Current RM and use of 1962 RM

[Bunky_2010]

Peace be with you!

I am developing a training program for altar servers and I wanted to get a clarification.

I have a 40+ page training guide and during the writing I noticed that the GIRM can be a bit vague on a few things.

At what point can I use the 1962 Missal if the current Roman Missal (with Adaptations for the Dioceses of the United States of America) is not specific

My goal is to be obedient to the GIRM and not mix the novus ordo with the extraordinary form.

An example: The ringing the sanctus bells. In my training guide I indicate to have the bells rung at:

• (Once) At the Epiclesis
• (Three distinct times) At the elevation of the Host and Chalice
• (Once) After the celebrant has received holy Communion.

Another example that I am struggling with is genuflections.

• If physically possible, everyone, servers included, should genuflect whenever crossing in front of the tabernacle.
• Entering a pew
• When Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist, either on the Altar or in the tabernacle.
• If there is a Tabernacle with the Eucharist in the Sanctuary, a genuflection should be made before and after Mass.
• Exception to the first rule would be if you are carrying anything.

PAX.

 

[FrDavid96]

There is no actual “point” or line of demarcation that defines what can (or cannot) be brought over from the 1962 Missal to the current one.

As we all know, the rule is that the rubrics do not get mixed. That’s clear. However, there are times when the rubrics of the current Missal are vague in some places. That’s the key right there. If the rubrics in the current Missal are truly vague, then one is free to interpret them according to traditional usage, on the condition that one is still being obedient to whatever the rubrics actually do say.

Here’s an example, the current GIRM says this:

1. A little before the consecration, when appropriate, a server rings a bell as a signal to the faithful. According to local custom, the server also rings the bell as the priest shows the host and then the chalice. vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html

What time is “a little before the consecration”? That’s vague. It’s non-specific. Therefore, as long as it is indeed a little before the consecration (not during the Epistle), not during the Our Father, then one is acting within the rubrics.

A different example: in the current Missal, the altar boys do not pray the Confiteor before Communion (as they did in the older Missal). There is no such rubric, therefore it is not to be done in the Ordinary Form, and carrying-over this practice would be wrong.

As far as genuflecting and bows are concerned, these are addressed directly in the GIRM (274 and following). The only proper way to do these is to follow exactly what the GIRM states.

It comes down to reading the individual rubrics or the applicable GIRM for that moment. As long as one is truly following what the rubric says in the current Missal, then one can interpret it according to traditional usage. If they conflict, then the current rubric must be followed.

 

[porthos11]

There is no actual “point” or line of demarcation that defines what can (or cannot) be brought over from the 1962 Missal to the current one.

As we all know, the rule is that the rubrics do not get mixed. That’s clear. However, there are times when the rubrics of the current Missal are vague in some places. That’s the key right there. If the rubrics in the current Missal are truly vague, then one is free to interpret them according to traditional usage, on the condition that one is still being obedient to whatever the rubrics actually do say.

Here’s an example, the current GIRM says this:

1. A little before the consecration, when appropriate, a server rings a bell as a signal to the faithful. According to local custom, the server also rings the bell as the priest shows the host and then the chalice. vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html

What time is “a little before the consecration”? That’s vague. It’s non-specific. Therefore, as long as it is indeed a little before the consecration (not during the Epistle), not during the Our Father, then one is acting within the rubrics.

A different example: in the current Missal, the altar boys do not pray the Confiteor before Communion (as they did in the older Missal). There is no such rubric, therefore it is not to be done in the Ordinary Form, and carrying-over this practice would be wrong.

As far as genuflecting and bows are concerned, these are addressed directly in the GIRM (274 and following). The only proper way to do these is to follow exactly what the GIRM states.

It comes down to reading the individual rubrics or the applicable GIRM for that moment. As long as one is truly following what the rubric says in the current Missal, then one can interpret it according to traditional usage. If they conflict, then the current rubric must be followed.

Example: ringing the bell at the Hanc igitur is perfect, because it’s how it was done at the EF.

A key example about the current rubric trumping old practice: Pax domini sit semper vobiscum. In the older form, it’s said ad orientem. In the OF, the GIRM is explicit that it is said facing the people. So in the OF, the priest must turn to the people when he greets them with the pax.

 

[edwest2]

Here’s some additional information from Pope Benedict XVI.

w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070707_lettera-vescovi.html

Ed