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December 01, 2003
Forget Advent
This Sunday was GIRM SUNDAY all around the land.
The changes were finally mentioned in our parish. Finally. What was emphasized was the bow before receiving Communion, standing at the "May the Lord accept..." and STAYING AT MASS THROUGH THE END, which of course is a favorite of our pastor's anyway.
I personally wish that a part of the changes had been "Section 423 Part II Sentence 3: All parishes will fire their current music director and send him/her to the Methodists."
Oh, calm down. It's just that when our Advent candle lighting was accompanied by "Peace is Flowing Like a River," I couldn't help but wish.
But it didn't last, as I had to quickly start warning Jospeh sotte voce, that he'd better darn well put the envelope in the collection basket without crying this week or Daddy would be very, very sad when I told him about it. Especially since we were sitting right in front of three Very Serious Catholic Women, a mother and two daughters, all tall and thin and severe, all with their copies of Magnificat who, quite frankly, scared me very much.
Lord, Have Mercy on me, a sinner
Posted by Amy Welborn | Permalink
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» To Hold, or Not To Hold from CowPi
One touchy area (sorry, pun intended) has always been whether a congregation holds hands during the Our Father. The new, minor changes to the Liturgy do not address this issue. Some parishes hold hands, others do not. It does not exactly make one way r... [Read More]
Tracked on Dec 3, 2003 11:26:39 AM
Comments
There was no mention of the changes in my parish yesterday.
Posted by: Lynn at Dec 2, 2003 1:43:45 AM
Our pastor mentioned them earlier this year. He included bowing before receiving, standing at "May the Lord...", and, of course, using the orans position during the Lord's Prayer.
How about reinforcing some of the old postures, like bowing during the creed at "By the power of the Holy Spirit..."?
Posted by: John M at Dec 2, 2003 7:56:13 AM
For the life of me, I can't understand this fetish for making everyone make the same gestures. Since half the priests are adding and subtracting from the text as they go along, I don't know why the laity can't have some options as well. If they don't want us to hold hands during the Our Father (which I don't want to do either), just tell everyone to quit it. We don't have to have some "historically correct" (and I'm not too sure about that) gesture in its place. Besides, I'm not interested in having my individuality blotted out to be part of "the assembly." I hung out with lots of Marxists in my youth and this reminds me of being "one with the people."
If you want to see piety and devotion - and everyone doing just about anything - go to an Orthodox liturgy. People stand, kneel, talk to the icons, light candles, finger their prayer ropes, follow in a prayerbook. But they all know when the gates of Heaven swing open and the King of Glory comes down.
Posted by: Mary Jane at Dec 2, 2003 8:26:34 AM
I attended Mass at a neighboring parish; I didn't hear any mention, although the 4 changes (bow during the creed, standing at "May the Lord...", kneeling after the Lamb of God, and bowing before communion) have been published in Boston's "The Pilot" (and mentioned at our own parish). However, the pastor did thank me for paying attention since he noted I did the "new" stuff.
However, I did note that both my own parish and this other parish got some of the instructions wrong. At St. Michael's (in the bulletin) we were instructed to bow our head during the creed and make a profound bow before communion. At St. Colman's (my parish) we were instructed to bow our heads (simple bows) at the creed and before communion. The revised GIRM asks for a profound bow during the Creed (with genuflection on the feasts of the Annunciation and Christmas) and a simple bow before communion. The bow during the creed is not new, of course, just honored more in the breech than in practice these past few decades. And kneeling after the Lamb of God has been fairly scizo here in the Boston area...at weekday Masses people kneel, but on Sundays they stood. Now we'll act the same way 7 days a week (maybe).
Posted by: Steve Cavanaugh at Dec 2, 2003 8:30:23 AM
What 's wrong with the Magnificat?
Posted by: Tom at Dec 2, 2003 9:02:57 AM
My pastor didn't mention the changes at all. He told me he wouldn't even attend the priests' meeting to go over what they were, etc...said he's just grateful the faithful show up and isn't about to harangue them about silly gestures....also mentioned something about rearranging the deck chairs....
Posted by: Cathleen at Dec 2, 2003 9:05:48 AM
Yeah, Amy, what's wrong with the Magnificat? You sound like it's the Pharisee phlag or something. That little monthly has played a significant role in keeping my faith alive over the past few years when, twenty-plus years after entering the Church, I began to feel like I just could not stomach the ugly and banal liturgy any more. If anybody from Magnificat is reading this: thanks.
Posted by: bystander at Dec 2, 2003 9:31:34 AM
We did this in Saint Paul last year. Don't remember hearing anything about bowing during the Creed, though.
Posted by: Tom Modl at Dec 2, 2003 9:31:46 AM
Our pastor introduced the changes a few months back and generally speaking, people seem to be making an effort, especially the bow before receiving the Eucharist.
As far as standing vs. sitting when saying "May the Lord Accept...", I just don't understand why the priest can't say "please stand" before he speaks the words that immediately precede "May the Lord Accept..." Since the changes were introduced, we have people sitting, standing and (the majority) struggling to stand in the MIDDLE of saying "May the Lord Accept...etc"
Since many people are on "autopilot" when it comes to following the Mass, it seems to me to be a losing proposition to require people to stand before speaking these words, when they've been doing it differently for so long. At the very least, a reminder to stand would seem to be in order, until we all get used to it.
Our pastor, a very orthodox and reasonable guy, seems to have given up on expecting all of the people to stand *before* saying "May the Lord Accept." But like I said, folks seem to be making a "good faith" effort with the other changes (pun intended).
Tom, I doubt Amy has any problem at all with the Magnificat. It's just that parents of small children (myself included) start sweating when they sit near VERY SERIOUS Catholics (holding the Magnificat at Mass is a tipoff) because Murphy's Law dictates that the toddler's sensors are activated and they immediately begin raising hell (another intentional pun). I know this from personal experience.
Posted by: Cheryl at Dec 2, 2003 9:50:23 AM
There was no mention about changes in our parish either.
Worse, our music director IS a Methodist.
Posted by: Tim F. at Dec 2, 2003 9:57:03 AM
The Adoremus Bulletin article that can be found at http://www.adoremus.org/0303Q%26A.html says that it is still permissible to genuflect before receiving communion. My pastor agrees and encourages it. I wonder if the bishops do?
Posted by: walter at Dec 2, 2003 10:27:29 AM
I like to think of myself as VERY SERIOUS (at Mass, otherwise, I'm a chucklehead, truth be told) but I kind of like hearing a toddler raise a (mild) ruckus every now and again, even sunday after sunday. For any "my spiritual composure has been disturbed" moments, I am rewarded with the thought that that wail or chirping sound or kick-kick-kicking must just GRATE on the consciences of the contraceptive users in the group.
Posted by: Franklin Jennings at Dec 2, 2003 10:29:34 AM
I love going to mass and seeing or hearing young children causing a ruckus. Much less disturbing to my moments than such things as the "do-wop" Gloria, or strangers trying to grab my hands during The Our Father.
Those noisy children remind me that perhaps the next generation will be better cathetised than I and my generation were.
Posted by: Allen at Dec 2, 2003 11:01:37 AM
My pastor uses a simple hand gesture to remind us to stand up at the appropriate moment. We all got up together last Sunday.
He has made it clear that holding hands during the Our Father is no longer acceptable. He has also indicated that the orans position is an OPTION which we may use or not as it suits us. Very few use it. (Incidentally the only ones still holding hands during the Our Father were the three youngest servers on the altar. Guess they haven't been paying attention.)
We still have a couple of genuflectors at communion. The majority are making a bow of the head or a profound bow before receiving. Many are also bowing during the creed now as well.
The stickler is still the posture after receiving communion. We have always knelt. We are still doing that. Father talked about the "dubium" at the end of his homily, and announced in the bulletin that we are still awaiting clarification from Rome.
In any situation where the bishop differs from the pronouncements from Rome, we follow the pronouncements from Rome.
Posted by: Carrie at Dec 2, 2003 11:26:24 AM
Toddlers will make a fuss. It's inevitable and no big deal. What does annoy me, though, is parents who repeatedly say to the toddler "You have to be quiet" and similar comments, over and over and over, while the toddler continues to disrupt, proving the adult to be not only wrong, but also incompetent. When the kid is so committed to disruption that there is no settling him down, it's unfair to those in close proximity to allow it to continue throughout the whole Mass. That is the time when you take the kid outside and have a serious conversation with him, or else take turns going to Mass while one parent stays home with the child.
Posted by: Carrie at Dec 2, 2003 11:32:37 AM
Why not assume that the mother and two daughters with the Magnificat love the Mass, love children, and (like Franklin) enjoy seeing young children at Mass even they're fussing (a bit)?
I don't mean to snipe; I struggle with the "observe-judge-condemn" reflex and it disturbs me to see it in others, particularly when its directed at Catholics attending Mass who bear marks (e.g., reading the Magnificat) of seriousness/orthodoxy/faithfulness.
And regarding music: Has everyone here read Thomas Day's "Why Catholics Can't Sing"? If not, read it and weep/laugh!
Posted by: Tom at Dec 2, 2003 12:06:17 PM
Spot on, Carrie. Though I bet we disagree on a definition for "a serious conversation with him".
As a boy, right before entering church, my father used to cut a switch (a thin pliant stem, usually of boxwood, sometimes of peach, used in the southeast as a disciplinary tool.) He'd place it on top of the electric meter near the front of the church, snap his fingers at us and point at it. We were usually very well behaved because we each had at least one experience of him having a serious conversation, using that switch as an interpreter.
Oh the travails of single parenthood! But thanks to his technique, he could manage us from his spot directing the Chior in the loft. Although there was one time he handed his duties over in the middle of a hymn, took me outside for a few moments, and returned in time for the next hymn. I was a model of decorum thereafter.
Posted by: Franklin Jennings at Dec 2, 2003 12:11:18 PM
Good lord people, NOTHING is wrong with Magnificat. It's one of the few decent devotional publications out there. My point? I had a restless two-year old. They were serious, as they should have been. I was sure Joseph was going to disrupt things.
You people make me seriously consider ditching this sometimes.
Have a great day.
Posted by: amy at Dec 2, 2003 12:20:38 PM
Happy to hear it, Amy. Sorry to distress you. Personally, I'm with Franklin above--I 'spect most people would call me a serious Catholic but a certain level of child racket at Mass (to wit, anything short of prolonged flat-out screaming) is actually more pleasing to me than otherwise. My children are older now () but when I'm in the position of your Magnificat-toters re a family with noisy and/or squirmy children I try, if I can, to somehow convey to the parent(s) that I'm entirely indulgent.
Posted by: bystander at Dec 2, 2003 12:53:29 PM
Amy: Please don't get frustrated. Most of us who have grown to "know" you through your blog and other writings didn't for a moment consider you to be criticizing Magnificat. In an interview re the feminine genius on Zenit today, Sister Rosetta Napolitano speaks of "a renewed courage on the part of women," and you are a wonderful example of this to all of us!! When you are tempted consider "ditching this," please know that I, for one, feel that this blog is truly a part (perhaps a small part, but still a part) of the new evangelization to which we have been called/challenged by our Papa!
Posted by: walter at Dec 2, 2003 1:00:49 PM
Of course answers can be found at http://www.catholic.com/library/liturgy/cag_changes.asp
I'm glad I'm not the only one frustrated with some of the reactions to the changes. If the priest would help direct us, it’d be fine. I don't have a problem standing after Orate Fratres, but I've only been to one mass where the priest says "please stand".
It’s entertaining watching people unsure if they should genuflect or bow at the Alter or the Tabernacle. I’m thankful some people at least recognize it’s there.
And thank you Allen. The hand holding thing makes me crazy.Sometimes I wnat to sneeze really juicy in my hands beforehand. Unfortunately, I spend as much energy ducking the hand holds as much as i cringe when someone grabs me. Distractions are bad either way as I should be participating in heaven on earth. But I’ve never been distracted at a little one babbling at silent times. I like that.
Amy I’m sorry you get intimidated by the Church Ladies. Maybe they’ll remember to look for the Mary in you.
I think this brings up a new thought, is it my duty to work within a parish to help revert to the old ways? Am I ducking my apostolate call cause I’d rather go to the one Latin mass in my city, and not be bothered with the ignorance at the rest?
Posted by: amarikidd at Dec 2, 2003 1:22:01 PM
Of course answers can be found at http://www.catholic.com/library/liturgy/cag_changes.asp
I'm glad I'm not the only one frustrated with some of the reactions to the changes. If the priest would help direct us, it’d be fine. I don't have a problem standing after Orate Fratres, but I've only been to one mass where the priest says "please stand".
It’s entertaining watching people unsure if they should genuflect or bow at the Alter or the Tabernacle. I’m thankful some people at least recognize it’s there.
And thank you Allen. The hand holding thing makes me crazy. Unfortunately, I spend as much energy ducking the hand holds as much as i cringe when someone grabs me. Distractions are bad either way as I should be participating in heaven on earth. But I’ve never been distracted at a little one babbling at silent times. I like that.
Amy I’m sorry you get intimidated by the Church Ladies. Maybe they’ll remember to look for the Mary in you.
I think this brings up a new thought, is it my duty to work within a parish to help revert to the old ways? Am I ducking my apostolate call cause I’d rather go to the one Latin mass in my city, and not be bothered with the ignorance at the rest?
Posted by: amarikidd at Dec 2, 2003 1:23:56 PM
Two thoughts:
I just started subscribing to Magnificat. Why--because none of the three parishes in my town has missalettes that include the readings. The parish I attend most often has no missalettes at all. How a newcomer or a child is supposed to learn or understand or meditate on the prayers or the readings, I dunno.
Second, why is it improper to hold hands during the Our Father. At parishes where the Our Father is said or sung reverently, holding hands can be a beautiful gesture, a physical reminder that He is Our Father and that in Him we are brother and sister. If it has been forbidden, as a poster suggests above, I can't imagine why. It would be weird if the same bishops who have nothing to say about content-free homilies, or praise-free music would say that the optional holding hands during a single prayer just...has...to...stop.
Posted by: Cris at Dec 2, 2003 1:30:26 PM
Cris,
Holding hands confuses the hierarchical nature of the liturgy. Like so many recent innovations, it makes the prayer more about US than God. The orans posture is similarily problematic because the laity adopts the posture of the priest, who is praying on our behalf. These points were probably more evident when the celebrant and the congregation faced the same direction.
Posted by: John M at Dec 2, 2003 1:38:19 PM
Amarikidd,
I struggle with the same issues about what I can do about the poor state of the liturgy in my parish. Unfortunately, having 5 kids under 10 precludes me from shopping too many masses each Sunday. Additionally, they all go to the parish school and I want the Church to be a central part of their life. Anyway, our pastor recently reformed the liturgy committee. I decided that I had better put my money where my griping has been. It is still too early to tell if I will ba able to accomplish anything, but I feel I must try.
Posted by: John M at Dec 2, 2003 1:41:01 PM
