After praying the Our Father together and having exchanged the Sign of Peace, the Priest Celebrant breaks the Consecrated Bread and the Lamb of God is sung during the fraction.
The early Church called the entire Eucharistic celebration "the Breaking of the Bread." (See Acts 2:42 HERE; the Disciples from Emmaus testify that they came to know the Risen Christ in the Breaking of the Bread; see Luke 24:35 HERE )
Naturally, there were no small individual hosts used in Holy Communion as we do today. There was at least one large loaf of bread or several as the Church grew. The loaf of bread was offered and consecrated. Then in order to share it for Communion, it had to be broken into smaller pieces.
The spiritual significance of this act of breaking the Consecrated Bread for the purpose of sharing in the Body of Christ was not lost upon the early Church. Inasmuch as we are identified with the Body of Christ as the Church, we are called to share our gifts and ourselves with others. In the Eucharist, especially in the act of Holy Communion, we share in the One Body of Christ and the Cup of Salvation. And we must share what we have for the common good. This sharing typified the Church as described in the Acts of the Apostles. (See Acts 2:43-45 HERE)
Many spiritual writers and preachers have also found significance in thinking about the significance of brokenness in the life of Christ and the breaking of the Bread, and our own brokenness. For example, Fr. Austin Flemming preached these words:
"As individuals and as the whole church
we receive the gift of the Lord’s brokenness into our own:
into the brokenness of our sins,
into our broken hearts, broken memories, broken promises,
broken spirits, broken relationships, broken bodies,
into our broken hopes and dreams.
Is there anyone among us who does not bring some brokenness today
to the Body of Christ broken for us?
We who are broken come to the One who was broken for our sakes,
to share in this simple bread, broken in his memory,
that our brokenness might be healed." (See Homily HERE)
Today, we do have many small round hosts of unleavened bread that are consecrated in the Eucharist. But also there is called for a larger Host which can be broken at the time of the Breaking of the Bread, still continuing that action of Jesus and his Church of almost 2000 years.
When the Priest first breaks the consecrated Bread, he performs a small act with words which the Assembly do not hear. He takes a very small fragment of the Bread/Host and drops it into the Chalice. He prays inaudibly: "May this mingling of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ bring eternal life to us who receive it"
This ritual action is called the Fermentum (literally "leaven." Why it was called this is uncertain, but compare to Matthew 13:33 Here). In the Church of Rome (by the 5th century at least) The Pope sent a fraction of the Eucharistic bread from his Mass to the parishes in the city as a sign of unity of those parishes with his Eucharist. Pope Innocent wrote in 416,
"As to the 'fermentum' which we send on Sunday into the various titular churches, it is superfluous for you to consult us on this topic: here all the churches are built within the city. The priests of these churches, being unable to celebrate with us on this day because of the people entrusted to them, thus receive from the acolytes the ‘fermentum’ confected by us so that they, especially on this day, do not feel separated from our communion."
At some point the Fermentum was no longer sent to the parishes (their number increasing). In Rome and outside Rome, the custom was imitated however within the individual parishes by the Priest Celebrant, who did not send the fragment anywhere but dropped a fragment of the Host he had consecrated into the Chalice as had been originally done.
Obviously, some spiritual significance was seen in this act and it was seen to be a representation of the Resurrection of Christ when his body and blood were reunited in his Risen Body. Some say the Sacrifice of Christ is sacramentally represented by the separation of the Body and Blood of Christ in the seprately consecrated Bread and Wine. Puting the Bread and Wine together through the Fermentum reunites the sacramental Body and Blood so to speak. Thus the prayer about eternal life.
While the Bread is being broken, the choir and People immediately begin singing (or saying) the "Lamb of God." John the Baptist proclaimed Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). The text is familiar:
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.
One liturgical resource (for entire article see HERE) states:
"This prayer text, which is often sung, is a direct prayer to Christ who is the‘Lamb of God.’ Christ Jesus takes ‘away the sins of the world.’On the surface level, it may seem a strange text for the Fraction Rite. However, Christ Jesus was the Lamb slain on the Cross at the time of the Jewish Passover when lambs were slain. Three days later, God resurrected Christ Jesus, and in so doing, he took ‘away the sins of the world.’ Sin prevents union and communion with God and one another. Therefore, through Jesus’ death and Resurrection he establishes communion and union with us. Sin fractures relationships between us and God, but God in Christ Jesus unites our brokenness, our division into one, into the body of Christ. In our wounded and brokenness, Christ Jesus heals, reconciles, and brings us into communion with his very being." (emphasis added)
At Holy Faith, during Advent and Lent, and on the Fridays of the year, we sing the "Lamb of God" in Latin. This is to indicate the penitential nature of the Season or day, and to keep in contact with the ancient Roman Mass which was celebrated in Latin. The Latin text is:
"Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem."
Next Week: The Act of Receiving Holy Commuion
