The curious observer will wonder why the first part of the liturgy of Holy Communion is called the Preface but the second part is the Proper Preface.
What’s with the “Proper”? Did the first Preface need some training in manners?
Speaking Properly
A tree can be understood to have two very basic parts: 1) The trunk/limbs part and 2) the greenery/leaves part. Similarly, the historic liturgy can be seen as having two basic components, namely “Ordinary” and “Propers.”
The Ordinary parts are those that are the same in every Divine Service, such as the Kyrie, Gloria Patri, Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Nunc Dimittis.
The Proper Parts are those that, like leaves on a tree, change depending on the specific liturgical day or season. An easy way to remember the difference is that the Propers are appropriate or proper for the day. Going back to the tree illustration, leaves change color depending upon the season, so the Propers change depending upon the season.
The major parts of the Divine Service that are Propers are the Hymns, the Collect of the Day, the Scripture readings, the Sermon, and the Proper Preface.
The proper preface then is a part of the liturgy that changes depending upon the season or occasion.
Now that we have answered the question of what the Proper is, what is the Proper Preface about? Simply put, it is a prayer of thanksgiving to God our Father for all He has done for us in Christ Jesus.
Giving Thanks at all times
After being invited to give thanks to the Lord in the Preface, the pastor now does just that by now talking to God in a prayer of thanksgiving. The opening line is addressed to the Father and expresses what we have seen throughout Scripture: the duty of God’s people to thank the Lord.
“It is truly good, right and our joy that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God.”
In the words “it is truly good, right, and our joy” we express that what follows is always, no matter what we are facing, a good and salutary act - thanksgiving. We acknowledge that we should “at all times and in all places” joyfully and rightly give thanks to God our Father.
It is often easy to feel thankful when life is going good, when our health is strong, relationships are happy, and we experience success at work. It can be much more difficult to have this attitude of thanksgiving when we are in the valley of the shadow of death. Yet Philippians 4:4-7 encourages this very thing:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
In the Proper Preface we are acknowledging that regardless of what we are facing in life, that it is good and right to give thanks to God.
Why is it good and right for us to give thanks to God? The second portion of the prayer answer this question.
Jesus is the Reason
This prayer follows the pattern of thanksgiving in the psalms in the Old Testament. Thanksgiving in general was offered for the gifts of God’s creation (Ps 136:4-9), His provision in their lives (Ps 67:6-7), His wondrous deeds (Ps 75:1) and for His saving acts (Ps 35:18). Like Israel thanked the Lord for delivering them from their enemies, so we now thank God for sending His Son to save us from sin and Satan.
For by water and the Holy Spirit you have made us a new people in Jesus Christ our Lord, to show forth your glory in all the world.
Here the Church is giving thanks for God’s gracious salvific work of gathering and making for Himself a new people in Christ Jesus!
Other seasonal Propers include the following:
Advent - “because in His coming the day of our deliverance has dawned; and through Him You will make all things new, as He comes in power and triumph to judge the world.
Lent - “who overcame the assaults of the devil and gave His life as a ransom for many that with cleansed hearts we might be prepared joyfully to celebrate the resurrection feast in sincerity and truth.”
Easter - “And most especially are we bound to praise You on this day for the glorious resurrection of Your Son, Jesus Christ, the very Paschal Lamb, who was sacrificed for us and bore the sins of the world. By His dying He has destroyed death, and by His rising again He has restored to us everlasting life.”
Joining the Choir of Heaven
Hubert van Eyck, “Adoration of the Lamb” (detail), Ghent Altarpiece, ca. 1429
The third and final section of the Proper Preface is the transition into the Sanctus (the topic of the next blog post). Here we shift to now joining our voices with the praise of those in heaven.
Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
This is a powerful moment where we are remind that our worship is not simply our worship only, but it is joining with the whole Church in heaven and earth. It is the moment we begin to see the the curtains drawn back on heaven and the people of God lifting our voices to mix and mingle with those of the angels, archangels, and victorious saints.
Hebrews 12:22-24 describes that through the blood of Christ, we now enter into the heavenly Jerusalem, with the angels and saints!
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
St. John Chrysostom says that during Holy Communion the angels surround the pastor, and the whole sanctuary is filled with angels honoring Christ, present in the Eucharist. He adds that we, though lowly, have been deemed worthy to join the powers of Heaven in the worship of the Lord.
The liturgy is often described as the “thin place” where heaven and earth meet. It’s the mountain top where God’s people ascend and God descends to meet His people. This moment is ushering us to the summit of the Divine Service where God comes to humanity in the person and work of the incarnate, crucified, died, risen, and glorified Christ Jesus in the bread and wine.
The next blog installment will look more at this heavenly chorus of praise of the Santus.