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Monday, March 27, 2017

WOULD YOU BE IN FAVOR OF NO MASS OR HOLY COMMUNION ON FRIDAYS OF LENT AND A SIX WEEK ADVENT SEASON?


After watching Pope Francis splendid Ambrosian Mass in Milan, I learned from Wikipedia that no Mass is celebrated on Fridays of Lent or Holy Communion and Advent is six weeks long and Ash Wednesday is not celebrated nor Fat Tuesday but the Saturday after our Ash Wednesday is Fat Saturday extending Carnival 🎡!

I paste this from Wikipedia:

The Ambrosian Missal  restored two early-medieval Ambrosian eucharistic prayers, unusual for placing the epiclesis after the Words of Institution, in line with Oriental use.

Some features of the Ambrosian Rite distinguish it from the Roman Rite liturgy.

MassEdit

The main differences in the Mass are:[4]

Liturgical yearEdit

The main differences in the liturgical year are:
  • Advent has six weeks, not four.
  • Lent starts four days later than in the Roman Rite, so that Ash Wednesday is postponed to a week later than in the Roman Rite, and Carnival continues until "sabato grasso" ("Fat Saturday" in Italian), corresponding to Shrove Tuesday (called "mardi gras", i.e. "Fat Tuesday", in French) in areas where the Roman Rite is used.
  • On Fridays in Lent, Mass is not celebrated and, with a few exceptions, Communion is not distributed.
  • Red, not the Roman-Rite green, is the standard colour of vestments from Pentecost to the third Sunday of October, and there are other differences in liturgical colours throughout the year.

OtherEdit

Other differences are:
  • The Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office or Breviary) is different in structure and in various features.[5][6]
  • The liturgical rites of the Holy Week are quite different.
  • The rite of funerals is different.
  • Baptism of infants is done by triple immersion of the head.
  • The thurible has no top cover, and is swung clockwise before the censing of a person or object.[7]
  • Ambrosian deacons wear the stole over the dalmatic and not under it.
  • The Ambrosian cassock, buttoned with only five buttons below the neck, is held with a fascia at the waist, and is worn with a round white collar.
  • Ambrosian chant is distinct from Gregorian chant.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Clockwise" swinging of the thurible has been anathematized by the Council of Myrrhmecatania in 666 A.D.

"Let him who swingeth the mighty, smoky, stinky, and otherwise worthy thurible in the direction of the clock be thrown, henceforth and forthwith, into the night, the dark and lightless night, the night of the Devil going down to Georgia, beyond the boundaries of Pokémon Village, beyond the Pale (Ale) of Greensward and Ford Plantation - let him be anathema!" - Collection of Litgugia Obscura, volume 23.98(a), section XI, page 1.

Rood Screen said...

Anonymous,

If you would take the time to complete your research, you'd see that that particular prohibition only applies in the southern hemisphere.

Anonymous said...

Why even ask this question. The Ambrosian rite is for Milan.....only. And always has been. Just like various other diocesan rites that where/are in use like Braga, Lyon, Sarum etc. We are the Romana Rite, not the Ambrosian Rite. YOU DON'T MIX RITES. There is NO history of mixing rites of the Church. And your "glorious" Anglican Use isn't the Roman Rite, no matter how you cut it. It is an allowance of a Protestant form of the Eucharist permitted out of charity by the pope. And what about the particular religious rites, you want to appropriate them also. The Novus Ordo is an invention by committee. The starting point for true liturgical renewal in the Roman Rite is the Missal last used prior and during the council. You take this and that from another Rite because you think it looks nice. That shows a complete lack of u derstanding of the rites of the Church.

rcg said...

Anon at 8:02, I don't think FrAJM is mixing rites or "Liturgy Shopping". This is a liturgical blog, primarily, and he reviews and comments on various liturgical practices. This seems to be done with two goals. First, to explore the meaning and use of various liturgical elements to better understand them and secondly to explore ways of executing the Roman Liturgy in a way that provides the most benefit to the parish. He seems to be very scrupulous in his execution of the NO variation so that they are within the bounds of the GIRM and also benefit from the history and legacy of the Roman Rite. It is interesting to ponder the differences if for no other reason than to review the reasons we do things the way do them here.

Anonymous said...

One particularly fascinating part of the Ambrosian Liturgy is the lighting of the Faro. The following comment is from Archdale King's Liturgies of the Primatial Sees, via New Liturgical Movement:

"A curious ceremony takes place before the [Ambrosian rite] Mass on the feasts of martyrs: the celebrant sets fire to the faro (globo, cottone) of cotton, which is suspended high up at the entrance to the presbytery. This is done by means of a taper on a pole. The custom may have originated in the illumination of a martyr's tomb in the Catacombs..."

Rood Screen said...

Anonymous,

While I'm no fan of the kind of liturgical tinkering that reduces reverence, I wonder on what basis you make the claim that there should be no mixing of liturgical rites. Surely there is no such prohibition to be found in the Apostolic Tradition.

Anonymous said...

I've always wondered why Advent is not 6 weeks---I think in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it is. I think the EO also do not offer a Divine Liturgy (Mass) on Fridays of Lent (maybe something like "liturgy of presanctified gifts").

Quarrels over rites and liturgy are hardly unique to Rome...there are still some battles in the Episcopal Church over using the modern 1979 version of their prayer book versus the old 1928 one...and there is even talk of a revised prayer book, unfortunately to include same-sex ceremonies that are not provided for in either the 1928 or 1979 versions. The Eastern rite of the Catholic Church has all sorts of liturgies, which is OK---uniformity of belief does not have to mean uniformity of worship.

Stephen Conner said...

I would be fine with six weeks of Advent, but "heck no" on no Mass or Holy Communion on Fridays during Lent. Going to Mass on Fridays is something I added this year for Lent. This will become a year-round practice for me. Going to Mass and receiving Holy Communion on Fridays during Lent is how I keep especially focused on our Lord's Passion. Unfortunately, my work schedule does not allow me to attend neither midday nor evening Stations of the Cross. Morning Mass is my only option right now. Not offering Mass on Fridays, even just during Lent, is silly, in my opinion. Sad enough that the majority of parishes in Georgia don't offer Saturday Daily Mass, even on Solemnities, such as the Annunciation. (I threw the last sentence in because it is something that gripes me).

Anonymous said...

The Mass itself made me curious, but what surprised me even more is seeing Pope Francis genuflect during the Et Incarnatus est

The Egyptian said...

In my perfect world, sigh, a Lenten Friday EF low mass, quiet and contemplative, no music, just quiet reflection of the sacrifice, Lenten Friday masses should not be loud boisterous celebrations, but solemn prayer, preceded by several hours of available confession of course.

I suffer from tinnitus, so loud music just is an annoyance to me anyway, just so much noise on top of the symphony in my head, ruins my concentration which is limited to begin with

Anonymous said...

Upon further check. the Mass is not offered in the Eastern Orthodox Church during the weekdays of Lent, as in its view, the Mass (divine liturgy) is a paschal celebration of communion with the risen Lord. Thus, instead their daily services during Lent include more scripture and some prayers and hymns. Their view on this is perhaps akin to weddings during Lent, which are not allowed in their tradition except for rare exceptions, such as someone in military about to embark on a long voyage away from home. As weddings are a time of pleasure and joy, those are seen as incompatible with Lent, as would be parish festivals and parties.

rcg said...

I think it is a mistake to not have Mass during Lent. The Liturgy, readings, etc. teaches us about it and prepares us. Our priest tells us the Rosary is our family album. I think the same of the Liturgy. We can remember what Christ and the apostles did during the Great War and how they got those scars.

Rood Screen said...

Maybe Advent should be nine months long, commencing with the feast of the Annunciation.

Anonymous said...

Dialogue, I find it ironic that radio stations will play Christmas music during Advent and then take it off the air December 26, when we have barely begun the 12 days of Christmas..or stores will display Christmas fixtures before Halloween.

As for Advent being 9 months long...that would conflict with Lent most years! We can't have two liturgical seasons at the same time, right?

Rood Screen said...

Anonymous,

You're right. Mine is a silly response to a silly question.

John Nolan said...

On Good Friday, where there is no Mass, we should revert to the pre-1955 practice where only the celebrant communicates. Where there is a large congregation, for example at the London Oratory, the veneration of the cross takes up best part of an hour. Everyone then troops up for Communion which prolongs the service inordinately; the choir has run out of things to sing, and at least a third of the congregation leave before the end.

In fact the Bugnini-inspired Holy Week revisions are the worst thing about the 1962 Missal. Cardinal Heenan and John XXIII alike deplored them, and the sooner they are discarded, the better. By all means keep the revised times of the services; this was a reversion to older practice and was a sensible (and sensitive) 'reform'.

Anonymous said...

"On Good Friday, where there is no Mass, we should revert to the pre-1955 practice where only the celebrant communicates."

Only one of numerous occasions when reception only by the celebrant would be preferable. At the top of the list being papal spectacles where distribution to hordes involves so many questionable practices and consequences.

John Nolan said...

In 1932 an estimated one million people attended a Mass in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Congress. The faithful did not receive Communion. Looking at the newsreels one is struck by the reverence and devotion of the vast throng, in contrast with the flag-waving rabble one sees in St Peter's Square at papal Masses.