Nice touches, swapping the altars. Why was the altar brought in front of the altar rail? Very nce to have the candal lit. I bet that generates thoughtful conversation amongst the parishoners.
What is the purpose of the two lengths of railing, which are in the wrong place anyway (too close to the altar)?
Why does a small chapel like this need two freestanding altars? Get rid of the chunky brown table and either reposition the rails or remove them altogether.
Great improvements and a nice traditional touch! Just think, Father, how magnificently you transformed St. Joseph into the beautiful Cathedral-like church it is today. Much more magnificent than the Cathedral in Savannah, in my most humble opinion. Can't stand the celebrant chairs behind the altar...yuck! With what you did at St. Joseph in mind, just think of what you can do in Richmond Hill to create a more traditional Catholic community and parish, focused solely on Jesus Christ...front and center always. Have you asked your new parishioners if they are open to TLM in the Daily Mass Chapel eventually? Miss you, Father McDonald!
John, I wonder if it is something to do with its age? St Michaels Church in Flewellyn, Tennessee, where i grew up, has the altar rail quite close to the Altar. The sanctuary is tiny compared to this one.
I like the changes. It may be something quite new to your parishioners to have a Priest who gives a hoot about liturgics and proper arrangements. I hope it all goes well.
I also like the changes, but I also have a question. Is there anything that prohibits the novus ordo Mass being celebrated ad orientem ? In a small church having two altars often seems confusing, and simply having the traditional altar makes more sense.
You clearly are a hermit. No, there is nothing in the OF Mass rubrics preventing ad orientem for the Eucharistic Prayer, nor do the rubrics of the EF Mass rubrics require ad orientem. This has been discussed at great length on this blog and on similar blogs from the very beginning of blogging.
Dialogue, My error. I thought something certainly must be preventing Mass being said in that fashion because I have never, ever, seen it celebrated that way; and I have been attending Mass for many decades.
That's not true. Priest are either strongly opposed to ad orientem, or strongly in favor of it. There are hardly any priests who simply "don't give a damn to try it". But local bishops forbid it, or parishioners protest angrily against it, so it becomes a moot point.
northernhermit said...Dialogue, My error. I thought something certainly must be preventing Mass being said in that fashion because I have never, ever, seen it celebrated that way; and I have been attending Mass for many decades.
I have witnessed, twice only, the modern Roman Rite Mass offered ad orientem.
Once was in my parish, which is Byzantine. Our pastor was sick, and a priest from the local archdiocese came to offer Mass. We don't have forward looking altars, so he had no choice. That was in the 1990s.
The other time was in a small convent chapel where, again, there was no forward looking altar. That was sometime in the 1980s.
My understanding is that Mass was always offered ad orientem in Saint Agnes parish in St. Paul, Minnesota. After the changes, that parish was kind of well known for that.
17 comments:
Nice touches, swapping the altars. Why was the altar brought in front of the altar rail? Very nce to have the candal lit. I bet that generates thoughtful conversation amongst the parishoners.
What is the purpose of the two lengths of railing, which are in the wrong place anyway (too close to the altar)?
Why does a small chapel like this need two freestanding altars? Get rid of the chunky brown table and either reposition the rails or remove them altogether.
Great improvements and a nice traditional touch! Just think, Father, how magnificently you transformed St. Joseph into the beautiful Cathedral-like church it is today. Much more magnificent than the Cathedral in Savannah, in my most humble opinion. Can't stand the celebrant chairs behind the altar...yuck! With what you did at St. Joseph in mind, just think of what you can do in Richmond Hill to create a more traditional Catholic community and parish, focused solely on Jesus Christ...front and center always. Have you asked your new parishioners if they are open to TLM in the Daily Mass Chapel eventually? Miss you, Father McDonald!
John, I wonder if it is something to do with its age? St Michaels Church in Flewellyn, Tennessee, where i grew up, has the altar rail quite close to the Altar. The sanctuary is tiny compared to this one.
I like it. It's very American and very Catholic.
What did your process of catechesis look like for these changes? Seems too abrupt to have used this as en effective teaching opportunity,
It's pretty sad that a "process of catechesis" should be needed to prepare Catholics to handle a church setup that has very minimal Catholic elements.
I like the changes. It may be something quite new to your parishioners to have a Priest who gives a hoot about liturgics and proper
arrangements. I hope it all goes well.
I also like the changes, but I also have a question. Is there anything that prohibits the novus ordo Mass being celebrated ad orientem ? In a small church having two altars often seems confusing, and simply having the traditional altar makes more sense.
Fr. does celebrate the OF ad orientem.
northernhermit,
You clearly are a hermit. No, there is nothing in the OF Mass rubrics preventing ad orientem for the Eucharistic Prayer, nor do the rubrics of the EF Mass rubrics require ad orientem. This has been discussed at great length on this blog and on similar blogs from the very beginning of blogging.
Dialogue, My error. I thought something certainly must be preventing Mass being said in that fashion because I have never, ever, seen it celebrated that way; and I have been attending Mass for many decades.
northernhermit, That is because few Priests give enough of a damn to try it.
Gene,
That's not true. Priest are either strongly opposed to ad orientem, or strongly in favor of it. There are hardly any priests who simply "don't give a damn to try it". But local bishops forbid it, or parishioners protest angrily against it, so it becomes a moot point.
Thanks, Dialogue. That does not surprise me at all.
Or, many priests have considered the possibility of celebrating ad orientem, but have concluded, for a variety of reasons, that it is not warranted.
northernhermit said...Dialogue, My error. I thought something certainly must be preventing Mass being said in that fashion because I have never, ever, seen it celebrated that way; and I have been attending Mass for many decades.
I have witnessed, twice only, the modern Roman Rite Mass offered ad orientem.
Once was in my parish, which is Byzantine. Our pastor was sick, and a priest from the local archdiocese came to offer Mass. We don't have forward looking altars, so he had no choice. That was in the 1990s.
The other time was in a small convent chapel where, again, there was no forward looking altar. That was sometime in the 1980s.
My understanding is that Mass was always offered ad orientem in Saint Agnes parish in St. Paul, Minnesota. After the changes, that parish was kind of well known for that.
DJR
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