Orate fratres
Encyclopedia
Orate fratres is the incipit
of a request for prayer that the priest celebrating Mass
of the Roman Rite
addresses to the faithful participating in it before saying the Secret
or Prayer over the Gifts. It thus corresponds to the Oremus
said before the Collect
and the Postcommunion
, and is merely a expansion of that shorter exhortation. It has gone through several alterations since the Middle Ages.
The full text of the priest's exhortation is: Orate, fratres, ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium acceptabile fiat apud Deum Patrem omnipotentem (Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father).
This exhortation is a reminder to the people that the sacrifice being offered is not the priest's alone but theirs also ("my sacrifice and yours").
The words of the exhortation are the same as in the editio princeps of the Roman Missal issued by Pope Pius V
in 1570. At a later stage, editions of the Tridentine
Roman Missal introduced a rubric
absent in the original, directing the priest to say the Orate fratres exhortation with his voice "raised a little" (voce paululum elevata), an indication that, unlike the Oremus, it was not to be sung, and a proof that it is not part of the old Roman Mass. This limitation was removed in the 1970 edition. When it was still the rule, Adrian Fortescue remarked: "Certainly nowhere is the whispered voice so anomalous as here, where we address the people. If the Orate fratres were an old integral part of the Mass, it would of course be sung loud."
A rubric that remains directs the priest to stand at the middle of the altar, facing the people, and to extend then join his hands, when making this request for prayer. This is the second occasion during the celebration of Mass on which the priest is directed to face the people in editions of the Roman Missal since 1970, the third in earlier editions. The more recent editions omit the indication given in earlier editions that, if celebrating ad orientem
, the priest should, after turning to the people, on this occasion return to facing the altar by completing a clockwise 360° turn, unlike the other occasions, when according to the same editions, he was to turn back to the altar by reversing his turning to the people.
The people respond to the priest, saying: Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus tuis, ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui, ad utilitatem quoque nostram, totiusque Ecclesiae suae sanctae (May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church).
The original Tridentine Roman Missal included at the end of this response the word "Amen", and directed that the response ("Amen" included) be said by "the bystanders or else by the priest himself" (Circumstantes respondent: alioquin ipsemet sacerdos). Later editions removed the "Amen" from the response and directed the priest to say the "Amen" himself in a low voice (submissa voce). In the rubric it added "the server or" before "the bystanders" (Minister, seu circumstantes respondent: alioquin ipsemet Sacerdos). Since 1970, editions of the Roman Missal assign the response to the people or, in Masses celebrated without the people, to the server, and speak of an "Amen" at this point only in response to the Secret or Prayer over the Gifts.
The response of the people emphasizes both the distinction and the similarity between the priest's sacrifice at the altar and that of the faithful.
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
of a request for prayer that the priest celebrating Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
of the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
addresses to the faithful participating in it before saying the Secret
Secret (liturgy)
The Secret is a prayer said in a low voice by the priest or bishop during religious services.-Western Christianity:...
or Prayer over the Gifts. It thus corresponds to the Oremus
Oremus
Oremus is the invitation to pray, said before short prayers in the Roman Catholic Mass and the Lutheran Divine Service, as well as other Western liturgies....
said before the Collect
Collect
In Christian liturgy, a collect is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable...
and the Postcommunion
Postcommunion
Postcommunion is the text said or sung on a reciting tone following the Communion of the Mass.-Form:Every Postcommunion corresponds to a collect. These are the three fundamental prayers of any given Proper Mass. The Postcommunion is said or chanted exactly like the Collect...
, and is merely a expansion of that shorter exhortation. It has gone through several alterations since the Middle Ages.
The full text of the priest's exhortation is: Orate, fratres, ut meum ac vestrum sacrificium acceptabile fiat apud Deum Patrem omnipotentem (Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father).
This exhortation is a reminder to the people that the sacrifice being offered is not the priest's alone but theirs also ("my sacrifice and yours").
The words of the exhortation are the same as in the editio princeps of the Roman Missal issued by Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V
Pope Saint Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church...
in 1570. At a later stage, editions of the Tridentine
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
Roman Missal introduced a rubric
Rubric
A rubric is a word or section of text which is traditionally written or printed in red ink to highlight it. The word derives from the , meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century or earlier...
absent in the original, directing the priest to say the Orate fratres exhortation with his voice "raised a little" (voce paululum elevata), an indication that, unlike the Oremus, it was not to be sung, and a proof that it is not part of the old Roman Mass. This limitation was removed in the 1970 edition. When it was still the rule, Adrian Fortescue remarked: "Certainly nowhere is the whispered voice so anomalous as here, where we address the people. If the Orate fratres were an old integral part of the Mass, it would of course be sung loud."
A rubric that remains directs the priest to stand at the middle of the altar, facing the people, and to extend then join his hands, when making this request for prayer. This is the second occasion during the celebration of Mass on which the priest is directed to face the people in editions of the Roman Missal since 1970, the third in earlier editions. The more recent editions omit the indication given in earlier editions that, if celebrating ad orientem
Ad orientem
In the Catholic liturgy the expression ad orientem is the eastward orientation of a priest celebrating Mass. This orientation has been described as the "cosmic sign of the rising sun which symbolizes the universality of God."...
, the priest should, after turning to the people, on this occasion return to facing the altar by completing a clockwise 360° turn, unlike the other occasions, when according to the same editions, he was to turn back to the altar by reversing his turning to the people.
The people respond to the priest, saying: Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium de manibus tuis, ad laudem et gloriam nominis sui, ad utilitatem quoque nostram, totiusque Ecclesiae suae sanctae (May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church).
The original Tridentine Roman Missal included at the end of this response the word "Amen", and directed that the response ("Amen" included) be said by "the bystanders or else by the priest himself" (Circumstantes respondent: alioquin ipsemet sacerdos). Later editions removed the "Amen" from the response and directed the priest to say the "Amen" himself in a low voice (submissa voce). In the rubric it added "the server or" before "the bystanders" (Minister, seu circumstantes respondent: alioquin ipsemet Sacerdos). Since 1970, editions of the Roman Missal assign the response to the people or, in Masses celebrated without the people, to the server, and speak of an "Amen" at this point only in response to the Secret or Prayer over the Gifts.
The response of the people emphasizes both the distinction and the similarity between the priest's sacrifice at the altar and that of the faithful.