Kennedy Funeral (The Mass Itself)

[benedictgal]

The Requiem was very nice and touching with all the pomp and circumstance that surrounded it. However, I observed some things which were illicit.
-The Celebrant didn’t invoke The Trinity (Sign of the Cross)
-The concelebrants used different wording during the Eucharistic Prayer
Other than that,
The Music by Y0-yo Ma, Placigo Domingo, Chorus, and the Soprano’s Ave Maria were nice motets that accompanied today’s Solemn Liturgy. The Organ Voluntary was also nice.

I do not believe that the funeral Mass begins as a normal Mass would given the fact that there is the portion of the reception of the body, which would have been done outside, but, was moved indoors because of the downpour. There is also not a final blessing in the Mass as that would come upon the burial.

The EP, especially II and III, has a special section for funeral Masses, the commemration of the fathfully departed. The main celebrant, however, seemed to have winged it and made up his own prayers at the beginning. That was somewhat suspect.

The music was excellent; I only wished that they would have sung the parts of the Mass, which are of the first magnitude of importance.

 

[ProVobis]

My question: Did anyone see if Obama or other non-Catholics were given Holy Communion?

I think the TV cameras were instructed to focus on the Kennedy family side during the Communion. Perhaps some youtuber made it a point to focus somewhere else.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

The funeral Mass should not have eulogies. The Church is very clear about that

No matter what the ritual states, eulogies at the end of funeral masses are quite common throughout the country. To allow it in all those other cases but not this one would have been just as bad.

The homilist missed a wonderful opportunity to charitably remind the faithful, both the ones present at the basilica and the ones watching on TV, about the Church’s stance on pro-life and the importance of being faithful. It was a blown opportunity. Furthermore, he turned the homily into a eulogy, which was just as bad.

I disagree completely. This was a funeral mass for Ted Kennedy. It was not a moment ot lecture the grieving.

The celebrant certainly deviated a lot from the funeral Mass texts as well. I do hope that Cardinal O’Malley has something to say about this.

LOL, I doubt it.

 

[benedictgal]

No matter what the ritual states, eulogies at the end of funeral masses are quite common throughout the country. To allow it in all those other cases but not this one would have been just as bad.

I disagree completely. This was a funeral mass for Ted Kennedy. It was not a moment ot lecture the grieving.

LOL, I doubt it.

With all due respect, Father, just because it is commonly done, it does not make it right. We need to follow what the rite says, not make any “improvements” on our own.

I stand by my statement regarding the homily. The priest should have charitably defended the Church’s stance on the right to life and how important it is to have it preserved. Grief is one thing; however, turning a blind eye to the teachings of the Church is something else.

 

[Chatter163]

How is it possible for a person who is NOT in communion with the Catholic Church (one who has been married, divorced, and remarried) to have a televised funeral Mass?
How is it possible for persons to be eulogized by family and government officials at the Mass BEFORE the Mass has ended?
I think irrefutable harm (causing great scandal) has been done to the Catholic Church in the United States by the priests that allowed such at the funeral Mass for Sen. Ted Kennedy! I am sick to death of such behavior by the leaders of my Catholic Church!

I was not a fan of Senator Kennedy in any way, shape or form. But, to answer the questions:

1. Senator Kennedy’s first marriage was annulled some years ago (a fact that was highly publicized at the time), so the second was celebrated within the Church.
2. Though I can appreciate your concerns about eulogies at funeral Masses, the missal, unfortunately, provides for “reflections” by family members and friends at the end of the Mass, before the absolution of the dead. I feel this was an ill-advised provision given by the Church, because the so-called reflections become eulogies. (How could they not?) How can most people tell the difference?

The letter of the law was followed–sad, but true.

 

[benedictgal]

Please indicate just where it notes this because, the rubrics clearly state that:

1. At the Funeral Mass there should, as a rule, be a short homily, but never a eulogy of any kind.

I think that this is pretty clear.

 

[ProVobis]

I think that this is pretty clear.

It seems that with the rules you’ve presented, they’d have been better off without any Funeral Mass. It’s not required, you know.

We buried my father several months ago. We all started squabbling about the Mass so we finally decided against it. We had a priest say other prayers and we did eulogies and they worked.

 

[stuart12]

Our Father taught us the Lord’s prayer according to the priest offering the Mass.

 

[Phemie]

Please indicate just where it notes this because, the rubrics clearly state that:

I think that this is pretty clear.

That article is directed to the priest, ie give a homily not a eulogy.
Only once have I heard a priest acknowledge that, at the funeral of a schoolmate, in the early 70s. But the Ritual does allow for words by a family member or friend at the end. We may not like it, and they often tend to canonize the deceased, but it’s there.

 

[pnewton]

That article is directed to the priest, ie give a homily not a eulogy.

That is not what the canon says:

1. At the Funeral Mass there should, as a rule, be a short homily, but never a eulogy of any kind.

At a funeral mass, never an eulogy. The homily is granted some leniency to be omitted, but the word “never” in conjunction with the preposititional phrase is absolute.

 

[Phemie]

That is not what the canon says:

1. At the Funeral Mass there should, as a rule, be a short homily, but never a eulogy of any kind.

At a funeral mass, never an eulogy. The homily is granted some leniency to be omitted, but the word “never” in conjunction with the preposititional phrase is absolute.

But the rite still allows for words from a family member or friend. Granted it shouldn’t be a eulogy, but that’s what it often turns into.

 

[JaMc]

Did anyone else notice how one of the priests who was con-celebrating kept throwing in gender neutral language, like saying “God” instead of “He”? I couldn’t tell which one was doing it, but the main celebrant was using the rubrics and one of them was going freestyle.

I noticed that the congregation did that as well, during the dialogue before the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer:

“It is right to give God [not Him] thanks and praise”

 

[Tatiana]

I think that it was a lovely, very touching Mass. And the music was, indeed, splendid–esp. the Ave Maria!

About whether the President (or any other non-Catholics) received Communion: I didn’t see that either, but I think it extremely doubtful. Some “liberties” may have been taken, but this is a major one. No one not in communion with the Church is allowed to receive the Holy Eucharist. It isn’t meant to discriminate against people who are not Catholic, it’s just that they would obviously not have the recognition of what the Eucharist means (the Real Presence, Transubstantiation, etc) to Catholics.

Just want to add that I apologize if I’ve misspelled any words here, I’ve already had to correct two major mistakes–I seem intent on mangling the English language today!!

 

[Phemie]

I think that it was a lovely, very touching Mass. And the music was, indeed, splendid–esp. the Ave Maria!

About whether the President (or any other non-Catholics) received Communion: I didn’t see that either, but I think it extremely doubtful. Some “liberties” may have been taken, but this is a major one. No one not in communion with the Church is allowed to receive the Holy Eucharist. It isn’t meant to discriminate against people who are not Catholic, it’s just that they would obviously not have the recognition of what the Eucharist means (the Real Presence, Transubstantiation, etc) to Catholics.

Just want to add that I apologize if I’ve misspelled any words here, I’ve already had to correct two major mistakes–I seem intent on mangling the English language today!!

Having seen the furor when the Prime Minister of Canada (an Evangelical) received Communion at a former Governor General’s funeral about 6 weeks ago any politician worth his salt would have been aware that we have closed Communion.

 

[Chatter163]

Unfortunately, The Order of Christian Funerals provides for the possibility of a few words by family and friends of the deceased, after communion and before the final commendation. It is interesting to see different diocesan policies on this when one googles the OCF, though most seem to allow pastors to permit such recollections at five minutes apiece. The news media insists on calling this a eulogy, which creates confusion. However, for all intents and purposes, they ARE eulogies, and I believe that this provision by OCF was ill-advised.

 

[Lujack]

But the rite still allows for words from a family member or friend. Granted it shouldn’t be a eulogy, but that’s what it often turns into.

How can a family member not eulogize the deceased in their reflection? Not that this is an excuse for breaking the rubrics, but what is the Church looking for in that bit?

 

[Sarabande]

I didn’t see the mass since I was working at a couple of churches today, but I did see/hear the “Ave Maria” which was beautiful and touching. (The singer was American mezzo-soprano, Susan Graham.) It is strange that they didn’t have the mass parts sung. You’d think that Mr. Domingo or Ms. Graham would have been asked to do that. They’re both good musicians - not just singers, so it’s not like the music would have been hard to learn.

One thing that should be mentioned is how she and the organist handled the delay very well. I didn’t see where the organ was, but it seemed like he was in the back, while Ms. Graham was in the front. (I could be wrong though.) It’s not easy, sometimes, to deal with the delay in large cathedrals/churches like that since those were not built originally for the singers to be up front, but in the loft. You always have to go against your musician instinct of being with each other in those circumstance, and have to be the opposite, by being slightly ahead of each other. Otherwise, the music will keep slowing down. They dealt with it great. She was just right, being slightly ahead of him and I’m sure he sounded slightly ahead of her if you sat in the back where he was situated. If you sat in the middle I’m sure they would have sounded totally together. Strange how those buildings work acoustically. Personally, I think since that was the only thing she was to sing and it was a solo, they probably should have let her sing from the back with the organist, but oh well. That’s just me. I would have liked to have seen the rest of the mass.

 

[passus]

Oh my word.

Am I the only one who thinks that the opening hymn was wayyy too fast? I’ve never in my life heard *Großer Gott, wir loben dich *taken so darn quickly.

 

[benedictgal]

Oh my word.

Am I the only one who thinks that the opening hymn was wayyy too fast? I’ve never in my life heard *Großer Gott, wir loben dich *taken so darn quickly.

Actually, I don’t think it went too fast. I think that it went on too long. I did not ever remember Holy God, We Praise Thy Name having that many verses. Of course, with 85 Kennedys processing behind the casket and 21 pall bearers, they needed to have something longer. The procession went longer than some Papal Masses.

It was interesting to see President Obama following the Mass and singing along during the opening hymn. Even Bill was singing. At least the music was good. That was the one bright spot.

 

[sarahraegraham]

My husband and I watched from the middle of the prayers of the faithful until after the Ave Maria. There were a few things we noticed and did not like, some of which have already been mentioned, but one in particular (my last one listed) has not yet been noted:

1. gender-neutral language used by concelebrant
2. lack of sung mass parts
3. some missing mass parts (a line or so here and there)
4. the request for passing of legislation was completely out of line
5. on that note, I completely disagree (whether it is licit or not) with multiple people doing the prayers of the faithful and stating whatever they want. it shouldn’t matter if it’s a funeral mass or not
6. that the main woman the cameras focused on (not sure who she was) went completely across the aisle to make sure that she shook each president’s hand and their wives. It’s mass, not a political reception!
7. the worst part for us was the main celebrant appearance and actions of irreverence throughout

He seemed as though he didn’t recognize the host and blood as Christ the way he handled it. He only held the host and the chalice each with one hand during the consecration and barely held it up afterward, and he appeared to be just “going through the motions” with everything else as well. That really makes me mad.