zondag, juli 22, 2007
Vaticaanse filmbibliotheek
Sinds kort het de Vaticaanse stadstaat een eigen website. Visueel het meest interessant zijn wel de filmfragmenten van Leo XIII(!), Pius XI en Pius XII die men beschikbaar stelt.
zaterdag, juli 21, 2007
Aartsbisschop Raymond Burke van St. Louis over de toepassing van Summorum Pontificum
De gehele wekelijkse colum is hier te lezen.
"Also, courses of liturgical formation, pertaining to the Roman Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII, will be provided for priests who desire it. The seminarians at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary will be provided the liturgical formation necessary to celebrate the Mass according to the extraordinary form. Their studies of Latin will also give attention to the texts of the extraordinary form."
"Also, courses of liturgical formation, pertaining to the Roman Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII, will be provided for priests who desire it. The seminarians at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary will be provided the liturgical formation necessary to celebrate the Mass according to the extraordinary form. Their studies of Latin will also give attention to the texts of the extraordinary form."
vrijdag, juli 20, 2007
Dank u, Excellentie!
Bisschop Robert W. Finn van Kansas City geeft hier zijn commentaar op Summorum Pontificum. Vooral het laatste deel is veelzeggend:
"Extraordinary Form of the Mass at the Cathedral: At 10 a.m., on Saturday, Sept. 15, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, I will preside over the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass at the main altar of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. In this way I wish to join with all of you in giving filial assent to the prerogative of Pope Benedict XVI in emphasizing the continuity of the Latin Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.[De bisschop als "moderator van de liturgie" geeft het goede voorbeeld] There we will lift our prayers with the Supreme Pontiff, through our Blessed Mother to the Eternal Father of Mercies for a meaningful reconciliation of Catholics. [Dit is de positieve reden die onze Heilige Vader aanhaalt: waarom horen we er zo weinig over in Vlaanderen of Nederland]In this way we hope, with Gods' help, as "the Church of Christ [to] offer worthy worship to the Divine Majesty for the praise and glory of His name and for the good of all His Holy Church."
"Extraordinary Form of the Mass at the Cathedral: At 10 a.m., on Saturday, Sept. 15, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, I will preside over the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass at the main altar of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. In this way I wish to join with all of you in giving filial assent to the prerogative of Pope Benedict XVI in emphasizing the continuity of the Latin Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.[De bisschop als "moderator van de liturgie" geeft het goede voorbeeld] There we will lift our prayers with the Supreme Pontiff, through our Blessed Mother to the Eternal Father of Mercies for a meaningful reconciliation of Catholics. [Dit is de positieve reden die onze Heilige Vader aanhaalt: waarom horen we er zo weinig over in Vlaanderen of Nederland]In this way we hope, with Gods' help, as "the Church of Christ [to] offer worthy worship to the Divine Majesty for the praise and glory of His name and for the good of all His Holy Church."
donderdag, juli 19, 2007
maandag, juli 09, 2007
Voorbeeldige ontvangst van het motu proprio in India
Dit bericht, in vergelijking met sommige povere Europese reacties, is veelzeggend. Welke bisschop van bij ons volgt dit voorbeeld?
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – The Indian Church has expressed its satisfaction and hope that it “can take care of the pastoral needs of the community” following Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum released last Saturday. In it the Pope announces that the Catholic Church will allow the use of the so-called Tridentine Mass in the form approved by John XXIII in 1962. The Motu Proprio is promulgated with an explicit reference to reconciliation and the ecclesial unity that was broken by the schism caused Mgr Marcel Lefebvre and his traditionalists.
According to Mgr Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, the Motu Proprio will “have two important purposes.”
“One very important purpose will be to renew and enrich the liturgy, reclaiming the liturgical form that existed before the Council, which is a great heritage in the history of the church,” said the prelate who is also an expert in Canon Law.
“The Motu Proprio is a sign that the Holy Father wants to make available to the Church all the treasures of the Latin liturgy that have for centuries nourished the spiritual life of so many generations of Catholic faithful.”
“Secondly,” he explained, “it is a response to the pastoral needs of the faithful. In Mumbai, Cardinal Ivan Dias (Gracias’ predecessor) had shown much pastoral sensitivity in allowing the Tridentine Mass. However, there may be practical challenges since there are not that many priests who know Latin.”
On the long run, such an obstacle should be overcome. “In the Archdiocesan Seminary, Latin had already been reintroduced and is being taught; not because of the Motu Proprio, but because knowledge of Latin is essential and important for Ecclesiastical Studies,” Archbishop Gracias said.
Finally, he announced that he would “inform the priests and faithful of this Motu Proprio” and “would exercise pastoral sensitivity in explaining and implementing it in the appropriate way.”
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – The Indian Church has expressed its satisfaction and hope that it “can take care of the pastoral needs of the community” following Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum released last Saturday. In it the Pope announces that the Catholic Church will allow the use of the so-called Tridentine Mass in the form approved by John XXIII in 1962. The Motu Proprio is promulgated with an explicit reference to reconciliation and the ecclesial unity that was broken by the schism caused Mgr Marcel Lefebvre and his traditionalists.
According to Mgr Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, the Motu Proprio will “have two important purposes.”
“One very important purpose will be to renew and enrich the liturgy, reclaiming the liturgical form that existed before the Council, which is a great heritage in the history of the church,” said the prelate who is also an expert in Canon Law.
“The Motu Proprio is a sign that the Holy Father wants to make available to the Church all the treasures of the Latin liturgy that have for centuries nourished the spiritual life of so many generations of Catholic faithful.”
“Secondly,” he explained, “it is a response to the pastoral needs of the faithful. In Mumbai, Cardinal Ivan Dias (Gracias’ predecessor) had shown much pastoral sensitivity in allowing the Tridentine Mass. However, there may be practical challenges since there are not that many priests who know Latin.”
On the long run, such an obstacle should be overcome. “In the Archdiocesan Seminary, Latin had already been reintroduced and is being taught; not because of the Motu Proprio, but because knowledge of Latin is essential and important for Ecclesiastical Studies,” Archbishop Gracias said.
Finally, he announced that he would “inform the priests and faithful of this Motu Proprio” and “would exercise pastoral sensitivity in explaining and implementing it in the appropriate way.”
The Ratzinger Effect
The Times heeft een interessant artikel over "The Ratzinger Effect":
"With donations to the Church from around the world almost doubling and pilgrims pouring into Rome in ever-greater numbers, Vatican watchers are beginning to reassess the two-year-old pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and noting a positive “Ratzinger effect”." Meer
"With donations to the Church from around the world almost doubling and pilgrims pouring into Rome in ever-greater numbers, Vatican watchers are beginning to reassess the two-year-old pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and noting a positive “Ratzinger effect”." Meer
Mgr. Charles Pope over de H. Mis van Johannes XXIII
Een goed rapport met video van Mgr. Charles Pope (Aartsbisdom Washington D.C.)
"I’ve been saying this Mass for 18 years now, for all my years as a priest. There’s a part of me that loves to sort of step back into time and to be part of something ancient that goes way, way back, all the way back hundreds and hundreds of years, even thousands of years, into the ancient past using an ancient language. This is a Mass that most of the saints knew."
"I’ve been saying this Mass for 18 years now, for all my years as a priest. There’s a part of me that loves to sort of step back into time and to be part of something ancient that goes way, way back, all the way back hundreds and hundreds of years, even thousands of years, into the ancient past using an ancient language. This is a Mass that most of the saints knew."
zondag, juli 08, 2007
Reacties Motu Proprio
Kath.Net documenteert de Duitstalige reacties op Summorum Pontificum.
Mgr. Koch, bisschop van Basel, geeft hier een uitvoerige liturgisch-theologische commentaar.
Enkele passages:
"Es kann aber kein Zweifel darüber bestehen, dass die Liturgiereform nach dem Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil bei nicht wenigen Glaubenden, Seelsorgenden und Theologen nicht den Eindruck eines Wachstumsprozesses, sondern den eines Bruches ausgelöst hat."
"Was viertens die Mitwirkung der Laien in der Liturgie betrifft, hat das Zweite Vatikanische Konzil zwar in der Tat aus theologischen Gründen die volle und aktive Teilnahme der Glaubenden an der Liturgie betont; es hat bei der „plena et actuosa participatio“ aber nicht nur an die Einführung von spezifischen Laiendiensten gedacht, sondern in gleicher Weise und untrennbar damit verbunden an die innere Partizipation der Glaubenden an der Liturgie im hörenden und meditativen Nachvollzug und im Gebet, der das entscheidend Erste ist, das allem äusseren Mitwirken in der Liturgie überhaupt erst den wahren Sinn gibt.
Denn das Konzil war eindeutig der Überzeugung, dass sich die leichte Erfassbarkeit der Liturgie und die Ermöglichung der tätigen und gemeinschaftlichen Teilhabe des Volkes Gottes an der Liturgie von ihrer Transparenz für das Heilige her ergeben und keineswegs umgekehrt."
"Zudem ist prinzipiell zu bedenken, dass eine selektive Lektüre des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils eine Grundversuchung in der Kirche überhaupt darstellt, wie der Pastoraltheologe Hubert Windisch treffsicher analysiert hat: „Nicht selten kann man feststellen, dass das Konzil als Legitimierungsfluchtpunkt für persönliche pastorale Anschauungen herhalten muss, ohne dass es für die jeweilige (selbstrechtfertigende) Ausbeutung eine Grundlage bietet."
"Und weil die Liturgie die deutlichste Erscheinungsgestalt der Kirche ist, pflegt man auch zwischen vorkonziliarer und nachkonziliarer Kirche zu unterscheiden oder gar zu trennen – gleichsam als handle es sich nach dem Konzil nicht mehr um dieselbe Kirche, sondern um eine neue. Demgemäss betrachtet man das Zweite Vatikanische Konzil nicht mehr, wie es sich selbst verstanden hat, nämlich als Vertiefung und Erneuerung des überkommenen Glaubens, sondern als Ende der bisherigen Tradition, mit dem etwas Neues begonnen hat."
Gaudeamus!!
De Nederlandse vertaling van "Summorum Pontificum" en de begeleidende brief zijn reeds te vinden op de website www.ecclesiadei.nl
Dit videofragment van CNN geeft een evenwichtig bericht alhoewel het ook fouten bevat. Het motu proprio gaat NIET over de Latijnse mis of over de mis "met de rug naar het volk". Al dit kan reeds met -wat we nu moeten noemen- de "gewone vorm" van de Romeinse ritus gedaan worden.
Waar gaat het motu proprio dan wel over: over het missaal van de zalige Johannes XXIII dat in de grond teruggaat naar het begin van de Kerk en eeuwenlang de norm is geweest en door haar bemiddeling talloze heiligen heeft voortgebracht. Hierin komt een organisch ontwikkelde Lex orandi en dus Lex credendi naar voren die de centrale geloofsmysteries op uitmuntende wijze naar voren brengt. De Romeinse Canon is hier een uitstekend voorbeeld van.
De vergelijkende studie van Dr. Lauren Pristas van vier zondagse openingsgebeden van beide missalen komt tot de volgende conclusie:
"The facts and figures presented in the first part of this essay indicate that those responsible for the revision of the Missal made extensive changes to the corpus of Sunday and Holy Day collects. The result is not the revival of either a Roman or non-Roman Latin liturgical tradition that fell into disuse over the centuries, but something essentially new.
Two things need to be said about this newness. First, while the deliberate confection of an annual cycle of collects is unprecedented as far as we know in liturgical history, the new corpus enjoys ecclesiastical approval and, on this account, is to be received by the faithful with the utmost respect. Second, the new and untraditional character of the cycle of collects requires that we study it well, not simply in itself, but in relationship to its predecessor and to the use of sources that produced it. Only then will we be able to identify the unique features of our present Sunday and Holy Day collects and to understand both their place in the Latin liturgical tradition and the specific character of their contribution to Christian formation. The latter part of the paper is an experiment in comparative textual analysis. The findings must be regarded as exceedingly provisional for the analysis encompasses only four of the sixty-six Sunday and Holy Day collects. In these four, however, we discern a markedly different presentation of our spiritual situation and the way in which God involves himself with us. If the 1970 collects bring to mind the psalmist's petition “give success to the works of our hands,” the 1962 collects remind us of Augustine's graced realization that God is more intimate to each of us than we are to ourselves. These are not inconsequential changes. There is a reciprocal relationship between faith and prayer. On the one hand, particular prayers arise from particular faith convictions and, on the other, our faith convictions are formed by the words that we are taught to pray. Moreover, in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says to the centurion “as you have believed let it be done for you”and similarly to the blind men “according to your faith let it be done to you.” While it is not right to think that anything, even the meagerness of our faith, can limit the power of God, it is also true that God has revealed himself to us so that, believing him, we can expect certain things and, in our expectation, be open to the gifts he desires to give us. For these reasons the anthropological shift that we see in the new Advent prayers toward what might be described as a more capable human person is not nearly so arresting as the corresponding theological shift according to which God's dealings with us are less direct and more extrinsic - although, obviously, the two are conceptually connected."
Het hele motu proprio gaat m.a.w. over inhoud en niet over vorm.
Dit videofragment van CNN geeft een evenwichtig bericht alhoewel het ook fouten bevat. Het motu proprio gaat NIET over de Latijnse mis of over de mis "met de rug naar het volk". Al dit kan reeds met -wat we nu moeten noemen- de "gewone vorm" van de Romeinse ritus gedaan worden.
Waar gaat het motu proprio dan wel over: over het missaal van de zalige Johannes XXIII dat in de grond teruggaat naar het begin van de Kerk en eeuwenlang de norm is geweest en door haar bemiddeling talloze heiligen heeft voortgebracht. Hierin komt een organisch ontwikkelde Lex orandi en dus Lex credendi naar voren die de centrale geloofsmysteries op uitmuntende wijze naar voren brengt. De Romeinse Canon is hier een uitstekend voorbeeld van.
De vergelijkende studie van Dr. Lauren Pristas van vier zondagse openingsgebeden van beide missalen komt tot de volgende conclusie:
"The facts and figures presented in the first part of this essay indicate that those responsible for the revision of the Missal made extensive changes to the corpus of Sunday and Holy Day collects. The result is not the revival of either a Roman or non-Roman Latin liturgical tradition that fell into disuse over the centuries, but something essentially new.
Two things need to be said about this newness. First, while the deliberate confection of an annual cycle of collects is unprecedented as far as we know in liturgical history, the new corpus enjoys ecclesiastical approval and, on this account, is to be received by the faithful with the utmost respect. Second, the new and untraditional character of the cycle of collects requires that we study it well, not simply in itself, but in relationship to its predecessor and to the use of sources that produced it. Only then will we be able to identify the unique features of our present Sunday and Holy Day collects and to understand both their place in the Latin liturgical tradition and the specific character of their contribution to Christian formation. The latter part of the paper is an experiment in comparative textual analysis. The findings must be regarded as exceedingly provisional for the analysis encompasses only four of the sixty-six Sunday and Holy Day collects. In these four, however, we discern a markedly different presentation of our spiritual situation and the way in which God involves himself with us. If the 1970 collects bring to mind the psalmist's petition “give success to the works of our hands,” the 1962 collects remind us of Augustine's graced realization that God is more intimate to each of us than we are to ourselves. These are not inconsequential changes. There is a reciprocal relationship between faith and prayer. On the one hand, particular prayers arise from particular faith convictions and, on the other, our faith convictions are formed by the words that we are taught to pray. Moreover, in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says to the centurion “as you have believed let it be done for you”and similarly to the blind men “according to your faith let it be done to you.” While it is not right to think that anything, even the meagerness of our faith, can limit the power of God, it is also true that God has revealed himself to us so that, believing him, we can expect certain things and, in our expectation, be open to the gifts he desires to give us. For these reasons the anthropological shift that we see in the new Advent prayers toward what might be described as a more capable human person is not nearly so arresting as the corresponding theological shift according to which God's dealings with us are less direct and more extrinsic - although, obviously, the two are conceptually connected."
Het hele motu proprio gaat m.a.w. over inhoud en niet over vorm.
zaterdag, juli 07, 2007
vrijdag, juli 06, 2007
En nu "Allen samen!"
Van Father Zuhlsdorff komt de zeer leuke suggestie om op de melodie van "La donna è mobile" te zingen:
Summorum pontificum
Das ist bellisimum!
Dust off the altar rails,
Dove mi mani-pales?
Te Deum chantez-vous!
Pop out the Veuve Clicquot
Vo ist mein Sanctus bell?
A cappa for Cardinal Pell! [“Schnell!” to be shouted in the background on the downbeat]
Donde biretta?
Ecco! Perfetta!
What could be betta,
Than Mass with one voice!
Summorum pontificum
Das ist bellisimum!
Dust off the altar rails,
Dove mi mani-pales?
Te Deum chantez-vous!
Pop out the Veuve Clicquot
Vo ist mein Sanctus bell?
A cappa for Cardinal Pell! [“Schnell!” to be shouted in the background on the downbeat]
Donde biretta?
Ecco! Perfetta!
What could be betta,
Than Mass with one voice!
dinsdag, juli 03, 2007
100 jaar Lamentabili sane exitu van Pius X
3 juli 1907 verscheen "Lamentabili sane exitu" van Pius X waarin 65 modernistische stellingen veroordeeld werden. Lees hier de volledige tekst.
Enkele voorbeelden:
Stelling 4: Het leerambt van de Kerk kan zelfs niet door dogmatische definities de echte zin van de H. Schrift bepalen.
Stelling 12: Indien de exegeet zich op nuttige wijze met de bijbelse studies wil bezighouden, dient hij alle voorgevormde opinies over de bovennatuurlijke oorsprong van de Schrift terzijde te schuiven en enkel interpreteren als enkel ander menselijk document. [Dit is precies wat Joseph Ratzinger/Benedictus XVI verwerpt in zijn jongste boek]
Stelling 26: Aan de dogma's van het geloof is enkel in praktische zin vast te houden, d.w.z. als verplichtende norm voor het handelen maar niet als norm voor het geloven [Het uiteenhalen van de inhoud van het geloof en de praxis is beproefd procédé; het herinnert aan het veelgehoorde argument vandaag "ik geloof dat wel maar dring mijn mening niet op aan anderen"]
Stelling 41: De sacramenten zijn enkel bedoeld om de weldoende aanwezigheid van de Schepper in gedachtenis te roepen [Dit doet denken aan de afwezigheid van de gedachte dat het doopsel werkelijk de erfzonde uitwist en dus een exorcisme vereist; daarentegen "we zijn toch allemaal al kinderen van God"]
Stelling 56: De Kerk van Rome werd het hoofd van de kerken, niet door Goddelijke Voorzienigheid maar door politieke omstandigheden
Stelling 65: Het moderne katholicisme kan niet verzoend worden met de ware wetenschap tenzij het omgevormd wordt in een non-dogmatisch christendom, d.w.z. in een breed en liberaal protestantisme [Was Vaticanum II niet volgens de 'hermeneutiek van de discontinuïteit' (Benedictus XVI)eindelijk voorbij het dogmatisch denken, oecumenisch en open?]
zondag, juli 01, 2007
Priesterwijding bij FSSP door Mgr. Léonard
Mgr. Léonard, bisschop van Namen, wijdde in Wigratzbad vier priesters in de klassieke ritus.
Schola Saint Cécile heeft meer.
Getuigenis van een Novus Ordo priester over een workshop bij FSSP
Ondermeer de Petrusbroederschap organiseert intensieve trainingen in de klassieke ritus om zo priesters voor te bereiden om het komend Motu Proprio. Hier is een prachtige getuigenis van New Liturgical Movement
[One of the Father's who visits the NLM recently attended the FSSP "boot camp" for priests wishing training from them as regards the classical Roman rite. The following is his report, both of what occurred and, even more interestingly, his personal experience. I've chosen to eliminate his name for the sake of anonymity. If he chooses to reveal himself in the comments, I shall leave that to him.]
"I would characterize my experience as frankly stunning, and even life changing. I must admit that the experience has recast my understanding of the priesthood to some degree."
by a Diocesan Priest
I. Summary of the Training
This past week I returned from what one priest called the Traditional Mass Boot Camp, hosted and taught by the fine priests, deacons and seminarians of the Fraternity of Saint Peter at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton NE. Being a “Novus Ordo” priest and having little exposure or opportunity to experience the traditional Rite, this weekend was nothing short of amazing.
Arriving on Monday we jumped right in with an introductory session on the Mass covering various basic principles such as the attitude and composure of the priest, and the centrality of the Mass as a sacrifice. Wasting no time we began our practicum, our class was broken up into small groups of three, according to experience with the traditional Mass and Latin skills. Over the course of the five day we had workshops on the vesting prayers, the Low Mass, the Requiem Mass, Gregorian Chant, the sung Mass, and Exposition and Benediction. These were covered in depth in class and the practicum sessions, which were and hour and a half to two hours long.
The daily schedule began with private Mass from 6:00 to 8:00 AM and ended with Compline at 9:00 PM. The resources and materials that the Fraternity provided was copious and pedagogically geared for a priest to learn the traditional Mass. Any priest who is willing to learn and take the time necessary can confidently know that he will be able to offer the Mass with the proper reverence and confidence that the Rite demands.
On our final day on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul we were privileged to pray the Solemn High Mass in choir with the Nuns the Carmelite Monastery of Mary Jesus and Joseph in Valparaiso, NE a short drive from the seminary, this was absolutely the crowing event of the week, beautify offered by Fr. James Fryar FSSP, accompanied by the Deacons and seminarians of the seminary and the angelic chants sung by the Carmelite Nuns.
II. Personal Observations
Being a priest of the modern Roman rite I was admittedly nervous and lacking confidence due to my lack of experience, I felt that I perhaps had got into something that was over my head, but the graciousness and patience of the members of the Fraternity of Saint Peter quickly overcame any misgivings I had.
I must confess that I was worried that there might be some looking down upon a "Novus Ordo" priest such as myself in a “Traditionalist” environment such as this, but the respect and genuine affection and gratitude that was shown me by the priests, deacons and seminarians of the FSSP was most edifying and humbling. I cannot speak highly enough about these excellent and truly humble men, who most joyfully offer themselves for the life of the Church.
One of the many remarkable things that struck me about my experience this past week was that these men of the FSSP and others like them have preserved for the entire Latin Rite the living memory and tradition of the Church in a unique way.
I would characterize my experience as frankly stunning, and even life changing. I must admit that the experience has recast my understanding of the priesthood to some degree.
Also, by this intensive introduction to the ancient Roman liturgical tradition, I now more fully understand the paradigm shift and rupture that Ratzinger/Benedict XVI has spoken of. I can’t help but feel that once the adolescent rebellion of liturgical abuse and rejection of our living heritage subsides, they will be there to help all of us reclaim and reinvigorate the Latin Rite in a way that is truly organic and faithful to our roots, strengthening and in some areas reestablishing a vibrant Catholic identity.
I wish to thank my benefactors who enabled me to attend this workshop; it was a profound privilege for me to go. I will remember you in my prayers and my intentions at the Sacrifice of the Mass.
[One of the Father's who visits the NLM recently attended the FSSP "boot camp" for priests wishing training from them as regards the classical Roman rite. The following is his report, both of what occurred and, even more interestingly, his personal experience. I've chosen to eliminate his name for the sake of anonymity. If he chooses to reveal himself in the comments, I shall leave that to him.]
"I would characterize my experience as frankly stunning, and even life changing. I must admit that the experience has recast my understanding of the priesthood to some degree."
by a Diocesan Priest
I. Summary of the Training
This past week I returned from what one priest called the Traditional Mass Boot Camp, hosted and taught by the fine priests, deacons and seminarians of the Fraternity of Saint Peter at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton NE. Being a “Novus Ordo” priest and having little exposure or opportunity to experience the traditional Rite, this weekend was nothing short of amazing.
Arriving on Monday we jumped right in with an introductory session on the Mass covering various basic principles such as the attitude and composure of the priest, and the centrality of the Mass as a sacrifice. Wasting no time we began our practicum, our class was broken up into small groups of three, according to experience with the traditional Mass and Latin skills. Over the course of the five day we had workshops on the vesting prayers, the Low Mass, the Requiem Mass, Gregorian Chant, the sung Mass, and Exposition and Benediction. These were covered in depth in class and the practicum sessions, which were and hour and a half to two hours long.
The daily schedule began with private Mass from 6:00 to 8:00 AM and ended with Compline at 9:00 PM. The resources and materials that the Fraternity provided was copious and pedagogically geared for a priest to learn the traditional Mass. Any priest who is willing to learn and take the time necessary can confidently know that he will be able to offer the Mass with the proper reverence and confidence that the Rite demands.
On our final day on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul we were privileged to pray the Solemn High Mass in choir with the Nuns the Carmelite Monastery of Mary Jesus and Joseph in Valparaiso, NE a short drive from the seminary, this was absolutely the crowing event of the week, beautify offered by Fr. James Fryar FSSP, accompanied by the Deacons and seminarians of the seminary and the angelic chants sung by the Carmelite Nuns.
II. Personal Observations
Being a priest of the modern Roman rite I was admittedly nervous and lacking confidence due to my lack of experience, I felt that I perhaps had got into something that was over my head, but the graciousness and patience of the members of the Fraternity of Saint Peter quickly overcame any misgivings I had.
I must confess that I was worried that there might be some looking down upon a "Novus Ordo" priest such as myself in a “Traditionalist” environment such as this, but the respect and genuine affection and gratitude that was shown me by the priests, deacons and seminarians of the FSSP was most edifying and humbling. I cannot speak highly enough about these excellent and truly humble men, who most joyfully offer themselves for the life of the Church.
One of the many remarkable things that struck me about my experience this past week was that these men of the FSSP and others like them have preserved for the entire Latin Rite the living memory and tradition of the Church in a unique way.
I would characterize my experience as frankly stunning, and even life changing. I must admit that the experience has recast my understanding of the priesthood to some degree.
Also, by this intensive introduction to the ancient Roman liturgical tradition, I now more fully understand the paradigm shift and rupture that Ratzinger/Benedict XVI has spoken of. I can’t help but feel that once the adolescent rebellion of liturgical abuse and rejection of our living heritage subsides, they will be there to help all of us reclaim and reinvigorate the Latin Rite in a way that is truly organic and faithful to our roots, strengthening and in some areas reestablishing a vibrant Catholic identity.
I wish to thank my benefactors who enabled me to attend this workshop; it was a profound privilege for me to go. I will remember you in my prayers and my intentions at the Sacrifice of the Mass.
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