XXIII

 Why does the priest break the host at Mass?
    Following this exchange of peace, the priest begins the Fraction Rite, which includes the singing of the Agnus Dei or “Lamb of God,” the Breaking of the Bread and the Commingling. The Breaking of the Bread calls to mind the great account of the Road to Emmaus in which the disciples recognized our Lord “in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:13-35). This account is clearly a eucharistic reference as the priest performs the same actions of the Risen Christ, who “took the bread, blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to them” (Luke 24:30). The early Church Fathers, as well as the great saints and doctors of the Church, have assigned varied and beautiful spiritual meanings to the Fraction Rite. St. Thomas Aquinas gives a beautiful threefold interpretation of the Fraction Rite, illustrating that every liturgical action has a deep spiritual significance with multiple layers of meaning that can only be drawn out through much prayer and reflection. He writes that first it is the breaking of Christ’s body in the Passion. Secondly, it denotes the various states of the mystical body of Christ, the Church. Finally, it represents the distribution of graces proceeding from Christ’s Passion. The breaking of the bread reminds us as St. Paul tells us that we are one body, yet many members, all united in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17).
    Why does the priest place a small piece of the host into the chalice?
    After breaking the host, the priest takes a small piece of the Body of Christ and puts it into the chalice containing the Blood of Christ. As he does this, he prays, “May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it.” This is known as the commingling and is derived from an ancient sign of unity with Rome. The pope would have a small piece of the host which he consecrated sent out to priests in the city of Rome, who would then place the host into their own chalices as an expression of unity. While this is no longer the case, its rich history can still be called to mind as a sign of that unity with Rome. The great liturgist, Dom Guéranger, also gives us a spiritual insight into this commingling: “Its object is to show that, at the moment of our Lord’s resurrection, his blood was reunited to his body, by flowing again in his veins as before.” This link to the Resurrection is a common insight in the Church. Another less common, but still beautiful, insight is that of St. Alphonsus Ligouri: “This mingling of the holy species represents, too, the unity of divinity with humanity, which was at first effected in the womb of Mary through the incarnation of the Word, and which is renewed in the souls of the faithful when they receive him in the eucharistic Communion.”