Showing posts with label Liturgy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liturgy. Show all posts

Friday, March 6, 2015

50 Year Anniversary of the First Mass in the Vernacular -- "Afraid of the Reactions of the Conservatives"

The Mass of Paul VI first celebrated in 1965 in the
Parish of All Saints According to the Missal of that year
partly in the
vernacular 
(Rome) This Saturday marks the 50th anniversary celebration of the first Holy Mass by Pope Paul VI. according to the Missal of 1965. Pope Francis wants to remember this event with a visit and a Holy Mass at that Roman parish in which Paul VI. celebrated it on the same day 50 years ago (see report 50 Years Ago Celebrated Paul VI. first Mass in the Vernacular ). A minimalist program and the organization is out of the ordinary. The reason for this  behind the walls of the Vatican is the fear of "reactions of  the conservatives".

Official Presentation

The Italian news agency ANSA has published a short preliminary report on the event.
"On Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 6pm,  Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in the Roman parish of All Saints. The Pope will recall in this way in the same church and exactly 50 years later the Mass which Pope Paul VI. celebrated for the first time in Italian in accordance with the renewed liturgical norms that had been established by the Second Vatican Council. The visit coincides with the 75th anniversary of the death of St. Luigi Orione, as the Superior General of the Little Work of Divine Providence, Don Flavio Peloso recalled."
As far as the official  message of the  Pope's memorial celebration, which the event recalls, was only the first stage of further, more radical reforms.The 1965 Missal was appropriate to the appeal to the Second Vatican Council.  But the same does not apply to the following stages that led to the liturgical reform of 1969/1970, which went far beyond the requirements of the Council and while still having a justification in the Council documents are non-binding provisions.  

The Program

The liturgical reform represents the most dramatic event in  recent history. That's why the manner in which the Holy See will remember it is so astonishing. The 1965 Missal was only a short-lived stage, which has, except the vernacular, so little in common with the actual liturgical reform.  So why the memorial, if it's not the Schmiedls, but the Schmieds who will be  thought of in four years, namely the actual liturgical reform of 1969?  Is the representation meant to  awaken by the intermediate stage and fuzzy representations, the impression that the liturgical reform was covered by the Second Vatican Council?
On the one hand Pope Francis is giving the most attention and the same day  to the memory to the reform, on the other hand, it should be a quick visit. The amount budgeted for the Pope's visit time is "extremely small,"  Chiesa e postconcilio says:  The time for celebration will be followed by a quick greeting to the community of the Order of the Sons of Divine Providence of Don Orione, who oversee the parish, and a short stop in the garden of the associated school. The visit is organized by the Secretariat of State and not by the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, as would be usual.

The Unofficial Representation

"The reason for this is not found naturally in official documents, but it can be heard in all corridors in the offices of the Holy See: They are afraid of reactions of the  'conservatives'" said the well-informed,  traditional Roman Blog Chiesa e postconcilio .
Chiesa e postconcilio finds the Vatican's concern about "conservative" reactions amusing, because "in the past 50 years there had been  no protests of traditional Catholics, nor 'conservatives', against the Missal of 1965 and it is not against the Novus Ordo Missae  from 1969."  It was and will be pointed on the diminutio of the Novus Ordo.
Chiesa e postconcilio writes: "More than 'reactions' of the 'conservatives'.  but the reasons for the 'conservatives' are  to be feared.The test run of the Novus Ordo was carried out in 1967, mind you in Latin, and retired in most fierce criticism. The affirmative vote of the first Synod of Bishops was clearly in the minority. The reason was that in 1967 it was rejected, but nevertheless the Mass introduced in 1969 was fundamentally different from that of the 1965 Missal.

"Reform of the Reform:"  Missale 1962 and Missale 1969 Merged in the Missale 1965?

The 1965 Missal was actually exactly what the Council had wanted: the Liturgy of the Word in the vernacular, the Eucharistic celebration in Latin, plenty of space for the laity, including the most expendable "prayer of the faithful", which included seemingly  daring simplification of many parts of the liturgy etc. This is the view of Pope Benedict XVI., who followed the even greater liturgist Klaus Gamber. We will probably never know whether the "reform of the reform" Benedict should have been in the unlikely attempt to bring together the 1962 Missal and the Missal of 1969 based on the 1965 Missal. It's an experiment which would not have satisfied both  Catholics and the modernists. But so it goes with all attempts to impose from above a theoretical basis of liturgy and spirituality.
A  rapidly assembled  1965 Missal  was expected to wrest the liturgy from 'the crazy reformers', but it reached the exact opposite.  There the Protestant taste of the 'reformers' was not sufficiently revolutionary, it disappeared  quickly into oblivion with  Annibale Bugnini  whose actions can never be deplored enough.

Contempt by "Reformers"

Given that we haven't even experienced and we are not experiencing protests by faithful Catholics, but the exact opposite, namely a decided opposition without ifs and buts and full of contempt on the part of many too many bishops and priests against the traditional rite, who were driven by a current, which has now become a raging flood.
All this would actually be incredible enough, had we not have been bludgeoned repeatedly and had the contempt of those  we feel should be shepherds and supports to us actually, instead of recognizing our spiritual sensitivity that we the might prefer the Roman Rite antiquior. It is not something that became  today, but that of two thousand years of the Church and belongs to the whole Church, a universal and eternal Rome. A universal law of the Church, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum assures us that right. And so it was also confirmed by Cardinal Burke in his recent interview.

Not afraid of "Reactions", but the Reasons of Tradition

We are not obligated to the reasons ,  who for us the shining power of dogmas and if yet is not able to warm  priestly (?) hearts of those that are currently tearing down all the walls, but are ready and respectfully as ever to follow the current pope, while he has ignored or defied his predecessors. And it seems as though there is nothing of which  the masters of the newly proclaimed tenderness   could be mildly persuaded. 
So what do they have to fear? Our weapons are the rosary, adoration and loyalty. If anything, they would do well to fear the Lord, whose mercy has never been separated from His righteousness," said Chiesa e postconcilio .
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Parrocchia Ognissanti
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

“The Pope Organizes His Life Himself” -- He has “A lot of Imagination” and Works “Methodically"

Edit: especially when it comes to those he studiously ignores, and to those he lavishes special consideration, like a dissident Irish priest whose cause he championed today.

(Vatican) Monsignor Guillermo Karcher, one of Papal ceremonialists spoke recently in an interview about his daily work with Pope Francis. The interview was conducted by the Internet TV channel of the Argentine news site Infobae . The Argentine Karcher has belonged for several years at the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Pope. He is incardinated in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires and has known Pope Francis for 20 years. He works at the State Secretariat and is one of the ceremonialists of the Pope. As such, he was on duty during the conclave. In the evening, when Pope Francis was presented to the world, he held onto the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica the microphone (see picture). In the Bild interview he gives a little insight into the life and work of the Pope.

Monsignor Karcher is a ceremonialist who belongs to those collaborators of the Roman Curia, who work closely with Pope Francis and see him most often. The Pope leads a "very regular life," said Msgr Karcher. "He rises between 4.30 und 5 clock and goes fill 10 to 11pm to bed." The Pope from Argentina "receives a lot of people every day and maintains close contacts with the Roman Curia.” After morning Mass in the chapel of the guest house Santa Marta he goes to "Breakfast, then we bring him the news from around the world, we chat with each other ... and then begins his day.” Karcher said: "He handles his appointments himself, Bergoglio organized his own life. “

"He has learned to be Pope In less than a year"

For handling of the Pope with the people and their expectations in Argentina and the politicians with whom he maintained contact, said the ceremonialist: "He has a lot of imagination. He maintains the contact with the people, that hasn’t changed.”

Among the postures and gestures of the Pope said Karcher: "In less than a year he has learned to be Pope.”

As early as last March, Msgr Karcher said in an interview with Vatican insider , Pope Francis has "a sixth sense". The Pope was able "to recognize a sick or needy person amid the crowd. This is a special grace, he can feel it in the heart.“

The pope goes "very methodically", saying it is "a characteristic of his Jesuit character. In his daily routine is a place for everything and everyone." Prior to morning Mass Francis he prepares his sermon.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
 image: Infovaticana
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches….
AMGD

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The Holiness of the Liturgy and The Provisions of Pope Sixtus I

(Rome) The always valid ban on lay people getting too close to the holy things  and  touching the chalice and the sacred vessels, was officially enshrined in the earliest Christian times by the holy Pope Sixtus I (c. 115-125). The commemoration of this Pontiff is committed by the Church in the old and the new liturgical calendar on 3 April.  His Latin first name alludes to the number six. Sixtus was the sixth successor of the Apostle Peter and the seventh Vicar of Christ on earth. The son of a Roman priest and shepherd was elected by the clergy of Rome on 115  to the bishop.
The need to explicitly codify the prohibition resulted from  attempts by the unworthy to approach  holy things, which are exclusively reserved for the priests of God. The sacredness of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass resulted in the Latin Church, as in the apostolic Eastern Church, to largely obscure services from the sight of outsiders, but also of the faithful. Non-baptized persons were not allowed to enter the houses of worship during the Holy Mass. The Sacrifice of the Mass took place in the West behind a curtain and takes place in the East today behind the iconostasis for the protection of the Holy.

Penetration of the Laity in the Presbytery

It was not until the revolution of the zealots of the liturgical reform, which came after the Second Vatican Council and the subsequent liturgical abuses,  meant that the laity invaded to the restricted area of the presbyterium   during the Holy Mass,  the Sanctum Sanctorum, which - as the name presbyter = Priest - expresses, is reserved to the celebrant and the altar servants. In many places the laity are instructed to hand out Holy Communion, so that they take not only the Holy vessels, but also the consecrated Hosts in the hand.
At the time of Pope Sixtus I the emperor Hadrian (117-138) ruled, an original philosopher on the throne, a lover of Greek culture and art. Although heathen, he declined the persecution of Christians. To one of his proconsuls in Africa, he wrote: "If someone brings charges and can prove that the Christians who commit offenses against the laws are guilty, leave, then punish them for their crimes. By Hercules, yet  if someone is just looking for a mere pretext to punish them, then you have to decide depending on the severity and punish them instead."

Seal of Christian Liturgical Tradition

Pope Sixtus  put particular emphasis on the faithful preservation and development of the cultus. He summed up the current practice together with provisions that were to be a seal for the Christian liturgical tradition. It was also a big concern for him that all the Christian communities themselves remained in contact, because, as it seems it  had already come to pass during his pontificate,  because  the exact date of the Easter celebrations became the first disagreement between East and West.
 Christian tradition also owes Sixtus I for the hymn of the Trisagion,  which was dedicated of the divine Trinity triple Sanctus. The expression of Greek Trisagion hagios (holy) and treis (three) means the thrice-holy God. Already in the Old Testament we find this definition of the Holy Trinity. The thrice Holy Prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament corresponds to the naming of the three divine persons in the New Covenant as saying: Holy is God the Father, God is holy son, holy God is the Holy Spirit. In order to acquire this knowledge independently, you had to be able to read and know well the Scriptures  and thus belong to the circle of educated people. To make this praise of the Trinity accessible to all believers, Pope Sixtus introduced the thrice praise into worship in the Holy Mass just before the Consecration and Transubstantiation.

Trisagion, the Thrice Holy in the Old and New Testaments

All apostolic churches regardless of rite know this Trisagion, the angels singing, which Isaiah heard, when he had his vision of heaven. The well after him, it was described by St. John the Apostle and Evangelist in the Apocalypse (4:8).
Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805-1875), the famous Benedictine Abbot of Solesmes said: "What do the angels sing?Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth . They celebrate the holiness of God. But how do they celebrate? In a perfect way: they use the superlative, in which they call three times that God is really holy. (...) But why did they turn to God three times with the determination of holiness? Because holiness is the most important of divine perfection: God in his essence is holy. "

"God is as Strong as Holy and as Sacred as Strong"

The Trisagion we also find in the Te Deum : " Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth "(Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts). The hosts in the service of the Almighty have nothing to fear, as all wars, tests and hurdles running by their God have ended in triumph. Dom Guéranger wrote: "God is holy and strong, as strong as holy and as sacred as strong."
This Roman Pope whose holiness is sung in Catholic Christendom to this day, died not as a martyr, although he is occasionally. His grave is awaiting the resurrection of the body, is not near the grave of St. Peter in the Vatican, but in the Cathedral of St. Paul in Alatri in Rome, where he is revered as a patron saint.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Alatri / Lazio
Trans: vekron99@hotmail.com
AMGD

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Pastor Removes "Volksaltar" From His Church -- The Reaction

(Rome) A pastor has spectacularly restored his parish church which dates from the 18th Century, and then removed the "volksaltar." In architectural, aesthetic, and especially liturgical respects, he reasoned that it was  a mandatory step.  Because of the Church's climate, however, it is an almost "revolutionary," courageous step.
The Italian Archdiocese of Modena in the Po Valley was rocked by a major earthquake in 2012. Two priests died in their churches under the cascading debris. The pastor of the parish of San Michele Arcangelo of Montale Rangone, is Canon Andrea Gianelli,  who restored his parish superlatively and removed  the people's altar on this occasion. The priest, who had been ordained in 1970, is said to have been encouraged  by Pope Benedict XVI. for some time as concerns liturgical questions. The restoration of the earthquake-damaged church would then have been an occasion for him  to act.

Oreientation "mandatory" coram Deo

The intrepid and well-known in his diocesan priest had sent the church newspaper of his archdiocese, the reasons for his decision,which was printed in its entirety on 15 December 2013. The pastor explained how it is generally understood that the priest prays in persona Christi at the altar "and sacrifices, as Jesus Himself would offer sacrifice to God the Father. Thus, the attitude of prayer also changes physically, because it occurs in a direct relationship to God. Even the people pray, but not directly, but through the ordained priest, who says the Eucharistic Prayer alone for this reason. The people hear him and are  united with him in the end by the Amen. The people worship and unites with  his sacrifice, but also his joys in the sacrifice of Christ, but this part of the Mass is essential priestly. It follows necessarily that all are oriented towards the Lord. Not surprisingly, it is called in response to the invitation to lift up our hearts: We lift them up to the Lord."

No Obligation For "People's Altar"

Canon Gianelli then illustrated, referring to Pope Benedict XVI.,  that the direction of prayer for the Church was always East from the beginning, "which is almost 1950 years long," which speaks of an "authentic tradition." "It is a mistake to think that Jesus had looked at the Last Supper toward the apostles, as if he were sitting in their midst. The famous Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, which many artists have followed, mediated a false picture of those events as studies clearly. "The Second Vatican Council doesn't say anything about a people's altar and a prayer towards the people," just as much as it says  that the Latin language of the Church was abolished, but rather put it specifically states that it is to be preserved." The Congregation for Divine Worship made ​​it clear in a document of 2000 that there is no compulsion or obligation to prepare a "people's altar".

Church Newspaper: Is a Change of Practice "Opportune"?

However, the church newspaper added a comment. It was the decision of the canon, who was consecrated in  1970, which not only wasn't criticized, but expressly praised. In praising, it was acknowledged that in his reasoning for the three places of celebration in the Novus Ordo  (chair, lectern, altar), but also his emphasis that the Eucharistic Prayer is a prayer direction and in a double sense is "oriented."
The church newspaper described the decision as "totally permissible and lawful" because they have violated neither a legal nor a liturgical provision. However, the diocesan paper then raised the question whether it was "opportune," to celebrate coram Deo  after celebrating "50 years" facing the people.  For a justification, the church paper said that with a celebration ad populum, the Eucharist can be "observed."

"Unfounded Rationalization"

"The reasoning is completely baseless," said Messa in Latino , "because 50 years is not a  sufficient span of time for the Church  to derive a liturgical customary law.  In addition, the reason for the direction of prayer is not the Eucharist, which is also observed in the traditional form, but turning to God, the sacrificial character instead of the character of a meal, the symbolic meaning of the altar cross, the priest and the people are facing and not facing each other, in order to face the East  of the returning Christ, the Sun of Righteousness. "
In addition, they are astonished at the sudden reverence for the Holy Eucharist, "since otherwise there is  heard no criticism, however, that  the tabernacle is not relegated to a few churches, new and old,  in dark, secluded corners," said Messa in Latino . "The laudable example of Canon Gianelli shows that even priests ordained in the New Rite and celebrating a life in the New Rite have been able to identify and rethink undesirable developments through their involvement with the liturgy."
"Will the Ordinary accept the pastor's step?" Asked Messa in Latino . The faithful have accepted him. The removal of the  volksaltar  has,  says canon Gianelli, been the occasion in his parish for some discussion. He had, however, explained his decision in detail and the believers seem to have understood it.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Messa in Latino
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Katholisches...
AMGD

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Papal Nuncio to Indonesia: The Differences Between True and False Reform

(Jakarta) on the 15th of October Archbishop Antonio Filipazzi, the Apostolic Nuncio to Indonesia, just opened a meeting there on the 50th Anniversary of the promulgation of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium of the Second Vatican Council. In the celebration of Holy Mass to begin the meeting, he delivered a sermon to be reproduced in excerpts. In it he talked about the primacy and beauty of the liturgy and criteria to distinguish true and false reform.

Nothing has Precedence Over the Liturgy

First, the nuncio stressed the importance of the Mass. It is neither a "secondary" nor a "purely formal" act or just an "accessory" for meetings and conferences. Rather, "the celebration of the liturgy even has priority over study, it remains infinitely greater and more important than all our thoughts about them." The Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium recalls the words: "From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of His Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree."(SC 7). Nuncio Filipazzi urged cultivation and promotion of this awareness. The sacred liturgy should therefore "never be reduced to an arbitrarily manipulable object", as Pope Benedict XVI. has stressed. "Unfortunately it is perhaps that the liturgy seen is seen as an object that is to be reformed, and not as a subject capable of renewing Christian life - - even by us pastors and experts" (Speech to the staff of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, Sant'Anselmo, 6 May 2011).

"We must approach the liturgy, be it when we celebrate it, as well as when we study it with the awed attitude of Moses, when he approached the burning bush, signs of the presence of the living God," said the Nuncio.

Neither the Holy Mass should be regarded as a mere formal gesture that set, because it is just as common in church meetings. Instead, the Council's Constitution recall that "the liturgy of the peak, where the action of the Church tends, and also the source from which all her power flows" (SC 10). "From this source of grace celebrated the sacred mysteries of the Church is also the light and the strength to think about the liturgy," Archbishop Filipuzzi. "The just shall live by faith" (Rom 1:17), St. Paul quoted in Romans, the prophet Habakkuk and remind us that the faith is the principle that everything must enlighten and guide our lives, because it related to the "impact of the liturgy on the reality that God and the salvation of concern," the nuncio. The deepening of the study of liturgy could therefore only be performed by the "light of faith".

"This session we will start on the anniversary of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor of the Church. The commemoration of the saints highlights an important dimension of the liturgy, which is pronounced in every Holy Mass at the end of the Preface: And so we join the angels and saints, and we sing the praise of your glory: Holy, Holy, Holy God, God of power and might. Heaven and Earth are Full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

Earthly Liturgy as an Anticipation of the Heavenly Liturgy

The conciliar Constitution brings this dimension of the liturgy follows the expression: "In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle; we sing a hymn to the Lord's glory with all the warriors of the heavenly army; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ, until He, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with Him in glory."(SC 8).

In the liturgy, the sky opens to the earth (cf. Benedict XVI., Esor. Ap. Sacramentum Caritatis, 35), God shows himself to us in all His majesty, and we encounter Christ. See the glory of God in the creation of the world as St. Paul calls to mind and as the Church in prayer says. Therein lies the beauty of the Divine Liturgy, the earthly liturgy of the Church, "a beauty that is inherent in the liturgy and does not depend on our efforts to make it beautiful by human agents that do not conform to the liturgy," said the Nuncio. The intrinsic beauty of the sacred celebrations acts of itself, "and not to have celebrated in our way through, as we think of the liturgy, so that it radiates this divine beauty."

The mentality has spread that thinks the liturgy is made "interesting" by Inventiveness

"Unfortunately, the mentality and the resulting practice has spread, according to which the liturgy must constantly change, adapt to different communities and should be made interesting by our inventiveness. Celebrations that spring from such thinking as this will not show the real beauty of the Church! Already the craving for new tools to make the liturgy interesting, have already shown how fickle and fleeting this contrived beauty is which is created by us," said the Nuncio. "The Holy Spirit enlightens the work of this conference and the liturgical life of Indonesia, so that the true nature of the beauty of the liturgy is always better recognized and understood, and all the priests and believers are trying to make them shine in every celebration," said Archbishop Filipuzzi.

The Nuncio then asked how the saints, for example, St. Teresa of Avila, can help ain the understanding of the liturgy today. The life and work of Saint Teresa of Avila was performed in a time that was marked both by the appearance of Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation, and on the other hand the Catholic reform, and thus, the response of the Catholic Church on the need for renewal in the Church, which mainly concretized in the Council of Trent and in the work of many saints of that century. At the time of the holy Carmelite, therefore, there were two forms of "reform" present: a reform that broke up the visible unity of Christ's Church, and reform, on the other hand, producing a new flowering of Christian life, which has rich whose benefits for us.

Church History knows many examples of true and false reforms "History shows us that in almost every era in the Church encountered true and false reforms. Rather, even within each process for the renewal of ecclesial life, mixing elements of true reform and other, such that it impoverished and defaced the face of the Church. It is therefore necessary to clarify the criteria for identifying to distinguish between the true and the false reform.

These criteria can not be subjective or simply pragmatic, but must be criteria of faith, because the Church is a divine-human reality that can be truly realized only with the light of divine revelation. If we consider the two thousand years of experience of the Church, we can identify some criteria.

Any genuine renewal of the Church must take place in full accordance with the teachings of the Church, it must be done in respect of the hierarchical structure and the order of the Church, it must benefit the community and unity of the Church, it must preserve the heritage of spirituality and piety of the past, it must resist the urge of fallen human nature and especially also the influences of the secular mentality, and with an attitude of patience and humility," said the Nuncio.

"Light and Shadow" Since the Council - St. Teresa of Avila, however, Only Light

"These are the criteria that should guide the implementation of what the Second Vatican Council established 50 years ago in the liturgy. This half century saw light and shadow, positive and negative aspects of the liturgical life of the Church. It is also was associated that the instructions of the Council were not always implemented according to the principles of a true Church reform.

If we look at the life and work of Saint Teresa of Jesus, we see the full realization of the requirements for a true renewal of the church. At the end of her life, she could exclaim with good reason, I am a daughter of the Church, "and therefore she gave the Church impetus for a real and lasting renewal. We ask her for her intercession, so that the considerations of these days, but especially the liturgical life of the Christian community in Indonesia, will be conducted always of those true criteria. " Text: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Cantuale Antonianum / Vatican Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com Link to Katholisches...

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Private Mass of Pope Francis: Crucifix and Candles on the Altar

(Rio de Janeiro) The pictures published by the daily newspaper La Informacion  shows Pope Francis at the private celebration of Mass on Tuesday at the residence of Sumaré where the head of the Church lives during his Brazil visit to Rio de Janeiro.  Accion Liturgica drew attention to the candlesticks and a crucifix  that were centrally placed on the altar.
These were corresponding elements of the liturgical renewal during the pontificate of Benedict XVI.,  to clarify that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was never ad populum , but always celebrated ad Deum  even in the Novus Ordo with a Volksaltar [Cramner Table] and and the attitude of the priest executed facing the nave of the church.
The four candles are in accordance with the prescriptions by Saint Pope Pius V in the "Tridentine Mass", according to the old practice  for a private exhibition of a bishop, and in the specific case of the Pope. According to the regulation, the candles are conformed to the crucifix in the middle altar in materials and workmanship.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Accion Liturgica
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to katholisches...

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Instead of Guido Marini, Again a New (Old) Master of Ceremonies? -- Piero Marini in Audience with Pope Francis

(Vatican) Will Piero Marini soon be in charge of the Papal liturgies? The Papal Master of Ceremonies Monsignor Guido Marini, put into practice the Liturgical renewal of Pope Benedict XVI., is to be again replaced by Monsignor Piero Marini and thus his predecessor, will again be his successor? These questions were posed today by the church historian and Catholic blogger Francisco Fernandez de la Cigoña. "If that should happen, the pope would clearly express what liturgical taste is. The exact opposite of Benedict XVI." said de la Cigoña.

The Pope has every right to appoint a new master of ceremonies, or to resume the one he has. The Archbishop Piero Marini, the pope was received today by Francis in an audience, “must mean nothing, but it can mean a lot," said de la Cigoña.

Archbishop Piero Marini was master of ceremonies under Pope John Paul II, Benedict XVI. replaced him in 2007 by Monsignor Guido Marini. Despite the similarity of names the two represent entirely different Marinis of liturgical sensibilities. The reigning master of ceremonies Guido Marini comes from the Genoese school of Cardinal Siri.

Should Piero Marini be brought back, "we know exactly what liturgy appeals to the Pope and what does not. Some idea we have already,” said the Spanish church historian.

The official daily newsletter of the Vatican Press Office on 4 April under "Audiences" reported:
The Holy Father Francis has received in audience this morning:

His Eminence Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples

The Pope receives in audience this morning:

His Eminence Cardinal James Michael Harvey, Archpriest of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls

Link to Katholisches...

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Palm Sunday: Papal Liturgy Will be the Same



(Vatican) The Vatican publishing house has printed the booklet distributed to the faithful for the celebration of the Pope's Palm Sunday liturgy. Cantuale Antonianum drew a comparison with the previous years papal liturgy under Pope Benedict XVI., because there were fears that the painstakingly developed  liturgical renewal of Benedict XVI. would be undone. The handwriting of the papal master of ceremonies Monsignor Guido Marini is still unmistakable. The liturgy is thus “completely identical” to Cantuale Antonianum, except of course the vintage year (2013 Palm Sunday liturgy , Palm Sunday liturgy in 2012 ).
There is only one eye-stinging difference. The parts of the preface or the blessing sung by the celebrant contain no notes in the booklet for the Palm Sunday, 2013. Therein it is concluded in the Cantuale Antonianum that the Pope would not  sing. The Holy See has this notofficially expressed their opinion and therefore has not stated the reasons for it. Cantuale Antonianum voices the suspicion that Pope Francis can not sing. "What remains is speculative for now," said the site.
To another physical aspect Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombadi has not yet taken a position. Pope Francis has  celebrated by him in the celebration of the Eucharist at the major elevation of the prayer made at the Body and Blood of Christ does not genuflect. The fact confused and led to numerous inquiries.

Singing and knee problems the pope?

In the booklet for the solemn Pontifical Mass for the inauguration on 19 March was expressly noted that the Pope after the elevation "kneels in adoration." Pope Francis occurred yet, as previously, only one bow. Also in the magazine for the Palm Sunday liturgy is again recorded in both places that the Pope after the conversion words "kneels in adoration." For this too must a physical disability will be accepted which makes a genuflection possible, especially since the genuflection is prescribed and Pope Benedict XVI. is able to execute it despite his almost 86 years and his painful hip problems. A simple explanation by the "Newsroom" of the Holy See would provide clarity.
"Even if the Pope does not sing and can't kneel down, this is not to say that the priests should imitate him in it, said Cantuale Antonianum because the papal liturgy should generally be a role model for priests. "Human limitations should not be a reason for others to liturgical fractures. It's not about a question of style, but the substance, said the website, which is mainly dedicated to questions of liturgy and church music.
On Palm Sunday again, the antiphon Pueri Hebraeorum will be sung during the procession on St. Peter's Square. "A beautiful example that should be imitated in the parishes .” The following is the recording  from the Palm Sunday  procession in 2011 The verses are sung in Italian.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Mozetta Returns --- Was it All a Misunderstanding?



(Vatican) A bright red mozetta  was recently delivered to the Vatican by the Pontifical Household. It was ordered just this morning  in haste at the tailor Gammarelli in Rome.
Tomorrow morning there will be the solemn Pontifical Mass for the beginning of the Petrine ministry of the Bishop of Rome. An inauguration ceremony has replaced the usual once since John Paul I. 1978 replaced the usual  coronation of the Pope with the tiara. "In all probability, the only possible reason to explain the order is that  it will be worn by Pope Francis at the inauguration. It is believed that this will be at the tribute ceremony, where the Pope accepts "the promise obedience of the cardinals,” as Messa in Latino reported.

Papal Mozetta Hurriedly ordered and delivered in the Vatican 

Will  the cover  combined with the choir dress of the pope back sooner than expected? Will its owner be the occupant of the Petrine Office?  Tomorrow we will have clarity. Pope Francis had the papal Mozetta that is not any piece of clothing, but a liturgical robe, rejected with rude words when master of ceremonies Monsignor Guido Marini tried to attire him for his first appearance after the Habemus Papam at the loggia of St. Peter's. The loud confrontation with Monsignor Marini was witnessed by many in attendance. The rejection by the Pope was all the more surprising to see, as the master of ceremonies only did his duty and Francis had worn the Mozetta since his episcopal ordination around 1992, including most recently, those of cardinals during the conclave in the Sistine Chapel. Was it all a misunderstanding in a highly emotional moment for the new Pope after his election?

Will Pope Francis wear tomorrow the vestment he rejected at his election?

Pope as Cardinal Francis with Kardinalsmozetta Peter's SquareMessa in Latino,  who was notified of a near dismissal of the Benedict XVI appointed  master of ceremonies, takes note with satisfaction that Monsignor Marini in any case will direct the inauguration ceremony and coordinate with the altar server Franciscans of La Verna who were summoned to Rome.
The Pontifical Ceremonies has with meticulous precision and dedication prepared everything in detail on the model and the provisions of Pope Benedict XVI. Lauds Regiae and the Pontifical Mass will be celebrated in Latin, the language of the Church. The readings, the Responsorial and the supplications are in different languages ​​including Arabic and Chinese. The Gospel is presented only in Greek, the language of the Church of the East, not in the sacral language, as Pope Benedict XVI. had introduced for solemn papal conventions. It seems to have been the desire to abbreviate the ceremony somewhat. With the same intent, the procession will account for the offertory.

Monsignor Marini XVI had prepared a solemn Pontifical Mass according to the specifications of Benedict.

For the Offertory,  the Sistine Chapel will sing the four voiced,  Palestrina motet Tu es Pastor Ovium which was specially composed for the 1585 coronation of the popes.
Monsignor Marini has compiled Latin / Italian / English program notes  for the inauguration, which was printed for the next day at the Vatican publishing house and will be given to all believers and the present leaders, the diplomatic corps and representatives of the Eastern churches, other denominations and religions . In the Eucharist, the Roman Eucharistic Prayer will be used. After the elevation of the Body and Blood of Christ is explicitly recorded that "the Holy Father kneel in adoration."

Pope will bow in adoration after elevation of the Body and Blood of Christ, the knee?

Pope Francis had in his two Masses in the Sistine Chapel in the parish of Santa Anna, and each made only one bow.
The Communion is kneeling on the tongue, as Pope Benedict XVI. had restored under the current rules of the Church. Pope Francis, however, has not as yet not participated in the Communion. In the Sistine Chapel and Santa Anna he gave Holy Communion, only to the two who were serving as deacons.

No Communion by the Pope

With the Te Deum sung, the liturgical part of the celebration closes.
Gammarelli Tailor is a traditional company, since 1798. Under the Blessed Pope Pius IX. it was in the papal tailor in the  19th. All of the robes of all popes since the Blessed John XXIII. were tailored by them.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Messa in Latino

Judas’ Words Echo Through the Centuries

Edit: interesting that so many commentators are creating a false dichotomy between poverty and glorious liturgy and the beauty of the Church. It summons up an image of Judas and the incredulous disciples:


And when Jesus was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper, There came to him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment, and poured it on his head as he was at table. And the disciples seeing it, had indignation, saying: To what purpose is this waste? For this might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. And Jesus knowing it, said to them: Why do you trouble this woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me.

For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always. For she in pouring this ointment upon my body, hath done it for my burial. Amen I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done, shall be told for a memory of her. Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests, And said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of silver.

FatherZ expresses this misgiving as he discusses his own ministry in Holy Mass and his own coming to terms with its “trappings”. Indeed, the caricature of humility and poverty from the media, and others who should know better, when they talks about Pope Francis’ simplifications when St. Francis himself spared no expense for the beauty of his church, vestments and appointments. FatherZ passionately writes:

Back when I resisted the liturgical kissing of my hand when being handed a chain, spoon or chalice, I had made the mistake of imagining myself to be more humble by that resistance. That was a mistake. Ironically, my resistance to those gestures turned the gestures into being about me. Submission to the gestures, on the other hand, erases the priest’s own person and helps him to be what he needs to be in that moment: priest, victim, alter Christus. The trappings, the rubrics, the gestures erase the priest’s poor person. Resisting these things runs the risk of making them all about the priest again.

In a sense, I had made the objection of Judas about the precious nard which the woman brought to the Lord. Jesus responded that the precious stuff should be kept for His Body, which was to be sacrificed. People who object that we should have only poor liturgy are falling into the argument of Judas. We must submit to the precious and sublime in recognition of the truth of what is going on. To pit the sublime and complex and precious and beautiful against the low, simple and humble is schizophrenic and not Catholic.

There is no real conflict of the humble and the sublime in liturgical worship
Link to painting a stained glass store.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Italian Blog Quotes Pope, “The time for carnival items is over”.

Is this good-bye Msgr. Marini?

Edit: this is Cathcon’s translation of Katholisches which picks up a lot of stuff in the Italian press and presents it for a Catholic audience in Germany. Here, they’ve quoted the very reliable blog, Missa in Latino, with one person apparently overhearing the Pope tell Msgr. Marini that "The time for carnival items is over”.

It’s also apparent that Msgr. Marini, Pope Benedict’s Master of Ceremonies, is going to be fired.
Monsignor Guido Marini, the Master of Ceremonies of Pope Benedict XVI. and all previous Masters of Ceremony face redundancy. This is reported by the tradition-orientated Messa in Latino . Pope Francis will get for his inauguration ceremony and the associated Pontifical Mass, the Franciscans of La Verna. "A further signal of the Jesuit Bergoglio to present himself as Franciscan on which the media places great value " said Messa in Latino .

Can only panic ensue because of the nature of the statement for which no exact source can be specified? Only a form of incitement associated with traditionalists against the new Pope, as the Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi recently lamented? Traditionalist Catholics are confused by some gestures of the Pope. The return of the "plywood altar" (Paul Badde) as people's altar in the Sistine Chapel was perceived partly with horror.

The Master of Ceremonies of the Pope is associated with the Roman Curia and the leadership of the church as much as a hermit on a high mountain. He is responsible for the central part of the liturgy, from which alone can come the renewal of the Church. If Monsignor Marini should actually be dismissed and it looks like even the first to be dismissed, then the recently so vehemently demanded conversion of the Roman Curia would start with a completely wrong step.
Link to Cathcon...

Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Pope’s First Mass is Versus Populum

Setting for Mass Versus Populum

Is the Cafeteria Open?


Edit: according to FatherZ, the new Pope is now saying Mass in the magnificent Sistine Chapel versus populum.  Once you start a ball rolling, it’s hard to stop.  One wonders what other changes will be taking place?  It looks like we’re going back to John Paul II and that Msgr Marini may be looking for a new job soon.

Some of us were brought back to 2006!

Here you can watch the Mass live on EWTN.

One reader asks, “is the cafeteria open?”  Thanks to him for that witty reposte.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Benedict XVI. Made Changes to the Enthronement Rite of the New Pope -- Ferula Papalis and Tiara?

(Vatican)  Osservatore Romano  published an interview with the Minister of Cermonies of the Pope, Msgr Guido Marini in its Saturday edition. On the 18th of February Pope Benedict XVI. received Msgr Marini in audience. On this occasion he made “in the power of his Apostolic authority” some changes in the Ordo rituum pro minister Petrini initio Romae episcopi.

In the interview Msgr Marini explained the proposed changes by the Pope. What was not also mentioned regarding the use of the Ferula Papalis is that Pope Paul replaced it with a cross staff that was characteristic of the pontificate of John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI. returned the old practice with Palm Sunday of 2008, initially by using the Ferula of Pius XI, then from 2009 a lighter custom made Ferula was found for him. Will the Tiara be reserved, a visible expression of papal authority even if it is only placed on special occasions on the statue of the Apostle Peter and first Pope?

First: What is the Ordo Rituum per ministerii Petrini initio Romae episcopi?

As the introduction to the Ordo under Nr. 2 says, it deals with the Rituale, which the papal celebration of the Bishop of Rome  upon the occupation of his See and the places it governs.

In other words the book contains all of the liturgical texts for the celebrations of the new Pope from the moment of the solemn proclamation of his election to his visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

The Ordo was approbated by Benedict XVI. with the rescript Ex audientia Summi Pontificis of 20 April 2005, on the day after his election as Pontifex Maximus. I must also add that the office for the Liturgical celebration of the Pope required at that time great subject knowledge and a large work for study and preparation, in order to bring the Ordo in its form.
Holy Father With Ferula

The Pope has now approved some changes in the same way. Can you tell us the reason?

It seems to me that I can describe two in particular.

First of all the Pope once experienced the celebration at the beginning of his Pontificate in 2005.

This experience and the consequent employment with that ended some interventions from him for the improvement of the texts in the sense of a harmonic development. Second, he wanted to continue in this line, that he had taken the steps toward changes in the papal Liturgy.

In other words: for the better celebration of Holy Mass to distinguish it from other rites which are not directly connected.

I refer for example to the rite of canonization, of the Resurrexit on Easter Sunday and the conferring of the Palium to new Metropolitan Bishops.

What will happen in practice?

As already indicated, the celebration of the inauguration of the Bishop of Rome will be ordered just as also with the enthronement in the Lateran Basilica the typical rites before and outside of Holy Mass and no more within the same. What the celebration of the inauguration of the Bishop of Rome involves, so all of the Cardinals will participate in the oath of obedience.

In this way the gestures which the electing Cardinals will perform during the election in the Sixtine Chapel, will again retain a public dimension and with that include all members of the College of Cardinals and at the same time is an expression of his Catholicity.

It doesn’t involve a novelty, which all well remember at the act of obedience in the beginning of the pontificate of John Paul II, in which all the Cardinals at the time participated. It suffices to think on the famous and moving picture, the embrace of Pope Wojtyla showed with the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as with Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski.

In the interview Msgr. Marini refers to the rite of obedience as reported by Cathcon:


When Pope Benedict celebrated his inaugural Mass in 2005, 12 people were chosen to represent all Catholics: three cardinals, a bishop, a diocesan priest, a transitional deacon, a male religious, a female religious, a married couple and a young man and a young woman recently confirmed.

Among the first acts of the new bishop of Rome, is provided for in the visit to the two papal basilicas of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major. Are there also some changes in this regard?

In contrast to what was has been envisaged for the Ordo, new pope does not have to do this immediately after the election, but can make it as he deems an appropriate time and do in an appropriate form, be it with a Mass, with the Liturgy of the Hours or special liturgical form, what previously had been required.

Is there anything new in the field of music?

The former Ordo allowed for mostly a new musical repertoire, which was composed on the occasion of the drafting of the Ordo.

The current Benedict XVI approbated version provides more freedom in the choice of the sung parts and allows the rich musical treasure of the Church's history to bring to bear.

Einleitung und Übersetzung: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Wikicommons

Friday, January 18, 2013

Cardinal Canizares Cites SSPX in Need to Reform Liturgy

Edit: Cardinal Canizares cites Archbishop Lefebvre.  "Some of the changes called upon by the Second Vatican Council are still pending..."  This is a possible motive for his reform, which he also says, is not synonymous with change.

Archbishop Di Noia has also sent out a letter to SSPX HQ in Menzigen, which then forwarded the letter to all of the priests of the SSPX.

Hence, so much for those who've not wanted these discussions to be fruitful from the start, especially those Old Liberals in Germany.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Don Siro Cisilino, Guardian of the Immemorial Mass Through Trials and Bans

(Venice) Today it is hardly imaginable any more, what the climate was,  even a few years earlier it considerably more rough. Individual priests who would held to the old Mass were those who were hard pressed by the Diocesan church leadership. One of them was the priest Don Siro Cisilino, for whom it is to be thanked, that the celebration of Holy Mass in the "Old Rite" was never broken in Venice. A short portrait should portray his way. A few months before his election as Pope the then Patriarch of Venice, Albino Cardinal Luciani, forbid in 1978, with a hard line, against the celebration of the "Old Rite" in the city and in his entire Diocese.

The famous "city on the water" had a priest, Don Siro Cisilino, despite the 1965 intervening Liturgical revisions and the following Liturgical reform a few years later, held fast to the Tridentine Rite. The priest and musicologist born in Pantianicco near Udine in Friuli, worked as a pastor in lagoon city. There he wed the beautiful, 1718 classical style overlain on the previous medieval structure of the church of St. Simeon Piccolo. The church is consecrated to the Apostles Simeon and Thaddeus. In order to distinguish it from a nearby parish church, which is consecrated to the Prophet Simeon, it is called the parish church of San Simmeone Grande and the church on the canal is called San Simeone Piccolo. The oldest evidence for both churches traces the back to the 10th century.

Abrupt Liturgical Change: 1965 Introduction of the Vernacular, 1969 New Missal


As with the abrupt celebration of the Mass in the vernacular on March 7th, 1965,  Don Siro did not alter his practice.  He celebrated from then on in Latin according to the Missal of 1962.  The priest had already previously foreseen a radical change with inner disquiet and great sensitivity to the various small liturgical novelties.

As with the first Sunday of Advent in 1969 according to the 1965 translated Missal of 1962 a far deep ranging attack followed and a completely new Missal was introduced, Don Siro refused it.  He did not allow himself through any inducements or threats to celebrate the New Rite.

Exodus and Patience in the Catacombs

The changing times broke on Don Siro Cisilino.  The priest had to leave his church on the Canal Grande because of his refusal.  He took advantage of the Franciscans of the city for a right of sanctuary,  in order to celebrate outside of Mass times, in the truest sense of the word, to be able to celebrate the Old Rite in peace.

As in 1976 the case of Archbishop Lefebvre and the Society of St. Pius X he founded "exploded" and the "Traditionalists" were persecuted like sectarians, the Franciscans revoked the guest friendship they offered.  Although Don Siro neither knew Archbishop Lefebvre nor had any contacts to this community, he became a victim of an over eager obedience.  He became too "hot" for the Franciscans.

The priest found a new guest friendship with the Benedictines on the island of San Giorgio near the Palace of the Doge.  In the crypt, which he was allotted by the monks, the Mass of Pius V survived in a certain way in the catacombs.  The Benedictines of San Giorgio were changed to the Novus Ordo, yet continued to celebrate in Latin and preserved the Gregorian chant.  This situation gave them understanding for the homeless priest, to whom they gave asylum.

Ways of Providence and the Return to San Simeone Piccolo

By a fortunate consequence, friends of Don Siro's spoke without hesitation of divine providence, when the famous church musician Carlo Durighello, took part in the humble feast, which was held in July 1977 for the 50th Priestly Jubilee of Don Siro. Durighello had received permission from the Curia,  to use the church, closed since the time of Don Siro's forced departure, for a church music concert.  With great expense, Durighello undertook the necessary renovations.

It was the first time through  this that the church musician and the musicologist met for the first time, and it came that Durighello invited Don Siiro to return again back to his old church.  After the first Mass celebration in August of 1977, the traditional priest was installed permanently on his Mass location at the Canal Grande.  The return meant also a departure from the catacombs of San Giorgio and new visibility for the Old Rite.  Under the general climate of that time, a daring step, which Don Siro did not take lightly.  He suspected new difficulties to come.

Soon word got around, that after years in the city without an available Mass in the "Old Rite" was celebrated.  The number of the faithful, who streamed to San Simeone, was ever greater.

Albino Cardinal Luciani, who later became Pope John Paul I, Forbid the Old Mass

The peace did not last long.  Only a few months later the storm broke.  The then Patriarch of Venice, Albino Cardinal Luciani declared in a document that "the celebration of the ancient Mass in the Church of San Simeone Piccolo and in the area of the whole Diocese, is to be categorically forbidden,"  it said in a private message and without the participation of the faithful.  That was the only notification.

In the official Diocesan paper (Rivista diocesana del Patriarcato di Venezia, edition April-May 1978, P 167)  the curia renewed its proclamation:  "The Patriarch previously forbid that in San Simeone Piccolo -- as has been against the protest of the current pastor, the Vicar and other faithful in the render-vous of the movement Una Voce -- that  the so-called Mass of St. Pius X is celebrated."  At least the ban, that the Old Rite may not be celebrated in the entire Diocese any longer, had fallen away.  Don Siro had to leave San Simeone Piccolo for a second time, but was able at least to return to celebrating Holy Mass on the island of San Giorgio with the Benedictines.

Early Death of John Paul I., Saved the Celebration on Canal Grande

After the death of Pope Paul VI. the Patriarch of Venice became elected the new Pope John Paul I on the 26th of August 1978.  His early death with only a pontificate lasting 33 days was such that the Patriarchal throne as well as the Cathedra of Peter in Rome became vacant.  This double vacancy allowed that the celebration of the Old Mass in San Simeone Piccolo could quietly continue.  Don Siro celebrated Holy Mass in the Tridentine Rite till the end of 1984 in the beautiful church on the Canal Grande right across from the train station of the city.  Becoming very sick, not the least because of his hard struggles of the previous 20 years, he returned to his home in Friauli, where he died on March 4th, 1987.

Liturgical Struggles From Death and Beyond

Even in death the Liturgical peace would be refused him.  The dead priest had never celebrated the Novus Ordo a single time in his entire life.  His wish and desire was to be buried in the traditional Rite. Prepared by past experience, his friends made the Curia of Udine aware of this on many occasions.  But still the former Archbishop of Udine, Msgr Alfredo Battisti, celebrated, without hesitating to violate the last will of the departed, the New Rite and versus populum, which Don Siro had steadfastly avoided his entire life.

Don Siro had never let the thread of the celebration of the Mass in the "Old Rite" in Venice ever break. The Holy Mass in the Tridentine Rite could also continue after his departure, in San Simeone Piccolo, where there were found other priests, who followed the example of Don Siro.  In this way, the classical Rite could continue in Venice uninterruptedly till the year of 2007, as Pope Benedict XVI rehabilitated the "Mass of All Times" with the Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum" and called it from the catacombs, to which it had been banned.

Don Siro is the Bridge Builder till Summorum Pontifical

Paolo Zolli, early departed Professor of Romance Languages at the University of Venice and Companion described the accomplishment of Don Siro with the words:  "In the harsh times of adversity courageous men are needed, who will carry the torch on further, till God grants better times."  In the implementation of Motu Proprio,  the former Patriarch, Angelo Cardinal Scola, erected the church of San Simeone Piccolo as a personal parish in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, which has been entrusted to Father Konrad zu Löwenstein of the Fraternity of St. Peter.

Link to original...

Monday, October 8, 2012

Benedict XVI: No Unauthorized Changes in the Liturgy

Vatican City (KNA) Pope Benedict has spoke out against unauthorized alterations in the Liturgy. 
Because of the universality of the Church with its "rich tradition and creativity" the Liturgy "is not to be  distorted by communities or experts",  the Pope said this in his general audience at St. Peter's Square. 
(photo:  today in Germany this can be found almost everywhere:  the laity play in sanctuary theater) 
It's not the individual priest or believer who celebrates the Liturgy, but it is God,  who is the center of the Church, he stressed. 
For that reason these forms must be true to the universal Church.  The religious service is about the living presence of Jesus Christ and not for the recollection of something past, said Benedict XVI further. 
If the celebration doesn't proceed with Christ as the center,  then it doesn't concern Christian Liturgy.   The Liturgy of the smallest community also has the entire Church present, the Pope stressed.

An example for alterations in the Liturgy can be found in a video presentation at a Carnival "Mass" in Ochsenhausen.

From the German District Page of the SSPX...

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Episcopal Consecration Celebrated "Facing God" in Italy


(Rome) The news is not new, yet it is subsequently newsworthy. On the occasion of the consecration of the new bishop of the Diocese of Carpi, Italy, Monsignor Francesco Cavina removed the main altar from the chancel and celebrated ad Dominum Cathedral of Imola. This report on tradition is associated website Messa in Latino. The consecration was in the presence of Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State.

The consecration took place on 22 January 2012 in the Cathedral of St. Cassian instead. It must have been a one-time process that is still remarkable, and not least because of the importance of the event. Two weeks ago, Pope Benedict XVI. also celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the Sistine Chapel ad Dominum.
Destruction of the High Altar

Back in 2006 there was an episcopal ordination in Italy ad orientem, as on 25 June 2006, the new Archbishop of Oristano was ordained in the local cathedral. The consecration was before the then President of the Italian Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Camillo Ruini. The Parish Priest Msgr Costantino Usai had decided to end the "provisional solution" of a popular shrine. He justified the decision to the cathedral chapter, among other things, that the initiative that had been was not caused by the Second Vatican Council. The main altar is hindering the full enjoyment of the great dynamic power of the liturgy, and it runs the risk of a reduction in the danger of self-celebration in itself. The outgoing Archbishop Monsignor Pier Giuliano Tiddia had welcomed the decision.


As the newly appointed Archbishop Msgr Ignazio Sanna was consecrated and enthroned, he was forced to celebrate ad Dominum. Immediately after his enthronement the new Archbishop explained then that the "experiment" ad orientem is "not successful" and "this form of celebration" will lead back "to a pre-Conciliar dimension", "which, as I must assure, does not correspond to the sensibility of the people of God." The people's altar was rebuilt, this time the high altar was permanently bricked up and broken off from the possibility of another "restoration trial".

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Images: Messa in Latino / Fides et Forma