Do As I Say, Not As I Do! – UPDATE

Do you recall that “Do As I Say, Not As I Do!” post?  Refresh your memory here.

Precious or not, beautiful or not, Pope Benedict did not use glass vessels at the Mass as Mestre/Venice.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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23 Comments

  1. Random Friar says:

    Sweet mercy! I would love to get a picture of that Crucifix from the front.

    P.S. Happy they stuck to noble metals.

  2. Christine says:

    Random Friar–that was my first thought as well. That is an amazingly beautiful crucifix!

  3. RichardT says:

    More good news – one of the gondoliers who rowed the Pope in Venice told the newspapers that he went to confession the day before in preparation.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8501457/Popes-gondola-ride-kicks-up-unholy-row.html

    (posted on the earlier page, but I thought it would be nice here too)

  4. Ezra says:

    RichardT,

    Beat me to it!

  5. EWTN Rocks says:

    The chalice is beautiful but I can’t see it that clearly – is it encrusted with jewels? If so, what kind?

  6. MissOH says:

    Good! The glass pieces were beautiful, but they were glass.

  7. Would it be condescending of me to say that I’m proud of my pope?

    Now… lets get him to offer a TLM!

  8. Ave Maria!

    You know, I wonder why all the wasted typing concerning this in the first place. Who said the Pope was going to actually use illicit materials for Mass, and why put it out there in public BEFORE anyone saw whether it was so or not?

    At any rate, I know that in certain “traditional” Catholic circles one similar thread is woven in many conversations, and that is criticism. People are scandalized yes. In many cases there is reason to be. However, it really does not help those who may be looking at traditionally minded folk to be inspired, to gain that sense of the sacred when it comes to worship, if they are bombarded constantly with criticism. Critical of the Pope, critical of the Mass, critical about this, that and the other. IMHO, in many cases people need to chill especially when the Vicar of Christ is concerned.

    Ave Maria!

    http://allfortheimmaculate.blogspot.com/

  9. benedictgal says:

    I meant to stay awake for the whole Mass; however, I fell asleep during the homily and woke up just in time for the Offertory. I think that the cruets and the lavabo may have been the Murano glassware, but, the chalice certainly wasn’t. I think that the chalice the Holy Father used was encrusted in rubies/carnelians and emeralds.

    I did see some other chalices up on the altar, but, these did not look like the Murano sets. The lips of the chalices had a huge gold band around them and the chalices, themselves, look as though they were burnished.

    I only wish I could have listened to the homily. Oh well, that is what happens when one is faced with a migraine a few hours prior.

  10. TNCath says:

    Kudos to Msgr. Marini for not caving in! The Murano was/is beautiful, and as someone mentioned earlier, I’m sure it would have been fine to use the cruets. I love how the Holy Father’s eyes are ramrod straight on the chalice and crucifix at the elevation and not looking around at the people as many of us experience every Sunday.

  11. flyfree432 says:

    Random Friar,

    Google Translate does a wonderful job of translating it into English. Some obvious errors here and there, but most people will get the heart of the message.

  12. Singing Mum says:

    I have to say, based on his track record, I simply didn’t doubt him.

  13. Although the most amusing part of the gondola ride was the look on the faces of the security personnel in the surrounding gondolas – they did not seem happy at all!

  14. 1987 says:

    Great news!
    Great pope!

  15. Andy Milam says:

    @All for the Immaculate;

    “Who said the Pope was going to actually use illicit materials for Mass, and why put it out there in public BEFORE anyone saw whether it was so or not?”
    –History for the last 40 years has not exactly inspired confidence in that statement now has it? We watched Blessed John Paul II subject his Masses to all manners and forms of abuse over the span of his pontificate. So, there is just cause for concern and criticism from the “traditional” Catholics as you call them.

    “IMHO, in many cases people need to chill especially when the Vicar of Christ is concerned.”
    –Look at what chillin’ has done for the last40 years. We are in arguably the worst time for abuse since the reforms of Pope St. Pius V. The time for chillin’ has ended.

  16. I have to say that the patriarchate of Venice set a beautiful example as how to furnish a temporary altar area, replete with gorgeous ikons, very smart liturgical appointments, and magnificent choir to honor Christ snd the Pope. I hope other committees that prepare for similar occasions would learn from this fine example.

  17. digdigby says:

    Saw the gondoliers – seems Venice is as full of German tourists as ever, but a better class of Germans.

  18. Eric says:

    SIKE!

    or is it

    psych?

  19. irishgirl says:

    Nice video of the gondola ride! Good thing the weather was nice and sunny….
    That is one SERIOUS crucifix! Would have loved to see it from the front!

  20. Centristian says:

    I have not actually seen any video of the Mass in Venice, but I did see a few images. I’m glad the Pope opted to use a proper chalice as opposed to a glass goblet, regardless of how dignified the glass goblet in question may have been. It’s all about setting a proper example when it comes to adhering to the rules on the books in an age in which those rules are routinely and cavalierly disregarded.

    I’m also glad to see altars looking like proper altars again at these outdoor papal Masses, with traditional appointments of cross and candles. That isn’t isn’t a brand new development at this point, of course, but I am glad to see that this traditional arrangement and manner of celebrating the papal Mass when outside of Rome has become persistent, and that the style of papal liturgy that characterized the previous pontificate has, apparently, become history.

  21. Marianna says:

    Those who read Italian may be interested in this, which gives an interesting perspective on this story:
    http://libero-news.it/blog.jsp?id=1542
    Briefly, it seems that the Murano glassmakers’ trade is threatened by cheap imitations, and there appears to have been an attempt to use the Pope’s Mass as a means of promoting the real thing. I myself had thought the Pope might use some of the glass, assuming that the gift was a labour of love only, and that the Pope would not want to be ungracious; but it appears that he has in fact avoided being used for a stunt, and also avoided deviating from the correct liturgical use.

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