In obedience to the Church and as a matter of justice, we priests must always say the words of the consecration at Mass audibly.

Offering Mass invalidly
By George David Byers

   
    There is a worldwide problem currently affecting the valid concelebration of Mass or Mass “privately” celebrated. It has serious implications for the obligation in justice we priests have to offer Mass validly for the intentions for which we accept stipends. It is now common to find that some of us concelebrate or “privately” celebrate Mass invalidly by no longer pronouncing (that is, more than just mentally) the words of the consecrations; some concelebrants keep quiet, thinking that it is enough to make the words of the main celebrant their own, while some of those who offer Mass alone (while on vacation, while continuing their studies, etc.) think the pronunciation of words to be quite unnecessary. But this matter has already been decided for all of us who celebrate Holy Mass whether by concelebration or otherwise.
    “Concelebrants must themselves say over the bread and wine: ‘This is my Body’, ‘This is my Blood’; if not, their concelebration is purely ceremonial.”1 So said Pope Pius XII to an international convention on pastoral liturgy on September 22, 1956. He told the gathered cardinals, bishops, priests and religious that “it does not suffice to have and to manifest the will of making their own the words and actions of the celebrant.”2 In order to reinforce this idea, the Pontiff said that this present decision of his was just like his earlier decision about the co-consecrators at an episcopal consecration: “They must themselves posit these actions and pronounce the essential words.”3 In other words, he is again referring to the form of the sacrament at hand.
    Less than six months later, a question or dubium regarding the matter received a response dated March 8, 1957 from the Holy Office, as it was then called. The consultative vote of the cardinal members of the Holy Office on this matter, ratified ten days later by Pope Pius XII, established that “it is by the institution of Christ that he alone validly celebrates who pronounces the consecratory words.”4 This response ruled out any possibility proposed by the dubium that mere intention sufficed for the validity of the celebration. This demands our assent since it touches on the substance of a sacrament and its conditions for validity as instituted by Christ himself.
    Older priests (and some of us who are younger) will know that the Canon of the Mass along with the double consecration of bread and wine was formerly said silently5—well, not quite silently, but secretly (dicit secreto), that is, sotto voce or submissa voce (subdued voice). This rubric did not mean that the priest could say the words only in his mind, or merely mouth them without moving his vocal cords. The rubric was quite clear: profert verba consecrationis distincte et attente (he proffers the words of consecration distinctly and attentively).
    Today there is much more concelebration than ever before, yet many “private” Masses are still being offered. Despite the ever valid decision of Pope Pius XII and the even greater clarity in the Novus Ordo about the pronunciation of the words of the consecration,6 many priests have observed the silence of concelebrants during the consecration or of priests “privately” celebrating Mass silently.
    This phenomenon has only resurfaced in the past few years. How many times have we been instructed in the sacristy just before concelebrated Masses to let only the main celebrant’s voice be heard—which some take to mean to keep silence! I also have personally observed this practice myself in Rome, where concelebrations comprised of priests from all over the world are commonplace. Many, from whatever country or language, do not pronounce the words of consecration, but leave this for the main celebrant alone.
    Apart from the case of concelebration, according to the Code of Canon Law, for a just and reasonable cause, a priest may offer the Holy Sacrifice alone.7 Some priests who take advantage of this law do not, because of the absence of Christ’s faithful, pronounce any words, even during the consecration. Again, I have also sadly witnessed this phenomenon myself when I have chanced upon various priests celebrating Mass alone silently. Recall that the response to the dubium cited above does not treat of concelebrants only, but of any priest who celebrates. Each of us must pronounce the verba consecratoria. That is, the words must be, in some real way, audible.
    In obedience to the Church, for our own spiritual welfare and the good of the whole Church, and in justice to those who have asked us to celebrate Mass for their intentions, we priests must always say the words of consecration audibly. Insofar as we may have failed to fulfill this requirement for the valid celebration of the Mass in the past, we must make up those intentions, by celebrating Mass for each missed intention. If we cannot personally celebrate those Masses, many missionary priests would gladly celebrate those Masses for us.

Reverend George David Byers, C.P.M., was ordained to the priesthood in 1992 for the Fathers of Mercy. Currently he is working on his S.T.D. at the Gregorian University in Rome. He has worked in parishes in New York City, and has given retreats for priests and religious in Albania, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Italy. This is his first article in HPR.

1 Les concélébrants doivent eux-mêmes dire sur le pain et le vin: «Ceci est mon Corps», «Ceci est mon Sang»; sinon, leur concélébration est de pure cérémonie. AAS 48 (1956) 718. [The translations from the original French and Latin texts quoted in the article are mine.] Commenting on the historical circumstances of “concelebration” leading up to these words of Pope Pius XII is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that although the source of the problem has somewhat different circumstances today, the answer to the problem remains the same.
2 Il ne suffit pas d’avoir et de manifester la volonté de faire siennes les paroles et les actions du célébrant.
3 Ils doivent eux-mêmes poser ces actions et prononcer les paroles essentielles. Ibid. 717-718; cf. AAS 37 (1945) 131-132.
4 AAS 49 (1957) 370. The full text is as follows: Dubium de valida concelebratione. Quaesitum est ab hac Suprema Sacra Congregatione an plures sacerdotes valide Missae sacrificium concelebrent, si unus tantum eorum verba «Hoc est corpus meum» et «Hic est sanguis meus» super panem et vinum proferat, ceteri vero verba Domini non proferant, sed, celebrante sciente et consentiente, intentionem habeant et manifestent sua faciendi verba et actiones eiusdem. Feria IV, die 8 Martii 1957. E~mi ac Rev~mi DD. Cardinales, rebus fidei et morum tutandis praepositi, praehabito Consultorum voto, proposito dubio responderi decreverunt: Negative: nam, ex institutione Christi, ille solus valide celebrat, qui verba consecratoria pronuntiat.—After this it is stated that the Holy Father approved the resolution and ordered its publication.
5 The “Roman Canon” was nicknamed by some the “Silent Canon,” not that it wasn’t spoken, but that it wasn’t heard by the congregation.
6 In formulis quae sequuntur verba Domini proferantur distincte et aperte, prouti natura eorundem verborum requirit. (In the formulas which follow, the words of the Lord are to be proffered distinctly and openly, as the nature of the very words requires.)
7 Can. 906 - Nisi iusta et rationabili de causa, sacerdos Sacrificium eucharisticum ne celebret sine participatione alicuius saltem fidelis. (Except for a just and reasonable cause, a priest is not to celebrate the Eucharistic Sacrifice without the participation of at least one of the faithful.)

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