Holy Qurbana Book

[Jacqualine Henington]

TheHoly Qurbana is the central act of our Catholic life, then going to Holy Qurbana must surely remain one of the most indicative of these factors. The Holy Holy Qurbana is the holiest thing we have here on earth. Why? Because it is the action of Christ. The main thing in the Holy Qurbana is not what is read from the Holy Scriptures, even though this is the word of God and should be listened to as such, nor what the people do or sing. The main thing is what Christ does. And what does Christ do in the Holy Holy Qurbana? He offers himself for us, as He offered himself on the Cross. He sacrifices himself for us. That is why we say that the Holy Qurbana is the same Sacrifice as that of the Cross renewed in an unbloody manner on the altar. On the altar just on the Cross, Christ offers His body and blood for us. The difference is that on the Cross His body and blood were visible to the eyes of those who were present, while in the Holy Qurbana they are hidden under the appearances of bread and wine. But they are really present. This is the great fact. In each Holy Qurbana, Christ is really present and renews the Sacrifice of the Cross.

What else should we do, besides having a lot of faith, if we want to attend Holy Qurbana well? We should identify ourselves with Christ. What purposes did Jesus have on the cross? What was he concerned about? We can sum up His ends or purposes as four: to give glory to God the Father; to thank him; to make up for the sins of men; and to ask him for graces for us. If each time we go to Holy Qurbana, we try to live at least one of these four purposes, we will attend Holy Qurbana well.

God is our Creator. He is the Lord of the whole world. We depend on him for everything. He is infinite, eternal, all-powerful. His infinite greatness and goodness ought to fill us with amazement and enthusiasm. Jesus Christ, with His humanity, gave perfect glory to God the Father from the cross, and He continues to do so from the altar. If we unite ourselves to Him, we will be offering a perfect sacrifice of adoration and praise.

Jesus is perfect God and perfect Man. He is all-holy. Therefore He has not and could not have been guilty of any sin. But, as the Holy Scriptures says, He took our sins on Himself and made up for them. He did penance for us by dying on the cross. If we want to take part properly in the Holy Qurbana, we must be sorry for our sins. The person who is not sorry for his sins will never love the Holy Qurbana, nor will he ever really take part in it. But the person who comes to Holy Qurbana with real sorrow for his sins, will draw from its great strength to fight against temptations and to realize that, despite his weaknesses, God loves him very much.

Forgiveness of mortal sins has to be obtained in the sacrament of penance. It is also important to remember that a person who has committed a mortal sin cannot go to communion unless he goes to confession beforehand. But during Holy Qurbana when we ask for forgiveness for sins, if it is said well, certainly helps to obtain pardon for present venial sins as well as to stir up new sorrow for past sins that have already been forgiven. In this way it helps us to purify ourselves and so to take better part in the Holy Qurbana.

Christ offers himself for us in the Holy Qurbana, and He offers himself to us in Holy Communion. To be present at Holy Qurbana, and receive Holy Communion, is the greatest thing we can do here on earth. Here, on the altar, we receive the greatest benefits that God gives us on earth.

In the Holy Qurbana, Christ offers himself for us. And in Holy Communion, He offers himself to us. Think what this offering costs our Lord his whole passion! The Holy Qurbana asks us also for correspondence and self-giving. If we attend Holy Qurbana with faith, it will be easier for us to give ourselves to God each day trying to fulfill his commandments with love. And it will also be easier for us to give ourselves generously to other people, in a constant effort to love them, to understand them, to make their lives happier.

At the beginning of the public service, the veil closing the sanctuary is drawn aside, signifying the appearance of the promised Messiah. The opening of the curtain also signifies that the Heaven is opened. At this time we speak of St. Mary who brought forth the Christ and John the Baptist who baptized Him. This is a special occasion which proclaims the Birth of the Christ. The church bells start ringing, songs are sung in high pitch. The altar transforms into the manger of Bethlehem. Presence of heavenly beings is represented by the sounds made by a special fan called "Maruvahsa". The whole congregation sings a song of praise while the priest, the deacon and the servers go solemnly around the altar carrying lights and incense, and waving the fans. (These two Saints are remembered and their prayers are asked for because they were the two most intimately connected with the incarnation of the Lord, Mary who brought Him forth and John who prepared His way.)The priest offering incense along with deacons holding candles move in a procession around the altar. The priest represents Christ, the High Priest. The deacon who leads the procession represents John the Baptist, and the other deacons represent the Apostles and Disciples of Christ.Trisagion'Holy art thou, O God!

Holy art thou, Almighty,

Hoy art thou, Immortal,

Crucified for us,

Have mercy on us.'According to Bar Sleebi three sets of angels came down at the time of burial of Christ. They sang, the first set 'Holy art thou god', the second, 'Holy are Thou mighty', and the third 'Holy art Thou immortal' and Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemose (Mark 15:43) inspired by the Holy Spirit burst forth 'Thou that was crucified for us have mercy on us'.God is a trinity and so the number three has special significance. After the Trisagion the priest and the congregation chant kurielaison (Lord have mercy upon us) thrice.The church has accepted this Trisagion as a prayer to be said at the beginning of every prayer.Readings of the ScriptureIn the Syrian Orthodox Church, there are three readings, one from the Acts, one from St. Paul and one from the Gospel. They are each preceded by a chant.The first reading is done by the deacon from the northern side of the chancel, standing on the steps. It represents preaching of the gospel to the Jews.The second reading is done form the southern side, representing preaching of the gospel to the gentiles.The reading from the Gospel is done with great solemnity, as in all liturgies, the priest standing in the center of the sanctuary, while the servers carry lights and incense. The two lighted candles on both sides of the Gospel reading table point out that the word of God is light. The situation is made more reverberating by the sound of the bells ringing, the sound of the Maruvahsa.

Promeon and SedroThe proemion and Sedro are the typical form of solemn prayers in the Syriac church. It first offers praise and thanksgiving for the blessing which God has bestowed on us, above all in the sacrifice of his Son, then makes petition for his grace to be given to his people. There are seven different proemions and sedros which may be used for the Qurbana.Blessing of the CenserThe prayers for the blessing of the censer are proclamations of the faith in Trinity. The chains on the censer represent the Holy Trinity. The first chain stands for God the Father. The second and third chains represent the human and Godly nature of the son. The fourth chain represents the Holy Spirit.The priest puts incense in the censer and grasps one of the chains and makes sign of cross over it and says: 'Holy is the Holy Father'. Grasping two more chains the priest proclaims: 'Holy is the Holy Son' and finally he grasps the last chain and says 'Holy is the Holy Spirit'.The Nicene CreedWe believe the following:In the one True God, the Father AlmightyIn the one Lord Jesus Christ who took birth for the salvation of humanityIn the one living Holy SpiritIn the One Holy, Catholic (universal) and Apostolic ChurchWe acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sinsIn the Resurrection of the deadIn the new life in the world to comeSt. Mary is described as the Mother of God and so this is a confession of faith against NestoriansWhat does the priest pray privately in the kneeling position?While the creed is being said, the priest turns to the clergy and people and asks for forgiveness and requests them to pray to the Lord to accept his oblations. The priest then kneels before the altar and beseeches the Lord for remission of sins and acceptance of his offering. The priest prays for and makes the sign of the cross with his right thumb on the altar mentioning the names of those alive and departed for whom prayers have been requested.The deacon goes about the whole nave and returns to the altar. This signifies that:God the Word came down from heaven and offered himself for us allThis is a sign for the un-baptized to leaveThe Anaphora of the FaithfulThe word 'Ana' means 'Up' and 'Phora' means 'to carry'. The Anaphora is the solemn prayer of thanksgiving which our Lord uttered at the Last Supper and the works and actions which He used when he instituted the Eucharist. The original Anaphora of the rite of Antioch is that of St. James, but there are a great many others, eighty-eight in all, which were introduced in later times. Of these about sixty-four have their authors identified, which may be used for celebration.The Kiss of PeaceThe kiss of peace is of apostolic origin (Rom 16:16, 1 Cor. 16:20) and is used in every liturgy to signify the 'fellowship of the Spirit' of which the Eucharist is the outward sign. It shows the love and harmony which should exist among the followers (disciples) of Christ. By this we fulfill the word of the Lord which says, 'If thou offer thine offering and remembers that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave thine offering, and go, be reconciled with thy brother' (Mathew 5:23)Bowing of HeadAfter the kiss of peace, we bow our heads. This is to express our humility and receptive mood for Gods blessings. According to Bar Sleebi, we collectively bow before Christ who sees all secrets and cleanses, lightens, and completes each one as he or she deserves.The covering and Lifting of the AnaphoraWhen the Holy sacrifice is about to begin the veil is lifted form the paten and chalice and solemnly waved over the offering. The prayer which the priest says, compares the veil to the stone which covered the sepulcher (tomb) of Christ, which is now rolled away and to the rock of the desert which gave water to the people of God, signifying the water of life which Christ gives to his people in the Qurbana (2 Cor. 10:4).Benediction given by the priestWhen the celebrant turns to bless, he turns to the right side after making the sign of cross on him-self and then makes the sign of the cross on the people. The priest blesses the people three times during the Qurbana. The first blessing is using the words of St. Paul: 'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all' (2 Cor. 13:14)The Eucharistic PrayerThe dialogue between the priest and people which follows is one of the most ancient liturgical formulas found in all liturgies at this point. The people are asked to lift up their hearts and minds to where Christ sits, at the right hand of God the Father, and then to give thanks. Then the congregation breaks with the song of the angels 'Holy, holy, holy'' (Isaiah 6: 3) and 'Blessed is He that cometh'' (Psalms 118: 26) recalling that the angels are present at this solemn moment, joining their praise to that of the church on earth.'The people are directed to lift up their heart to heaven, to see heaven not earth, the heavenly altar not the earthly altar, the heavenly priest not the earthly priest, the heavenly Body and Blood, not the earthly bread and wine, the heavenly worshipping host, not the earthly congregation.' (Bishop Pakenham Walsh p. 36)Celebration of the Holy Qurbana

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