Card. Stafford attends the Penitentiary celebration in the Saint Peter Basilica at the Vatican, April 11, 2006.
Card. Stafford attends the Penitentiary celebration in the Saint Peter Basilica at the Vatican, April 11, 2006.
Posted on 04/11/2006 10:10:52 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The former custom of the celebration of penance in Holy Week was revived at the Vatican, presided over by an American cardinal.
The celebration in St. Peter's Basilica today took place according to the rite for communitarian reconciliation, with confession and individual absolution.
Presiding, in the name of Benedict XVI, was Cardinal James Stafford, major penitentiary, who explained in his homily that "the darkness of sin will never be able to suppress the light of divine mercy."
The cardinal pointed out that this is the answer for the many people who wonder if it is possible to forgive, especially when it is a question of wicked crimes, such as violence against children or the mass killing of innocents.
Archbishop Piero Marini, master of pontifical liturgical celebrations, had explained that the rite had been a tradition in Rome on Holy Thursday until the Renaissance.
Today, after a procession in silence and prayer before a crucifix, the ceremony continued with the Liturgy of the Word, and Cardinal Stafford's homily.
The Rite of Reconciliation then took place, which included the formula for the confession of sins, followed by invocations for pardon and the Our Father.
Individual confessions then began. Sixty confessors were available, administering the sacrament in 26 languages.
During the ceremony, the faithful sang psalms and invocations for forgiveness.
The ceremony ended with Cardinal Stafford's brief exhortation to carry out good works, and with thanksgiving and a blessing.
Card. Stafford attends the Penitentiary celebration in the Saint Peter Basilica at the Vatican, April 11, 2006.
A priest prays during the Penitentiary celebration presieded by Card. Stafford in the Saint Peter Basilica at the Vatican, April 11, 2006.
A nun prays during the Penitentiary celebration presieded by Card. Stafford in the Saint Peter Basilica at the Vatican, April 11, 2006.
Benedikt -- Gott geschickt!
Perhaps BXVI should do a reform of the liturgy based upon the 1474 Missal, the more elaborate predecessor of the Tridentine Mass.
The 1474 Missale Romanum:
http://ffyl.uncu.edu.ar/departamentos/filosofia/centros/cefim/Ordinarium%201474.pdf
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You better believe it! Deo gratias!
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