Blessings by the congregation

[benedictgal]

I was emailing a friend who is a very knowledgeable Catholic, and I asked him about whether this was abuse or not. He contacted his bishop, and the bishop told him that it’s not abuse when they [laity] ask God, by the priest, to bless the faithful, but it is abuse if they try to bless the faithful on their own authority as if they were ordained.

However, I am not sure if the bishop is aware of Ecclesia de Mysterio. You many not believe this, but, a lot of times, information does not filter down to where it needs to go. Furthermore, often, a bishop will let either his Office of Worship or his Liturgical Commission do the research on liturgical matters. Sometimes, the work is not very thorough, or, it is left to volunteers who do the best they can, but, may not have the resources to get all of the documents, read them and hand them to their ordinaries. As someone who was a volunteer and had to do the grunt work, I speak from experience. It’s also the same concept working for a legislator. Often, the staff has to be the ones to learn the rules of the House/Senate and prep the member before he goes to the Floor and make sure that his legislation is point-of-order proof so that it won’t die during debate.

As I said in a previous post, even the CDWDS is frustrated. The prelate whom I spoke to last month told me that often, it’s the faithful who wind up bringing issues to the attention of their bishops and priests. Some times, the documents are well-received, but, other times, they are not.

Once again, I refer to the statement issued by the CDWDS:

1. Lay people, within the context of Holy Mass, are unable to confer blessings. These blessings, rather, are the competence of the priest (cf. Ecclesia de Mysterio, Notitiae 34 (15 Aug. 1997), art. 6, § 2; Canon 1169, § 2; and Roman Ritual De Benedictionibus (1985), n. 18).

This is from Protocol No. 930/08/L issued on November 22, 2008.

1. To promote the proper identity (of various roles) in this area, those abuses which are contrary to the provisions of canon 907 are to be eradicated. In eucharistic celebrations deacons and non-ordained members of the faithful may not pronounce prayers – e.g. especially the eucharistic prayer, with its concluding doxology – or any other parts of the liturgy reserved to the celebrant priest. Neither may deacons or non-ordained members of the faithful use gestures or actions which are proper to the same priest celebrant. It is a grave abuse for any member of the non-ordained faithful to “quasi preside” at the Mass while leaving only that minimal participation to the priest which is necessary to secure validity.

This is from Ecclesia de Mysterio, the document that was cited in the 2008 statement. EdM was promulgated in 1997 and is the precursor to Redemptionis Sacramentum. While this document was issued by the Congregation for the Clergy, it was written in close collaboration with the CDWDS and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which was, at the time, headed by the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

Even in my own diocese, there is a dearth of familiarity with the liturgical documents in both the Chancery and within the parishes. On some occasions, I will get a call from a couple of priests asking me to research something for them concerning a liturgical matter. I am not writing this to brag, but, only to explain that the information sometimes has to flow from the bottom up because it’s not flowing from the top down.

He is right in that inviting the faithful to pray is not wrong; it’s the actual invitation to perform a gesture that is proper to the celebrant that is an abuse. Please know that I am not trying to disrespect the bishop, but, as I wrote earlier, a lot of the times, they do not necessarily read the documents. I know because I have lived that experience long enough.

 

[CatholicZ09]

However, I am not sure if the bishop is aware of Ecclesia de Mysterio. You many not believe this, but, a lot of times, information does not filter down to where it needs to go. Furthermore, often, a bishop will let either his Office of Worship or his Liturgical Commission do the research on liturgical matters. Sometimes, the work is not very thorough, or, it is left to volunteers who do the best they can, but, may not have the resources to get all of the documents, read them and hand them to their ordinaries. As someone who was a volunteer and had to do the grunt work, I speak from experience. It’s also the same concept working for a legislator. Often, the staff has to be the ones to learn the rules of the House/Senate and prep the member before he goes to the Floor and make sure that his legislation is point-of-order proof so that it won’t die during debate.

As I said in a previous post, even the CDWDS is frustrated. The prelate whom I spoke to last month told me that often, it’s the faithful who wind up bringing issues to the attention of their bishops and priests. Some times, the documents are well-received, but, other times, they are not.

Once again, I refer to the statement issued by the CDWDS:

This is from Protocol No. 930/08/L issued on November 22, 2008.

This is from Ecclesia de Mysterio, the document that was cited in the 2008 statement. EdM was promulgated in 1997 and is the precursor to Redemptionis Sacramentum. While this document was issued by the Congregation for the Clergy, it was written in close collaboration with the CDWDS and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which was, at the time, headed by the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

Even in my own diocese, there is a dearth of familiarity with the liturgical documents in both the Chancery and within the parishes. On some occasions, I will get a call from a couple of priests asking me to research something for them concerning a liturgical matter. I am not writing this to brag, but, only to explain that the information sometimes has to flow from the bottom up because it’s not flowing from the top down.

He is right in that inviting the faithful to pray is not wrong; it’s the actual invitation to perform a gesture that is proper to the celebrant that is an abuse. Please know that I am not trying to disrespect the bishop, but, as I wrote earlier, a lot of the times, they do not necessarily read the documents. I know because I have lived that experience long enough.

I brought the “Ecclesia de Mysterio” information up to him, and this is what he told me:

1. Ecclesia de Mysterio

This document does not mention anything regarding the ability of the congregation to accompany the priest in asking God for a blessing (nothing about a hand raised either). It simply speaks of abuse when a non-ordained members “pronounce prayers — e.g. especially the eucharistic prayer, with its concluding doxology — or any other parts of the liturgy reserved to the celebrant priest.” It also speaks of the abuse when the non-ordained faithful make gestures which are proper to the celebrant alone, but raising the right hand for a blessing is not reserved for the celebrant. The concern here is that any non-ordained faithful might “quasi-preside” the Mass, and I think we can agree that this is not the case with what we are talking about.

 

[benedictgal]

I brought the “Ecclesia de Mysterio” information up to him, and this is what he told me:

1. Ecclesia de Mysterio

This document does not mention anything regarding the ability of the congregation to accompany the priest in asking God for a blessing (nothing about a hand raised either). It simply speaks of abuse when a non-ordained members “pronounce prayers — e.g. especially the eucharistic prayer, with its concluding doxology — or any other parts of the liturgy reserved to the celebrant priest.” It also speaks of the abuse when the non-ordained faithful make gestures which are proper to the celebrant alone, but raising the right hand for a blessing is not reserved for the celebrant. The concern here is that any non-ordained faithful might “quasi-preside” the Mass, and I think we can agree that this is not the case with what we are talking about.

Actually, though, Ecclesia de Mysterio does make that quite clear. The fact that one is raising a hand in blessing is a gesture that is reserved to the priest. CatholicZ09, next time you are at a Solemn Mass and the priest says “Bow your heads and pray for God’s blessing”, try to keep your head bowed, but, look at his hands. He is raising them. Albeit, both should be raised, but, I have seen some raise one, the right hand. The raising of the hand (or hands) is the gesture of a blessing. The faithful are not raising their hands to wave “hello” at the person being blessed. They are engaged in a particular act that is not proper to their state.

There is nothing wrong with inviting the faithful to pray. However, we need to respect postures, gestures and prayer texts that are reserved to the celebrant alone. When we encourage this kind of activity, we are blurring the lines and confusing things even further.

Note what the new Prefect of the CDWDS, Antonio Cardinal Canizares Loera stated in a recent interview:

On this, on the many liturgical abuses and correction of them, the Congregation issued an important statement a few years ago, ‘Redemptionis Sacramentum’, it is an urgent duty to correct existing abuses if we as Catholics are to bring something to the world to renew it. The propositions are not concerned with hindering creativity, but rather to encourage, promote, revitalize the truth of the liturgy, in its authentic sense and genuine spirit, we cannot forget or ignore that liturgical creativity as it is often understood and meant is a hindrance to the liturgy and the cause of its secularization, because it is in contradiction with the nature of the liturgy itself."

No one has the authority to add things to the liturgy on their own volition. That is clearly stated in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy and Redemptionis Sacramentum. As another poster indicated, nothing in the RCIA ritual states that the faithful should be raising their hand in a blessing. Nothing in the new ritual book for the Quince Ano celebration states that the faithful should be extending their hands out in a blessing.

I am writing a follow-up to the CDWDS regarding ilicit settings of the Mass. I will add this question to the letter. Hopefully, that should settle the matter.

 

[milkbar]

Thank you to the person who looked up the rubrics for RCIA. As I stated earlier, at my parish the priest invited the congregations to raise a hand during the Rite of Welcome.

If priests themselves are making a habit of inviting the laity to make this gesture, I think it’s quite possible the priests don’t think this is a gesture reserved for priests.

At this point I’m glad I’m so new. I can go through Mass praying and not worrying about this or that gesture and whether it’s right and whether everything is absolutely perfect.

 

[benedictgal]

Thank you to the person who looked up the rubrics for RCIA. As I stated earlier, at my parish the priest invited the congregations to raise a hand during the Rite of Welcome.

If priests themselves are making a habit of inviting the laity to make this gesture, I think it’s quite possible the priests don’t think this is a gesture reserved for priests.

At this point I’m glad I’m so new. I can go through Mass praying and not worrying about this or that gesture and whether it’s right and whether everything is absolutely perfect.

We do need to remember that there are certain gestures and postures that are reserved to the priest alone.

Your statement “I think it’s quite possible the priests don’t think this is a gesture reserved for priests” is, to me, a symptom of a bigger problem. It is the misunderstanding of the priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial priesthood. When man is ordained a priest, he receives faculties to impart the sacraments and to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. His priesthood is ministerial because ony through the virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders can he confect the Eucharist, hear confessions and annoint the sick. Within the context of the Liturgy, there are certain things that are reserved to the celebrant and the celebrant alone. This includes the blessing.