The Mystical Meaning of the Ceremonies of the Mass

Olier’s The Mystical Meaning of the Ceremonies of the Mass, first published in 1657, and presented here with an Introduction by Abbé Claude Barthe, is an outstanding example of the application—to the liturgy and its actions—of the search for a deeper meaning that has also been so influential throughout the history of contemplative Christianity in the resonant, anagogical reading of the Bible. Olier shows us that there is nothing in the traditional Catholic Mass that lacks its own progressively deeper levels of meaning, and that for this reason cannot inspire in us new spiritual insights: new “visions of heaven.” Olier writes as eloquently as he spoke; the flow of his eloquence carries us with him as he brings to light many a sparkling gem lying too long concealed in the spiritual treasure-trove of the Mass. To follow him in his inspired excavations is an unforgettable spiritual adventure of discovery. “Fr Jean-Jacques Olier writes: ‘In the Church of God, the smallest details of the ceremonies are figures of hidden mysteries.’ In keeping with this principle, inherited from the great medieval commentators on liturgy, Olier unfolds step by step the ‘mystical meaning’ of the words and gestures of the Roman Mass, with an intellectual penetration and spiritual unction that make the work at once eye-opening and heart-inflaming. It is quite astonishing that so masterful a work on the central act of the Christian religion by so towering a figure of the French School (whose spirituality as founder of the Sulpicians influenced centuries of clergy) should never before have been translated, but such is the case. And so we owe an immense debt to Fr Claude Barthe and David Critchley for bringing it to a modern audience at last.”—PETER KWASNIEWSKI, author of Reclaiming Our Roman Catholic Birthright JEAN-JACQUES OLIER (1608–1657) is a leading representative of the French School of spirituality. Following a miraculous recovery from blindness, he dedicated himself to mission and the training of priests. In 1642 he established the Parisian seminary of Saint-Sulpice, which, under his leadership, became the leading training-school of French Catholic priests. A prolific writer, he bequeathed to all seeking souls a rich treasury of letters and other spiritual works.

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