I did everyone a big favor today.
This morning I decided to leave the computer off and simply say my Office, say Mass, have some breakfast without concerning myself with any news or voicemail or email. Whenever I do this, something big happens. So, I guess liberals can blame this on me.
Pope Benedict used the fanon today during the Mass and canonization of St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
So, what is the fanon? Why is this important? What does it portend?
The fanon, used since at least the 8th century, is a shoulder-length silken cape, striped in white and gold, that is worn on top of the pontifical vestments, though beneath the pallium. Only the Roman Pontiff may wear it. John Paul II used the fanon once, early in his pontificate, at a Mass celebrated at Santa Cecilia. I knew the rector of that basilica and heard all about the battle that occurred over that Mass! The expression on the face of then-MC Msgr. Magee, later the unhappy bishop of Coyne, says what the liturgical establishment thought of the fanon. Think of what the Fishwrap or Pill would say and will say.
Today, however, Benedict XVI looked like this for the canonization and Mass.
Liberals will sneer and claim that this is yet another imposition of this Pope’s own liturgical preferences. The usual suspects will proffer, again, that this is mere aesthetics. They will insinuate that there is something wrong with people who like this sort of thing. FAIL! Their attacks will again reveal that they are either a little stupid or, more likely, that they know they are losing everything the now-aging hippies worked to impose on worship. For decades they wrenched and disrupted and twisted us away from our Catholic tradition and our identity. A new generation, guided by Benedict XVI, is now sweeping aside their flotsam and jetsam and the liberals don’t like it one little bit.
“But Father! But Father!”, some of you will say. “The use of the fanon is not that big a deal! Why are you so … I dunno… intense about this?”
Sure, the fanon is not as big a deal in the minds of some as, say, the collapsing global economy or the rise of anti-Western, anti-Christian Islam.
I will stick to the mantra “Save The Liturgy – Save The Word”.
We all know that some more traditionally minded people are really into the old vestments and gear and that is about as far as it goes. The more thoughtful, however, see that the use of the older, traditional things has a deeper significance.
Our liturgical rites make a difference. Even small things have their influence. If we really believe what we say about what happens during Mass, if we we really believe that the Office is the Church’s official prayer, Christ the High Priest acting and praying through our words and gestures, then how can what we do, liturgically, not have a ripple effect through the whole Church (ad intra), through the whole world (ad extra)?
The virtue of Justice orders all our relationships so that we give to each what is his due. God is at the top of the hierarchy of all our relationships. God is qualitatively different from all other persons with whom we have a relationship. Thus, giving to God what is God’s due concerns its own virtue, the virtue of Religion. The first one to whom we owe something is God and the first thing we owe to God is worship, both as individuals and collectively. If we screw up our relationship with God, all our other relationships will be disordered. If we do not worship God and worship Him properly, we have a hard time living properly in relation to everyone else. Because we are wounded by Original Sin, it is hard for us to fulfill the virtues of Justice and Religion. And because we are limited mortals, we cannot offer God the worship that is His due. Our worship of God is, itself, a gift from God. God makes it possible for us to worship Him in a way that is pleasing to Him. 
One of the great gifts He gave us is Holy Church, upon whom He bestowed His own authority to determine how we, the members of the Church, worship Him and, therefore, order our lives properly. Christ, God man, the one mediator, the true Head of the Church, founded His Church on Peter, upon whom He bestowed the special role of exercising the highest authority in the Church in teaching and in worship.
Where Peter goes, we follow.
Peter, in the person of Benedict XVI, is teaching us – now during a special Year of Faith – about how to recover and reorder that which has been lost. We are disordered. In order to be better ordered again as a Church and as individuals, we must bring our worship of God into continuity with the way we have always, as Catholics, worshiped God.
The use of the fanon is, itself, a small gesture. The return to use of the ferula was a small gesture. The use of older forms of vestments was a small gesture. The white mozzetta during Easter season, a small gesture. Small gestures matter. They pave the way for larger gestures. The return of the Holy Father to a more worthy manner of distribution of Communion was a large gesture. The rearrangement of the altar with the Cross at the center, corpus toward the celebrant, is a large gesture. Summorum Pontificum was a huge gesture. More huge gestures will come, along with the small and the larger.
The Holy Father used the fanon today in a context.
First, use the fanon during a canonization. Canonizations had their own particular traditions. Some of those were restored today. For example, in the old days the Roman Pontiff was petitioned three times to enroll hitherto Blesseds in the “album of the saints”. Benedict XVI, and most theologians, have not considered beatifications to be infallible acts. Canonizations, however, are. The Pope has preferred delegate the celebration of beatifications to other prelates and also to have them celebrated in a local Church, since generally only local Churches or institutes recognize beati at the altar. The canonization has a different theological importance for the Church. Benedict has underscored the difference between beatification and canonization by the return of traditional gestures in the rite and by the use of the fanon.
Second, he used the fanon during the meeting of the Synod of Bishops in the Year of Faith. Benedict does not teach by imposition. In his writing for decades, when talking about the damage to our Catholic identity that occurred with the imposition of an artificial, cobbled-up liturgy and the abuses of it, he also cautioned against abrupt corrections. Pain and chaos was caused by the ripping apart of altars and the turning around of the focus during Mass. We mustn’t cause pain and chaos by an abrupt return to ad orientem worship even though it is superior. For example, Benedict has tried to lead by example, rather than by imposition, in the matter of ad orientem worship. The so-called “Benedictine arrangement” is an intermediate measure on the way to a wider return to ad orientem worship. He hasn’t with his own pen removed the permission to distribute Communion in the hand, but he has clearly shown what he thinks is the better way by his own example. He has hoped that prelates and priests would be with Peter in this, too, and not just give lip service to their unity. Today, with all the participants of the Synod of Bishop present, the Holy Father used the fanon. They cannot use the fanon, but they can pick up on the spirit of what he is trying to do: restore continuity to our worship of God for the sake of the right ordering of our relationships within the Church (ad intra) and with the wider world (ad extra). The participants of the Synod will have now something to reflect on as they return home.
Pope Benedict teaches by example.
For Benedict, gestures like the restoration of the fanon have layers of meaning. His liturgical choices, even details such as pontifical garb, are not simply personal preferences. They are polyvalent signs that point to deeper things.
The other day in Detroit I told Bishop Sample that I thought that Benedict would make a dramatic gesture during the Year of Faith. No, I don’t think the fanon is that gesture.
However, it may be a propaedeutic for something big.
Paul VI in 1967-68 had a special year to commemorate the centenary of the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul. During that year all hell broke loose. The young Joseph Ratzinger was deeply influence by the upheaval he witnessed that year. During 1968 Paul VI issued Humanae vitae – in a gesture that confirms those few historic moments when we have a confirmation that the Holy Spirit will not allow Peter to err in a disastrous way. At the end of that special year, Paul issued the great “Credo of the People of God”.
During this Year of Faith, when all hell is again breaking loose, I think Benedict will issue an encyclical on Faith. He has written already on Charity and Hope. However, I don’t think that predictable encyclical will be the big gesture for the Year of Faith.
I sense, however, that the use of the fanon is a small teaching gesture that points to what that big gesture may be.
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VIVA IL PAPA!!!!!
Could we hope for the return of the triregnum – the triple tiara?
I saw the fanon a bit in the news coverage of the canonization this morning (not much was actually said, only 2 saints from America, a Native American and Hawai’i-an nun (didn’t even say the names!!!). Seeing the fanon nearly made me double take!
@ Organorum – I wouldn’t bet on the crown, that’s a dramatic gesture (in my opinion unlike what Fr. Z is suggesting) that would draw the ire of the world for the pop who wants to “go back to the middle ages”, blah, blah, blah… Same thing with the sedes gestatoria. These are too dramatic (IMO) for the media. Maybe he’ll pontificate at an EF Mass, but I would have a hard time imagining either of those two gestures.
Optime Pater,
Another thing the fanon brings to the table, if the Pope keeps using it: hitherto, the Pope has routinely celebrated the liturgy wearing nothing at all that was distinctive of his rank, the only prelate in Christendom to do so licitly. [YES! Great point.] All of the other regalia he uses are also used by other people. If, therefore, this is the the start of a trend, and not a one-off thing, a MAJOR fail of the reformed Papal liturgy will have been corrected. Oremus!
I noted immediately the pope wearing the fanon; what’s next, the succinctorium?
Excellent commentary Fr. Z.
I am watching the replay of the canonization on EWTN now. Beautiful. I think this brings the number of American canonized saints to twelve. I noted that two gospels were read: one was today’s OF Latin Rite gospel of St. Luke and the second was from St. Mark and proclaimed by an Eastern Rite Catholic in Greek with a Greek schola. Very nice touch.
Ad multos annos Holy Father Benedict, Vicar of Christ.
I saw the news cast of this this morning and was like “is that the fanon??!!?” So I hopped over here because I knew Fr. Z would have the answer – thanks Fr!
I was really surprised that the two different reports I saw (one on tv and one online) did not mention Marianne Cope.
“Pain and chaos was caused by the ripping apart of altars and the turning around of the focus during Mass. We mustn’t cause pain and chaos by an abrupt return to ad orientem worship even though it is superior.”.
Apples versus oranges? Of course it causes pain to have a precious possession ripped away. But what pain would be caused by the abrupt gift of something precious not currently possessed?
Benedict XVI teaches by example. Fr. Z teaches by explaining what it really means. Lex orandi, lex credendi? Let us hope for a really, really Big gesture.
Okay, count me as one of those people who say, “Why is this a big deal?” I am quite willing to accept that it is a big deal, but perhaps it doesn’t seem like one to me because I don’t see any reason why the Pope can’t, shouldn’t, or wouldn’t wear any of the vestments that are proper to the papacy. With the exception of the tiara — I really don’t think he should wear that. There’s just too much baggage associated with that still that I don’t think it would be prudent to do so (although he COULD, obviously). Maybe in a couple more decades, or if there is some giant upheaval in the world (like, say, a huge Muslim takeover of much of Europe and Christendom rejoining out of desperation — it could happen, although I sure hope it doesn’t). But for now, sure, wear anything else!
The Pope most certainly looks more like a Pope than he did in the days of “Marini I”.
Unfortunately, I doubt the Papal Tiara will return for Benedict XVI – as Cardinal Ratzinger he wrote something along the lines of “the Tiara and Sedia are likely to raise a smile” rather than have their desired effect. I would, however, tentatively say that the moving platform used is the modern version of the Sedia (of course I would rather he wasn’t in a state where it were necessary).
We mustn’t cause pain and chaos by an abrupt return to ad orientem worship even though it is superior.
Such concern, admirable as it is, was entirely absent when those changes were made. If the great care taken with the introduction of the new translation is a model for future change, the return to ad orientem could take 50 years.
Truly, the first step to all the changes needed must be proper catechesis. This ought not to be undertaken purely for individual issues. Many (most?) adults today have had little or no proper catechesis, as can be seen from the proliferation of decorations to the NO which we routinely lament here. But what I see in the parish where I attended RCIA is rampant Modernism, and little to no likelihood of change to that in the foreseeable future. In my current parish, I asked one of the priests which, if any, of the adult classes offered would be a safe choice for my wife, one which might include new age, “spirit of Vatican II” or other non-doctrinal teachings. After some review, he told me he could not recommend any of the classes routinely listed in the bulletin. How painfully sad.
Like Gregory DiPippo, I think the use of the Fanon is also indicial of the Pope’s Universal and Ultimate Authority. It reminds me of when he wore the stole of Leo XIII at Westminster Abbey.
Would this not point to His Holiness celebrating a Missa Pontificalis? That is, I believe, the occasion on which the papal fanon would be worn….
Pberginjr, you beat me to the punch. I believe Benedict XVI will say a Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form sometime during the Year of Faith. My first guess of the end of the Year of Faith, while being somewhat logical, would not work because the Feast of Christ the Kings falls on different days in each liturgical calendar. Perhaps some other feast which share the same time.
Awesome post Father.
So, are the other comments correct, that you believe his gesture will be a Pontifical High Mass?
But, if it’s time for an encyclical on the virtue of faith, apparently it’s time to read his encyclicals on hope and love…and other books (like Cardinal Burke’s new book).
Rollingrj I very, very, much doubt that will happen. He might Pontificate at one (indeed maybe the one coming next month, as he will have celebrated Mass earlier in the day).
It would be wonderful if he did, though. Sadly, there aren’t enough Cardinals who would be willing to take part for it to happen as a full Pontifical Mass. I’m no liturgist, so maybe it is possible another way?
Fr Finigan’s blog entry mentions that the OT lesson, the Psalm and Epistle were read from the Epistle side and the Gospel from the Gospel side of the altar. A commenter added that he also seemed to be wearing buskins.
Gail:
In and of itself, the fanon is not a big deal. But if, as our genial host argues, it’s both a part of a larger effort, and a sign of more to come, it is meaningful.
For one thing, it’s encouraging–it suggests the pope has not forgotten his “Marshall Plan” (credit, again, to our genial host for that concept).
In the case of the fanon, there’s something clever here, that any pastor or priest can imitate.
While we wait for the right timing, and/or the fortitude, to address some of the more fundamental problems in the liturgy, there are smaller gestures that can be made that will, I argue, help pave the way.
Priests who go into a parish where the bells were banned…bring them back. The servers like using them, the people like hearing them. Find the statues that were taken out, and bring them back. Put out the candlesticks again. Find the chalice veils and burses. You can get them for free if you make an effort. Get better vestments–and if you get them donated, even better. Some will grouse, but if you don’t spend a lot of money, most won’t get bestir themselves too much; and lots, even folks who may not be with you on more substantive things, will like these things.
You’ll get more grousing about incense, but one way around that is to keep one or two Masses “incense free” and tell people in the bulletin when incense will be used.
Singing the Mass will help. Developing a calm, unhurried, and non-narcissistic ars celebrandi will help.
The Benedictine arrangement on the altar will generate some grousing. If necessary, do it gradually. Start with a small crucifix only if you must. Sneak two candles onto the altar, then two more…
Offer more confessions (who can complain?). Have exposition with benediction. Teach people devotions. Have a ball with all the sundry blessings.
Wear a cassock.
Pray the vesting prayers before Mass; teach the servers the prayers that begin and conclude Mass. I teach them the Latin; they like the challenge.
None of this, in particular, is a big deal. But it all adds up. It also creates curiosity.
Imagine you’re at home, and mom brings out some different dishes, you never saw them before. “Where did these come from?” “Oh, I had them in a closet. We used to use them, many years ago.”
Now, what are you thinking? “I wonder what else mom has locked away that might be interesting.”
Mother Church must open up the doors where the treasures were locked away.
Great post, with great news. For what it’s worth: I think some of institutionalized abuses could be withdrawn tomorrow, and the Catholic world would largely follow. Remember all the grinding of teeth before the new translation? And now? A better liturgy in English–all over the world.
Fr. Martin Fox, I like your “Marshall Plan.” I would add, use patens at communion, have the altar servers (male) wear cassock and surplice. Train servers to always have their hands folded in prayer when not otherwise occupied and to maintain a reverential comportment to include genuflecting when passing in front of the tabernacle and bowing to the altar. Use gold chalices and ciboria.
We got a new priest about a year ago at the NO parish I sometimes attend during the week and he did most, but not all, of what you suggested. Some left the parish. I would like to think they were replaced with new parishioners though.
Fr Martin Fox, I agree with all that you said. I spent years in a parish with no bells, and though there were other issues, the absence of the bells was a real sticking point — I heard them in my head, and could not imagine any rational reason to remove them. I suppose, though, that for those who interpret the call for participation actuoso wrongly, as activitas, then perhaps the bells are a distraction from their focus on themselves.
As I have recently heard explained very clearly, the reason the Mass is (was) so consistent in form is so that our interior participation could remain effective, as we would not have to be ever alert for variations, in order to know where we were in the worship. I remember well that my mother always said her rosary during the Mass (as, I understand, did JPII), and I am sure that this would be much more practical for the laity were we not kept off-balance by the choices in the NO.
In the apparently universal transition to the vernacular, much has been lost. Perhaps even more than through the change to versus populum.
But I am no expert, of course, merely a sinner who grew up with the reverence of worship in what has become the EF.
I am not young but I never heard of a fanon before. So many things of our heritage that have been closeted for the past decades. I look forward to learning more.
Pray that these developements continue!!!!!
One of the greatest gifts to the liturgy would be to restore the English language to its traditional usage before the take-over by the radical feminists. On October 6 the reading was from Mark 10:9 using The New American Bible. Apparently this is the text used in the revised Sunday Lectionary. The verse was translated as: “Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” For centuries everyone has understood “man” to mean the whole human race, or as a male human being, depending on the context. I am distressed that the Bishops have capitulated to the demands of the radical feminists who have deliberately re-defined the word “man” to mean only a male human person. This has resulted in unnecessary and disturbing changes of the word “man” to “person” in other scripture passages as well. I am certain that the ordinary Catholic, male or female, would prefer the traditional translation.
Fr. Fox: Oh, I agree. My point (and perhaps I made it badly) is that it doesn’t seem like a big deal to me, which may mean there are plenty of other people like me who don’t see why the pope can’t or shouldn’t wear his “cappa magna” or Santa Claus hat or whatever — or why a priest can’t celebrate ad orientem, or have the sanctus bells, or wear a cassock. Just go ahead and do it already!
For younger people like myself — and I am not all THAT young — the emotion-fraught history of these things means nothing. We were very young, or not even born, for Vatican II and all its craziness (good or bad). We do not have a bad opinion of special papal vestments because we do not have ANY opinion of special papal vestments, because we don’t know they exist. We think the nuttiness surrounding whether or not the pope can or should wear a little cape is, well, nuttiness. We like the bells, if we remember them at all. Perhaps these things are only still a big deal (when they are) because people keep making them a big deal instead of just doing them. As Mike said above — how many years was there hand-wringing about the new translation? And now we’ve got it, and it was no big deal — in terms of adopting and saying it, I mean. Was it a big deal in terms of the liturgy’s faithfulness to the Latin, dignified language, and depth of meaning? YOU BET.
So as regards the fanon: Yay. I doubt I will ever give it another thought, but if it means Pope Benedict is going to keep bringing more things back? Hooray.
The fanon is one species of the superhumerale, the palium is a second, and a third one is the “rationale” (pronounced RAZTY oh nah lay), once widespread in the Holy Roman Empire but now restricted (to the best of my knowledge) to the bishops of four dioceses: Kraków, Paderborn, Eichstätt, and Nancy. The fanon, as today’s photos show, is a solid garment, while the rationale is more like a palium, with strips of fabric joined together. I believe that the inspiration of the rationale was a garment worn over the shoulders by the High Priests of the Old Covenant.
Are these things essential to our Faith? Of course not. But we can “build a wall around the Torah” (that is create outlying defenses of essential things) through the prudent use of signs that speak of the richness of our history and awaken in us a desire to understand the fullness of the Faith. And this should not be restricted only to the pope or to bishops. Think of the trend to minimalism that changes a cassock into a black suit into a black shirt with a tab collar into a grey shirt into whatever happens to be at hand. Let’s resist that tendency and use all of the signs and symbols our patrimony bequeaths to us. Enough already with the minimalism!
I was not born yet, so I have never considered the fact that Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae during the centenary of the martyrdom of St. Peter and St. Paul. Pope Paul VI certainly endured a little martyrdom of his own that year. I can’t think of an papal writing that has seen such dissent among the clergy- perhaps something during the Arian heresy?
Fr. Martin Fox- those are all great ideas! I also second the thoughts that most young Catholics have no exposure to any of these symbols from our past. If we wait too long to reintroduce them, we may have a generation that has never seen any of them. We are not as brittle as some would suppose. I doubt there will be that many heart attacks if the Pope said his own EF Mass, or if we start using better vestments or music. Do the right thing, but teach along the way and we will follow!
My heart, too, soars at what this might portend. But would a peculiarly-papal vestment not be peculiarly-appropriate at a Mass celebrated in the presence of a peculiarly-large number of bishops? And if so, might not this revival be, well, peculiar? [No.]
Fr Fox, as a server, I LOVE everything you said. We ring the church bells at the start of Mass, and the hand bells at the Epiclesis and Consecration. Incense is used regularly. There are no longer girls, and we wear cassocks and surplices. Chalice veils-check. Burse-check. Three corporals, folded with the cross towards Fr and Deacon-check (OK you need a corporal anyways, but if I weren’t at my parish, I’d be none the wiser as to its usage). Chant-check (working on getting people to sing…work in progress). Crucifix and 2 candles-check. Father’s chair is now out of the way. Tabernacle veil-check.
Father says ‘In Procedamus in pace’ and we respond ‘In Nomine Christi, Amen,’ at the close of our before-Mass prayer, and he blesses us in Latin after Mass. It’s awesome.
I’ve got a couple good ideas on how to improve things…as it says above our organ, ‘Semper Laus Deo,’ and you can always make giving glory to Him better. These mainly pertain to how the servers move and respond to the Mass.
I know the Holy Father doesn’t want to change things on the faithful too often, but I really think it’s necessary. Most priests just think, “Eh, it’s his opinion. Okay. But I don’t need to do it”, and the priests who would follow His Holiness’ lead tend to be the very traditional anyway.
Look at the new translation we got. That proves that the Church can handle mandated change, and it fixes a problem all over the world.
And by the way, I’m not the same Mike as the one above. :)
Agreed, Mike. I am of the view that the Holy Father’s interpretation of the liturgy is one to look to, and taken seriously. That being said, I think a priest should be prudent in introducing changes to a parish…brick-by-brick.
Okay, the use of the fanon was a small gesture. Hey, Holy Father, how about the small gesture of just once saying the traditional Latin Mass in public…maybe even at St. Peter’s?
Oh, WOW. The posts and comments on this blog just keep getting better and better.
I also am older, and had never heard of a Fanon. I was well catechized. Yet, when it comes to the beauty of the Church, I mostly have my experience from the EF Mass and it’s profound impact on my faith. Not the details (content) of that beauty. The explanations, as someone above said, come alot by way of this blog.
I want to copy this whole post and comments and keep reading them over, and over, and over.
Look at these words from Fr. Z: “The virtue of Justice orders all our relationships so that we give to each what is his due. God is at the top of the hierarchy of all our relationships. God is qualitatively different from all other persons with whom we have a relationship. Thus, giving to God what is God’s due concerns its own virtue, the virtue of Religion. The first one to whom we owe something is God and the first thing we owe to God is worship, both as individuals and collectively. If we screw up our relationship with God, all our other relationships will be disordered. If we do not worship God and worship Him properly, we have a hard time living properly in relation to everyone else. Because we are wounded by Original Sin, it is hard for us to fulfill the virtues of Justice and Religion. And because we are limited mortals, we cannot offer God the worship that is His due. Our worship of God is, itself, a gift from God. God makes it possible for us to worship Him in a way that is pleasing to Him” A relationship nutshell to memorize!!!
The Church is continuous…from the beginning as our Holy Father reminds us, is constant…in Her teaching as Servant of God, Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. reminds us, and is consistent…as wmeyer says in his comment at 2:03 p.m.: ” the reason the Mass is (was) so consistent in form is so that our interior participation could remain effective, as we would not have to be ever alert for variations, in order to know where we were in the worship.” A worship nutshell to memorize!
acardnal and Fr. Fox…et al…more beautiful words and direction. These small gestures, done by enough people, along with enough prayers, will create ‘the critical mass needed’ in short order. They will add up so that the large gesture of right relationship and right worship will be the reality.
This is blog link is a for sure passaround.
Paul VI in 1967-68 had a special year to commemorate the centenary of the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul.
I think you mean “bimillenary”, not “centenary”; otherwise Sts. Peter and Paul would have been martyred 2-3 years after the end of the American Civil War! But thank you for a fascinating and encouraging post!
If Pope Benedict is going to celebrate a Pontifical High Mass in the EF during the next year, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul would be a terrific occasion for it, esp. since it is the same in both calendars.
Well, I need some clarification readers. I attended the TLM/EF Mass this morning and the gospel was from St. Matthew. However, when I got back home, I watched the Pope’s Mass on EWTN. I may be mistaken, but I thought there were two gospel readings based on the displayed captions: one from Luke and one from Mark – the NO gospel for today (I misspoke above at 11:11 am and said the NO was from Luke). So, were there two gospel readings at the Pope’s Mass or did I blank out due to lack of caffeine? Perhaps it will re-air.
Albinus1, I agree; the Feast of Ss Peter and Paul would be excellent timing. Plus, it’s a universal Holy Day of Obligation (OK, one dispensed from in many places, but still)…good time to remind people that going to church 74 days (52 Sundays, plus 12 Holy Days) isn’t that hard.
So many great comments and ideas here. The only thing I would add is that Father Z has given us our vocabulary lesson for the day: propaedeutic (a preparatory or introductory teaching).
Henry Edwards says: “Pain and chaos was caused by the ripping apart of altars and the turning around of the focus during Mass. We mustn’t cause pain and chaos by an abrupt return to ad orientem worship even though it is superior.”. Apples versus oranges? Of course it causes pain to have a precious possession ripped away. But what pain would be caused by the abrupt gift of something precious not currently possessed?
Yeah…I agree with this. Then again, for almost the last half-century, we Catholics have been eating nothing but circus peanuts, so an attempt to substitute meat and potatoes will be resisted. And then there is the overpowering sense of entitlement with which we are imbued, just like the rest of the world. One is tempted to speculate on what the world would be like today if Catholics had resisted the Mass of Paul VI with the same vim and vigor that so many have put into resisting Summorum Pontificum.
I hope the grand gesture will be the return of the triregnum. I continue to maintain that Paul VI’s abandonment of the triregnum came across more as a sign of abdication of his authority than of humility. And it’s time we stopped caring what the rest of the world might think about it. We are SUPPOSED to be out of step with the world. The world will always hate us no matter what we do, so we need to just do the right thing.
I think the fanon has caused people not to notice the pope’s special proclamation of St. Kateri Tekawitha’s two new patron saint duties.
Praying for the Holy Father to offer the EF during the year of the Faith in public….more Liturgical patrimony the better.
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Surely the liberals and modernists can (and will) throw a nutter over the Pope’s vestments, but they are important. The high priests of the Old Testament wore particular vestments upon entering the Holy of Holies. Shouldn’t the priests of the New Testaments also be particular in their vestments?Full regalia helps in the New Evangelization.
I never heard of the fanon before, and I thought I knew quite a lot about vestments! :-) Very interesting.
@Fr. Martin Fox: Our young pastor has done all of the things on your list, and we now have six candles and a rather big crucifix on the altar. Antependium, maniple, biretta (he’s a diocesan priest), zucchetto and talar all seem natural now and he celebrates the EF Mass a couple of times a month (but not for the main Sunday Mass). The only thing some people complain about is when we sing in latin, but the vernacularists are few.
I have, however, noticed, that there are more (young) men in church now, then it was before (and we have had very othodox priests for decades). The oldboys like the changes too, while women over say 55, tend to worry that “too many special things and practices will scare people off, shouldn’t we keep it simple?” The children, OTH, get it!
Keep up the good work! We try our best on this side of the pond!
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I was present at yesterday canonization and Mass. I noticed the fanon, but I did not realize what it was, ignorant as I am of these things. I did notice that the gospel was proclaimed from what we would have called in the old days, the “gospel” side of the altar, and the other readings from what would have been called the “epistle” side. I didn’t think anything of this since, at my age, this still seems normal. A young person pointed it out on the Catholic Answers liturgy forum, and made me consider this more. I think that this may also be significant. Pope Benedict is wonderful!
I think the ‘big gesture’ will be the introduction of the Papal Tambourine.
Have others noticed that an almost subliminal constant message from the Pope has been that he is the Successor of Peter, he is Head of the College of Bishops etc. Absolutely battered home time and again.
It is important that both laity and clergy are constantly reminded of this, so if (and hopefully when) the Pope must again speak infallibly, people understand how he can do this. Especially after the years of an ailing Pontiff, an exercise of Papal authority must be eased in so it is complied with.
The fanon is important, but to most Catholics it will just look like either part of that chasuble or a tea-towel. Catechisis will not be far behind! Then, it will be a constant reminder that the Pope isn’t simply another Bishop.
The gift may be painful because it would replace a felt banner that many really are attached to with an Old Master, or Milwaukee’s Best with Weihenstephaner. Some gifts require that the palate be educated.
Humane Vitae was promulgated on my 21st birthday. As we sink into one moral pit after another my estimation and appreciation of him as a pope (and man) of great courage deepens as I age. Thank God he was there when humanity needed him. I now think of him first when the subject of canonizations comes to mind.
One can watch the entire Mass here. http://gloria.tv/?media=349982
The gospel of St. Mark was chanted twice: once in Latin by the Latin Rite deacon and the second time in Greek by the Eastern Rite Catholic deacon. I appreciated how the Eastern Rite deacon draped the book of the gospels with his stole as he walked to the ambo and then again the the Holy Father afterwards.
This is certainly all very exciting and very positive!
One small point: the Pope was not the only one who wore the Fanon.
The Patriarch of Lisbon also had the privilege of wearing the Fanon. He was also allowed to wear the Falda (but in red, and only one — the Pope had two). He also was allowed to have a sedia gestatoria, but he could only preach from it — he could not be carried in procession on it. The flabella were also part of this, but they were smaller than the ones used at the Papal court.
Additionally, the Patriarch of Lisbon also had a “special mitre,” which was a very nice and jeweled miter with three bands of precious stones (or something similar) that, from far away, it would resemble a tiara (but it was not one).
You can see posts and pictures on all this here: http://traditionalcatholicism83.blogspot.com/2007/12/papal-privileges-for-patriarch-of.html and here: http://traditionalcatholicism83.blogspot.com/2007/12/patriarch-of-lisbon-again.html.
At some point, there was a horrendously modern version of the mitre-tiara of the Patriarch of Lisbon sometime in the 80’s, I think, but it was really horrible!
All these privileges were thought to have belonged to the Patriarch of Venice , but at some point, they stopped using them.
He will RESTORE the Feast of Christ the King to the SAME DAY and celebrate the Mass of Ages! <3
wmeyer, the “rational reason” for removing the use of bells was/is that if the canon is said aloud, or in any event if it is said not only aloud but in the vernacular, one can tell where one is in the Mass and has no need of a signal that the consecration is soon coming, and then that it is now here. I used to be of that mind, and to some extent still am. But in my parish in the past few years bells have been reintroduced, and I “sort of” like them. I certainly am sympathetic to your attitude, but wanted to note there IS a reason for not using bells.
mary moore, thank you for your oh-so-welcome support for the opinion that “man” has, as it were, two meanings. To my understanding, however, the meaning, besides “member of the human race/the race of mankind,” is “ADULT male member of the human race.” Thus, although one might pray for “men and women who serve in public office,” one should not pray that “all men and women may have sufficient food and other necessities of life,” since one thereby leaves out the boys and girls/the children, who are also in need of those things, when a prayer for “all men” leaves out no human being. In the late 1960’s (at the time of her death) I saw a praise of Vivien Leigh as a great “actor,” along with an argument for calling her an “actor,” and that attitude seems to have prevailed, so that one does not ordinarily hear any longer of a postmistress or a concertmistress, and I think also probably not of a heroine. I have wondered why the same attitude did not result in the continued acceptance of “chairman,” and an acceptance of a female postman or fireman as well. I have seen a female Representative in Congress write of “workmen’s compensation,” and on one glorious occasion read of “male and female airmen” (the author unfortunately being male and thus serving less well as an example), but in general, as you say, feminist absurdity prevails. Thank you very much indeed for your comment in favor of sanity.
I certainly am sympathetic to your attitude, but wanted to note there IS a reason for not using bells.
I know the rationale, but it’s just more wreckovation, in my view. At the parish I now attend, the bells are used.
I am male, and apologize for any offense caused by “feminist absurdity.” That phrase does, however, express my opinion, and, it would seem, the opinion of mary moore as well.
I am male, and I apologize for any offense I may have given in speaking of “feminist absurdity.” It seems, however, that mary moore would not object to the phrase.
Minnesotan from Florida says:
22 October 2012 at 3:51 pm
wmeyer, the “rational reason” for removing the use of bells was/is that if the canon is said aloud, or in any event if it is said not only aloud but in the vernacular, one can tell where one is in the Mass and has no need of a signal that the consecration is soon coming, and then that it is now here. I used to be of that mind, and to some extent still am. But in my parish in the past few years bells have been reintroduced, and I “sort of” like them. I certainly am sympathetic to your attitude, but wanted to note there IS a reason for not using bells.
I disagree with the above. Even though Mass is now celebrated in the vernacular, there are congregants in the pews who still get distracted, whose minds wander to the golf game or family breakfast after Mass, and so on. The ringing of the bells alerts them to refocus their minds and pay attention. The most important aspect of the Mass is occurring. I like the bells and recognize their value.
I like the bells and recognize their value.
Great value, indeed!
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Well, for the most irrational thought process of the day, that pingback takes the cake.
My Spanish is extremely rudimentary, but it appears that the blogger is equating the fanon through a circuitous route with the “Horst Wessel Lied” – because “Fahne”, the German word for ‘flag’ (derived of course from the Latin) figures in the first line of that song and sounds kind of like “fanon” and thus the Pope must be a Nazi . . . . ?
He works the Jewish high priests in there somehow too, but I got bored and stopped picking my way through.
Dear @AnAmericanMother: thank you very much for that comment!
Interesting to note that the Holy Father didn’t wear the Fanon today (one week later). Although it was a “green” Sunday – so maybe we shall see it at the N.O. Christ the King in a couple of weeks?
JBosco, I saw exactly the same picture, and I thought to myself: “Why, how very… peculiar.”
Minnesotan from Florida said: “[T]he ‘rational reason’ for removing the use of bells was/is that if the canon is said aloud … one can tell where one is in the Mass and has no need of a signal … [thus] there IS a reason for not using bells.” Well, but that’s not so much a reason for not using the bells as it is the demonstration that an argument for using the bells no longer applies. That the original reason for something no longer obtains it is not necessarily an argument against the thing.