Introibo ad altare Dei – “I will go up to the altar of God.” For centuries this was the way every Mass began, invoking the beautiful Psalm 42, the Judica me, a Psalm of deliverance and praise. “Judge me O God and plead my cause against an ungodly nation; deliver me from the unjust and sinful man, For you are my God and my strength… Send forth your light and your truth; they have led me and brought me to your holy mountain, and to your tabernacle.”

Before approaching the sacred space in those dark, pre-Vatican II days, priest and servers would humbly pray at the foot of the altar, confessing their sins in the Confiteor and begging God’s mercy, pardon, and absolution. Only then would the priest ascend the steps to the altar even as he entreated God, “Take away from us our iniquities, we implore thee, Lord, that with pure minds we may worthily enter into the holy of holies: through Christ Our Lord, Amen.” Foremost in the former Mass ritual was the sense of man’s unworthiness and abject humility before God, for what priest and people were about to enter into was the most profound worship of the infinite, all powerful Godhead. This supreme act of adoration entailed man’s most solemn duty toward his Creator and Savior, and so one had to carefully prepare oneself carefully before performing it.

In the wake of Vatican II those prayers at the foot of the altar as well as many other Mass prayers were suppressed, ostensibly to make this, the highest prayer of the Church, “more understandable” to the faithful. With the introduction of the so called Novus Ordo or New Mass in 1970 even more prayers from the Sacred Liturgy disappeared. Today, with no utterance of preparatory prayer, the priest boldly processes without pause up to the altar itself, then begins the Mass not by addressing God, but rather the people. “The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” He may even add a little chit chat or introduce various guests. In any event the priest’s initial dialogue is clearly directed not towards God but to the assembly. The emphasis has shifted from the once humble reverence and piety prerequisite to approaching the Divine (“Moses, take off your sandals, for the ground on which you are standing is holy ground”) to a self-congratulatory, gee, it’s great we all showed up to engage in our little tea party with God.