Are these liturgical changes okay?

[Jabronie]

There’s a priest at a church I attend fairly regularly who does a couple of things that make me wonder. He’s a really nice guy and I hate to raise a stink about it, but I better ask.

1. He slightly changes the words of consecration. “… broke the bread, gave it to his friends and said…”
2. He doesn’t genuflect after “…will be given up for you.”
3. He doesn’t genuflect after “…so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.” Instead he and the deacon bow.

Do these things matter. I hate to sound like a liturgy-nazi. But it is the most important part of Mass…

 

[marty1818]

There’s a priest at a church I attend fairly regularly who does a couple of things that make me wonder. He’s a really nice guy and I hate to raise a stink about it, but I better ask.

1. He slightly changes the words of consecration. “… broke the bread, gave it to his friends and said…”
2. He doesn’t genuflect after “…will be given up for you.”
3. He doesn’t genuflect after “…so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.” Instead he and the deacon bow.

Do these things matter. I hate to sound like a liturgy-nazi. But it is the most important part of Mass…

1. There is a use of friends that is found in Eucharistic Prayer of Reconciliation I

" Again he gave you thanks, handed the cup to his friends, and said"

But I think that’s the only place that “friends” appears. The priest should not be changing any of the Eucharistic Prayer. As long as he says “This is MY Body” and "This is MY Blood the consecration is valid.

1. From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

~274. During Mass, three genuflections are made by the priest celebrant: namely, after the showing of the host, after the showing of the chalice, and before Communion.

The priest should genuflect at those times unless he is physically unable to genuflect. In those cases the priest should do a profound bow.

God Bless,
Matt

 

[japhy]

1. He slightly changes the words of consecration. “… broke the bread, gave it to his friends and said…”

If he is using EP for Reconciliation I (as the other poster mentioned), he says “disciples” for the bread and “friends” for the wine. But he is bound by duty to say the words of the EP he is reading without changing them.

1. He doesn’t genuflect after “…will be given up for you.”
2. He doesn’t genuflect after “…so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.” Instead he and the deacon bow.

The priest is to genuflect unless he is physically incapable of doing so, in which case he should make a profound bow both times. As for the deacon, he should be kneeling at least from the epiclesis through the elevation of the Chalice; so says the GIRM:
179. During the Eucharistic Prayer, the deacon stands near the priest but slightly behind him, so that when needed he may assist the priest with the chalice or the Missal. From the epiclesis until the priest shows the chalice, the deacon normally remains kneeling.

1. … During Mass, three genuflections are made by the priest celebrant: namely, after the showing of the host, after the showing of the chalice, and before Communion. …

Do these things matter. I hate to sound like a liturgy-nazi. But it is the most important part of Mass…

You’re not a liturgical Nazi, you’re concerned about the appropriate level of respect being shown to the Most Blessed Sacrament, to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ on the altar. And it’s not your standard of respect, it’s the Church’s!

 

[JimR-OCDS]

If he is using EP for Reconciliation I (as the other poster mentioned), he says “disciples” for the bread and “friends” for the wine. But he is bound by duty to say the words of the EP he is reading without changing them.

1. During the Eucharistic Prayer, the deacon stands near the priest but slightly behind him, so that when needed he may assist the priest with the chalice or the Missal. From the epiclesis until the priest shows the chalice, the deacon normally remains kneeling.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Deacons are instructed to stand throughout, unless there is a con-celebrating priest.

Jim

In our local seminary, transitional deacons kneel from the epiclesis until the Eucharistic Acclamation, and that is the standard throughout the diocese.

 

[japhy]

Your post was malformed; please check your quoting next time.

[GIRM]
179. During the Eucharistic Prayer, the deacon stands near the priest but slightly behind him, so that when needed he may assist the priest with the chalice or the Missal. From the epiclesis until the priest shows the chalice, the deacon normally remains kneeling.

Deacons are instructed to stand throughout, unless there is a con-celebrating priest.

I assume you mean in your diocese your Bishop instructs the deacons to stand throughout unless there is a concelebrant. I don’t know whether that is a decision he is allowed to make, but if it is, then it is an exception to the rule.

If you meant otherwise, that is something I admit I have no knowledge of, and would be interested in knowing the document that pertains to that change.

By “the deacon normally remains kneeling”, I assume this means “this is the norm” as well as “there may be a circumstance where he would not be kneeling for a period of time” (because the word remains is used). For example: the deacon is kneeling (as per the norms) but stands up to incense the gifts at their consecration. This example is found in GIRM 179: “From the epiclesis until the priest shows the chalice, the deacon normally remains kneeling. If several deacons are present, one of them may place incense in the thurible for the consecration and incense the host and the chalice as they are shown to the people.”