It is solemn, dignified and mostly in Latin. I did notice with this and the Pope’s Christmas Mass that the 7th Episcopal candle is no longer on the altar.
Under Benedict and briefly with Francis it had been central and behind the towering central crucifix. Then a smaller crucifix was used and the candles placed more at an angle to open the view of the pope. The 7th candle was placed on the grouping of the candles on the right side of the altar from the nave. I did not like that odd solution. Now it is gone…
You can view the Mass here:
4 comments:
There was a startling departure from the rubrics when the Pope, after the Domine non sum dignus, went on to intinct the Host in the chalice and consume it, omitting the preceding prayers. What was the rationale behind this?
John Nolan,
Rationale? He just felt like it.
Why we honor and venerate the the Holy Mother of God in her Immaculate Conception:
In our belief that the Blessed Virgin was the beneficiary of being conceived without sin, is this not testament to our profession that the person she gave birth to in Bethlehem was not just another human being, but is in fact a Divine Person? Is not our belief in the Mother of God being conceived without Original sin an affirmation on our part of the angelic salutation:"Hail, full of grace!, the Lord is with you."
Just as the waters of the Nile were parted to the allow the Israelites to pass through untouched, so was the temporal flow of Original sin through the power of God parted at the Blessed Virgins conception. By a singular grace of God, she was untouched by that Sin of Adam which is our unfortunate inheritance.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, in being conceived without Original Sin, was the beneficiary of a singular, unique privilege by God granted to no other human being. She was indeed both "highly favored" and "full of grace", both terms being fitting descriptions of her special status in the plan of God, and her spiritual relationship to the Divine Trinity. To be favored can signify to be both exempt in some way, and also to be bestowed with some kind of gift. The Mother of our Savior was truly highly favored in being exempted from contracting Original Sin and it effects, and also in being gifted by God with the fullness of grace.
The Blessed Virgin was not only conceived free from sin, but but was then filled by our Benevolent God with a plentousness of grace. She was without sin from the beginning and bestowed with a superabundance of grace. God gave the Virgin this special privilege and this plenitude of grace because she was to be the Mother of Christ, the Second Person of the Divine Trinity.
What greater privilege can be bestowed on a creature than to be the Mother of God's only begotten Son? What greater can be allowed to a creature than to be Spouse of the Holy Spirit? What greater than to be thus and ever remain a virgin? Who,of all creatures in time and Eternity is more worthy than she of being honored and venerated?
I read on Cattolici Romani that there are only six candlesticks in this set, so it wasn't a case of the seventh being intentionally suppressed.
The set was made by Antonio Gentili, and was once attributed to Cellini. It's nice to see that Msgr Ravelli is raiding the St Peter's treasury rather than just using the standard sets.
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