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

A priest reader of WDTPRS writes asking:

Dear Fr. Z,
 
How can we get our experience of heterodox sisters to the congregation rightly investigating these women?

The best way I can think of is to write directly to the one appointed to coordinate the visitation, Mother Mary Clare Millea, ASCJ.  They have a contact form here.

As in any instance of making concerns known to ecclesiastical authority, whether it is about liturgical abuse or heterodox preaching, etc., follow the tips for writing I posted HERE.

Keep in mind especially the need to back up what you say with some kind of documentation…. things they printed and distributed, screenshots of their websites with links, sound or video recordings, letters they wrote, etc.

Also… and this is important... also for the love of God also write about the good things you see in some communities!

The Apostolic Visitation is not merely about sticking it to the weird wicca wymym who are spinning out of control.  It is to access what the state of the question is in the United States.  That means also accessing the good communities which are faithful and strong.

You would not believe what I get in my e-mail.

I thought you or your readers might have an idea where to acquire some lutefisk. My in-laws are of Swedish stock and we have some interest in serving some lutefisk during the holidays. Can you be of any assistance? We are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan (not Minnesota!) but don’t mind shopping online or via a catalog if necessary.

 

Lutefisk?   Also known as Lyefish, because it is made by rotting fish in lye?

I don’t mind it by e-mail, so long as it isn’t in my snail mail.

I can tell you where to get colatura, which is highly to be recommended.

And that is lutefisk has nothing whatsoever to do with the fisk I apply to texts, though lies are often exposed.

From a reader:

If you are a Catholic of the Latin Rite in an area where there is a Latin Rite church & an Eastern Rite church, might you attend Mass & receive communion in the Eastern Rite church or must one attend the Latin Rite one?

If a Latin Rite Catholic brings up children regularly in the Eastern Rite church, can such a child, grown up, marry & be ordained in the Eastern Rite?

Can a Latin Rite Catholic join the Eastern Rite, marry & be ordained priest?

If you are Catholic, you can attend Mass or the Divine Liturgy in a Catholic church, fulfill your obligation for Sunday and receive Holy Communion.   This can be done in a Catholic church, whether Latin Rite or any of the Easter Catholic Churches with their Rites.

Children of Latin Rite parents belong to the Latin Rite.  They would have to change Churches formally.

A Latin Rite Catholic can change, through a process. 

You can marry a person of an Eastern Catholic Church even as a Latin Rite Catholic.

If you are asking whether or not you can change Churches, marry and then be ordained, yes, in theory.  However, I believe some of the Eastern Churches have restrictions on where married clergy can serve.

From a priest reader who works in a seminary and is involved with helping seminarians learn how to say Mass (edited):

... I find it helpful to know the historic reasons behind even small gestures at Mass.  [...]
 
Thus, I would like to prepare to pass along this wisdom by studying the Mass and absorbing, as much as I can, the reasons that we do what we do up there – so that the men are competent in, and devoted to saying the black/doing the red because they understand whence they come – and I find that if one wants to understand the parts/gestures/prayers/sequence of the novus ordo, he must study the TLM.
 
I read recently The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by Fr. Nicholas Gihr, which was superb.  Might you have other book suggestions, either for me in preparation, or for the students, so as to understand the NO by understanding the TLM?

I haven’t read Gihr, but I have heard of it.

I am pleased that Father is taking this approach.  As young men learn the older forms or learn about them, they will have a better grasp of who they are as priests and what they do at the altar.

I think they could benefit from access to Jungmann’s The Mass of the Roman Rite, which will be in the library, but should be on all of their shelves without question.  It is a scholar’s approach.   More accessible is, perhaps, Romano Guardini’s little book Meditations before Mass. 

Also, have them look at the works of Klaus Gamber about ad orientem worship.

 

Perhaps some readers will offer other titles.

From a reader come a question I must toss to the readership, since I simply don’t know what the situation is in the UK and Ireland:

Is the so called Eucharistic Prayer for Various Needs and Occasions (otherwise known as the Swiss Synod prayer) approved by the Apostolic See for use in the UK and Ireland. I have checked with our liturgy office but they don’t seem to know!! I came across it used at an Installation Mass for a parish priest and found it strange as the per ipsum was sung at great length by all of the congregation, the singing of this part lasted about three minutes. Is this proper?

From a reader:

I have a question. I have a son who is into World of Warcraft. I am not peaceful with this game and asked him to pray about the occult possibilities of the game. Can you advise about this, please?

With all things having to do with children, especially young kids, parents should be directly involved and know what they are doing.

I don’t know much about World of Warcraft other than what I have seen, and briefly, at the home of a friend. 

I think I would be less worried about the problems that you might imagine from "occult" references as I would to the addictive power of these role playing games and the potential harm it might do to motivation.

All these things need to be used in good measure.

These games have a powerful ability to capture you and, before you know it, a great deal of time has been lost to you which might have been spent also on other things.

My own experience with other games is that they can exercise a strong draw on your time and mind.  I use one of those console games solely during the time when I exercise, such as the time I spend on an exercise bike.  I alternate with audio books, too.  They really help the time pass quickly.  They are so engaging, as a matter of fact, amazing in their technology, that I can stay on that bike or whatever machine for far longer than I would have otherwise if stuck in silence or with music or with TV.  In itself, that is an indication of the powerful influence they can have on you.

So, again, I think I would be more concerned about the power of these games to form habits or addictions.

There might be an additional question: Whether children should be give such compelling and realistic ways to be nearly godlike in the ambit of the game.

I am no expert on this topic, but those are my few personal observations.

At the end, however, I should also add – and WOW aficionados will get this – that a character in a novel outline I have put together is Leeroy Card. Jenkins!

From a reader with my emphases:

This notice just appeared in the weekly bulletin of St. Vincent Church of Akron, Ohio:
 
H1N1 FLU—
Due to the severity of the H1N1 Flu virus, it seems prudent to take whatever measures are necessary to protect ourselves and our children. For that reason, we will suspend the use of the Cup at Holy Communion, until the threat is over. You may also want to do what our children now do at Mass. Rather than shaking hands with our neighbor, we simply turn to them and offer a simple bow.

I was unable to locate any instruction from the Diocese of Cleveland to suspend use of the Cup.  Rather, the current diocesan memorandum restates the pronouncement of the USCCB that individuals who are ill should refrain from the Cup, and Eucharistic ministers should wash their hands before and after Communion.  This leads me to the question: since it is likely more of our churches will follow suit, is suspending the use of the Cup at Mass properly a pastoral decision, or one that is reserved to the Ordinary or USCCB?

 

I believe it is entirely proper for a pastor of a parish to decide not to have distribution of the Precious Blood, which is an option which can be chosen or suspended for pastoral reasons.   Also, the invitation to the congregation for a Sign of Peace is at the option of the celebrant.  It seems reasonable to me to suggest how to do it if they are going to do it at all.

Folks… I don’t have time for this right now… can you help?

From a reader:

This summer, our diocese of _ will see its first Extraordinary Form Liturgy since…well, probably since Vatican II.  The Mass will be a Nuptial Mass for two of my good friends.  I am merely wondering about the rubrical guidelines for a sung wedding Mass.
•    Is the Asperges done before the Mass, directly after the Nuptial Blessing or not at all?
•    How many servers, at minimum are needed for this particular form of the Sacred Liturgy? 
•    I know the engaged both would like incense, but is this permissible and is incense used at any point during the Blessing?
•    What is sung by the choir and what is omitted by the server?
Fr. Fortescue’s book has started to hurt my head in trying to get it all squared away!

From a reader:

A classmate of mine is about to be ordained to the priesthood.  I’m trying to find an antique chalice for him.  Do you know any merchants who sell antique chalices?

Anyone?

From a reader:

First let me say I am a long time reader of your blog. Thank you for all that you do.

A few years ago I found a brass censer on eBay which I bought. The exterior is quite tarnished, and the interior is a bit corroded with the copper plating missing in some places. There’s a small ding at the base.

Nonetheless, I floated the idea of attempting to restore it and let my children present it to out priest as a gift to celebrate the Year of the Priest. I started polishing it up, and dang it if it doesn’t look pretty sharp. He does not currently use a censer; but if he has an inkling in his heart to do so, perhaps this would be a little encouragement.

Do you know of any reason why this would not be an appropriate gift? Would it be acceptable even if it is clear that the item is not new (I won’t even attempt to remove the small ding, fearing I’d only damage it further)?

Do you have any thoughts on this sort of gift? Are you aware of any considerations I should keep in mind when continuing?

First, it is good that some of this old stuff is being rescued and cleaned up and … hopefully… used.

A lot of that ecclesiastical hardware is is pretty expensive new.

Also, I can’t see why it would not be a good gift to some parish where the priest is trying to get things going again.

Something like this might be a source of encouragement.

I would also present it along with some incense and some charcoal, so that it is easy to start using it right away.

 

I suspect most people would like to have more solemn liturgy on occasion, and the use of incense can go a long way in making it so.

 

On ZENIT there was a question put to their resident liturgical expert, Fr. Edward McNamara, of the Legionaries of Christ.

Frequency of the Extraordinary Form

And More on Habit-Wearers

ROME, SEPT. 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: I am confused about the permission given by our Holy Father regarding the celebration of Mass using the Tridentine rite (the extraordinary form). Can a parish substitute for all daily Masses throughout the week the "Tridentine form" instead of the "ordinary form"? I understand Sunday Masses must be of the ordinary form, with perhaps the exception of one Tridentine Mass.—D.F., St. Clair Shores, Michigan

A: The most relevant document regarding this point is probably Article 5 of "Summorum Pontificum":

"In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonizes with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with Canon 392, avoiding discord and favoring the unity of the whole Church.

"§2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Blessed John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held."

Canon 392 refers to the bishop’s overall right and duty to oversee and enforce the observation of ecclesiastical laws within his jurisdiction.

While the papal document certainly allows some leeway, the fact that it asks pastors to ensure that the celebration of the extraordinary form harmonizes with the ordinary pastoral care would suggest that a parish should not habitually substitute all daily Masses for the extraordinary form. [Okay… there are some rather vague things going on here, "leeway… harmonizes… suggest… habitually".]

A parish with more than one priest could have daily Mass in both forms.  [Well… probably a parish with a single priest could also.]

Likewise, in areas where churches are in close proximity, the bishop could allow one parish to celebrate a daily Mass in the extraordinary form for the faithful from several parishes. [It rather sounds as if Fr. M is applying Ecclesia Dei adflicta.] Other possibilities include rotating the celebration of the extraordinary form during the week among two or three nearby parishes.

If the need arises, the papal letter issued "motu propio" (on his own initiative) also foresees the possibility of the bishop establishing a special parish, thus Article 10:

"The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with Canon 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law."

As is obvious all celebrations in such a parish or chaplaincy would be according to the extraordinary form.

The above document says that it is important to seek positive and charitable solutions to the needs of all the faithful so as to avoid discord and to favor the Church’s unity.

It is obviously not a bad think to have all daily Masses (or the only daily Mass) in a parish be in the Extraordinary Form, or there would not be the possibility of parishes where only the older books are used.

So, in all other parishes, it is a matter of working out the "pastoral" exigencies for how to use the TLM in a parish.

I cannot imagine a priest, facing things as they are today in most parishes where the older form hasn’t been used in years, would be able to change all the daily Masses to the TLM in anything like an irenic manner.

I guess this could come up in a parish where there is one priest with one daily Mass scheduled. 

You would think that if everyone who went to daily Mass at a parish, and the priest himself, really wanted the TLM rather than the Novus Ordo, and there were requests along those lines and consultation with the regulars, there is little reason why the priest shouldn’t use the TLM for the daily Mass.

From a reader:

I was told by a pastor in the Dallas Diocese today that I was in rebellion because I genuflected before I received Communion at his Novus Ordo church.  He also criticized those few who knelt for Communion.  He stated that the "norm" in the US is to stand and receive in the hand, and that anything else is rebellion and an act of pride.  He stated that the point of Communion was to "build community," and thus we should all do the same thing – to genuflect or kneel somehow violates the spirit of that community, in his mind. 
 
Is he right?  Could those who kneel or genuflect at Communion reasonably be interpreted as being in rebellion for those practices?

You might offer to that priest a copy of the CDW’s 2004 Redemptionis Sacramentum:

 

[90.] “The faithful should receive Communion kneeling or standing, as the Conference of Bishops will have determined”, with its acts having received the recognitio of the Apostolic See. “However, if they receive Communion standing, it is recommended that they give due reverence before the reception of the Sacrament, as set forth in the same norms”.

[91.] In distributing Holy Communion it is to be remembered that “sacred ministers may not deny the sacraments to those who seek them in a reasonable manner, are rightly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them”. Hence any baptized Catholic who is not prevented by law must be admitted to Holy Communion. Therefore, it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing.

[92.] Although each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice, if any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in the hand, in areas where the Bishops’ Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic See has given permission, the sacred host is to be administered to him or her. However, special care should be taken to ensure that the host is consumed by the communicant in the presence of the minister, so that no one goes away carrying the Eucharistic species in his hand. If there is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the hand to the faithful.

If you are deeply concerned about this, you might write to the local bishop and ask him if he agrees with the priest. Ask him if you are in rebellion because you desire to kneel for Communion.

You might also ask the bishop if he agrees that the point of Communion is to "build community".

If you write, you might want to consider some of my tips for writing such a letter.

Finally, I think we should avoid terms like "Novus Ordo church".  A church is a church is a church.  Some are more or less suited to sacred rites, but I think that sort of distinction is unhelpful – even though it may simply and innocently be used to identify a place where only the Novus Ordo is used rather than the older, traditional for the Roman Rite.

This is from the Wisconsin State Journal with my emphases and comments:

Sauk City-area priests inspiring some, alienating others

By DOUG ERICKSON derickson@madison.com 608-252-6149 | Posted: Saturday, September 19, 2009 3:45 pm

SAUK CITY —At a recent Mass at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, the Rev. John Blewett urged parishioners to emulate their savior and stand firm on matters of church doctrine.

"Jesus does not back down," he said. [Do I hear an "Amen!"?]

The same could be said for Blewett and his fellow members of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest, a religious group based in Spain. Beginning in 2006, Bishop Robert Morlino [of Madison] invited priests from the society to serve in the Madison Catholic Diocese, and in the ensuing years, they have thrilled some and dismayed others with their staunch Catholicism and tough-love approach.

Five of them now lead a five-parish cluster in the Sauk City area, with three more priests from the society expected this fall. They have brought considerable change in the way the parishes approach worship services.

The priests no longer let girls be altar servers, and they have dispensed with the common Catholic practice of using trained lay people to assist with Communion. They have greatly increased opportunities for confession – some complain they nose around too much – and added many Masses celebrated only in Latin, which some parishioners find divine and others alienating.  [Do I hear an "Amen!"?]

Supporters say the priests have brought richness to the faith and much-needed discipline to followers who too often water down church teachings.

"They tell us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear," [That sounds about right.] said Kay Ringelstetter, a St. Aloysius member who calls the changes beautiful. "We see their love for Jesus Christ and the joy in everything they do, and we desire it."

Others are upset over what they consider a hard-line approach that leaves little room for shades of difference. [The ironic thing is that there is plenty of room for many different kinds of difference.  But not about the Church’s infallible teachings, her definitive teachings on faith and morals, the regula fidei, etc.]

"You get the impression they only want to be a shepherd for the people who agree with them," said Troy Jacobson, [then… start agreeing?] who left St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie last year over his disappointment with the priests. "It’s almost like they’ve restricted access to God."

Critics contend that scores of parishioners have left, but others disagree and say new members have filled any voids. The Rev. Jared Hood, a society priest and the administrator of the five-parish cluster, said membership numbers were not available. [It’s all part of the "sorting" process.]

Morlino said any time parishes change priests, some upheaval is inevitable. He said the priests follow a different course from many in the diocese, but that diversity is good and everything the priests do falls within the accepted practices of the church. [Some people only want diversity if it excludes a faithful and traditional expression of Catholicism.]

"They are not in any sense renegades," he said. [Quite the opposite, except perhaps in the sense that they refuse to run with the swarm of modernist lemmings.]
 
Special designation

Societies are a special designation within the Catholic Church. They are groups of lay people, consecrated women and priests who live in common and come together around a specific mission, such as aiding the sick. The mission of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest is to increase the number of boys entering the priesthood.  [Whaddya know.]

"If we can manage to get the young people to fall in love with Jesus Christ, then they will not but want to be like him and to share his life and mission," wrote the society’s founder, the Rev. Alfonso Galvez, in a 1994 book on the society’s formation.

...

...

Making changes

Removing girls as altar servers was one of the initial changes the priests made. (The Vatican began allowing female servers in 1994.) Hood said that if the society is to succeed in encouraging more young men to enter the seminary, it must give boys as much time around priests as possible. Girls can distract and intimidate boys, he said.

Carol Schmitt, a member of St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie for 15 years and the mother of a female altar server, was among those who took offense. "We sit there and are told that we’re all equal in the eyes of God, and then they do this. I was just insulted."  [I guess this is an example of feelings trumping reason and of lack of understanding breeding fear.]

Schmitt said she left the parish and no longer attends a local church.  [What a reason to leave the Church and risk your immortal soul…]

Others saw the change not as sexist but as critical to the Catholic Church’s long-term viability.

"I don’t think giving preference to one gender means you’re denigrating the other," said Margie Watson, a St. Aloysius member and the mother of three boys and two girls. She said she has seen boys more drawn to being altar servers now that the role is reserved for them.

Dropping lay people as Communion assistants – called Eucharistic ministers [Well… NO!... but let’s move along…] – also irked some Catholics. The priests have said that having only their hands [only their consecrated hands] handle the wine and wafers, which Catholics believe become the blood and body of Christ when consecrated, brings greater reverence to the practice. Others say the change is an example of a rigidity that erects barriers.  [There not "barriers", in the sense they mean, but there are barriers in the sense of distinctions.  Clerics are, by definition, set apart.]

"The people are not considered the church, only the priests are," said Sister Mary Francis Heimann of Madison, a Catholic nun who has been critical of Morlino and has been attending Masses by society priests to check them out. She says the Masses lack joy and are "regressive and depressing."  [Another profoundly rigid and blinkered comment.  What she is saying is that if lay people are doing what priests do, then obviously lay people aren’t good enough on their own.  What a horrible and degrading form of clericalism that is.]

But Mary Fabian, a St. Aloysius member, said she’s found greater meaning and joy in the Eucharist. "We consider it kind of an extra gift that we are always able to receive the sacrament of the Eucharist directly from a priest," she said.

Range of responses

Catholicism is not an easy faith, and those who sign on must be Catholic in everything they do, said Laura Breunig, a St. Aloysius member who praises the priests.

"The people who have left need to do a gut check and ask themselves why they are leaving," she said. "Nothing our priests have ever said or done goes against our Catholic teaching."  [Right.]

Others say the priests have made them feel boxed out of the religion.

"It’s Catholic with a capital ‘C,’ but it’s not Christianity," said Joan Weiss, a former member of St. Aloysius. "It’s all the rules and rituals and fancy garments, but it’s not ‘take care of your neighbor’ or ‘love one another.’"  [She clearly hasn’t been paying attention.]

Dennis Doyle, a Catholic theologian at the University of Dayton in Ohio, describes the society as having "a dynamic spirit." But this spirit comes with risks, he said. Morlino and the society’s priests are willing to fight against cultural trends in the name of purity of doctrine, an approach that is "difficult, at times painful, and pastorally questionable," said Doyle, adding that he hopes the priests "continue to grow and change along with their parishioners."  [Why is that "pastorally questionable"?  If they are not jerkls… if they attend to their parish priest’s duties, if they act with charity and are smart about the changes and their timing, how could that be "pastorally questionable"?  I suspect the one who said this is suggesting that everyone’s approach must be accommodated equally, regardless of how far from the pale it may be.]

Morlino remains a fan. Asked whether other priests in the diocese should emulate the society priests, he said, "It’s not necessarily that every priest must be like them, so I wouldn’t even want to hint at that. Yes, they are exemplary, but many others are, too."

Posted in Local on Saturday, September 19, 2009 3:45 pm Updated: 4:23 pm. Priests, Catholic Church, Robert Morlino, Sauk City, Society Of Jesus Christ The Priest, Madison Catholic Diocese

God bless these men.  I would love to visit there something and see what they are doing for myself!

WDTPRS kudos to Bp. Morlino… again.

From a seminarian:

Just a question: Is it permissible for those candidates to be installed as acolytes during their seminary formation, in addition to the alb and cincture, allowed to wear an amice?

 

Of course it is.  And it really must be used when the alb is designed in such a manner that your street clothes are visible.  Street clothes need to be covered.  Aside from the traditional theological meaning of the amice, as the "helm of salvation", it is a practical garment as well: it hides street clothes and it helps to keep vestments clean.

This is a non-issue when serving in a cassock and surplice.

From a priest reader:

     I have a question for you or your readers.
 
     Do you think that the Missae Gregorianae can be offered for the living?
 
     I have found this custom here in Barcelona, amongst some of the OF people (not of course amongst the EF).

I don’t need to put this out to the readers.

First, he is not talking about the older form of Mass, the TLM, which some people call the "Gregorian Rite".  The questioner is asking about the 30 consecutive Masses offered for the repose of the soul of a person who has died.  These are called "Gregorian Masses".  I have written about these before.

My understanding is that the Gregorian Masses are celebrated for the dead.

But nothing prohibits that a priest say 30 consecutive Masses for a person who is living, and under roughly the same conditions.

On that note, a friend of mine sent me Mass intentions all the time for his mother saying, "Why wait until she dies?  Why not have Masses for he while she is alive?" 

Exactly!

Masses can be offered for the dead and for the living.

This is why before saying Mass priests always were to say… and really should be saying right now…

Ego volo celebrare Missam iuxta ritum sanctae Romanae ecclesiae, ad laudem omnipotentis Dei, totiusque ecclesiae triumphantis, ad utilitatem meam, totiusque ecclesiae militantis, pro omnibus qui se commendaverunt orationibus meis in genere et in specie, ac pro felici statu sanctae Romanae ecclesiae.

I intend to celebrate Mass according to the rite of the holy Roman Church, to the praise of the almighty God and of the whole Church triumphant, for my benefit and that of the whole Church militant, for all who have commended themselves to my prayers in general and in particular, and for the happy estate of the holy Roman Church.

 

 

From priest reader:

I just started praying the usus antiquior low mass after a year of preparation (of latin and the rubrics).

Question:  When may I opt to say a missae defunctorum?  When may I not?  In other words, may a missae defunctorm be chosen over a 3rd class feast, etc.?

First and foremost, thank you for learning the older form, traditional form of Mass.  I am always happy to learn that another priest is not ignorant of our common Latin Rite.  Kudos to you.  I am also hoping that you are young, so that you can say this form of Mass for many many years for many many people.

There are those special occasions as in, for example, when people die or it is the anniversary of their death.  However, I think what you are aiming at is really the daily Requiem Mass.

The rules for these daily Requiem Masses are along the lines of the rubrics for votive Masses.

A Requiem is of the 2nd class on the day of death (or getting news of the death) or on the day of burial.  That’s the Missa in die obitus seu depositionis defunctorum. It is of the 3rd class on the third, seventh, and thirtieth day after the death or burial.

A "daily" Requiem is 4th class and can be used on ferial days of the 4th class.

So… tomorrow 16 September is the Feast of Ss. Cornelius and Cyprian.  It is a 3rd class feast.  But the day after tomorrow, 17 September, is a "dies non", a 4th class feria.  You can say the "daily" Mass for the Dead, the Missa quotidiana defunctorum.

I hope that helps.

And remember that there are some differences in the Requiem Mass.  You exclude the Iudica me at the beginning, and do not bless the water.  Kiss the altar at the end, but don’t give the final blessing before the Last Gospel.  Leave off the gloria after washing your fingers and exclude the first of the three private prayers before your Communion.  The Agnus Dei is a little different and your say Requiescat in pace for the dismissal.

So, Father, put on those nice black vestments.  Put those unbleached candles on the altar and fire ‘em up!

From a reader:

As part of the changes recommended by the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI brought back the permanent diaconate in 1967.  For centuries prior to this change, the role of deacon was a transitional period for those preparing to become priests.  Since TLM Masses and parishes are normally working according to the 1962 Missal, what role does the permanent diaconate have in a TLM?  Is this considered a reform-of-the-reform issue (ie. emphasizing the role of deacon as transitional period for aspiring priests), or is it a non-issue?

 

This is a non-issue.

A deacon is a deacon is a deacon.

Permanent deacons or transitional deacons, either way, may fulfill the role of deacon or subdeacon during a solemn TLM.

Some will say they can’t or shouldn’t.  They are simply wrong.

A question from a reader:

I thank you for taking the time to read this.  I have been a loyal daily reader of your blog for a long time now.
 
My son was baptized in our parish church this morning during the 9 AM mass.  The priest conducted the ritual after the gospel and before his sermon.  I knew before that this priest was very liberal and has taken liberties before, but I was disheartened at what happened during the baptism.  We were invited up to the font and immediately Father began by lighting a candle and asking what name did we give to my son.  He then continued by saying some "off the cuff" commentary, crossed the sacred crism on the baby’s head then proceeded to pour the water "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." "Recieve the light of Christ" was then said and the candle was handed to us. No other rites were observed or administered and we were then told that he had finished and we were to go back to our pew.
 
Being an altar boy for many years during my childhood, I know that there are a few other rituals that accompany baptism and I was disappointed that they were not done.  I know that the baptism was still valid in its most basic form, but I wonder how much my son was deprived of.  Is this a common trend of many priests presently? Should I try to find another priest who will administer the other parts of the sacrament?  Did my son receive all of the grace that is intended my the Church for baptism?  If you have time, please advise.  Thank you in advance.

I know that baptisms are permitted during Sunday Masses, though I am  not especially a fan of that practice.  I have not been in a parish where baptisms are done that way, nor have I as a priest ever done this.  Therefore, I am not as familiar with the rite of baptism during Mass as some other priests may be.

That said, I do know that when baptism is integrated into Holy Mass on a Sunday, parts of the regular rite of baptism are distributed over different parts of Mass.  For example, the right of reception is integrated into the beginning of Mass.  The Creed can be substituted by the baptismal form of the profession of faith, and so forth.

I am not quite sure exactly what happened at the Mass and baptism for your child, but I think your reaction is telling.  You sensed that there should have been something more.  You said that there was the anointing with chrism.  That was supposed to be done.  There was to be an exorcism before hand.  You said something about an "off the cuff commentary".  Not sure what that might have been.

Some people will say that baptism during Mass is "so very meaningful".   I think that the rite of baptism itself is meaningful and that rite, as a matter of fact, is the norm for conferring baptism.

To the meat of your question: No, you don’t have to find another priest to supply the parts of the rite you might not have witnessed.  If the priest poured the water and said the words of baptism, then your child is baptized.  Those other elements of the rite wouldn’t cause the child to be more baptized.  They might cause all of you who participated in the rite to have experienced the rite more fully, but the child wouldn’t be more baptized.  While we must avoid a "minimalist" attitude about our rights (i.e., so long as the matter and form were valid, that’s enough), in this case where the moment is over and in the past, I wouldn’t say that you should want to do anything over.

I want to add another thing, since this is the anniversary of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The provisions of Summorum Pontificum make is clear that the older, traditional form of baptism can be used.  Priests can use the old Rituale Romanum.  My personal view is that the older form of baptism brings people to an encounter with mystery in a way that the newer form does not.  I regret that some elements of the older form of baptism were omitted from the revised post-Conciliar form.

Finally, priests need to SAY THE BLACK AND DO THE RED.  Whatever rite they use, traditional or revised, they should stick to it especially so that doubts are not raised in the minds of the people present.

People have the right not to doubt or wonder whether or not a sacrament was valid or licit or whether something that should have been there was changed or left out.