Wednesday Liturgy: Advent Prayer and the Incarnation
ROME, DEC. 6, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University.
Q: The opening prayer for Monday in the Second week of Advent asks: "prepare us to celebrate the incarnation of your son." The Incarnation is celebrated March 25, not Dec. 25. There are many other mistakes of this kind during Advent. Should they not be corrected by Rome? A person I know uses this as a pro-abortion argument saying, "Even the Church recognizes that Christ became a man only at Christmas; before that it was not a man, not a human being in Mary's womb." He is wrong, of course, but he has a point. -- C.A., Carlisle, England
A: I would demur before affirming that the Church makes "mistakes" in proposing the prayers to be proclaimed before God and the faithful.
When a particular prayer leaves us perplexed or nonplussed, our attitude should be to consider that perhaps we might be mistaken in our interpretation of the text or in our expectations of the function of liturgical prayers.
From a historical point of view the prayers used during Advent are taken from the ancient manuscripts known as the Scroll of Ravenna (fifth-sixth centuries) and the Gelasian sacramentary (seventh century). Their constant theme is the coming of Christ, both in the incarnation (first coming) and at the end of time (second coming).
In fact, both Christmas and the Annunciation celebrate different aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation and do so with relatively little attention to biological or chronological precision.
The feast of Christmas originated in the city of Rome and was first celebrated about the year 330, some 15 years after the end of the persecutions, and, perhaps, in the recently completed basilica of St. Peter's.
The earliest traces of a feast of the Annunciation are found in Egypt in 624. The testimonies increase after that date in various areas of Christendom. From the beginning it was celebrated on March 25 due to the belief that the spring equinox was both the day of the creation and of the start of the new creation in Christ.
This date caused a difficulty for some Churches, such as the Spanish Mozarabic rite and the Ambrosian rite of Milan, due to their strict prohibition of all festivities during Lent. They thus opted for celebrating the Annunciation on Dec. 18, a practice that continues to this day.
Thus, it is clear that neither the liturgical calendar, nor any particular liturgical prayer, should be used for arguing questions such as abortion or the precise moment of life's beginning.
The liturgy's intention is not to address such issues but to magnify and praise God for the wonderful mystery that the Word was made Flesh and "became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man" for our salvation.
Q: The opening prayer for Monday in the Second week of Advent asks: "prepare us to celebrate the incarnation of your son." The Incarnation is celebrated March 25, not Dec. 25. There are many other mistakes of this kind during Advent. Should they not be corrected by Rome? A person I know uses this as a pro-abortion argument saying, "Even the Church recognizes that Christ became a man only at Christmas; before that it was not a man, not a human being in Mary's womb." He is wrong, of course, but he has a point. -- C.A., Carlisle, England
A: I would demur before affirming that the Church makes "mistakes" in proposing the prayers to be proclaimed before God and the faithful.
When a particular prayer leaves us perplexed or nonplussed, our attitude should be to consider that perhaps we might be mistaken in our interpretation of the text or in our expectations of the function of liturgical prayers.
From a historical point of view the prayers used during Advent are taken from the ancient manuscripts known as the Scroll of Ravenna (fifth-sixth centuries) and the Gelasian sacramentary (seventh century). Their constant theme is the coming of Christ, both in the incarnation (first coming) and at the end of time (second coming).
In fact, both Christmas and the Annunciation celebrate different aspects of the mystery of the Incarnation and do so with relatively little attention to biological or chronological precision.
The feast of Christmas originated in the city of Rome and was first celebrated about the year 330, some 15 years after the end of the persecutions, and, perhaps, in the recently completed basilica of St. Peter's.
The earliest traces of a feast of the Annunciation are found in Egypt in 624. The testimonies increase after that date in various areas of Christendom. From the beginning it was celebrated on March 25 due to the belief that the spring equinox was both the day of the creation and of the start of the new creation in Christ.
This date caused a difficulty for some Churches, such as the Spanish Mozarabic rite and the Ambrosian rite of Milan, due to their strict prohibition of all festivities during Lent. They thus opted for celebrating the Annunciation on Dec. 18, a practice that continues to this day.
Thus, it is clear that neither the liturgical calendar, nor any particular liturgical prayer, should be used for arguing questions such as abortion or the precise moment of life's beginning.
The liturgy's intention is not to address such issues but to magnify and praise God for the wonderful mystery that the Word was made Flesh and "became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man" for our salvation.
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