The Mystery of Faith

There are still a couple of places during Mass where I have to pull out the "cheat sheet" (the New Roman Missal) to read my responses. Not that they are difficult to remember, I just haven't had the discipline to commit them to memory. The first part is after the priest saying, "Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours be acceptable to God the Father almighty." and my response is "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church.". The second part is when the priest says, "The Mystery of Faith" and my response should be, "We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.". Now how difficult can that be!

There are lots of online help to understand the origin and meaning of these rites during Mass. I will focus in this post on "The Mystery of Faith" as I have been studying the Book of Ephesians this week and the word Mystery came up six times (compared with 22 times in the rest of the New Testament). For example, "In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel." (Ephesians 3:5-6). The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible on Ephesians provides a Word Study on Mystery (Ephesians 3:3). It suggests that "like Jesus, who revealed the mysteries of His kingdom through parables (Matthew 13:11, Mark 4:11), St Paul often taught his readers about the hidden plan of God now manifest in the reign of Christ (Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 15:51; Ephesians 5:32; Colossians 2:2; 1 Timothy 3:16)". I was surprised to learn that "the most likely background for this notion is the Book of Daniel, where "mystery" appears eight times in a single chapter (Daniel 2:18-19,27-30,47). Here the mystery was revealed in a dream to the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar" whose empire (represented by a huge statue of a human body with him the king as the head) would be destroyed and replaced by the messianic kingdom of God, which is the kingdom revealed in Ephesians - the mystery of another body, the Church, with its head, Jesus Christ.

Apparently the use of the phrase "The Mystery of Faith" is non-biblical according to this EWTN answer given by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara:
""The mystery of faith" is non-biblical and was added to the consecration formula before the sixth century. Some authors plausibly suggest that it was added by Pope St. Leo the Great (440-461) in order to combat the Manicheans who denied the goodness of material things. In this way the Pope underlined the gift of salvation itself comes through the shedding of Christ’s material blood as well as through partaking in the material elements used in the Eucharistic sacrifice that makes this sacrifice present in the here and now."

He went on to say,
"The possible historical context of Manichaeism mentioned above has little relevance for today. I believe that the best key to interpreting the present liturgical meaning of the expression comes from the texts of the people's acclamation: "We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again." or "When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again." or "Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free."
All three expressions show that the expression "The mystery of faith" is not limited to the Real Presence but rather to the entire mystery of salvation through Christ's death, resurrection and ascension which is made present in the celebration of the Eucharist. "

And he further emphasized,
"In no way do I wish to suggest that devotion to the Real Presence should be weakened. I simply propose that this great and wonderful reality be always seen in its proper perspective and inseparable relationship with the true center, that is, the celebration of Christ's eternal sacrifice. Indeed, when this is done, true devotion to Christ in the tabernacle or the monstrance is greatly enriched and enhanced."

So I find St Paul's prayer for the Ephesian believers particularly helpful for me:
"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Ephesians 3:14-21)

That's why I love going to Mass so much!