VI.

Going back to our reflection on the Mass, we have seen the meaning and significance of everything in the sanctuary except the Candles.

Candles: It is probable that among Christians candles were first employed simply to dispel darkness, when the sacred mysteries were celebrated before dawn, as was the custom, or in the gloom of the catacombs; but the beautiful symbolism of their use was soon recognized by the writers of the early Church.

Like wax melting and giving light..Jesus gave his life.

Light moves with incredible velocity; it nourishes life; it illumines all that comes under its influence. Therefore it is a fitting symbol of God, the All Pure, the Omnipresent, the Source of all grace and enlightenment. It represents also our Blessed Savior and His mission. He was "the Light of the world,"[John 8:12] to enlighten "them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. 1John 1:5 "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all."  (Today’s readings are about Jesus being the Light).

Even the use of wax has its symbolic meaning. The earlier Fathers of the Church endeavored always to seek out the mystical significance of Christian practices, and one of them thus explains the reason for the Church's law requiring candles to be of wax:

"The wax, being spotless, represents Christ's most spotless Body; the wick enclosed in it is an image of His Soul, while the glowing flame typifies the Divine Nature united with the human in one Divine Person."

Sign of the Cross: We start the Mass with the sign of the Cross. We saw the significance of the sign of the cross. The Mass begins and ends with the sign of the cross and many times during the mass the priest blesses the congregation and the mysteries by the sign of the cross.

The Greeting:

Each language has its own way of greeting to begin a conversation.  So no surprise, therefore, that when we begin Mass, there is a greeting.  After all, the Mass is a conversation.  God speaks to us in His Word and we respond.  However, the greeting at the beginning of Mass is ritualized.  It is not left to the priest simply to begin by saying “hello” or “good morning”.  And this is for an important reason.

When someone comes into the presence of the Queen of England, a slight bow or curtsy is expected along with the proper address, “Your Majesty”.  When someone meets the governor of any state in this country, a handshake along with the proper address — “Governor”, or “Your Excellency” — is used.  Civilized people observe proper etiquette.  These are formal occasions and they require a ritualized greeting.  So too at Mass, for we are coming into the presence of God.

The Mass is not an informal gathering of a group of people.  It is a sacred moment before God.  This is why the Missal gives the formal, stylized greeting that the priest is expected to use. 

The greeting is a mutual reminder that everything we do here together is a sacred act, done in the name of the Holy Trinity.

The celebrant extends one of three different liturgical greetings to the people. The one that is perhaps most commonly used is “The Lord be with you.”

By greeting the people with the words “The Lord be with you the priest or deacon expresses his desire that God’s Spirit be given to the people of God, enabling them to do the work of transforming the world that God has entrusted to them.

The response “And with your spirit” (Et cum spiritu tuo) refers to the gift of the Holy Spirit he received at ordination (CCC 1581, 1585- 1589). In their response, the people assure the priest of the same divine assistance of God’s Holy Spirit and, more specifically, ask God’s help for the priest to use the spiritual gifts given to him in ordination and in so doing, to fulfill his function in the Church.

(The spirit of God (not the spirit of a man) infused in the one who has been set aside with a unique character – he who acts in persona Christi capitis (in the person of Christ the head of the Church).

Another form is: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you”. — II Corinthians 13:13

Almost every word of the Mass has its basis in the Sacred Scriptures.

When the priest greets with these words, he is using the last words of Saint Paul’s second letter to the Church of Corinth. Since Saint Paul refers to God the Father simply as “God”, this blessing is clearly Trinitarian. It expresses the Church’s belief in one God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is the longest blessing used by the Apostle to end any of his letters. And, it briefly sums up the very essence of the Christian life.

In this greeting, Paul does not follow the order in which we normally name the divine persons of the Trinity. Rather, he first mentions Jesus who is the Son before he names God the Father. This very unusual word order unlocks for us the theology of Saint Paul about how we are saved.

Paul begins the greeting by saying “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ”. “Grace” is one of Paul’s favorite words. He uses it to express the salvation event. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled with God. Thus, it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that we come to the Father. As Jesus Himself said, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6).

In the gospels, most especially in John’s gospel, Jesus speaks not only of God as Father, but also of His Father in a unique way.

After His resurrection, Jesus says to Mary Magdalene, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (Jn 20:17).  Jesus’ relationship to the Father is not the same as ours. Jesus is the eternal Son of the Father.  We are the adopted sons and daughters of God.   At the Mass the priest also assumes the role of Christ. That is the reason after the offertory the priest says: Pray my brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Almighty father; instead of saying that OUR sacrifice may be acceptable.

When the bishop says Mass, he doesn’t greet, the Lord be with you, rather he greets by saying: Peace be with you, the same greeting Jesus used after his resurrection. A bishop being more perfectly configured to the Person of Jesus Christ than a priest.  The Bishop has the fullness of priesthood.