Liturgy "By The Books"

Just a quick post on two articles I just saw that reinforce the idea of liturgy "by the books"

The first is from Father Angelo of the Fransciscan Friars of the Immaculate. I'm not linking because he gave my blog a "plug" but because of the idea he supports as well:

"Roman Sacristan" at Mary Victrix Blog

The other is from a usual great source, Father Z at What Does the Prayer Really Say:

What happens when we get out of the way

Thanks for the prayers, and please keep them up. The discernment time is going well so far.

RS

What was the pope saying?

A friend of mine noticed that at a papal Mass the pope ends the Mass differently (than just the "The Lord be with you," "and also with you." "May almighty God bless you ...") and asked me what he was saying.

I'm not sure exactly what Mass she saw, so I'm not sure if there was anything different at that Mass. However, bishops have a slightly different ending "part."

Usually it goes like this:

Bishop: Dominus vobiscum (The Lord be with you)
People: Et cum spiritu tuo (and with your spirit)
Bishop: Sit nomen Domini benedictum (May the Name of the Lord be blessed)
People: Ex hoc nunc et usque in saculum (both now and forever)
Bishop: Adiutorium nostrum in nomine Domini (Our help is in the Name of the Lord)
People: Qui fecit caelum et terram (Who made Heaven and earth)
Bishop: Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus Sanctus. (May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit).
People: Amen.

* I believe that abbots may have the same priviledge to use this formula too.

RS

Is Advent penitential or not?

It appears that a few bloggers have already published thier Advent rants [cough]Fr. Z, Fr. Erik[cough] [LOL], so I am going to re-re-publish this post which appeared last year around this time (I guess this will become a tradition now).

Oh, and I'd like to point out that "Advent Penitential Services" are really unnecessary. I think it'd really be better if the pastor or priests at a parish just make confessions readily available REGULARLY (ie more than 1 hour a week) THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE YEAR, instead of only having an annual or semi-annual "penitential service." These things are not a part of our Catholic tradition. If you offer confession, they will come. Our priest, in a small parish in a small town, hears confessions at least an hour a day at least 6 days a week. And people actually come. And as for penitential services, general absolution is not allowed in these things, so if your priest or pastor does it, he is committing an abuse. Anyway, enough on that rant ... on with the traditional post:

A lot of people have been searching for this, so I am going to re-publish this post.

I'm also updating the post because of a little detail noticed over at The New Liturgical Movement. Saturday evening, at the 1st Vespers of Advent [last year], the pope wore the Penitential Papal Formale:


Looks like that hermeneutic of continuity is showing it's hand again.

You can read NLM's report about it here:

The penitential Papal Formale (it's back)

The following was originally posted 12/4/06.

Wow, ask a simple question ... and what a confusing journey on which you find yourself.

A friend and I wrote to Jimmy Akin asking whether he knew if Advent was penitential. He attempted to answer our emails in his post the next day. To summarize his post, he concludes,

"Bam. So Advent is not a penitential season, at least in the universal law of the Latin Church. Ya coulda fooled me!"

Now, on a technical level I understand his conclusion, and part of it is that the questions that my friend and I asked were different. Basically, my friend asked "legally what are we as the faithful bound to do during Advent?" as in comparison to Lent when we are legally (in Canon law) bound to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstain from meat on the Fridays of Lent.

So, I thought Jimmy wrong until I re-read and saw that his conclusion is based on the above question and that he did say, "at least in the universal law of the Latin Church." [emphasis mine]

However, my question was a bit more general and focused on the nature of Advent. "Is Advent penitential?" What raised this question for me was from my liturgical studies. In his book "Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year According to the Modern Roman Rite," Msgr. Peter Elliot says right off the bat in his section on Advent, "The season with which the liturgical year begins is not penitential." (p.34, #42).

This statement suprises me. I was raised with the understanding that Advent was sort of like a less rigid Lent. It wasn't as somber or rigorous as Lent, but nonetheless it had a penitential spirit about it. I mean, first off, there seem to be signs in the liturgy. Just as in Lent, the color of the vestments are violet, there is a week where rose may be worn (3rd Sunday of Advent and 4th Sunday of Lent), "the use of the organ and other musical instruments and the decorating of the altar with flowers should be done in a moderate manner, as is consonant with the character of the season, without anticipating the full joy of Christmas (Ceremonial of Bishops, #236), and there is no Gloria on Sundays of Advent. Even in regards to the celebration of Matrimony, "When a marriage is celebrated during Advent or Lent or other days of penance, the parish priest should advise the couple to take into consideration the special nature of these liturgical seasons." That makes it sound like Advent, Lent, and penitential days are pretty much in the same category.

Of course some will say that the violet used in advent is of a different hue, as even our diocesan ordo says "In order to distinguish between this season [of Advent] and the specifically penitential season of Lent, the bluer hues of violet may be used during Advent. Light blue vestments, however, are not authorized for use in the United States." So that statement seems to say that Advent is not specifically penitential as Lent is. However, it should also be noted that this distinction of hues is not a necessity either. The Generial Instruction on the Roman Missals just says that "violet" is to be used for Advent and Lent.

So, off the shelves come the liturgical books. At this point, I am wondering what is the nature of Advent? When did it start? How did it develop? Such a simple question should not be that hard to answer. So, in remembering that one of the reasons why I started this blog was that I was asked to share my liturgical knowledge, I dove into my personal library seeking out info on Advent.

The new "Compendium: Catechism of the Catholic Church" really only says about Advent,

"102. How did God prepare the world for the mystery of Christ? God prepared for the coming of his Son over the centuries. He awakened in the hearts of the pagans a dim expectation of this coming and he prepared for it specifically through the Old Testament, culminating with John the Baptist who was the last and greatest of the prophets. We relive this long period of expectancy in the annual liturgical celebration of the season of Advent."

"
The Catechism of the Catholic Church" says:

"#524. When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes presen this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor's birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: "He must increase, but I must decrease."

Hmmm, not very helpful yet. The season of Advent really isn't dealt with on a technical level, so I have few books that deal with the subject.

"The General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar" say this:

"V. Advent
39. Advent has a twofold character: as a season to prepare for Christmas when Christ's first coming to us is remembered; as a season when that remembrance directs the mind and heart to await Christ's Second Coming at the end of time. Advent is thus a period for devout and joyful expectation.
40. Advent begins with evening prayer I of the Sunday falling on or closest to 30 November and ends before evening prayer I of Christmas.
41. The Sundays of this season are named the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Sundays of Advent.
The weekdays from 17 December to 24 December inclusive serve to prepare more directly for the Lord's birth."

I think a key point here is that the coming of Christ is to be emphasized. Not only in celebrating His first coming when he was conceived and 9 months later born, but also His second coming, which will be the final judgement.

In "The Mass: A Study of the Roman Liturgy" Fr. Adrian Fortesque says this about Advent when looking the how the Gloria developed in the Mass:

"Advent was not considered a penitential season till about the XIIIth century. In the XIIth century it was still kept with white vestments and the Gloria. The omission of the Gloira in Lent and Advent is natural enough from its joyful character."

Interesting. He says that the season developed into a more penitential season.

"The New Dictionary of the Liturgy" by Gerhard Podhradsky, has this for its entry on Advent:

"Advent. adventus=coming. Period of preparation before Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas.
I. Historical: As a result of eastern influences, a four to eight week period of preparation for Christmas was introduced, first of all in Ravenna about 450 then in regions using the Gallican liturgy, and finally in Rome under Gregory the Great (d. 604). In the early middle ages the Roman four week Advent became almost universal. The model would seem to be Lent, and the reason for its introduction the growing emphaisis on the incarnation (Christmas).

"II. Meaning: The twofold coming of Christ, in human flesh, and in judgement (emphasized by the readngs from Isaiah especially), form the theme of the Advent liturgy. Because the middle ages regarded the Last Day as above all a day of severe judgement, Advent took on a strictly penitential character, which was, however, mitigated by a note of joyous anticipation (hence purple vestments, limited use of the organ, restriction of floral decoration). Advent is designed chiefly, therefore, to keep the Church and its individual members in a state of vigilant readiness for Christ's return, and to keep Christian hope alive to the complete unfolding of the work of Christ ...

III. Customs: In the Roman liturgy, which finally superseded the special Gallican usages, Advent was never a strictly penitential season. Thus a wealth of customs was able to grow up within Advent."

So while it does have a penitential aspect to it, it is not "strictly" penitential as is Lent.

Finally, I scrounged around and from the back corner of my closet I found Father Josef Jungmann's "The Early Liturgy," which has an analysis of the early development of Advent. He says that

"in Gaul as early as the end of the fourth century, we find an Advent lasting three weeks. And by the end of the fith century this Advent has already developed into an Advent much more extensive and intensive than our present Advent - a second Quadragesima [Lent]."

He also says that the earliest records of Advent in Rome are from Saint Gregory the Great's four Advent sermons.

Here's a clue:

"The only thing we can ascertain regarding Rome before the age of Gregory [the Great] is a transformation of the Ember week that falls in the month of December, shortly before Christmas, into a sort of Christmas prelude. ... [Ember seasons] are among the most ancient institutions of the Roman liturgy ... during the months of June, September, and December one week was especially devoted to prayer and fasting."

He goes on to talk about the technicalities of Advent's development in Rome and in Gaul and the Gallic influence that came into Rome. He eventually continues:

"We can say, therefore, that the last weeks of the ecclesiastical year preceding our present Advent represent a sort of pre-Advent. In this pre-Advent period, the idea of the fianl coming of Our Lord, of the parousia, is predominant, as it is in Advent itself. By remembering this second and glorious advent, we prepare ourselves to celebrate the remembrance of the first advent. And this idea is being emphasized once more in our own time. For not only is the feast of All Saints celebrated in this period, but the feast of Christ the King, who is in gloria Dei Patris, is added as background, showing the depths of our hope and expectation."

And then finally! An answer:

"There is yet one more item of our present Roman Advent which we must trace to the Gallican tradition: its penitential character. According to the liturgical books of the early Middle Ages the Roman Advent was not a penitential season. It was simply a period of preparation for, and a joyful expectation of, Christmas. Therefore only the Sundays had the special characteristics of Advent. It was not until after the tenth century, when the Gallic Advent had exerted its influence on the Roman Advent, that it received its present penitental character. Now, however, the Gloria [is] omitted on the Sundays in Advent, purple vestments are worn just as in Lent, and a restriction is placed on the use of flowers and the organ. However, it never became - except in passing - a period of fasting. These are the influences of the old Gallic liturgy, of the ancient quadragesima S. Martini, on the Roman liturgy; it gave to our Advent and to our preparation for Christmas its more serious character."

So in conclusion, it does appear that Advent has a spirit of penance to it. Although it initially wasn't, through Gallic influences, the Roman practice adopted a more penitential practice which eventually became the universal form. This aspect of penance derives from the expectation of Christ's second coming, and thus finds the faithful joyfully preparing themselves for Our Lord's coming at the end of time and the final judgement. This also helps us to prepare for the commemoration of the Lord's first coming which we celebrate at Christmas. This penitential shift is reflected in the liturgical practices of the rite. However, this season is not strictly penitental and thus does not have required fasting as Lent does, but allows for other anticipatory customs as well. Thus, while there is no legal obligation upon the faithful as there is in Lent, if we are going to follow a true "hermeneutic of continuity" then in my opinion it is a penitential season.

Other Advent links:
The History of Advent at intermirifica

Advent in the Catholic Encyclopedia

RS

Funeral Masses, case in point

Remember my little rant a few weeks ago about the loss of the proper perspective on All Soul's Day?

Thinking about All Souls Day

Fr. Z has found a real life example:

A very sad Fr. Z and the promise of a Mass

I've been to funerals where the deceased has been "canonized" by the priest during the Mass: "I'm sure that [insert name here] is in Heaven." We can certainly hope that they are, but we can't know for sure until they are officially canonized by the Church. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

So, please pray for the dead. And this weekend on Christ the King you can get another opportunity to try to obtain a plenary indulgence for a soul in Purgatory. Stay tuned ...

RS

Benedictine All Souls

"Saint Gregory Delivers the Soul of a Monk"
by Giovanni Battista Crespi
Today is the Commemoration of all the faithful departed of the Benedictine Order.
Please pray for the repose of the souls of all faithful departed Monks, Nuns, and Oblates of the Benedictines.

RS

Thinking about All Souls Day

Time for a rant
I was just thinking a bit about All Souls Day in relation to getting things ready for the Masses this Sunday. I have to admit, I have been really disappointed with what seems to be a new perspective on the day. It seems like we should stop calling it "All Souls Day" and start calling it "All Saints Part II."

I don't know if it is just me, but when I was looking over the readings, particularly the ones that were "suggested" on the USCCB website, I just found the readings to be completely inappropriate for the occasion.

When I look at All Souls Day, I see a day in which we are focused on praying for all the faithful departed who have died in the state of grace but have had to go to Purgatory. They need our prayers because they are still being purified of their vices, bad habits, and imperfections, which is most likely a suffering. I sort of look at All Souls Day as a really big funeral Mass. And traditionally that is the way it has been treated. In the extraordinary form, you did not have funeral Masses or celebrate All Souls Day on a Sunday. It was just moved to the following Monday. Strangely, I don't think you can have masses for the dead on Sundays in the ordinary form, yet for some reason All Souls Masses can be said on Sunday, even though the Liturgy of the Hours is just taken from what the current Sunday would be if All Souls didn't fall on it.

Like I said, the readings seem totally inappropriate. Instead of helping us understand that those who die most likely have to go through Purgatory, and thus they need our prayers to help release them from their suffering so they can be brought into the Presence of God, the readings seem to overemphasize the resurrection, which is odd because even the damned will be resurrected. The important thing is where we ultimately end up: Heaven or Hell. The readings seem to give the impression that, "when someone dies, they are just shot into the arms of Jesus." The readings seem to tell us they are already saved and in Heaven. It's like the liturgy just says "don't worry about them, they're fine, no reason to pray for them." It's as though they (whoever "they" are) don't want us to think that just maybe we might be punished for our sins, even if it is a temporary punishment for those who die in the state of grace.

Anyway, I just want to re-emphasize that God is a just God and we all will have to make amends for our sins. Yet, God is a merciful God too. However, it is our duty in the Church Militant to pray for and help as much as possible our brethren in the Church Suffering. This is why I try to help explain plenary indulgences and how to obtain them. So, please on All Souls try to obtain a plenary indulgence for a poor soul in purgatory. And always remember to pray for the faithful departed. I especially like to pray for those who are suffering the most in purgatory and for those who have no one to pray for them.

And remember, this also applies to funerals as well. We certainly hope that the person died in the state of grace, but even if they did, we need to pray for them so that if they are in Purgatory, God will be merciful and bring them to Himself.

Anyway, yes, I'm tired and had to rant a bit, but I just wanted to add my reflections on All Souls Day and hopefully correct some of this improper perspective that has crept into the liturgy in the last 40 years.

RS

Another typo in the 2002 Missale Romanum

I think I have found another typo in the 2002 Missale Romanum. Apparently I have read that there are quite a few typos in the Vatican's printing.

Anyway, in Preface I for the Dead (which is the same preface as the only Preface of the Dead in the Extraordinary Form), the word in the 2002 Missale "condicio" should be "conditio."

I swear, some of these typos are as if someone was reading the prayers out loud to someone who was typing them.

EDIT - Fr. Z. has corrected me in the comments. I looked through my hand missals, and of the three the two newer ones (1962) have "conditio" and an older one (1930) had "condicio."

RS

Mass of Fr Benedict in the US

I was just notified of a post about a Thanksgiving Mass of Father Benedict (who was just recently ordained) on his trip here in the US at Church of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, CT with the Society of Saint Hugh of Cluny. The Mass was in the Extraordinary Form. Father Cassian, the prior of the monastery in Norcia, is in the 5th picture giving the homily. The photos are beautiful.

Thanksgiving Mass of Father Benedict Nivakoff, OSB

As a side note, on the first picture in the above link, a monk's hood replaces the biretta, so whenever a priest would wear his biretta, a monk would wear his hood up.

RS

Habemus Sacerdotem

AVE O CRUX SPES UNICA

Pater Maria Benedictus Nivakoff, O.S.B.
monachus Monasterii Sancti Benedicti, Nursiae

sacerdos in aeternum

die 11 Octobris 2008

orate pro eo

-Holy card for the Ordination of Father Benedict

HAIL O CROSS OUR ONE HOPE

Father Mary Benedict Nivakoff, O.S.B.
monk of the Monastery of Saint Benedict, Norcia

a priest forever

on the 11th of October 2008

pray for him

The Church now has a new priest. Let us rejoice and be glad!

The Mass was one of great joy as the Archbishop of Spoleto-Noricia, His Excellency Ricardo Fontana, ordained the now Father Benedict to the priesthood.

I regret that I do not have any personal pictures, but that was because I was able to help serve in the Mass. However, the experience was great. There were many priests and seminarians who had come for the ordination. I met several young men from the North American College, one of whom is a seminarian from my own diocese! And all of whom are solid guys. I must say it was really amazing over the past 24 hours as priests, seminarians, and young men and women who were friends of Father Benedict came to Norcia, and in all the liturgies where we used Latin we were all united in prayer and worship even though there were people from several different countries and languages.

It has been a rather amazing experience, and it has been impressive in how many people have been in contact not only with the monastery but with Father Benedict in his studies. There were people from the United States, people who studied in Rome with him at Santa Croce, and students from the theological institute in Gamming, Austria (I probably didn't spell that right), as well as other friends and family.

It's also been great to help out the monks and get to know the newer members of the community.

Well, I need to get ready for Compline, and then help out Brother Sacristan in setting up for Masses tomorrow. The main Mass will be Father Benedict's thanksgiving Mass.

So, please say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for providing another laborer for the harvest ... one who is solid in the Faith and zealous for liturgy.

Deo gratias!

RS

Ember Days

Today is (well, was at this hour) the first day of the Autumnal Ember Days. Here's some good articles about Ember Days. It seems ironic that in the hurry to restore things from the early Church into the liturgy, one of the oldest traditions was not only downplayed but in actuality dropped by the wayside.

From Fr. Z's blog:

EMBER DAY AWARENESS … DAY

From The New Liturgical Movement:

Ember Days: Explanation and Two Proposals [UPDATED]

and of course the Catholic Encyclopedia

Ember Days

RS

Tomb of Saint Gregory the Great

Here's a few new photos which I took on my pilgrimage a year ago. Pope Saint Gregory the Great holds a place in my heart, not just because I am a Benedictine Novice Oblate and he was a Benedictine monk, but also because of the Masses I have heard at his altar in Saint Peter's. Pope Saint Gregory the Great's relics are in an altar very near the sacristy of Saint Peter's.

An interesting thing, if you ever visit Rome, is that if you can go to Saint Peter's right when the doors open in the early morning, you can attend a Mass of any number of the priests who say Mass at any of the side altars. What is nice about these Masses is that they are practically a private Mass. Usually, it is just the priest and the altar boy, however, the altar boy will sort of ask you if you are going to receive Communion [quizzical looks and a nodding of the head work well in spite of the language barrier, LOL], and give the priest an extra host at the offertory if you are. Anyway, the Mass, although a simple, low Novus Ordo Mass, is very beautiful and reverent if you get a good priest (as I did).

Since I had a devotion to Pope Saint Gregory the Great, I made it a point everyday I was in Rome, to get up early and go to the Mass at his altar.


Providentially, the priest who regularly said Mass at that altar spoke English. But it gets even better. Usually, the the priests say Mass in Italian. However, the second day I went, when the priest came to the altar and saw me again, he went up to the altar, took the Italian Missal, went over to the little cabinet next to the altar, put the Italian Missal in, and pulled a Latin Roman Missal out!


At that point, I was on a spiritual high. And the rest of my pilgrimage he used the Latin Roman Missal when he saw me. I made it a point to thank him, and he told me that since I was obviously not Italian, he figured I would have an easier time with the Latin. Indeed it was true. Being obedient to Vatican II, I know in Latin the parts of the Mass which pertain to me.*

I also love Pope Saint Gregory the Great because of his "Dialogues" which is the best source of information on the life of Saint Benedict, and which gave me information about some other Saints whom I love, Sant'Eutizio, San Fiorenzo, and San Spes.

His name is also attached to the chant of the Roman Rite (Gregorian Chant).


Sancte Gregori, ora pro nobis.

*Sacrosanctum Concilium
"36. 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites."
"54. "... steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them. "

RS

New Translations of the Ordinary of the Mass released

The USCCB has finally released a "study edition" of new translations of the Ordinary of the Mass which Rome just recently approved. I noticed it is now called the "White Book." In my personal opinion, it does a pretty good job of living up to the purity of it's name.

Order of Mass White Book (pdf format)

I just scanned through the file and am actually pretty satisfied with it. My only initial complaints are:
- the more inclusive "people" and slightly awkward feel at the beginning of the Gloria where it says "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will." I think "and peace on earth to men of good will" would have been better. I only say this because in the Creed they still say "for us men" so let's be consistant, OK?
-I find "and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate" a bit awkward, I would think "and by the Holy Spirit He was made incarnate" or "by the Holy Spirit He became incarnate" is less clunky.
-At the preface, I think the "We lift them up to the Lord" needs to be a bit more immediate past tense like "We have lifted them up to the Lord"
-I'm still a little disappointed at the Consecration where the "pro multis" is translated as "for many" instead of "for the many." However, the fact that it has at least been changed from "all" to "many" is a HUGE improvement. Fr. Z. has talked several times about why the "the many" is a better translation.
I'll have to do a more thorough looking at it later.

As to when this will actually go into effect and be allowed to be used at Mass, I am not sure. I have assumed that it wouldn't be officially promulgated until the entire English Roman Missal had been completed. And who knows when that will be since the bishops rejected the Proper of Seasons prayers last month.

However, I am surprised they are releasing this on the USCCB website and are calling it a page for "learning materials" for the "catechesis and eventual implementation" of the new texts. So maybe it will be sooner than I imagine.

Roman Missal Formation Materials

I honestly am curious as to how they will explain this. If they answer truthfully, they would have to say, "Back in the 1970's, ICEL was hijacked by heterodox bishops, clergy, and 'scholars.' [that should be in quotes as no real Latin scholar would claim those translations - RS] As a ploy to fix this mess, we will claim that we are translating the new 2002 Missale Romanum, even though the its Latin is practically identical to the Latin upon which the earlier 'translations' were based."

Still, the translations from ICEL have improved immensely, so I do have to give them credit. And it is a difficult job as some things do become nit-picky (although some things are crucial). I just hope they change their ridiculous copyright policies, as The New Liturgical Movement has mentioned here and here.

RS

A man's return to full communion after leaving SSPX circles

I saw this over at Fr. Z.'s blog and found the full article very interesting and quite valuable.

As I say, it is hard now to retrace every step of that path but I want to give a structure to the considerations that follow, so I will organise them very much in the order which they occurred to me. My initial considerations concerned the episcopal consecrations of 1988 and so were connected to canonical issues. The second body of considerations concerned theological points of controversy, and were connected to the Church’s teachings and to Vatican II. My final considerations concerned the liturgy, and were thus connected to the Church’s worship. What horrified many of my friends and family at the time was not merely my separating from the SSPX, but my questioning the SSPX theses almost right across the board. What they did not understand was my realisation that, in each of these three areas – canonical, theological, liturgical - the SSPX had, albeit very worthily and with serious reasons, made the same false step. That at least is my opinion. I hope to make their false step clearer in due course.

Definitely worth reading the full post here:

Confessions of a Nobody or why I quit the SSPX milieu

RS

Can Solemn Masses make you happier than Low Masses?

Got a letter from my friend, the brewmeister, about a recent Johns Hopkins study on a chemical in incense.

"...the report was saying that frankincense—the incense traditionally burned in religious ceremonies—can act on the brain to lower anxiety and diminish depression.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Hebrew University administered incensole acetate, a component of frankincense, to lab mice and learned that it lit up areas of their little mouse brains that control emotion, including nerve circuits affecting anxiety and depression."

---

Their observation that frankincense smoke “augments the euphoric feeling produced during religious functions” is likely to resonate with many among the faithful.

“There was a strong visual and olfactory effect, and I liked being around it,” says Vince Corso, a New Jersey-based priest with a degree in divinity. “I don’t know if it aligned those parts of my brain to the magic and mystery of the experience, but I was entranced by it.”

Whole article here:

Frankincense and Mirt: Is that psychoactive smoke wafting through the pews?

Ah, so that's why the aging hippy set who threw out the incense are so bitter and hateful towards tradition.

RS

Happy Birthday, Summorum Pontificum

Well it's been one year since the Pope released the motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum." It's interesting that it was released on 07/07/07. "777" is sometimes referred to as "God's Number."

Alas, in my diocese, there has been no implimentation of it. A year ago I had heard of a few probabilites where this would be implemented, but none of them have come about to my knowledge. Overall the liturgical situation of my diocese appears to be pretty neglected by those in authority. The only extraordinary form of the Mass is done by the Fraternity of Saint Peter. Their Low Sunday Mass is completely full, and their High Sunday Mass is overflowing. They really do need their own parish.

Thankfully, the response in other diocese and countries has been greater. Fr. Z. and The New Liturgical Movement have been keeping track of many of the positive responses priests and bishops are making to the motu proprio. Some diocese are even getting permanent parishes for the special use of the Traditional Mass. The most notable example is that Rome now has one.

I now just wait for His Holiness to offer the extraordinary form. He and Msgr. Guido Marini have done a lot for getting the papal liturgies back on track, at least in the ordinary form. I think they are just building up to eventually saying the extraordinary form and saying it more often.

So, say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for this gift from Pope Benedict, and say a prayer for an increase in priests and bishops making the extraordinary form more available.

RS

Clapping in church

"It is not fitting to applaud the servant in the house of his Master."
- Pope St. Pius X on clapping in church.

"Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment."
-Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Quotes found at Hallowed Ground

RS

Is the Pope performing litmus tests?

Well, did not watch the papal liturgy yesterday at Nationals Stadium, precisely because I figured it would be pretty bad musically. However, even I am surprised at how bad and embarrassing it apparently was. I mean, when Jeffery Tucker at the NLM says,

Indeed, when Marty Haugen's Mass of Creation finally came on at the Sanctus, it was a moment of dignity—so much so that I want to take back all my negative comments back when I thought that this Mass setting was unsuitable for a Papal Mass. I don't think anyone knew before this what the phrase "unsuitable" could really mean.

I think America is reaching rock bottom, liturgically.

But it's had me thinking about some things and possibly the Pope's modus operandi. With the things he's done recently, he's been able to perform a ton of litmus tests. Basically, the Pope is seeing exactly which leaders of the Church are "in union" with the Pope and which ones aren't. What is amazing is how successful these tests have been.

Take Summorum Pontificum. Look at how many bishops have not only just ignored the document, but have openly defied it. It's not a complicated document and there really isn't much to read into it regarding its implementation. Yet, it has been astonishing at how foolish many bishops' responses to the motu proprio have been.

I think the same thing happened with the Pope's former Master of Ceremonies, Piero Marini. Marini knew Pope Benedict's thoughts on liturgy, yet Marini continued with his status quo. I think it's pretty clear that Pope Benedict gave Marini a chance to "come around" yet Marini openly defied His Holiness' liturgical principles. And now, Marini has been replaced with someone a bit more cooperative, shall we say. And in the end, Marini can't say he wasn't given a chance to continue to be Master of Ceremonies. He had over a year to improve things, yet even in that time we had the sad spectacle of the vestments in Austria.

And now, the United States has just stepped in it's own doings. There has been a pretty universal embarassment in the Catholic blogosphere over the choice of music at yesterday's Mass. The one positive I see in this is that now the Pope has seen for himself, firsthand the horrid state of liturgical music in the United States. And sadly, the average parish in the United States is barely better. Having the opportunity to see various parishes around me, it is always distressing to see how liturgy just isn't done by the books. Every place does it's own thing. We the laity are forced to choose Masses based on the the whims and preferences of the priest, not on whether the priest follows the liturgical will of the Church as given through the liturgical documents, instructions, and even rubrics.

I know that there is great freedom in just doing the Mass "by the books" rather than trying to impress people or even ourselves. So much energy and time and attention are given to the most unimportant things -- to "the show" as it were - rather than to just doing the Mass the way the Church says to do it.

How does this relate to the Pope? Well, as he said in his accompanying letter to Summorum Pontificum

The celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage. The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal." [emphasis added]

I would say that this litmus test was successful in that I believe the Pope got a read on some of the liturgical problems in this country. I just pray that the Holy Spirit will guide him to a solution for it.

[RS steps off soapbox]

RS

Rome approves new U.S. bishops' adaptation to Ordinary Form of the Mass.

More liturgy watch:

Rome approves new U.S. bishops' adaptation to Ordinary Form of the Mass.

by Flora Polis
Washington D.C. (RSN) -- As Pope Benedict has begun to further reform the liturgy of the Roman Church, Rome has given approval to a recent request submitted by the USCCB after their last plenary meeting. Although only affecting the reformed Mass (or "ordinary form" as coined by Pope Benedict in his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum), the change will be subtle according to Msgr. Pall Froiso.

"The change will not be something jarring or upsetting to the Mass. In fact, we feel that many won't even notice it. However, it is a great way to increase the communal fellowship within the context of the Mass."

Although approved by Rome, the change will only be optional, and will be examined for a five year period. Msgr. Froiso said the bishops hope that after the trial period, it will be allowed to become a permanent adaptation for all Catholics in the United States. "We feel that it's simplicity will make it easy for permanent approval after the trial period," explained Sister Rosa Fopill, spokesperson for the subcommittee of social interaction and liturgical synergy.

In addition to the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the new option will intrduce the Liturgy of Fellowship. It will take place between the Communion Rite and the final dismissal. Here is a summary of the new rite:

1) After Communion, all ministers in the church will line up before the altar.
2) The priest will say a fellowship prayer over the people.
3) The people will then process with the ministers to the parish's community center.
4) All will fellowship for a time yet to be specified for by the bishops' committee.
5) Coffee and donuts will be served to all.
6) A collection will then be taken up.
7) After a short prayer, all process back to the church
8) Mass ends as usual.

"We wanted to make this optional, because some small churches just don't have enough people to get the coffee ready in an orderly manner. The vocation crisis is hitting us hard on all fronts," said Sister Rosa.

The bishops hope to introduce it at the papal liturgy when Pope Benedict visits Washington D.C. later this year.

RS

For more info on
Flora Polis
Pall Froiso
Rosa Fopill
see this link.

Photos of Dom Gerard's Funeral

The New Liturgical Movement provided a link to pictures from the Funeral Mass of Dom Gerard Calvet, OSB, the eventual founder of the Traditional Monastery of Le Barroux in southern France.

As usual the liturgy is beautiful, and shows the detail and theology of the older liturgical form.

Here are some pictures, and the rest can be viewed here:

"Funeral" album of Le Barroux.






More albums can be viewed here:

Le Barroux albums

Dom Gerard Calvet, OSB
1927-2008
Requiescat in pace.
RS

Inclusive language baptisms are invalid

This was just released by the Vatican Information Service:

REPLY FROM DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH ON BAPTISMAL FORMULAE

VATICAN CITY, 29 FEB 2008 (VIS) - Made public today were the responses of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to two questions concerning the validity of Baptism conferred with certain non-standard formulae.

The first question is: "Is a Baptism valid if conferred with the words 'I baptise you in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier', or 'I baptise you in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer'"?

The second question is: "Must people baptised with those formulae be baptised 'in forma absoluta'?"

The responses are: "To the first question, negative; to the second question, affirmative".

Benedict XVI, during his recent audience with Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved these responses, which were adopted at the ordinary session of the congregation, and ordered their publication. The text of the responses bears the signatures of Cardinal Levada and of Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., secretary of the dicastery.

An attached note explains that the responses "concern the validity of Baptism conferred with two English-language formulae within the ambit of the Catholic Church. ... Clearly, the question does not concern English but the formula itself, which could also be expressed in another language".

"Baptism conferred in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", the note continues, "obeys Jesus' command as it appears at the end of the Gospel of St. Matthew. ... The baptismal formula must be an adequate expression of Trinitarian faith, approximate formulae are unacceptable.

"Variations to the baptismal formula - using non-biblical designations of the Divine Persons - as considered in this reply, arise from so-called feminist theology", being an attempt "to avoid using the words Father and Son which are held to be chauvinistic, substituting them with other names. Such variants, however, undermine faith in the Trinity".

"The response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith constitutes an authentic doctrinal declaration, which has wide-ranging canonical and pastoral effects. Indeed, the reply implicitly affirms that people who have been baptised, or who will in the future be baptised, with the formulae in question have, in reality, not been baptised. Hence, they must them be treated for all canonical and pastoral purposes with the same juridical criteria as people whom the Code of Canon Law places in the general category of 'non-baptised'".

CDF/BAPTISM FORMULAE/LEVADA VIS 080229 (420)

RS