” We quickly turn the page, looking for novelty while unable to retain memories.”

The Holy Father decided to transfer the Mass of Corpus Christi and the Procession from the Lateran Basilica to St. Mary Major from Thursday – when it has always been celebrated – to Sunday.  I wasn’t consulted, but I think that that was not a particularly good decision: Rome needs the witness on a weekday.  I am sure that the Left is pleased with this new development and I doubt that this or the next Pope will get Thursday back again.  Alas.

That said, today His Holiness went to his cathedral church for Mass and the procession.  He has a new crozier.

The whole video is HERE.   The procession portion begins at about 1:17:15.  It is always interesting to see the various habits of confraternities, etc.  Try not to drown in syrup-music.

The aforementioned crozier.

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Nope.  It doesn’t work for me.

I read that this watchyacallit is 170 cm long and weights 3,5 kg.  It was given to His Holiness by steelworkers in Genova, Italy, where he is scheduled to visit on 27 June.

Meanwhile, in his sermon the Pope said:

Remember.  Memory is important, because it allows us to dwell in love, to be mind-ful, never forgetting who it is who loves us and whom we are called to love in return.  Yet nowadays, this singular ability that the Lord has given us is considerably weakened.  Amid so much frantic activity, many people and events seem to pass in a whirl.  We quickly turn the page, looking for novelty while unable to retain memories.  Leaving our memories behind and living only for the moment, we risk remaining ever on the surface of things, constantly in flux, without going deeper, without the broader vision that reminds us who we are and where we are going.  In this way, our life grows fragmented, and dulled within.

Too true.  This is one of the reasons why we must reclaim and foster our heritage, our patrimony of sacred liturgical worship.

Also, I trust that the Holy Father’s knees or other joints are not giving him too much distress.  It seems that he didn’t choose to use the kneeler provided for him either at the Lateran or at St. Mary Major.

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Beautiful altar at St. Mary’s.  Note the image of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani in the background.

In the past, Benedict XVI was able to kneel.  Note how they drape the cope over the kneeler like the old talamo.

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Eventually, John Paul would sit for at least part of the procession.

The video of today’s procession gives you quite a few great views of that area of Rome.

Speaking of the old talamo and Eucharistic processions and the importance of memory

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13 Comments

  1. maria_nj says:

    It’s ugly, but probably not as bad as this one: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BYCh5E6IcAAuZwV.jpg:large

  2. Charles E Flynn says:

    Pope Francis appears to be hedging his bets on which side of the crozier is supposed to face the people.

  3. Torculus15 says:

    The tragedy is that we are losing the beautiful Thursday connection between Holy Thursday, Ascension Thursday (Sunday?) and Corpus Christi (Sunday). After Sunday, Thursday was the first day of the week to have its own propers, etc. “But it’s too hard, too inconvenient…” is not a fitting argument to jettison our treasured history.

  4. gpederson says:

    Perhaps His Holiness is reading Cardinal Sarah’s book.

  5. Animadversor says:

    I wasn’t consulted…

    Again?

  6. taffymycat says:

    its too protestant. that thing has no corpus.

    [Neither does the traditional ferula which the Pope carries.]

  7. oledocfarmer says:

    I really admired the commemorative plaque featuring Benedict XIV in the forecourt of the Lateran.

  8. Mike says:

    Irrespective of the Pope’s knees, much of the news lately makes it sound like it’d be a good idea for us to be spending more time on our knees.

    Fr. Z's Gold Star Award

  9. TNCath says:

    It looks like three butter knives: one vertical and two horizontal. Msgr. Marini must have had the day off when that choice was made, or he took the rest of the day off after the choice was made. I shudder to think what might come next: the Holy Father wearing a chasuble-alb with an overlay stole?

  10. mysticalrose says:

    I don’t trust anyone in the Roman Rite who cannot kneel before the Blessed Sacrament. [“cannot”? So, you wouldn’t have trusted me when I tore up my knee and had to have surgery and a long recovery time. You would not trust John Paul II during one of the processions when he had to sit, do to his advanced Parkinson’s disease.]

  11. Rod Halvorsen says:

    We of the ’62 Missal can hang on to Thursday, can we not?

    We heard a wonderful homily and then made a procession to a park for a short service of adoration…in the rain! Actually, singing in the rain to be specific! It was a wonderful evening. I have to drive about 1 1/2 hours to get to my parish, and I was sick, but just couldn’t stay home. And I’m glad I didn’t. Praise God for a priest who doesn’t accept “rainouts”!!

  12. Pingback: MONDAY CATHOLICA EXTRA | Big Pulpit

  13. dcntodd says:

    Shouldn’t a crosier, like, look like a crosier? At least a little?

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