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

This is an interesting piece from ZENIT.  My emphases and comments:

What’s Behind Liturgical Abuses?

Interview With Leader of Traditional Mass Community

By Alexandre Ribeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, APRIL 9, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The bishop of a Brazilian community that celebrates the Mass according to the 1962 missal contends that abuses in the liturgy can be attributed to the lack of a serious spirituality.  [Right… if you take your Catholic seriously, you simply can’t do certain things.]

Bishop Fernando Arêas Rifan, apostolic administrator of the St. John Maria Vianney Personal Apostolic Administration in Brazil, [What a great solution to so many problems!] spoke with ZENIT about the richness of the extraordinary form of the Mass. The use of that form was extended with Benedict XVI’s "Summorum Pontificum," released last July.

The St. John Maria Vianney group was founded by Bishop Licínio Rangel, who was ordained a bishop without papal approval in 1991 by bishops themselves illicitly ordained by Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of St. Pius X.

Bishop Rangel later asked to return to full communion and expressed the necessary dispositions. He received a letter granting his wish from Pope John Paul II and returned to the Church in a ceremony in 2002, presided over by the Pontiff and Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.  [The actual mechanics of reconciliation are so easy once people express the right sentiments and aspirations.  It takes a few strokes of a pen.  But getting there…]

Today, the apostolic administration continues serving Catholics in Brazil devoted to the traditional Mass, and have full communion with the Catholic Church.

Q: In your apostolic administration, the ancient Roman Rite is celebrated, the one preceding the reform of 1970. What are the characteristics of this type of Mass?

Bishop Rifan: There are various motives for this love, [He immediately underscores the element of love.] for this preference and the conservation of the extraordinary form of the Roman liturgy. Then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, our current Pope, speaking with the Chilean bishops in Santiago, July 13, 1988, [fantastic address] summarized it this way: "Even though there are numerous motives that could have brought a great number of faithful to find refuge in the traditional liturgy, the most important is that they find preserved there the dignity of the sacred."

In fact, because of its richness, beauty, elevation, nobility and ceremonial solemnity, because of its sense of the sacred and reverential, because of its sense of mystery, its greater precision and rigor—thereby offering more security and protection against abuses, without leaving space for ambiguities, for the liberty, creativity, adaptations, reductions and manipulations, as Pope John Paul II lamented in the encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia"—and being for us the best liturgical expression of the Eucharistic dogmas and solid spiritual nourishment, [as opposed to the mashed carrots one can often get elsewhere…] it is one of the treasures of Catholic liturgy, with which we express our love and our communion with the holy Church. And the Holy See recognizes this adhesion of ours as perfectly legitimate.

Q: Could the ancient form of the Mass be more promoted in the life of the Church, though as an extraordinary form, as is indicated and permitted by "Summorum Pontificum"? What benefits would this bring?

Bishop Rifan: This was already the desire of the Holy Father Pope John Paul II, when he affirmed in his [letter issued] "motu proprio" "Ecclesia Dei" on July 2, 1988. "To all those Catholic faithful who feel attached to some previous liturgical and disciplinary forms of the Latin tradition, I wish to manifest my will to facilitate their ecclesial communion by means of the necessary measures to guarantee respect for their rightful aspirations. […] Moreover, respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition, by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See for the use of the Roman Missal according to the typical edition of 1962."

This desire has been reinforced and amplified to the entire world by Benedict XVI with the [letter issued] "motu proprio" "Summorum Pontificum."

The benefits of the reintroduction and the diffusion in the Church of this extraordinary form of the Roman Rite have been mentioned by the current Pope in his "motu proprio," when he says that in the celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI, this sacredness that attracts many to the ancient tradition could be manifested in a more intense way. [This doesn’t take anything away from those who attend the Novus Ordo mainly or exclusively.] This is exactly what has been emphasized by Cardinal [Francis] George of Chicago—"The Holy Father himself, a while ago, called our attention to the beauty and the depth of the St. Pius V Missal. […] The liturgy of 1962 is an authorized rite of the Catholic Church and a valuable font of liturgical understanding for all the other rites. This liturgy belongs to the entire Church as a vehicle of the Spirit that should radiate as well in the celebration of the third typical edition of the current Roman Missal"—in the Prologue of the 2002 Proceedings, "Liturgy and the Sacred," from the International Center for Liturgical Studies.

When I participated in August 2007 in the Oxford Congress, a gathering to teach the celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form to more that 60 diocesan priests from the United Kingdom there present, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham said in the solemn opening Mass to the priests participating that, after having learned the Mass in the ancient form, even if in their parishes they would celebrate Mass in the current rite of Paul VI, they would anyway celebrate it better. [Sound familiar?  I think he is right on target.  The older form of Mass will exert its "gravitational pull" on the newer form especially because younger priests will discover things in the older form they never knew about Mass and also learn about themselves as priests.]  I think that is a benefit backed by the Pope in his "motu proprio" "Summorum Pontificum."

Q: What indications do you give for avoiding scarce attention and respect for the liturgy?

Bishop Rifan: Speaking of the abuses following the liturgical reform, the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger lamented that the liturgy degenerated into a show, in which they seek to make religion interesting with the help of stylish elements, with momentary successes in the group of the liturgical "manufacturers" [in the] introduction to the book "La Réforme Liturgique" by Monsignor Klaus Gamber, page 6 and 8.

Cardinal Edouard Gagnon was of the same opinion. "It cannot be ignored that the [liturgical] reform has given rise to many abuses and have led in a certain degree to the disappearance of respect for the sacred. This fact should be unfortunately admitted and it excuses a good number of those people who have distanced themselves from our Church and their former parish communities [in] "Fundamentalism and Conservatism," interview with Cardinal Gagnon, "Zitung—Römisches," November-December 1993, page 35.

I think that the central point of the abuses was indicated by Cardinal Ratzinger himself: the door left open to a false creativity on the part of the celebrants [in an] interview in "L’homme Nouveau," October 2001.

Behind this is the lack of a serious spirituality, [the idea that] to attract the people, novelties should be invented. Holy Mass is attractive in itself, because of its sacredness and mystery. Deep down, we’re dealing with the diminishment of faith in the Eucharistic mysteries and an attempt to replace it with novelties and creativity. When the celebrant wants to become the protagonist of the liturgical action, abuses begin. It is forgotten that the center of the Mass is Jesus Christ.

The current secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Bishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith, laments: "Holy Mass is a sacrifice, gift, mystery, independently of the priest who celebrates it. It is important, I would say fundamental, that the priest draws back: The protagonist of the Mass is Christ. I don’t understand, therefore, the Eucharistic celebrations transformed into shows with dances, songs or applause, as lamentably happens many times with the Novus Ordo."

The solution to the abuse is in the norms given by the Magisterium, above all in the document "Redemptionis Sacramentum" of March 25, 2004, which asks that "everyone do all that is in their power to ensure that the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist will be protected from any and every irreverence or distortion and that all abuses be thoroughly corrected. This is a most serious duty incumbent upon each and every one, and all are bound to carry it out without any favoritism"—No. 183.

But, as Bishop Ranjith says, "there are a lot of documents [against these abuses] that unfortunately have remained a dead letter, forgotten in libraries full of dust, or even worse, thrown into the waste basket."

And WDTPRS won’t let those documents be forgotten either! 

The Catholic blogosphere is a powerful force in this huge "Marshall Plan". 

All our Catholic blogs should do their part, support each other, and help to make Christ known and loved in all spheres of life. 

I think that liturgy is the "tip of the spear", and so that get the most attention on WDTPRS.  But there are many other points of focus as well.

WDTPRS kudos to Bp. Rifan!

There is an interesting article in the WaPo today, which I offer now with my emphases and comments.

‘We Live It Every Day’
Pope’s Visit Cheers Young Conservatives Who Reject ‘Cafeteria Catholicism’ in Favor of the Full Menu

By Jacqueline L. Salmon  [She’s been around here before!]
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 9, 2008; B01

During an era when two-thirds of young Catholics say they can be good Catholics without going to Mass and many believe in a woman’s right to choose abortion and view premarital sex as morally acceptable, Karen and David Hickey might be considered renegades—because they are so devout.

The lives of the Fairfax County couple and their five young children revolve around the Catholic Church, and they stand out as devoted because so many others do not follow the teachings of their church to the letter.

For the Hickeys and a community of young, conservative Washington area Catholics who piously follow the teachings of the church, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Washington next week carries a special meaning.

They appreciate Benedict for his unwavering advocacy of what they hold to be "Catholic": ancient liturgical practices such as the traditional Latin Mass, the supremacy of the Catholic Church, Gregorian chants in worship and theologians who concur with the pope’s teachings. As the Vatican’s orthodoxy watchdog for 24 years before becoming pope, Benedict earned this group’s devotion.

"I love Pope Benedict," said Karen Hickey, 35, who keeps a bust of him on her piano. [A good place for it!  He would appreciate that.] "He’s done so much good in the little time that he’s been there."

Young, orthodox Catholics are more enthusiastic about Benedict than are many in the older generation, said Colleen Carroll Campbell, author of "The New Faithful," a book about the youthful set. "They like his countercultural stance on a lot of things. . . . They also like his emphasis on Catholic identity [exactly] and fidelity to Catholic doctrine."

But even Benedict in person isn’t enough to draw some traditional Catholics to the papal Mass next week at Nationals Park. They feel it will be too informal for their taste, and many dislike the idea of receiving Communion standing up instead of kneeling at an altar rail.  [And with good reason.  Pope Benedict is not all that hot about it either.]

Chris Paulitz, a Senate aide, says he won’t go, but he will show his support for Benedict by going to see him pass in the popemobile.

Such young Catholics’ strict obedience to the tenets of their faith makes them an anomaly in their generation. Only 14 percent of Catholics ages 20 to 40 attend Mass at least weekly, according to research by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, and just one in five goes to confession once a year or more.  [Boy, do we have work to do!]

For conservative Catholics, that’s unthinkable.

"You have to live your faith and practice, not just learn the doctrine," said Anne Francoise Guelcher, 40, the mother of six children—ages 15 months to 14 years—who lives with husband James in Montclair, Va.

Guelcher home-schools her children. "That way, I can really teach them about the faith," she says.

The family goes to Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days and celebrates the myriad Catholic feast days. Like other devout Catholics, they keep holy water, which has been blessed by a priest, in a small font by their front door. They say the rosary and pray to the saints daily.

"We live it every day," Guelcher said. [A better way to put it is hard to imagine.]

Like Catholics of their generation, young conservatives grew up under the liberalizing changes to the church brought on by the Vatican II Council in the 1960s, but some rejected those reforms as they reached adulthood.

Paulitz, 32, remembers "lots of guitars and banjoes" at church services and priests who had fallen away from church doctrine.

"I felt uncomfortable about it constantly," he said.

Like the Hickeys and the Guelchers, Paulitz and his wife, Diane, found their way to St. Mary Mother of God, a 163-year-old parish near the Verizon Center in Northwest Washington. It is one of the few churches in the Washington area that offers the traditional Latin Mass every Sunday.  [It’s all about Catholic identity.  If you don’t know who you are and what the Church is, you can’t live it.]

To traditional Catholics, the old Latin Mass—a formal rite entirely in Latin—stands in marked contrast to the more informal modern Mass ushered in by the Second Vatican Council.  [Even though the newer form can be celebrated with great dignity and beauty and the older form can be shabby and uninspiring.] Benedict last year loosened restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass, also called the Tridentine Mass, [I am glad the reporter is getting the terms right… it takes so little, after all!] cheering conservative Catholics everywhere.

St. Mary’s, which has been holding the Tridentine Mass for more than a decade, has become a gathering place for traditional Catholics. Most Sundays, the church is overflowing.

Capitol Hill aide Paul-Martin Foss, 26, says he feels comfortable at St. Mary’s. Worshipers there, he said, don’t question church canon.

"On the major doctrinal issues, it’s pretty much settled," he said. "They are all pro-life and faithful on all the church’s moral teachings and dogma."

It is not an easy existence. Conservative Catholics, compared to "cafeteria Catholics"—the term for Catholics who pick and choose which doctrines to follow—say they can feel off the beaten path culturally.  [Signs of contradiction?]

Daniel Heenan, 25, a Sterling Catholic school teacher who plans to enter the seminary, faces the amused scrutiny of his peers for his devout life. "A lot of them think I’m a lunatic," Heenan said.

He said friends will say, "You’re 25; you should be out getting drunk and having a good time, not going to church."

Those who eschew artificial birth control and have large families say they hear comments and rude remarks when they venture out with their children: "Don’t you have enough?" and "Aren’t you done yet?"  [Amazing how this pervades so much of our society now and is the dominant attitude in mass media entertainment.  It slithers in everywhere.  I even noticed this nasty sort of inuendo in the first of the Lord of the Rings movies from Peter Jackson, when at the birthday party Bilbo made an nasty aside about the number of children someone had.  Grrr.]

Sam Fatzinger, a Bowie mother of 11, has learned to respond with a tart: "No, I’m just getting warmed up."

"So many people think that with large families you’re weird or crazy," said Nicole Santschi, 41, of Manassas, who is expecting her eighth child. "But we’re normal, down to earth. But our goal is to get our kids into heaven and doing what God wants us to do. It’s hard, but He gives us the grace to do it."  [I often mention to married people that a main purpose of their vocation is to help each other get to heaven and then help their children.]

In the Hickey household, daily life revolves around the Catholic Church.

"We try to make this like a mini-church—a domestic church," [A very "Vatican II" idea!] said Karen Hickey, a former Senate press secretary who grew up Jewish.

Even 3-year-old Caroline has memorized some of the evening rosary, chirping "Hail Mary, full of grace" with only modest prompting from David.

During the day, Karen and the children make it a practice to say novenas—a devotion modeled on the nine days of prayers that, according to the Bible, the Apostles said after Jesus’s ascension to heaven. On one recent warm day, Karen gathered the children together for the fifth day of the St. Joseph Novena. With 4-month-old Alice on her lap and the other wiggly children—7-year-old Henry, 5-year-old Charlie, Caroline and 2-year-old Jane—around her, she read from the novena book.

As she read, "God employed only the humble who do not claim for themselves glory," Henry burst out indignantly, "You left the door open, and there is a giant bee."

Karen paused only briefly.

"Thank you," she said calmly, and kept reading.

 

Our friend Diogenes has alerted us to an oldie, but yet another excellent reason why Summorum Pontificum is a real gift to the Church.



Happy the biological solution will soon remove many of those who push this rubbish.

A kind reader and JayHawks (congratulations!) fan recently sent me a suggestion for a WDTPRS logo for when the official WDTPRS baseball team is formed.

And since every good baseball cap has interlocked letters on it…

Hmmm… a little tough to work with is, I think, his point.

I don’t like even seeing the WDTPRS on the same page with the Yankees logo, but, there it is.  It at least helps to exemplify the theory.


I suspect this would have a really high stitch count!

Maybe some fearsome creature would be better after all.

Actually, if there is a graphic artist out there willing to do a little baseball related project, I would love an e-mail.

The other day I posted about the return of spring to the Sabine Farm.  It seems winter is not done with us yet.

This is what I saw upon rising this morning.

The chickadees are still getting their fill, however.  There are more than ever now.  I think they must be SMSing their pals.


 

Fr. Dwight Longenecker at Standing on my head posts the following:

Last week I began saying Mass in our daily Mass chapel at St Joseph’s Catholic School facing East. I do so on two days of the week, while facing the people on the other three days. I’m also taking time to explain the change and what it means and why we are doing it.

We will also begin the changeover at St Mary’s quite soon. I hope to post some photographs here on the blog of both celebrations, as well as the responses and reactions of our people.

In preparation for the Pope’s trip to Washington, an effort is being made to get people to use public transportation to Nationals Stadium for the papal Mass.  The Metro transit company developed an ad to promote this.  The ad features Pope bobble-head doll using the Metro train.  The Archdiocese of Washington D.C. complained and the ad was taken down.

The ad had pretty low production values, was farily dopey, and you would have thought they could have dressed the Pope correctly, but, was the ad offensive?

I have my ideas, but you can chime in here.



Another version if the YouTube version is removed.

In the meantime, a story from the WaPo says:

"Our concern is that this was a bad bobblehead," said Susan Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese. "You had unauthorized merchandise and you had a misdressed pope."

The bobblehead portrayed in the Metro video was wearing a red skull cap, known as a zucchetto, and a red cape. "Popes don’t wear red skull caps" and they don’t wear red capes, only white ones, Gibbs said.

"We think there’s a better way to encourage people to take Metro," Gibbs said. "This is the Holy Father, and I think a lot of people would not be comfortable with a bobblehead ad."