Annotations

to

C. G. Jung's

"Transformation Symbolism in the Mass"

[Psychology and Religion: West and East, 2nd edition (Princeton, 1969), 203-296.]

© 2000-2011 James Roger Black

All rights reserved.

James Roger Black 1 Annotations on Jung & the Mass (revised)

The Mass of the Roman Catholic Church originated in the early church's commemoration of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, whom the church celebrated as God's Anointed One (i.e., "Messiah" or "Christ"). In essence the Mass is a re-enactment of the last meal which Jesus shared with his closest followers on the night before he was arrested and killed. Its central elements are bread and wine, which are ritually transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, offered up by the priest as a sacrifice, and then shared by the assembled believers in a communal meal. The earliest descriptions of the event are contained in a letter of the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 11:23-32) and in the gospels (Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-23).

Christianity began as a sect within Judaism, and early Christians continued to worship in the Temple at Jerusalem and to celebrate traditional Jewish holidays. But with the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 and the expulsion of Christians from the synagogues fifteen years later, the two religions went their separate ways. The church abandoned the Saturday Sabbath in favor of its own services on Sunday morning; and what had been a communal meal increasingly took on the nature of a sacred rite, variously referred to as the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, the Eucharist (Greek for "thanksgiving"), or simply the Mass.1 In subsequent centuries both its ritual and its theology grew

1 The origin of the term "mass" (Latin "missa") is not precisely known. It can be traced at least back to St. Ambrose, the fourth-century bishop of Milan, but from the way he uses the term it must have already been common in his day. It is clearly related to, and probably derived from, the conclusion of the eucharistic liturgy in the Latin rite: "Ite, missa est." Unfortunately, the formula is so ancient that no one is entirely sure what it means. The best guess is something like, "Go, you are dismissed."

increasingly complex; and by the Middle Ages it had become the single most important component of the church's corporate life.

Not surprisingly, the Mass was one of the main points of contention in the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century AD. Martin Luther (1483-1546), John Calvin (1509-1564), and Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) each argued vehemently against the Mass in favor of a return to the (allegedly) simpler ceremony of the early church, although they differed among themselves as to the details. The Catholic Church responded with the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which reaffirmed existing Catholic doctrine and anathematized its Protestant challengers. Further, it ordered a reform of the Latin Mass to purge it of corruptions which had crept into it over the centuries, and a standardization of the Mass to prevent any new corruptions from developing under the guise of local variations. As a result, the Latin Mass continued largely without change until the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and it was in this traditional form that it was known to Carl Jung.

Jung himself was deeply affected by the gulf between the Protestant and Catholic churches. His father was an impoverished Protestant pastor who, in Jung's estimate, practiced "belief without understanding"; the young Carl found his father's church to be stifling and empty. His growing alienation from mainstream Protestantism was made complete by the "failure" of his own first communion, which he described so poignantly in his autobiography many years later:

This was, I thought, merely a memorial meal, a kind of anniversary celebration for Lord Jesus who had died … 1860 years ago. But still, he had let fall

James Roger Black 2 Annotations on Jung & the Mass (revised)

certain hints such as, "Take, eat, this is my body," meaning that we should eat the Communion bread as if it were his body, which after all had originally been flesh. Likewise we were to drink the wine which had originally been blood. It was clear to me that in this fashion we were to incorporate him into ourselves. This seemed to me so preposterous an impossibility that I was sure some great mystery must lie behind it, and that I would participate in this mystery in the course of Communion, on which my father seemed to place so high a value.

[M]y father in his familiar robes stood behind the altar and read prayers from the liturgy. On the white cloth covering the altar lay large trays filled with small pieces of bread. I could see that the bread came from our baker, whose baked goods were generally poor and flat in taste. From a pewter jug, wine was poured into a pewter cup. My father ate a piece of the bread, took a swallow of the wine—I knew the tavern from which it had come—and passed the cup to one of the old men. All were stiff, solemn, and, it seemed to me, uninterested. I looked on in suspense, but could not see or guess whether anything unusual was going on inside the old men. … I had the impression that something was being performed here in the traditionally correct manner. My father, too, seemed to be chiefly concerned with going through it all according to rule, and it was part of this rule that the appropriate words were read or spoken with emphasis. There was no mention of the fact that it was now 1860 years since Jesus had died, whereas in all other memorial services the date was stressed. I saw no sadness and no joy, and felt that the feast was meager in every respect, considering the extraordinary importance of the person whose

memory was being celebrated. It did not compare at all with secular festivals.

Suddenly my turn came. I ate the bread; it tasted flat, as I had expected. The wine, of which I took only the smallest sip, was thin and rather sour, plainly not of the best. Then came the final prayer, and the people went out, neither depressed nor illumined with joy, but with faces that said, "So that's that." …

Only gradually, in the course of the following days, did it dawn on me that nothing had happened.2

The Catholic Church, on the other hand, was to the early Jung a place of mystery and terror, so there was no solace for him there, either:

I was unable to set foot inside a Catholic church without a secret fear of blood and falling and Jesuits. That was the aura or atmosphere that hung about it, but at the same time it always fascinated me. The proximity of a Catholic priest made me even more uneasy, if that were possible. Not until I was in my thirties was I able to confront Mater Ecclesia3 without this sense of oppression.4

In the end, Jung embraced Christianity while rejecting denominationalism—an approach which resolved his

2 C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections, revised edition (New York: Vintage Books, 1965), pp. 53-54. 3 Latin Mater Ecclesia = "Mother Church". 4 Ibid., p. 17.

James Roger Black 3 Annotations on Jung & the Mass (revised) own deep-seated theological concerns but left him very much alone:

Denominationalism has likewise become a flight from the conflict: people don't want to be Christians any more because otherwise they would be sitting between two stools in the middle of the schism of the Church. … The fact that I as a Christian struggle to unite Catholicism and Protestantism within myself is chalked up against me in true Pharisaic fashion as blatant proof of lack of character. That psychology is needed for such an undertaking seems to be a nuisance of the first order.5

While an avowed Christian in his personal life, Jung was always careful to articulate his professional work in scientific rather than theological terms. For example, in an essay on the doctrine of the Trinity, he wrote:

A knowledge of the universal archetypal background was, in itself, sufficient to give me the courage to treat "that which is believed always, everywhere, by everybody" as a psychological fact which extends far beyond the confines of Christianity, and to approach it as an object of scientific study, as a phenomenon pure and simple, regardless of the "metaphysical" significance that may have been attached to it.6

In "Transformation Symbolism in the Mass", Jung therefore approaches the Roman Catholic Mass in the guise of an outsider who is sufficiently well-informed 5 C. G. Jung, Letters, volume 2 (Princeton University Press, 1975), p. 77. 6 C. G. Jung, Psychology and Religion: West and East, second edition (Princeton University Press, 1969), pp. 199-200.

about his subject to understand it, and sufficiently sympathetic toward it to treat it with respect, but also sufficiently detached from it to be objective. As always, he is not seeking to determine whether particular religious doctrines are true or false, but rather to understand the effects which those doctrines have on the perceptions and behavior of those who believe in them. In the process he draws upon parallels from alchemy, gnosticism, psychotherapy, and Aztec religion, all of which serve to illustrate some of the same psychological processes which he believes to be operating in the Mass. The result is a deeper understanding of how the traditional Catholic Mass came into being, why it survived essentially unchanged for so many centuries, and—although Jung himself did not live to see it—why the liturgical changes since the Second Vatican Council have brought so much confusion and upheaval to the once-staid Roman Catholic Church.

Annotations

The numbers at the start of each note signify the page on which the corresponding text is to be found.

204. Greek dei=pnon = Latin coena = "supper".

204. Greek qusi/a = "sacrifice".

205. Melchizedek was a historical priest-king of the ancient city of Salem (usually assumed to be the later Jerusalem). Genesis 14 describes how Abram, the "friend of God", rescued his nephew Lot from some marauding local chieftains and then passed through Salem on his return. Then: "Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; and being a priest of God Most High, he blessed Abram with these words: 'Blessed be Abram by

James Roger Black 4 Annotations on Jung & the Mass (revised) God Most High, creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand.' Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything." Melchizedek was still seen as the prototype for the priest-kings of Jerusalem as late as the time of the Maccabees in the mid-second century BC, and is immortalized in Psalm 110 with the words, "You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." The Epistle to the Hebrews in the New Testament applies this verse to Jesus; the Catholic sacrament of ordination additionally applies it to every newly ordained Catholic priest.

206. Latin mysterium fidei = "mystery of faith". This expression was most likely originally derived from 1 Timothy 3:8-9, but is quoted here as part of the words of consecration in the Tridentine Mass.

206. Latin vere, realiter, substantialiter = "truly, really, substantially". The phrase is drawn from the decree of the Council of Trent on the Eucharist (AD 1551), which declares that "in the august sacrament of the holy Eucharist, after the consecration of the bread and wine, our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and man, is truly, really, and substantially contained" within those elements.

208. Greek tu&poj tou= a!rtou th~j eu0xaristi/aj = "an image of the bread of the Eucharist". The quotation is from ch. 41 of the Dialogue with Trypho by Justin Martyr (AD 100-165).

209. Latin prima materia = "first material", the raw material out of which it was believed that creation was made; originally (mis)attributed to Aristotle, it became a technical term in medieval philosophy and alchemy. (See Hugh R. King, "Aristotle without Prima Materia," Journal of the History of Ideas 17.3 (1956), 370-389.)

209. Latin corpus imperfectum = an "imperfect" or "unfinished body". Like prima materia, this was a technical term in medieval philosophy and alchemy; in the former it was used, for example, to compare the imperfect nature of the earth and everything on it with the absolute perfection of the heavens: terra corpus imperfectum est: caelum contrà perfectissimum = "the earth is an imperfect body; the heavens by contrast are most perfect" (Francesco Buonamici, De motu (1591), ch. 17).

210. Latin umbra in lege, imago in evangelio, veritas in coelestibus = "A shadow in the Law, an image in the Gospel, truth in the heavens." The sense is that what appeared in the Law of Moses only dimly, and appeared in the Gospel only as an image, will appear for real in the world to come.

210. Greek krath=r = Latin crater = "mixing bowl", especially one which was used for mixing wine and water. The Poimandres was a Gnostic text of the early Christian era, attributed to "Hermes Trismegistus" (a hellenized version of the ancient Egyptian deity Thoth, the god of wisdom); Jung, like the fifteenth-century Renaissance humanists, was fascinated with this text and made numerous references to it in his works.

210. Greek nou=j (nous) = "mind" or "reason". Greek e1nnoia (ennoia) = "thinking" or "reflection".

211. "Galactophagy" is "the consumption of milk". Milk mixed with honey was widely used in early Christian baptismal liturgies; but according to Ephrem of Syria (AD 306-373) there were also heretical groups who used milk instead of wine in the Eucharist. (See Edward Engelbrecht, "God's Milk: An Orthodox Confession of

James Roger Black 5 Annotations on Jung & the Mass (revised) the Eucharist," Journal of Early Christian Studies, 7.4 (1999) 509-526.)

211. Greek u3dwr qei=on (hudor theion) = "divine water"; Latin aqua permanens = "enduring water". Both are technical terms in medieval alchemy for liquid mercury, considered in alchemical lore as the primordial water of creation in the first chapter of Genesis.

212. Latin veni sanctificator = "Come, O Sanctifier!", while veni spiritus sanctificator is "Come, O Spirit, Sanctifier!"

212. Latin obumbratio Mariae = "the overshadowing of Mary". This is a reference to the angel's announcement of Jesus' impending birth in Luke 1:35—"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you"—which is itself based on the overshadowing and sanctification of the Mosaic tabernacle in Exodus 40:34-35.

212. Latin corpus volatile sive spirituale = "the body volatile or spiritual".

213. "Epiclesis" is from a Greek word meaning "invocation". In this portion of the Mass the priest and congregation pray that the Holy Spirit will descend upon the bread and wine in order to transform them into the Body and Blood of Christ.

213. Latin Suscipe, sancta Trinitas = "Accept, holy Trinity". This begins the prayer which asks the Triune God to accept the offering which is about to be made.

213. Latin Orate, fratres = "Pray, brothers". This begins a request that the congregation pray for the sacrifice to be acceptable to God.

213. Latin Sanctus = "Holy". This begins the prayer of the angels: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of your glory." This is derived from a vision of the prophet Isaiah (6:1-7).

213. Latin Te igitur = "You, therefore". This begins a prayer for the acceptance of the sacrifice and for the peace of the Church.

213. Latin Illatio = Greek a0nafora/ = "offering".

213. Latin immolatio = oblatio = "gift" or "offering".

213. Latin Hanc igitur = "This, therefore". It is the beginning of another prayer seeking the acceptance of the gifts.

213. Latin Quam oblationem = "Which offering". It begins yet another prayer for the blessing and acceptance of the offering.

214. The Qui pridie is the text for the consecration of the bread: "Who, the day before He suffered, took bread into His holy and venerable hands, and having raised His eyes to heaven, unto Thee, O God, His Father almighty, giving thanks to thee, blessed, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take ye all and eat of this: For this is My Body."

214. The Simili modo is the text for the consecration of the wine: "In like manner, when the supper was done, taking also this goodly chalice into His holy and venerable hands, again giving thanks to Thee, He blessed it and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take ye all, and drink of this: For this is the chalice of My Blood of the new and eternal covenant: the mystery of faith: which shall be shed for you and for many unto the forgiveness

James Roger Black 6 Annotations on Jung & the Mass (revised) of sins. As often as you shall do these things, in memory of Me shall you do them."

216. Latin fractio = "breaking into pieces".

216. Latin elevatio = "elevation".

216. Latin Supplices = "Most humbly". It begins a prayer that the sacrifice be received at the heavenly altar, and that those who receive the Body and Blood may be blessed and receive grace. (The full text is given on page 217.)

217. Greek e0liou=n o( u3yistoj is "God Most High", exactly equivalent to Hebrew "El Elyon".

218. Latin Epistolae Apostolorum = "Letters of the Apostles", a compilation of orthodox Christian materials attacking the gnosticism of the mid-second century AD.

218. Latin Pater noster = "Our Father", also known as the Lord's Prayer.

221. Latin instrumentaliter et ministerialiter = "instru-mentally and ministerially". These are technical terms in the theology of Thomas Aquinas, who distinguished between acts which God performs directly upon the subject without human mediation (such as healing in response to prayer) and those which are mediated through the priest as God's minister (as in the sacraments). "Power was not given to the apostles that they themselves might heal the sick, but that the sick might be healed at their prayer, whereas power was given to them to work instrumentally or ministerially in the sacraments" [Summa Theologica, Third Part, Question 84, Article 3; see also Third Part, Question 64, Article 1].

221. Latin corpus glorificationis = "body of glorification".

221. French participation mystique = "mystical parti-cipation".

249. Latin agens = "agent"; patiens = "patient"; causa efficiens = "efficient cause" (a technical term from Aristotelian philosophy).

251. Latin De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine = "Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord". These are the opening words of Psalm 130, which is a traditional psalm of distress.

254. French rites d'entrée = "rituals of beginning", i.e., the rituals which take place before the hunt.

264. Latin principium individuationis = "principle of individuation".

264. Latin auctor rerum = "author of things".

292. "Enantiodromia" is a Greek term meaning "running counter to". Jung writes: "I use the term enantiodromia for the emergence of the unconscious opposite in the course of time. This characteristic phenomenon always occurs when an extreme, one-sided tendency dominates conscious life; in time an equally powerful counterposition is built up, which first inhibits the conscious performance and subsequently breaks through the conscious control." [Psychological Types, revised edition, p. 426.]

293. Latin imitatio Christi = "imitation of Christ".

293. Greek "kenosis" means "emptying" (a reference to Philippians 2:5-8).