Kennedy Funeral (The Mass Itself)

[benedictgal]

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.

The main woman was Kennedy’s widow, Victoria. I wasn’t too particularly concerned about the exchange of the sign of peace. At my mother’s funeral, the pall bearers, my uncles, were sitting across from us and I went to give them the sign of peace. With eight surviving siblings, it was hard since my aunts were behind me and my uncles were to my side. In all fairness, the aisle was not that wide.

The more serious infractions were on the part of the celebrant and concelebrants. I cannot imagine that in a place as big as Boston, they could not secure a deacon to assist at the Mass and at least proclaim the Gospel. Even the greeting before the Gospel was botched and ad libbed. The homily turned into a eulogy of sorts, and that was actually quite bad.

The celebrant should have been able to have made a profound bow, at the very least, during the Consecration. The fact that he omitted Memorial Acclalmation was another huge abuse.

Now, regarding the General Intercessions, having multiple folks do them is okay, as this is routinely done during Papal Masses, even though it is because they are proclaimed in different languages. The texts of the prayers, though, was highly suspect and really bad. They should have not used the senator’s words to guide them; rather, they should have based them on the Church’s teachings.

 

[sarahraegraham]

The main woman was Kennedy’s widow, Victoria. I wasn’t too particularly concerned about the exchange of the sign of peace. At my mother’s funeral, the pall bearers, my uncles, were sitting across from us and I went to give them the sign of peace. With eight surviving siblings, it was hard since my aunts were behind me and my uncles were to my side. In all fairness, the aisle was not that wide.

The more serious infractions were on the part of the celebrant and concelebrants. I cannot imagine that in a place as big as Boston, they could not secure a deacon to assist at the Mass and at least proclaim the Gospel. Even the greeting before the Gospel was botched and ad libbed. The homily turned into a eulogy of sorts, and that was actually quite bad.

The celebrant should have been able to have made a profound bow, at the very least, during the Consecration. The fact that he omitted Memorial Acclalmation was another huge abuse.

Now, regarding the General Intercessions, having multiple folks do them is okay, as this is routinely done during Papal Masses, even though it is because they are proclaimed in different languages. The texts of the prayers, though, was highly suspect and really bad. They should have not used the senator’s words to guide them; rather, they should have based them on the Church’s teachings.

The sign of the peace bothered me, not because she went alll the way over there so much, but more because she specifically went over there to greet the presidents, not family, you know what I mean? That’s just a personal thing for me. I was perturbed.

You mentioned one thing I forgot to: that after the consecrations the celebrants did not kneel or bow! (At least, I did not notice any movement if they might have barely bowed). Completely irreverent. Combined with the lack of care he seemed to exude throughout, I was just disgusted, for myself and for the Kennedy family. I would have been very upset if this was my husband’s funeral and the priest presided like he didn’t care about what he was doing.

 

[JReducation]

All of these discussions on the Kennedy funderal are kind of sad. They leave readers like me wondering if anyone watching the mass on TV or physically present prayed for this man’s soul and for the consolation of his family. In the end, the purpose of a Catholic funeral is to commend the soul to God’s mercy, to anticipate the hope of the resurrection and to pray for the consolation of the living. If one is intensely and contemplatively focussed on this level of prayer, I can’t imagine taking notice of so many details. Sometimes, we have to stop to examine how we pray and what we pray for during such events.

This is how St. Francis taught us to pray and think at times like this. If this is too uncomfortable, don’t let the Church consecrate Franciscan brothers as bishops. The liturgy is always going to reflect a spirit of charity for the deceased and his family.

This week we saw the passing of Ted Kennedy. I want to share with you a statement we released on his passing Wednesday:

**“Today we mourn the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and we extend our heartfelt prayers and sincere condolences to his wife Victoria and their children, Kara, Edward, Patrick, Curran and Caroline. Senator Kennedy was blessed with a dedicated and loving family who stood by his side, particularly during the past year as he faced his illness with courage, dignity and strength.

We join with his colleagues in Congress and the people of Massachusetts in reflecting on his life and his commitment to public service. For nearly half a century, Senator Kennedy was often a champion for the poor, the less fortunate and those seeking a better life. Across Massachusetts and the nation, his legacy will be carried on through the lives of those he served.

We pray for the repose of his soul and that his family finds comfort and consolation in this difficult time.” Sean Cardinal O’Malley, OFM Cap. **

cardinalseansblog.org/

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[jc-servant]

Good gracious there is a lot of complaining here. Was watching that liturgy simply another opportunity to find fault?

Why assume an “abuse” when the priest missed the memorial acclamation. Even experienced people can get rattled on occasion or miss something. I saw a wonderful priest miss an essential part of the mass one week and I know that he simply lost his place. I was cantor one week and accidentally repeated a verse in the first Communion hymn. I realized my error about 2 measures into the repeat but there was nothing to do but go on. Thankfully I didn’t have a pack of vultures hovering to pick my bones after mass and our music director does not choose to share negative emails and calls that he receives with the choir. We appreciate him acting as a buffer so that people who are trying to offer their best to God are not discouraged by the neverending complaints of too slow, too fast, too old, too contemporary, get an organ, only chant is proper, move the choir. . .

 

[StrawberryJam]

Assuming there is a God you all believe in,

May he grant mercy on you all.

This is so sad to read on a christian thread, at a catholic forum.

As if the catholic church had not a sinner in it.

You should all be begging for mercy yourselves. Yet, you hack this man to pieces.

He followed the Matthew passages.

Not good enough for you?

Thank God you don’t decide or get a vote.

I rest easy watching this unfold, knowing it exposes you all for being fakers.

 

[peregrinus_sg]

If one is intensely and contemplatively focussed on this level of prayer, I can’t imagine taking notice of so many details. Sometimes, we have to stop to examine how we pray and what we pray for during such events.

There might be some folks who go to Mass with the intent of catching every nitty gritty liturgical abuse, and that is unfortunate. But to suggest that if we are so intensely and contemplatively focussed we wouldn’t notice any abuse is sheer absurdity. I find that when the Priest (and other ministers) follow the prescribed words and ritual, my concentration is enhanced; conversely, little acts of deviation throws me off, some more, some less. This is one of the reasons why it is so important for Priests and other ministers to follow the texts and rubrics faithfully, without stepping into the error of rubricism. Some Priests make genuine mistakes, but some exhibit clericalism to think that they can alter the words of the Holy Liturgy on their own whim.

This is how St. Francis taught us to pray and think at times like this. If this is too uncomfortable, don’t let the Church consecrate Franciscan brothers as bishops. The liturgy is always going to reflect a spirit of charity for the deceased and his family.

Something dawned on me when I read this. Not the charity bit (the greatest charity is to pray for God’s forgiveness of the deceased, regardless of whether the deceased is Kennedy or somebody else), but perhaps it explains why the Mass parts are not sung. If I’m not wrong, the Franciscan liturgies generally do not include singing the Mass parts; perhaps something to do with austerity? Maybe that explains why the Mass parts are not sung… out of deference to the Franciscan Bishop?

 

[Cat]

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.

THAT’S the tempo that I play it!

The people are actually able to sing an entire phrase without gasping for air. I think we do the older hymns a disservice when we drag them along so that people have to take a breath between every two words. No wonder people don’t understand what they are singing.

 

[Newbie2]

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

It didn’t appear so…I was interested to see if that was going to happen.

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

True, although the focus of a funeral mass should always be our Lord.

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.

Given the circumstances, that would be a lousy time to use that particular subject matter. Funeral masses are not a time to point out the deceased’s sins during his or her lifetime, and that’s what such a homily would end up doing.

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?

Tricky business. You’d think they’d have forseen how a “reflection” can morph into a eulogy.

They should have not used the senator’s words to guide them; rather, they should have based them on the Church’s teachings.

The play-by-play commentary didn’t overlook the use of his own words, and fawned all over about that.

As far as watching the mass and looking for errors/abuses/etc., I have to admit that I was interested in seeing how “Catholic” this mass would be; not in terms of looking for “ahah” moments, perhaps, but to see how our faith is represented on the national and international media stage.

I was interested in seeing if the President or former Presidents would go up for communion, I was interested in the homily (which I missed) and I was interested in how the media would respect the Mass.

I guess there’s a fine line between being curious as to how the mass was said and looking for reasons to critisize.

 

[Mark77]

Assuming there is a God you all believe in,

May he grant mercy on you all.

This is so sad to read on a christian thread, at a catholic forum.

As if the catholic church had not a sinner in it.

You should all be begging for mercy yourselves. Yet, you hack this man to pieces.

He followed the Matthew passages.

Not good enough for you?

Thank God you don’t decide or get a vote.

I rest easy watching this unfold, knowing it exposes you all for being fakers.

Even atheists and agnostics must understand that in order to function properly, any organization must have rules or chaos will soon follow!

The Senate has rules, so does Baseball. When Lou Gehrig died, the Yankees didn’t get 4 outs per inning for the rest of the season, it would have been disruptive.

Do you realize that this is a Catholic Forum set up expressly for discussing Liturgy and Sacraments?

As an agnostic, you apparently do not understand that the Funeral Mass “is to commend the soul to God’s mercy, to anticipate the hope of the resurrection and to pray for the consolation of the living” as BR. JR, OSF indicated, not to eulogize the deceased, that is done in a separate ceremony outside of Holy Mass.

While i strongly disagree with anyone who supports the grave evil of abortion, i prayed for Sen. Kennedy’s soul and agree with most of the posters here who prayed for the repose of Ted Kennedy’s soul!!!

We are instructed by God through His Sacred Scriptures; **“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching.” (**2 Tim 4:1-2)

Preaching the word does not make someone a “faker”, that term only applies to those who do not preach the Word of God!

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora Pro Nobis Peccatoribus!

mark

 

[ProVobis]

Even atheists and agnostics must understand that in order to function properly, any organization must have rules or chaos will soon follow!

The Senate has rules, so does Baseball. When Lou Gehrig died, the Yankees didn’t get 4 outs per inning for the rest of the season, it would have been disruptive.

You are right about the rules, we should know where the foul lines are and all that, but where do you draw the line and what are the chances that you’ll cause a major war? I think I was more bothered with the grammatical mistakes some of the speakers made (not too many fortunately) than I was with rubrics not followed to the law. My idea of chaos is different from yours, maybe. But that’s me.

 

[Paganus]

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.)

Thank you for posting the name of the singer. This is now my favorite version of Ave Maria!

 

[CatholicFireman]

Assuming there is a God you all believe in,

May he grant mercy on you all.

This is so sad to read on a christian thread, at a catholic forum.

As if the catholic church had not a sinner in it.

You should all be begging for mercy yourselves. Yet, you hack this man to pieces.

He followed the Matthew passages.

Not good enough for you?

Thank God you don’t decide or get a vote.

I rest easy watching this unfold, knowing it exposes you all for being fakers.

And I pray that one day the scales will fall from your eyes. Pax†

 

[JReducation]

There might be some folks who go to Mass with the intent of catching every nitty gritty liturgical abuse, and that is unfortunate. But to suggest that if we are so intensely and contemplatively focussed we wouldn’t notice any abuse is sheer absurdity.

That’s pretty strong language. But the truth is that I do not really notice too much when we enter into the contemplative state at mass or the Liturgy of the Hours. The focus is on mystery and wonder. The pull is toward the altar and toward the most Holy Eucharist who is the Incarnate God. To make things even more profound and simple, I find that I can only wonder at one thing, this is my Creator, my God, my all and the sole reason for my existence.

Aside from this, the only other thing that comes to my mind is my profession day, the day that God, the Church and I sealed a covenant of love for all eternity and this covenant of love is being played out in its most deepest sense right here before my eyes. My words at profession always come back to me during the mass:

I, Brother N, vow and promise to Almightly God, the the Blessed Vrigin Mary, to our Holy Father St. Francis, to all the angels and saints, to the Church and to you Brother, to observe the Rule of the Friars Minor, without property, in total obedience and in chastity all the days of my life.

And my feeling of presence becomes very complete and my sense of being is transferred from the surroundings to that place where Christ is supreme and where my life and his life are bound together by that covenant of vows, which is made possible by the mystery of the cross for all eternity. Not much else becomes ovbservable to me until I finally hear the words that commission me to go forth because the mass has ended or the Liturgy of the Hours have ended.

Something dawned on me when I read this. Not the charity bit (the greatest charity is to pray for God’s forgiveness of the deceased, regardless of whether the deceased is Kennedy or somebody else), but perhaps it explains why the Mass parts are not sung. If I’m not wrong, the Franciscan liturgies generally do not include singing the Mass parts; perhaps something to do with austerity? Maybe that explains why the Mass parts are not sung… out of deference to the Franciscan Bishop?

We do not sing much during our celebration of the mass, unless it’s done with the laity present. We never sing or chant during the Liturgy of the Hours. In the Franciscan family, liturgy is to be celebrated in the most simple manner according to the rubrics of the Church and the tradition of the Order. There are some celebrations that have more singing than others, usually these are solemnities. I can’t say if the celebrant at this mass did not sing certain parts of the mass in deference to the Franciscan bishop or not. Only someone on the planning committee would know for sure.

Normally, a friar celebrating a mass will go with the wishes of the pastor, if that friar is not the pastor. One thing that you have to remember about Franciscan bishops, they are different from other bishops. They do not consider themselves pastors, even though canon law says they are. There is a dichotomy between canon law and the rule of the order. Canon law says that bishops are pastors. The rule of the order says that no friar may ever be a pastor, nor should he seek to be one, even when it is offered to him. The general practice between the Church and the Franciscan family has been to allow those friars who are consecrated bishops some flexibility in the day to day ministry. Just a simple example, if you go to Cardinal Sean’s blog you will notice that he dresses as a brother, not a bishop. If you look at Archbishop Chaput’s blogs and sites, he dresses in a business suit or as brother. Most Franciscan abhor the external appearance of being a bishop or a priest.

Don’t get them wrong. They love the priesthood. It’s the externals that they shy away from. For them Francis of Assisi is the man whom they emulate. Francis was not a priest, but a lover and great friend of priests. It was believed that he was a deacon, because he was a preacher. Today we have strong suspicions that he was not a deacon either. Among the early friars the references are always to the simplicity of the liturgy in our houses and among the people whom we served and Francis never plays a clerical role in them. Therefore, many Franciscan friars try to immitate their holy father in his contemplative, but simple approach to liturgy. In the Franciscan tradition the liturgy has always been an event of supreme and profound contemplative prayer. This is a tradition that the Franciscans inherited from the Carthusians who still celebrate the liturgy in hiding from the world.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[pnewton]

There might be some folks who go to Mass with the intent of catching every nitty gritty liturgical abuse, and that is unfortunate. But to suggest that if we are so intensely and contemplatively focussed we wouldn’t notice any abuse is sheer absurdity.

I actually like what you have said here, but not for the reason you said it. I, like most here, do not like things to be out of order. But what a laudable goal to be so focus on the reality behind the Sacrament that we truly are not bothered in the least and scarcily notice when things are amiss.

Liturgical abuse is problematic because most of us do not have the saintliness we should. But I think for every time I complain (and it will happen often here) I will also ask God’s forgiveness for me and ask Him to help me grow in contemplative prayer.

This does not change my position one bit though that priest ought to follow the rules. After all, the point of the Sacrament is to meet us where we are, not where we should be.

 

[CDNowak]

If one is intensely and contemplatively focussed on this level of prayer, I can’t imagine taking notice of so many details. Sometimes, we have to stop to examine how we pray and what we pray for during such events.

I understand your point, JR, but not everyone is given the gift of natural contemplation. Some of us (due to our psychological makeup or conflicting gifts)* are unable to truly meditate at Mass, myself for one. I notice abuses because I notice what is unexpected in the course of the Mass, not out of any willful choice, but because such variations are distracting.

*some call it ADD, I disagree with the D’s

–
P.S.: I did watch the Kennedy funeral in order to report on the news story, so no, I was not caught up in prayer at that time. I have prayed for the repose of his soul and the Kennedy legacy.

 

[Sarabande]

Thank you for posting the name of the singer. This is now my favorite version of Ave Maria!

You’re welcome! Susan Graham is well-known and very well-respected in the opera world, although she is not as known amongst non-opera goers or classical music goes like Placido Domingo or Yo-Yo Ma are. I took that for granted until I noticed that her name wasn’t mentioned on here, so I thought I’d post her name for those on here who admired her. It truly was a touching and spiritually moving offering of that hymn.

 

[benedictgal]

All of these discussions on the Kennedy funderal are kind of sad. They leave readers like me wondering if anyone watching the mass on TV or physically present prayed for this man’s soul and for the consolation of his family. In the end, the purpose of a Catholic funeral is to commend the soul to God’s mercy, to anticipate the hope of the resurrection and to pray for the consolation of the living. If one is intensely and contemplatively focussed on this level of prayer, I can’t imagine taking notice of so many details. Sometimes, we have to stop to examine how we pray and what we pray for during such events.

This is how St. Francis taught us to pray and think at times like this. If this is too uncomfortable, don’t let the Church consecrate Franciscan brothers as bishops. The liturgy is always going to reflect a spirit of charity for the deceased and his family.

This week we saw the passing of Ted Kennedy. I want to share with you a statement we released on his passing Wednesday:

**“Today we mourn the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and we extend our heartfelt prayers and sincere condolences to his wife Victoria and their children, Kara, Edward, Patrick, Curran and Caroline. Senator Kennedy was blessed with a dedicated and loving family who stood by his side, particularly during the past year as he faced his illness with courage, dignity and strength.

We join with his colleagues in Congress and the people of Massachusetts in reflecting on his life and his commitment to public service. For nearly half a century, Senator Kennedy was often a champion for the poor, the less fortunate and those seeking a better life. Across Massachusetts and the nation, his legacy will be carried on through the lives of those he served.

We pray for the repose of his soul and that his family finds comfort and consolation in this difficult time.” Sean Cardinal O’Malley, OFM Cap. **

cardinalseansblog.org/

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

JR, as I read your posts, I often wonder if you are content with letting major things slide. With all due respect, Franciscans have one way of viewing the liturgy, many of us have another. The fact that this was a very public Mass should have, at the very least, meant that the norms and rubrics of the Church should have been followed.

The homily turned into a eulogy. This is in violation of the GIRM, as we have already noted, especially since the document is very clear that eulogies are not to be delivered at a funeral Mass. The Memorial Acclamation was completely omitted. The parts of the Mass that should have been sung were not. The readings were proclaimed from tawdry slips of paper when the Lectionary should have been used. Regardless of who the deceased happens to be, the Mass must be celebrated according to the prescriptions of the Church. The deceased certainly has the right to have a funeral Mass celebrated according to the norms and rubrics and he was certainly not given that right.

The homilist lost out on a wonderful opportunity to charitably note that the Church respects and guards like a lion the most fundamental right of a human being, the right to life. To say that this would be inappropriate would be to completely miss the point. There is a way to defend and promote the Church’s irrevocable stance on life while still being sensitive to the grieving.

About the only really great aspect of the Mass was the music. It is just a shame that with the great choirs and singers, they could not have been able to sung the parts of the Mass that belong to the first order as indicated in Musicam Sacram.

 

[JReducation]

JR, as I read your posts, I often wonder if you are content with letting major things slide.

You’re certainly entitled to wonder. I, on the other hand, have been trained not to lose my inner peace and quiet over too many things. We work with the graces and the structures that we have. When things go wrong, we forgive. We offer those as part of our humility and our acceptance that we are not perfect, but fallible human beings. Then we make a resolve to do better the next time and we proceed from there.

With all due respect, Franciscans have one way of viewing the liturgy, many of us have another.

This is also very true. But as I have said many times, those who are not comfortable with the Franciscans’ humble and simple approach to liturgy would be best to refrain from attending a liturgy celebrated by a Franciscans or better yet, ask the Church not to consecrate Franciscans as bishops. Franciscans don’t want to be bishops. Most do not want to be priests. That’s why only 37% of Franciscan friars are ordained. We are very happy in our life as mendicant preachers, living among the poor, without the duties of parish ministry and helping out the diocesan clergy and serving them as our masters. That’s why you will notice that there are less parishes and dioceses run by Franciscans. The younger generation of friars wants to be like Francis, free of these complications to live our lives as poor beggers and street preachers. Notice that our younger communities are not involved in parish work at all: ie. Franciscans of the Immaculate, Franciscans of the Eternal Word, Franciscans of the Renewal, Franciscans of Peace, Franciscans of Life, and Franciscans of Christ the King. Then you have our older communities that are much more focussed on other gifts and charisms, such as the Capuchin Franciscans and the Conventual Franciscans. A Franciscan friar is called by God to do one thing and one thing alone, to live the Gospel as St. Francis lived it, with a very simple approach to all things and a desire to preach the Gospel to all men.

The fact that this was a very public Mass should have, at the very least, meant that the norms and rubrics of the Church should have been followed.

Yes, they should have. But once it’s over, you can’t turn back the clock. So what do we do, we try better the next time. We never allow anything like this to nag us because it takes away from the presence of Christ in the soul and it distracts from the journey to the cross. Events where such weaknesses may occur are an excellent opportunity to reflect on our lack of perfection, our smallness, our inability to be everything that we want to be, our dependence on Providence to be better and an opportunity to trust God’s mercy. What is done is done. We can only look forward and do penance for the past.

The homily turned into a eulogy. This is in violation of the GIRM, as we have already noted, especially since the document is very clear that eulogies are not to be delivered at a funeral Mass. The Memorial Acclamation was completely omitted. The parts of the Mass that should have been sung were not. The readings were proclaimed from tawdry slips of paper when the Lectionary should have been used. Regardless of who the deceased happens to be, the Mass must be celebrated according to the prescriptions of the Church. The deceased certainly has the right to have a funeral Mass celebrated according to the norms and rubrics and he was certainly not given that right.

Agreed. But it’s over. We learn for the next time and we pray for the soul of the deceased and the comfort of his family and we celebrate the triumph of the Resurrection.

The homilist lost out on a wonderful opportunity to charitably note that the Church respects and guards like a lion the most fundamental right of a human being, the right to life. To say that this would be inappropriate would be to completely miss the point. There is a way to defend and promote the Church’s irrevocable stance on life while still being sensitive to the grieving.

That is not the proper place to deliver this kind of message. It is the time to preach consolation, hope, and the joy of the resurrection. If a friar, any friar, were to use that time for such a homily he would have had his preaching faculties stripped from him faster than he could say his name. The statutes are very clear on this matter. Friars must always exercise compassion toward the poor and crucified Christ who is present before them at that moment. At that moment the poor and crucified Christ is the family of the deceased, just as it is the poor and crucified Christ who is present at a soup kitchen if that’s where you find yoruself and so forth. There are other teaching moments. Also, there are different missions given to different friars. A teaching friar is one thing, a preacher is another, a theologian is another, a moralist is another and so forth. Each has a gift and a place. Such a lesson would be most appropriate for the Franciscans of the Renewal, because they work in teaching situations, such as Fr. Benedict, CFR.

About the only really great aspect of the Mass was the music. It is just a shame that with the great choirs and singers, they could not have been able to sung the parts of the Mass that belong to the first order as indicated in Musicam Sacram.

I’m glad that was good.

We may not always agree on everything, Benedictgal; but it does not mean that I do not understand you or respect your opinion. More often than not it means that we live in two different worlds and that’s OK. Both are probably very necessary for the construction of the Kingdom of the Poor and Crucified Christ. My world is the world of abortion and life issues. Our friars do only life ministry. The few masses that we celebrate are only for our houses, though we do celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours round the clock for and with the faithful, because we usually celebrate at abortion mills, our pregnancy centers, while baby sitting for single mothers who have brought their babies into the world and now need our help, while washing clothes for the children and their mothers, or while running retreats and workshops on life issues. If you attended one of our masses you might be scandalized.

We have no altar except a board. We have no seats except the floor. We have no chapel except a white washed room. And we have no instruments except those that people give us. But we spend almost two hours celebrating mass and most of it is in silence laying on the floor after listening to the scriptures and after communion. It’s not the usual that you would find, but it does render honor and glory to God for the salvation of those who provide abortions and of souls like Sen. Kennedy.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[benedictgal]

This is also very true. But as I have said many times, those who are not comfortable with the Franciscans’ humble and simple approach to liturgy would be best to refrain from attending a liturgy celebrated by a Franciscans or better yet, ask the Church not to consecrate Franciscans as bishops. Franciscans don’t want to be bishops. Most do not want to be priests. That’s why only 37% of Franciscan friars are ordained. We are very happy in our life as mendicant preachers, living among the poor, without the duties of parish ministry and helping out the diocesan clergy and serving them as our masters. That’s why you will notice that there are less parishes and dioceses run by Franciscans. The younger generation of friars wants to be like Francis, free of these complications to live our lives as poor beggers and street preachers. Notice that our younger communities are not involved in parish work at all: ie. Franciscans of the Immaculate, Franciscans of the Eternal Word, Franciscans of the Renewal, Franciscans of Peace, Franciscans of Life, and Franciscans of Christ the King. Then you have our older communities that are much more focussed on other gifts and charisms, such as the Capuchin Franciscans and the Conventual Franciscans. A Franciscan friar is called by God to do one thing and one thing alone, to live the Gospel as St. Francis lived it, with a very simple approach to all things and a desire to preach the Gospel to all men.

Yes, they should have. But once it’s over, you can’t turn back the clock. So what do we do, we try better the next time. We never allow anything like this to nag us because it takes away from the presence of Christ in the soul and it distracts from the journey to the cross. Events where such weaknesses may occur are an excellent opportunity to reflect on our lack of perfection, our smallness, our inability to be everything that we want to be, our dependence on Providence to be better and an opportunity to trust God’s mercy. What is done is done. We can only look forward and do penance for the past.

But, even the Masses celebrated by the Franciscans on EWTN manage to maintain fidelity to the norms.

The point that I am trying to make is that since this particular Mass was televised, every effort should have been made so as to ensure that the rubrics and norms were properly followed. That was, unfortunately, not the case with this particular Mass. In fact, as I see it, they played fast and loose with the rubrics.

There are those of us who find it rather painful when liturgical abuse occurs, especially when it’s on a grand scale as what played out yesterday. By grand scale, I mean that it was aired in several miillion homes. The Church certainly lost an opportunity to catechize the viewers and expose them to the richness of her Sacred Liturgy.

With regard to the joy of the Resurrection, we seem to also lose the prespective that we also need to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased. It was rather ironic that the family chose the first reading from the book of Wisdom since it indirectly references Purgatory. We tend to forget that for many of us, this will be one major stop before we enter into the joys of the heavenly kingdom. That is why it is very important to pray for the repose of the souls of the dead.

This is what should have been indicated in the General Intercessions where we plead for God’s mercy on the soul of the deceased. It was not the time to extol him through his speeches and pray for causes that are not quite compatible with the Church.

I have written General Intercessions for many of our diocesan Masses. I have always been careful what to write, even more vigilant over what I say than, evidently, the tawdry, politicized stuff from OCP. The family should have received better guidance than what they got.

 

[ProVobis]

You’re welcome! Susan Graham is well-known and very well-respected in the opera world, although she is not as known amongst non-opera goers or classical music goes like Placido Domingo or Yo-Yo Ma are. I took that for granted until I noticed that her name wasn’t mentioned on here, so I thought I’d post her name for those on here who admired her. It truly was a touching and spiritually moving offering of that hymn.

Here it is

Also here is that cellist doing almost your handle.

Hope the quality is better on your computer.