HAVE IT YOUR WAY WORSHIP

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Fiat

We were forewarned that the NeoCatechumenal Way would be approved, in spite of the fact that “The Neocatechumenals typically celebrate their Masses not on Sunday, but on Saturday evening, in small groups, separated from the rest of the parish community. And because each Neocatechumenal group corresponds to a particular stage of the Way, each group has its own Mass, in different places. “ , etc. etc.

Read about it in the most recent post at Rorate.

(edited) There was a most apropos comment made at CatholicCulture.org regarding the approbation given by Rome. It reads:  “This pronouncement neatly avoids the issue of how the Neo Cats celebrate Holy Mass — which IS a liturgical celebration. They have their own little specialities, which are not addressed. Also, if they are to follow the local bishops, what of Japan, where the bishops voted to suspend the Neo Cat activities for 5 years? The Holy See overruled the bishops of Japan on this a year ago. Kiko won a battle in Rome, but he caused the Japanese bishops to “lose face” in public –tragedy for the Church.”

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #11

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Fiat

“Cleanse my heart and my lips, O Almighty God, Who cleansed the lips of the Prophet Isaiah with a burning coal; in Thy gracious mercy deign so to purify me that I may worthily proclaim Thy holy Gospel. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

The reference to Isaiah and the burning coal signifies that God’s grace is like a fire which burns out the dross of sin, and enkindles in the heart a love of God and heavenly things. After the prayer and blessing, the priest is ready to proclaim the Gospel in a recollected and edifying manner, “For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek the law at his mouth; because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts.” – (Malachi 2:7)

We may consider Our Lord standing before Herod, and not speaking a word. He who is the Word, who is Wisdom Itself, remains silent because “Wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins.”  Herod asks questions, not to learn, not to open his heart to Jesus, not to repent of his evil deeds, but to satisfy his curiosity.  He delights in the prospect of being privy to a private showing of signs and wonders. When Jesus refuses to speak, He is mocked and ridiculed.

“Lord Jesus Christ Who before Herod didst for my salvation suffer the same charge of crimes against Thee without returning the least word to justify Thyself, grant that I may receive Thy Word with all purity so that Thy grace may enable me, O Divine Master, to be meek and humble of heart.  Amen.”

The “Munda cor meum” of the N.O. was truncated by eliminating the rich Biblical reference of unworthiness and sinfulness as found in Isaiah.  Also excised were the words of pleading with humility, “in Thy gracious mercy deign”.  What remained is this:  “Almighty God, cleanse my heart and my lips that I may worthily proclaim your gospel.”   

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #10

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Fiat

After the Gloria, follows the Collect – a prayer rich in Catholic doctrine – and then the reading of the Epistle.

In the low Mass, the priest reads the Epistle, while in the High Mass, it is chanted by the subdeacon, a cleric with authority to teach and instruct.  The readings are  missives written by one of the Apostles which stress matters of doctrine and moral conduct.

We may consider Jesus being falsely accused before Pilate: “Lord Jesus Christ, who wouldst be brought bound to Pilate and before him wrongfully accused; teach me to avoid the deceits of the wicked, and to profess Thy faith truly by good works.“

In the N.O. the Epistle is most commonly read by a layperson while the priest sits in his Presider’s chair.

As with the Propers, the Scriptural readings for the N.O. underwent the same “sanitizing” process, i.e., verses that were offensive to the thinking of modern man were excised.  On Sunday’s anyway, Catholics no longer hear about the antagonism of the Jewish leadership against our Lord, the necessity for detachment from the things of this world, damnation of souls, hell, and punishment for sin, etc.  Jacob Michael wrote about this in Gutting the Gospels: The Sacrilegious Stripping of the Novus Ordo Lectionary.

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From an independent columnist: “Look, the Emperor isn’t wearing clothes!”

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Fiat

Writes Chris Freind:

“……The church lost that when it stopped demanding greatness, instead letting folks off the hook by making things “easier.”

[Want to hold God in the palm of your hand?  Go right ahead.  We don’t care if you drop Him on the floor.  Doesn’t it make you feel important, now?]

Since the article has a copyright, I’ve edited my original post to include only the lead quote.

Full article here.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS# 9

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Fiat

The priest reverently kisses the middle of the altar where rests the altar stone with relics. This kiss is a sign of love and greeting to Christ and His saints who are united with Him in Heaven. Then, turning around, but with lowered eyes, he as mediator between heaven and earth, greets the Church militant with the first Dominus vobiscum.

By kissing the altar before greeting the faithful, the Roman Daily Catholic Missal explains that the priest first “breathes in, so to speak, the love and spirit of Jesus Christ”, which he as mediator between heaven and earth, can then extend to the faithful with the words, “The Lord be with you.”

By the kiss to the altar, and then the greeting, the priest would have us know that all graces and blessings come from the Holy Sacrifice on the altar. The gift of the love of Christ and his grace rebounds back to the priest with our response, “And with thy spirit.”

With this first Dominus vobiscum, we recall, as Gihr teaches, that “salvation and blessing for time and eternity are…essentially comprised in the Dominus vobiscum” for without Christ we have nothing.

It was a look of love directed at Peter which converted him. May we respond, like Peter, with love and fidelity in carrying our crosses of daily duty.

We may pray in this vein: “ Lord Jesus Christ, who, mercifully looking back on Peter, caused him to bitterly weep for his offense, look on me, I beseech Thee, with the eye of Thy mercy, that I may fully lament my sins and hereafter, faithfully follow Thee all the rest of my life, my Lord and my God. Amen.”

The Dominus Vobiscum is not used at this point in the Novus Ordo. As a matter of fact, while the TLM has 8 such blessings bestowed on the faithful, (each coming with particular graces, depending on the place of the Mass where it is imparted) the N.O. only has three Dominus vobiscum’s; furthermore, the priest does not first kiss the altar before any of those 3 Dominus vobiscum’s, thereby losing rich, mystical significance, and most likely, graces.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #8

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Fiat

Standing at the middle of the altar, the priest forms a circle when he extends, elevates and then joins his hands to intone the Gloria.  With this gesture we are reminded of God without beginning, without end, the Alpha and the Omega.

From The Roman Catholic Daily Missal, 1962:  “Freed from preoccupation with his sinfulness and confident that God will heal his wretchedness, the Priest intones this cry of joy before the greatness of God’s absolute existence:  ‘I am Who Am.’ “

 It seems probable that our Blessed Mother, who ”kept all these words, pondering them in her heart”, must have at sometime during His Passion, wistfully recalled the joyful birth of her little Infant Son whom she had held ever so tenderly in her arms.

We may pray:  “O Bread which came down from Heaven! My treasure, my happiness! I desire to serve Thee with a good will and purity of intention. Grant to me, for the love Thou bearest Thy Holy Mother, the grace of a pure and tranquil conscience, so that in this life I may pass my days in holiness and innocence; ever grateful for Thy gift of peace to those who would love Thee. What else can he who lives by Thee want any more on earth?”

In the N.O. this prayer is called a hymn of praise. But this is an inadequate description, because the Gloria is much more than that. In the Gloria, the four ends of the Sacrifice of the Mass are to be found: Adoration, Thanksgiving, Atonement, Petition.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #7

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Fiat

In the Tridentine Mass the Kyrie is recited by the priest alternating with the server(s) in the nine-fold Kyrie.  From the Catholic Encyclopedia: “So we have, at least from the eighth century, our present practice [organic development with growth and enhancement of dogma] of singing immediately after the Introit three times Kyrie Eleison, three times Christe Eleison, three times Kyrie Eleison, making nine invocations altogether. Obviously the first group is addressed to God the Father, the second to God the Son, the third to God the Holy Ghost.”

No matter how much we love our Lord, let us remember that when left to our own weakness, we too, will deny Him. Let us  heed our Lord’s admonishment to “watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.”  We place all our hopes in the mercy of the Triune God as we recall the denial of Peter.

“Lord Jesus Christ who didst suffer Thyself to be thrice denied by the Prince of Thy Apostles in the house of Caiphas, preserve me, I beseech Thee, from ill company that I may suffer all worldly losses, and even death itself, rather than deny Thee once.  Amen.”

In the N.O. the Kyrie may be led by the priest or a song leader – which is often the case –  in a six-fold Kyrie.  It may be done following the Penitential rite, or alone as one of the options in that rite.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #6

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Fiat

The word “introit”  derives from the Latin introitus,  meaning “entrance”.  Properly speaking, it marks the commencement of the actual Sacrifice.  The priest reads the Introit in the Missal even when it is also sung by a choir.

We call to mind that Our Lord was brought before the judgment seat in the palace of the high-priest Annas, where, in the opinion of religious writers, Annas rendered the ‘official’ condemnation of the innocent Lamb.  Sending Him on to his son-in-law, Caiaphas, was a mere formality.  Scripture records that before Annas, our Lord suffered the pain and indignity of a blow to His Sacred Face by one of the servants. St. Alphonsus wonders in astonishment as to how the truth uttered in meekness by Christ is worthy of such painful humiliation, and he remarks, “The worthless high-priest, instead of reproving the insolence of this audacious fellow, praises him, or at least, by signs approves.”  Our Lord accepted this painful affront in expiation for the countless sins of all of us, the children of Adam, who until the end of time, continue to strike Him with every sin.

We pray: “Lord Jesus Christ, who wouldst be brought bound to Annas, as a malefactor, by an armed band of wicked men; give me grace that by no evil spirit, or evil doers, I may be ever drawn to sin, but by Thy good Spirit led to the fulfilling of Thy divine will.  Amen.

As the Mass proceeds we intensify our focus on the Person of Our Lord so that our interior disposition may become something like that of our Blessed Mother’s as she accompanied her Son to Calvary.

In the N.O.  the Mass starts with the Entrance Hymn since the preparatory prayers at the foot of the altar were eliminated.  From the GIRM:  “Its purpose [ entrance hymn, or chant] is to open the celebration, foster the unity of those who have been gathered, turn their thoughts to the mystery of the celebration, and accompany the procession. If there is no singing at the Entrance, the antiphon in the Missal is recited either by the faithful, or by some of them, or by a lector; otherwise, it is recited by the priest himself, who may even adapt it as an introductory explanation.”

The Introit of the TLM – being an abbreviated Psalm – is completely Christocentric.  The Psalms, which encompass every sentiment of the pious heart, were used by Our Lord Himself when He addressed His Father. One wonders what Psalm our dear Lord must have been praying at this moment of His Passion!

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #5

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Fiat

The brazen altar of the old Testament was constructed with 4 raised corners, or horns.  To each corner was attached a cord and thus there were 4 bands with which to bind the sacrificial victim. According to Ann Catherine Emmerich, Jesus was bound by four ropes when led out of the Garden.

We may think of this as the priest  walks to the Epistle side of the altar.  Knowing that the priest is about to commence the great unbloody Sacrifice, we can continue to prepare for interior participation by praying thus:

“Lord Jesus Christ, who wouldst be bound by the hands of wicked men; loosen, I beseech Thee, the chains of my sins, and so tie me with the bands of charity and cords of Thy commandments, that I may neither in thought, word, nor deed, hereafter offend Thee.    Amen.”

In the N. O.  the priest stands by his presider’s chair while a server comes to him with the missal.

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THEOLOGY OF THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS #4

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Fiat

The priest now ascends the steps to the altar of sacrifice while inaudibly he prays:

” Take away from us our iniquities, we beseech Thee, Lord, that with pure minds we may worthily enter into the holy of holies. Through Christ our Lord.  Amen.”

Then kissing the altar, he continues:

“We beseech Thee, O Lord, by the merits of Thy Saints whose relics lie here, and of all the Saints, deign in Thy mercy to pardon me all my sins. Amen.”

We can pray thus: “Lord Jesus Christ, who didst suffer Judas to betray Thee with a kiss; grant that I may never betray Thee in my neighbor or myself; nor ever return evil to my enemies, but rather to be charitable to them.”

In the N.O., the celebrant often uses the option of addressing the congregation with an impromtu explanation on the theme of the day, this while standing by his presider’s chair.

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