Posted on 02/21/2008 1:02:32 PM PST by Balt
What's wrong with big Papal Masses?
[Back when John Paul II made his second visit to our country (I forget the year off the top of my head -- and blogs are done off the top of one's head), I was invited to concelebrate the "stadium Mass" at the Meadowlands with the Holy Father, along with every other priest in the region who had been ordained recently. I declined, not out of any disrespect for the Holy Father, but out of respect for the Blessed Eucharist. Before entering the seminary, I attended his Mass on the Mall in Washington, and found it a most unedifying experience. Couples making out on blankets during the homily; deacons reaching over the heads of people to hand "hosts" to would-be communicants, who grabed the Blessed Sacrament with their grimey fists . . . and the Holy Father thinking the whole thing was just wonderful.
When Pope Benedict was elected, I was encouraged by his first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's: no jokes, no meaningless greetings in a thousand different languages, no nonsense; he came out, made the obligatory "treasure in clay" statement of humility, then matter-of-factly said, "Now we will have the blessing;" then he gave the blessing in Latin and retreated inside to have lunch. And while he has continued the (illadvised, in my opinion) World Youth Day circus, it is clear that he has a very different attitude toward these "mega-Masses" than his crowd-pleasing predecessor. He had the occasion to say so in response to a question put to him during one of those informal meetings he holds with the clergy of the Diocese of Rome.
Here is an article by Paolo Rodari of Il Riformista (translated for us from the Italian by fellow priest-blogger Fr. John Zuhlsdorf), discussing the Holy Father's remarks. --PP]
That the papal liturgies are changing enormously, also thanks to the arrival of the Pope’s new Master of Ceremonies, the Ligurian of the [late Card.] Siri school, Msgr. Guido Marini, is something well-known. Behind Marini, of course, is the Pope, for whom the liturgy of all time is to be celebrated in a new way (which as a matter of fact hasn’t been done for a long time), that is, faithfully following the rules – regardless of ‘old’ or new’ Missal – so as to offer a dignified whole that is respectful of what is taking place.
As a case in point, the Pontiff spoke about this a few days ago (7 Feb) in the traditional and purposely spontaneous parry and riposte which, as happens every year at the beginning of Lent, takes place behind closed doors between him and the priests and deacons of Rome.
Among the ten questions presented to Ratzinger, one was dedicated to Masses celebrated with huge crowds, those which – to be clear – more and more became the established practice during the pontificate of John Paul II. Those which, still, for logistical reasons are for example ever more frequent for spiritual retreats and large ecclesial movements.
The Pope listened in silence to the question offered to him, responded, and then in the following days, made an important decision about it.
But let’s be orderly. The question put to the Pontiff was unimpeachable in its formulation and went like this: "How do we reconcile the treasure of the liturgy in all its solemnity and with the sentiment, emotion and excitment of masses of young people called to participate in it?" Benedict XVI responded immediately that, in effect, there is a problem: "Liturgy in which masses of people participate", he said, "is a big problem."
The Pope recalled that everything began with a question presented in 1960 during a large International Eucharistic Congress at Munich, about how there could be the celebration of the Eucharist also at such events. To adore, it was said at Munich, can be done also at a distance, but to celebrate a limited community is necessary which can interact with the mystery. At Munich many expressed negative opinions regarding the hypothesis of celebrations of the Eucharist in the open, even with one hundred thousand people or more. But it was the Austrian liturgist Josef Andreas Jungmann, one of the architects of the liturgical reform, who created "the concept of ‘statio orbis‘" and thus legitimated celebrations as vast as oceans: in substance, if there exists the "statio Romae", and thus the place where the faithful gather to then go together to the Eucharist, so then there can exist also (and this is the case with Eucharistic Congresses), a "statio orbis", the gathering place of the world.
It is thanks to Jungmann, therefore, that today there are large Mass celebrations. Even so, for Ratzinger, these represent a problem for which a definitive response – as he said himself on 7 February last – "has not yet been found" also because, "if there concelebrate, for example, a thousand priests, you don’t know if this is the structure the Lord wanted."
In the meantime, the Pope said, there is needed at least to find "a certain style to preserve the dignity that is always necessary for the Eucharist." In the last large mass celebrations at which Ratzinger participated, for example at the recent gathering at Loreto, all these problems with these celebrations were present and the situation, he said, "didn’t depend on me, but rather on those who were tasked with the preparation".
And so, there is the solution, for now only partial, but nevertheless necessary, in view of the upcoming ocean-sized Masses: for two occasions on the apostolic visit to the United States (on 17 April in the new Nationals Park and 20 April at Yankee Stadium in New York) and those foreseen for World Youth Day in Sydney. In the USA and Australia, the Pope decided not to delegate any longer the organization of celebrations to third parties. And so he asked that, in the next days, that his Master of Ceremonies, Msgr. Guido Marini, should fly across the oceans (both the Pacific and Atlantic) with the precise task of studying the locations to be used for the liturgical functions with the end of taking on direct responsibility for carrying out celebrations in those spaces; that the result might be Masses that are as vast as oceans, but at least characterized as much as possible with composure and discipline.
[Side Note: In the Byzantine Tradition, the number of concelebrants is limited to the number of priests who can fit closely around the anterior sides of the Holy Table. At the enthronement of our new Bishop on January 29th, the priests of our Eparchy did not concelebrate; only the other bishops in attendence and the eparchial syncellates. At our annual priests' retreat, the daily Divine Liturgy is concelebrated only by three or four priests selected in advance according to region. --PP]
by Paolo Rodari
Oops. The title of this post is supposed to say “Big Papal Mass,” not Big Papal Meass (unless “Meass” actually means something). Otherwise, it’s a typo.
I think it is wrongheaded to attack meaningful worship because of an outmoded insistence that all worship must conform only to traditional forms. A mass meeting in no way harms the local churches. I don’t see how a Catholic can seriously criticize the Youth Days given the energy and in all probability the salvation for many that they have contributed. I am not Catholic but am friendly to Catholics and would love to see all Christian churches grow both in numbers and in the depth of the commitment of their congregations.
And I can’t get a ticket to save my soul....
I appreciate your thoughts; but, not being a Catholic, it might be difficult for you to grasp the Holy Father's concern here. Certainly there's nothing wrong with mass meetings of Christians; but, for us, it's a question of what kind of meeting. Given our faith in the Holy Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ himself, the question is whether a mass gathering is the appropriate venue for the Holy Sacrifice, or should something else be done on those occasions. Why not just a Scripture service, or some other devotional activity? Why does it have to be the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?
In the old days, Masses were never celebrated outside of a consecrated church except under very strictly controled circumstances; and that seems to be what Pope Benedict is trying to appreciate. I found the bit about Jungman's influence in Munich very interesting, as it paved the way for the first "mega-Massses;" and the Holy Father seems to be questioning his reasoning.
In any case, I'm glad that Msgr. Marini has been dispatched in advance to take some control over these celebrations away from the locals and enforce some liturgical decorum.
I’m not a Latin, as most of you know. I can say that we Orthodox were not enthused at all with the spectacle Masses popularized by +JPII. They had a circus atmosphere to them which certainly is foreign to our liturgical experience. I know that the Phanar and, I am told, the MP did not react favorably to them and were not quiet about it. These comments by +BXVI are, as is so much of what he says and does, very welcome.
Amen!
I get it now. Theologically it should not matter with a consecrated host though (?) In Catholic terms, isn’t it the consecration and the status of the person in the church (whether they are allowed to take communion) that matters (?)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.