the ancient canon of the roman rite the following is a juxtaposition of part of an ancient text known as de sacramentis usually attributed to st ambrose of milan and the canon of the traditional catholic mass of the roman rite the conclusion from this comparison is that the central part of the traditional roman canon was already fairly well in place by sometime in the late th century taken from the mass of the western rites by the right reverend dom fernand cabrol abbot of farnborough without permission excerpted from chapter vi the mass at rome from the fifth to the seventh centuries the paragraph at the end is from the book not me sorry about the long lines joe buehler text of de sacramentis roman canon roman canon about ad ad english translation te igitur omitted here memento domine communicantes hanc igitur oblationem fac nobis inquit sacerdos quam oblationem tu deus in do thou o god deign to hanc oblationem ascriptam omnibus quaesumus bless what we offer and ratam rationabilem benedictam adscriptam make it approved acceptabilem quod figura ratam rationabilem effective right and est corporis et sanguinis acceptabilemque facere wholly pleasing in every jesu christi digneris ut nobis corpus et way that it may become sanguis fiat dilectissimi for our good the body filii tui domini nostri jesu and blood of thy dearly christi beloved son jesus christ our lord qui pridie quam pateretur qui pridie quam pateretur who the day before he in sanctis manibus suis accepit panem in sanctas ac suffered took bread into accepit panem respexit in venerabiles manus suas et his holy and venerable caelum ad te sancte pater elevatis oculis in ccelum hands and having raised omnipotens aeterne deus ad te deum patrem suum his eyes to heaven unto gratias agens benedixit omnipotentem tibi gratias thee o god his almighty fregit fractum quae agens benedixit fregit father giving thanks to apostolis suis et discipulis deditque discipulis suis thee he blessed it broke suis tradidit dicens dicens accipite et it and gave it to his accipite et edite ex hoc manducate ex hoc omnes hoc disciples saying take ye omnes hoc est enim corpus est enim corpus meum all and eat of this meum quod pro multis for this is my body confringetur similiter etiam calicem simili modo postquam in like manner when the postquam caenatum est caenatum est accipiens et supper was done taking pridie quam pateretur hunc praeclarum calicem in also this goodly chalice accepit respexit in sanctas ac venerabiles manus into his holy and caelum ad te sancte pater suas item tibi gratias venerable hands again omnipotens aeterne deus agens benedixit deditque giving thanks to thee gratias agens benedixit discipulis suis dicens he blessed it and gave it apostolis suis et discipulis accipite et bibite ex eo to his disciples saying suis tradidit dicens omnes hic est enim calix take ye all and drink of accipite et bibite ex hoc sanguinis mei novi et this for this is the omnes hic est enim sanguis aeterni testamenti chalice of my blood of the meus mysterium fidei qui pro new and eternal covenant vobis et pro multis the mystery of faith effundetur in remissionem which shall be shed for peccatorum you and for many unto the forgiveness of sins haec quotiescumque feceritis as often as you shall do in mei memoriam facietis these things in memory of me shall you do them ergo memores gloriosissimae unde et memores domine nos mindful therefore o ejus passionis et ab inferis servi tui sed et plebs tua lord not only of the resurrectionis in caelum sancta ejusdem christi blessed passion of the ascensionis offerimus tibi filii tui domini nostri tam same christ thy son our hanc immaculatam hostiam beatae passionis necnon et lord but also of his hunc panem sanctum et ab inferis resurrectionis resurrection from the calicem vitae aeternae sed et in caelos gloriosae dead and finally his ascensionis offerimus glorious ascension into praeclarae majestati tuae de heaven we thy ministers tuis donis ac datis hostiam as also thy holy people puram hostiam sanctam offer unto thy supreme hostiam immaculatam panem majesty of the gifts sanctum vitae aeternae et bestowed upon us the calicem salutis perpetuae pure victim the holy victim the all perfect victim the holy bread of life eternal and the chalice of unending salvation et petimus et precamur ut supra quae propitio ac and this do thou deign to hanc oblationem suscipias in sereno vultu respicere regard with gracious and sublimi altari tuo per manus digneris et accepta habere kindly attention and hold angelorum tuorum sicut sicuti accepta habere acceptable as thou didst suscipere dignatus es munera dignatus es munera pueri tui deign to accept the pueri tui justi abel et justi abel et sacrificium offerings of abel thy sacrificium patriarchae patriarchae nostri abrahae just servant and the nostri abrahae et quod tibi et quod tibi obtulit summus sacrifice of abraham our obtulit summus sacerdos sacerdos tuus melchisedech patriarch and that which melchisedech sanctum sacrificium thy chief priest immaculatam hostiam melchisedech offered unto thee a holy sacrifice and a spotless victim supplices te rogamus most humbly we implore omnipotens deus jube haec thee almighty god bid perferri per manus sancti these offerings to be angeli tui in sublime altare brought by the hands of tuum in conspectu divinae thy holy angel unto thy majestatis tuae etc altar above before the face of thy divine majesty etc there is no doubt that we have here two editions of the same text and as that of de sacramentis is localised in upper italy and dated about the year it is the most ancient witness we possess as to the principal parts of the roman canon which only appear in the sacramentaries some time after the seventh century the question as to whether the roman canon is not older even than that of de sacramentis is discussed by liturgiologists mgr batiffol is of this opinion but we on the contrary think that the former bears traces of closer composition of a more carefully guarded orthodoxy and that consequently it is a text corrected from de sacramentis we shall see in studying the list of names in the memento of the living and that of the dead that mgr batiffol argues with good reason that he can date these fragments from the pontificate of symmachus we thus have the state of the roman mass or at least of the chief parts of the canon at the beginning of the fourth century
