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

Remember that Card. Castrillon Hoyos consented to speak on the new DVD produced by the FSSP and EWTN? 

Remember how he essentially said that priests don’t need to wait for requests from the faithful to begin having the TLM in their parishes?

Remmeber how he indicated that the Holy Father desires that celebrations of the TLM become normal?

Here is a YouTube of the section on the DVD.

Today is Monday in the Octave of Pentecost, or at least it ought to be in in the Novus Ordo as it is in the older, Traditional Roman Calendar.

I dig in to what a liturgical Octave, is adding my own comments.  I am little frustrated with a few things in this matter of the tinkering done with the calendar… done?... hardly, still being done!

The we hear from the great St. Augustine (+430) on the feast of Pentecost, preaching on 12 June 412.  He has interesting wine imagery and talks about what it means to be a living member of the Body of Christ.

If I get some feedback, indicating that people hear this, I may make a few more for the rest of the Octave.

 

 Octaves, Fr. Z rants & Augustine on Pentecost [51:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As you know, this year will be dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle.

Below, find the decree in Latin from the Sacra Penitenzieria Apostolica for the plenary indulgence that can be gained.

Here is the story from VIS.

VATICAN CITY, 10 MAY 2008 (VIS) – According to a decree made public today and signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, O.F.M. Conv., respectively penitentiary major and regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Benedict XVI will grant the faithful Plenary Indulgence for the occasion of the two-thousandth anniversary of the birth of the Apostle Paul. The Plenary Indulgence will be valid throughout the Pauline Year which is due to run from 28 June 2008 to 29 June 2009.

"With the imminence of the liturgical Solemnity of the Prince of the Apostles", says the decree, "the Supreme Pontiff … wishes, in good time, to provide for the faithful with spiritual treasures for their own sanctification, that they may renew and reinforce … their purpose of supernatural salvation from the moment of the First Vespers of the aforementioned Solemnity, principally in honour of the Apostle of the Gentiles the two-thousandth anniversary of whose earthly birth is now approaching.

"In fact, the gift of indulgences which the Roman Pontiff offers the Universal Church, facilitates the way to interior purification which, while rendering honour to the Blessed Apostle Paul, exalts supernatural life in the hearts of the faithful and spurs them on … to produce fruits of good works".

The means to obtain the Plenary Indulgence are as follows:

"All Christian faithful – truly repentant, duly purified by the Sacrament of Penance and restored with Holy Communion – who undertake a pious visit in the form of a pilgrimage to the papal basilica of St. Paul on Rome’s Via Ostiense and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, are granted and imparted Plenary Indulgence for the temporal punishment of their sins, once they have obtained sacramental remission and forgiveness for their shortcomings.

"Plenary Indulgence may be gained by the Christian faithful, either for themselves or for the deceased, as many times as the aforementioned acts are undertaken; it remains the case, however, that Plenary Indulgence may be obtained only once a day.

"In order that the prayers pronounced on these holy visits may lead and draw the souls of the faithful to a more intense veneration of the memory of St. Paul, the following conditions are laid down: the faithful, apart from pronouncing their own prayers before the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, ... must go to the altar of the Confession and pray the ‘Our Father’ and the ‘Creed’, adding pious invocations in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Paul; and such acts of devotion must remain closely linked to the memory of the Prince of the Apostles St. Peter".

"Christian faithful from the various local Churches, under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion, prayer in keeping with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff) and completely unattached to any form of sin, may still obtain the Plenary Indulgence if they participate devotedly in a religious function or in a pious exercise held publicly in honour of the Apostle of the Gentiles: on the days of the solemn opening and closing of the Pauline Year in any place of worship; on other days determined by the local ordinary, in holy places named for St. Paul and, for the good of the faithful, in other places designated by the ordinary".  [May bishops everywhere, please God, take note!]

The document concludes by recalling how the faithful who, "through sickness or other legitimate or important reason", are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain the Plenary Indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, "spiritually unite themselves to a Jubilee celebration in honour of St. Paul, offering their prayers and suffering to God for the unity of Christians".

URBIS ET ORBIS
D E C R E T U M

 Saeculo XX expleto postquam Sanctus Apostolus Paulus in terris ortus est,
speciales conceduntur Indulgentiae.

Cum instet sollemnitas liturgica Principum Apostolorum, Summus Pontifex, pastorali impulsus sollicitudine, in animo habet tempestive decernere de spiritalibus aperiendis thesauris pro sanctificatione fidelium, ita ut ipsi salutaria proposita semper quidem concipienda, vel maxime hac pia et felici occasione innovent et roborent, in actum ferventissime deducenda inde a primis vesperis memoratae sollemnitatis, praesertim in honorem Apostoli Gentium, a cuius ortu in terris bismillesimus anniversarius dies nunc propinquat.

Sane vero, Indulgentiarum donum, quod Romanus Pontifex universae Ecclesiae praebet, optimae interiori purificationi summo gradu attingendae viam sternit, quae scilicet Beato Paulo Apostolo honorem defert et supernaturalem vitam in cordibus fidelium exaltat et ad fructus bonorum operum gignendos suaviter impellit.

Itaque haec Apostolica Paenitentiaria, cui Beatissimus Pater commisit ut Decretum de Indulgentiis totum per spatium Anni Paulini largiendis et acquirendis praeparet atque redigat, per praesens iuxta ipsius Augusti Pontificis mentem editum, gratias, quae in sequentibus significantur, benigne dilargitur:

 

I.- Omnibus et singulis christifidelibus vere paenitentibus, qui, rite per Sacramentum Paenitentiae expiati et Sacra Synaxi refecti,papalem Sancti Pauli Basilicam ad viam Ostiensem in forma peregrinationis pie inviserint et ad mentem Summi Pontificis oraverint, plenaria temporalis poenae, pro peccatis luendae, Indulgentia, misericorditer in Domino conceditur atque impertitur, obtenta prius ab iisdem admissorum cuiusque suorum sacramentali remissione ac venia.

Plenaria haec Indulgentia a christifidelibus cum sibi, tum aliis fidelibus vita functis toties lucri fieri poterit, quoties imperata opera rite perficiantur, norma autem illa usque vigente, qua semel dumtaxat in die consequi licet Indulgentiam plenariam.

Ut vero quae in sacris hisce visitationibus effundentur preces ad Sancti Pauli memoriam recolendam fidelium animos studiosius referant atque excitent, haec, quae sequuntur, statuuntur atque iubentur: praeter eas supplicationes, quae ultro pro singulorum pietate ante SS.mi Sacramenti aram ad Deum admovebuntur, ad Confessionis aram recitari debent Oratio Dominica atque Symbolum Apostolorum, additis piis invocationibus in honorem Beatae Mariae Virginis atque Sancti Pauli. Quae quidem animi devotio sibi semper conexam habeat memoriam Principis Apostolorum Sancti Petri.

 

II.- Christifideles variarum Ecclesiarum localium, suetis condicionibus (sacramentali Confessione, eucharistica Commu-nione et oratione ad mentem Summi Pontificis) rite adimpletis, omnino excluso affectu erga quodcumque peccatum, plenariam lucrari valebunt Indulgentiam, si sacrae functioni vel pio exercitio in honorem Apostoli Gentium publice peractis devote interfuerint: diebus, quibus Annus Paulinus sollemniter aperietur et claudetur, in omnibus sacris aedibus; aliis diebus a loci Ordinario determinandis, in sacris aedibus sub titulo Sancti Pauli et, pro utilitate fidelium, in aliis ab ipso Ordinario designandis.

 

 III.- Denique fideles, morbo vel alia legitima et notabili causa impediti, pariter plenariam consequi poterunt Indulgentiam, semper elongato animo a quocumque peccato et concepto proposito suetas condiciones, cum primum eis possibile erit, adimplendi, dummodo iubilari celebrationi in honorem Sancti Pauli peractae se spiritaliter adiunxerint, preces suas suosque dolores misericordi Deo offerentes pro Christianorum unitate.

Quo autem facilius christifideles caelestium horum munerum participes fieri queant, sacerdotes, competenti ecclesiastica auctoritate ad confessiones audiendas adprobati, prompto et generoso animo sese praebeant ad ipsas excipiendas.

Praesenti per Annum Paulinum tantum valituro. In contrarium facientibus non obstantibus quibuscumque.

Datum Romae, ex aedibus Paenitentiariae Apostolicae, die X mensis Maii, anno Dominicae Incarnationis MMVIII, in vigilia Dominicae Pentecostes. 

IACOBUS FRANCISCUS S. R. E. Card. STAFFORD
Paenitentiarius Maior

+ Ioannes Franciscus Girotti, O. F. M. Conv.
Ep. Tit. Metensis, Regens

Over at Fr. Longenecker’s place, there is an an interesting entry on young people and ad orientem worship.

My emphases and comments.

Friday, May 09, 2008
High Schoolers Facing East

Six high school boys stayed after Thursday’s daily Mass at St Joseph’s Catholic School:

"Father, why didn’t you celebrate Mass facing East today?"

"I’m doing so on two days of the week, and on the other two the usual way. Do you like the Mass when I celebrate facing East?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It feels more holy. It’s older right? But you’re not really facing East here."  [Ex ore infantium….]

"There’s something called ‘liturgical East.’ It’s when the priest faces what used to be the East ‘cause all the churches were built to face the rising sun, which was a symbol of the resurrection and also because Jesus would return to Jerusalem, which was in the East."

"Like Muslims facing Mecca."

"Sort of, but I’m not going to start wearing a turban"

"You could wear your biretta more often."  [... perfecisti laudem!]

"Shall I?"

"I like Mass when you face East because it feels like you are offering the Mass for us more."

"I just like stuff that’s more traditional."

"I think it feels more, well, manly. Do you know what I mean. Is that dumb?"  [God bless these young men!]

"That’s interesting. No, I don’t think it’s dumb, but I have to think about why it might be true."

"I think it’s good because I was thinking more about God and not you, and when you elevated the host it was like Jesus floating there. It was more mysterious. It was cool."  [The point of Holy Mass is our transforming encounter with Mystery.  We need awe at trasncendence!]

"Would you like me to continue saying Mass facing with you to the Lord?"

"Yes please."

"You don’t feel slighted because I have turned my back to you? You sure I haven’t hurt your feelings?"

Laughter all around. "You’re not that good looking anyway Father."

"OK, why don’t you all go to lunch now?"

WDTPRS kudos to the excelleny Fr. Longenecker and those kids!

Good job!

I will be helping with a prilgrimage to Rome in the fall, the "Glory of Catholic Rome" pilgrimage, 31 October 31 – 8 November 2008.

It is being organized principally by Patrick Madrid, who is pretty well know by all of you, I think.

Patrick informed me that the "early bird" special discount for the pilgrimage is expiring soon, 1 June.

Here are a few points for the pilgrimage:

Around Rome itself we will be visiting, for example, Ostia Antiqua, the ancient Roman port city.  I often recommend that if people can’t spare the time to go to Pompeii, south of Naples, they should go to Ostia.  This is where St. Augustine, on his way back to north Africa after his baptism in Milan, was blockaded during a time of civil unrest and where his mother, St. Monica, died.  Monica’s tomb is in the Church of St. Augustine in Rome.  We’ll visit Nemi,  in the Castelli Romani, the hills south of Rome, and Castle Gandolofo.  We’ll give our perspectives on the catacombs, the Roman basilicas, museums, restaurants. 

Also, this is a special year dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle, so it is good for a Roman pilgrimage.  A plenary indulgence can be gained for a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle in the Basilica of St. Paul outside-the-walls!  Read this!

I’ll be saying Mass each day, proabably with the 1962 Missale Romanum.

For information you can go to www.surprisedbytruth.com to download the full-color brochure, click the image above, or you can call the travel coordinators, Corporate Travel, at 800-727-1999 (ext.  290).

I got a question from a reader.  Perhaps you can chime in with answers.

I believe he is talking about the Novus Ordo.

Should the congregation STAND or SIT for the singing of the Sequence on Easter and Pentecost? At my church the cantor asked for people to remain seated for the Sequence. One of the priests said that was wrong, that the congregation should stand. Which is Correct?

I’ll let you readers get into this.

In the meantime, perhaps our WDTPRS parody song writer can come up with the answer… musically. 

"Should I stand or should I sit", might be just as good a title for someone going to the "Tridentine" Mass for the first time!

Looking for the perfect gift for that priest who is curious about Summorum Pontificum but is too timid to get off his backside and actually do something about it?

Encouragement is here!

I got this useful item via e-mail from Fr. S in LA.

Manipulus ‘Pueri Mundi’

Since the late 1970’s the children of the world fabric has been popularized because of its liturgical flexibility, it is non of the liturgical colors, yet at the same time it is all of them!

Now for the first time, the 1970’s meet the 1570’s, as Maniple Productions introduces the Manipulus ‘Pueri Mundi’.

The ‘children of the world’ maniple is liturgically neutral and thus can be worn on any occasion, indeed all occasions!

It is lined with a solid cotton reverse fabric and comes with a matching tie to ensure that it stays put during the Sacred Mysteries.

It’s the perfect gift for the priest who thinks he has everything!

He probably already has a ‘children of the world’ stole, perhaps even a chasuble but he never dreamed he would see this day.

Thanks to Pope Benedict XVI’s recent motu proprio never before has a liturgical item been in such demand. For those priests not expecting the liberalization of the Mass of All Time this timely product must truly be a manipulus fletus et doloris.

Remember one size fits all, from the chubbiest cleric to the prissiest priest.

Just strap it on and watch!

Introibit ad altare Dei!

For more information please visit our website…

Possible new blog style:



UPDATE: 11 May 20:40GMT

Based on some of your feedback and my own desires, I adjusted the theme.

How about this.

I got a question via e-mail:

I have recently noticed that when maniples are in use at my church, they are fastened to the alb by binder clips.  I assume that there is a more appropriate device for accomplishing this task, perhaps originating before the days of Office Depot.  Do you know of such a device?  What do you use?  Does it have a technical name?  Where could I find some for my pastor?

Binder clip?

I am fond of blinder clips.  As a matter of fact in my Roman house, in the refectory, I would sometimes use one for my napkin, depending on what we were eating.

I don’t think I would use one for a maniple.

Sometimes maniples have little cloth tabs sewn into the center, where it folds over the forearm.



This one has a safety pin, because the fabric is precious.  When you use a straight pin, be sure to tuck the point under somewhere, so you don’t snag something.

Otherwise, the "classic" way, is to tie them on, which the way I prefer.

Here, by the way, is a shot of a "normal" maniple, more in the French style, together with a maniple of the taglio filipino, to show you a difference in size.

But I digress.  Behold the tie, method.



It helps to have a server help you with this. 

I have gotten pretty good at tying one by myself, but sometimes I just leave it tied.



Some people find the tying to be trying. 

Thus, they opt for the less "classic" elastic band.

It ain’t elegant, but hey, it works. 

This one I made a knot in to shorten it a bit.  It was slipping around.



There is a brief foray into maniplology.

I encourage priests and deacons to use the maniple whenever one is available with the set of vestments you are using, regardless of which Missale Romanum you are using.   The maniple is not obligatory in the Novus Ordo, but neither is it forbidden.  

My practice is simple.  If the maniple is available, I put it on.  If it isn’t, no big deal.  But if they are available, I really think they ought to be used.  First, that completes the set as the set was intended to be used.  Second, it provides continuity.  Third, it is thought provoking.  Maniples took on their own meaning, apart from the rather practical aetiology. 

When the priest puts on the mainple, he would recite the prayer:

Merear, Domine, portare manipulum fletus et doloris; ut cum exsultatione recipiam mercedem laboris.  Grant, O Lord, that I may bear the maniple of weeping and sorrow, so that I may receive the reward for my labors with rejoicing.

If someone should think that the priesthood is a bed of roses, he might reflect on this prayer.

So, in regard to maniples, if you are in Holy Orders…

In Rome on Pentecost, in the Pantheon, now a minor basilica called S. Maria ad martyres there is a beautiful custom.

Rose petals are dropped through the circular oculus opening at the top of the dome, which is the widest is all of Rome, for all its antiquity.  The petals fall to the crowds below, reminiscent of the coming of the Holy Spirit like tongues of flame.

I posted photos taken over two different years here.  Some show the event from the inside of the Pantheon, and some show the mechanics from the outside.  My room in room is perfectly situated to see the dome of the Pantheon.

Here is how they get it done!  Notice the fire truck parked in fron of the Pantheon.

The firemen, waiting on top of the dome, for the signal to drop the flower petals…

The moment arrives!



From within…

This is one of those lovely customs which we have only in Rome. 

Pentecost (1732)
by Jean Restout

Musée du Louvre, Paris

Since the Ascension, the disciples had been hiding in fear.

Despite the feeling of exhilaration they experienced on their way home from the great event, they were somewhat enervated by the absence of Jesus, who had been with them, teaching, for many days after the Resurrection.

All off a sudden, with a tremendous and terrifying sound of wind that rushed through the room, though the windows and doors were closed, tongues of flame come lancing towards them, as if from nowhere, as if there were no physical barriers shutting out the threatening world.

The Holy Spirit descends upon the Church and gives the Body life.

It is the day of the Church’s birth.

The once timid disciples now rush into the streets, proclaiming the Gospel that Christ had commanded them to preach to all nations.

This is the ultimate "anti-Bable".

Whereas the human pride left man divided by language after the Flood, the event of Pentecost and the comprehension of tongues shows where real human unity is to be found.

By our Confirmation we have the inward strengthening of the Holy Spirit unto the proper living of our God-given vocations.

Learn to call on the Holy Spirit and see His workings in the Church at every level.

Be conscious of yourself as confirmed, sealed, imbued, branded with the "character".

In time of trial, as an indelibly confirmed Catholic, invoke this powerful sacrament.

"Almighty God, Holy Spirit, I call upon the sacrament of my confirmation.  Help me in this moment of need.  Strengthen me.  Give me the actual graces I must have to do Your will.

Papa was once again in the taglio filipino vestments for the Holy Mass in the Basilica this morning.



What in Italian is called the "taglio filipino" is so named after St. Philip Neri, who is depicted in paintings in this type of vestments. 

This is the style of vestment in use around the time of the Council of Trent, worn by figures such as St. Ignatius of Loyola. 



It is emblematic of a age in the Church’s life, a period of Counter-Reformation, when there was an explosion of lay confraternities seeing to spiritual and corporal works of mercy at every level of society, simply and noble.  It is a period of tremendous deepening of our understanding of the Blessed Sacrament and subsequent development of devotions, such as Exposition, Benediction, and increase in observance of 40 Hours, devotion to the Sacred Heart.   This was an era of change in architecture, when the Roman baroque came into its own as an outward, concrete, plastic expression of the Church’s own self-understanding, her ecclesiology. 

It was a time when the humanities were in harmony with theology.

This style of vestment is the first stage of development between the fuller "cloak" style chasuble of the Medieval period and the later Roman vestment, which is smaller and more squared in the back and front.  for example, not only is the "Philip" style longer in front and back, and curved at the bottom, but it also comes farther down the shouders than the modern Roman vestment. 

Thus it is a concrete symbol of continuity between two great Catholic eras.

WDTPRS has asserted again and again that Papa Ratzinger is saying something through his vestments.  He mixes them up a bit, but he keeps coming back to this important taglio filipino.  Some will try to brush this off, or relegate his choice to a matter of mere personal taste.

I say that the very vestment is an icon of what Benedict is proposing: a hermeneutic of reform rather than of rupture.  Benedict is signaling the great value of the period of the style vestment as well as the fact that it is a harmonious bridge between two fantastic periods of Catholicity.  Benedict is healing the rupture that occurred in liturgy in many ways, with Summorum Pontificum, certainly, but also in the accoutrement of celebration, such as the placement of candles and the altar Cross. 

The other day the Pope’s MC, Msgr. Guido Marini, gave an interview to Andrea Tornielli of Il Giornale.  In that interview he said:

"The vestments chosen, as also other particulars of the Rite," the Master of Ceremonies explained, "are intended to underscore the continuity of the present liturgical celebration with that which characterized in the past the life of the Church.  Continuity is the interpretive key, always the exact criteria for reading the Church’s journey through time.  This is valid also for liturgy."  "As one Pope cites in his documents the Pontiffs who preceed him, so as to indicate the continutiy of the Magisterium of the Church," Marini continues, "so in the ambient of liturgy a Pope uses also the vestments and sacred accoutrement of his precedessors to show the same continuity also in his celebratations. ...

And Pentecost Sunday begins to dawn in Rome:

If you were searching for an appropriate way to take the WDTPRS PODCAzTs on the go!

Check this out.

Here is the interview with Msgr. Guido Marini in the Italian daily Il Giornale in my translation:

This is how I gave the Pope a retro make-over  ("Così ho rifatto il look stile vintage al Papa") [We can do this in various ways, and what I chose here does not reflect anything of the style of language used by Msgr. Marini in the quotations below.  I was trying to get at the punch of the headline in more popularized jargon.]

by Andrea Tornielli

In Genoa, where he grew up, instead of "Marini" they called him Fr. "Guidino", because he is tall and thin.  In Rome, where he came by the selection of Benedict XVI last October, he has come to be appreciated for his gentility but also his decision to put into practice faithfully Ratzinger’s liturgical ideas.  Msgr. Guido Marini, class of 1965, and for a few months now the new Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, succeeded the homonymous Piero Marini, for many years the artificer of the liturgies of John Paul II and also for the beginning of the present pontificate.  If from the point of view of the name there couldn’t have been a smoother transition, at the arrival of Fr. Guido – holder of several doctorates, the sometime MC and Chancellor of two Archbishops of Genoa – he hasn’t gone unnoticed, thanks to the recovery of some traditional vestments.  Old mitres have been exhumed, and the Pontiff has even changed his pastoral staff, abandoning the modern one in silver to take up a "ferula" (staff surrmounted by a Cross) of Pius IX.  It has gotten to the point that the press during his visit to the USA spoke of a "vintage" Pope.

Il Giornale met with the MC in his office, from which one has one of most beautiful views of the Piazza of St. Peter.

In the first place, let’s ask the reason for the recovery of the precious headgear of his predecessors: for example, last Christmas, Ratzinger used mitres belonging to Paul VI, John XXIII and Benedict XV.

"The vestments chosen, as also other particulars of the Rite," the Master of Ceremonies explained, "are intended to underscore the continuity of the present liturgical celebration with that which characterized in the past the life of the Church.  Continuity is the interpretive key, always the exact criteria for reading the Church’s journey through time.  This is valid also for liturgy."  "As one Pope cites in his documents the Pontiffs who preceed him, so as to indicate the continutiy of the Magisterium of the Church," Marini continues, "so in the ambient of liturgy a Pope uses also the vestments and sacred accoutrement of his precedessors to show the same continuity also in his celebratations.  I would, however, mention that the Pope does not always use old vestments.  He often wears new ones.  The importance is not so much their antiquity or modernity, as much as their beauty and dignity, important components for every liturgical celebration."

Another huge change, more recently, is the setting aside of the modern silver pastoral Cross of Paul VI.  Ratzinger has adopted a larger one, of Pius IX.

"Obviously," Marini explains, "what I just said about continuity applies here as well.  In this case, however, there is also a practical element: the ferula of Pius IX is lighter and more manageable.  So much so that the Pope decided to use it all the time, as was seen in also in the USA."

On some occasiones, as in the consistory for the creation of new Cardinals, the high papal throne was reinstated.  Nostaligia for temporal power?

"No nostalgia", the MC responds with a smile playing on his lips.  "The so-called throne, used in particular situations, is intended only to highlight the liturgical presidency of the Holy Father."

Finally, it was noted, from the moment Msgr. Marini took up his role, the presence of a Cross in the center of the altar, as in former times.  Also in this case, the MC wanted to make understood the profound meaning of a choice that has nothing to do with nostalgia:

"The position of the Cross in the center of the altar shows the centrality of the Crucified One in the Eucharistic celebration and the precise orientation that the whole assembly is called to have during the Eucharistic liturgy: we don’t look at ourselves, but we look toward Him who was born, died, and rose for us, the Savior.  From the Lord comes salvation. He is the East, the sun which rises, toward which we must all turn our gaze, from which we all must receive the gift of grace."

The telephone rings constantly.  The last details must be finalized for the liturgies that Benedict XVI will celebrate in Savona and Genoa on 17 and 18 May.

We ask of it is difficult to be the papal MC.

"It is a demanding role not only for the amount of work, but above all for the responsibility it carries.  I have really taken stock of the responsibility to live out with complete fidelity to the Holy Father the task which has been entrusted to me, keeping in mind that the liturgy which I have been called to serve and "organize" is the liturgy of the Church, and of the Pope".

I think we have all come to the conclusion that just when you think you have seen every liturgical abuse, you haven’t even begun to see what dopey things people can come up with.

For example, the recent "Potato head" puppet Mass at the Call To Action meeting in San Jose, CA.

This sort of thing is scandalous.  I can just imagine that all sorts of liturgical terrorists will want Potato Head Masses too!

But this is not going to happen on His Hermeneuticalness’s watch, I assure you.

Can you imagine….

At St Mary’s, Chislehurst today for lunch, I [His Hermeneuticalness] was concerned to see a suspiciously large bowl of potatoes. Fr Briggs assures me that he obtained these at a good price from Sainsburys and that he intends to eat them rather than use them in the Liturgy. I am happy to take him at his word although I wonder whether I should send over some heavies in case a couple of potatoes attempt to muscle in on his traditional Mass this evening as Deacon and Subdeacon.

Andrea Tornielli today reports that in Il Giornale there is an interview with none other than Msgr. Guido Marini, presently the papal MC.  Here is my translation.  I will try to dig up the piece in Il Giornale. 

Msgr. Marini makes comments about Summorum Pontificum and ad orientem worship.

Today Il Giornale published an interview with [Archbp] Guido Marini, the new Mastor of Ceremonies for Papa Ratzinger, who explained the meaning of some of the Pontiff’s choices, starting with the Cross in the center of the altar.  Not all of the conversation I had with Msgr. Marini could be published.  I had to cut two important responses, dedicated to the orientation of the altar and the Motu Proprio.  Here is the text, which I invite you to read.

For baptisms in the Sistine Chapel Benedict XVI celebrated with his back to the faithful, as before the Council.  A fact that created some surprise…

"In circumstances in which the celebration is carried out in the way, we aren’t dealing as much with turning one’s back to the people as, rather, orienting oneself with the faithful toward the Lord.  From this point of view "the door isn’t being closed on the faithful", but, "the door is being opened to the assembly, leading it to the Lord.  There are certain circumstances in which, because of the artistic conditions of the sacred place and of its special beauty and harmony, it becomes advantageous to celebrate at the old altar, where among other things the exact orientation of the liturgical celebration is preserved.  This shouldn’t surprise anyone: it is enough to go into St. Peter’s in the morning and see how many priests are celebrating according to the Ordinary Rite which came out of the post-Conciliar liturgical reform, but on traditional altars and, thus, oriented like that in the Sistine."

Benedict XVI will celebrate a Mass using the old Rite, which he derestricted with the Motu Proprio?

"I don’t know, and I am not in a position to respond.  I believe nevertheless that a serene, ecclesial and non-ideological reading of these decisions by the Pontiff is important.  The liturgy of the Church, just as with Her whole life, is comprised of continuity: I would speak of a development in continuity.  This means that the Church procedes in her journey in history without losing sight of Her own roots and Her own living Tradition: this can require, in some cases, also the recovery of precious and important elements which were lost along the way, forgotten and which the passage of time has made less luminous in their authentic meaning.  It seems to me that the Motu Proprio is aiming precisely in this direction: reaffirming with great clarity that in the liturgical life of the Church there is continuity, without rupture.

The WDTPRS KC Bureau Chief has sent us a fascinating story:

Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008
Archbishop [Naumann] to [KS Gov. Kathleen] Sebelius: Stop taking Communion

TOPEKA | The Roman Catholic archbishop for northeast Kansas said Friday that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius should refrain from taking Communion until she publicly repudiates her support for abortion rights.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, also criticized her recent veto of a bill imposing new restrictions on abortion providers. He called upon the governor, who is Catholic, to take the “necessary steps for amendment of her life.”

Naumann said he wrote to Sebelius in August, asking her to refrain from Communion but learned recently that she’d participated in the sacrament. He said it prompted him to write her again, asking her to respect his request and “not require from me any additional pastoral actions.”  [Folks, what this means is that if she continues, the Archbishop will apply some kind of censure to her, which might include excommunication.]

“The spiritually lethal message, communicated by our governor, as well as many other high-profile Catholics in public life, has been in effect: ’The church’s teaching on abortion is optional!’” Naumann wrote in a column published Friday in The Leaven, the archdiocese’s newspaper.

The issue of Catholic politicians taking Communion arose again recently because of Pope Benedict XVI’s recent visit to the United States. In New York, Cardinal Edward Egan said former mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Guiliani had broken “an understanding” by accepting Communion at a papal Mass.

What is going on here?  I explain it in this PODCAzT.  Essentially, this is not just about the Governor’s position on abortion, though that is key.  What makes this a matter of public statement is that the Governor is a public figure who, by words and actions, gives scandal to the faithful.  Were the Governor doing some other thing very publicly that defied the Church’s teachings or laws, the same remedy would apply.  In this case it is abortion, but it could be, for example, divorce and remarriage, or belonging to the Masons, or actively homosexual lifestyle, etc.  When public figures create public scandal, they must make public reparation before they may return to the sacraments.  The reparation must be proportionate to the scandal.  Were this person a private person no one knew or watched, it might be handled in a different way.

Here is more, from the Archd. of KC, KS site.  This is Archbishop Naumann:

    Governor’s Veto Prompts Pastoral Action  [NB: This is a "pastoral" issue.  A shepherd is trying to heal a sick sheep and also protect the rest of his flock from disease.]

    On the day of my return (Monday, April 21) from the exhilarating experience of participating in Pope Benedict’s pastoral visit to the United States, I learned that Governor Kathleen Sebelius had vetoed the Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act (HS SB 389), which had been passed by significant majorities in both chambers of the Kansas Legislature. Last week, an attempt to override the governor’s veto failed in the Senate by two votes.
    Governor Sebelius in her veto message claimed: “For years, the people of Kansas have asked their elected officials to move beyond legislative debates on issues like abortion.”  From her veto message, I received the impression the governor considered it a waste of the Legislature’s time to pass a statute that attempts to protect some women by making certain they have the opportunity to be well-informed: 1) about the development of their unborn child; and 2) about abortion alternatives available to them. Evidently, the governor does not approve of legislators devoting energy to protecting children and women by making it possible to enforce existing Kansas laws regulating late-term abortions.
    The governor’s veto message demonstrated a lack of respect to the members of the Kansas General Assembly who had carefully crafted and resoundingly passed the Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act, [Yes… but that could be a strictly political or personal issue…] as well as to the many Kansans who find it more than an embarrassment, in no small part due to several previous vetoes by Governor Sebelius of earlier legislative efforts to regulate abortion clinics, that Kansas has become infamous [NB: scandalous] for being the late-term abortion center for the Midwest.  [THIS is a much bigger pastoral problem, much more important than how the governor and legislature get along.]
    What makes the governor’s rhetoric and actions even more troubling has been her acceptance of campaign contributions from Wichita’s Dr. George Tiller, perhaps the most notorious late-term abortionist in the nation. In addition to Dr. Tiller’s direct donations to her campaign, the governor has benefited from the Political Action Committees funded by Dr. Tiller to support pro-abortion candidates in Kansas.
    In her veto message, the governor took credit for lower abortion rates in Kansas, citing her support for “adoption incentives, extended health services for pregnant women, providing sex education and offering a variety of support services for families.” Indeed, the governor and her administration should be commended for supporting adoption incentives and health services for pregnant women.
    However, the governor overreaches by assuming credit for declining abortion rates in Kansas. Actually, lower abortion rates are part of a national trend. Our neighboring state of Missouri has actually had a steeper and longer decline in its abortion rate.
    Governor Sebelius’ inclusion of public school sex education programs as a factor in the abortion rate decline is absurd. Actually, valueless sex education programs in public schools  [A pastoral issue.] have been around for years, coinciding with increased sexual activity among adolescents, as well as increases in teen pregnancy and abortion. On the other hand, the governor does not acknowledge the significant impact of mass media education programs, such as those sponsored by the Vitae Caring Foundation, or the remarkable practical assistance provided by Crisis Pregnancy Centers which are funded through the generosity of pro-life Kansans.
    What makes the governor’s actions and advocacy for legalized abortion, throughout her public career, even more painful for me is that she is Catholic. Sadly, Governor Sebelius is not unique in being a Catholic politician supporting legalized abortion.  [This is the core of why Archbp. Naumann can act in her regard even with the promise of a censure.]
    Since becoming archbishop, I have met with Governor Sebelius several times over many months to discuss with her the grave spiritual and moral consequences of her public actions by which she has cooperated in the procurement of abortions performed in Kansas. My concern has been, as a pastor, both for the spiritual well-being of the governor but also for those who have been misled (scandalized) [there it is!] by her very public support for legalized abortion.
    It has been my hope that through this dialogue the governor would come to understand her obligation: 1) to take the difficult political step, but necessary moral step, of repudiating her past actions in support of legalized abortion; [this is a sine qua non.  Her scandal was public, the reparation must be public.]  and 2) in the future would use her exceptional leadership abilities to develop public policies extending the maximum legal protection possible to the unborn children of Kansas.
    Having made every effort to inform and to persuade Governor Sebelius and after consultation with Bishop Ron Gilmore (Dodge City), Bishop Paul Coakley (Salina) and Bishop Michael Jackels (Wichita), I wrote the governor last August requesting that she refrain from presenting herself for reception of the Eucharist until she had acknowledged the error of her past positions, made a worthy sacramental confession and taken the necessary steps for amendment of her life which would include a public repudiation of her previous efforts and actions in support of laws and policies sanctioning abortion.
    Recently, it came to my attention that the governor had received holy Communion at one of our parishes. I have written to her again, asking her to respect my previous request and not require from me any additional pastoral actions.
    The governor has spoken to me on more than one occasion about her obligation to uphold state and federal laws and court decisions. I have asked her to show a similar sense of obligation to honor divine law and the laws, teaching and legitimate authority within the church.
    I have not made lightly this request of Governor Sebelius, but only after much prayer and reflection. The spiritually lethal message, communicated by our governor, [Great phrase: "spiritually lethal messge"] as well as many other high profile Catholics in public life, has been in effect: “The church’s teaching on abortion is optional!”
    I reissue my request of the faithful of the archdiocese to pray for Governor Sebelius. I hope that my request of the governo