A Journey Through Tradition and Reform

by Fr. John Granato  |  10/06/2024  |  Words from Fr. John

My Dear Friends,

Last week we mentioned the list of 26 saints (Mary and Joseph, 12 apostles, and 12 martyrs) in the first section of the Roman Canon. Today we talk about the second list of fifteen names, beginning with St. John the Baptist. In the traditional Mass, John the Baptist is mentioned nine times (the same is for Saints Peter and Paul, who are also mentioned nine times).

In contrast, since the reform of the Mass in 1970, John the Baptist will be named only once, and that is only if the celebrant of the Mass chooses the first Eucharistic Prayer. Like the first list of saints, there is a beautiful symmetry of saints in the second list. Beginning with John the Baptist, there are seven men and seven women named, all of the martyrs. They are also listed by rank, beginning with the greatest of men born of women, John the Baptist, followed by Stephen, the first martyr for Jesus, Matthias, and Barnabas who are apostles (Matthias the one who replaced Judas Iscariot and Barnabas, a helper of St. Paul). Ignatius of Antioch and Alexander are bishops and Marcellinus and Peter are clerics (Marcellinus is a priest and Peter is an exorcist). In the early church, there were four minor orders and three major orders for men who were to be clerics. The minor orders did not require celibacy, but the first of the major orders (subdeacon) did require celibacy. The minor orders begin with porter, then lector then exorcist followed by acolyte. Each had its own function, as does subdeacon, deacon, and priest. After the three pairs of two of these six men named after Stephen, we have three more pairs of women. Again, this list follows a beautiful symmetry. Felicity and Perpetua were from North Africa; Agatha and Lucy were from Sicily; and Agnes and Cecelia were from Rome. The seventh female, Anastasia, is paired with the first male, Stephen. As mentioned, St. Stephen is the first martyr after Jesus’ resurrection, and St. Anastasia’s name means “resurrection.” Since numbers are symbolic in the Jewish and Catholic faiths, we can see the symbolism of the numbers in the two lists. After the Blessed Mother, there are 24 names, as I mentioned before, symbolizing the 24 elders in the Book of Revelation (2 tribes of Israel and 12 Apostles). These 25 names are added to the 15 from the second list, giving us forty saints by name. In the first list of saints, minus the Blessed Mother, we see the fullness and completion of the entire heavenly host when we multiply 12 by 12 giving us 144. In the second list of saints, minus St. John the Baptist, we have to lists of seven, again a number of perfection and completion, and multiplying 7 by 7 we have 49. This 49 is made holy by the one who is added, the descending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. So you can see that by adding one name (Joseph), even though he is powerful and influential in our Catholic faith, the number schema is severed symbolically. In the Roman Canon in other parts of the traditional Mass, we have five more saints named that are heard at every Mass; Abel, Abraham, and Melchisedek (in the Roman Canon), Isaiah, and Michael the Archangel. In the reform of the Mass in 1970, if the first Eucharistic Prayer is not used, the people will hear only two saints’ names, our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Peter Kwasniewski calls this obliteration of the names of saints a reflection of “industrial modernity’s nameless masses by omitting the dignified names of individual persons.” Our faith is a historical faith with real persons, and our Mass is a reflection and retelling of salvation history by calling to mind these names. Mass should be more mystical and sublime rather than utilitarian and functional. God bless.