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Posted on 07/17/2003 4:24:19 AM PDT by tridentine
While the changes might seem minor, the first revisions the Vatican has made to the mass since 1975 will affect every Roman Catholic who walks forward for communion.
Before they take the bread and wine, they'll have to bow, as a sign of reverence for the Eucharist, the bread and wine Roman Catholics believe becomes the actual body and blood of Christ during the mass.
Catholics also must be quieter during the mass, sitting meditatively in silence before it begins, after the homily, and after they receive communion instead of chatting with neighbors, or whispering to the kids.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
Instead of addressing the issue of priestless parishes, bishops think it's important to "tinker" with things like bowing and telling them not to talk in church before Mass, as if they were children.
We've implemented the GIRM in our diocese, and, honestly, these two items were never discussed. The biggest things I've noticed are the EMs no longer fill the cups prior to distribution (done only by priest or deacon), kneeling after the Lamb of God, and no one leaves the sanctuary during the Sign of Peace.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Instillng some sense of reverence for the Sacrament isn't "tinkering," it's the actual job of the bishop.
With dignity restored to the liturgy, perhaps more men will desire to become priests.
The biggest things I've noticed are the EMs no longer fill the cups prior to distribution (done only by priest or deacon), kneeling after the Lamb of God, and no one leaves the sanctuary during the Sign of Peace.
We've always kneeled after the Lamb of God. It was a vague area in the previous GIRM, but it has been the custom here and in the other places in the East I've visited.
SD
She asks them to what?
Praise the Lord for sparing me the happy clappy!
Some people actually like to pray in Church, even before Mass. Chatting with the neighbors can occur someplace other than in the nave.
SD
Well, it is not as though a Catholic Church is Sanctified and dedicated to the Worship of the one living and true God and so one can't reasonably expect it to be as quiet as, say, a library.
And "stand and greet each other" really says it all about where we are expected to direct our focus.
Go to a Chapel/Church where the 1962 Roman Missal is used vs your local Church where the N.O. is used. The difference is stark.
The only real problem I've seen with the new GIRM is the part where we stand before responding with "May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands..."
We're still trying to get everyone to remember to wait until everyone stands. Perhaps they ought to change it so that everyone stands prior to that?
You have made me feel very thankful and fortunate. That would not be a pleasant experience.
"Stand and greet each other?!?"
Wow.
EMs are here to stay until the number of priests and deacons goes up.
And you, of course, are free to receive on the tongue every time you receive.
New rules for taking communion issued
July 17, 2003
BY CATHLEEN FALSANI Religion Reporter
While the changes might seem minor, the first revisions the Vatican has made to the mass since 1975 will affect every Roman Catholic who walks forward for communion.
Before they take the bread and wine, they'll have to bow, as a sign of reverence for the Eucharist, the bread and wine Roman Catholics believe becomes the actual body and blood of Christ during the mass.
Catholics also must be quieter during the mass, sitting meditatively in silence before it begins, after the homily, and after they receive communion instead of chatting with neighbors, or whispering to the kids.
In a letter sent to every priest and deacon in the Chicago archdiocese, Cardinal Francis George asked that the revisions to The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the guide for how mass should be celebrated by every Roman Catholic in the world, be in place in parishes throughout Cook and Lake counties by Nov. 30, the first Sunday in Advent, said Todd Williamson, director of the Office for Divine Worship.
The dioceses of Joliet and Gary, Ind., already have instituted the revisions, spokesmen said.
The Vatican revisions to the Roman Missal were passed in 2000, but were written in Latin. Their English translation and special "adaptations" requested by the American bishops were not approved until last November, said Monsignor Anthony Sherman, associate director for the Secretariat for the Liturgy at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The idea of the revisions, however minor, is to make sure every Roman Catholic is celebrating mass, the central event in their faith, the same way.
"This is the most important thing we do all week long," Williamson said. "This is a great opportunity for parishes to renew their understanding and their appreciation of the Eucharist."
Some critics wonder why church leaders are focusing their energy on liturgical tinkering instead of working to restore the trust of Catholics disillusioned by the worst clergy sex abuse scandal in the history of the American church.
After recently listening to a liturgy expert from the U.S. bishops brief a group of Chicago priests about the importance of bowing before receiving the communion wafer, the Rev. William Kenneally, pastor of St. Gertrude parish on the far North Side, was so perturbed he preached a homily about it.
"If I was an actor and some director was insisting that my head should be turned this way, and I was missing my lines, I would just be thinking, 'Don't you understand what's important any more?' " Kenneally said.
The liturgy expert told the priests that "people don't respect the Eucharist like they used to," and "we should get people doing the same thing externally and this leads to internal unity," Kenneally recalled.
"I don't know what they're doing, if they're not watching people or what. People love the Eucharist. If they're trying to fix something, they should fix it by making sure there's always Eucharist for people, and that's about ordination," Kenneally said. "They're putting in a fix, like what they did in the scandals. They did a fix, and that's not fixing."
The Rev. Anthony Brankin, pastor of St. Thomas More parish on the Southwest Side where the Latin mass is still said at noon on Sunday, welcomes the revisions.
"There are no bigger fish to fry," Brankin said of the importance of the mass. "If we do that right, then it's an indication that maybe everything will at least follow in some sense. If the act of worship . . . is out of control, is it not possible that everything else could be out of control?"
Oh really? You might want to ask him about this:
310. The chair of the priest celebrant must signify his office of presiding over the gathering and of directing the prayer. Thus the best place for the chair is in a position facing the people at the head of the sanctuary, unless the design of the building or other circumstances impede this: for example, if the great distance would interfere with communication between the priest and the gathered assembly, or if the tabernacle is in the center behind the altar. Any appearance of a throne, however, is to be avoided.119 It is appropriate that, before being put into liturgical use, the chair be blessed according to the rite described in the Roman Ritual.120
The GIRM does not require him to do this, in fact it rather explicitly gives as exception for this case.
But what does it say about the Tabernacle?
314. In accordance with the structure of each church and legitimate local customs, the Most Blessed Sacrament should be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the church that is truly noble, prominent, readily visible, beautifully decorated, and suitable for prayer.125
315...Consequently, it is preferable that the tabernacle be located, according to the judgment of the Diocesan Bishop,
Either in the sanctuary, apart from the altar of celebration, in a form and place more appropriate, not excluding on an old altar no longer used for celebration (cf. above, no. 303);
Or even in some chapel suitable for the faithful's private adoration and prayer129 and which is organically connected to the church and readily visible to the Christian faithful.
SD
Perhaps they are, but they are not being used in accordance with An Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of the Priest, which specifically cites "habitual use of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion" as something that is to be "avoided and eliminated."
It's not a "habit," they could quit anytime they wanted to. LOL
SD
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