E
eafan
Guest
I really don’t know how to explain my question in a concise manner, so I haven’t found the answer doing a search here, but am hoping for some info.
In the Catholic parish I grew up in, our priest was extremely reverent at all times during the mass. Not that other parish priests I saw were not, however he had a deep reverence the entire time which was really obvious.
After I grew up, moved away, etc. I didn’t notice much difference, other than the larger city churches I now attended had more modern buildings. However, when I went back for a mass with him a few years later, the differences how he did things was obvious. I’m not talking about TLM here, but the normal Vatican 2 version.
For instance, right before he’d leave the sacristy, he’d always lightly ring the bell there. I have never seen any other priest do this, but he did it every mass.
He would reverently walk to the altar, genuflect, go around to the back of it, kiss it, and go stand off to the side behind it. He’d usually sing from the hymnal and when he was done, would-and for the whole mass if he wasn’t doing something else-have his hands folded together with palms touching and fingers pointing straight up. When he’d read the prayers, he’d extend his hands apart from each other, and at the end of the prayer, return them to folded position.
His “routine/ritual” was always the same. Every time. From the time I was in first grade when he came to our parish until the last time I was at one of his masses when I was in my mid-30s.
During the offertory, he would do everything meticulously and exact. Unlike other priests, he would never skip any detail, including raising the paten and chalice at specific times, saying the same specific prayers verbatim, washing his hands, etc.
He even would have the altar boy (of which I was one for several years in grade school) ring a bell at the elevation of the consecrated host and wine. He would always genuflect very reverently and seemed to say a prayer quietly while doing so during then as well.
He also had the bell rung just before distributing communion when he’d brush the… wafer catcher (sorry, don’t remember what they called these)-do they even use these at all anymore? I haven’t seen one used in years. He’d even break the main host in a certain way-basically breaking it in exact half, then a small portion he’d break off and place in the chalice. Plus, he’d always hold it in the same way-together, never one half of it.
After communion, he’d again have a very specific routine where he’d rinse the chalices, drink from them, and throughout wipe them with the white cloth (don’t recall what that’s called off hand) and reassembled everything again.
Very, very reverent, and very meticulous during EVERY mass.
I have never seen another priest do every step he did. They have ranged from “pretty close” to “hardly resembling” what he did. And the variance in reverence, I don’t think I need to bring that up!
**
So, my question is, did what my long time childhood priest do his own method, or was that the way priests were/are SUPPOSED to do things? When I was trained as an altar boy, we were told specifically all the steps to the mass and it seemed to me this was more the official way of doing things. Or, was it a times thing? **
(This was during the early - mid 1970s when I was an altar boy and very rarely was at other masses. On the weekends, however, we did have a different priest come from the nearby monastery for a couple of the masses, and I don’t really remember if he was so specific, but it seems he was at least close to my original priest.)
Sorry for the long post/question, but I don’t know how else to ask it but to explain it!
Thank you very much for your thoughts,
E.A. Fan
In the Catholic parish I grew up in, our priest was extremely reverent at all times during the mass. Not that other parish priests I saw were not, however he had a deep reverence the entire time which was really obvious.
After I grew up, moved away, etc. I didn’t notice much difference, other than the larger city churches I now attended had more modern buildings. However, when I went back for a mass with him a few years later, the differences how he did things was obvious. I’m not talking about TLM here, but the normal Vatican 2 version.
For instance, right before he’d leave the sacristy, he’d always lightly ring the bell there. I have never seen any other priest do this, but he did it every mass.
He would reverently walk to the altar, genuflect, go around to the back of it, kiss it, and go stand off to the side behind it. He’d usually sing from the hymnal and when he was done, would-and for the whole mass if he wasn’t doing something else-have his hands folded together with palms touching and fingers pointing straight up. When he’d read the prayers, he’d extend his hands apart from each other, and at the end of the prayer, return them to folded position.
His “routine/ritual” was always the same. Every time. From the time I was in first grade when he came to our parish until the last time I was at one of his masses when I was in my mid-30s.
During the offertory, he would do everything meticulously and exact. Unlike other priests, he would never skip any detail, including raising the paten and chalice at specific times, saying the same specific prayers verbatim, washing his hands, etc.
He even would have the altar boy (of which I was one for several years in grade school) ring a bell at the elevation of the consecrated host and wine. He would always genuflect very reverently and seemed to say a prayer quietly while doing so during then as well.
He also had the bell rung just before distributing communion when he’d brush the… wafer catcher (sorry, don’t remember what they called these)-do they even use these at all anymore? I haven’t seen one used in years. He’d even break the main host in a certain way-basically breaking it in exact half, then a small portion he’d break off and place in the chalice. Plus, he’d always hold it in the same way-together, never one half of it.
After communion, he’d again have a very specific routine where he’d rinse the chalices, drink from them, and throughout wipe them with the white cloth (don’t recall what that’s called off hand) and reassembled everything again.
Very, very reverent, and very meticulous during EVERY mass.
I have never seen another priest do every step he did. They have ranged from “pretty close” to “hardly resembling” what he did. And the variance in reverence, I don’t think I need to bring that up!
**
So, my question is, did what my long time childhood priest do his own method, or was that the way priests were/are SUPPOSED to do things? When I was trained as an altar boy, we were told specifically all the steps to the mass and it seemed to me this was more the official way of doing things. Or, was it a times thing? **
(This was during the early - mid 1970s when I was an altar boy and very rarely was at other masses. On the weekends, however, we did have a different priest come from the nearby monastery for a couple of the masses, and I don’t really remember if he was so specific, but it seems he was at least close to my original priest.)
Sorry for the long post/question, but I don’t know how else to ask it but to explain it!
Thank you very much for your thoughts,
E.A. Fan
