IS IT THE OFFERTORY OR THE PREPARATORY RITE? ARE LITURGICAL NERDS THE ONLY ONES WHO CARE?

 One of the major changes in the Bugnini Mass was the elimination of the traditional offertory prayers and inserting an entirely new rite, not called the Offertory, although many still do to this very day. 

I can remember as a young priest insisting that we no longer refer to that part of the Mass as the Offertory but as the Preparatory! So there! 

I wonder how many of my parishioners in the 1980’s gave a flip, not many, I don’t think now. 

I was going to write something on the change in this part of the Mass, to find on line a commentary that Deacon Fritz Bauerschmidt wrote for Praytell in 2012. And guess what, when I looked at the comments I was the first to comment! How cool is that and my comment then is better than anything I can write today.

What’s also interesting is that Pope Francis, only a couple of years later, approved the Anglcian Ordinariate’s new Missal, Divine Worship, which adds as an option, the older offertory prayers! And of course it added, as an option, the PATFOTA, the Gradual, Tripple Non sum dignus, and Last Gospel. 

You can read it by pressing the title:

Putting back what’s missing in the new Mass, part III: the offertory prayers

Among the suggestions for “mutual enrichment” of the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms  is the suggestion that the Offertory prayers of the 1962 Missal either replace or be allowed as an alternative to the prayers at the Preparation of the Gifts in the Ordinary Form.