How can I fix liturgical abuses?

[andre]

No one but the celebrant (and concelebrants) is allowed to recite the Eucharistic Prayer. This raises a very huge red flag in my eyes and should be reported to the bishop. You are right in noting that this is an ilicit practice. I am curious if the priest uses the correct form when he is reciting the Institution Narrative. He needs to say it excatly as it is written in the Sacramentary. He can’t deviate from it. To do so would invalidate the Mass.

Thanks for your answer!

Also thanks to **rwoehmke! **

I was thinking for some time to report this to the bishop.
The thing is that the priests are from religious orders and I think they have there own head, so I don’t know how things work if they also have to answer to the bishop.
The other thing is that there is a priest shortage in my diocese so if these priests decide to leave or not to say Mass anymore, that would be a big blow for the parish, it would mean that a priest of another parish would have to come and say Mass.
So I will talk to the Deacon (that we have since a month), the bishop appointed him so maybe he would be more understanding.

God Bless!

Andrew

 

[andre]

Another thing.

There are two priests that allow the congregation to join in with the words of Concecration. Everytime this happens it shocks me and I feel like walking out.
When this happens I listen if the priests also says the words of Concecration. Someone told me once that this is illicit but it doesn’t invalidate the Mass if the priest also says the words of concecration, I don’t know if this is true.
This even happened when the Bishop celebrated the International Mass. My parish organises this Mass once a year. (because of the booklets the Liturgy team made, the bishop didn’t invite to join with any part of the Eucharistic prayer)
I don’t know if the bishop said something about this because this abuse still happens.
I don’t attend the International Mass either because of all the Liturgical things that go wrong, it’s also very noisy because the delegates from all the parishes want to do something, so it’s like a concert with people clapping (after the ‘performances’ like it’s a concert).

I pray every Sunday before Mass for this parish with someone else, for the priests,religious, the deacon, the pastoral worker and everyone else from the parish. Please join me with praying for my homeparish.

Andrew

 

[benedictgal]

Another thing.

There are two priests that allow the congregation to join in with the words of Concecration. Everytime this happens it shocks me and I feel like walking out.
When this happens I listen if the priests also says the words of Concecration. Someone told me once that this is illicit but it doesn’t invalidate the Mass if the priest also says the words of concecration, I don’t know if this is true.
This even happened when the Bishop celebrated the International Mass. My parish organises this Mass once a year. (because of the booklets the Liturgy team made, the bishop didn’t invite to join with any part of the Eucharistic prayer)
I don’t know if the bishop said something about this because this abuse still happens.
I don’t attend the International Mass either because of all the Liturgical things that go wrong, it’s also very noisy because the delegates from all the parishes want to do something, so it’s like a concert with people clapping (after the ‘performances’ like it’s a concert).

I pray every Sunday before Mass for this parish with someone else, for the priests,religious, the deacon, the pastoral worker and everyone else from the parish. Please join me with praying for my homeparish.

Andrew

Andre, no one but ordained clergy (specifically the priest and bishop) is allowed to say the words of the Eucharistic Prayer. At one point, a deacon could say, “Let us proclaim the mystery of Faith”, but, now, that is solely reserved for the celebrant. What you described is a serious violation and illicit. I would suggest that you look at japhy’s letter and write something similar.

Don’t let your newbie status affect your decision. This is something very serious that needs to be addressed, and soon.

 

[benedicter]

I had problems that during the weekday Masses our priest would always leave out the Penitential Rite. Somehow I was also afraid to say something - as he has a fearsome response at times. I prayed for a month and then decided to say to him that he was leaving it out and to put it back in. I made sure someone else was in hearing distance at the time. He said it wasn’t necessary but I politely stood my ground. In the end he said he would put it in ‘just for me’. The next day we got half a penitential rite (not one of the three forms). I had checked up with someone at the Archbishops office who takes care of liturgy things who had advised me in confidence about the need for the penitential rite. I had also decided that if it wasn’t put back in I would stop being the organist in January. I figured I didn’t have to do my job if he didn’t feel he had to do his. Suddenly two days after I had spoken to him the Mass was word perfect and the priest was angry and bawled out an elderly lady who had brought him home baking. I was in the dog box. I don’t know what happened but I certainly changed my opinion on him in a personal way seeing him do that to the parishioner. If that had been my mother…! Next a senior parishioner tells me ‘poor Fr he is having such trouble with the Archbishop’ - I don’t think it is over this issue as I didn’t go to the Archbishop but I told him what I had done and said that this priest is at least half the problem and after seeing him fly at the old lady he deserved a ‘difficulty’ with the Archbishop. Honestly, what is wrong with some people. They take power, change things and then feel like a victim when they get challenged. Pathetic.

 

[KatieD]

Keep praying for change along with anything else you do to try correct liturgical abuses. We have a pastor who has been with us for about four months, and he is doing something about the liturgically incorrect things done at our parish. I just love him. He is very reverent, and he’s not intimidated by the long-time staffers who have told people, “That’s the way we’ve always done things here.” Our lectors are finally back in the pews instead of sitting up with the celebrant, our altar servers are wearing appropriate shoes instead of flip-flops and are being trained properly, and we are all learning that there are reasons for what we do in Liturgy, not just that someone likes it that way or thinks it looks pretty a certain way.

 

[benedictgal]

Another thing.

There are two priests that allow the congregation to join in with the words of Concecration. Everytime this happens it shocks me and I feel like walking out.
When this happens I listen if the priests also says the words of Concecration. Someone told me once that this is illicit but it doesn’t invalidate the Mass if the priest also says the words of concecration, I don’t know if this is true.
This even happened when the Bishop celebrated the International Mass. My parish organises this Mass once a year. (because of the booklets the Liturgy team made, the bishop didn’t invite to join with any part of the Eucharistic prayer)
I don’t know if the bishop said something about this because this abuse still happens.
I don’t attend the International Mass either because of all the Liturgical things that go wrong, it’s also very noisy because the delegates from all the parishes want to do something, so it’s like a concert with people clapping (after the ‘performances’ like it’s a concert).

I pray every Sunday before Mass for this parish with someone else, for the priests,religious, the deacon, the pastoral worker and everyone else from the parish. Please join me with praying for my homeparish.

Andrew

Andrew, here is the section from Redemptionis Sacramentum that addresses the issue of the Eucharistic Prayer:

[52.] The proclamation of the Eucharistic Prayer, which by its very nature is the climax of the whole celebration, is proper to the Priest by virtue of his Ordination. It is therefore an abuse to proffer it in such a way that some parts of the Eucharistic Prayer are recited by a Deacon, a lay minister, or by an individual member of the faithful, or by all members of the faithful together. The Eucharistic Prayer, then, is to be recited by the Priest alone in full.131

In other words, it’s wrong and it is an illicit practice.