Another Change at Mass

[miniquedoes]

Well today our Franciscan priest decided to say “Lord let your spirit come upon these gifts, your world, and your people, to make them holy so they may become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ” :eek He also always says “…and gave it to His disciples and friends and said” (what friends does he mean???) He changed everything today but the words of Consecration…Thank God

And of course every Mass ends with “The Mass has ended. Let us go to be peacemakers in our world”

 

[benedictgal]

Well today our Franciscan priest decided to say “Lord let your spirit come upon these gifts, your world, and your people, to make them holy so they may become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ” :eek He also always says “…and gave it to His disciples and friends and said” (what friends does he mean???) He changed everything today but the words of Consecration…Thank God

And of course every Mass ends with “The Mass has ended. Let us go to be peacemakers in our world”

You might want to drop him a letter or send him an email respectfully stating that such editing is ilicit. Here is the citation from Redemptionis Sacramentum:

[59.] The reprobated practice by which Priests, Deacons or the faithful here and there alter or vary at will the texts of the Sacred Liturgy that they are charged to pronounce, must cease. For in doing thus, they render the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy unstable, and not infrequently distort the authentic meaning of the Liturgy.

Please read what RS says about the Eucharistic Prayer:

51.] Only those Eucharistic Prayers are to be used which are found in the Roman Missal or are legitimately approved by the Apostolic See, and according to the manner and the terms set forth by it. "It is not to be tolerated that some Priests take upon themselves the right to compose their own Eucharistic Prayers"129 or to change the same texts approved by the Church, or to introduce others composed by private individuals.130

What you are describing is very seriuos and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible. If the priest persists, then, you have recourse to the bishop.

 

[malphono]

I’m not one to use the “A” word very often, but this case is an exception. What is described in the OP is, as benedictgal has already said, a serious situation. Far more so than the “garden variety” in that the texts in question are the epiklesis and the Institution Narrative.

I presume the church involved is not a in a friary, but is a church within the jurisdiction of a diocese, so if the priest is other than the pastor, the pastor is the first line of appeal. And since the priest is a religious, there is possibly another median step before appealing to the bishop: the local superior, then the Provincial.

 

[AidanM32]

All priests say stuff differently… here in Ireland they might say something different from America… and i have heard “friends” here before!

 

[benedictgal]

All priests say stuff differently… here in Ireland they might say something different from America… and i have heard “friends” here before!

However, that is no justification for playing fast and loose with the texts of the Mass. Redemptionis Sacramentum is not meant for only the United States; it is a universal document and must be obeyed.

 

[Palaeologos]

Well today our Franciscan priest decided to say “Lord let your spirit come upon these gifts, your world, and your people, to make them holy so they may become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ” :eek He also always says “…and gave it to His disciples and friends and said” (what friends does he mean???) He changed everything today but the words of Consecration…Thank God

And of course every Mass ends with “The Mass has ended. Let us go to be peacemakers in our world”

:nope:

Is he really asking that the world be made the Body & Blood of our Lord? If all the water in the world becomes the Most Precious Blood, then who’s going to consume it all?!

Good grief, some of these baby-boomers need to let go of the '60s…!

 

[puzzleannie]

Well today our Franciscan priest decided to say “Lord let your spirit come upon these gifts, your world, and your people, to make them holy so they may become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ” :eek He also always says “…and gave it to His disciples and friends and said” (what friends does he mean???) He changed everything today but the words of Consecration…Thank God

are you absolutely 100% positive he is not using one of the approved Eucharistic prayers, there are at least 7 that I know of and maybe more

 

[benedictgal]

are you absolutely 100% positive he is not using one of the approved Eucharistic prayers, there are at least 7 that I know of and maybe more

However, the texts don’t make such a radical departure from the basic EP formula. Unfortunately, down here, we, too, have a Franciscan priest who likes to take some liberties with the Mass. I do not want to generalize, but, that seems to be a scary trend among some of the religious. We had a visiting Salesian priest and he, too, took some liberties with the EP. It was EP III, but, he changed up things quite a bit. It was not very good.

 

[mwscott]

are you absolutely 100% positive he is not using one of the approved Eucharistic prayers, there are at least 7 that I know of and maybe more

None of the 7 use these words. In my experience, a very common (albeit illicit) change to the words of the epeclisis is to ask God to bless “us/the world/these people/our lives” etc. I know a Jesuit priest who says, “Bless us Lord, make us a holy people, and bless these gifts - symbols of ourselves - that they may become the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

The three Eucharistic Prayers for Children do use the words “friends” in the Institution Narrative but they replace the word “disciple” rather than using them together.

For reference, here are the four Eucharistic Prayers and the three Eucharistic Prayers for Children.

All priests say stuff differently… here in Ireland they might say something different from America… and i have heard “friends” here before!

Not all priests say stuff differently, but a fair amount of priests say things different from what is printed in the Sacramentary which is illicit, per the quotes Benedictgal gave from the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship et al. Often times, people don’t understand (and its usually not their fault) that the priest does not “own” the Mass. The Mass - like the Divine Office - is the prayer of the entire universal Church, thus we are bound to celebrate it the way that the Church desires.

 

[malphono]

None of the 7 use these words. In my experience, a very common (albeit illicit) change to the words of the epeclisis is to ask God to bless “us/the world/these people/our lives” etc. I know a Jesuit priest who says, “Bless us Lord, make us a holy people, and bless these gifts - symbols of ourselves - that they may become the Body and Blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

I have memories of that same sort of abuse (there’s the “A” word again) from 35+ years ago, and to this day those memories make me shudder. That such is still going on apparently means that (a) the dreaded “spirit of Vatican II” still has far too many clerical adherents, and (b) the liturgical free-for-all is still an on-going thing. How depressing.

Of course I know full well that that the view of the Epiklesis in Latin theology is different, but if one looks at this from an Eastern/Oriental point of view, what was done actually raises the question of validity, not just that of liceity. Again, how depressing.

 

[miniquedoes]

Unfortunately, many Franciscan priest celebrate the Mass however they see fit. The only time I have ever seen a Franciscan priest say the Mass correctly was when it was celebrated by a Franciscan of the Renewal (I thanked God for that experience)

 

[ProVobis]

Of course I know full well that that the view of the Epiklesis in Latin theology is different, but if one looks at this from an Eastern/Oriental point of view, what was done actually raises the question of validity, not just that of liceity. Again, how depressing.

That’s what I would be concerned about too. As there is at least one approved canon which has no “magic” words of consecration, I would think the entire canon (EP) has to be licit for there to be a valid Mass. I’m not 100% certain of this but doubtful enough to attend another Mass at another parish just to be sure I’ve fulfilled my obligation.

 

[Justin1224]

There are many Eucharistic Prayers

Eucharistic Prayers I - IV
Eucharistic Prayers for Masses with Children I -III
Eucharistic Prayers for Masses of Reconcilliation I & II
Eucharistic Prayers for Various Needs & Occasions I - IV

and also I know that there also was one for Concelebrated Masses

catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/EP.htm