Elevation

ELEVATION. - A rite of the Mass, by which the celebrant raises the sacramental Species to expose them to the adoration of the faithful. In the Mass, a twofold E. of the sacred Species is distinguished: the more solemn one comes immediately after the Consecration, the other at the end of the Canon properly so called, with the words "omnis honor". This one, called Elevatio minor, is the older. Originally it served to admonish the faithful to hold themselves ready for Communion, and it is the only one used in the Eastern liturgies; according to the Byzantine rite, the sacred Species are shown to the faithful before Communion with the words "Sancta sanctis".

The first E., on the other hand, is proper to the Western liturgy. Having developed in France in the 12th century, it quickly spread throughout the whole Latin Church: Innocent III (1198-1216) in his De sacro altaris mysterio, written while he was a cardinal, does not yet speak of it, whereas Honorius III in 1219 presupposes it in use. Its origins are not well known.

It was commonly held that it had been brought about by the heresy of Berengar, who denied the divine presence; but H. Thurston, followed by the moderns, attributes it to Eudes de Sully, bishop of Paris (1196-1208), who would have prescribed the E. of the Host immediately after the Consecration in reaction to the erroneous opinion of certain theologians of Paris, such as Peter the Chanter and Peter Comestor, according to whom the transubstantiation of the bread would occur with that of the wine, after the words spoken over the chalice (cf. Sum. Theol., 3a, q. 78, s. 6).

Recently, however, E. Dumoutet, followed by A. Wilmart, considers the problem far more complex, placing it in relation to the origins of a devotion very widespread in the Middle Ages: the desire to see the Host. Through a process of mutual influence, while this craving to contemplate the consecrated Host, certainly sharpened in reaction to the Sacramentarian controversies, led to the introduction of the E., this in turn greatly influenced the development of eucharistic piety. It seems, therefore, that Eudes de Sully, in prescribing the E., intended only to satisfy a sentiment of public piety toward the Eucharist.

The E. of the chalice was added at a later time; in Rome it was already in use at the beginning of the 14th century, as appears from the Ordo Romana XIV (1311), a ceremonial of the times of Clement V.

Officially received into the liturgy, the E. constitutes the most important fact for the history of the Mass in the Middle Ages. It noticeably modified the course, until then continuous, of the ancient Canon, making the Consecration the culminating point of the Mass. By its demonstrative force, the new rite gave a new direction to popular piety. The solemn ostension of the consecrated Host required, on the part of the faithful, adherence and adoration (Sum. Theol., loc. cit.): sentiments manifested at first only by the pious exterior attitude of the person, but then also expressed in formulas for private use, which constituted as it were a direct response of those assisting to the gesture of the celebrant.

Hence a eucharistic literature sui generis, generally brief rhythmic compositions, whose principal elements are preserved for us in the Books of Hours of the 15th century and, more anciently, in the Libelli precum, such as the Orationale of Reichenau (14th century). They are greetings, repeated Ave's to the Body and Blood of the Lord, homage of faith and love to the Most Holy Sacrament. In the present state of the manuscripts, 51 formulas are known, such as: Ave domine I. Chr. Verbum Patris (much used); Ave pretiotissimum et sanctissimum Corpus; Ave salus mundi Verbum Patris; Coram te, dulcissime Iesu, corde protestor; Domine I. Chr. qui hanc sacratissimam Carnum (quite frequent); In praesentia Corporis et Sanguinis tui; Salve sancta Caro Dei, Per quam salvi fiunt rei.

But none of these compositions have the importance and celebrity of the Anima Christi (v.), the Adoro te devote (v.) and the Ave verum (v.): three jewels of semiliturgical literature.

Pius X, on 12 June 1907, granted the faithful an indulgence of 7 years (and 7 quarantines) each time they devoutly look upon the Holy Host, repeating with St. Thomas the apostle: Dominus meus et Deus meus! (Io. 20, 28). Regarding other indulgences and prayers suggested today for the E., cf. the volume published by the S. Penitenzieria Apostolica, Preces et pia opera indulgentiis ditata (Rome 1938), nos. 106, 107, 113, 115. - See plate XVII.

Igino Cecchetti