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Saturday, April 9, 2011

LEFTOVER LAME DUCK; DELECTABLE BEIJING DUCK: THE 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT, THE BEGINNING OF PASSIONTIDE

PASSIONTIDE IS THE LAST TWO WEEKS OF LENT. DID YOU COVER YOUR CROSSES AND STATUES? AND BEFORE YOU SAY THAT VATICAN II DID AWAY WITH "PASSIONTIDE" THINK AGAIN, THE PREFACES FOR PASSIONTIDE BEGINNING MONDAY FOR DAILY MASS IS THE PREFACE FOR THE PASSION! I REST MY CASE.

Click on pictures twice to enlarge:





COLLECT

Current Lame Duck:

Father, help us to be like Christ your son,
who love the world and died for our salvation.
Inspire us by his love,
guide us by his example.

Forthcoming Beijing Duck:

By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God,
may we walk eagerly in that same charity
with which, out of love for the world,
your Son handed himself over to death.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,


AFTER COMMUNION

Current Lame Duck:

Almighty Father, by this sacrifice
may we always remain one with your Son, Jesus Christ,
whose body and blood we share,
for he is Lord for ever and ever.

Forthcoming Beijing Duck:

We pray, almighty God,
that we may always be counted among the members of Christ,
in whose Body and Blood we have communion.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is the covering of statues and crucifixes a requirement, or an option?

Vonny Von said...

so Father, are you saying we have to cover our statues and crosses the 5th Sunday of Lent? or is it Palm Sunday- im a bit confused.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

The Sacramentary (Roman Missal) after this morning's Saturday Mass says today or for this Sunday, not next Sunday.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

Now it is a highly encouraged option.

Anonymous said...

A "highly encouraged" option? How do we know this?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

From the Catholic Liturgy Library:

Question Are statues and crucifixes supposed to be veiled from the fifth Sunday of Lent until Good Friday? If the crucifixes aren't veiled, what is the point of having an unveiling on Good Friday?

Answer According to the Sacramentary, "The practice of covering crosses and images in the church may be observed, if the episcopal conference decides. The crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord's passion on Good Friday. Images are to remain covered until the beginning of the Easter vigil."

This statement allows the veiling of statues and crucifixes if the Episcopal conference votes in favor of the practice. In a 1995 issue of the Bishop's Committee on the Liturgy Newsletter (official publication for the liturgical committee of the United States), it was stated that the US bishops had never voted on this provision so in the United States at least, this practice is not to be done.

The Sacramentary also states that following the Holy Thursday Mass "the altar is stripped and, if possible, the crosses are removed from the church. It is desirable to cover any crosses which remain in the church."

In 1988 the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship issued Paschale Solemnitatis, a new document on the Easter feasts. According to this document, "It is fitting that any crosses in the church be covered with a red or purple veil, unless they have already been veiled on the Saturday before the fifth Sunday of Lent." (n. 57)

This leaves the decision to cover the crucifixes in the church up to the individual parishes but strongly encourages this tradition.

Even though the veiling of crucifixes is highly recommended and not mandatory, it does not make liturgical sense to have the unveiling of the crucifix on Good Friday if the crucifixes were never covered in the first place.

According to the Ceremonial of Bishops, there are two forms of veneration for Good Friday. The first is the one most often seen where the crucifix is unveiled in steps. The second form is a procession from the church entrance to the sanctuary with an unveiled crucifix. This would be the proper form to use if the crucifixes in the church had never been veiled.

Vonny Von said...

wait are you talking to me or the anonymous?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

The last one to Anonymous.

Anonymous said...

So a "liturgist" (Catholic Liturgy Library) has suggested the veiling is "highly recommended" then.

Since when did this blog come to regard liturgists so highly? Isn't this the place where liturgists are likened to terrorists?

Or is it merely a convenience to laud liturgists we agree with and denigrate those with whom we disagree?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

The directive to veil the statues is in the Roman Missal at the end of the Mass of Saturday the 4th week of Lent and below the Prayer after Holy Communion:
"The practice of covering crosses and images in the church may be observed, if the episcopal conference decides. the crosses are to be covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord's passion on Good Friday. Images are to remain covered until the beginning of the Easter vigil. This practice now has USCCB approbation!"
So what is your point?

Anonymous said...

First, understand that I am not opposed to covering statues and crucifixes.

There are two points. The first is that the practice of covering statues/crucifixes is optional.

The second is that you seem to be rather "cafeteria" when it comes to citing the authority of "liturgists," lauding the ones who agree with your personal preferences and denigrating those who disagree with you.

That is convenient, no?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

You'd have to be more specific about my cafeteria! A la liturgists.

Gene said...

Ah, Anonymous/Ignotus again. Why don't you just pick a name and keep it? Ignotus is fine..."Filius Nullius" would be more accurate. Started offering the TLM in your parish yet? Don't tell me no one wants it.