The Mass in honor of St. Ephrem the Syrian—observed in the traditional Roman calendar on June 18 (his dies natalis of June 9 being already occupied by Saints Primus and Felician, who have been venerated since time immemorial)—displays, as usual, a magnificent Collect. As is often the case, the traditional liturgy does not merely “shred” other saints who fall on the same day but commemorates them. Accordingly, the feast of two great ancient saints and blood brothers is not forgotten.
Collects (MR 1962)O God, Who hast willed to illuminate Thy Church by the wondrous learning and excellent merits of the life of blessed Ephrem, Thy Confessor and Doctor: we humbly beseech Thee that through his intercession Thou mayest defend her by Thine everlasting power against the snares of error and wickedness. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who celebrate the heavenly birthday of Thy holy martyrs Mark and Marcellian, may through their intercession be delivered from all threatening evils. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.
Note that these prayers make no bones about acknowledging what we are up against—“snares of error and wickedness” and “threatening evils”—nor do they hesitate to call “humbly” on the “excellent merits” of the saints and on their “intercession.”
In the Novus Ordo Missae, the Collect of St. Ephrem—his feast moved to June 9 because, don’t you know, such obscure fellows as Primus and Felician deserved the axe, in the company of 300 other saints who were dropped from the general calendar in 1969—is, well, very different:
Collect (MR 1969/2002)
Pour into our hearts O Lord, we pray, the Holy Spirit, at whose prompting the Deacon Saint Ephrem exulted in singing of your mysteries and from whom he received the strength to serve you alone. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
In its favor, this oration mentions a trait specific to the saint: he was a notable poet and hymnographer. Apart from that nice touch, however, the prayer suffers from the bias of positivity, the cloudless sky of optimism, that afflicts nearly all the orations in the reformed missal. Then there is the rather astonishing fact that nowhere in this oration is the intercession of the saint mentioned (an absence of which I shall have more to say below).
Of course, in the new regime, there is no such thing as a commemoration, so Saints Mark and Marcellian are out the window; it’s doubtful that Catholics outside of TLM communities have ever heard of them. Damnatio memoriae, I believe it is called.
We find similar contrasts if we look at the remaining prayers, which are (for both the old and new missals) drawn from the Common of Doctors. The Novus Ordo Missae provides two sets of prayers, but they do not markedly differ in regard to the traits we are concerned with.
Secrets (MR 1962)
May the holy prayer of blessed Ephrem, Thy Confessor and Doctor, never fail us, O Lord; may it render our offerings acceptable, and ever obtain for us Thy pardon. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.
Sanctify, O Lord, the offerings dedicated to Thee; and do Thou look upon us, appeased by them and by the intercession of Thy holy martyrs, Mark and Marcellian. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.
Postcommunions (MR 1962)
May blessed Ephrem, Thy Confessor and illustrious Doctor, intercede for us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that these Thy sacrifices may obtain for us salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.
We who have been filled with the gift of Thy salvation humbly beseech Thee, O Lord, that, by the intercession of Thy holy martyrs Mark and Marcellian, we may be renewed by that which we delight to taste. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God for ever and ever. Amen.
Compare that sequence of virile prayers with the following pair from the new Missal:
Prayer over the Offerings (MR 1969/2002)
May the sacrifice which we gladly present on the feast day of blessed Ephrem be pleasing to you, O God, for, taught by him, we, too, give ourselves entirely to you in praise. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Prayer after Communion
Through Christ the teacher, O Lord, instruct those you feed with Christ, the living Bread, that on the feast day of blessed Ephem they may learn your truth and express it in works of charity. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.
The old Secrets speak of God being placated by the offerings (placatus intende) and the intercession of the saints; they speak of the holy prayer (pia oratio) of Ephrem; they repeat his honorific titles of Confessor and Doctor; they beg for pardon, and use humble verbs like “sanctify,” “render,” “obtain,” “look upon.” The old Postcommunions speak of the “illustrious” Doctor, and of the “salvation” we receive from God through his prayers; we are filled with divine gifts, which we “delight to taste.” All six orations have full doxologies.
The new prayers, in contrast, are characterized by the happy vibes of the 1960s (glad, praise, good works). The realistic dimension of our immense neediness, our lowly position as humble petitioners, and the powerful intercession of the saints on which we rely, not to mention the central mystery of the Holy Trinity, is almost completely missing. Most strikingly of all, not a single one of the prayers said on St. Ephrem’s feast speaks of the saint’s intercession. We merely remind God and one another that it is his feast day. Thus, instead of begging the help of three saints, as we do in the old Missal, we beg the help of none; we cultivate our own relationship with God, which is supposed to be patterned, more or less, off of Ephrem’s.
As I have said before, and will no doubt say again, contrasts like this are found on almost every page of the two missals. The idea that we are dealing here with “two forms of one Roman rite” is plausible only from about 30,000 feet in the air.
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| Paolo Veronese, Sts Mark and Marcellian Being Led to Martyrdom (c. 1565) |
