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

Many thanks to RED of SD for the CD of Theodore Dubois: The Seven Last Words of Christ along with Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer.

I appreciate this tokens from my amazon wish list.  Thank you all for your kindness.

PENG JING UPDATE:

Blossoms!

Some of my past entires on the Swearing of the Swiss Guard:

here

here 

here 

sample

The Holy Father’s address in his audience for the new recruits:

Signor Comandante,

care Guardie Svizzere e gentili familiari!

In occasione dell’annuale cerimonia del giuramento, che avrà luogo domani, sono lieto di potervi incontrare tutti insieme, per formulare i miei migliori auguri alle nuove reclute e per rinnovare all’intero Corpo della Guardia Svizzera Pontificia l’espressione del mio affetto e della mia riconoscenza. Saluto in particolare il Comandante e il Cappellano, assicurando ad essi la mia preghiera per il loro impegnativo servizio; ed estendo con gioia il mio pensiero alle Autorità Svizzere ed ai numerosi familiari, che in questi giorni rallegrano con la loro presenza il vostro piccolo Quartiere in Vaticano, care Guardie. Sono contento specialmente di accogliere tanti bambini, che sono i fiori più belli delle vostre famiglie e ci ricordano l’amore di predilezione che Gesù nutriva per i piccoli.

Vor zwei Jahren, im Jahr 2006, wurde mit festlichen Veranstaltungen die Fünfhundertjahrfeier der Gründung Eurer Truppe begangen. Dies war eine gute Gelegenheit, einen Blick auf Eure Geschichte zu werfen und dabei die großen Veränderungen des gesellschaftlichen Umfelds zu erfassen, in dem die Jahrhunderte hindurch der Heilige Stuhl gemäß dem Auftrag, den Christus dem Apostel Petrus anvertraut hat, lebt und wirkt. Gerade vor dem Hintergrund dieser eindrucksvollen Entwicklung tritt das noch mehr hervor, was sich nicht ändert – so auch die Identität Eurer kleinen, aber qualifizierten Truppe, die dazu ausersehen ist, über die Sicherheit der Person des Papstes und seines Wohnsitzes zu wachen. Nach fünf Jahrhunderten ist der Geist unverändert, der junge Schweizer dazu bringt, ihr schönes Land zu verlassen, um für den Heiligen Vater im Vatikan Dienst zu leisten. Mit derselben Liebe legt Ihr für die Katholische Kirche Zeugnis ab, und zwar mehr als mit Worten mit Eurer Person, die dank der typischen Uniform an den Eingängen zum Vatikan und bei den Papstaudienzen gut erkenntlich ist. Eure historischen Uniformen sprechen zu Pilgern und Touristen aus allen Teilen der Welt über etwas, das sich trotz allem nicht ändert, nämlich über Euren Einsatz, Gott zu dienen, indem ihr dem „Diener seiner Diener" dient.

Je m’adresse tout particulièrement à vous, les nouveaux hallebardiers. Sachez avant tout assimiler l’esprit chrétien et ecclésial, qui est la base et le moteur de toute l’activité que vous déploierez. Développez toujours votre prière et votre vie spirituelle, mettant pour cela en valeur la présence précieuse de votre Chapelain. Soyez ouverts, simples et loyaux. Sachez aussi apprécier les différences de personnalité et de caractère qui sont parmi vous, parce que, sous l’uniforme, chacun est une personne unique, appelée par Dieu à servir son Règne d’amour et de paix. Comme vous le savez, la Garde Suisse est aussi une école de vie, et durant l’expérience au Vatican beaucoup de vos prédécesseurs ont pu découvrir leur vocation: au mariage chrétien, au sacerdoce, à la vie consacrée. C’est un motif de louange à Dieu mais aussi d’estime pour votre Corps.

Cari amici, vi ringrazio tutti per la generosità e la dedizione con cui operate a servizio del Papa. Il Signore vi ricompensi e vi colmi di abbondanti favori celesti. Vi affido alla materna protezione di Maria Santissima, che veneriamo con speciale devozione in questo mese di maggio. A ciascuno di voi, alle Autorità, alle Personalità presenti, ai familiari e a tutte le persone a voi care imparto di cuore la mia Apostolica Benedizione.

News

Three U.S. prelates given Vatican slots by Benedict XVI

Vatican City, May 6, 2008 / 11:03 am (CNA).- Today Pope Benedict appointed members to the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and the Congregation for the Clergy. Among the appointees are two American archbishops and one cardinal.

The Council for Legislative Texts’ main task consists of interpreting the laws of the Church – both the laws concerning the Latin Rite and the common laws of the Eastern Catholic churches.

The new appointments are: Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Lluis Martinez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain; Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India; William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Archbishops John Joseph Myers of Newark, U.S.A., and Raymond Leo Burke of Saint Louis, U.S.A.

The Congregation for the Clergy deals with the formation and continual training of priests. It also oversees any efforts to enhance the pastoral ministry of priests and the distribution of clergy around the world.

Pope Benedict has appointed Cardinals Polycarp Pengo, archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania; Marc Ouellet P.S.S., archbishop of Quebec, Canada, and Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino, archbishop of Caracas, Venezuela to the congregation.

Also appointed by the Holy Father are: Archbishops Tomash Peta of Maria Santissima in Astana, Kazakhstan; Raymond Leo Burke of Saint Louis, U.S.A. and Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht, Netherlands.

Archbishop Burke is getting more work on his already full plate.   Some opine that he might replace Card. Vallini, were the later be made Vicar of Rome. 

The Catholic Herald has a fascinating article by our friend the persistent interviewer extraordinaire Anna Arco:

Anglicans must choose between Protestantism and tradition, says Vatican
By Anna Arco
6 May 2008

The Vatican has said that the time has come for the Anglican Church to choose between Protestantism and the ancient churches of Rome and Orthodoxy.

Speaking on the day that the Archbishop of Canterbury met Benedict XVI in Rome, Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council of Christian Unity, said it was time for Anglicanism to "clarify its identity".

He told the Catholic Herald: "Ultimately, it is a question of the identity of the Anglican Church. Where does it belong?

"Does it belong more to the churches of the first millennium, Catholic and Orthodox, or does it belong more to the Protestant churches of the 16th century? At the moment it is somewhere in between, but it must clarify its identity now and that will not be possible without certain difficult decisions."

He said he hoped that the Lambeth conference, an event which brings the worldwide Anglican Communion together every 10 years, would be the deciding moment for Anglicanism.

Cardinal Kasper, who has been asked to speak at the Lambeth Conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, said: "We hope that certain fundamental questions will be clarified at the conference so that dialogue will be possible.

"We shall work and pray that it is possible, but I think that it is not sustainable to keep pushing decision-making back because it only extends the crisis."

His comments will be interpreted as an attempt by Rome to put pressure on the Church of England not to proceed with the ordination women bishops or to sanction gay partnerships, both serious obstacles to unity.

They have come at an extremely sensitive time for the Anglican Communion, as cracks between different factions in the church are beginning to show ahead of the conference in July.

Dr Rowan Williams faces rebellion from conservative and liberal Anglicans over homosexuality and women bishops.

The Rt Rev Gene Robinson, the Anglican bishop of New Hampshire, whose attempts to enter into a civil union with his gay partner have angered conservative Anglicans, plans to attend the public events of the conference despite the fact that he has not been invited by Dr Williams.

On the other side of the spectrum, rebel conservative bishops, headed by Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, dismayed by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s refusal to condemn homosexuality outright, plan a rival conference in the Holy Land in June.

Ecumenical dialogue between Rome and the Anglican Communion ground to a halt in 2006. Cardinal Kasper said at the time that a decision by the Church of England to consecrate women bishops would lead to "a serious and long lasting chill".

But last month the Church of England’s Legislative Drafting Group published a report preparing the ground for women bishops, who are already ordained in several Anglican provinces.

Apparently people are starting to notice the article in Time (which we posted here already on Sunday).

Time: Benedict may have killed off American Catholic liberalism

And so, I am left scratching my head a little.

Some have noticed that Pope Benedict was not in Time’s list of most influential people (which is so profoundly absurd it is hard even to fathom). 

Tornielli

Accatoli on p. Lombardi 

This question came in from e-mail:

Father, I thought you might be some aid here. We had a person today at Mass unable to receive even a low gluten Host, so she needed a separate "mini chalice". Since the Mass was 1962 Father and I did not know what to do exactly in giving Communion to her. My thought was that it would be changing only the elements you need to change (she knelt at the altar rail of her own accord). So I thought you would just put Sanguis for Corpus in the prayer, make a sign of the cross over her with it, and then hand it to her (since we have neither fistula or intiction spoon).

My question is two fold. Was this even allowed (the Mass on EWTN with Fr. Wolfgang had it)? And if so, is the way I described correct?

I don’t see any problem with a separate mini-chalice.  Also, you would simply change the words from "Corpus  D.N.I.C..." to "Sanguis D.N.I.C…"

Some people might quibble with the person touching the sacred vessel with bare hands.  This is a touchy point.

I believe this to be allowed and the way it was done was correct.

News from my e-mail:

I thought your readers out west might like to know that since last December a Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form has been offered monthly by Father Gerard G. Steckler, SJ, pastor of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Waldport, Oregon, in the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon. 

Their next Tridentine Low Mass will be Monday, May 26 at 8:00 am (Memorial Day).  St. Anthony’s is at 685 Broadway in a tiny town on the central coast of Oregon located at the crossroads of highways 101 and 34.  (Due to summer, the next Mass after May will be in August.)

Visitors should not expect an FSSP-style extravaganza such as seen on EWTN.  This is a small parish with fewer than 100 families, although the Extraordinary Form Mass has a consistent attendance of about 30 people.  It’s a simple Low Mass with no music and one server.  However, it is done beautifully and correctly.  Father Steckler was ordained over 50 years ago and, although he’s a Jesuit, has forgotten neither his rubrics nor his Latin.

Do you remember the very weird story that came from the Diocese of Gaylord some time ago?

Last August, it was announced that all Masses in the Diocese of Gaylord must be in English.   So, much for the Summorum Pontificum, right?   Then there was a clarification from the Director of Communications for the diocese (where do they get these people anyway?) saying that, "of course we are not against Summorum Pontificum!  But there can’t be Masses in Latin without permission of the bishop, and you can’t have Masses with English and Latin, and no, this doesn’t mean you can’t have Masses in Spanish," blah, blah….  Effectively it sounded as if perhaps someone was trying to prevent a mixture of RITES, and the people involved had a hard time grasping that the Novus Ordo is also to be celebrated in Latin.  You know the drill. Anyway, there was a lot of confusion.

Now we get this news.  This is posted on the website of the Diocese of Gaylord.

Extraordinary Form of Mass
 
Bishop Patrick R. Cooney has announced that the extraordinary form of the Mass will be offered publicly beginning on Pentecost, May 11, 2008. Fr. Donald Libby will be the presider [That means "celebrant" for most of us.] for a weekly celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, often [incorrectly] referred to as “the Latin Mass.” [This is what got them into trouble in the first place.  Proper terms can really help.] The Mass will be offered at Holy Rosary Church in Cedar on Sundays at 12:45 p.m. unless Fr. Libby is away or unavailable. Fr. Libby is currently the only priest qualified to offer the Mass publicly in the Diocese of Gaylord.  [Who says he is the only one " qualified"?]

In July 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued his Apostolic Letter addressed restrictions on the use of the Latin-language liturgy that predates the Second Vatican Council. The Mass from the post-Vatican II Roman Missal remains the ordinary form of the Mass, while Mass according to the 1962 Missal is the extraordinary form.  [Two things.  First, Summorum Pontificum didn’t just "address restrictions".  Interesting choice of language, no?   SP lifted restrictions.  Also, set in the context of the bizarre approach to Latin they showed last year in Gaylord, note that the writer seems fixated on the issue Latin.]

“There were some logistical things to work out to make this possible – including being sure we had a priest prepared to properly celebrate this Mass,” said Bishop Cooney. “I believe the Holy Father’s intention is to try to bring healing to those who have felt hurt because of their devotion to this earlier form of the liturgy.”  [In that case His Excellency should spend some time in a closer reading of Summorum Pontificum and the accompanying letter.  He is not taking into account that there are people who simply prefer the older form of Mass.  They also have rights and Summorum Pontificum is as much about them as anyone.  I also have firmly in mind what Card. Castrillon Hoyos has said recently, namely, that the older form of Mass should be used in parishes, even if a request has not been made.  Also, remember that priests do not need permission to use the 1962 Missale.  Summorum Pontificum is for priests as well as lay people.]

The major differences between the ordinary and extraordinary forms of Mass individuals will notice are the priest’s orientation during the liturgy and the use of Latin.  [Unbelievable.  This is wrong.  First, the normative language of the Novus Ordo is Latin.  No priest needs permission to say Mass in the language of his Rite.  Also, the Novus Ordo rubrics presuppose that the Mass is celebrated ad orientem.  At the same time the older, TLM form of Mass can also be celebrated versus populum.  The major difference between the forms of Mass are the texts of the prayers and some of the prescribed actions of the priest and sacred ministers, as well as the greater space for silence.]

Prior to the Second Vatican Council, a church’s altar was placed against the wall at the back of the sanctuary. The Second Vatican Council decreed that a church’s altar should be placed in a central location in the sanctuary, allowing a priest to face the congregation. (GIRM, 2002, paragraphs 299-301)   [No.  This is false.  It is unbelievable that this is still going on.  The Congregation for Divine Worship issued an official clarification about GIRM 299, which was (probably purposely) mistranslated in the USCCB’s BCL’s document Built of Living Stones.  WDTPRS has covered this here.]

Some other differences include the role of altar servers, the liturgical calendar, what Scriptures are proclaimed, and possibly the vestments worn. In the extraordinary form, Communion is distributed only under the species of Consecrated Bread, usually at a communion rail.
A few months ago, Fr. Duane Wachowiak, Director of the Secretariat for Worship and Liturgical Formation, arranged for a priest from Chicago who is trained in Latin and the extraordinary form of Mass to come to the area for five days to train priests who wished to celebrate this Mass publicly.

“Dioceses throughout the country were faced with the same dilemma,” said Fr. Wachowiak. “Not many of us ministering now are skilled in Latin and in this form of the Mass. The focus of these trainings being offered nationwide is to certify that those offering the Mass publicly know Latin, the rubrics of the Mass and are able to “pray” the Mass and not simply recite the Latin words.”

“It is important that whoever offers this Mass knows what it is he is saying and praying,” noted Bishop Cooney.  [A laudable aspiration.  I would not want to try to test this, however.  You might wind up with the conclusion that many priests have no idea what the English texts mean.]

Any priest may celebrate the extraordinary form of Mass in private, even with others in attendance, but that is his private Mass. Times of private Masses are not announced. The Mass being offered at Cedar starting on Pentecost will be a public Mass and may be announced through bulletins and other means that it is available for those who wish to attend.
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Along with the announcement of the availability of the Mass, a set of guidelines was published by Bishop Cooney. [It would be very good to see these guidelines.] Some of the entries in the norms for this diocese remind the people who attend that they have the obligation to be registered and participating parishioners in a Roman Catholic parish, either Holy Rosary or another.  [HUH?  Does this mean that some person who is, perhaps, a follower of the SSPX and therefore not registered in a parish is NOT WELCOME?  What about a young non-practicing Lutheran who might be curious about what is going on?   This in incredible.  What are they going to do?  Check ID cards and match them against a database?  Dein Auweis, bitte!]

Another norm is that the extraordinary form is to be offered in addition to the ordinary form of Mass celebrated in the parish because the post-Vatican II form of Mass is still the one that takes precedence. In this context, the term “extraordinary” is meant to mean “other” rather than to place it as being of higher rank.   [Good heavens.  Who writes this stuff?  If "Extraordinary" means "other" (and it doesn’t) then it means neither "of higher rank" nor "of lower rank".]

“Regardless of which form is being used, it must follow the guidelines for that particular Missal,” added Fr. Wachowiak. “A priest cannot use some of one and some of the other in a single Mass. He has to follow either the ordinary or extraordinary form.”

In addition, procedures for the financial aspects are also addressed in the norms. For example, an individual attending the extraordinary form of the Mass in Cedar may deposit their own parish envelope in the collection and it is to be forwarded to the respective parish. Any loose collection will be channeled through Holy Rosary’s bookkeeping system as it is the parish of Holy Rosary who pays the priest’s salary and benefits and maintains the building to hold the Mass. [Oh my.  This is going to stir some conversation.]

The complete set of norms may be viewed on the diocesan website at www.dioceseofgaylord.org.

“While I was attending the training held for Fr. Libby, I was able to see the many connections between the ordinary and the extraordinary forms of Mass,” stated Fr.Wachowiak. “I was able to better understand some of the terms and phrases used by many older folks who grew up attending the Mass that began with the Council of Trent.”

Fr. Michael Janowski remains pastor of Holy Rosary along with St. Mary, Lake Leelanau, St. Phillip Neri, Empire and St. Rita-St. Joseph, Maple City, and Fr. Libby remains associate pastor of the same parishes. Fr. Janowski is supportive of both Fr. Libby’s willingness to serve the diocese in this capacity as well as those who wish to attend the Mass.

For more information, please contact Fr. Duane Wachowiak at the diocese at 989.732.5147.

This question came via e-mail.  I am against pressed for time, so I will let you all take care of it.

Good question, though!

Fr. Z.,

Please help, if you deem this question worthy of a broader audience.

The priest who celebrates the extraordinary form for us has a beautiful singing voice and knows by heart much of the plainchant.  He is newly come to the Tridentine rite and wonders why it should be the case that the priest intones the Gloria but does not continue to stand at the altar to sing the remainder of the prayer.  He has the same question in regard to the Credo.  For the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, he knows that this is not practicable because of the many prayers the priest is offering at the same time.

My question to you: Has there ever been provision or permission for the priest to sing the Gloria and the Creed from the altar, with the choir, rather than taking a seat on the side and waiting out the choir?  And if there has been no provision, is there a particularly convincing theological or rubrical reason why he should not do so?

I am reminded of a story told by the late Msgr. Richard Schuler.  He knew an old German priest at a rural parish who liked to get the higher stipends for High Masses.  Problem: no choir.  No problem!  He would do all the parts himself! 

He would from time to time let the people know, "Und now I am ze chvior", and then would sing for a while.  Then, "Und now I am ze priest."  And so forth.   Funny and really not to be done. 

In the words of the immortal Gracie Allen, "People are funnier than anyone."