Children round the altar

[mizznicole]

Please point me to a thread if this has been rehashed too many times.

I was at our prospective new parish today. Unfortunately we stumbled into the “children’s mass,” which was rather a challenge on a number of levels, but I’ll spare the details.

One thing I am concerned about, though, is that the priest had the children and their catechists surround the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer. I thought this was a pretty clear no-no. Does anyone know which documents address this practice? Didn’t the CDF (or someone) tell the Neocatechumenate Way (sp?) that they were not to have adults around the altar?

I don’t know what I’ll do with the information. It’s just kind of galling.

 

[palmas85]

Please point me to a thread if this has been rehashed too many times.

I was at our prospective new parish today. Unfortunately we stumbled into the “children’s mass,” which was rather a challenge on a number of levels, but I’ll spare the details.

One thing I am concerned about, though, is that the priest had the children and their catechists surround the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer. I thought this was a pretty clear no-no. Does anyone know which documents address this practice? Didn’t the CDF (or someone) tell the Neocatechumenate Way (sp?) that they were not to have adults around the altar?

I don’t know what I’ll do with the information. It’s just kind of galling.

What you need to do is call Life Teen quickly. They used to do this very thing ALL the time. Then the Vatican cracked down on them and according to their supporters on this forum they immediately and obediently stopped the practice.

Maybe they could give some advice on how to stop the practice since they were so successful in putting an end to it in their own events.

Or not as the case may be. It any event many catechists are in fact taught to do this very thing as it is said to deepen the understanding of the Paschal Mystery.

 

[verdigirl]

Oh man, did you and I just go to the same Mass today in Colorado?

Here’s what one of the apologists say: forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=460744&postcount=2

Seems fairly clear to me.

Oh, and the NeoCats were told that they have a finite amount of time to transition AWAY from their practice of receiving Communion seated. They normally arrange their chairs in a U shape around a flower-festooned table, not a proper altar. This altar part is something else that they were told not to do anymore.

 

[mizznicole]

Interesting you should bring up Life Teen, because they just changed names at the parish to something else. I thought maybe it was a positive sign…but maybe they changed the name so they could do whatever they wanted to. In fact, we stayed away from the 5:00 Life Teen/family mass hoping to avoid exactly this kind of weirdness.

This was a kiddie mass (kids under 10).

In terms of the apologist’s answer, where is the presbyterium exactly? The kids were in front and to the sides of the altar, but not behind with the priest.

 

[benedictgal]

I posted this in the LT forum, but it bears repreating. This is from the Adoremus Bulletin and it should provide some answer to the question of kids gathering around the altar:

Life Teen’s Liturgical Reform
Life Teen, the Phoenix-based Catholic youth organization, announced in July that it will cease its idiosyncratic liturgical practices. Monsignor Dale Fushek, Life Teen’s founder and former Vicar General under Bishop Thomas O’Brien, sent a letter July 2, saying that he confirms “our adherence to the new GIRM, and as always, our obedience to our own local Bishops”.

The letter asked that “all parishes that implement the LIFE TEEN model” make these changes. The teens will no longer surround the altar during the Eucharistic prayer; they will cease saying, “The Mass never ends, it must be lived”, at the end of Mass; the rock-party atmosphere before Mass will be toned down to “make sure there is a period of silence to begin the liturgical celebration”; and they will “make sure the music does not in any way detract from the action at the altar, ambo or chair”.

“I am sure these issues will be hard on some parishes and teens”, Monsignor Fushek wrote. His letter said that Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted met in Rome with Cardinal Francis Arinze, of the Congregation for Divine Worship, about Life Teen.

This also applies to children surrounding the altar, as well. However, as has been the case with many other things, just because the order comes from Rome to cease and desist the unfortunte opposite is true in some parishes.

The Neocats have also been issued the order, but, many of them are still trying to hold out until the better end. I know because that’s happening in my diocese.