Meditations Before Mass

145 Pages·2013·1.44 MB·English

by  Romano Guardini

“Like fine wines, some books get better as they age. Placed alongside the
reformed Eucharistic liturgy of Vatican II, this veritable classic will
continue to instruct, inspire, and enrich present and future generations of
Catholics for whom the liturgy is the summit and source of our lives.”
Msgr. Kevin Irwin
Walter J. Schmitz Chair of Liturgical Studies
The Catholic University of America
“With these meditations you can sense the active participation of the
people already coming to birth in the 1950s. Guardini promotes not just a
renewed liturgy but a renewed people.”
Rev. Paul Turner
Author of At the Supper of the Lamb

First published in English in 1956 by Newman Press. Translated from the original German Besinnung vor
der Feier der Heiligen Messe, Mainz: Matthias-Grünewald-Verlag, 1936, by Elinor Castendyk Briefs.
Acknowledgments from the original:
We wish to thank the Apostolat Liturgique of Belgium and the E. M. Lohman Company of Saint Paul,
Minnesota, for permission to quote copyrighted material from the Saint Andrew Daily Missal. All
quotations from the New Testament are taken from the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine edition, 1947;
quotations from the Old Testament are from the Douay Version.
___________________________________
Foreword © 2014 by Eugene F. Hemrick
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever except in the
case of reprints in the context of reviews, without written permission from Christian Classics™, Ave Maria
Press®, Inc., P.O. Box 428, Notre Dame, IN 46556, 1-800-282-1865.
Founded in 1865, Ave Maria Press is a ministry of the United States Province of Holy Cross.
www.christian-classics.com
Paperback ISBN-13 978-0-87061-285-5
E-book ISBN-13 978-0-87061-286-2
Cover image ©SuperStock.
Cover and text design by David Scholtes.
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Guardini, Romano, 1885-1968.
[Besinnung vor der Feier der Heiligen Messe. English]
Meditations before mass / Msgr. Romano Guardini; translated from the German by Elinor Castendyk
Briefs.
pages cm
Originally published: Westminster, Md. : Newman Press, 1956.
Includes bibliographical references.
Summary: “Exemplifies a wise, pastoral, and timeless classic on preparing oneself for Mass”-- Provided by
publisher.
ISBN 0-87061-285-9 (978-0-87061-285-5)
1. Mass--Meditations. I. Title.
BX2169.G8313 2014
264’.02036--dc23
2013044593
for
Lene and Hans Waltmann
C
ONTENTS
Foreword
Contents
Part One: Sacred Bearing
1. Stillness
2. Silence and the Word
3. Silence and Hearing
4. Composure
5. Composure and Action
6. Composure and Participation
7. The Holy Place
8. The Altar: Threshold
9. The Altar: Table
10. Holy Day
11. Holy Day and Holy Hour
12. The Sacred Act
13. The Revelatory Word
14. The Executory Word
15. The Word of Praise
16. The Word of Entreaty
17. The Congregation and Injustice Rectified
18. The Congregation and the Church
19. Hindrance: Habit
20. Hindrance: Sentimentality
21. Hindrance: Human Nature
Part Two: The Essence of the Mass
Prefatory Note to Part Two
22. The Institution
23. The Memorial
24. The Memorial of the New Covenant
25. Reality
26. Hour and Eternity
27. Mimicry or Liturgical Form
28. Christ’s Offering of Self
29. Encounter and Feast
30. Truth and the Eucharist
31. The Mass and the New Covenant
32. The Mass and Christ’s Return
Notes
F
OREWORD
E F. H
BY UGENE EMRICK
Every so often I meet parishioners while visiting the Smithsonian’s Air and
Space Museum on the mall here in Washington, DC. I ran into Senator
Patrick Leahy on one such occasion. He occasionally attends Mass where I
serve. “Father, what brings you to the museum?” he asked. “I often walk the
mall to collect my thoughts for the Sunday homily and then grab lunch here,” I
answered. Senator Leahy replied in turn, “You know, I leave my office in the US
Capitol and do the very same thing when trying to sort through a tough issue.”
Another example of the power of contemplation or meditation comes from
the Supreme Court building that is just a quarter of a mile from the Air and
Space Museum. While ascending its steps, one is met by the statue of a woman
seemingly in pain. Her head is bowed and she looks very serious. As she leans
against a book of laws, she cradles a child who is holding a balancing scale. This
statue, The Contemplation of Justice, with her serious demeanor and bowed
head, communicates a great deal about the effort required for making right
judgments.
Undoubtedly embracing meditation while composing a thoughtful homily,
sorting out knotty governmental issues, or achieving true justice heightens the
probability of success, but more vital than these is our need to embrace
meditation as the ultimate means of drawing close to Christ.
In Meditations Before Mass, the great twentieth-century priest and
theologian Romano Guardini invites us to explore the spiritual and life-giving
powers of meditation and to utilize its qualities of stillness, silence, and
composure for plummeting the awe-inspiring mysteries that the Mass and its
holy environment possess. He reminds us that proper preparedness—in the form
of quietness, reflectiveness, and inwardness—is at the heart of drinking in the
fullness of the Mass.
As a priest of fifty years, I confess it is easy to fall into mere routine—to
have been there, done it, seen it, and to be less than energetic in pursuing deeper
insights into the Mass and its hallowed environment. Thanks to a friend who
gave me an old copy of Meditations Before Mass I now have a wonderful
companion for growing in awe of the Mass. Each time I read it I have a new “a-