[212] Qu. A Catholic young lady is employed by a concert bureau. Most of the engagements are for music halls or theatres [sic], but the bureau has accepted some engagements for Chautauqua [see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chautauqua] work during the coming summer. The young lady is booked for parts in a quartette, who are to sing at camp meetings. The program on some occasions is so arranged that the quartette will sing during the services. This lady is the only support of an invalid father and brothers and sisters. To give up her present work would mean hardships and privation. The young woman does not want to displease God. I would not like to advise anything that would entail suffering unless I am positively sure that such must be done. Kindly give your solution of the case.
Resp. Theologians are unanimously of the opinion that active, formal participation by Catholics in Protestant services is forbidden. On this point there is no room for discussion. Furthermore, it is positively forbidden to play the organ in a Protestant church during heretical services, even when that is the Catholic organist's means of obtaining a livelihood. For this statement we have the authority of an instruction of the S. Congregation of the Propaganda, dated 8 July, 1889 (Collectanea, n. 1854). It should, however, be noted that in the [213] decree the clause "dum ibi falsum cultum exercent" is restrictive. It would be allowed, of course, for a Catholic to practice on the organ in a Protestant church when no services are being held. Similarly, it may be urged with prudence and discretion, in particular cases, that some gatherings of non-Catholics for the sake of what they call moral culture, even when these take place regularly on Sundays, are not engaged in false religious worship in opposition to the Catholic Church. Indeed, the most severe condemnations of such gatherings is that they are not religious at all. This applies, we think, to many of the Chautauqua organizations. It applies particularly in the case propounded, when, as is evident, the young woman has no desire to do anything displeasing to God. Prudence and discretion require that Catholics be discouraged from associating themselves with any activity that may throw doubt on their loyalty to the true Church. They require also that in particular instances persons whose good faith and Catholic loyalty are beyond question should not be forbidden to carry out such a contract as is mentioned in this case.
---
Source: "Communicatio in Sacris," American Ecclesiastical Review 54 (February 1916): 212–213.
Showing posts with label sacred rites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sacred rites. Show all posts
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Repost: Catholic Singers in Protestant Churches
[524] Qu. Now that the Review is urging forward the correct interpretation of the Pope's motu proprio on Chant and the music reform, our city pastors are threatening to get the bishops into trouble by referring the indignant lady soloists hitherto in possession of the lofty organ domain, to the episcopal parlors for adjudication of their grievances. It is needless to say that explanations are out of the question, but soothings are not, and a bishop who knows his business will not fan the flame of female resentment.
But there is a serious aspect to this question. Some of our singers who have been doing their duty, and have justly earned a salary, even as the priest himself does in the exercise of the sacred functions, are being deprived of a living by being dismissed from the Catholic choir. Some of these could readily find the needed material compensation and more in accepting positions as singers in non-Catholic, that is, Protestant or Jewish churches. In a few cases no other way of earning a decent livelihood would seem to be open to such women, who for the rest are good and believing Catholics. Is there any interpretation of the prohibition of communicatio in sacris which gives these really worthy women a chance for their living? It seems to me that Protestant religious service is in large measure nothing more than a sacred concert, and no theologian would object to our Catholic lovers of music attending sacred concerts in which Protestants take a leading part, since we live in constant intercourse with such; and Catholic charity owes them undoubtedly a certain amount of respect for holding their views on religious matters in good faith, though perhaps not in a very serious way. Are we not too severe in these matters? I felt as if it were so when not long ago a lady said to me, "Priests don't realize our position; they need not look for a living, and so it is easy for them to make laws."
Resp. The Review has had occasion to express an opinion on the above subject before the present supposed urgency arose by which ladies who have been singing professionally in Catholic choirs are thrown out of positions. The question is not whether we make hard laws, but whether the laws which God made may be explained away by our circumstances and needs. Necessity dispenses from the law, but not every inconvenience or hardship implies a necessity, and no inconvenience or hardship could sanction [525] an act of disobedience implying sin. The priests in France who are deprived of their salary and in some cases of a decent support or living might do many things unbecoming their sacred calling, but they could not lawfully go into Protestant or Jewish houses of worship and take part in the same under plea of earning a living.
For the rest, we have only to repeat here what we said in a previous number of the Review upon this subject.[1]
Whilst as Catholics we are not forbidden honorably to assist Protestants, Jews or Pagans when they stand in need of our service, nor to earn our daily bread by serving them in honest employment—the positive divine law forbids all conscious and direct participation in heretical worship. This is done by playing the organ or singing in the religious service of those who deny the revealed truth of Christ as manifested through its only legitimate channel, the Catholic Church. In case of most sects the very term "Protestant," accepted by them as their religious party-name, is an unconscious admission of their denial of the Catholic teaching as emanating from God. Individual Protestants may not realize this fact; they may be, as we say, "in good faith;" [sic] nevertheless they have attached themselves to a wrong or defective system of interpreting the truth in which God commands us to worship Him. Catholics who are supposed to know and realize the fact that they are in possession of the true faith, cannot consent under any pretext to participate in such false worship without denying implicitly the faith which they are pledged to maintain uncorrupted at the risk of their lives.
What is said here of Protestants is true of Jews and of all other sects separated from the one true Church which, like an open book, is accessible to all who will approach and examine her teaching without malice or prejudice.
What the Catholic believes on this subject to-day is precisely the same as that which the early Christians believed when they shed their blood as martyrs rather than worship in the pagan faith; or which the Jews believed before the coming of Christ, as is witnessed by Eleazar and the Maccabees, who preferred to suffer torture and death sooner than participate in a religious worship [526] which they knew to be false, although there may have been men who belonged to it in good faith.
If there could be any doubt as to the duty of Catholics in this respect, it would be dispelled by the following declaration of the sacred tribunal which acts as the ordinary legitimate interpreter of Catholic disciplinary law. (Cf. Collectan., n. 1854.)
Nor is every gathering of non-Catholics for purposes of moral culture, on Sundays, a religious worship in the sense that it excludes or opposes the Catholic teaching of Christ's church.
This [sic] it may be useful for confessors to remember, not because Catholics are in any way to be encouraged to associate themselves with any movement which will cast a doubt upon their thorough and sincere fidelity to the one true Church of Christ, but because circumstances may bring a Catholic unwittingly into associations which look like a denial of faith without being such in reality. In these cases prudence and discretion will counsel and lead a person out of the danger, where blind and mechanical zeal would forthwith condemn absolution under morally unchangeable conditions.
---
Footnotes:
1. Vol. XV, 1896, pp. 428–430.
---
Source: "Catholic Singers in Protestant Churches," American Ecclesiastical Review 33 (November 1905): 524–526.
But there is a serious aspect to this question. Some of our singers who have been doing their duty, and have justly earned a salary, even as the priest himself does in the exercise of the sacred functions, are being deprived of a living by being dismissed from the Catholic choir. Some of these could readily find the needed material compensation and more in accepting positions as singers in non-Catholic, that is, Protestant or Jewish churches. In a few cases no other way of earning a decent livelihood would seem to be open to such women, who for the rest are good and believing Catholics. Is there any interpretation of the prohibition of communicatio in sacris which gives these really worthy women a chance for their living? It seems to me that Protestant religious service is in large measure nothing more than a sacred concert, and no theologian would object to our Catholic lovers of music attending sacred concerts in which Protestants take a leading part, since we live in constant intercourse with such; and Catholic charity owes them undoubtedly a certain amount of respect for holding their views on religious matters in good faith, though perhaps not in a very serious way. Are we not too severe in these matters? I felt as if it were so when not long ago a lady said to me, "Priests don't realize our position; they need not look for a living, and so it is easy for them to make laws."
Resp. The Review has had occasion to express an opinion on the above subject before the present supposed urgency arose by which ladies who have been singing professionally in Catholic choirs are thrown out of positions. The question is not whether we make hard laws, but whether the laws which God made may be explained away by our circumstances and needs. Necessity dispenses from the law, but not every inconvenience or hardship implies a necessity, and no inconvenience or hardship could sanction [525] an act of disobedience implying sin. The priests in France who are deprived of their salary and in some cases of a decent support or living might do many things unbecoming their sacred calling, but they could not lawfully go into Protestant or Jewish houses of worship and take part in the same under plea of earning a living.
For the rest, we have only to repeat here what we said in a previous number of the Review upon this subject.[1]
Whilst as Catholics we are not forbidden honorably to assist Protestants, Jews or Pagans when they stand in need of our service, nor to earn our daily bread by serving them in honest employment—the positive divine law forbids all conscious and direct participation in heretical worship. This is done by playing the organ or singing in the religious service of those who deny the revealed truth of Christ as manifested through its only legitimate channel, the Catholic Church. In case of most sects the very term "Protestant," accepted by them as their religious party-name, is an unconscious admission of their denial of the Catholic teaching as emanating from God. Individual Protestants may not realize this fact; they may be, as we say, "in good faith;" [sic] nevertheless they have attached themselves to a wrong or defective system of interpreting the truth in which God commands us to worship Him. Catholics who are supposed to know and realize the fact that they are in possession of the true faith, cannot consent under any pretext to participate in such false worship without denying implicitly the faith which they are pledged to maintain uncorrupted at the risk of their lives.
What is said here of Protestants is true of Jews and of all other sects separated from the one true Church which, like an open book, is accessible to all who will approach and examine her teaching without malice or prejudice.
What the Catholic believes on this subject to-day is precisely the same as that which the early Christians believed when they shed their blood as martyrs rather than worship in the pagan faith; or which the Jews believed before the coming of Christ, as is witnessed by Eleazar and the Maccabees, who preferred to suffer torture and death sooner than participate in a religious worship [526] which they knew to be false, although there may have been men who belonged to it in good faith.
If there could be any doubt as to the duty of Catholics in this respect, it would be dispelled by the following declaration of the sacred tribunal which acts as the ordinary legitimate interpreter of Catholic disciplinary law. (Cf. Collectan., n. 1854.)
Ex Litt. S. C. de Prop. Fide 8 Jul. 1889, (ad Archiep. Marianopolit.)It must not be forgotten, however, that playing or singing in churches or houses which are used for Protestant worship is not quite the same as playing or singing at Protestant worship. [N.B. This is the part of the reason that early American Catholics could share the same church building with Protestants, having Mass at one time, and the Protestant service at a different time.]
"Quidam . . . istius archi-dioecensis petierat facultatem pulsandi in diebus festis organa in templis protestantium ad victum sibi procurandum. S. Congregatio super precibus, uti supra, hoc edidit decretum Fer IV. die 19 elapsi Junii:
Illicitum esse in templis haereticorum, cum ibi falsum cultum exercent, organum pulsare. . . . Quod decretum SS. D. N. Leo XIII eadem die ratum ha buit et confirmavit."
Nor is every gathering of non-Catholics for purposes of moral culture, on Sundays, a religious worship in the sense that it excludes or opposes the Catholic teaching of Christ's church.
This [sic] it may be useful for confessors to remember, not because Catholics are in any way to be encouraged to associate themselves with any movement which will cast a doubt upon their thorough and sincere fidelity to the one true Church of Christ, but because circumstances may bring a Catholic unwittingly into associations which look like a denial of faith without being such in reality. In these cases prudence and discretion will counsel and lead a person out of the danger, where blind and mechanical zeal would forthwith condemn absolution under morally unchangeable conditions.
---
Footnotes:
1. Vol. XV, 1896, pp. 428–430.
---
Source: "Catholic Singers in Protestant Churches," American Ecclesiastical Review 33 (November 1905): 524–526.
Repost: Catholic Organists and Singers in Protestant Churches
[428] Qu. Dear Rev. Sir: In a Conference lately held we disagreed as to the licity [sic], under any circumstances, of a Catholic acting as organist for any Protestant service. We agreed to submit the question to the Ecclesiastical Review.
Can a Catholic, in conscience, act as a salaried organist or as singer in a Jewish synagogue or Protestant church, i. e., as such during what they call their divine service?
It was declared that no Priest, Bishop or Pope could grant said permission under any circumstances.
Resp. Whilst as Catholics we are not forbidden honorably to assist Protestants, Jews or Pagans when they stand in need of our service, nor to earn our daily bread by serving them in honest employment—the positive divine law forbids all conscious and direct participation in heretical worship. This is done by playing the organ or singing in the religious service of those who deny the revealed truth of Christ as manifested through its only legitimate channel, the Catholic Church. In case of most sects the very term "Protestant," accepted by them as their religious party-name, is an unconscious admission of their denial of the Catholic teaching as emanating from God. Individual Protestants may not realize this fact; they may be, as we say, "in good faith;" [sic] nevertheless they have attached themselves to a wrong or defective system of interpreting the truth in which God commands us to worship Him. Catholics who are supposed to know and realize the fact that they are in possession of the true faith, cannot consent under any pretext to participate in such false worship without denying implicitly the faith which [429] they are pledged to maintain uncorrupted at the risk of their lives.
What is said here of Protestants is true of Jews and of all other sects separated from the one true Church which, like an open book, is accessible to all who will approach and examine her teaching without malice or prejudice.
What the Catholic believes on this subject to-day is precisely the same as that which the early Christians believed when they shed their blood as martyrs rather than worship in the pagan faith; or which the Jews believed before the coming of Christ, as is witnessed by Eleazar and the Maccabees, who preferred to suffer torture and death sooner than participate in a religious worship which they knew to be false, although there may have been men who belonged to it in good faith.
If there could be any doubt as to the duty of Catholics in this respect, it would be dispelled by the following declaration of the sacred tribunal which acts as the ordinary legitimate interpreter of Catholic disciplinary law. (Cf. Collectan., n. 1854.)
Nor is every gathering of non-Catholics for purposes of moral culture, on Sundays, a religious worship in the sense that it excludes or opposes the Catholic teaching of Christ's church.
This [sic] it may be useful for confessors to remember, not because Catholics are in any way to be encouraged to associate [430] themselves with any movement which will cast a doubt upon their thorough and sincere fidelity to the one true Church of Christ, but because circumstances may bring a Catholic unwittingly into associations which look like a denial of faith without being such in reality. In these cases prudence and discretion will counsel and lead a person out of the danger, where blind and mechanical zeal would forthwith condemn absolution under morally unchangeable conditions.
We discussed a case of this kind, not long ago, in the Review.
---
Source: "Catholic Organists and Singers in Protestant Churches," American Ecclesiastical Review 15 (October 1896): 428–430.
Can a Catholic, in conscience, act as a salaried organist or as singer in a Jewish synagogue or Protestant church, i. e., as such during what they call their divine service?
It was declared that no Priest, Bishop or Pope could grant said permission under any circumstances.
Resp. Whilst as Catholics we are not forbidden honorably to assist Protestants, Jews or Pagans when they stand in need of our service, nor to earn our daily bread by serving them in honest employment—the positive divine law forbids all conscious and direct participation in heretical worship. This is done by playing the organ or singing in the religious service of those who deny the revealed truth of Christ as manifested through its only legitimate channel, the Catholic Church. In case of most sects the very term "Protestant," accepted by them as their religious party-name, is an unconscious admission of their denial of the Catholic teaching as emanating from God. Individual Protestants may not realize this fact; they may be, as we say, "in good faith;" [sic] nevertheless they have attached themselves to a wrong or defective system of interpreting the truth in which God commands us to worship Him. Catholics who are supposed to know and realize the fact that they are in possession of the true faith, cannot consent under any pretext to participate in such false worship without denying implicitly the faith which [429] they are pledged to maintain uncorrupted at the risk of their lives.
What is said here of Protestants is true of Jews and of all other sects separated from the one true Church which, like an open book, is accessible to all who will approach and examine her teaching without malice or prejudice.
What the Catholic believes on this subject to-day is precisely the same as that which the early Christians believed when they shed their blood as martyrs rather than worship in the pagan faith; or which the Jews believed before the coming of Christ, as is witnessed by Eleazar and the Maccabees, who preferred to suffer torture and death sooner than participate in a religious worship which they knew to be false, although there may have been men who belonged to it in good faith.
If there could be any doubt as to the duty of Catholics in this respect, it would be dispelled by the following declaration of the sacred tribunal which acts as the ordinary legitimate interpreter of Catholic disciplinary law. (Cf. Collectan., n. 1854.)
Ex Litt. S. C. de Prop. Fide 8 Jul. 1889, (ad Archiep. Marianopolit.)It must not be forgotten, however, that playing or singing in churches or houses which are used for Protestant worship is not quite the same as playing or singing at Protestant worship. [N.B. This is the part of the reason that early American Catholics could share the same church building with Protestants, having Mass at one time, and the Protestant service at a different time.]
"Quidam . . . istius archi-dioecensis petierat facultatem pulsandi in diebus festis organa in templis protestantium ad victum sibi procurandum. S. Congregatio super precibus, uti supra, hoc edidit decretum Fer IV. die 19 elapsi Junii:
Illicitum esse in templis haereticorum, cum ibi falsum cultum exercent, organum pulsare. . . . Quod decretum SS. D. N. Leo XIII eadem die ratum ha buit et confirmavit."
Nor is every gathering of non-Catholics for purposes of moral culture, on Sundays, a religious worship in the sense that it excludes or opposes the Catholic teaching of Christ's church.
This [sic] it may be useful for confessors to remember, not because Catholics are in any way to be encouraged to associate [430] themselves with any movement which will cast a doubt upon their thorough and sincere fidelity to the one true Church of Christ, but because circumstances may bring a Catholic unwittingly into associations which look like a denial of faith without being such in reality. In these cases prudence and discretion will counsel and lead a person out of the danger, where blind and mechanical zeal would forthwith condemn absolution under morally unchangeable conditions.
We discussed a case of this kind, not long ago, in the Review.
---
Source: "Catholic Organists and Singers in Protestant Churches," American Ecclesiastical Review 15 (October 1896): 428–430.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange on Holy Church's Aids to Contemplation
[385] We recognize the fact that environment has its importance; also that a calm temperament is much better disposed to the contemplative life than a restless and agitated spirit. It may indeed be that among these [386] last, some, even though quite generous, would reach the mystical life only after a period longer than the ordinary span of life. And it is certain that bad spiritual direction often allows souls to vegetate or turns them away from infused contemplation, whereas another type of direction would definitely turn them toward contemplation.
However important these conditions may be, they remain superficial compared to others which are the chief ones. Here again the same rule holds true as in the matter of salvation, which is possible to all who possess a developed conscience, even to those not born in a Christian environment, who are strongly inclined to evil, and who have not had an opportunity to hear the Gospel preached. If they ordinarily follow the dictates of their conscience, they will be mysteriously led from grace to grace, from fidelity to fidelity, to eternal life.
Anyone who wishes to advance in the spiritual life and to prepare himself for the grace of contemplation must, to the best of his ability, use the great means which the Church gives us all. The assiduous reception of the sacraments, daily hearing of mass, frequent communion, love of the Eucharist, devotion to the Holy Ghost, filial and incessant recourse to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [1] and to the Blessed Virgin, mediatrix of all graces, are evidently necessary.
Contemplation is a fruit of true devotion to the Blessed Virgin, as explained by Blessed Grignion de Montfort (True Devotion, ch. 4, art. 5). He says that, without a great love for her, a soul will attain union with God only with extreme difficulty. "It is necessary to pas through dark nights, combats, strange agonies, sharp thorns, and frightful deserts. By the way of Mary, the soul advances with greater sweetness and tranquillity. Along this way it encounters many crosses and great difficulties to [387] overcome, but our good Mother keeps so close to her faithful servants ... that, in truth, this virginal road is a path of roses in spite of the thorns." It thus leads more easily and surely to divine union. Mary, wonderful to relate, makes the cross easier and, at the same time, more meritorious: easier, because she sustains us with her gentle hand; more meritorious, because she obtains for us a greater charity, which is the principle of merit, and because, by offering our acts to our Lord, she increases their value. By reason of her pre-eminent charity, Mary merited more while performing the easiest acts than all the martyrs in their tortures.
Another great means to prepare for the grace of contemplation, a means within the reach of all interior souls, is found in the liturgy, in an ever more intimate union with the great prayer of the Church. "The graces of prayer and of the mystical state have their type and source in the hieratic life of the Church; they reflect in the members the likeness of Christ which is perfect in the body" (Fr. Clérissac, O.P., Le mystère de l'Église, p. 102). Liturgical prayer recited with recollection, in union with our Lord and His mystical body, obtains for us holy lights and inspirations which illumine and inflame our hearts. Consequently it is advisable to make mental prayer after the psalmody which prepares us for it [i.e. after the Divine Office]; just after mass and holy communion, it is well to prolong our thanksgiving, and if possible devote an hour to it [following St. Teresa of Avila's advice].
Lastly, the frequent reading of Scripture and the study of sacred doctrine, undertaken in a truly supernatural manner, are other excellent means to prepare the soul for contemplation. Thus the ancients used to say that divine reading (lectio divina) by pious study (studium) leads to meditation (meditatio), then to prayer (oratio), and finally to contemplation (contemplatio) (see 2a2ae.180.3).
---
Footnotes:
1. It is fitting to unite ever more closely devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and that to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, in order to thank our Lord for the act of supreme love by which He gave us the Holy Eucharist.
---
Source: Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, Christian Perfection and Contemplation, trans. by M. Timothea Doyle (St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1946), 385–387.
However important these conditions may be, they remain superficial compared to others which are the chief ones. Here again the same rule holds true as in the matter of salvation, which is possible to all who possess a developed conscience, even to those not born in a Christian environment, who are strongly inclined to evil, and who have not had an opportunity to hear the Gospel preached. If they ordinarily follow the dictates of their conscience, they will be mysteriously led from grace to grace, from fidelity to fidelity, to eternal life.
Anyone who wishes to advance in the spiritual life and to prepare himself for the grace of contemplation must, to the best of his ability, use the great means which the Church gives us all. The assiduous reception of the sacraments, daily hearing of mass, frequent communion, love of the Eucharist, devotion to the Holy Ghost, filial and incessant recourse to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [1] and to the Blessed Virgin, mediatrix of all graces, are evidently necessary.
Contemplation is a fruit of true devotion to the Blessed Virgin, as explained by Blessed Grignion de Montfort (True Devotion, ch. 4, art. 5). He says that, without a great love for her, a soul will attain union with God only with extreme difficulty. "It is necessary to pas through dark nights, combats, strange agonies, sharp thorns, and frightful deserts. By the way of Mary, the soul advances with greater sweetness and tranquillity. Along this way it encounters many crosses and great difficulties to [387] overcome, but our good Mother keeps so close to her faithful servants ... that, in truth, this virginal road is a path of roses in spite of the thorns." It thus leads more easily and surely to divine union. Mary, wonderful to relate, makes the cross easier and, at the same time, more meritorious: easier, because she sustains us with her gentle hand; more meritorious, because she obtains for us a greater charity, which is the principle of merit, and because, by offering our acts to our Lord, she increases their value. By reason of her pre-eminent charity, Mary merited more while performing the easiest acts than all the martyrs in their tortures.
Another great means to prepare for the grace of contemplation, a means within the reach of all interior souls, is found in the liturgy, in an ever more intimate union with the great prayer of the Church. "The graces of prayer and of the mystical state have their type and source in the hieratic life of the Church; they reflect in the members the likeness of Christ which is perfect in the body" (Fr. Clérissac, O.P., Le mystère de l'Église, p. 102). Liturgical prayer recited with recollection, in union with our Lord and His mystical body, obtains for us holy lights and inspirations which illumine and inflame our hearts. Consequently it is advisable to make mental prayer after the psalmody which prepares us for it [i.e. after the Divine Office]; just after mass and holy communion, it is well to prolong our thanksgiving, and if possible devote an hour to it [following St. Teresa of Avila's advice].
Lastly, the frequent reading of Scripture and the study of sacred doctrine, undertaken in a truly supernatural manner, are other excellent means to prepare the soul for contemplation. Thus the ancients used to say that divine reading (lectio divina) by pious study (studium) leads to meditation (meditatio), then to prayer (oratio), and finally to contemplation (contemplatio) (see 2a2ae.180.3).
---
Footnotes:
1. It is fitting to unite ever more closely devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and that to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, in order to thank our Lord for the act of supreme love by which He gave us the Holy Eucharist.
---
Source: Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, Christian Perfection and Contemplation, trans. by M. Timothea Doyle (St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co., 1946), 385–387.
Friday, July 18, 2014
The Psychological Importance of Rubrics
Whenever we perform a liturgical action, our virtue is not in the details of the action itself but in our willing to be good servants who do only what they are supposed to do (cf. Luke 17:7-10). Hence the importance of each action is founded on the higher principle of conformity to God's will as expressed through the Church. Following the rubrics with precision is an act of loving service to God; to ignore the rubrics, or, even worse, to disobey them, is an act of pride by which we serve our own will, not God’s will. It doesn’t matter what we think about the rubrics; all that matters is that we surrender ourselves to carrying them out with loving precision. Carelessness walks the same path as disobedience, a path that takes one right into the service of the devil and his motto: "Do what thou wilt."
Each liturgical action is simultaneously a small action and a great action. It is a small action in itself, and our Lord has said regarding small things, “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much” (Lk. 16:10). The action is great because, as St. John of Damascus wrote, “A small thing is not small when it leads to something great; and it is no small matter to forsake the ancient tradition of the Church which was upheld by all those who were called before us, whose conduct we should observe, and whose faith we should imitate" (On Divine Images, § 1). That is, each action is great because it is sacramental and an expression of God’s grace at work in the liturgy.
Rubrics provide a necessary foundational form for the expression of praise. All expression requires some form of “repression”; that is, without boundaries, rules, and limits, anything goes. But the Church teaches us that love is not formless. Charity is oriented toward the Good; thus it must follow the will of God.
The Church prescribes rubrics to demonstrate how vital and important Her liturgy is to Her; it is so important that everything within it must be carefully directed. See the strong language that She uses:
Each liturgical action is simultaneously a small action and a great action. It is a small action in itself, and our Lord has said regarding small things, “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much” (Lk. 16:10). The action is great because, as St. John of Damascus wrote, “A small thing is not small when it leads to something great; and it is no small matter to forsake the ancient tradition of the Church which was upheld by all those who were called before us, whose conduct we should observe, and whose faith we should imitate" (On Divine Images, § 1). That is, each action is great because it is sacramental and an expression of God’s grace at work in the liturgy.
Rubrics provide a necessary foundational form for the expression of praise. All expression requires some form of “repression”; that is, without boundaries, rules, and limits, anything goes. But the Church teaches us that love is not formless. Charity is oriented toward the Good; thus it must follow the will of God.
The Church prescribes rubrics to demonstrate how vital and important Her liturgy is to Her; it is so important that everything within it must be carefully directed. See the strong language that She uses:
Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, that is, on the Apostolic See and, as laws may determine, on the bishop;When the rubrics are thoroughly learned and understood, then one no longer has to consciously think about them. One is then free to pray, to enter deeply into the Sacred Mysteries of the liturgy. This interior prayer, combined with the external form of the rubrics, is true liturgy.
Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Chaos to Order: The Sacred Signs
CHAOS
DARKNESS, LIGHT
WATER, FIRE, FLINT (EARTH)
WHEAT, GRAPES, OLIVES
BREAD, WINE, OIL
BED, BOARD, HEARTH
-----------------------------------
FAMILY
PIETAS = FAMILY LOVE, making the necessary sacrifices out of love for the sake of the family
ORDER
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The Great Easter Vigil
Sister Julianne, then principal and eighth grade teacher, announced the first week of school that this — our last year — would be devoted to the study of the Acts of the Apostles. We were soon to enter into the adult world as adult Christians. Acts was to be our blueprint for Christian living and witness.
Furthermore, all of our religion classes were to be centered on a careful study of the Easter Vigil. In fact, all the principles of Christian living that we were to study would find their beginning and end in this “night of all nights”.
And so she began. She picked up the chalk and went over to the blackboard. She asked us to imagine ourselves living in the pre-historic, Mediterranean world, the world before time began, the world of our spiritual origins. High at the top of the board in large letters she wrote CHAOS, and then continued, constructing this chart:
CHAOS
DARKNESS, LIGHT
WATER, FIRE, FLINT (EARTH)
WHEAT, GRAPES, OLIVES
BREAD, WINE, OIL
BED, BOARD, HEARTH
-----------------------------------
FAMILY
PIETAS = FAMILY LOVE
ORDER
Then she presented her explanation. The Great Easter Vigil will begin in chaos and darkness. We will all be scrambling around in the dark to get where we’re supposed to be. In ritual fashion, we will be making a journey from CHAOS to ORDER. This is what this night is like. This is what our lives are like.
In the beginning of the Book of Genesis, which will be the first of the twelve lessons we will read as the Easter Vigil continues, we will also start with the primeval chaos and darkness. We will hear the voice of God: Let there be LIGHT! As we hear these words, we remember: darkness is never the final word. The movement is from DARKNESS to LIGHT.
The story will continue. WATER will cover the entire earth. Beneath the surface of the water, volcanos will begin erupting and spewing forth FIRE and lava. This lava will sizzle above the waters and, wherever it flows, dry land will begin to emerge: rich, volcanic soil, and hard, stony FLINT.
The emergence of dry land, rich in volcanic soil, will make it possible for wheat, grapes and olives to begin to grow. These in turn will make possible the gifts of bread, wine and oil.
And what is all this leading to? The greatest gift of God’s creating: man. In marriage, man and woman will come together around BED, BOARD AND HEARTH. And this will make possible the gift of FAMILY.
Family is held together by PIETAS. And “pietas” is best translated as “family love.”
The final result is ORDER. Now, all is in accord with God’s plan.
In this same way we celebrate the Easter Vigil. We start in darkness. The priest strikes flint against flint to produce the spark that kindles the paschal fire. From this fire is lit the paschal candle, the light that scatters the darkness. As we follow the light of Christ into the dark space of the church, it begins to fill with the light of many candles. The candidates for baptism pass through the waters, are baptized, and then anointed with oil, the sacred chrism. Soon, they will move to the altar to receive the holy gifts: bread and wine become for us the Body and Blood of Christ. “The newest of the lambs” have been added to the family of God, the Church. Once again, God’s plan for order has been realized.
The challenge: living the sacred signs
Sister Julianne continued. There is a challenge in all of this, however. All these sacred signs are gifts from God. But they must be used according to God’s plan. Consider the grape that becomes wine. When we celebrate a family meal and enjoy drinking God’s gift of wine “that gladdens the heart”, we move from chaos to order. (She drew an arrow from top to bottom). Drinking too much wine, driving drunk, causing an automobile accident that results in the death of two teenagers — chaos. (She drew an arrow from bottom to top.) The sacred sign has been abused; it has not been used according to God’s plan. Order has degenerated into chaos.
She then pointed to “bed, board and hearth”, and continued her explanation. When husband and wife persevere in family love, even through hard and confusing times: chaos to order. Adultery: order to chaos. Great human suffering results from the abuse of God’s gifts, from abusing the sacred signs.
Great blessings come to those who persevere day by day in living the sacred signs. Daily perseverance requires “pietas”, family love. This in turn involves sacrifice on the part of all family members. Wheat, grapes and olives must be totally changed: ground, pressed, transformed. Only then can there be bread, wine and oil.
Consider how we address our Lord when we sing the hymn “Adoro te devote”. We sing the words “Pie pellicane, Iesu Domine”. We may translate this: “O Lord Jesus, O loving pelican”. The mother pelican is said to be “in her piety” when, unable to find food for her young, she returns to her nest and feeds her chicks with her own flesh and blood. When we accept the challenge of the sacred signs, we must be prepared to give of ourselves fully, to be used up, to be changed into something new. This is what “dying to self” and “taking up the Cross” to follow Jesus is all about. And so her explanation ended.
But this was not the end. For the remainder of the school year, our classes frequently made reference to this chart. Gradually each word was opened and explored in depth. OIL: heat, light, medicine; baptism, confirmation, holy orders. BED, BOARD AND HEARTH: the need for human intimacy, the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, the blessing of children, the joy of meals shared, family nights when everybody is home together. There were many things to be said regarding right belief, right practice, the life of prayer. It was a full and busy year.
No matter what topic came under discussion, we returned to the words, signs and ritual actions of the Easter Vigil. In understanding these, we came to understand the fullness of Catholic truth. We were well prepared to enter the adult Catholic world.
---
Source: Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB, "Sacred Signs and Religious Formation," Adoremus Bulletin 14, no. 1 (March 2008), http://www.adoremus.org/0308Weber.html.
DARKNESS, LIGHT
WATER, FIRE, FLINT (EARTH)
WHEAT, GRAPES, OLIVES
BREAD, WINE, OIL
BED, BOARD, HEARTH
-----------------------------------
FAMILY
PIETAS = FAMILY LOVE, making the necessary sacrifices out of love for the sake of the family
ORDER
---
The Great Easter Vigil
Sister Julianne, then principal and eighth grade teacher, announced the first week of school that this — our last year — would be devoted to the study of the Acts of the Apostles. We were soon to enter into the adult world as adult Christians. Acts was to be our blueprint for Christian living and witness.
Furthermore, all of our religion classes were to be centered on a careful study of the Easter Vigil. In fact, all the principles of Christian living that we were to study would find their beginning and end in this “night of all nights”.
And so she began. She picked up the chalk and went over to the blackboard. She asked us to imagine ourselves living in the pre-historic, Mediterranean world, the world before time began, the world of our spiritual origins. High at the top of the board in large letters she wrote CHAOS, and then continued, constructing this chart:
CHAOS
DARKNESS, LIGHT
WATER, FIRE, FLINT (EARTH)
WHEAT, GRAPES, OLIVES
BREAD, WINE, OIL
BED, BOARD, HEARTH
-----------------------------------
FAMILY
PIETAS = FAMILY LOVE
ORDER
Then she presented her explanation. The Great Easter Vigil will begin in chaos and darkness. We will all be scrambling around in the dark to get where we’re supposed to be. In ritual fashion, we will be making a journey from CHAOS to ORDER. This is what this night is like. This is what our lives are like.
In the beginning of the Book of Genesis, which will be the first of the twelve lessons we will read as the Easter Vigil continues, we will also start with the primeval chaos and darkness. We will hear the voice of God: Let there be LIGHT! As we hear these words, we remember: darkness is never the final word. The movement is from DARKNESS to LIGHT.
The story will continue. WATER will cover the entire earth. Beneath the surface of the water, volcanos will begin erupting and spewing forth FIRE and lava. This lava will sizzle above the waters and, wherever it flows, dry land will begin to emerge: rich, volcanic soil, and hard, stony FLINT.
The emergence of dry land, rich in volcanic soil, will make it possible for wheat, grapes and olives to begin to grow. These in turn will make possible the gifts of bread, wine and oil.
And what is all this leading to? The greatest gift of God’s creating: man. In marriage, man and woman will come together around BED, BOARD AND HEARTH. And this will make possible the gift of FAMILY.
Family is held together by PIETAS. And “pietas” is best translated as “family love.”
The final result is ORDER. Now, all is in accord with God’s plan.
In this same way we celebrate the Easter Vigil. We start in darkness. The priest strikes flint against flint to produce the spark that kindles the paschal fire. From this fire is lit the paschal candle, the light that scatters the darkness. As we follow the light of Christ into the dark space of the church, it begins to fill with the light of many candles. The candidates for baptism pass through the waters, are baptized, and then anointed with oil, the sacred chrism. Soon, they will move to the altar to receive the holy gifts: bread and wine become for us the Body and Blood of Christ. “The newest of the lambs” have been added to the family of God, the Church. Once again, God’s plan for order has been realized.
The challenge: living the sacred signs
Sister Julianne continued. There is a challenge in all of this, however. All these sacred signs are gifts from God. But they must be used according to God’s plan. Consider the grape that becomes wine. When we celebrate a family meal and enjoy drinking God’s gift of wine “that gladdens the heart”, we move from chaos to order. (She drew an arrow from top to bottom). Drinking too much wine, driving drunk, causing an automobile accident that results in the death of two teenagers — chaos. (She drew an arrow from bottom to top.) The sacred sign has been abused; it has not been used according to God’s plan. Order has degenerated into chaos.
She then pointed to “bed, board and hearth”, and continued her explanation. When husband and wife persevere in family love, even through hard and confusing times: chaos to order. Adultery: order to chaos. Great human suffering results from the abuse of God’s gifts, from abusing the sacred signs.
Great blessings come to those who persevere day by day in living the sacred signs. Daily perseverance requires “pietas”, family love. This in turn involves sacrifice on the part of all family members. Wheat, grapes and olives must be totally changed: ground, pressed, transformed. Only then can there be bread, wine and oil.
Consider how we address our Lord when we sing the hymn “Adoro te devote”. We sing the words “Pie pellicane, Iesu Domine”. We may translate this: “O Lord Jesus, O loving pelican”. The mother pelican is said to be “in her piety” when, unable to find food for her young, she returns to her nest and feeds her chicks with her own flesh and blood. When we accept the challenge of the sacred signs, we must be prepared to give of ourselves fully, to be used up, to be changed into something new. This is what “dying to self” and “taking up the Cross” to follow Jesus is all about. And so her explanation ended.
But this was not the end. For the remainder of the school year, our classes frequently made reference to this chart. Gradually each word was opened and explored in depth. OIL: heat, light, medicine; baptism, confirmation, holy orders. BED, BOARD AND HEARTH: the need for human intimacy, the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, the blessing of children, the joy of meals shared, family nights when everybody is home together. There were many things to be said regarding right belief, right practice, the life of prayer. It was a full and busy year.
No matter what topic came under discussion, we returned to the words, signs and ritual actions of the Easter Vigil. In understanding these, we came to understand the fullness of Catholic truth. We were well prepared to enter the adult Catholic world.
---
Source: Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB, "Sacred Signs and Religious Formation," Adoremus Bulletin 14, no. 1 (March 2008), http://www.adoremus.org/0308Weber.html.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
The Manutergium and 1st Stole
Manutergium, alternatively (and legitimately) spelled maniturgium, and also sometimes called the "binding cloth."
On the occasion of their first Mass, it is traditional that the newly ordained priest presents a gift to his parents.
To his mother he gives the Maniturgium, which was used to cleanse his hands; consecrated and made holy when the bishop anointed them with sacred chrism at his ordination. The Maniturgium is a simple white piece of linen that represents the burial shroud of Christ that protected His sacred body during His 3 days in the tomb. The Maniturgium is given to the mother, because she was the first protector of the newly ordained priest, during his time in her womb. The Maniturgium is a reminder to the people of God of His love and protection – especially towards His priests. When the newly ordained priest’s mother is called home to God, she is buried holding the Maniturgium so that all in Heaven and on Earth will know that she is the mother of a priest. And on the last day when we are raised from the dead, she can present the Maniturgium to Christ the Lord and say, “my son too shared in your priesthood.”
To his father, the priest presents his first confessional stole. The stole is the sign of priestly office, and the priest wears it when he engages in holy things, like celebrating the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance. In the Sacrament of Penance, we experience God’s justice, mercy and reconciling Love. It was the father of the newly ordained priest who first taught him about justice and mercy. And so the purple stole used to hear confessions, where the priest reconciles the faithful into God’s love, is presented to the priest’s father. And like the mother of the newly ordained, when the priest’s father dies, he is buried holding the purple stole so that all in Heaven and on Earth will know that he was the father of a priest. And on the last day when we are raised from the dead, he can present the purple stole to Christ the Lord and say, “my son too shared in your priesthood.”
Source: Father Maurer, comment, January 13, 2012 (1:10 p.m. PST), on "QUAERITUR: Priesthood Ordination Customs," Fr. Z's Blog, January 13, 2012, accessed December 11, 2013, http://wdtprs.com/blog/2012/01/quaeritur-priesthood-ordination-customs/.
The manutergium (from the Latin manu+tergium = hand towel) was a long cloth that was wrapped around the hands of the newly ordained priest after the Bishop anointed his hands with the sacred Chrism (oil). The purpose was to prevent excess oil from dripping onto vestments or the floor during the remainder of the ordination rites. [...]
The use of the manutergium was discontinued in the current Rite of Ordination. Currently, the newly ordained steps aside to a table after his hands are anointed and uses a purificator to wipe away any excess oil. While it is not technically called the manutergium nor is it exactly the same in design or usage, (for the hands are not wrapped by it), nevertheless this is still a cloth used to wipe away the excess Chrism (oil).
Manutergium redivivus! In recent years many newly ordained have carefully set aside these purificators in a bag with their name on it so that they may retain this purificator and present it to their mother. The same word has been retained for the cloth (manutergium).Source: Msgr. Charles Pope, "Lost Liturgies File: The Manutergium," Archdiocese of Washington Blog, June 20, 2010, accessed December 11, 2013, http://blog.adw.org/2010/06/lost-liturgies-file-the-maniturgia/.
In the EF [N.B.: Extraordinary Form], the anointed hands of the ordinandus are closely joined and tied together with a linen cloth, so as to allow the oil to penetrate into his hands. [The newly ordained], then, becomes “a prisoner of Christ” (Eph. 3:1). It is an external manifestation that priests are bound to Christ, the eternal High Priest.Source: Rev.Fr. Louie R. Coronel, "The Binding Cloth of the Priest’s Anointed Hands," Priest Stuff Blog, February 9, 2011, accessed December 11, 2013, http://prieststuff.blogspot.com/2011/02/binding-cloth-of-priests-anointed-hands.html.
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