THE story is told about a priest who, wanting to be “in” with the youth, started the Mass by saying, “The Lord be with you… nobody, nobody but you!” In no time, he had the whole congregation singing and dancing to the popular song “Nobody, nobody but you!”
Benedictine-style altar arrangement
Tunicled acolytes preparing
Tunicled acolytes in procession
ROME The document was delivered to the hands of Benedict XVI in the morning of last April 4 by Spanish Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship. It is the result of a reserved vote, which took place on March 12, in the course of a "plenary" session of the dicastery responsible for the liturgy, and it represents the first concrete step towards that "reform of the reform" often desired by Pope Ratzinger. The Cardinals and Bishops members of the Congregation voted almost unanimously in favor of a greater sacrality of the rite, of the recovery of the sense of eucharistic worship, of the recovery of the Latin language in the celebration, and of the remaking of the introductory parts of the Missal in order to put a stop to abuses, wild experimentations, and inappropriate creativity (These abuses are always justified for pastoral concerns but as a priest friend said, these are not pastoral concerns but concerns of the pastor! Abuses due to the false sense and interpretation of "active participation." MANY Eucharistic celebration has become nothing more than a "worldy", secular celebration devoid of the sense of the sacred. For starters, just say the black and do the red.). They have also declared themselves favorable to reaffirm that the usual way of receiving Communion according to the norms is not on the hand, but in the mouth. (The norm has NEVER been communion by the hand even in the ordinary form.) There is, it is true, and indult which, on request of the [local] episcopates, allows for the distribution of the host [sic] also on the palm of the hand, but this must remain an extraordinary fact. The "Liturgy Minister" of Pope Ratzinger, Cañizares, is also having studies made on the possibility to recover the orientation towards the Orient of the celebrant, at least at the moment of the eucharistic consecration, as it happened in practice before the reform, when both the faithful and the priest faced towards the Cross and the priest therefore turned his back to the assembly. (Another totally forgotten norm. Priests and faithful today are confused as to what is THE center of the celebration. Many of the abuses and wild experimentation began when the priest faced the people as it created a void as to WHO should be the focus of attention. Many priests as they face the people eye to eye try to fill this void by injecting their personality in the Holy Sacrifice, becoming performers, talk show hosts rather than sacred ministers, again all in the name of "pastoral concerns" and "active participation." Who is the center? One should immediately recall the words of sacred scripture "...for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." As we proclaim the Lord's death on the cross it is imperative that the crucifix should be the center, the focus of the celebration, to remind us that the sacred action unfolding at Mass is a SACRIFICE, the sacrifice and death of our Lord on the cross. Furthermore, the priest facing the people, especially during the Eucharistic Prayer leaves a bad impression that the priest and the faithful are praying to each other. In the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest is not conversing to the people, but it is a prayer to God, it is directed towards God, therefore it is necessary that the priest face God instead of the people to highlight this principle. In the past, liturgy and theology are solidly fused and never separated...Lex Orandi Lex Credendi.)
Those who know Cardinal Cañizares, nicknamed "the small Ratzinger" before his removal to Rome, know that he is disposed to move forward decisively with the project, beginning in fact from what was established by the Second Vatican Council in the liturgical constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, which was, in reality, exceeded by the post-Conciliar reform which came into forceat the end of the Sixties. The porporato, interviewed by monthly 30Days in recent months, had declared regarding this: "At times change was for the mere sake of changing from a past perceived as negative and outdated. (What was sacred then is sacred now! Many in the Philippines think the same way due to the strong influence of liturgists in favor of everything that is new: creative, inculturated and a false sense of "active participation.") Sometimes the reform was regarded as a break and not as an organic development of Tradition."
For this reason, the "propositiones" voted by the Cardinals and Bishops at the March plenary foresee a return to the sense of sacredness and to adoration, but also a recovery of the celebrations in Latin in the dioceses, at least in the main solemnities, as well as the publication of bilingual Missals - a request made at his time by Paul VI - with the Latin text first.
The proposals of the Congregation, which Cañizares delivered to the Pope, obtaining his approval, are perfectly in line with the idea often expressed by Joseph Ratzinger when he was still a Cardinal, as it is made clear his unpublished words on the liturgy, revealed in advanced by Il Giornale yesterday, and which will be published in the book Davanti al Protagonista (Cantagalli [publisher]), presented beforehand at a congress at Rimini. With a significant nota bene: for the accomplishment of the "reform of the reform", many years will be necessary. The Pope is convinced that hasty steps, as well as to simply drop directives from above, serve no good, with the risk that they may later remain a dead letter. The style of Ratzinger is that of comparison and, above all, of example. As the fact that, for more than a year, whoever approaches the Pope for Communion, have had to kneel down on the kneeler especially placed by the cerimonieri.
Beginning February 20, the Friday noon Mass at the Stella Orientis Oratory will be celebrated in Latin. The Mass will continue to be the ordinary rite as approved by Vatican II, not the extraordinary rite or the so-called Tridentine Mass.
Celebrating the Friday noon Mass this way will preserve the use of Latin in the liturgy, as encouraged by Pope Benedict XVI. Using Latin in the Mass has never been stopped or prohibited. In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium the Second Vatican Council, while allowing the use of the vernacular, also affirmed that the “use of the Latin language (…) is to be preserved in the Latin rites." (no. 36)
WASHINGTON— The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has received approval (recognitio) from the Holy See’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for the new English-language translation of the Order of Mass (Ordo Missae).
This is the first section of the translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal. It includes most of the texts used in every celebration of the Mass, including the responses that will be said by the people.
In its letter, the Congregation pointed out that while the texts are binding, the approval “does not intend that these texts are to be put into use immediately.”
Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation, explained the reasons for providing the text at this time. The purpose is to provide “time for the pastoral preparation of priests, deacons and for appropriate catechesis of the lay faithful. It will likewise facilitate the devising of musical settings for parts of the Mass.”
The text is covered by copyright law and the Statutes of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy.
The more significant changes of the people’s parts are:
1. et cum spiritu tuo is rendered as “And with your spirit”
2. In the Confiteor, the text “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault” has been added
3. The Gloria has been translated differently and the structure is different from the present text
4. In the Preface dialogue the translation of “Dignum et justum est” is “It is right and just”
5. The first line of the Sanctus now reads “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts”
6. The response of the people at the Ecce Agnus Dei is “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”
At this time, no date is available as to when the entire translation of the Roman Missal will be released.
"On the other hand, a common turning to the East during the Eucharistic Prayer remains essential. This is not a case of accidentals, but of essentials. Looking at the priest has no importance. What matters is looking together at the Lord. It is not now a question of dialogue, but of common worship, of setting off towards the One who is to come. What corresponds with the reality of what is happening is not the closed circle, but the common movement forward expressed in a common direction for prayer...." - Cardinal Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy
"In the early Church there was a custom whereby the Bishop or the priest, after the homily, would cry out to the faithful: "Conversi ad Dominum" – turn now towards the Lord. This meant in the first place that they would turn towards the East, towards the rising sun, the sign of Christ returning, whom we go to meet when we celebrate the Eucharist. Where this was not possible, for some reason, they would at least turn towards [the liturgical East] the image of Christ in the apse, or towards the Cross, so as to orient themselves inwardly towards the Lord. " - Pope Benedict XVI, Easter Vigil 2008 Sermon
An ad orientem Mass according to the ordinary form was celebrated by Fr. Michell Joe Zerrudo last Saturday night at the Cuaresma Exhibit in Harrison Plaza annex building. Fr. Jojo wore the traditional vestments we often see in Tridentine Masses like the laced alb, cincture, stole and roman chasuble (fiddleback). The Mass was unique and memorable for everyone who assisted as it was in the presence of the relics of the True Cross and relics of the Holy Apostles, with the priest and the congregation oriented to the liturgical east facing these sacred relics. The presence of these sacred relics of the cross and the images of the different scenes from the passion of our Lord was a fitting reminder for everyone who assisted that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is indeed making present the great sacrifice of our Lord at Calvary. The Mass was in English while the central part, from the Eucharist Prayer 1 onwards, were in Latin, filled the atmosphere with a depth of mystery and sacredness.
In relation to the posts: Rev. Fr. Abraham P. Arganiosa, CRS prepares for Tridentine Mass and Somascan Priests in Bicol to be Armed with the 1962 Missal, I'd like to share a photograph of Fr. Abe offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to Missal of Paul VI (Novus Ordo), that is ad orientem with Latin and using Eucharistic Prayer 1, during a private Mass last December 2007. Fr. Abe offered the Mass with dignity, reverence and solemnity it deserves making best out of the altar items and vestments available for our use.
