IBERA nos, quaesumus, Domine, ab omnibus malis, praeteritis, praesentibus, et futuris: et intercedente beata et gloriosa semper Virgine Dei Genitrice Maria, cum beatis Apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque Andrea, et omnibus Sanctis, da propitius pacem in diebus nostris: ut ope misericordiae tuae adjuti, et a peccato simus semper liberi, et ab omni perturbatione securi. 
ELIVER us, we beg Thee, O Lord, from every evil, past, present, and to come; and by the intercession of the Blessed and glorious ever-Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, and of Andrew, and of all the Saints, mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of Thy mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all disturbanceThe priest then breaks the Host and says,
Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesus Christum Filium tuum. Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus.
Through the same Jesus Christ, They Son, our Lord. Who with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth God.
This, the fractio, or the fraction, is my favorite part of the Mass after the Consecration. The poignant breaking of the Consecrated Host fills me with sadness and dread.
This action is to imitate the breaking of the Bread, the Body of Christ by Christ at the Last Supper. However, for me, this is the breaking of Christ's Own Body in the Passion, and the breaking of His People, the Church, into different groups. The pain of the fraction, in Late Latin, fractio, is the pain of the Broken Christ. It is, at this moment, that I can see the betrayal of Judas breaking Christ's Heart, the horrible, fake trial, the scourging, the crowning of thorns,the long road to Calvary, the execution by crucifixion all in that small gesture. In addition, I see the Protestant Revolt, those killed in Germany, the martyrs of England, Scotland and Wales, and even today's persecuted brothers and sisters in Egypt, Nigeria, Somalia, Indonesia, China, and I see the broken bodies of the babies after abortions.
The fractio resounds, When the priest breaks the Host and I hear the break, the sound rings out not only in the Church but down through the ages to the ruining of Fountains and Glastonbury, to the fires of Nero's Rome, to the very steps of the Praetorium in Jerusalem in 33 A.D.
And, today, on this Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, was he not broken of hatred, pride and false fanaticism? Are we not broken and humbled in order to be with Our Lord?
The fractio continues, daily, hourly, in every Catholic Church in the world. Christ is being broken over and over and over again. This is His Redemptive Act for us. We must enter into His suffering, becoming part of that fractio, now and forever until we are renewed in the Land of the Everlasting Joy, Heaven.
And, as a postscript, frequently, at least three times a week, I am given the half of the broken Host which the priest has held up for all to see-Ecce Homo. I feel part of that ministry to support priests in anyway that I can, and I pray daily for priests and seminarians. God bless you all.
And, as a postscript, frequently, at least three times a week, I am given the half of the broken Host which the priest has held up for all to see-Ecce Homo. I feel part of that ministry to support priests in anyway that I can, and I pray daily for priests and seminarians. God bless you all.
