THE HOLY MASS EXPLAINED BY SAN PO DE PIETRELCINA
(Testimony of Fr. Derobert, spiritual son of Father Po)
He had explained to me shortly after my priestly ordination that celebrating the Eucharist had to put the chronology of the Mass and the Passion in parallel. It was about understanding and realizing, first of all, that the priest at the Altar is Jesus Christ. From that moment on, Jesus in his Priesthood revives the Passion indefinitely.
From the initial sign of the cross to the offertory, it is necessary to meet with Jesus in Gethsemane, it is necessary to follow Jesus in his agony, suffering before this “black tide” of sin. We must join him in the pain of seeing that the Word of the Father, which he had come to bring us, would not be received or would be received very badly by men. And from this point of view, we had to listen to the readings of the mass as if they were addressed personally to us.
The Offertory is the arrest. The hour has come…
The Preface is the song of praise and thanks that Jesus directs to the Father who has allowed him to finally arrive at this “Hour”.
From the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer to the Consecration we find each other quickly! with Jesus in prison, in his atrocious scourging, his crowning with thorns and his way of the cross through the alleys of Jerusalem keeping in mind at the “moment” all those who are there and all those for whom we pray especially.
The Consecration gives us the Body given now, the Blood shed now. It is mystically, the crucifixion of the Lord. And that is why Father Po de Pietrelcina suffered atrociously at this moment of the Mass.
We immediately reunite with Jesus on the Cross and from this moment we offer the Father the Redeemer Sacrifice. It is the meaning of the liturgical prayer that immediately follows the Consecration.
The “Through him, with him and in him” corresponds to the cry of Jesus: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” From that moment, the Sacrifice is consummated and accepted by the Father. From now on, men are no longer separated from God and find themselves united again. It is the reason why, at this moment, the prayer of all the children is recited: “Our Father…”
The breaking of the Bread marks the death of Jesus…
The intinction, the moment in which the Father, having broken the Host (symbol of death…) drops a particle of the Body of Christ into the Chalice of the precious Blood, marks the moment of the Resurrection, since the Body and the Blood come together again and it is the living Christ whom we are going to receive in communion.
The blessing of the Priest marks the faithful with the cross, as a distinctive sign and at the same time as a protective shield against the tricks of the Evil One….
It will be understood that after hearing such an explanation from Father Po’s mouth, knowing full well that he was experiencing this painfully, he asked me to follow him on this path…what I do every day…and with such joy!
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