From a reader:
We have had some talks in our Worship Committee meetings about adding the Prayer to St Michael to the end of the liturgy just before the recessional in similar manner to the Leonine Prayers in the 1962 Missal.
[But...]
Inter oecumenici – Instruction on implementing liturgical norms Consilium (of Sacred Congregation of Rites) – September 26, 1964
48. Until reform of the entire Ordo Missae, the points that follow are to be
observed:j. The last gospel is omitted; the Leonine Prayers are suppressed.
I know that the Ordo Reform is complete, and I don’t know if it would be licit for us to add this. I see it as an area of ‘mutual enrichment’ and was wondering if you or your readers know if it is OK or not.
It is no longer obligatory to pray the so-called "Leonine Prayers" after Mass.
But, remember… what you are talking about is after Mass…. after….
If the priest and people, after Mass, want to kneel before the altar where Mass was just celebrated and, after Mass, pray to St. Michael the Archangel – an approved prayer – then how can that be a violation of Inter Oecumenici?
No one is constrained to pray after Mass. They ought to, even briefly. But…. no… hey wait… the St. Michael Prayer is a brief prayer, right?…. hmmm…
Furthermore, is it really possible to object to Christians praying approved prayers together?
Moreover, can you think of a more appropriate prayer for our times?
Bottom line… yes, after Mass people can pray together in church with their priest for the needs of the world and their loved ones.
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Plus, can one really argue that Inter Oecumenici applies to the Novus ordo?
Let’s pray that this excerpt of the prayer will be included:
“That wicked dragon pours out. as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory.” [No. Let us not hope that. The prayer they recite should be the shorter form everyone knows.]
My parents’ church has been saying the St. Michael Prayer after every Mass for many years now. The celebrant does not kneel facing the altar to say the prayers. Rather he merely says the dismissal and recites the prayer on the way to the sacristy. No one to my knowledge has ever complained about this custom — to the contrary, it’s quite popular from what I’ve gathered. The Bishop has celebrated Mass at the church many times and never voiced any opinion about the practice.
The parish is probably one of the few places left in North America that says the Novus Ordo precisely according to the rubrics. Some Masses are said ad orientem as well. So it’s the type of parish that people join because they are committed to good liturgy and orthodox preaching. The introduction of “prayers after Mass” might go very well in an orthodox and liturgically “high” parish, but not fly in a more liberal place. I hope that your plan to recite prayers after Mass is successful.
I believe after the closing hymn the folks at EWTN televised Daily Mass recite the Prayer to St. Michael!
After our parish’s daily 8:30 am Mass, the divine praises are said, led by the priest, as he processes out.
I say we bring back the Last Gospel. It really is one of, if not the, best pieces of theology in almost poetic form. It is one of my favorite parts of the Liturgy of Trent.
“In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt: et sine ipso, factum est nihil quod factum est…”
It’s a great reminder of the gravity of the Sacrament in which everyone has just partaken. We have just been allowed to consume the Verbum, both in speech and corporally, through which “nothing was made which was made.”
Bah, “without whom,” not “through which.”
I say the St. Michael Prayer after the recessional before I exit my pew. I would love it if the whole congregation said the prayer, too. And not just because I wouldn’t be constantly interupted by people greeting me as they depart.
How easy it would be to supply copies of the prayer in the pews, and have the cantor simply intone, “St. Michael the Archangel…” and then leave the rest for the people.
I think Pope Leo XIII composed the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel and reportedly had a prophetic vision that inspired him. I believe it was reinforced by Pope Pius XI and Pope Pius XII to pray for the conversion of Russia.
Our new Archbishop Jerome Listecki’s (Milwaukee Archdiocese) favorite prayer is the St. Michael Prayer! I’m sure this prayer will be promoted, and rightfully so, for our times.
This is a GREAT and powerful prayer.
I am privileged to attend Holy Mass most days at the Pentagon Chapel. It sits on the spot American 77 impacted the building, hallowed ground indeed.
Anyway…after the end of Holy Mass, we always pray the St Michael prayer.
True as well at other places I’ve been: St Joseph’s in Prattville, AL, Fransciscan U at Steubenville, Al Jaber Air Base in Kuwait, Maxwell AFB in Alabama, the base chapel at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona…
hmm…I detecting a theme here…
My parish in the Diocese of Arlington prays the St. Michael prayer after every Ordinary Form Mass and all but High Masses in the Extraordinary Form.
It is the perfect way set the tone for what happens once we leave Church.
After each weekday morning Mass, after Father has stepped out of the sanctuary (into the nave aisle, that is), we recite the prayer to St. Michael together. We do this exactly because, “Moreover, can you think of a more appropriate prayer for our times?”
In May and October we recite the Rosary together after Mass, and after the prayer to St. Michael. The other 10 months of the year, Monday through Thursday, those who don’t have to head right off to work gather in the Chapel of Repose after Mass and say the Rosary. On Fridays we say the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
“Moreover, can you think of a more appropriate prayer for our times?” Exactly.
It’s certainly allowed once Mass is over, that’s outside liturgy. For that matter, priests could add the Last Gospel afterward, and the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar beforehand (and just use Option C for the penitential rite during the Mass itself, without invocations).
Nevertheless, I will say that the Leonine Prayers are not my favorite. They are non-liturgical, rather arbitrary in their selection, and a late addition in history whose intended purposes have arguably been already achieved. The Popes banned the addition of private devotions to the Mass…only to then just string their own favorite private devotions on the end!
The Novus Ordo may feel like it ends quickly after communion, and so an additional prayer like the St Michale Prayer said publicly might seem good…but at the Old Rite, frankly, by the time the blessing and Last Gospel are over…the liturgy is constructed with such genius…you really feel like it’s time to be done, sort of instinctively. The Leonine Prayers seem anti-climactic and like the whole thing is dragging on, and definitely have a “just stuck on the end” sort of feeling.
I use this prayer after every Mass I say that does not have a closing hymn and procession. In part I do this in response to Pope John Paul II’s request at a Wednesday audience in 1996 (If I remember the year correctly) He lamented the fact that it was no longer being said everywhere and asked priests to begin saying it again after Mass.
I believe I can find the text again if needed, but I do not have it handy at the moment.
Fr. Kelly
Since my confirmation saint was St Michael the Archangel, I have always said the prayer to St Michael in place of the Salve Regina at the end of the Rosary.
Phil
My former parish in NoVa [we relocated away] has been saying the St. Michael prayer at the end of mass–EVERY MASS–since the DC Sniper incident in 2002. Just before the recessional hymn.
I know for myself, I say the Leonine prayers privately after Mass in my Thanksgiving.
I love this Prayer..I have it on a beautiful, small, cerdit card sized display card they gave out at a Tridentine Mass I went to at Our Lady of Good Counsel in NYC. I have never heard it recited at the NO parish across the street from me.
My dear brother priest, Fr. Kelly:
Here’s a source. My Italian is laughable, but this should cover it.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/angelus/1994/documents/hf_jp-ii_reg_19940424_it.html
If someone can translate the corresponding passage, many thanks! I’m not sure if he says he would like to see it come back (but is not saying it is permissible), or he’s saying it is permissible and good. I feel somewhat uncomfortable adding it on my own (yes, I know it’s “technically” after Mass, but I’ve sat in enough liturgy committees full of folks from every stripe arguing technicalities for their personal preference. I want to follow the Holy Father.)
Here’s a translation of JPII’s appeal for all to pray the St Michael prayer…
http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/prayer/michael.htm
I lead the St. Michael prayer, Monday thru Saturday. Following the blessing and dismissal, I kneel on the step and begin, all follow. Priests who fill in for me do the same. I have a card on the altar with instructions and the prayer (if by chance they do not know it).
Thank you, Frank H! The wording is a little confusing for me, though. He’s saying “this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass,” so I’m a bit uncomfortable interpreting this as encouraging everyone to say it at the foot of the altar (or when Mass is technically over). It seems to me more to encourage everyone to recite it (perhaps as a private intention, perhaps adding it to paraliturgical celebrations where rites are much more flexible). It’s kind of vague. It almost seems a non sequitur, if he wanted it said pretty much in the same place where it used to be said, just after he says it’s no longer recited at the end of Mass. If he said “right after Mass ends” or “soon after Mass ends” more explicitly, I could believe it to be his desire.
Please do not get me wrong: it’s beautiful, and I would not mind seeing it return to its place, but I am trying to follow the Holy Father’s wishes and the Council’s; not my own. How many times do _we_ get nervous when someone on a liturgy committee says “technically” (or “explicitly”) that something they want is not prohibited? I wish to follow both spirit and law here.
I have noticed that if you go to most churches (usually NO Masses) soon as Mass is over–it is social hour, and God is forgotten. The great gift of the Blessed Eucharist is NOT relished. Our Pastor does both NO and Extraordinary forms of Mass I am impressed with what he has done. After Mass is over he takes the servers (and Deacon)to the foot of the altar and recites prayers out loud with the congregation (most stay for this) the prayers are posted in the back of the hymnals for all to use. What a great way to help people pause and thank God for being at Mass before they leave more quietly. The monastery we attend is of course quiet and St Michael and Salve Regina is always recited after Mass is over. And the Extraordinary Form…people just stay and pray–the mind set is so much different…it is more quiet and reverent. I encourage any parish to encourage extra prayers after Mass it only takes a few minutes,but the results are wonderful…
I usually pray the Prayer to Saint Michael privately during the “recessional hymn”… unless it’s something nice and old-fashioned that I can sing along with!
As our Bishop leaves the sanctuary after the dismissal, he leads us, not in the Prayer to St. Michael, but a Hail Mary for Vocations to the Priesthood and to the Religious Life.
I would like someone to explain the logic of deletion of the Leonine prayers after Mass – when the body of the congregation rose up in communal prayer. Such, deletion,change to the Lectionary, et al, confirming a clear rupture from what had gone before. Though good for the printing industry, self syled liturgists and parish busybodies.
My parish says the prayer after every mass (including the once-monthly OF in Latin), and mine is a rather traditional parish (they are studying up to perform the EF).
Seems to me it says something we might rather not hear, that well-intentioned folks, even priests whom one might assume have some common sense about such things, can wonder whether it’s permissible to pray after Mass is ended.
In our parish, at the OF we pray the Hail Mary as the end of the Prayers of the Faithful (where it stands in stark contrast to the prescribed intercessions at most Masses) and we pray the Prayer to St. Michael and the threefold invocation to the Sacred Heart after the Dismissal and before the recessional. At Low Mass we pray the Leonine Prayers at the end. At Missa Cantata, many people stay in their pews and pray after Mass; whether that includes the Leonine Prayers or not, I am not privy to that knowledge :-)
I, too, think that the very short prayers post-Communion in the NO make it feel very rushed. Having being raised Anglican, I was accustomed to the beautiful post-Communion Thanksgiving prayer, but the Prologue of St. John’s Gospel has always been one of my favorite Scripture readings and I think of it as the ultimate thanksgiving after Communion. I miss it in the NO.
Could it be, just possibly, that the suppression of the Leonine Prayers opened the floodgates of evil in our beloved Church? I’m just askin. St. Michael will help us but we must ask for his help. There is, it seems, a movement to restore the prayer to him in our churches and that can only be a good thing.
After our daily morning Mass, after the recessional, our congregation prays the St. Michael Prayer, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, and a Prayer for Vocations. It is fruitful.
Diocese of Arlington – St Raymond of Penafort Parish ….
We prayer the Prayer to St. Michael after the recessional. One person from the choir, or the cantor simply says, “St. Michael”, and everyone chimes in. It also means most people stay for the recessional.
At the TLM chapel I go to, the Leonine Prayers are ALWAYS said!
For myself, I say the St. Michael prayer at the end of my Rosary-I think it was due to the advice I heard on the radio a LOOONG time ago from a holy traditional priest, who always had something to say about the liberals in the Church. And I’ve been saying it ever since!
Henry Edwards: I’m not against praying when Mass ends. I’m all for it, and a respectful, reverential attitude after Mass. My point was that it seems to go against the logic of the suppression of that particular prayer to simply say “If it’s suppressed at the end of Mass, we’ll say it immediately after Mass, before the priest leaves.”
In my Novus Ordo parish (our pastor adamantly refuses to bring any Latin back into the liturgy), my family prays the Leonine Prayers after Mass amid the din of loud “PewBanter”. One day I asked the pastor if he could gently remind folks that they are in the presence of the tabernacle and if they could carry on their loud post-Mass conversations in the basement (where donuts and coffee are waiting) while others were praying.
He accused me of trying to “change the liturgy” and told me I was acting like a “Millerinist”. I had to look that one up and calling me a heretic was most upsetting. I suspect he’s trying to drive us away but won’t succeed.
We continue our Leonine prayers despite his vitriole and dislike for me and my family. We include him in our prayers as well.
I think these prayers are most appropriate and we also pray them with our kids on the way to school.
Fleeb, he accused YOU of trying to change the liturgy!!? Tolerant Liberals always show their intolerance in the most ironic ways. You are in my prayers.
My parish in Milwaukee (St. Anthony of Padua)’s custom is: (i) final blessing and dismissal; (ii) congregation sings the appropriate Marion Antiphon [e.g., Salve Regina during ordinary time] while altar party assembles in front of altar, facing tabernacle; (iii) celebrant says “Saint Michael,” and congregation finishes prayer; (iv) three offerings of “Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” by celebrant, with congregation responding “Have Mercy on Us”; (v) one offering of “Most Sacred Heart of Mary” by celebrant, with congregation responding “Pray for us; (vi) altar party turns and processes out. It’s absolutely transcendent.
At the Ave Maria, FL Oratory, the St. Michael Prayer is recited after all daily and weekend Masses led by the presiding priest. Hundreds of college students and townspeople who attend these liturgies know the prayer. Also, it is often said at least during the daily Masses at St. John’s Chapel at the Univ. of Illinois Newman Center.
Random Friar: The Sacred Congregation had the power in 1964 to suppress the requirement that priest and people say the Leonine prayers after Mass.
But the question whether an alleged “suppression”, of the right to voluntarily say those or any other prayers after Mass, has any logical meaning … is just a matter of common sense. Isn’t it?
I am not sure I’m following you, to be honest. But IMHO, it doesn’t seem to make sense to suppress and then just move it to where it would normally fall sequentially anyway.
At our Catholic school Masses, not only have we all but done away with “hum and strum” “Haugen’dHaas” music (which wasn’t easy), but at the end of Mass, after the recessional, we as a school community recite the Hail, Holy Queen. On Solemnities and Feast days, when Mass is said, we say the Hail, Holy Queen and the Prayer to St. Michael.
I have gotten many, many compliments on this (it is, after all, my idea), particularly from older people who come to our school Masses (the parish church we celebrate Mass in doesn’t always have a daily Mass–they do however, have lay-led Communion Services, though) and parents.
I got the idea from, believe it or not, an IHM sister who was sad that the Leonine prayers were suppressed (not to mention, upset at the wreck-o-vation of churches).
At my parish we’ve recited the St. Michael prayer after daily Mass for years. When our church was being re-painted recently, we found ourselves among a (much) less-traditional congregation for several weeks. Following the first Mass in our temporary quarters, one of us started off “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle…” & the rest automatically chimed in, just as if we were back in our own home church. Surprisingly, a number of people in the host parish joined us in prayer, almost as if they’d been waiting for the opportunity. So my advice for anybody wanting to revive this beautiful custom is, GO FOR IT!
I attend Mass with the collegiate chaplaincy of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Our mass is a liturgically-correct Novus Ordo Mass, with great dignity, the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin, and the entrance antiphon, responsorial Psalm, Alleluia, and communion antiphon all chanted to Gregorian tones.
After our daily mass, since it is held at the Cathedral of the Incarnation near Vanderbilt’s campus, we say the Angelus (since Mass usually ends around 6 p.m.).
It goes like this: Dismissal, priest and deacon reverence the altar, the altar party assembles at the foot of the altar, facing ad orientem, and then the priest-celebrant leads the faithful in the call-and-response of the Angelus. When we have a guest priest, either the deacon or one of the altar servers (male college students, usually) leads it. After the prayers, the altar party recesses in silence to the sacristy as the faithful remain standing.
Once the altar party has reached the sacristy, almost everyone there kneels in silence for post-communion private devotions.
Oh, and did I mention? Of the 40-50 people usually at our daily mass, almost all of them are 28 or younger. And most are 18-22.
Father Zuhlsdorf wrote, “[No. Let us not hope that. The prayer they recite should be the shorter form everyone knows.],” in commenting on my post.
Father,
I respect your opinion on the matter, and I was merely offering mine. I was also inviting anyone of like mind to pray along with me that this excerpt be included (if God so wills that it be).
quiet: It is better to stick, for now, to the shorter form for after Mass.
I have nothing against the longer prayer provided it is lead by a priest or bishop.
But in these matters of reestablishing customs, walk before running.
I pray the St. Michael, Salve Regina, and Cor Jesu after Mass whether OF or EF…What better way to give thanksgiving?
“But in these matters of reestablishing customs, walk before running.”
Well said, Father.
How does one even approach a pastor about this? Or do we just pray and wait for a truly “pastoral” pastor?
Walk before running, so Low Mass before High Mass?
Fleeb, stand strong, God willprovide you and your family strength. In spirit there are many, many souls with you.
Anybody happen to know why the Leonine Prayers after Mass were supressed? Technically, I suppose that they were not suppressed – only the requirement that they be recited was – but was any explanation or justification given?
Is it even permissible to ask such a question?