Twelve Articles of the Faith in Chinese, recited by the faithful. In other words, one already did what Propaganda Fide requested. Although Meinardi does not refer to a prayer book or manual, it is very likely that he had Yu Misa gongcheng in mind. It shows that by the 1750s its method of attending Mass through reciting prayers (in addition to meditation based on allegorical explanation) had gained acceptance, at least in a place like Beijing where he was responsible for the liturgy at the Western Church (Xitang).

The allegorical method, however, must have appealed mainly to literate faithful. For example, the Chinese Jesuit Wu Li 吳歷 (1632-1718) was well acquainted with Misa lijie (not yet with Yu Misa gong-cheng), as testified by his Misa yueyin 彌撒樂音 (see below, Appendix 12), in which he describes his experience of the Mass. Misa yueyin is not dated, so one would assume that he wrote it before his ordination to priest in August 1688, as Misa lijie is not a manual for a priest. A testimony that allegorical explanation of the Mass (and its related meditation) may have been restricted to the more literate members of the Christian community (who could read, for example, Aleni’s Misa jiyi) is found in a letter written in ca. 1740, which describes how the faithful attend the Mass in a kind of Catholic enclave (or ‘reduction’) of mainly poor workers in northern Hubei, in the mountains of Mupanshan 磨盤山 (west of Gucheng 穀城):

In the early morning one does the special prayers together, which are followed by an instruction to prepare them for the holy sacrifice of the Mass. This instruction is done by way of questions and answers about the most important mysteries of the Faith, and about Confession, Communion and the Mass. One of them recites the questions and the others give the answers, after which I ascend the Altar. At the Sanctus one of the assistants explains the greatness of the mystery which is about to be wrought. At the elevation of the host and the chalice, and to prepare oneself for Communion, one

[228]

throws oneself to the ground while venerating the five wounds of Our Lord who in reality is present on the Altar, and in addition one prays several acts of contrition, of faith, of hope, of charity, of humility, etc. This all is concluded by thanksgiving; such is the order that one observes on all days; on feasts and Sundays, the prayer after the Mass is longer, and one varies it according the purport of the feast.

In the following pages there follows an annotated translation of Yu Misa gongcheng preceded by translations of the instructions for attending Mass in the prayer book of 1628 and in later prayer books (based on Giulio Aleni’s Misa jiyi lüe), and a translation of Aleni’s introduction to his Misa lijie. There are two tables which should facilitate the reading of the translation of Yu Misa gongcheng, one (1) with a summary of its contents and the other (2) with a summary of the full ritual as described in the Missale Romanum.

[229]

TEXT 1: Tianzhu shengjiao nianjing zongdu 天主聖教念經總牘 (1628)

This first preserved Chinese prayer book contains the following instructions (without special title) for attending Mass, found in the part Shengjiao rike 聖教日課 (1628, juan 1, ff. 7-22 [pp. 21-52], attributed to Niccolò Longobardo 耶穌會龍華民述):

( [21] One leaves one’s house in the morning and recites the prescribed prayer for leaving the house.) [22] One also should first go to the church (Tianzhu tang) to see (kan 看) the Mass, in order to pray the Lord of Heaven to watch over all our activities during the day, so that we will not offend Him. To ‘see’ the Mass every day is most profitable. Therefore, one should exert oneself in complying with that rule, without becoming indolent. He who ‘sees’ the Mass every day is like the mandarin who has an audience with his sovereign every day; the sovereign who sees his intention of constant reverence, will compensate him lavishly and grant him the things he requests.

When one enters the church, one first should humbly make a sign of the cross, take of the holy water and pray:

(dian shengshui 點聖水) [23] "Through this holy water, wash away my sins, chase away evil demons, and remove evil thoughts. Amen."

(sa shengshui 灑聖水) [24] "Sprankle me, Lord, and I will be purified; wash me and I will become whiter than snow."

[230]

Recite one Our Father and one Hail Mary, then recite:

[25.1] "Our Lord, relying on your immense mercy I now ascend your court, I bow and do obeisance in your holy hall, and praise your name." Then recite: [25.2] “... (a long prayer).

(The following sentences are put in a smaller type of characters:)

[26] At the beginning when the priest (sa-ze-er-duo-de 撒責耳鐸德 'sacerdote') leaves [the sacristy] and enters [the church] in order to do (zuo 做) the Mass, the crowd should kneel together, humbly make a sign of the cross and attentively see how the priest does the Mass, which is seeing how Our Lord Jesus suffered the passion, died nailed on a cross and gave his blood, offering it to the Lord of Heaven, the Great Father, to ransom the sins of all people. When nowadays the priest does the Mass every day, he offers the Holy Body of Jesus to the Lord of Heaven, so that he will forgive the sins of people and grant them many favours. He also does this as a remembrance, so that people will always remind themselves of the great favour of Jesus. Therefore, before the Mass, one recites:

[27] "Great Father of utmost mercy, ..." .

[28] At the elevation of the Holy Body (juyang shengti 擧揚聖體) (recite:)

[231]

"I bow down and adore, praise and thank you, our Lord Jesus Christ because you saved the entire world with your holy cross. I humbly pray you, our Lord, to forgive our sins. Amen."

[29] At the elevation of the Holy Chalice (juyang shengjue 擧揚聖爵) (recite:)

"Hail, most precious blood, that our Lord Jesus Christ on the altar of the cross let stream down for the eternal happiness of us people."

(within in a smaller type of characters:)

[30] When the priest is going to receive the Holy Body (i.e., to take the Communion), we should attentively think of Jesus. We should also pray him to bless our souls. While striking one's breast (chuixiong 搥胸) three times, recite:

Oh, our Lord Jesus, I want very much to receive the Holy Body, so that my soul will obtain many favours and receive your benediction. But I am evil and do not have merits allowing me to receive you. Have mercy with me, grant me to obey your commandments. I want to love you with all my heart, to please you so that you want to be united with my soul, and I will be able to receive your benediction, as if I had actually received the Holy Body. Amen.

(within in a smaller type of characters:)

After having ‘seen’ the Mass 看彌撒己畢, one cannot yet leave the church. One has yet to kneel down for a while and thank the Lord of Heaven for the [received] favours 感謝天主恩德. Recite:

"Oh, our Lord Jesus, I thank you with all my heart. It has been you who granted me to come to ‘see’ the Mass 來看彌撒, to see you in that Hostia 看見爾在彼 阿斯氐亞 內, so that I received your favours. My heart is filled with joy. I thank and pray you: grant me, in this world, to obey your commandments, and after my death to ascend to Heaven. Amen."

[232]

TEXT 2: Yu Misa li 與彌撒禮 (The ceremony of attending Mass)

Yu Misa li is not included in Yu Misa gongcheng (1721), but precedes that text in later prayer books (e.g., 1823, f. 14a). Yu Misa li is found for the first time in the prayer book Tongku jingji 痛苦經蹟 (1640s), ff. 27a-28a, which folios are part of Misa jiyi lüe (ff. 23a-28a), a summary of juan 1 of Giulio Aleni's Misa jiyi 彌撒祭義. Yu Misa li is also included in the definite edition ('ne varietur') of the Chinese prayer book, the Shengjiao rike (ca. 1665), where it is not followed by Misa lijie, but by a few prayers to be recited before the Mass and at the elevation during the Mass, which prayers are already mentioned in Yu Misa li itself (without supplying the texts).

The concerned part (Misa jiyi lüe, ff. 27a2-28a3) is a summary of section 7 (“Yu Misa li yi” 與彌撒禮義(儀), Misa jiyi, j. 1, ff. 16b5-18a9), viz. ff. 17a5-18a5. In Misa jiyi itself the general description of the 'ceremonies', to be performed by the faithful during the Mass, starts at f. 17a2. The items nos. [1], [2] and [5] were not included in Misa jiyi lüe, and so they are lacking in later prayer books.

[1] [ Each time there is a sun- or feast-day (zhanli 瞻禮), one should rise early in the morning and reverently go to the church, without daring not to be on time. ]

[2] [ Arrived at the church, one prepares one’s mind and aspira-tions, and especially tries to behave very reverently, without daring to amuse oneself with meeting and chatting with people. At the moment one enters the church, the first thing one should do is to dip one's fingers in holy water, and to recite the prayers for entering the church and for dipping one's fingers in holy water. ]

[233]

[3] When the Mass is about to start, all reverently bow and kneel, make the sign of the cross, and say the prayer for concentrating the mind (Dingxin zhuwen 定心祝文).

[4] The priest ascends the altar and after a short while descends; when the acolyte prays the Confiteor (Jiezui jing 解罪經), the congregation silently recites (nian 念) it together with him and together they beat their breast (kouxin 叩心) three times, to express that they sincerely regret their sins.

[5] [When the priest ascends the altar, one stands up and holding a rosary says prayers at one's convenience.]

[6] When one sees the priest turn [to the people], one makes a low bow.

[7] When the priest goes to the right side of the altar to recite (nian) [a part of] the Scriptures (Gospel), one should stand up and together [with him] make a sign of the cross [and reverently listen to his words.]

[234]

[8] When one sees the priest kneeling, one should also kneel and knock the head in reverence (koushou).

[9] When the priest has washed his hands and turns [to the people], then all should kneel and silently think of the various favours [resulting from] Our Lord's receiving the passion because of our heavy sins.

[10] When the Holy Body and the Holy Chalice are being elevated, all should beat their breast (kouxin) three times, and silently recite (nian) the prayer [prescribed] at the elevation of the Holy Body and that [at the elevation] of the Holy Chalice.

[11] When the priest receives the Holy Body (i.e., takes communion), the congregation should receive it in a spiritual way, and together obtain the great favour of Jesus.

[12] When the priest washes his hands and the book is being brought to the left side of the altar, one should stand up.

[235]

[13] When the priest gives the benediction to the congregation, everyone should receive it while kneeling or making a low bow.

[14] When towards the end of the Mass the priest goes to the right side of the altar to say a prayer (songjing), the congregation should together thank [the Lord] for the favours [received].

[When] the ceremony is finished, [together with the priest one makes a low bow and then retires.]

[15] [On major feasts and on Sundays, when the Mass is finished,] one listens to the explanations of texts that have been read that very day and to the various instructions of the Lord of Heaven.

This is merely a general summary of the ceremony, in order to facilitate comprehension. Detailed explanations of it are found in Misa jiyi 彌撒祭義 .

TEXT 3

[236]

General introduction (zongshu 總述, ff. 1a-2a) to the explanation of the Mass in chapter 2 of Giulio Aleni’s Misa jiyi (juan xia, ff. 4a-40b, preceded by a table of contents in three parts, subdivided into thirty-three sections, ff. 1a-3a: I.1-18; II.1-9; III.1-6). This zongshu, as well as Aleni’s preface (1629) at the beginning of the text, was omitted in the Zikawei reprints of Misa jiyi of 1849 (copy, for example, in BnF, Chinois 7281) and 1931 (reproduced in Dongchuan fuyin 東傳福音, Hefei 2005, vol. 9, pp. 458-482). In the translation given below, I have inserted (bold) between square brackets the references, which the text in my opinion includes, to several of the thirty-three sections.

Our Lord descended to the world for thirty-three years. One Mass is sufficient to comprise a biography of his life (shengping xinglüe 生平行略). But one might even extend it to the time before the creation of heaven and earth, and to the time after the extinction of heaven and earth: the mystery of the Trinity is present all the time. Nearby it is present everywhere, and faraway it permeates the most remote antiquity. Now, being one and still three, being three and still one, is something abstruse (xuanwei 玄微) and perfectly mysterious (yuanmiao 圓妙). When heaven and earth did not yet exist, the Trinity was already there [I.2]. Man came into existence after the Father (Ba-de-le) created heaven and earth, and all the ten thousand beings. The first men, however, committed sin and left the burden of it to their posterity, so that [now] every man has the orginal sin (yuanzui 原罪) [I.3]. Could repentance reprieve it? However, human force could not cleanse it. So the Lord of Heaven felt compassion and wanted to save [mankind]. Then he let an angel transmit his decision to inaugurate the incarnation. Since antiquity the Saints had longed for it [I.4-5], and the time for it finally had arrived. The angels paid their repect to the Holy Mother and in the air they sang a song of praise [I.6], [because] the Son (Fei-lüe) had incarnated in the country of Judea [I.7]. The Holy Mother presented him in the temple [I.8]. John (the Baptist) persuaded people to acknowledge the Lord, and transmitted the teaching in order to convert people [I.9]. From far and near, people believed and submitted [I.11], and they all were overcome with joy. Still the crowds secretly plotted against him, so he temporarily hid himself [I.15]. But when he entered the city (of Jerusalem), he was received with joy [I.16]. He silently prayed in the garden [I.17], and ended up with being flogged at a stone pillar [I.18] and being put on a cross. Willingly he atoned for the sins of all people and reported the completion of the work to the Father [II.1]. He was buried, but resurrected [II.3]. In broad daylight he ascended to Heaven [II.6-7]. The Holy Spirit (Si-bi-li-duo San-duo) descended and the Apostles transmitted the teaching to the four corners of the world. His teaching will be brought back to the people of Judea [III.1], so it is entirely appropriate that the authority to judge

[p. 237]

good and evil of all people belongs to our Lord [III.5]. For our Lord, after having suffered in the body (roushen), holds the authority over the body; after having atoned for the sins of all people, he will settle the rewards and punishmenst of all people; after having assumed human nature and revealed his divine nature, he made the divine nature complete (quan Tianzhu zhi xing) by honouring human nature. In short, as to the mystery of Three Persons in One Body (sanwei yiti), and Three Bodies in One Person (santi yiwei), he who understands this, is someone with true knowledge (zhenzhi 真知); he who embodies (ti 體) this, is someone with true virtue (zhenzhi 真德).

To attend the Mass in this way means true happiness (yu Misa zhe shi wei zhenfu 與彌撒者是謂真福). In an instant, it deals with the principle of the Lord of Heaven's being without beginning and without end, with the fact that He embraces everything, that past and present are one breath (gu jin yi xi 古今一息), that the others and I have the same origin (ren wo yi yuan 人我一元). Its depth we observe in the sequences (jieci 節次) of the Mass. Though all together it contains several hundreds of ceremonies (liyi 禮儀), summarily thirty-three sequences (jie 節) are brought forward, covering three parts: the preparation of the sacrifice (jiang ji 將祭), the sacrifice proper (zheng ji 正祭), and the conclusion of the sacrifice (che ji 撤祭).

TABLE 1:

Summary of Yu Misa gongcheng / Misa lijie (33 sections in three parts)

ACT OF THE PRIEST

ALLEGORICAL EXPLANATION

(for the references to

Ting Misa fanli, compare

the list in Appendix 13.)

I.1

(01)

Ascends the altar,

and then descends.

No reference to an event.

(spiritual explanation: humility; the entire congregation is trembling and shivering.)

I.2

(02)

Makes the sign of the cross and mentions the three persons of the Lord of Heaven.

Trinity and creation.

I.3

(03)

Repents his sins and recites the prayer for the absolution of one's sins (Confiteor).

Original sin; moreover, also

the sins which one committed oneself.

[p. 238]

I.4

(04)

Ascends the altar, goes to the left side, and reads a part of the Old Testament.

Before the Incarnation the saints of Old Testament times hoped that the Lord of Heaven would incarnate to save all people.

I.5

(05)

Goes to the centre of the altar and prays: "Lord of Heaven, have pity with us; Christ, have pity with us", etc., nine times.

These saints lamenting the sins of the world, implored the true Lord (each person of the Trinity three times) to hasten coming to save the world.

I.6

(06)

Extends both his hands, closes them again, and recites the Gloria (in excelsis Deo)

The song of praise (Gloria) that the angels chanted in the air after our Lord’s incarnation.

I.7

(07)

Turns to the crowd, and says: "The Lord be with you."

After his incarnation, Our Lord was announced to the world.

[Ting Misa fanli (section 5):

the adoration by the Magi.)

I.8

(08)

Goes to the left side of the altar, extends his hands and recites a prayer (Oratio) that matches the feast of the day.

No reference to an event.

[ Misa jiyi and Ting Misa fanli:

(section 6): presentation of

Jesus in the temple forty days

after his birth.]

I.9

(09)

Places his hands on the book and recites a passage from it.

All that the saints of Old Testa-ment times in their records say about the [future] incarnation of the Lord of Heaven conformed to what happened later.

It also signifies that John the Baptist, shortly before the incarnation, had people repent and change their ways.

I.10

(10)

The book is carried to the right side, the priest incenses it, and recites the Holy Scripture.

This rite consists of eight parts and each of them has a profound meaning (see translation of I.10).

The transfer of the book from the left to the right of the altar means: after the coming of Our Lord the Holy Teaching spread from Judea to other countries.

I.11

(11)

Goes to the centre of the altar and recites the Creed.

After the Holy Teaching has been propagated to all countries, all people respectfully submit to it and believe in it.

I.12

(12)

Once again turns [to the crowd] and recites: "The Lord be with you."

When, as has been said in the preceding section: all people believe”, then the true Lord is in the [p. 239] hearts of people. Therefore the priest turns to crowd.

[ Misa jiyi refers to the Acts of the Apostles: the first Christian community in Jerusalem. ]

I.13

(13)

Unveils the holy chalice, takes the host in his hands, also puts wine into it (the chalice), and these two he presents as a sacrifice.

Our Lord became incarnate to redeem people, he not only instructed people by orthodox discourse, and set a model of behaviour by miracles, but he also wanted his own body to be a sacrifice and to offer it to the Father, Lord of Heaven, in order to appease his severe anger.

I.14

(14)

Washes his hands, turns to the crowd, and invites them to pray together devoutly.

No reference to an event.

[ Misa jiyi: spiritual explanation.

Ting Misa fanli (section 12):

Jesus washes the feet of the

apostles. ]

I.15

(15)

Recites a prayer in a low voice.

Our Lord, before he endured his passion, temporarily lived some-where else (kept a low profile), and stayed away from the capital of Judea (Jerusalem),

not because he wanted to escape from the passion, but because his time had not yet come.

I.16

(16)

Recites in a loud voice:

Sanctus (San-duo-si), etc.

Our Lord, when the time of his passion had arrived, entered the capital of Judea. Those who esteemed him counted not less than many ten thousands; they seized flowers and went out to welcome him, and in loud voices praised and congratulated him.

I.17

(17)

Joins his hands and silently meditates, praying the Lord of Heaven to protect the present Pope, Emperor, and all over-seers of the teaching, as well as parents, friends and the [other] faithful all over the world.

Our Lord, on the evening before his passion, in the garden silently prayed the Father to accept all suffering he would receive to atone the sins of the people.

I.18

(18)

Makes at several times a number of signs of the cross above the Holy Chalice.

The differents sorts of pain and sorrows that our Lord received on the day of his passion.

II.1

(19)

Elevates the Holy Body and the Holy Chalice.

There is no greater grace than Our [p. 240] Lord Jesus nailed on the cross for us.

II.2

(20)

Makes five times a sign of the cross above the Holy Body.

Although Our Lord during his passion suffered all over his body, he was heavily wounded at the five spots of his hands, feet and side.

II.3

(21)

Once again joins his hands and meditates (silently prays that the souls in purgatory may ascend to heaven).

Our Lord, after his death, saved the souls of the Old Saints (he descended to hell) and let them ascend to heaven.

II.4

(22)

Strikes his breast to show that Our Lord's compassion extends to all of us sinners.

[ Misa lijie : Strikes his breast and recites: nuo-bi-si-guo-guo ... (nobis quoque ...), which in translation means: Our Lord’s compassion extends to all of us sinners. ]

No reference to an event.

[ Misa jiyi: the omens at the time of Jesus' death made people realize their mistake and strike their breast. ]

II.5

(23)

Recites in a loud voice the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father who art in Heaven," etc.

No reference to an event.

II.

6-7

(24-25)

Breaks the Holy Body into three pieces.

( Misa jiyi: II.6: breaks the Host

[into two halves].

Misa jiyi: II.7: breaks a third

part from [the left half of] the

Host. )

Our Lord's life came to an end on the cross; his soul and body were separated. Moreover, after his resurrection and ascension, he bestowed complete happiness to the three regions: Heaven, the world of men, and purgatory.

Also [it signifies that] the three kinds of people, viz. those of the past, present and future, all receive Our Lord's favours.

II.8

(26)

Takes the small piece of the Holy Body, makes with it the sign of the cross, and puts it in the Holy Chalice, to show that the Lord’s peace is with you.

[ Misa lijie : “He also recites: ba-se duo-mi-ni, etc. (Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum), which in translation means: The peace of the Lord be always with you.” ]

Our Lord after his resurrection appeared to the apostles and consoled them, saying: "My peace be entirely with you!"

II.9

(27)

Strikes his breast and repents his sins, and then receives the Holy Body.

No reference to an event.

III.1

(28)

Arranges the holy chalice and other utensils and also asks the Missal to be brought again to the left side of the altar. He then recites a prayer, after which he turns to the crowd and recites "The Lord be with you."

From Judea the Lord's teaching was transmitted to all places. Most people in Judea opposed and lost [p. 241] the teaching, and therefore eventually it will be transmitted again to Judea. It will certainly also be Judea, to where he will descend for the Great Judgement.

III.2

(29)

Once again says a prayer to thank Our Lord for his favours.

Only at the day of judgement one realizes that the favours which our Lord bestowed are very generous. How could one not be immensely grateful for them?

III.3

(30)

Turns again to the crowd and recites: "The Lord is with you."

No reference to an event.

(spiritual explanation: In this life one should more earnestly reform oneself, so that one certainly will think of the good, each and every hour, without a single transgression; only then, the ten thousand virtues are complete, and one is united with the Lord.

[ Misa jiyi : Jesus appears at the Great Judgement.]

III.4

(31)

Recites: "Because of this Mass 依此彌撒, may the wishes and prayers of all of you be ful-filled."

[ Misa lijie: Once again addressing the crowd, the priest says: “yi-de Mi-sa” (依得彌撒 Ite, Missa est) etc., which in translation means: “The mass is finished, you may go.” ]

No reference to an event.

[ Misa jiyi : when the Great Judgement is finished, one defini-tely goes to heaven or hell.]

III.5

(32)

Blesses the crowd by making a sign of the cross.

Our Lord at the end of time will take the good people with him to ascend to the kingdom of Heaven in order to enjoy glory and happiness.

[ Ting Misa fanli (section 25):

Jesus blesses the apostles just before his ascension. ]

III.6

(33)

Standing at the right side of the altar the priest recites a section of the Bible. He then takes with him the Holy Chalice and returns [to the sacristy]. The ceremony is finished.

Right is the place of true happi-ness in Paradise (tiantang) and signifies the people who at the end of the world ascend to heaven in order to obtain happiness.

[ Ting Misa fanli (section 26):

Pentecost.

[242]

TABLE 2: Yu Misa gongcheng compared with

the ‘Ritus servandus’ in the Missale Romanum

(For the thirteen (I-XIII) parts of the ‘Ritus servandus’, see Meyer (1989), pp. 326, 328.)

‘Ritus servandus in celebratione Missae’ in Missa-le Romanum

(Misa lijie 彌撒禮節 in Buglio, Misa jingdian, ff. 34a-53b) [2013, pp. 73-112]

Misa jiyi (1629),

Yu Misa gong-cheng (1721)

inserted prayers

(Yu Misa gong-cheng)

I

De Preparatione sacerdotis cele-braturi. (34a, 將祭預備儀則)

II

De Ingressu sacerdotis ad altare.

(35a, 鐸德赴臺)

1 (I.1)

Preparation of the altar

定心祝文

III

De Principio Mis-sae et Confessio-ne facienda.(36a, 彌撒始與悔罪經)

2 (I.2)

3 (I.3)

Sign of the cross

Confiteor

聖號經

解罪經

IV

De Introitu, Kyrie eleison, et Gloria in excelsis. (37b, 進臺主矜憐天主受享)

4 (I.4)

Introit

(Psalm-verse)

我重罪人，憶昔古

聖人

5 (I.5)

Kyrie eleison

吾主矜憐我等罪人

6 (I.6)

Gloria in excelsis Deo

在上天 …

V

De Oratione

(39a, 祝文)

7 (I.7)

(the first) Dominus vobiscum

謝主賜我 …

8 (I.8)

Oratio at the left (Epistle) side

x

1837 edition (Misa guicheng) adds a prayer from Ting Misa fanli

VI

De Epistola, Graduali, et aliis usque ad Offertium. (39b, 經書陛經等至獻經)

9 (I.9)

Epistle

x

1837 edition (Misa guicheng) adds a prayer from Ting Misa fanli

x

[Graduale, Tractus, vel Alleluia, aut Sequentia]

[p. 243]

10 (I.10)

The Missal trans-ferred to the right (Gospel) side / reading of the Gospel

x

1837 edition (Misa guicheng) adds a prayer from Ting Misa fanli

11 (I.11)

Creed

信經

VII

De Offertorio, et aliis usque ad Canonem. (41b, 獻經等至綱領)

12 (I.12)

(the second) Dominus vobiscum

謝主賜我 … (first half of the prayer at I.7)

x

[Offertorium]

13 (I.13)

Offering of bread and wine

1) 吾主耶穌…至仁 …

2) 吾主以此聖血 …

14 (I.14)

Washing of the hands / Orate fratres.

(Anima Christi sanctifica me) 求吾主神靈聖我

15 (I.15)

Secreta.

x

x

[Praefatio.]

16 (I.16)

Sanctus.

我罪，我罪，我告大罪

VIII

De Canone Missae usque ad Consecrationem.

(44a, 綱領至祝聖)

17 (I.17)

18 (I.18)

Memento of the living.

Several signs of the cross made above the chalice.

1) 求吾主保佑 …

2) 吾主將受難之前一夕 …

願吾主至仁之體 …

x

[Consecration.]

IX

De Canone post Consecrationem usque ad Oratio-nem Dominicam.

(46a, 祝聖後綱領

至天主經)

19 (II.1)

20 (II.2)

21

(II.3)

22 (II.4)

Elevation of the host and chalice.

Five signs of the cross made above the host.

Memento of the dead.

Nobis quoque peccatoribus.

Prayers at the elevation.

Prayer after the elevation

(通功神課)

五傷經

求吾主救煉獄教眾 …

[p. 244]

吾主矜憐我等.

(1721) unnumbered (final part of II.4) or (after 1721) II.5:

Per quem haec omnia … (c.q. the doxology ‘Per ipsum’).

吾主救我等罪人.

X

De Oratione Dominica, et aliis usque ad factam Communionem.

(47a, 天主經等

至領聖體後)

23 (II.5)

Oratio dominica.

(after 1721: II.6)

1) 天主經

2) 吾主我肉身靈魂 …

x

[Libera nos quaesumus].

24 (II.6)

Breaking the host in two halves.

25 (II.7)

Breaking a third part from one half.

(1721) II.6-7

or (after 1721) II.7: Breaking the host in three pieces.

願與肉身離,

不願離我主.

26 (II.8)

Small part dropped in the chalice /

Pax Domini.

x

x

[Agnus Dei]

x

[Domini Iesu Christe qui dixisti]

x

[Domine non sum dignus]

27 (II.9)

Communion of the priest.

Prayer of spiritual communion: 吾主我切望領聖體 …

Then five times:

救世之天主救我等.

[p. 245]

Finally a song of praise

(聖體聖母合讚).

x

[ablution]

XI

De Communione, et Orationibus post Communi-onem dicendis. (50a, 領聖體及領聖體後諸祝文)

28 (III.1)

Missal transferred to the left (Epistle) side / reading of the Communio /

(the 3rd) Dominus vobiscum.

謝吾主降臨我等中焉 …

29 (III.2)

Postcommunio.

x

30 (III.3)

(the last) Dominus vobiscum.

x

31 (III.4)

Ite, missa est.

今日幸承天主不棄 …

x

[Placeat tibi …]

XII

De Benedictione in fine Missae, et Evangelio Sancti Joannis.

(50b, 彌撒將終降福

及聖若望萬日略經)

32 (III.5)

33 (III.6)

Benediction.

Last Gospel.

聖號經.

吾主耶穌 … 謝爾

賜我等看彌撒 …

XIII

De his quae omittuntur in Missa pro defunctis. (52a,

所遺於已亡者彌撒)

x

TEXT 4

Yu Misa gongcheng 與彌撒功程

THE ACT OF ATTENDING MASS

j.1, ff. 1a-19b, of a prayer book, zongdu 總牘,

published by the Chaoxing church 超性堂 (at Hangzhou 杭州)

with the approval of the Jesuit superiors

Romain Hinderer and Manuel Mendes

in the eleventh month of Kangxi 60

(19 Dec. 1721 - 16 Jan. 1722)

As to the details of the ceremony of the Mass (Misa lijie), generally speaking, it consists of three parts (duan 端): the Preparation of the Sacrifice (jiang ji 將祭), the Sacrifice Proper (zheng ji 正祭), and the Conclusion of the Sacrifice [246] (che ji 撤祭). The Preparation of the Sacrifice consists of eighteen sections (tiao 條), the Sacrifice Proper of nine sections, and the Conclusion of the Sacrifice of six sections. What follows is a summary of the fundamentals, meant for daily use.

(I) PREPARATION OF THE SACRIFICE (jiang ji 將祭)

(I.1)The priest ascends the altar, and then descends.

This signifies humility: he is not worthy to perform the sacrifice. It also signifies that the entire congregation is mentally trembling and shivering.

At this point those who attend Mass should be cautious and attentive, and ponder: I am a great sinner, who is given the opportunity to attend this great sacrifice (daji); how much more respectful than the priest should I be.

***

One should recite the prayer for concentrating the mind (ding xin 定心):

[247] "Great Father of utmost mercy, God of all consolation, very good and very magnanimous, you wanted that your only, Holy Son, for our salvation, was nailed on the cross; you also decreed that this most precious rite (li), which was offered to the Lord of Heaven, should be renewed every day in the Church (shengjiao hui) for our greater benefit. How sublime, deep, mysterious and refined is this rite; it is able to open (chan 闡) the love of the Lord, and to preserve us in true happiness. Prostrated we ask, help us, who take part [in this rite] 我有事者, to act with one mind and utmost reverence, so that we are assured of partaking in such a grand blessing (hong'en 洪恩). Because of our Lord Christ. Amen."

(I.2)The priest makes the sign of the cross and mentions the three persons of the Lord of Heaven, saying, etc., etc. .

This signifies: when heaven and earth did not yet exist, there was only one Lord and within this one Lord there were three persons. With his omnipotence, perfect knowledge and perfect goodness, he created the ten thousand beings, and communicated his unlimited virtue of happiness to the creation, so that everyone should enjoy it.

At this point, those who attend Mass should reverently thank the Lord of Heaven for having created this world; let us enjoy and use it; should we not serve Him with utmost devotion?

[248]

***

Also we should follow the priest and make a sign of the cross and recite:

THE PRAYER OF THE SIGN OF THE CROSS.

(I.3)The priest repents his sins and recites the prayer for the absolution of one's sins.

This signifies: man is born with the original sin. Moreover, there are sins which one has committed oneself. They can be uprooted only after great contrition.

At this point, those who attend Mass should ponder on the sins they have committed during their entire life and seriously repent them, search for the Lord's clemency, firmly decide to change one's ways, and only then should one dare to attend the sacrifice [of the Mass] and to see the Lord of Heaven.

Together with the server silently recite:

the prayer for the absolution of one's sins (Jiezui jing 解罪經 or Confiteor).

[249]

(I.4) The priest ascends the altar, goes to the left side of the altar, and reads a section of the Old Testament (古經).

This signifies: before the incarnation of the Lord of Heaven the Old Saints hoped that the Lord of Heaven would incarnate to save all people.

Those who attend Mass should realise that the reasons for the incarnation are not accidental, but precisely because [the Lord of Heaven] wanted to completely open up the road to Heaven and to lead us all to ascend to that place. If we are able to repent our sins with a sincere mind and to venerate [the Lord of Heaven], we will certainly receive our Lord's salvation.

***

One should recite:

"We, great sinners, commemorating the Old Saints who were hoping that our Lord would descend in order to atone our great sins, we pray the almighty Father (Ba-de-le), Lord of Heaven, to grant us the power which overcomes our weakness; we pray the most enlightened Son (Fei-lüe), Jesus Christ, to grant us the understanding which illuminates our dullness; we pray the most good Holy Spirit (Si-bi-li-duo san-duo) to grant us the sincere love which dismisses our indolence".

[250]

(I.5)The priest goes to the centre of the altar and prays: "Lord of Heaven, have pity with us (天主矜憐我等); Christ (Ji-li-si-de 基利斯得), have pity with us", etc., [altogether] nine times, which (i.e., Kyrie eleison) in translation means: we hope the Lord will have pity with us.

This signifies that the Old Saints, lamenting the [increasing] heaviness of the sins of the world, implored the true Lord to hasten his coming to save the world. "Nine times", that is: imploring each person of the Trinity three times.

At this point, those who attend Mass should think of their various sins and pray the Trinity (聖三) for forgiveness, and moreover, pray the almighty Father for power, the most enlightened Son for understanding, and the most good Holy Spirit for sincere love.

[251]

***

One should recite:

"Our Lord, have pity with us, sinners" (吾主，矜憐我等罪人).

(I.6)The priest extends both his hands and joins them again. He recites the Gloria: "Above, glory to the Lord of Heaven; beneath, peace to the upright people" (上則榮福于天主, 下則安和于善人).

This is the song of praise that the angels chanted in the air after the incarnation (birth) of our Lord.

[252]

At this point, those who attend Mass should join the angels in praising the Supreme Lord (shangzhu) for having come among us, men, and they should try by all means to renovate themselves (zixin), without being ungrateful for the favours of the Lord.

***

One should recite:

"Above, in heaven, there is only the God of worship and glory. Beneath, on earth, there are only the saints meritoriously observing the Ten Commandments".

(Zai shangtian, wei qinchong rongfu zhi Tianzhu; 在上天, 惟欽崇榮福之天主; zai xiadi, wei zun shijie ligong zhi zhusheng 在下地, 惟遵十誡立功之諸聖).

[253]

(I.7) The priest turns to the crowd, and says: "The Lord be with you."

This signifies that after his incarnation Our Lord was announced to the world, and mankind praised him for it.

Those who attend Mass should be grateful for the great favour of our Lord's incarnation, for having been so luckily to have received his teaching, and they should pray the Lord that more favours will descend on us and will never leave us. They should also pray that everywhere people will convert ( guixiang 歸向 ).

***

One should recite:

"Thanks, Lord, for having granted me to know that you descended into my heart. In addition, I pray that all people of the entire world will know this precious favour and that there will be nobody who will not convert".

(I.8)The priest goes to the left side of the altar, extends his hands and recites a prayer (jing 經); he prays (qidao 祈禱) in accordance with the theme of the feast of the day.

At this point, those who attend Mass should put their wishes (yuan 願) in front of the Lord, whatever these might be, except evil ones. But we should know that the Lord will certainly give us what we ought to receive. If we ought not to receive it, we should still be satisfied with what we receive [254] from the Lord. In general, before praying for something, one should manage all one's affairs in accordance with the Lord's will (nian 念). After praying for something, one should remain determined in doing so, earnestly and without relent. Indeed, that we pray the Lord is of the highest concern: how could we pray only with the mouth, or even be reluctant to pray.

[255]

(I.9) The priest lays his hands on the book and recites a passage from it.

This signifies that all what the Old Saints in their records said about the [future] incarnation of the Lord of Heaven conformed to what happened later. Moreover, it signifies that John the Baptist, shortly before the incarnation, had people repent and change their ways, awaiting the appearance of the Lord.

Those who attend Mass should reflect that all that impedes the Lord should be cleansed and opened up in advance, so as to await the coming of the Lord.

(I.10)The book is moved to the right side of the altar, the priest incenses it, recites the Holy Scripture (shengjing 聖經, i.e., the Gospel).

[256]

This rite consist of eight parts and each of them has a profound meaning (shenyi 深義):

(1) The transfer of the book from the left to the right side of the altar signifies that after the coming of Our Lord, the Holy Teaching spread from Judea to other countries.

(2) The priest bows at the centre of the altar and asks the Lord for divine help in transmitting the Gospel to other people.

(3) That everyone stands up to hear the words of the Gospel signifies that all at once should rise, because one absolutely wants to bring these (the words of the Gospel) into practice.

(4) (5) Three times the book is incensed.

(5) (-) Two stands with candles are held up to honour the concerned book. This signifies that the most beautiful holy teaching is similar to incense of wonderful fragrance, and bestows people the enlightenment of spiritual light.

[257]

(6) (4) One makes the sign of the cross over the book, on one's forehead, mouth, and breast, because this book contains the orders of the Lord who consented in receiving the cross. To mark the book with the sign of the cross, and then also one's forehead, mouth, and breast, signifies not only that one cannot allow oneself to have evil thoughts, words and deeds, but still more, that all the time one has to conform one's thoughts, words and deeds [with what is written in the book or Gospel].

(7) (6) After the reading, one kisses the book, which signifies that the flavour of the book (Gospel) is eternal, one can chew it inex-haustibly.

(8) (-) Playing music expresses harmonious enjoyment and perfect beauty, and it causes the human spirit to take part in it.

[258]

All that has been put within lined frames (i.e., the numbers 4, 5 and 8) is to be used at days of major feasts (da zhanli); moreover, the numbers for incensing and playing music do not apply to the Mass on an ordinary day.

( At this point, those who attend Mass should try to profit from understanding [these ceremonies], as their meaning is unlimited. )

[259]

(I.11) The priest goes to the centre of the altar and recites the Creed (xin jing 信經).

This signifies that, after the holy teaching has been propagated to all countries, all people respectfully submit to it and believe in it.

Those who attend Mass should ponder: "If I would not have been a believer, at which point could I have claimed any merit?" One should kneel and together with the priest recite:

the Creed (xin jing).

(I.12) The priest once again turns [to the crowd] and recites: “The Lord be with you”.

[260] When, as has been said in the preceding section: "all people respectfully submit to it and believe in it", then the true Lord is in the hearts of people. Therefore, the priest turns to the crowd and consoles them, saying: "The Lord is already among you all."

Those who attend Mass should ponder: After I became a believer, the true Lord is near to me, and I am no longer possessed by evil [spirits]. More-over, one should worry about the possibility of later going against the orders of the Lord and again losing his grace, which would make it hard to say these words (i.e., "The Lord be with you"). Be aware of this, be aware of this.

***

(the next prayer repeats the beginning of the prayer at the end of I.7)

One should recite:

"Thanks, my Lord, for having granted me to know that you descended into my heart."

[261]

(I.13)[The priest] unveils the holy chalice, takes the host in his hands, also puts wine into it (the chalice), and these two he presents as a sacrifice.

This signifies: our Lord became incarnate to redeem people; he not only instructed people by orthodox discourse, and set a model of behaviour by holy traces (miracles), but he also wanted his own body to be a sacrifice and offer it to the Father, Lord of Heaven, to appease his severe anger. The wine in the chalice (after the consecration) is the holy blood of our Lord that streamed from the cross as a precious medicine (baoyao 寶藥) to wash away all sins.

At this point those who attend Mass should think of themselves as bearing heavy sins and being dependent on the great grace of the Lord, who gave up his body to redeem us. How could we compensate this? At this time we should offer to the Lord of Heaven our own body and mind, decide in all affairs of our entire life to follow the orders of the Lord, up to the point that we should not even refuse to be martyred for the Lord of Heaven, in order to fully recompense the Lord [albeit only] for one ten thousandth.

***

One should recite:

"Our Lord Jesus Christ, most human and most compassionate, generously spread your massive treasures to redeem our sins."

Also recite:

"Our Lord, by this holy blood, you redeemed us from our sins. If I would be martyred for the Lord, I would be very willing to do so."

[262]

(I.14) The priest washes his hands, turns to the crowd, and invites them to pray together devoutly.

[ No further explanation follows, and there is no reference to

an event in the life and passion of Jesus. ]

[263]

At this point, those who attend Mass should ponder: to wash the mind and to cleanse the thoughts, certainly is one's duty, but if one wants to recite devoutly and sincerely, one should wash and wash again, cleanse and cleanse again, up to the point that one cannot wash and cleanse again, which is said to be the greatest sign of reverence.

***

One should recite:

"I pray you, my Lord, let your divine soul sanctify me, your holy body protect me, your holy blood inebriate me; wash me with the water [flowing] from your side. Jesus, your passion increased our beauty and goodness, allow me to hide in your wounds, always receive me, do not let me be separated from you, save me from all evil, and when the time of death has come, summon me to partake in your glory with all the angels and saints. Amen."

(I.15)The priest recites a prayer in a low voice.

This signifies that Our Lord, before he endured his passion, temporarily lived somewhere else, and did not show himself in the capital of Judea (Jerusalem), not because he wanted to escape the passion, but because his time had not yet come. Moreover, he instructed us in this way that in times [264] of disorder (luanshi 亂世) our movements should also con-form to the occasion.

(I.16) The priest recites in a loud voice: ‘Sanctus’ (San-duo-si 三多斯), etc.

This signifies that our Lord, when the time of his passion had arrived, he came from afar and entered the capital of Judea. Although there were ignorant people who envied him, those who esteemed him counted not less than many ten thousands; they grabbed flowers and went out to welcome him, and in loud voices praised and congratulated him. The Sanctus that is recited, means in translation: "holy, holy, holy", and precisely is an expression of praise and congratulation.

At this point, those who attend Mass should ponder that our Lord underwent his passion for us, which was an old vow of his and he did so gladly (qi suyuan le wei 其夙願樂為), but we are not even able to do what is most easy in serving the Lord, which is something to be even more ashamed of. Moreover, it shows how hard it is to determine the emotions of the world: people who today are honouring and respecting us, could be the people who five days later will insult us. This was precisely to warn people not to listen easily to flattering words and subsequently to rejoice in boasting oneself.

***

[265]

We should strike our breast three times and silently recite:

"My sin, my sin, I accuse myself of my great sin."

(I.17) The priest joins his hands and silently meditates, praying the Lord of Heaven to protect the present Pope and all overseers of the teaching, as well as parents, friends and the [other] faithful all over the world.

This signifies that our Lord, on the evening before his passion, silently prayed in the garden that the Father (Ba-de-le) accept all suffering he would receive for atoning the sins of the people. Moreover, he pondered: although I will receive suffering, there still will be people who are unable to be affected by it so as to develop change of behaviour and repentance, [266] and who reject my grace. While he was pondering like this, he suddenly sweat blood which streamed to earth. This was our Lord's greatest suffering.

At this point, those who attend Mass should ponder about this meaning; together with our Lord, together with the priest, they should pray the Lord of Heaven, to greatly open the minds of people of this world, so that conversion will abundantly follow and nobody will reject our Lord Jesus' utmost affection.

***

One should recite:

"I pray you, my Lord, protect the Pope and the Emperor (jiaohua huangdiwang 教化皇帝王), and all overseers of the teaching, as well as friends, benefactors, and the faithful all over the world."

"My Lord, on the evening before your passion you established for the apostles the great ceremony of the Holy Body, and in the garden you took leave of them; for us, all people, you silently prayed the Father to accept your passion to atone our sins. When you were pondering that there still might be people who are unable to be affected by it, that not all sins might have been forgiven, that one might be ungrateful for your passion, you suddenly sweated blood which streamed down. Your inner emotions evoked this favour of utmost compassion. Prostrated, I pray our Lord to convert the entire world."

At this point, those who attend Mass might pray for the living, the dead, the sick, and the distressed.

(I.18) Several times the priest makes the sign of the cross over the Holy Chalice.

[267]

This signifies the different sorts of pain and sorrow that our Lord received on the day of his passion.

At this point, those who attend Mass should feel grateful for the Lord's favours, and therefore, following Our Lord, pray the Lord to grant me to wear my own cross day after day. Each day we are confronted with things that are hard to bear, and we bear them for the Lord. Now, my cross is [to acquire] the merits that are needed to subdue myself.

***

One should recite:

"May the most benevolent (zhi ren 至仁) body of our Lord be widely manifest and grant his presence at the sacrifice proper.”

[268]

(II) THE SACRIFICE PROPER (zheng ji 正祭 )

(II.1) [The priest] elevates the Holy Body and the Holy Chalice.

This signifies that there has been no greater favour than Our Lord Jesus having been nailed for us on the cross.

At this point, those who attend Mass should ponder: during the passion of our Lord even things without a soul (buling zhi wu 不靈之物) expressed their grief. Can we, human beings, not be moved by it, feel remorse and mend our ways? Moreover, there is the meaning of 'elevation': because our Lord Jesus was willing to fill a humble position and experienced suffering and humiliation, the Lord of Heaven endowed him with the authority to judge, and placed him above all people and all angels, so that everyone looks up to him.

If those who attend Mass acknowledge the grace of the passion, and also know the meaning of the 'elevation', then grief and joy intermingle, and ardent love is unending.

***

While the Holy Body is being elevated, one strikes one's breast three times, and recites:

[269]

"I humbly hope that the Father (Ba-de-le), Lord of Heaven, looking upon the Holy Body of our Lord Jesus, will forgive our sins."

When the priest kneels, one should recite:

"I bow down (fu 俯) and adore, praise and thank you, our Lord Jesus Christ; you kindly wanted to save the entire world with this holy cross. I humbly pray you, our Lord, to forgive our sins. Amen."

When the priest elevates the Holy Chalice, one strike one's breast three times and recites:

"I humbly hope that the Father (Ba-de-le), Lord of Heaven, looking upon the Holy Blood of our Lord Jesus, will cleanse our mind and body."

When the priest kneels, one should recite:

"Hail, most precious blood, that our Lord Jesus Christ on the altar of the cross let stream down for the eternal happiness of us people."

[270]

After the elevation one should recite: [ i.e. the prayer ‘Spiritual Exercise for the Transfer of Merits’ Tonggong shenke 通功神課 ]

Sinner, your sins are heavy, you are most evil, I have nothing to offer to the Holy Father, Lord of Heaven; I [want to] to look up and procure the merits of our Lord Jesus's holy body, holy blood and five wounds, and offer these to the Holy Father, Lord of Heaven.

Sinner, your sins are heavy, you are most evil, I have nothing to offer to Jesus; I want to look up and procure the merits and suffering of the Holy Mother Mary, and offer these to our Lord Jesus.

Sinner, your sins are heavy, you are most evil, I have nothing to offer to the Holy Mother; I want to look up and procure the merits of the former [271] and present saints, and offer these to the 'grace protecting' Holy Mother.

Sinner, I especially beseech Jesus, the Holy Mother, and all holy men and women, to pray together the Lord of Heaven to multiply his help to the present Pope, N., and to the ecclesiastical communities (shengjiaohui) all over the world; may the teaching spread profusely, may heterodoxies be destroyed, may the people be honest and prosperous (qing tai 清泰), may the country be in peace, may all those who do not yet believe be granted to enter the church and serve the Lord, may all those who already believe be granted to honour the teaching and establish merits, may all those who are in purgatory be granted to be forgiven their sins and to ascend to heaven, may all those who meet with suffering and distress, be given peace and contentment, may sinners not dare to irritate the true Lord by excessive wickedness.

In sum, I [want to] look up and procure all the merits in heaven, and all the merits of the entire world, and present them before the altar of the Lord. I pray the Lord to promptly spread the holy teaching, to quickly save all people, to forgive our sins, to pull out the root of our sins, to eradicate our partiality, to augment our strength, to keep the commandments and practice the good, and, when the time of death has arrived, to save our soul and let us ascend to heaven. Hear our prayers and fulfil what we wish and desire. Amen.

Recite Saint Ignatius’ prayer for thanking the Holy Body (Anima Christi):

[272]

"I pray, may the holy soul of our Lord Jesus Christ favor me, the holy body of Jesus support me, the holy blood of Jesus make me cheerful, the water from Jesus’s holy side purify me, the passion and holy death of Jesus fortify me. Oh, I pray you, all-good Jesus, to consent that I hide myself within your holy wounds. Do not leave me and do not allow me to turn my back on you. I hope you will rescue me from the evil enemy, and after I have died will summon me to quickly line up before the Lord’s altar and, together with the angels and saints, to praise the Lord during never ending ages."

(II.2) The priest makes five times the sign of the cross over the Holy Body.

[273]

This signifies that although Our Lord during his passion suffered all over his body, he was heavily wounded at the five spots of his hands, feet and side. This cannot be compared with any other favour. Therefore, one should always praise these [five wounds], which is much more imperative than the thankful praise for the other favours.

Those who attend Mass certainly recite the Prayer of the Five Wounds every day in order to seek the Five Virtues, but this time (i.e., during the Mass) they should feel much more gratitude, as if the Five Wounds are before their eyes and the Five Virtues secretly engraved in their mind.

[274]

***

One should venerate (bai 拜) and recite the prayer of the Five Wounds:

(1) "I venerate the wound of the right hand, and ask for the virtue of strength, in order to scorn the happiness of the world and not to become proud. I pray you, my Lord, save my mind and body (xinshen 心身)."

Recite one Our Father and one Hail Mary. Hereafter the same.

(2) "I venerate the wound of the left hand, and ask for the virtue of endurance, in order to overcome the misfortunes of the world and not to lose hope. I pray you, my Lord, save my parents, friends and benefactors (qinyou enren 親友恩人)."

(3) "I venerate the wound of the right foot, and ask for the virtue of diligence, in order to hurry to all good works and to ascend to heaven. I pray you, my Lord, save the souls in purgatory."

(4) "I venerate the wound of the left foot, and ask for the virtue of fear (of God), in order to avoid all evil and to escape from falling into hell. I pray you, my Lord, save the wicked sinners.

(5) "I venerate the wound of the side (or: the chest), and ask for the virtue of love (ai), in order to love the Lord of Heaven above, and all people beneath. I pray you, my Lord, save my enemies and those who harm me."

After the veneration one recites:

"Most valuable (zhen 珍) and most pure five wounds of the holy body of Our Lord Jesus, today I prostrate myself in reverence; you truly are the Five Jewels, the price which Jesus brought forth to ransom me; the Five Signs (i.e., the seal of the elect) imprinted by Jesus, with which he marked me; the Five Eyes opened by Jesus, with which he is watching for me; the Five Wells excavated by Jesus, with which he gives me to drink; the Five Ropes thrown down by Jesus, with which he pulls me up; the Five Gates prepared by Jesus, through which one ascends to heaven. Therefore today, deeply reflecting and pondering, my mind cannot be but afflicted and my inner thoughts aroused, so that I feel grateful to Our Lord Jesus for ransoming me, marking me, watching for me, for giving me to drink, for pulling me up, for ascending to heaven, for all these incomparable great favours and [275] merits. I beseech Our Lord Jesus, not for the great sin of my being ungrateful, to leave me or reject me; [not] for disobeying the holy commandments to [let me] lose these most valuable and most pure five jewels, five signs, five eyes, five wells, five ropes and five gates, [these] inexhaustible great benefits. Amen."

(II.3)The priest once again joins his hands and meditates.

This signifies that Our Lord after his death saved the souls of the Old Saints (i.e., the Saints of the Old Testament) and let them ascend to heaven. Therefore, at this point, the priest prays for the faithful who have already died and are in purgatory.

At this point, those who attend Mass also ought to show sympathy [and pray the Lord of Heaven for the people in purgatory], which is a matter of the communication of merits among saints (shengshen xiangtong gong 聖神相通功 ).

[276]

***

One should recite:

"I pray our Lord to save all the faithful in purgatory, may they rest in peace through the clemency of the Lord."

Recite one Our Father and one Hail Mary.

(II.4) The priest strikes the breast to show that Our Lord's compassion extends to all of us sinners.

[ There follows no reference to an event in the life and passion of Jesus. ]

[277]

At this point those who attend Mass should also repent their former sins and pray for favour and forgiveness.

***

The priest strikes the breast one time, but we three times, reciting:

"Our Lord, have mercy with us."

( - ) [ II.5 ]The priest makes the sign of the cross over the chalice.

[278]

We also make a sign of the cross, strike our breast three times, and recite:

"Our Lord, save us sinners."

(II.5) [ II.6 ] The priest recites in a loud voice the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father who art in Heaven," etc.

What we expect from the Lord for our body and soul, in this life and after death, is all contained in the seven rogations (qiu 求) of the Our Father. Now that the Holy Body is on the altar, we ought to think of the day that Our Lord ransomed man's sins; if we do not pray (qiu 求) at this moment, then at what time should we do so? Therefore, the priest himself gives the example, and in a loud voice he distinctly recites [the Lord's Prayer], so that the faithful cannot