Good Friday: Mass of the Presanctified Gifts

The Mass of the Presanctified

Although the term “Mass of the Presanctified” does not appear in the official Missal, it has long been used in Holy Week manuals for clergy, especially during the intense liturgical schedule of that sacred week. Despite being unofficial, the title aptly captures the nature and meaning of the Good Friday liturgy. While not a Mass in the usual sense—since there is no consecration—the rite imitates the form of the Mass as much as possible. This imitation signifies the deep connection between Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross and its sacramental anticipation at the Last Supper.

Vestments and Mood

On Good Friday, the celebrant wears black vestments, as at a Requiem Mass. The deacon and subdeacon, however, don black folded chasubles, traditional penitential garments no longer used in Requiem liturgies and reserved exclusively for this day. If these are not available, the deacon and subdeacon assist vested in albs and maniples, the deacon also wearing a stole. The use of folded chasubles, rather than the more festive dalmatic and tunicle, emphasizes that Good Friday is a day of sorrow and mourning, not yet a day of Resurrection hope. The Church invites the faithful not merely to commemorate the Passion, but to relive it—walking with Christ through His agony and death so as to experience more deeply the joy of Easter.

The Mass of the Catechumens

This part of the liturgy begins with an additional reading sung by a reader in surplice, followed by a tract and a prayer, introduced in the Ember-day formula: “Oremus” by the priest, “Flectamus genua” by the deacon, and “Levate” by the subdeacon. This structure continues through the second reading sung by the subdeacon and a second tract. The Passion of St. John is chanted with ceremonies similar to those used earlier in Holy Week for the Passions of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. However, as at a Requiem Mass, the final portion of the Passion is sung by the deacon without candles or incense. During this, he removes his folded chasuble and wears the broad stole, the customary vestment for penitential proclamations of the Gospel.

The Solemn Prayers and the Veneration of the Cross

The solemn intercessions follow, prayed from the Missal on the Epistle side of the altar. After each petition, the ministers again sing the formula “Oremus. Flectamus genua. Levate,” followed by the appropriate collect.

Next comes the adoration of the Cross, a rite with no direct analog in the traditional Mass. Historically a distinct ceremony, it is now woven into the Good Friday liturgy. At this point, the priest and subdeacon remove their chasubles, only to put them on again after venerating the Cross.

The Return of the Blessed Sacrament

The most solemn moment follows: the retrieval of the Blessed Sacrament from the Altar of Repose, where it has been since the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The return is marked by a reverse of the previous day's procession, vividly connecting the institution of the Eucharist with the Sacrifice of the Cross.

On Holy Thursday, two large Hosts are consecrated—one for that Mass, and the other reserved for Good Friday. The second Host is reverently placed in a chalice rather than a ciborium, covered with a soft pall, an inverted paten, and a thin white chalice veil, tied around the chalice’s node with a ribbon. This special enshrinement reflects Christ’s Passion, which He called a “chalice” in Gethsemane (cf. Mt 26:39–42; Lk 22:42). The use of the chalice and other Mass instruments on both days deepens the connection between the Eucharist and the Cross.

On Good Friday, the celebrant and ministers approach the Altar of Repose and kneel. The deacon then opens the tabernacle and lifts the chalice containing the Host, showing it reverently. The celebrant then incenses the Sacrament with two thuribles, as at Benediction. Wearing the humeral veil, he receives the chalice from the deacon and returns in solemn procession to the main altar, accompanied by the clergy while the hymn “Vexilla Regis” is sung. Two acolytes walk before the priest, alternating in incensing the Blessed Sacrament.

The Rite of the Presanctified

At the main altar, the deacon receives the chalice from the priest, unties the veil's ribbon, and arranges it as if the chalice were being set up for Mass. This symbolic act again emphasizes the connection between the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the death of Christ on the Cross.

The deacon removes the veil, pall, and paten. Holding the paten, the priest slides the Host onto it, then places it on the corporal. Wine and a drop of water are added to the chalice by the deacon and subdeacon respectively, just as in a normal Mass. The chalice is then placed in the center of the corporal and covered with the pall—though no Offertory prayers are said.

The priest then incenses the altar and Sacrament as in a Solemn Mass, using unblessed incense, and omitting all incensations of persons. He washes his hands, but says nothing. Standing at the center of the altar with ministers behind him, he prays In spiritu humilitatis and then says Orate fratres, though the response Suscipiat is omitted.

Following the rubrics, he skips the Secret, Preface, Sanctus, and Canon, proceeding directly to the Lord’s Prayer, chanted in the ferial tone. The embolism “Libera nos” follows, also sung aloud, but without its usual gestures.

Communion and the End of the Rite

The priest solemnly elevates the Host, while the deacon and subdeacon kneel and lift his chasuble. Instead of the bell, the crepitaculum, a wooden clapper, is sounded. The priest breaks the Host silently, omitting the usual signs of the Cross, and says Perceptio corporis tui. He then communicates under the species of the Host and consumes the chalice, again with minimal ceremony.

This sequence follows the structure of the Mass’s Offertory and Communion rite after the Canon, though stripped of Eucharistic consecration and the Canon itself. By doing so, the rite emphasizes the sacrificial dimension of Christ’s death while omitting the elements that pertain solely to the Eucharistic celebration.

The priest purifies the chalice and his fingers. The subdeacon restacks the chalice; the deacon removes the broad stole and resumes the folded chasuble. As only the priest receives Communion on this day, the rite concludes here. The ministers and clergy return to the sacristy in silence, closing one of the most solemn and moving liturgies in the Church’s year.

Sources Cited

- Fortescue, Adrian. The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described. London: Burns & Oates, 1917.

- Jungmann, Josef. The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development, Vol. 2. Westminster: Christian Classics, 1951.

- O’Connell, J.B. The Celebration of Mass, Vol. 2. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1964.

- Roman Missal (Missale Romanum), Tridentine Edition (1962).

- Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims Version.