Question about Liturgy of the Word and rubric

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anrmenchaca47

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So I’m going to explain what I saw last night at mass. Since last night I witnessed some things that I thought were off. First off, I noticed twelve men dress in tunics as if it there was going to be a sort of play but realizing that they were getting ready for the customary washing of the feet. “Ok,” I thought to my self I can see that but are the costumes necessary?
Procession starts and mass begins, and proceeds accordingly. Then comes the presentation of the chrism oils and I see these ladies dancing their way up the center aisle. I don’t know but something about that to me didn’t seem right. Is it customary for women to present the chrism oil in a dancing manner, sort pagan in nature I felt.
Liturgy of the word begins but I notice that before they begin reading they give a summary of what the reading is about before they actually start reading the scriptures. Even the priest, from where he is sitting tends to give a quick summary of the readings from where he is at. Is this part of the rubric for mass?
Liturgy of the Eucharist start and the priest begins with reading from the book but I noticed that he starts adding to what’s already written. Is this allowed? To add words to the Liturgy of the Eucharist?
Any help with these is greatly appreciated
 
anrmenchaca47 said:
Is this allowed? To add words to the Liturgy of the Eucharist?
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Those are normal for that day, as it commemorates the day that Christ instituted the Eucharist. They’re in the missal.
anrmenchaca47 said:
it customary for women to present the chrism oil in a dancing manner, sort pagan in nature I felt.
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For the OF, it’s customary for the oils to be presented to the parish, as Chrism Mass happened earlier in the day. All of the holy oils in the church are now restocked.
anrmenchaca47 said:
but are the costumes necessary?
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It’s probably to make sure everyone looks neutral in clothing.
 
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I personally don’t agree with any sort of dancing within the church I find it completely disrespectful. Is this a Catholic Mass?
And the clothes worn by the men is a standard (for me) of the washing of the feet as it’s more like apart of the reanactment and celebration
 
It all sounds very strange but at the same time not surprising.

I agree that I cannot see why those who had their feet washed needed to wear any special garment. But, everyone needs to feel special these days.

You do not say where you are but I suspect it is some place in the West where dance is not liturgical. I have no idea why this was considered a good idea.
 
Anon7 said:
I personally don’t agree with any sort of dancing within the church I find it completely disrespectful.
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It is permitted, and is the norm in many cultures, particularly in Africa.

https://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdwdance.htm

The above is definitive, from Notitiae, which publishes liturgical notes from the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship. (sidebar, they have some interesting ones for the Liturgy of the Hours, such as praying the Office of Readings in two or three Nocturnes).

As for the 12 tunics… if they are white albs then I can’t see anything inherently wrong with them. The alb is the vestment of all the baptized and is appropriate for use in the liturgy by the laity, such as altar servers or choristers.
 
The “tunics” were probably albs. Not necessary but not “wrong” either.

Was it really “dancing”. Or was it walking along in a processional style (maybe music was playing?) and occasionally turning from side to side to display the oils to the parish?

I have no idea what it was that the priest said so we cannot judge. Explanations are OK at some parts of the Mass and the Liturgy is going to be different on Holy Thursday.
 
Sometimes I think it’s better to be in the moment and live the liturgy rather than try to be the liturgy police. Did you actually get any of the symbols and meaning of the Holy Thursday Mass?
 
Maybe you should attend one of these masses and see for yourself
 
I have, at the offertory at a Mass animated by Africans, at an international congress in Rome.

It was very beautiful, exuberant and colourful and most appropriate for the circumstances. No matter what one thought of it, nobody could doubt for a moment the faith of these women.

And of course the Church allows it.
 
Southwest Texas is where I am from near the border. This particular church, I feel, does not follow rubrics regarding how Mass is supposed to be celeberated. I feel that the laity here have more control of what should be allowed just to make them feel good. I don’t particularly go to this church as I go to another one but since we were late and we needed to fulfill our Holy day of obligation I really didn’t have a choice here. Nothing about what they did was liturgical. I would say more along the lines of abuse more like it. It Left a very bad taste in my mouth(literally that’s how bad it was)
 
From the Introduction to the Lectionary:

“15. There may be concise introductions before the readings, especially the first. The style proper to such comments must be respected, that is, they must be simple, faithful to the text, brief, well prepared, and properly varied to suit the text they introduce.[footnote 30: See General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 11.]”

In the latest edition of the General Introduction of the Roman Missal, the 2010 English translation, what was in no. 11 is now in no. 31. It includes, about the Priest: “He is permitted, furthermore, in a very few words, to give the faithful and introduction to the Mass of the day (after the initial Greeting and before the Penitential Act), to the Liturgy of the Word (before the readings),”

A lay person may have the role of Commentator at a Mass.

The Introduction to the Lectionary has:

“42. The one presiding is responsible for preparing the faithful for the liturgy of the word on occasion by means of introductions before the readings.70 These comments can help the gathered assembly toward a better hearing of the word of God, because they enliven the people’s faith and their desire for good. He may also carry out this responsibility through other persons, the deacon, for example, or a commentator.71”

So a lay person can give an introduction before each reading.

The 2010 General Instruction of the Roman Missal has in n. 105:

“In performing this function the commentator stands in a suitable place within sight of the faithful, but not at the ambo.”

So it was incorrect to have the introduction from the same place as where the reading was.

The Introduction to the Lectionary is at https://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Rites/Lectionary.pdf .

[Excerpts from the English translation of the Lectionary for Mass, © 1969, 1981 International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. Excerpt from the English translation of The Roman Missal, © 2010 International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.]
 
It is a bit late to learn after the fact but Maundy Thursday (you probably call it Holy Thursday in the USA) is not a holy day of obligation. It is commendable you wanted to go but you were not obliged to go.

Holy days of obligation are (i) all Sundays and (ii) solemnities of precept (i.e. of obligation). The latter vary from country to country as the episcopal (bishop’s) conference determines which ones it will observe. I believe in the USA they can vary from province to province.

The Holy See prescribes ten and asks that all countries retain at least two: Our Lord’s Nativity and one of those in honour of Our Lady. The following is the complete list and those in bold are the ones we observe here in England and Wales: Our Lord’s Nativity (Christmas Day), Epiphany, Ascension, Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Assumption of the BVM, Immaculate Conception of the BVM, St. Joseph, Ss Peter & Paul, and All Saints.
 
TomH1 said:
The Holy See prescribes ten and asks that all countries retain at least two
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For the record, in the USA we observe the following days of obligation on their official day: Our Lord’s Nativity (Christmas Day), Ascension, Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Assumption of the BVM, Immaculate Conception of the BVM, and All Saints. Many (but not all) of the other days have had their observance transferred to Sunday. In most ecclesial provinces the Ascension has also had the observance transferred to Sunday.

There are additional rules about when the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated but there are always multiple threads that pop up to discuss those when the conditions are applicable.
 
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SMHW said:
Many (but not all) of the other days have had their observance transferred to Sunday.
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In England and Wales we have some that are transferred to a Sunday. Epiphany, Assumption, Ss Peter & Paul and All Saints if they fall on a Monday or Saturday are transferred to the Sunday, “so there are not two holy days of obligation together”.
 
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