The setting for the ordination of Bishop Lopes as the first Ordinariate bishop in the USA and Canada was nice but the somewhat modern Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston could have done this, that or the other to make it more suitable for the Ordinariate new Missal and style of Mass.
The Cathedral's altar arrangement could have been made traditional. Instead it maintained the 1970's approach of having floor candles flank the sanctuary, not the altar thus cluttering the sanctuary and missing the point of the candles in their traditional arrangement. Simply placing six large candles on the altar with a central crucifix and allowing this Mass to be ad orientem would have solved the problem or if facing the people placing the candles near the altar.
The Introductory Rite had a very beautiful but way too triumphal sounding processional hymn for the many cardinals, bishops and priests. This is a post-Vatican II tendency to add triumphalism to the Ordinary Form Mass with trumpet flairs, tympani and majesty. The clergy should enter to more sober sounds in keeping with Gregorian or Anglican chant.
The Official Introit in the EF format but in English was magnificent and a relief from the triumphal processional hymn and shows that a Gregorian Chant sound in English works very, very well. The choir was magnificent.
Then, after the Introit the liturgical corruption found only in the Ordinary Form occurred with Cardinal Dinardo giving a lenghty and unnecessary welcome to everyone and naming the important actors/cardinals and bishops. This is not necessary and is rightly a corruption. Pope Francis seems to have done a way with this at papal Mass outside of Rome allowing it only after Holy Communion. IT IS NOT NEEDED!!!! IT INTERRUPTS THE TRAJECTORY OF PRAYER BEGUN BY THE HYMN AND INTROIT. STOP IT AND STOP IT NOW!
Cardinal Gerhardt Muller was the celebrant and his English is wonderful even the Elizabethan English.
The Introductory Rite followed the Anglican Tradition which then went into the Kyrie in Anglican Style, Gloria and then "The Lord be with you" followed by the Collect.
The Gospel was proclaimed from the middle of the nave, an Anglican tradition and nicely executed.
The Rite of Ordination followed the Ordinary Form's version and was nicely done beginning with the Litany of Saints.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist with the new bishop as celebrant used the EF's Offertory Prayers. The Bishop kissed the altar in all the places it is kissed in the EF.
The Roman Canon in Elizabethan English was magnificent and elevates the prayer in reverence and is a sign of elevated language use to address God, far superior to our gloriously new English translation. I am sold on the Elizabethan English as pseudo Latin!
The double genuflections at the elevations was magnificent as was the genuflection after the Per Ipsum.
I loved the three-fold "Lord I am not worthy." It works well and ties it into the three-fold Lamb of God.
THE ORDINARIATE'S MISSAL IS WHAT POPE BENEDICT ENVISIONED AS A REFORM OF THE REFORM. BRING IT TO THE ENTIRE CHURCH, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, POPE FRANCIS!
I BELIEVE IT WILL BE GIVEN TO THE ENTIRE CHURCH AND I PRAY THAT ANY LATIN RITE PRIEST SHOULD BE ABLE TO USE THE ORDINARIATE'S ORDER OF THE MASS AND MISSAL.
TO SEE CARDINALS MUELLER, WUREL AND MAHONEY PRAYING THE OLD ELIZABETHAN ENGLISH AND CONCELEBRATING THE MASS WITH EF SENSIBILITIES AND ORDER WAS BEYOND REAL! I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THEIR HONEST OPINION ON THE NEW AND GLORIOUS ORDINARIATE'S "DIVINE WORSHIP, THE MISSAL!"
21 comments:
YEs, I have noticed in occasional visits to Episcopal parishes, the Gospel is read from the middle of the sanctuary, and sometimes with incense. I wonder why we don't do that in the Catholic Church?
Another interesting feature of ordination of bishops in the Episcopal Church is their rubrics have the bishop-elect processing simply vested, often just wearing an alb without anything else. Then at the time of "laying on hands", he is fully vested with the stole and either cope or chasuble and the mitre (well, in most services---you still have some of the "Low Church" ones/dioceses that look dimly on beauty in worship and just vest their bishops in what we would call "choir dress"---rochet and chimere). Sometimes in their Church, the bishop wears a cope for the Liturgy of the Word and then puts on a chasuble at the offertory, perhaps to signify the two different parts of the Eucharist. (The cope seems to get more usage in Anglicanism than in the Catholic Church.)
Here's my report on the Missa Cantata for Candlemas last night at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Oratory.
The priest processed in vested in violet cope. At the altar, he blessed the candles using Holy Water and incense. The faithful received their candles kneeling at the altar rail, kissing first the candle and then the priests hand as the candles were received. The faithful were then led around the Church in procession with lighted candles.
The priest then vested in the white vestments for the feast and proceeded with the Mass. Before the Gospel, the faithful lit their candles again in accord with the symbolism of the feast.
After the Gospel, the priest removed his maniple and chasuble, leaving them at the altar while he gave a sermon about the nature of the feast. He pointed out that it is a bridge between Christmas and Lent, conveying both the joy of Christmas and the penitential aspect of Lent (the ceremonies include both violet and white vestments).
The Mass then continued as usual. The laity receiving Communion kneeling at the altar rail as usual. And the Mass concluded.
As for the music, the Mass was chanted expertly by a four-person schola from the choir loft. As is customary at the Institute, the Sancus and Benedictus are "split" so that the Benedictus is chanted following the consecration. The hymns of the procession are particularly noteworthy in that they are more like the hymns used in the Eastern rites in their didacticism.
The Mass was quite beautiful. It lasted approximately 2 hours. And, thankfully, our newborn remained well-behaved throughout.
Why did the priest illicitly wear a violet cope? The Ordo from the FSSP that I use (And I celebrated Candlemas as a Low Mass at 5 PM BTW) says to wear a WHITE cope. In addition after the blessing of candles and yes, our congregation knelt to receive the candles (it was the simple form not solemn form) I had the concluding prayer, changed to chasuble and without the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar or the silent prayers accompanying the kissing of the altar, I went directly to the Epistle side of the altar and read the Introit. The Mass then proceeded as normal.
Chastise that priest for his liturgical color abuse.
In my Missal (1962), the priest is instructed to wear a violet cope. At any rate, the Institute uses a variation on the 1962 Missal that includes older customs that were changed in 1962. Another minor variation was that the prayers at the foot of the altar were included, although they are removed from the 1962 Missal, as you said.
Other things that are different at Institute Masses are the use of the Sanctus candle at low Masses, the use of Proper Last Gospels in accord with the older rubrics, and usage of elements of the pre-1955 Holy Week rites.
"I have noticed in occasional visits to Episcopal parishes, the Gospel is read from the middle of the sanctuary, and sometimes with incense. I wonder why we don't do that in the Catholic Church?"
Anonymous, if you go to a Missa Solemnis, you're likely to find that the Gospel will be read at a position quite close to the congregation on the Gospel side of the Church. Depending on the Church, the Gospel might be read in the sanctuary, but close to the altar rail, or in the nave, outside the altar rail. It is not quite the middle of the nave, as some Episcopalians do things, but still in the midst of the people to a large degree.
Our rector at the now Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham, Fr. Charles Hough IV, served admirably as MC, and our three deacons each had parts to play, Deacon James Barnett, one of the original Walsingham founders, proclaimed the Gospel. I do not have first hand information about the altar arrangement, but am pretty sure that it was dictated by the Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral staff, who seem to be a Spirit of Vatican II crowd.
Thank you Woody. I presume the Cathedral would have had some reluctance to transfer those candles to the altar or closer to it. The Liturgy was beautiful and I am coming to appreciate some of the Anglican patrimony of which I am not familiar.
Will Bishop Lopes celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at his new Cathedral and will it be videoed and youtubed? That would be great to get on my blog.
Before 1962, the colour of the cope was violet. This is because processions, by their nature, are penitential. I imagine that it was thought that white seemed more appropriate for such a feast as Candlemas.
The liturgical tinkering was a problem and remains so; and don't get me started about the Triduum! (other than the hours)
A correction to my comment above -- my 1962 Missal indicates the cope is white.
As I mentioned, the Institute uses the older version of these things. As another example to add to my post above, at the conclusion of Mass last Sunday, since it is a penitential season, we heard "Benedicamus Domino" instead of "Ite missa est." The removal of "Benedicamus Domino" in 1962 (except when there is a procession following Mass) is another of those tinkering changes made in 1962.
"...processions, by their nature, are penitential." Violet cope, then, for Corpus Christi processions?
Anon. 11:50: No, not for Corpus Christi that is the exception as one is carrying the Lord and it is not penitential. Similar to the tabernacle veil never being black, even during a Requiem, assuming there is one. It can be violet, but not black. On Good Friday, in the EF, the colour is black until communion when it becomes violet, think of a drop of white to lighten in as violet is lightened to rose on Gaudete and Laetare Sundays. The Requiem, remained black, even during Communion because of its particular nature.
While I love the OF mass said properly, I have no objections to the Mass used by the ordinariate as long as we keep the current calendar and the A B C cycle of readings. What do you do for the non English speaking world.
Woody thanks for alerting us that the Cathedral staff is contumacious and committed to failure. Got it
The Ordinariate Mass uses our three year cycle for Sunday, (A, B and C) as well as the two year cycle 1 & 2 for daily Mass. I believe their translation of the lectionary in English is a different version from the OF and may have Elizabethan English, but I really don't know. They also have the Season of Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost, so these readings would be included in theirs and not ours unfortunately.
This Missal is Anglican (i.e. English) and of the English patrimony of Great Britain from whence English comes to the USA and to other parts of the world, although in various dialects, accents and bastardizations.
The Ordinariate Lectionary is from the RSV Second Catholic Version. Modern English but closer to the KJV phraseology than the NAB.
Father, you'll just have to find a group of former Anglicans and offer to host them in your parish!
Isn't it the case that the ordinariate has the seasons of Septuagesima in the sense of changing the vestment colors but the readings are not the usual readings for that season? I thought that they use the same lectionary as the rest of the Novus Ordo Church...
The Ordinariate Missal has the proper Masses for the three Sundays of Septuagesima which includes the proper Gradual and Tract. I do not know what the readings are, but they are not from Ordinary Time in our calendar. I presume they are the three traditional Gospel readings found in the EF, but someone more knowledgeable about their lectionary has to tell us. There lectionary has to be adjusted for the Octave of Pentecost which they have recovered, for Septuagesima as well as the Rogation Day Masses they have recovered.
Interesting. I cannot find their lectionary online to compare the readings. If you find a link to it, I hope you'll discuss this issue some more.
Have they regained the Ember Days, as well?
Yes. I meant to say ember days:
The notable difference between Divine Worship and the Roman Missal
is that Divine Worship
does not include a period called Ordinary Time. The
period between the celebration of the Epiphany and Ash Wednesday is
called Time After Epiphany (Epiphanytide) and Pre-Lent. Pre-Lent begins
with the third Sunday before Lent, or Septuagesima. After Eastertide, the
Sundays of the Year are collectively known as Trinitytide, beginning with
Trinity Sunday and being numbered as Sundays After Trinity until the
celebration of Christ the King. The liturgical time of Advent/Christmas,
Lent/Easter are celebrated in common throughout the Church. The
Divine
Worship
Missal also includes the celebration of the Ember Days in Advent,
Lent, in Whitsun Week (Pentecost), and in September. Similarly, the
Rogation Days, traditionally marked by processions and prayers for Divine
assistance, are observed on the three days preceding the Ascension of the
Lord.
(I think time after Trinity Sunday rather than Pentecost may be an Anglican thing, but I don't know.
So it gets back to the lectionary -- does it have all the additional lessons and collects for the Ember Days? Will the people attached to the ordinariate be bound under pain of sin to fast and abstain on the Ember Days?
I wonder how they've calculated the Ember Days since there is a weird miscalculation in the 1962 Missal for the September Ember Days in some years. Did they return to the previous calculation?
Very interesting post. I do have two questions. What is the meaning of the terms "EF" and "FSSP" mean?
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