The Chants are magnificent and splendid Gregorian Chant and the Alleluia Gospel Chant was out of this world!
The Chants are in Latin all of them! The Archbishop prays the Roman Canon (in English). There are no other languages other than English and Latin! This unites all those cultures into a coherent and audible unity!
The Installation Rite prior to the beginning of the Mass, was splendid, dignified and reverent. It exhibted the sobriety of the Roman Rite both in its older, more ancient form, and also required in its modern expression.
There is no applause, hooping and hollering or a feeling that one is celebrating the person being installed rather than the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no showing of the Papal Bull by the one being installed, as though it is his precious Hiesman Trophy, parading around, like a clown, with it throughout the cathedral!
The only applause, and it was quite sober and controlled, was when Cardinal Nichols presented the new Archbishop with the Pastoral Staff, crozier.
The vestments are splendid! It is a modern Mass, with female altar servers and a woman religious as one of the lectors.
This is a Solemn Sung Mass. As such, Archbishop Moth celebrates the Mass by chanting all his parts! He chants the Collect, the Prayer over the Offerings, the Preface Dialogue and Preface and all other parts pertaining to the Celebrant! Thank you Archbishop Moth—this is an example for Pope Leo IV too!
There were some unique aspects to the Installation and I presume a tradition of this English Cathedral. One of the canons actually installs the new Archbishop and the role of the canons is pronounced, which isn’t the case in the USA.
The Papal Nuncio, without theatrics or ad-libbing, reads the Papal Bull from the parchment. He is the one that briefly shows the parchment to the canons and others but remaining in the sanctuary. The parchment is not given to the Archbishop! The Archbishop never takes it or shows it, unlike Archbishop Hicks in New York who made a spectacle of it and himself.
Archbishop Moth celebrates the Mass without any theatrics nor pandering to those in front of him or acting in a way that expresses raw emotions to others.
There is no pandering to the multiplicity of cultures in this London Archdiocese, perhaps more than that which is in New York City. There isn’t a multiplicity of languages employed or different musical expressions of the various cultures. Latin Chant and music unique to the Roman Rite are used! Latin is employed, proper to the Roman Rite! Gregorian Chant is used, proper to the Roman Rite in its revised form!
Pandering to different cultures during a Roman Rite Mass is exactly that, pandering to the laity and pleasing them and their cultural accomplishments. The Roman Rite isn’t about pandering to people and their accomplishments. It is about worshiping God! It is about pleasing and praising Him and lifting our eyes to Him. It isn’t about our narcissism.
I pray that Pope Leo writes an enclical on the Sacred Liturgy and authoritatively promoting the use of both forms of the one Roman Rite and that the revised Rite be in continuity with the older and clearly so! I pray he uses this Installation Mass as an example of how to celebrate the Modern Rite.
The only criticisms I have of the Mass, one problem which is with the revised Order of the Mass, is that after the installation rite and the various greetings offered to the Archbishop in a sober and brief way, the actual Mass begins with the Gloria. It is a mistake not to start this aspect of the ritual with the free-standing Kyrie followed immediately by the Gloria.
The other criticism is the multiplicity of people, as at the Vatican, reading the intercessions of the Universal Prayer. However, it is concluding by all asking for the intercession of Our Lady of Westminster, by praying together the “Hail Mary” which many liturgists, unlike me, would flinch!
But everyone knows that I would prefer formal, brief litanies, from the Missal, not made up, for the Universal Prayer with brief “ejaculations” for the Pope and Church, for the World and World Leaders, For the sick and suffering, the Faithful Departed and needs held silently in the hearts of the Faithful.
My only other gripe, is that the Archbishop takes and places or removes his miter himself! No! No! No! Have the MC do it, please!
Be sure to hear the distribution of Holy Communion. It starts with a splendid “Ave Verum Corpus” followed by the Proper Chant for Holy Communioin in unaccompanied splendid Latin Gregorian Chant! How reverent! This is how the majority of lay Catholics (excluding liturgists) would like to receive Holy Communion. While I don’t care for post-Communion hymns or motets, what is sung after Holy Communion is an English devotional hymn, “Sweet Sacrament Divine”. What a great collective act of thanksgiving by the congregation after Holy Communion. No singing by the laity at Communion, as they are receiving Holy Communion, but a collective post-Communion hymn! Marvelous.
After the chanted Post Communion Prayer, the Archbishop intones the “Te Deum” which is wondrously chanted!
During the chanting of the Te Teum, the Archbishop departs to pray before the Blessed Sacrament I think, then he goes around the cathedral blessing the people, as the Te Deum continues to be sung, so no applause or ruckus noise.
Returning to the sanctuary, the Archbishop stands ad orientem before the altar for the completion of the Te Deum.
Prior to the final Blessing and Dismissal, the papal nuncio offers his remarks, wearing choir dress and beretta. He acknowledges Cardinal Nicols and there is restrained applause but brief, no standing ovation.
Then Archbishop Moth offers some restrained, noble and modest final remarks and thanks.
The Archbishop chants the formal Episcopal Blessing and the deacon chants the dismissal.
Then a great English anthem “Praise to the Holiest is sung by all. I wonder if it of the Anglican Patrimony? But all remain in place for this Anthem until a few verses are sung. then the choir departs behind the servers and finally the Archbishop and entourage but remaining before the altar until its conclusion with the recessional with an organ and brass instrumental fanfare recessional. Magnificent!
I must say that I love the way the six high candles and crucifix, along with the Episcopal candles and six additional candles are placed behind the free standing altar, but appearing as a unit!
Big Benny, who I fear is no longer with us, but a member of this Cathedral, would be well pleased I think. If he is gone, Requiescat in Pacem!
All I have to say about this Splendid Installation Mass is:
6 comments:
And believe you me the nonsense started right from the get-go; I was a student at a Catholic college during the Council and witnessed the pedestrianization and deconstruction of centuries-old Catholicism. Enduring these fatuous liturgies has been a white martyrdom.
William, every kind of absurd thing happened throughout the Church beginning with clergy and religious, formed in the most pre-Vatican II way, jettisoning everything in which they were formed for something new and novel. A huge percentage of bishops, priests and religious seem to have been formed meticulously in the externals of our Faith, but their hearts were not. How else can one explain the nonsense that occurred not only with the Mass, and btw, also with the 1965 Missal that was still basically the Tridentine Mass. Immediately priests and nuns were getting married to each other and to others, and all kinds of goofy things happening in monasteries and religious houses and seminaries. Unbelievable things happened in my seminary between 1968 and 1980 and a bit beyond. Superficial Catholicism and immaturity.
Cardinal Dolan should be forced to watch this installation Mass so he knows what his role is
I watched this Mass this morning. I found it very reverent and inspirational unlike the mess in St. Patrick’s. There is a world of difference between the 2 events. I couldn’t help but feel that London got the better choice. Why can’t all Masses celebrated be reverent? Why? Everything is made into a joke, unfortunately even the Mass. Look at the New York Mass, irreverent and a joke from the beginning, from Dolan slouching as usual on the throne, to the over the top effeminate archbishop quoting lyrics from secular sources. The NYC Mass was a scandal and should never have happened but that is Dolan’s legacy. Everything was a joke, everything done so the people would love HIM. And it looks like NYC is in for a rough road ahead. But London at least was more fortunate.
Dolan and Hicks makes the US looks like hicks, pun intended
You should see Pope Benedict's mass in westminster cathedral in 2010. Quite spectacular
Post a Comment