The People’s Collection should come up with the Bread and Wine at Offertory
This is something which does not happen in majority of the parishes in our Archdiocese. Perhaps it’s in the interest of time not to delay the offertory by waiting for the money to be collected by the Wardens before bringing it up with the Bread and Wine. After all, with the happy problem of our Churches in Singapore being packed to the rafters on Sundays, there is a practical need for our Masses to end on time, so as not to cause a war in the carpark at the end of Mass. The people who may be attending the next Mass would also need to get in, with sufficient time to compose themselves before entering into the great celebration of the Paschal Mystery. It’s a practical concern.
This post is not meant to be a critique of the liturgical practices in our Archdiocese. I assure you dear reader, that it is not. Nor is this an attempt to push an agenda, or to be a Liturgical Terrorist. Personally, I would not be aware of such things today if I hadn’t had the privilege of being taught by my former parish priest, who is a trained liturgist. However, I do hope to raise awareness by means of this post on how the Church intends for our Liturgies to be celebrated, something which is perhaps understood in a very weak way by all of us.
In the General Instructions of the Roman Missal, with regard to the preparation of the gifts, it is written:
“73. At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist the gifts, which will become Christ’s Body and Blood, are brought to the altar.
First, the altar, the Lord’s table, which is the centre of the whole Liturgy of the Eucharist, is prepared by placing on it the corporal, purificator, Missal, and chalice (unless the chalice is prepared at the credence table).
The offerings are then brought forward. It is praiseworthy for the bread and wine to be presented by the faithful. They are then accepted at an appropriate place by the priest or the deacon and carried to the altar. Even though the faithful no longer bring from their own possessions the bread and wine intended for the liturgy as in the past, nevertheless the rite of carrying up the offerings still retains its force and its spiritual significance.
It is well also that money or other gifts for the poor or for the Church, brought by the faithful or collected in the church, should be received. These are to be put in a suitable place but away from the Eucharistic table.”
It’s clear from the instructions of the Liturgy that the people’s collection should come up together with the bread and wine. The procession of the gifts is a symbol of the participation of the assembly, and of the mission of the Church. It is an expression of our humble and contrite hearts, and it expresses our willingness to enter into a Holy Exchange with our God. The purpose of the Offertory Procession is to focus on the very heart of the Liturgy, and of the life of the Church.
When the priest prays over the Bread and Wine at the offertory, he prays the following words:
“Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for through your goodness we have received
the bread we offer you:
fruit of the earth and work of human hands,
it will become for us the bread of life.”
The bread which becomes for us the Body of Christ, is the work of our human hands. The wine, which becomes for us the Blood of Christ, is the fruit of the vine and the work of our human hands. When we give God the bread of our human hands and the wine of our human hands, he turns it into his very presence. Our collection, the work of our human hands, contributes to the needs of the Church, the bride of Christ.
In fact, originally, it was not a collection of money which came forth together with the Bread and Wine at the Offertory. Originally, instead of offering money, the people would bring the fruits of the land, or things like eggs, rice, bananas, and other foods. This food would be used to feed the Clergy before it was distributed to the poor. This is still the practice in countries such as Africa.
Many of us know that the reason why we come to Mass is to be fed from both the Table of the Word and the Table of the Eucharist. However, we also need to remember that after being fed, the Church commissions us to go out into the world to feed others, by living the Gospel. The money that we offer at Mass goes to feeding the mission of the Church, which we all are a part of. It’s not merely about keeping the physical needs of the Church up and running. It’s about aiding the Church to live out her mission in the world. And just like how the Mass empowers us to live our lives according to the mission of the Church, we also need to bring what we can so as to allow the Church to live her mission.
I know that there will be some who may argue that there are better things to be concerned about, that it’s not a big deal whether our money comes up together with the Bread and Wine at the Offertory. Some may even say that it does not matter whether or not we follow the rules of the Liturgy, as long as we keep our focus on the Lord. And while I fully acknowledge that there are better things to be concerned about (hence why I said at the start of this post that I do not aim to push an agenda here), we need to remember that it is not about us. Every rule in the Liturgy is not there for the sake of being there. It is always to bring us to a deeper encounter with the Paschal Mystery, which empowers us to live the gospel in our everyday lives. We need to know why these rules are in place, in order to understand what we believe. The Liturgy is not about us.
Besides, there are ways around it. For instance, instead of asking the Wardens to collect the money during the Offertory, the people could be asked to put their contribution into the box as they are coming into Church before Mass begins, just like how the Bread and Wine are prepared at the back of the Church beforehand. This way, the collection would not need to be delayed, it can still come up together with the Bread and Wine, and the Wardens can focus on being ministers of hospitality, rather than being money collectors or crowd controllers.
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