Read MY article to the end and then answer for me the question I pose about the ASPERGES!
Is the "Rite for the Blessing and Sprinkling of Water" in the Ordinary Form of the Mass universally celebrated in the place of the Penitential Act of Mass or can it still be celebrated as a "Prelude" to Mass as in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass? I sincerely ask this question.
The reason I ask the question is because of something that is very new in our very new English Roman Missal. The Rite of Sprinkling is no longer in the main body of the Order of Mass in the Roman Missal, but to be found in its appendix! The rubric indicated there says the following:
"If this rite is celebrated during Mass, it takes the place of the usual penitential Act at the beginning of Mass."
Maybe I'm being too liberal in interpreting two things here; first that this rite is now in the appendix of the Missal and second, "if the rite is celebrated during Mass" which implies it could be celebrated before Mass or as a separate ceremony. If so, it would imply that one could do the reformed rite of sprinkling wearing a cope as a prelude to the Ordinary Form Mass as it is done in the Extraordinary Form since in the EF the Asperges is clearly separate from the Mass, it is preludal.
But herein lies the rub. The Rite of Sprinkling in the Ordinary Form of the Mass is wordy and pedantic compared to the Asperges in the Extraordinary Form's prelude to the Mass.
In the Ordinary Form, the priest has a long introduction to the rite which is in effect a catechesis of what will take place and why! Is that necessary? No! Not during the Liturgy, but it would be good in a classroom or sermon.
Then the water is blessed in front of everyone in a rather long, pedantic prayer, which is okay, but is that really necessary, can't that be skipped and Holy Water blessed at another time, for example during the Easter Season, Holy Water consecrated at the Vigil of Easter used instead or water blessed in the sacristy?
Apart from the prescribed chants that are taken from the EF Form of sprinkling, again the new missal allows for other chants--big mistake!
Then there is an absolution following the sprinkling, similar to what is said after the Penitential Act. The Gloria is then chanted.
In the EF Asperges which is a prelude to Mass, not a part of the Mass, the priest simply arrives at the altar with the server carrying the already blessed Holy Water. Then he kneels (during the Easter Season he stands with Vidi Aquam chanted)blesses the altar and himself (a purification before Mass of both) and chants the opening words of the Asperges and the schola takes it up as the priest sprinkles (purifies) the people prior to the beginning of Mass. When the priest returns the priest and congregation chant the concluding sentences alternately with the priests concluding chanted prayer (not an absolution):
Hear us, O holy Lord, Almighty Father, everlasting God, and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from heaven, to guard, cherish, protect, visit and defend all that are assembled in this place: Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
MY QUESTION FINALLY: SINCE THE EF MASS IS NOW ALLOWED, THAT MEANS THAT THE ASPERGES IN THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM IS ALLOWED AGAIN. IN THE EF THE ASPERGES IS NOT A PART OF THE MASS, IT IS THE PRELUDE TO THE MASS, THUS A SEPARATE CEREMONY OR RITE.
THE SAME HOLDS TRUE FOR THE ORDINARY FORM "RITE OF SPRINKLING." IT IS NOW FOUND IN THE APPENDIX OF THE ROMAN MISSAL AND BEING PLACED THERE ALONG WITH ITS RUBRIC "IF THE RITE IS CELEBRATED DURING MASS..." WHICH BOTH IMPLY THAT IT CAN BE USED AS A RITE OR CEREMONY THAT IS INDEPENDENT OF THE MASS, ALTHOUGH IN THE OF MASS, IT CAN TAKE THE PLACE OF THE USUAL PENITENTIAL ACT, IS SO DESIRED.
SO HERE COMES MY ACTUAL QUESTION. SINCE THE ASPERGES IN BOTH THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM AND THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM ARE OR CAN BE INDEPENDENT RITES OR CEREMONIES, COULD ONE CELEBRATE THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM'S ASPERGES AS A PRELUDE TO THE ORDINARY FORM MASS? IF SO, WHY? AND IF NOT, WHY?
For example, we have all kinds of musical preludes to the Ordinary Form of the Mass. And at Christmas, a Christmas Pageant with scripture readings can be a prelude to Mass. Why not the traditional Asperges in the Extraordinary Form as a prelude to Mass? Just asking!
5 comments:
Well. The OF sometimes talks us to death, I think. In the EF, there is much opportunity for prayer in the pews; in the OF, not so much.
But to your question about the asperges. It seems to me that if we are prepared to accept that the Holy Water in the stoups has been blessed out of our sight, then the Holy Water used in the aspreges need not be blessed in our sight.
I do like the idea of the asperges being used (possibly) more often than it is now.
Why would this be a good thing?
That's my question, why would this be a good thing? Well, it seperates it from the Mass, gives the option of the EF Asperges even if an OF Mass is celebrated (Couldn't do the EF Asperges in the Order of the Ordinary Form Mass)and then allows the OF Mass to maintain its pentitial act with the Kyrie. The Kyrie is omitted when the rite of sprinkling is celebrated during the OF Mass as is the Penitential Act. Technically in the EF Mass, after the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, the priest ascends the altar for the singing of the Introit which is followed immediately by the Kyrie, the Kyrie is never omitted in the EF Mass, even if the 1965 missal is used where it is allowed for the Asperges to be used in place of the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar.
Interesting Question, Father. Those who oppose the EF influencing the OF would likely say it can not be done, for no other reason than prejudice against the EF. However, I think you've hit on the point of distinction: "IF THE RITE IS CELEBRATED DURING MASS." Since a priest can now,outside of mass, use the old form of Baptism, the old form of blessing water found in the Collectio Rituum, the Roman Breviary of 1960 in lieu of the LOTH, and the older form of litanies, then why can a priest not use the old form of asperges?
I encourage you to ask these questions and continue down this road. Do not let this go to your head, but I have not seen a priest ask such probing questions since the late Gerald Ellard, S.J. (died 1963). You may want to read his Christian Life and Worship, published and revised from 1933 through 1956. I think you will find Father Ellard an inspiration as you go through the reform of the reform. The other source I would recommend to you is Pius Parsch's (died 1954) The Church' Year of Grace, Liturgical Press 1953-1964. Reading the works of these holy men will show you what the goals of the liturgical movement were, and how the "reform" of Vatican II deviated from this.
Why would this be a good thing?
Among other reasons, the use of the old Asperges helps to maintain the use of Latin, as called for by Vatican II. Moreover, it involves the active participation of the laity as it is a chant that everyone can sing. At TLM parishes, the people can chant/sing the Asperges with gusto because they sing it every week, the words are easy to pronounce, and the tune is easily stuck in one's head.
I'm no expert on Sacrosanctum Concilium, but it seems to me that it is good to keep in mind that it was written with the Tridentine Mass in mind. It did not propose that a new Mass be created or that everything be scrapped. It suggested that minor tweaks be made.
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