No clown Masses aren't over and are still in high places. Yes, the reformed Mass got rid of the prayers at the Foot of the altar and substituted these with banal introductions, secular greeting and mini-sermons. We also got rid of "useless" repetition, incense, bells and smells and substituted these organically developed traditions for this:
Is it any wonder that there is a loss of reverence, wonder and awe when these things are done? Is there any wonder that fewer and fewer Catholics are taking the liturgy seriously except those who go to the EF Mass and are a part of the Reform of the Reform in Continuity movement spearheaded by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI?
11 comments:
And it's even a bad night club act!
Well the old adage is true: the Church must be a supernatural and mystical institution otherwise it could never have survived for over two thousand years with the people who are in charge of it here on earth.
I seem to remember that Flannery O'Connor said that "We often suffer more from the Church than for her."
The Smoke of Satan that Paul VI was worried about invading the precincts of the Church is still there in prodigious quantities.
Father, Can you or someone provide a reference for the link? Invariably I cannot access your posted links on my computer (I just get a flat black rectangle with a play symbol in the middle that doesn’t work). But if I have a reference I can sometimes find the source on the Internet. In the present instance searching under "Mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral Vienna" does not help because that brings up many entries. Thanks.
A2 try this link, but it might be your computer can't play the video and you need a program download?
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/12/das-ist-sehr-cool.html
On Tuesday 18 September one of the cathedral priests, Toni Faber, invited the 'nuns' to perform at the midday Mass. The alarming thing is that the large congregation, of all ages, seem to see nothing untoward in all this.
Just as well it's Austria, not Russia, or they'd have found themselves sharing accommodation with Pussy Riot.
Many thanks for the link, Father. That worked fine, although I was a little perplexed by what I saw. I can’t make out the words very well (German with Austrian accents and not very good sound quality) but I assume that this was a separate musical performance of the show “Sister Act” (which I have not seen and, after seeing this rendition, have no desire to) and not a performance of various songs from the musical during a Mass. I am not suggesting that it would necessarily be more acceptable if it were the former; I just want to understand the facts.
On the other hand, John Nolan’s post seems to suggest it_was_ during a Mass. If so, it would be another egregiously bad example of liturgical abuse that doesn’t even come close to anything I have ever experienced, for example in a “folk mass” on either side of the Pond
Just thought I'd mention something positive that happened on a recent trip to Vienna. There was a beautiful church, St. Anne's, across the street from our hotel. It was small, but exquisite.
There was Eucharistic Adoration every morning for three hours and every afternoon for another three hours.
During morning adoration, the priest sat in the confessional the entire time.
We attended an evening Mass, and it was reverent and "normal."
We visited several other churches in Vienna, and most of them had signs asking for "silence," and the Blessed Sacrament seemed to be treated with great respect. We encountered Adoration in some other churches as well. I was truly surprised, as I had heard so many negative things about the Church in Austria.
St.Stephen's was immense, but least impressive where reverence was concerned, tons of tourists milling around...although the Blessed Sacrament chapel was off to the side and treated respectfully.
Salzburg had beautiful churches as well, and the Mass we attended at St. Michaels Church was preceded by the Rosary...so maybe there's hope out there afterall.... Patricia
It appears to me it is at the end of Mass and the priest speaking is edited in.
The version that I viewed on Rorate Caeli showed all the hootenanny and singing taking place during what appeared to be the minor elevations at the Offertory (the priest was behind the altar raising the chalice but not as at the Consecration).
When I saw this, the first thing that came to my mind was the hackneyed criticism of the pre-Conciliar Mass with the stories of people saying Rosaries and doing other things while Mass was being said. At least those were Catholic devotions and they were quiet and unobtrusive to those who might have wanted to actually follow the Latin Mass. In this case, there is an unavoidable major distraction between the altar and the nave. How does this help promote full, active and conscious participation in the Mass?
When, oh when, will priests who allow this type of blasphemy and mockery of the sacred (blaspheming God Himself, the Sacrament, authentic religious life, the Holy Mass) have their faculties removed and be given time to repent, do penance, and reform their lives?! Hard as it may be to accept, and acknowledging the hardship it would create, I believe it would be better in both the short and long term to not have Mass at this place and require folks to drive to the next parish than to have this nonsense continue!
If you click on "more info" you will read the following:
" ... wo die Nonnen [sic] die Mittagsmesse mit musikalischen Highlights aus der Show mitgestalteten".
Definitely during Mass, and the Offertory is clearly going on in the background. However, Patricia's right; there is plenty of good liturgy and music in Vienna, and the Stephansdom itself did a splendid Requiem for Otto von Habsburg, which is also on YouTube.
Father, I thought you might be interested in this video, if you haven't seen it. It's not very long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2ymGuIapyU
This video illustrates pretty well two types of active participation, I think. (You'll get the sarcasm after you watch, I think).
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