New elements of the Liturgy

[Phemie]

The choir, cantor or songleader leads the chant, they are not the only responder.
From the GIRM

As I said, the choir may sing alone.

1. This **chant is sung **alternately by the choir and the people or similarly by a cantor and the people, or entirely by the people, **or by the choir alone. **

OTOH, the people are expected to know and sing the responses.

 

[FAB]

As I said, the choir may sing alone. OTOH, the people are expected to know and sing the responses.

since it is the last option, it is not the prefered option, also you can’t ignor the other instrutions that call for full participation

 

[drforjc]

since it is the last option, it is not the prefered option, also you can’t ignor the other instrutions that call for full participation

“Full participation” : please give me a official Chuch definition, given the fact that the above is permitted by the GIRM

 

[revert_jen]

Hmmmm…I wonder about folks that can’t sing worth a darn. Couldn’t carry a tune in a burlap bag if they used both hands. Would lightning strike them down for not participating fully in the mass by not singing?

Actually, I have a magnificent voice…thank you, thank you very much… but what if I just say the words?

My Dad can’t carry a tune in a bucket, and he never could, and he knows it. I’ve always (except for a shortish period around age 13) admired him for singing anyway.

I have excellent pitch, and actually someone like my Dad who doesn’t come within 50 yards of the pitch is less irritating to me than someone who is consistently 5 inches away. Not really relevant, except to me.

It’s not a concert, it’s worship. Sing! But speaking is OK, too, if you just can’t bring yourself to it.

–Jen

 

[ProVobis]

OTOH, the people are expected to know and sing the responses.

Can I just hum along when I go to French Masses?

 

[YoungTradCath]

since it is the last option, it is not the prefered option, also you can’t ignor the other instrutions that call for full participation

That’s a pretty pitiful conclusion to make.

 

[Phemie]

Can I just hum along when I go to French Masses?

That’s what I do, since I rarely know the tune now when I go to Mass in French. I don’t get ‘home’ much these days.

 

[brendeer]

Is it true that we are all to stand after returning from receiving Communion (ie, we can no longer kneel???)

 

[Phemie]

Is it true that we are all to stand after returning from receiving Communion (ie, we can no longer kneel???)

No. The norm is standing but you may sit or kneel as you wish. The dubium issued several years ago made that perfectly clear.

Here is Cardinal George’s question (dubium) and the CDW’s response (responsum; Prot. n. 855/03/L) as found in the July 2003 BCL newsletter: ****Dubium: In many places, the faithful are accustomed to kneeling or sitting in personal prayer upon returning to their places after having individually received Holy Communion during Mass. Is it the intention of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia, to forbid this practice?

Responsum:* Negative, et ad mentem.* The mens is that the prescription of the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, no. 43, is intended, on the one hand, to ensure within broad limits a certain uniformity of posture within the congregation for the various parts of the celebration of Holy Mass, and on the other, to not regulate posture rigidly in such a way that those who wish to kneel or sit would no longer be free.

GIRM 43 on postures shows that standing is the norm but kneeling or sitting is allowed.

GIRM 43. The faithful should stand from the beginning of the Entrance Chant, or while the Priest approaches the altar, until the end of the Collect; for the Alleluia Chant before the Gospel; while the Gospel itself is proclaimed; during the Profession of Faith and the Universal Prayer; and from the invitation, Orate, fratres (Pray, brethren), before the Prayer over the Offerings until the end of Mass, except at the places indicated here below.

The faithful should sit, on the other hand, during the readings before the Gospel and the Responsorial Psalm and for the Homily and during the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory; and, if appropriate, they may sit or kneel during the period of sacred silence after Communion.

 

[FAB]

“Full participation” : please give me a official Chuch definition, given the fact that the above is permitted by the GIRM

From Address of Bishop Serratelli to the
2009 National Meeting of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions
Found in Volume XLV Members September-October 2009 of the Newsletter form the office of Divine Worship

First, full participation. This means that every
member of the community has a share in the liturgy.
No one is excluded. There are different ministerial
roles that some exercise in liturgy and these belong
to the very nature of liturgical action. But we are not
to confuse the actual involvement of some of the
10 Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, 2; cf. Clifford Howell,
The Work of our Redemption, Stonyhurst College,
October 1953, chapter 5 of Part Two.
11 Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7.
12 cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 14.
36
faithful in the liturgical ministries with conscious
and active participation of all the faithful in the
liturgy. **No one is a mere spectator.**Second, active participation. Active participation is
both external and internal. First, there is external
participation. We worship God as we are; and, we
are not disembodied spirits. We are body and soul.
We express what we think and feel and believe with
the senses of our body, most especially with our
words.
Our liturgy is the Liturgy of the Eternal Word made
flesh. He speaks to us with a human voice and we
answer with ours. The very structure of word and
response in the liturgy follows the order of divine
revelation. God addresses us. We answer in faith.
With word, song and gesture, all the members of the
community take part in the act of worship, which is
anything but inert or passive.
Furthermore, we take part not simply as individuals.
We are one with the entire People of God, for liturgy
is the action of the whole Body of Christ. Thus, we
are joined to others in our worship. When all are
seated listening to the readings or standing for prayer
or kneeling during the Canon, the community is
bound in visible unity in its act of worship and
manifests the unity of the Mystical Body.13

 

[FAB]

That’s a pretty pitiful conclusion to make.

It comes from an understanding of reading liturgical documents. The most important and primary items to be followed are at the start of the options. Usually one will find that other options are given to try to cover most circumstances that may arrive.

As example the red instruction in the missal will often say preist is to, priest or deacon, Deacon or preist. When preist is stated first it is his primary responsiblity, but when deacon comes first it is his, prime example . the proclamation of the Gospel is always done by the deacon when present.