The Offertory embraces from the Dominus vobiscum everything till the Preface.

In offering the bread and wine the calls priest them the immaculate Host, the Chalice of salvation. We should not be astonished at this; for all the prayers and all the ceremonies before and after the consecration have reference to the divine Victim. It is at the moment of consecration that the Victim presents himself to God, that he offers himself to him, and that the sacrifice is offered; but as these different acts cannot be explained at the same time, they are explained one after the other. The priest then offers by anticipation the bread prepared for the sacrifice, and while saying, Suscipe, sancte Pater, hanc immaculatam Hostiam, etc. (Accept, O holy Father, this immaculate Host, etc.); and he offers the wine as if it had already been consecrated, by saying, Offerimus tibi, Domine, Calicem salutaris, etc. (We offer unto Thee, O Lord, the Chalice of salvation,etc.) because this wine, being afterwards changed into the blood of Jesus Christ, becomes our salvation. St. Augustine says that as at the Eucharistic Table our Saviour offers us to eat and to drink his body and his blood, we should also offer to him our body and our blood by giving ourselves entirely to him, being ready to sacrifice our life for his glory, should it be necessary. These are the beautiful words of the holy Doctor: “You know what this banquet is, and what nourishment is offered you at this table. Since Jesus Christ gives entirely his body and his blood, let no one approach without giving himself entirely to the Lord.”

A little water is mixed with the wine to represent the mixture or the union that takes place in the Incarnation of the Word between the divinity and the humanity, and also to represent the intimate union that is effected in the sacramental Communion between Jesus Christ and the person who communicates a union which St. Augustine calls Mixtura Dei et hominis (A mixture of God and of man). Hence the priest, in the prayer which he recites while mixing the water with the wine, beseeches God to grant that, as his divine Son became partaker of our humanity, we may be made partakers of his divinity. The Council of Trent declares that this mingling of water and of wine in the chalice is prescribed: “The holy Synod admonishes that it is enjoined on the priests by the Church that they should mix water with the wine that is to be offered in the chalice, as it is believed that the Lord has done the same thing”; however, this is only an ecclesiastical, not a divine precept.

  Offerimus tibi, Domine, Calicem salutaris, etc.(We offer unto Thee, O Lord, the Chalice of salvation, etc.). The chalice of salvation is offered to the Lord, so that it may arise in his divine presence as an agreeable odor, for our salvation and for the salvation of the whole world. Cardinal Bona, in his Liturgy, assures us that neither in the Sacramentarium of St. Gregory, nor in other authors, is found any prayer for the offering of the bread and of the wine; however, the same Cardinal says that in the ancient Liturgy which he caused to be published we find the prayers that were recited by the clergy as well as by the faithful when the latter presented to the priest their offerings. Moreover, our French author says that the prayers recited at present by the priest at the oblation of the bread and of the wine have reference to the offerings which the faithful formerly made, not at the altar, but at the balustrade of the choir.

  In spiritu humilitatis et in animo contrito suscipiamur a te, Domine, etc. (In the spirit of humility, and with a contrite heart, let us be received by Thee, O Lord, etc.). The priest presents himself before our Lord with a humble and a contrite heart, and begs him to bless the great sacrifice that is about to be offered: Veni, Sanctificator, etc. (Come, O Sanctifier, etc.). Then he goes to wash his hands, out of respect for this divine sacrifice, while reciting the psalm Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas, etc. (I will wash my hands among the innocent, etc.). Suscipe, Sancta Trinitas, etc. (Receive, O Holy Trinity,) By this prayer the priest offers to God Jesus Christ as a victim immolated already by his death on the Cross. Heretics calumniate us when they affirm that we offer to God two different sacrifices, namely, the sacrifice of the Cross and that of the altar. We reply to them that there are not two sacrifices, since, as we have already explained elsewhere, the sacrifice of the altar is a memorial of the sacrifice of the Cross; it is really the same sacrifice as that of the Cross, Christ Jesus being there the principal offerer and the victim that is offered.

  Orate, fratres, etc. (Brethren, pray, etc.). By these words the priest exhorts the people to supplicate the Lord to receive this sacrifice for the glory of his name and the good of the faithful. The server then answers in the name of the people by praying to God to accept this sacrifice: Suscipiat Dominus Sacrificium de manibus tuis, etc. (May the Lord receive this sacrifice from thy hands,etc.). Then follows the Secret, a prayer that refers to the offerings made by the people, namely, of the bread and wine that are to be changed into the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. The Church asks the Lord to bless them and to render them profitable, not only to those who present them,but to all the faithful, just as be may seen in the Secret of the fifth Sunday after Pentecost: “Mercifully receive, O Lord, these offerings of thy servants; that what each hath offered to the honor of thy name, may avail to the salvation of all.” Thus the Offertory is concluded.

  Before passing to the Canon, the priest reads the Preface, in which he exhorts the faithful to raise their hearts to God: Sursum corda (Lift up your hearts). The people answer they that have already done so: Habemus ad Doininum (We have lifted them to the Lord) And the priest continues by inviting them to unite with him in thanking the Lord: Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro (Let us give thanks to our Lord God) He afterwards says that it is just and salutary to render thanks through Jesus Christ, who alone can worthily give thanks for the eternal salvation and for so many benefits granted to men and also to angels, who also give thanks to God through Jesus Christ for all the gifts that they have received. The priest entreats the Lord to accept our prayers united with those of the angels, who celebrate his glory by repeating without ceasing the canticle, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Dens Sabaoth! (Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!); and he concludes repeating the words used by the by Jewish people in their acclamations at the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem: Benedictus, qui venit in nomine Domini! Hosanna in exccelsis (Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!)
Part 4                                                                                                                                    Part 2

by St Alphonsus
The Second Part - From the Introit to the Credo.

It is usually in the Introit that the Church proposes the subject of the feast that is celebrated. Mention is therein made of some divine mystery, of the Blessed Virgin, or of some other saint whom the Church honors on that day, so that we simply render this honor to the saint, since the sacrifice, as we have said, is offered only to God. It is asserted that the author of the Introit is St. Gregory the Great, as may be seen in the works of Benedict XIV.

Kyrie, eleison; Christe, eleison. These are Greek words that mean “Lord, or Christ, have mercy.” This prayer is addressed three times to the Father, three times to the Son, and three times to the Holy Ghost. Durand says that Mass was begun to be said in Greek in the Oriental Church at the time of the Emperor Adrian I, about the year 140. Pope St. Sylvester ordered that,after the example of the Greeks, the Kyrie eleison should be said in the Latin Church. According to Cardinal Bellarmine this custom was introduced into Italy about a hundred and fifty years before St. Gregory. Thereby is shown the union that exists between the Greek and the Latin Church.

Gloria in excelsis Deo, etc. (“Glory be to God on high, etc.”). This prayer canticle or is formed of the words that the celestial choirs used when the Angel came to announce to the shepherds the birth of the Saviour; “Glory to God in the highest : and on earth peace to men of good will.” The remaining words were added by the Church. In it God is thanked for his glory, because God has used our salvation for his glory by saving us through Jesus Christ, who, in offering himself as a sacrifice to his Father, has procured salvation for men, and has given, at the same time, infinite Glory to God. Then the Church, addressing herself to Jesus Christ, asks him by the merits of his sacrifice to have pity on us; and she concludes by proclaiming him: Quoniam tu solus Sanctus, tu solus Dominus, tu solus Altissimus, Jesu Christe, cum Sancto Spiritu in gloria Dei Patris. Amen (“For Thou only art holy; Thou only art Lord;Thou only, O Jesus Christ, art Most High in the glory of God the Father. Amen”). For our Saviour, who sacrifices himself as a victim, is at the same time God,equal to Him to whom the sacrifice is offered.

Then follows the prayer or Collect, thus called because the priest, performing the office of mediator between God and men, collects all the prayers of the people, and presents them to God. The Collect is said in a suppliant manner, with outstretched and raised hands. In these prayers are asked of God the graces that have reference to the mystery of the day: for example, at Easter, the grace to rise with Jesus Christ, and at the Ascension to dwell with him in spirit in heaven; or we ask for those graces that we wish to obtain through the intercession of the saint whose feast we are celebrating. But all these prayers are concluded with the name of Jesus Christ: Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum  (“Through our Lord Jesus Christ"). Because all the graces that we obtain are given to us chiefly in view of the merits of Jesus Christ. It is not true, as the innovators say, that we offer the Sacrifice of the Altar to the saints. It is altogether false; for we know very well that the sacrifice, being a cult or worship that is due to the sovereign Lord of the universe, can be offered only to God; and if at the Mass we make mention of the saints, we do so only because of the favors that they have received from God, to whom they acknowledge they are indebted for all the happiness that they possess.

Here follow the Epistle and the Gospel. While listening to the reading of the Epistle, we must hear it as if it is God himself who speaks by the mouth of his prophets and apostles.

The Epistle is followed by the Gradual, which, according to Bellarmin, was sung in former times while the deacon ascended the steps of the ambo an elevated pulpit to read the Gospel. The Gradual was followed by the Alleluia, a Hebrew word that signifies Praise the Lord. But in Lent the Alleluia, which expresses joy, is replaced by the Tract, which Abbot Rupert calls the lamentation of penitents (Poenitentium lamentum).

The priest then leaving the left side of the altar, which represents the Jewish people, passes to the right side, which represents the Gentiles, who accepted the Gospel that was rejected by the Jews. We should listen to the Gospel as if we heard the words of our divine Saviour instructing us and we should at the same time himself, ask him for the necessary help to put in practice what he teaches. It is an ancient custom to stand during the reading of the Gospel, to show that we are ready to follow the precepts and counsels that our Lord points out to us.

Credo (“I believe”). While the priest is reciting the symbol we should renew our faith in all the mysteries and all the dogmas that the Church teaches. By the symbol was formerly understood a military sign, a mark by which many recognize one another, and are distinguished from one another: this at present distinguishes believers from unbelievers. Benedict XIV. tells us that at Rome the recitation of the symbol during Mass was begun only in the eleventh century.


Part 3                                                                                                                                    Part 1

By St Alphonsus

Mass is rightly divided into six parts.

• The first part is the preparation for the sacrifice and this is made at the foot of the altar.
• The second part extends from the Introit to the Credo, inclusively and was formerly called the Mass of the Catechumens, who had to leave the church after the Credo.
• The third part contains the Offertory and the Preface.
• The fourth part comprises the Canon with the Pater Noster; for the Canon in olden times finished with the Pater Noster, as a learned author concludes from a passage in the writings of St. Gregory the Great.
• The fifth part begins with the prayer Libera  nos, quaesumus, Domine (Deliver us, O Lord, we beseech Thee), which is a preparation for Communion, and includes Communion.
• The sixth and last part comprises under the form of thanksgiving the rest of the Mass.

The First Part

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen
(“In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen).

In order to sacrifice a victim one must have the power over its life and death; but as God only has the power over the life of his incarnate Son, who is the victim of the Sacrifice of the Mass, the priest needs divine authority in order to be able to offer Jesus Christ to his heavenly Father. Yet as he is invested with the  authority that belongs to the priesthood, he says, in union with Jesus Christ, who is the principal one that offers that sacrifice, In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; thus declaring that he offers the sacrifice by the authority of the three Persons.

The priest afterwards recites the antiphon Introibo ad altare Dei (“I will go the the altar of God”), and the psalm Judica me Deus (“Judge me O God”). He implores help against the enemies of God they  who are laying snares for him. Then expressing the pain that he feels of seeing himself, as it were, rejected by the Lord, he begs him to assist him with his light, and to console him with the graces that he promised by leading him into his tabernacle. Finally, he reproaches himself for indulging in fear, for why should he be troubled when he has with him his God in whom he should confide?

Innocent III. attests that the recitation before Mass of the psalm Judica me was the custom of his time, that is, in the twelfth century; and Cardinal Lambertini, afterwards Benedict XIV.,assures us that it was recited before the eighth century. The psalm is concluded with the Gloria Patri. It was Pope St. Damasus who ordained that each psalm should be concluded in this manner. It is, however, believed that the Gloria Patri was introduced by the Council of Nice or, as we are told by Baronius and St. Basil, even by the Apostles, the Council of Nice having added only these words, Sicut erat, etc.

Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini ('Our help is in the name of the the Lord'). Frightened by grandeur of the act he is about to perform, and by the thought of his unworthiness, the priest asks God's help in the name of Jesus Christ; and acknowledging himself guilty, he accuses himself of his sins, not only before God, but before the Blessed Virgin and all the saints, who on the last day, with Jesus Christ, will pronounce judgment upon sinners.

Deus, tu conversus, vivificabis nos ('Thou, O Lord,' says the priest, 'wilt turn and bring us to life'). The sinner remains in death so long as God in his goodness does not come to restore to him the life of grace. Then he implores anew the divine mercy: Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam ('Show us, O Lord, Thy mercy') ; and supplicates the Lord to hear him: Domine, exaudi orationem meam ('O Lord, hear my prayer').

Before leaving the people to go up to the altar, the priest says to them, Dominus vobiscum ('The Lord be with you'). By these words he wishes and asks that Jesus Christ may grant to the people as well as to himself the effects of the prayers that he has said; and the server expresses to him the same wish when answering for all the people: Et cum spiritu tuo ('And with Thy spirit'). These reciprocal wishes indicate the union of faith in Jesus Christ that exists between the priest and the people.

Aufer a nobis, etc. ('Take away from us our iniquities, etc.'). In going up the steps of the altar, the priest begs the Lord to deliver him from all iniquities, in order that he may approach the Holy of Holies with a pure heart; that is to say, in order that he may worthily offer up the great sacrifice.

Oramus te, Domine, per merita Sanctorum tuorum, etc. ('We beseech Thee, O Lord, by the merits of Thy saints, etc.'). Having reached the altar, he kisses it, to unite himself to Jesus Christ, represented by the altar; and, through the merits of the holy martyrs whose relics are therein enclosed, he conjures Our Lord to deign to pardon him all his sins.

From the first ages the Church was accustomed to offer up the Eucharistic sacrifice on the tombs of the martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for God, and who for this reason have always been particularly honored in the Church. During the first period of the Church there were no other festivals than those of the mysteries of Jesus Christ, those of the Blessed Virgin, and the anniversaries of the martyrs. However, it is not to the saints, but only to God that altars are erected, “and,” as St. Augustine says, “we have not erected an altar to the martyr, Stephen, but with the relics of the martyr Stephen we have erected an altar to God.”1

1 “Nos, in isto loco, non aram fecimus Stephano, sed de reliquiis Stephani aram Deo” Serm. 318, E. B.

Second Part

The above Table is a summary of the Changes to the Traditional Mass from 1959 to 1969.

 A TICK indicates that this prayer or action still remains. If there is a X this indicates that either the rubrics do not allow it or the rubrics no longer require this as either omitted in the Missal or changed in the instructions.
Where there is a TICK/X, this indicates it was optional, so the priest could do either.

So, e.g. The Canon is said silently, being the sole prayer of the priest as intercessory for the faithful, thus said in silent reverence. This is up until 1964, when it could be said in a loud voice. Then in 1967 was said aloud.

As another example Solemn Mass with deacon only was NOT permitted up till 1964 then was permitted from 1964 onwards

This list is not complete. There are more like for example where it require the server to ring a bell if there are communicants instead of the long standing Confiteor.

Communion of the faithful during Mass is a separate action and rite, not essential to the Mass in itself. Please note that the Confiteor (I confess)  was omitted from the 1960 changes, even though the Ritual Romanum of 1960 still has the Confiteor as part of the rite of Communion outside of Mass, and for Communion of the Sick and Viaticum.