Easter Mass miscellaneous questions

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Tommy999

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Hello all,
I went to Easter service at my Protestant church this morning but later turned on EWTN to watch Easter Mass from the Washington, DC, Basilica of the National Shrine.

Observation:
At one point, Cardinal Wuerl walked down the center aisle with something in his hand that looked like a scepter (sorry I don’t know the official name of it) and shook it in different directions toward the congregants and then dipped it in something from time to time that was held by someone who was walking with him from the front of the basilica to the last row of people, and then he would repeat the process. As he did this, some folks would make the sign of the cross.

Question1:
What was the significance of this action and what substance was he shaking into the air? I don’t think it was incense because I didn’t see anything that resembled smoke, but I wanted to get a better idea of what the substance was and its significance within Catholicism.

Question2:
This Easter Mass I watched on EWTN was held at a basilica. What is the difference between a basilica and a cathedral? They looked similar to me – very large and ornate.

Thanks. I am trying to get a better grasp of the proceedings at a Mass and their significance.
 
Tommy999 said:
Question1:
What was the significance of this action and what substance was he shaking into the air? I don’t think it was incense because I didn’t see anything that resembled smoke, but I wanted to get a better idea of what the substance was and its significance within Catholicism.
Click to expand...
That was an aspergillum and aspersorium. The aspersorium contains holy water and the aspergillum is a small ball with holes in the end so when dipped in holy water he can then shake and it will disperse holy water over the crowd. It is a blessing and a reminder of our baptism.
Tommy999 said:
Question2:
This Easter Mass I watched on EWTN was held at a basilica. What is the difference between a basilica and a cathedral? They looked similar to me – very large and ornate.
Click to expand...
The cathedral is the church of the bishop of a diocese, the cathedra (chair) of the bishop is at the cathedral. See here:

newadvent.org/cathen/03438a.htm

A basilica is a papal designation for a church of special significance. A cathedral may or may not also be a basilica. Basilica is also a style of architecture. See here:

newadvent.org/cathen/02325a.htm
 
Tommy999 said:
Hello all,
I went to Easter service at my Protestant church this morning but later turned on EWTN to watch Easter Mass from the Washington, DC, Basilica of the National Shrine.

Observation:
At one point, Cardinal Wuerl walked down the center aisle with something in his hand that looked like a scepter (sorry I don’t know the official name of it) and shook it in different directions toward the congregants and then dipped it in something from time to time that was held by someone who was walking with him from the front of the basilica to the last row of people, and then he would repeat the process. As he did this, some folks would make the sign of the cross.

Question1:
What was the significance of this action and what substance was he shaking into the air? I don’t think it was incense because I didn’t see anything that resembled smoke, but I wanted to get a better idea of what the substance was and its significance within Catholicism.

Question2:
This Easter Mass I watched on EWTN was held at a basilica. What is the difference between a basilica and a cathedral? They looked similar to me – very large and ornate.

Thanks. I am trying to get a better grasp of the proceedings at a Mass and their significance.
Click to expand...
It was a blessing with sprinking of holy water and the sprinkler device is known as an aspergillum. Holy water recalls the sacrament of baptism. The sign of the cross is made when receiving a blessing. The penitential rite may be done with sprinkling.

The cathedral is where the bishop’s cathedra (throne) is located. A basilica is a church of special significance designated by the Supreme Pontiff.
 
Tommy999 said:
Hello all,
I went to Easter service at my Protestant church this morning but later turned on EWTN to watch Easter Mass from the Washington, DC, Basilica of the National Shrine.

Observation:
At one point, Cardinal Wuerl walked down the center aisle with something in his hand that looked like a scepter (sorry I don’t know the official name of it) and shook it in different directions toward the congregants and then dipped it in something from time to time that was held by someone who was walking with him from the front of the basilica to the last row of people, and then he would repeat the process. As he did this, some folks would make the sign of the cross.

Question1:
What was the significance of this action and what substance was he shaking into the air? I don’t think it was incense because I didn’t see anything that resembled smoke, but I wanted to get a better idea of what the substance was and its significance within Catholicism.

Question2:
This Easter Mass I watched on EWTN was held at a basilica. What is the difference between a basilica and a cathedral? They looked similar to me – very large and ornate.

Thanks. I am trying to get a better grasp of the proceedings at a Mass and their significance.
Click to expand...
The object the priest was using is called an aspergillum, and it is used to sprinkle holy water. The substance is holy water, and the significance in this case is to remind us of our Baptism into Christ. Sometimes you will see something that looks like a whisk broom used to sprinkle the water–this is more common in Europe than America, though that is what they use in my parish–it was brought over from Poland, and really gets you wet.

A basilica can refer either to an architectural style, or a church with some special or historical significance and given the status of Basilica. If a church is named a Basilica, it does not have to be a large church. We have 2 minor basilicas in our diocese, and they are not large churches. Here is an article which explains basilicas:

newadvent.org/cathen/02325a.htm

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks a lot, 1ke, Vico, and Carolyn. Very helpful info and links. It makes more sense to me now. Pardon my lack of knowledge on this sort of a thing. I’m still learning and inquiring. I still have a ways to go but I am making progress with the help of folks like you. 🙂
 
Hello,

I attend the E.F. and Father did this today, sprinking holy water on the congregation. During Easter, the Vidi aquam is chanted instead of the Asperges.

+++
Asperges
(Latin, aspergere, to wash, sprinkle).
The rite of sprinkling the congregation with holy water before the principal Mass on Sunday, so called from the words intoned at the beginning of the ceremony, taken from Psalm 1, throughout the year except at Easter-tide, when Vidi aquam, from Psalm 117, is intoned. It precedes every other ceremony that may take place before the Mass, such as the blessing of palms or of candles. It is performed by the celebrant priest wearing vestments of the liturgical colour of the day. It is omitted when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, though many rubricists think that the sprinkling of the altar only, not of the congregation, should then be omitted. After intoning the antiphon the priest recites the psalm Miserere or Confitemini, according to the season, sprinkling first the front and platform of the altar, then himself, next the ministers and choir, and lastly the congregation, usually walking through the main part of the church, though he need not go beyond the gate of the sanctuary or choir. The ceremony has been in use at least from the tenth century, growing out of the custom of early antiquity of blessing water for the faithful on Sundays. Its object is to prepare the congregation for the celebration of the Mass by moving them to sentiments of penance and reverence suggested by the words of the fiftieth psalm, or by impressing on them that they are about to assist at the sacrifice of our redemption as suggested in the psalm used at Easter time.
Source: newadvent.org/cathen/01793a.htm
+++

Here’s a YouTube video where one can hear the chant and see the text:
youtube.com/watch?v=0D67Kxg7EVg

amsjj 🙂
+++
Jesus, God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
  • Blessed John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
Tú y yo sabemos por la fe que oculto en las especies sacramentales está Cristo,
ese Cristo con su Cuerpo, con su Sangre, con su Alma, y con su Divinidad,
prisonero de amor.
  • San Josemaría Escrivá, 1 junio 1974
God loves to be resisted in His displeasure, and to be restrained by the humble from inflicting punishment… One saint will often save a nation; so true is it that humble souls are the hinges on which God moves the world.
  • Abp. W. B. Ullathorne, The Groundwork of the Christian Virtues, 1882.
 
amsjj said:
Hello,

I attend the E.F. and Father did this today, sprinking holy water on the congregation. During Easter, the Vidi aquam is chanted instead of the Asperges.

+++
Asperges
(Latin, aspergere, to wash, sprinkle).
The rite of sprinkling the congregation with holy water before the principal Mass on Sunday, so called from the words intoned at the beginning of the ceremony, taken from Psalm 1, throughout the year except at Easter-tide, when Vidi aquam, from Psalm 117, is intoned. It precedes every other ceremony that may take place before the Mass, such as the blessing of palms or of candles. It is performed by the celebrant priest wearing vestments of the liturgical colour of the day. It is omitted when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, though many rubricists think that the sprinkling of the altar only, not of the congregation, should then be omitted. After intoning the antiphon the priest recites the psalm Miserere or Confitemini, according to the season, sprinkling first the front and platform of the altar, then himself, next the ministers and choir, and lastly the congregation, usually walking through the main part of the church, though he need not go beyond the gate of the sanctuary or choir. The ceremony has been in use at least from the tenth century, growing out of the custom of early antiquity of blessing water for the faithful on Sundays. Its object is to prepare the congregation for the celebration of the Mass by moving them to sentiments of penance and reverence suggested by the words of the fiftieth psalm, or by impressing on them that they are about to assist at the sacrifice of our redemption as suggested in the psalm used at Easter time.
Source: newadvent.org/cathen/01793a.htm
+++

Here’s a YouTube video where one can hear the chant and see the text:
youtube.com/watch?v=0D67Kxg7EVg

amsjj 🙂
+++
Jesus, God and man,
imprisoned by love in Thy most holy Sacrament,
have mercy upon us.
  • Blessed John Henry Newman, December 22, 1851
Tú y yo sabemos por la fe que oculto en las especies sacramentales está Cristo,
ese Cristo con su Cuerpo, con su Sangre, con su Alma, y con su Divinidad,
prisonero de amor.
  • San Josemaría Escrivá, 1 junio 1974
God loves to be resisted in His displeasure, and to be restrained by the humble from inflicting punishment… One saint will often save a nation; so true is it that humble souls are the hinges on which God moves the world.
  • Abp. W. B. Ullathorne, The Groundwork of the Christian Virtues, 1882.
Click to expand...
Thanks, amsjj and thanks again to all for the quick and helpful replies.
 
Tommy999 said:
Wow, very impressive view, Paul. I hadn’t seen that view of it before. In the Easter Mass, I just remember the view from inside, which was also quite a sight.
Click to expand...
That view, and the view from the inside that you saw, aren’t even all of the Basilica. If you ever get the chance, whether you have converted to Catholicism or not, visit the Basilica in DC, as well as the Basilica in St. Louis. I can’t even convey how beautiful each of them are, and even pictures don’t do them justice. The lower level (Crypt) of the Basilica in DC is quite amazing, too. So blessed to have visited some of the most ornate and decorated beautiful Catholic churches in the US, as well as some of the simplest, yet still beautiful.

Our vacations almost always include a visit to a nearby shrine and parish, even on work trips. Thank you, God! <3
 
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