What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

UPDATE

There have been problems with the feed.  I think I fixed it by deactivating and reactivating all my plugins.

However, I have lost thousands of subscribers. 

If you subscribed (or even if you didn’t) please do!

Also, if you can link to WDTPRS and keep the stats here high and growing, well… that provides a little "protection", in a sense, from some folks who don’t like this blog very much.

In any event, chime in and let me know if the feed is working.

Thanks for the patience!

 

This amazingly repetitive item is just in from ANSA:

POPE’S VISIT TO "LA SAPIENZA" CANCELLED

ROMA - The Vatican has "considered it opportune to postpone" the Pope’s visit to "La Sapienza" University "following the well known misadventures (vicende) in the last days".  The Holy See Press Office made the announcement. The Pope will not participate at the event and will limit himself to sending the text of the speech he would have given in Rome’s oldest atheneum.  "After the well-known misadventures of the last days regarding the visit of the Holy Father to "La Sapienza" University, which at the invitation of the Rettore Magnifico would have taken place Thursday 17 January", the note of the Vatican Press Office reads, "it is considered opportune to postpone the event.  The Holy Father will send, nevertheless, the foreseen speech."

Zadok has been follow this for us.  You can also check out Il Giornale.

These narrow-minded little brats are probably being pushed by aging hippies, communists, and sexual deviants.  Much of the protest seems focused on how "homophobic" Pope Benedict  is.    Also, apparently the Pope and the Church are against science and truth, etc.

Basically, this whole thing is driven by two things: stupidity and lust. 

The Church in Italy has been very involved in some matters in the public square.  After decades of having no real opposition, the Left is freaking out now because the Church and the Italian bishops are no longer being filtered through the monumentally mediocre and now defunct Christian Democrat party.  The Church is weighing in on matters like assisted fertilization, civil unions for homosexuals, euthanasia, abortion, etc. The Left and the deviants don’t like this new development at all.  Their reactions?  Level death threats against the new president of the Bishops Conference and then behave like snotnosed delinquents when faced with opposing views.

The authorities were worried about what image would be created by televising students involved in civil disobedience confronting the Pope. 

The entire University is shutting down because of the actions of the students.

I would probably send in the Carabinieri and then drag the students gagged and in chains to the next Angelus.

 

Here is a brief snapshot of the general geographical location of where some of you readers are.

This is just of the last few minutes or so.

This is by no means exhaustive or precise.

London, London, City of
Four Oaks, North Carolina
Tacoma, Washington
Marathon, New York
Wickenburg, Arizona
Prescott, Arizona
Derby
Dublin
Hanover, Pennsylvania
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rochdale
Dallas, Texas
Hampstead, North Carolina
Erie, Pennsylvania
Watsonville, California
Powell, Ohio
Newport News, Virginia
Franklin Square, New York
Oakland, California
Absecon, New Jersey
Saint Louis, Missouri
Salt Lake City, Utah
Wakefield, Massachusetts
Jaragu Do Sul, Santa Ca…
Jefferson Valley, New Y…
Piscataway, New Jersey
Ozark, Missouri
Lewisville, Texas
Imperial, Pennsylvania
Export, Pennsylvania
Toulouse, Midi-Pyrenees
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Cincinnati, Ohio
New Orleans, Louisiana
Salinas, California
Glendale, Arizona
Dublin
Manassas, Virginia
Cincinnati, Ohio
Bridgman, Michigan
Summit, New Jersey
Easley, South Carolina
Anderson, South Carolina
Saint Louis, Missouri
Austin, Texas
Trenton, Tennessee
El Cajon, California
Elmont, New York
Baden, Niederosterreich
Rome, Lazio
Hopeland, Pennsylvania
Baltimore, Maryland
Rochester, New York
San Diego, California
Youngstown, Ohio
Detroit, Michigan
Silver Spring, Maryland
Anaheim, California
Laurel, Maryland
Raleigh, North Carolina
Houston, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
Sanford, Florida
Effort, Pennsylvania
San Diego, California
Oxon Hill, Maryland
West Bloomfield, Michigan
Pontpierre
Lubbock, Texas
Corning, California
Kaunas, Kauno Apskritis
Rock Island, Illinois
Warsaw, Warszawa
Dallas, Texas
Washington, District of…
Reston, Virginia
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Indianapolis, Indiana
Nottingham
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Big Spring, Texas
Locust Grove, Oklahoma
Rockford, Illinois
Holly, Michigan
Atlanta, Georgia
Hoosick, New York
Jacksonville, Florida
Vancouver, Washington
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Chicago, Illinois
Nashville, Tennessee
Philadelphia, Pennsylva…
Annapolis, Maryland
Greensboro, North Carol…
Dallas, Texas
Lexington, Kentucky
Amsterdam, Noord-Holland
Acton, Massachusetts
Pataskala, Ohio
Von Ormy, Texas
Fountain Valley, Califo…
Toronto, Ontario
Metairie, Louisiana
Leavenworth, Kansas
Ypsilanti, Michigan
Four Oaks, North Carolina
Philadelphia, Pennsylva…
Letterkenny, Donegal
Mnchengladbach, Nordrhe…
Yakima, Washington
Leavenworth, Kansas
Four Oaks, North Carolina
Letterkenny, Donegal
Toronto, Ontario
Bucharest, Bucuresti
Dry Prong, Louisiana
Warner Robins, Georgia
Louisville, Kentucky
Garland, Texas

Take note of the role of the Crucifix in these two images.

Before (2007):

And after (2008):

 

Biretta tip to Rinascimento sacro  o{]:¬)

Listen to PODCAzTs on the position of the altar here, and here.  Both of these concern Mass ad orientem.

John Paul II celebrated Mass ad orientem, but early in his pontificate (read: before Piero Marini?)

UPDATE:  16 January 2008 21:28 GMT

The blog of The Sober Sophomore has this, which is rather amusing.  I like the title of the entry:

Notre Dame Magazine – or – "I survived Fr Z!"

I’m sure by now most of my usual readers have either read on Fr Z’s blog or in the Notre Dame Magazine itself a wonderful article featuring myself and Johnny.

I was quite pleased with the article, and even more pleased that Fr. Z actually complimented it! What an honor! You can read Fr. Z’s comments over at WDTPRS.

And here are those comments, below!

END UPDATE

I got an e-mail reporting that the alumni magazine of the University of Notre Dame published something about the "extraordinary form" of Mass.  We have looked at Notre Dame University before on WDTPRS. 

From what I hear, Notre Dame is taking a very different approach than that of both Franciscan University at Steubenville and Ave Maria University in Florida.

Let’s have a look at this positive article with my emphases and comments.

Dear Fr. Zuhlsdorf – here is an article in Winter 2007-08 Notre Dame Magazine (the alumni mag of my alma mater) about the Extraordinary Form Mass that is being said on campus. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how fair-minded and even favorable it is to the Mass; when I first noticed the story, I was expecting the worst. But it is very respectful.

An Extraordinary Liturgy Returns to Campus

by John Nagy

The Mass is celebrated publicly about 176 times each week at Notre Dame when the University is in session, says Father Richard Warner, CSC, the director of campus ministry. Different Masses meet different spiritual needs. Congregants may pray together in English, Spanish or Latin and choose from a sampler box of musical styles and aesthetic surroundings. All of these Masses are celebrated according to the reformed Roman Missal of Pope Paul VI introduced in 1970.  [Hmmm…  this could sound a little like division also, but … okay… this also shows how flexible the Church’s liturigy is.  One Mass, many expressions.]

All except one, that is. At 8 a.m. on October 14, some 100 people gathered with Father Thomas Blantz, CSC, in the Saint Charles Borromeo chapel in Alumni Hall to participate in what was likely the first Tridentine Mass on campus in nearly 40 years.

"It’s very exciting," says senior Mary Elizabeth Walter. "Had you told me three years ago we would be having the Tridentine Mass here on campus I would have said ‘Yeah, right, I wish.’"

For years, pockets of Catholics have secured permission from local Church authorities to celebrate the Mass using the 1962 Missal of Blessed John XXIII. The reforms issued under Paul VI had turned the priest toward the congregation, [Alas.] allowed translation of the entire Mass into the vernacular, changed other important customs and prompted reactions from the faithful that ran the spectrum from elation to acceptance to devastation.

Unlike most Catholics born after Vatican II, Walter grew up with the Tridentine Mass at her family’s parish in Baltimore, which she says also offers Sunday Masses in English and Lithuanian and brings all three communities together for vibrant parish functions.  [That is very important.]

Church leaders hope Walter’s experience of unity in liturgical diversity [This seems to be the writers real point.] is the norm. At Notre Dame, the decision to initiate Sunday celebration of the old Mass came swiftly last summer after Pope Benedict issued Summorum Pontificum, an apostolic letter affirming it as the "extraordinary form" of the Roman rite established after the Second Vatican Council.

The move also reflects the persistence of students, [Again and again we see that it is young people who really drive this movement and who are instituting a reform from below and from within.] who have expressed their interest to Warner and his staff in person over the past few years. Recently, more than 150 students showed their support on Facebook, the social networking website, by joining a group called "I am interested in having the Tridentine Mass at Notre Dame."  [An internet site used as a tool to attain their rightful aspirations.  This is instructive.  University students – pay attention!]

Brett Perkins, who runs Notre Dame’s programs for Catholic peer ministry and outreach to Protestant students, says many of these students are as attracted to contemporary prayer services as they are to older devotions. "They’re not willing to be . . . labeled as a particular type of person," he says. "What they are is fully Catholic."

For students like Walter, love for the old Mass and its reverence for God’s transcendence runs deep. Some critics of the pope’s letter have dismissed their preference as "nostalgia," a take that makes Walter cringe. The history and medieval studies major started exploring the Mass more critically in high school. "I wanted to check it out for myself and make sure it wasn’t this irrational attachment just because my parents loved it," she says. "They’re both the Mass. They’re both beautiful. But there’s a particular richness to the Tridentine Mass. The prayers are so much deeper there. It heightens your awareness of the sacred."  [A good explanation for her own reaction.]

"It’s an acquired taste," [Isn’t everything?] says John Gerardi, a sophomore classics and philosophy major who is one of six volunteers qualified to serve the old Mass because of his knowledge of Latin and his training in the traditional gestures, or rubrics. "I know the first time I went I was lost. . . . Once people get comfortable with it, you see a lot who start really preferring it."

Gerardi’s experience—more than six years’ worth—is hard to come by, which is one reason Benedict’s letter will have limited impact on Catholic parish and campus life. [This is an inherent contradiction in the article.  On the one hand, experience with the older Mass comes from participation over a while until you get used to it.  On the other hand it is "hard to come by".  The thinking is a little crossed up here.]  Eleven priests attended a training session that Perkins and Father Peter Rocca, CSC, rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, set up to prepare for the Mass. Some were older priests who wanted to get reacquainted with rubrics they hadn’t practiced in decades. Others were younger priests who, Father Nicholas Ayo, CSC, warns with a smile, will have "quite a bit of homework" to do.

Ayo celebrated the old Mass for 11 years after his 1959 ordination and, though he prefers the new missal and believes Catholics would get more out of it if they were better instructed, [Of course they would!  And they must!] volunteered because he was capable. "If we’re going to do it at Notre Dame, we’re going to do it right," he says.  [Well said!]

"The language comes easily, [but] I’m having to look at the book and read what it tells me to do, when that should all be done by memory and routine," he says. "It would become contemplative for me, too, if it was just second nature."  [Repetita iuvant.]

Father Warner sees the reintroduction as a learning opportunity for students, too. Before the first Mass, campus ministry hosted a series of talks explaining the Eucharist, the history and theology of the Tridentine Mass and the meaning of the Vatican II reforms. "We had three excellent presentations, good questions and a lot of interest on the part of the students," he says.

Walter and Gerardi believe that interest will only grow in the years to come. [But above he said "impact will be limited".  Well… maybe immediate impact.] They hope the low, recited Mass in Alumni Hall may be joined by the occasional high, chanted Mass in the Basilica and by baptisms and weddings in the Tridentine form for those who request them. But for Warner, whether interest waxes or wanes over time is beside the point. "What matters for me is that people truly feel nourished by our encounter with God through the Eucharist."

This was a pretty good piece. 

Southwest Florida’s Herald Tribune has an article about the older form of Mass.

My emphases and comments.

Latin Mass likened to a symphony

BY CHRISTINE HAWES CORRESPONDENT

Some consider it "a deeper spiritual experience." Others describe it as "like a symphony." The pope himself calls it simply "extraordinary." [The author does not seem to understand that the "extraordinary", as used in Summorum Pontificum does not mean "outstanding".]

The Latin Mass, [Okay folks… this is getting annoying.  We MUST stop calling this form of Mass "the Latin Mass", as if it alone is the only form of Mass in Latin.] rarely used in public for more than 40 years, is thriving at St. Martha Catholic Church in Sarasota, one of about only 15 churches in Florida that offers a Latin Mass. Father James Fryar, who trained with a seminary solely dedicated to preserving the Latin or "traditional" Mass, leads services at noon daily, including a Sunday high Mass featuring a choir performing classic a cappella works.

"It’s a perfection of order honed through the centuries," [I like this description, but is it true?  I am not sure it is "a perfection".  Adjustments are always necessary along the way.  Still, it is a good phrase.] said Ted Cover, a St. Martha member who was raised with the 1,500-year-old Latin Mass, then watched it disappear following the pope’s sanctioning of an English-language version of Mass in the 1960s. "It just flows. It’s like listening to a beautiful symphony."

St. Martha is the only Southwest Florida church to offer a daily Latin Mass, though Sacred Heart in Bradenton has begun a monthly Latin Mass. [Oh that "Latin Mass" thing annoys me.] St. Martha is also home to Fryar, the only priest practicing in Florida from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a 10-year-old seminary [The author didn’t check her facts.] dedicated entirely to preservation of the traditional Latin Mass.  [This time she get’s closer to the mark.]

"It’s more reverent," Fryar said, pressed to explain in layperson’s terms why the Latin Mass is his chosen path. "So I’m able to pray easier."

The question of whether to celebrate the Mass in English or Latin has been a touchy one in the Catholic Church for decades.

When the church hierarchy officially sanctioned English-language versions in 1962 [?] as part of an effort to make the Catholic church more accessible and understandable, and the Latin Mass version was allowed only among some priests and bishops and only with the church hierarchy’s permission.  [This is very scrambled and, frankly, inaccurate.  The poor thing obviously didn’t get things clear before writing.]

That limitation was gradually loosened over decades. It was officially lifted last summer, and St. Martha—which had offered weekly Latin Mass since 1992—was among the first churches to respond.

Surprisingly, Fryar said, the majority of those attending Latin Mass services are of a younger generation than the one that was raised with a Latin traditional Mass. Fryar himself is only 33, the average age of all of the priests at his seminary.  [I am glad this point was included.  It might actually be the most important thing in the article.]

"People are looking for a deeper spiritual experience," said St. Martha development director Kristina Kelly, reflecting on why some are attracted to the Latin Mass rather than the English version. "And the Latin Mass is an entire sensory experience. The scents, the candles, the music …"  [Kristina needs to learn some more accurate ways of describing this form of Mass.]

Music, in particular, plays a significant role at a Latin high Mass. All selections are from the 1400s to 1800s and range from Gregorian chants to polyphonic compositions from classical legends like Mozart and Bach. "The music we sing is all calming all subdued," explained Leo Labrecque, choir director of the Latin Mass choir at St. Martha. "It mesmerizes people, like a tranquilizer."  [There are problems here.  First, it is entirely possible to use new compositions with the TLM as well.  I am afraid that this article gives the impression that if the music isn’t centuries old, it can’t be used.  I often jokingly say that the longer the composer has been dead, the better his music probably is, but that is simply a jest.  New composers can and should write music for use in the so-called "Tridentine" Mass… and the Novus Ordo. Second, liturgical music shouldn’t "mesmerize" or "tranquilize".  It should aid in "full, conscious and active" participation in the sacred action.  This doesn’t mean it should rile people up.  Right thinking people know that "active" participation is primarily interior receptivity of a very interiorly active nature.  In one sense, calm is needed so that the participant can engage his will and unite himself interiorly to the sacred action.  However, I am afraid that the choir director’s description works against that true interiorly active sense of "active participation" that is needed at every Mass.]

The use of Latin is considered to be a sacred expression, [This ties in with the argument that Latin, used liturgically, is a "sacred language".] through the use of a dead language "uncorrupted" by modern-day usage, Fryar said.

Another key distinction from a "new rite" Mass: the priest at a Latin Mass spends much of his time with his back to the congregation.  [Grrrr…. again.] This change has to do with the ultimate purpose of the two different Masses, Fryar explained: "The Latin Mass is not intended to be a celebration for the people. It’s a celebration for God. It’s about what you are giving to the Mass and not what you are getting out of it."   [This needs clarification, below.]

 

All in all, there are problems with this article, though there are some positive elements.  The first positive point is that some one wrote an article and it was published.  That is very good.

On that last point: "It’s a celebration for God. It’s about what you are giving to the Mass and not what you are getting out of it."

I am not sure I can be entirely on board with this in the way it is phrased.

What Fr. Fryar is pointing out is that too often today Mass is celebrated in such a way that the action and attention of all present is focused on the congregation, in the sort of "closed circle" Joseph Ratzinger described as resulting from versus populum celebration and some other liturgical choices.  You can hear more about that in some of my PODCAzTs.  Mass mustn’t be centered on the congregation.

At the same time, God has no need of Holy Mass.  We do.  Mass really is for us, for our benefit.  The Sacrifice sacramentally renewed at Holy Mass is for us.  The graces from Holy Mass are for us.  Mass, in that sense, really is all about us.  Mass, therefore, properly understood must lead every Catholic to ask the question: "What am I getting out of this?"  The answer must be sacramental graces.   In this sense,  Fr. Fryar’s phrase "what you are giving to the Mass" is important.  If we understand this in the sense of a "personal surrender" to the sacred action, in the sense that one can receive all Christ offers through the celebration of these mysteries, then we are right on target.

It helps to remember that Mass is an "action".  There is a true and supreme "actor" in Mass: Jesus Christ the High Priest.  When we unite ourselves to the sacred action, we also become actors through our baptismal character, which makes us sharers in Christ’s priesthood, in our own ways (baptized or also ordained).  Considered from that point of view, Mass is not so much about what we are doing, but about what God is doing for and through us.

The way Fr. Fryar put this, above, is okay if we have a solid grasp of some fundamentals.  However, his phrasing could lead also to an improper activism at Mass as well, rather than the sort of profoundly active interior receptivity which is so necessary at Mass.

CNA, Catholic News Agency, has reported about the Holy Father’s celebrating Mass ad orientem in the Sistine Chapel, and gets it right.

However, notice that the picture they posted with the story is of a Mass in St. Peter’s, decades ago.  You can even see the tiara on the altar.  Oh well.  Nice picture.

Pope faces “ad orientem” in Sistine Chapel liturgy [None of this "turned his back on the people" rubbish.]

Vatican City, Jan 15, 2008 / 04:22 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on Sunday in the Sistine Chapel, using the church’s original altar beneath Michelangelo’s depiction of the Last Judgment instead of the removable altar used by Pope John Paul II.

The Vatican’s office for liturgical celebrations issued a statement saying the decision to use the old altar was used to respect "the beauty and the harmony of this architectural jewel."

Using the old altar meant that Pope Benedict occasionally celebrated the liturgy with his back to the people, a posture called “ad orientem” or “towards the east” in the traditional phrasing.  It was the first time Mass had been celebrated in the Chapel in such a way since the Second Vatican Council, which took place between 1962 and 1965.

The choice echoes part of the Pope’s reintroduction of traditional liturgical practices, [This wasn’t a "break with tradition" as one article called it.] some of which were phased out by the Second Vatican Council.  The Pope has also encouraged the revival of Gregorian chant, a centuries-old style of liturgical music.

During the Mass at the Sistine Chapel, the Pope baptized 13 babies.