Well Said @ CA Catholic Daily
July 2, 2008
“A beautiful act of love”
“The pope does not put on Prada, but Christ,” said Fr. Guido Marini, the Holy Father’s master of ceremonies, in an interview that appeared in the June 26 L’Osservatore Romano. Marini was explaining Pope Benedict XVI’s decisions affecting the liturgy.
Marini said the pope’s restoration of the traditional Latin Mass and liturgy had a “precise, twofold intention.” The first, said Marini, was to make it “easier to reach ‘a reconciliation in the bosom of the Church’; and in this sense, as has been said, the motu proprio is a beautiful act of love for the unity of the Church.” The pope’s second aim “is that of fostering a mutual enrichment between the two forms of the Roman rite: in such a way, for example, that in the celebration according to the missal of Paul VI (the ordinary form of the Roman rite) ‘will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage.”
As for the pope’s celebration last January of Mass in the Sistine Chapel at the ancient altar, facing liturgical east, Marini explained that such a celebration “is not a matter of turning one’s back to the faithful, but rather of orienting oneself together with the faithful toward the Lord. From this point of view, ‘the door is not closed on the assembly,’ but ‘the door is opened to the assembly,’ and it is led to the Lord.”
According to Marini, kneeling for communion and receiving it on the tongue will become “a regular practice at papal celebrations.” The master of ceremonies noted that “the distribution of communion in the hand remains, from the juridical point of view, a dispensation from the universal law, conceded by the Holy See to the bishops’ conferences that have asked for it.” Benedict’s proposed practice at papal Masses “tends to emphasize the continued validity of the norm for the whole Church,” said Marini. Receiving on the tongue, he continued, “better highlights the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, aids the devotion of the faithful, and makes it easier to enter into the sense of mystery. In our time, pastorally speaking, it is urgent to recover and emphasize these aspects.”
What of those who accuse Benedict of imposing “preconciliar models” on the Church? Terms like “preconciliar” and “postconciliar,” “it seems to me,” said Marini, “belong to an outdated language, and if they are used with the intention of indicating a discontinuity in the Church’s journey, I maintain that they are mistaken and typical of highly reductive ideological views. There are ‘old things and new things’ that belong to the treasury of the Church of all time, and must be considered as such.”
“Not all that is new is true, nor is all that is old,” said Marini. “The truth spans old and new, and it is for this that we must strive, without prejudice. The Church lives according to the law of continuity in virtue of which it recognizes development rooted in tradition.
“What is most important,” Marini continued, “is that everything work together so that the liturgical celebration truly is the celebration of the sacred mystery, of the crucified and risen Lord who becomes present in his Church, reenacting the mystery of salvation and calling us, in the logic of an authentic and active participation, to share to the full in his own life, which is a life given in love to the Father and to his brothers, a life of holiness.”
Salve, Sancta Parens
July 1, 2008
Mary’s first action after God had come to dwell in her was one of self-denying charity. She undertook a troublesome journey in order to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Thus she proclaimed charity to be the virtue which above all Christ brought with Him from heaven. God made Mary’s visit the occasion of a wonderful miracle. On her entrance into St. Elizabeth’s dwelling, St. John Baptist was cleansed from sin in his mother’s womb. Mary was the channel of this exceptional privilege of the cleansing away fo sin in the case of the unborn child. As then, so now: Mary is the channel of all graces, and above all, of the restoration of the sinner to friendship with God. Mary’s charity is not less present now than at the time of the Visitation. Nay, she is far more eager now than then to promote the happiness and console the sorrows of those who fly to her for succor.
EWTN Specials
June 27, 2008
VESPERS FOR THE START OF THE PAULINE YEAR From the Basilica of St. Paul’s Outside the Wall,Pope Benedict XVI leads Vespers at the beginning of the Pauline Year.
Sat 6/28/08 12:00 PM ET & 9 AM PT
Sat 6/28/08 4:30 PM ET & 1:30 PM PT
HOLY MASS AND IMPOSITION OF THE PALLIUM Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Solemn Mass and imposition of the pallium on Metropolitan Archbishops, Sun 6/29/08 3:30 AM ET & 12:30 AM PT Sun 6/29/08 9:00 PM ET & 6 PM PT
SOLEMN HIGH MASS ON THE SOLEMNITY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD (LIVE) 2 hr.
Solemn High Mass of the Solemnity of the Precious Blood in the Extraordinary Form.The Traditional Latin Mass from the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Hanceville, Alabama.
Tue 07/01/08 8:00 AM ET & 5 AM PT LIVE
Tue 7/01/08 7:00 PM ET & 4 PM PT
Wed 7/02/08 12:00 AM ET & 9 PM PT (Tue)
US Bishops News Service Reports
June 26, 2008
Mons. Marini Speaks for PBXVI
June 25, 2008
More on Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos Remarks
June 16, 2008
Catholic News Service of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is also reporting Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos’ remarks.
Several months ago I stated in our parish bulletin that the worship at Saint Charles Borromeo (Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms) was at the leading edge of Pope Benedict’s liturgical reforms. This news from England, and the Pope’s recent examples, have confirmed my statements.
Communion on the Tongue at Papal Masses
June 15, 2008
Thanks to bloggers @ The New Liturgical Movement, and Papa Ratzinger Forum, for alerting us to this liturgical news as Pope Benedict continues to teach us by this seemingly insignificant (to some) gesture.
Official Colours for Aussie Heart
June 7, 2008
June 07, 2008 12:00am
THEY will adorn the city in colours reminiscent of the Australian Outback, but Sydney Harbour and the Southern Cross will be the “principal decorations” of this year’s World Youth Day.
The Pope’s Master for Liturgical Ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini, joined Cardinal George Pell and WYD08 coordinator Bishop Anthony Fisher to announce the designs behind this year’s festival.
Unveiling the vibrant red, orange, yellow and blue banners, fencing, billboards and flags, Cardinal Pell said the colours were “recognisably Australian”.
The designs include 2500 banners which will be hung around the city from the end of June.
Among the most spectacular installations will be two “sanctuaries”, or sacred spaces surrounding altars built for the event.
Construction work on the first showpiece sanctuary at Barangaroo, near King St Wharf, will begin in the coming weeks, ahead of Pope Benedict’s arrival on Sydney Harbour in July.
Workers will begin building the second one, at Randwick Racecourse, from June 15 and Bishop Fisher said it would be a large structure, measuring 60m wide and 73m deep.
It will be covered by a 22m-tall roof and will feature a giant cross and a painting of Marjorie’s Bird, depicting the Holy Spirit, by Tiwi Islander artist Marjorie Liddy.
The image will also feature on vestments worn by priests at the event, while Bishop Fisher said he had every confidence Pope Benedict would don “a more elaborate version” when he celebrated Mass on July 20. The event is expected to be up to 500,000.
The Pope and his entourage will reach the altar via an 86m ramp. A tiered seating area will be built for the 500 cardinals and bishops.
Bishop Fisher said WYD08 organisers had thought carefully about the messages behind the colours and designs for the festival.
“The colours of red, orange and yellow flowing throughout symbolise the Holy Trinity and the flames of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,” he said.
“They also bring to mind the colours the Australian Outback. The blue represents the waters of baptism, the sea of humanity and Mary full of grace.
“They also represent the oceans that surround Australia, and the magnificent Sydney Harbour, the location of this great event.”
TLM @ EWTN
June 7, 2008
Una Voce Carmel announces: Fr. Jared McCambridge, FSSP will offer a Solemn High Mass at the Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, AL on July 1 2008 a.D. at 7:00 a.m. CDT. Fr. McCambridge was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood on May 30th by His Eminence Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos. The Mass will be broadcast live on EWTN “Daily Mass Live.”
Of Interest
June 5, 2008
Please make your way to New Liturgical Movement where you will find two articles of interest to my readership: Bishop Morlino of the Diocese of Madison and Upcoming EF Mass in Washington, DC and New York.
