Some things just make you shake your head

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Phemie

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This morning after Mass the liturgy coordinator got up to explain the new “Celebrate in Song” and the pew cards with the new translation that had been placed in the pews. It’s the first time that the congregation has seen the new words.

Note that we don’t have a pastor and we have not received any direction from the Diocese on any of this. The priest who has been unofficially the administrator, by virtue of his presence in the rectory (he’s pastor of his own parish 25 miles away and missionary to one a two hour flight away) says Mass in English only in our parish, since his own parishes Mass is in an aboriginal language.

Anyway, when she explained the new books and pew cards she also talked about the new postures (ok, some are not new but it’s the first time they’ve been imposed for the entire country) and attitudes called for by the Canadian GIRM: servers and ministers genuflecting to the Tabernacle at the end of the entrance procession and when exiting the sanctuary at the end of Mass; kneeling after the Sanctus and standing for the Mysterium Fidei, unless prevented by illness; if one cannot kneel, bowing profoundly when the priest genuflects (except he never does so she said ‘at the Elevation’); standing at “Pray brothers and sisters…”; more silence before Mass; EMHCs not coming to the sanctuary before the priest has received Communion, etc.

Once she returned to her pew, this priest walked to the ambo and said, “It should be said that all the things that B. has mentioned are simply suggestions. Since Vatican II we have been called to be a friendly church, a welcoming church. There is no reason to stop socializing before Mass. To do anything different is to say we’ve been wrong for the last 40 years. I don’t think we’ve been doing ANYTHING wrong and I totally disagree with these changes. As for the language, I haven’t looked at the changes but I don’t think there are many and it’s not a big deal.”

You could practically hear jaws hit the floor, people were stunned that he would just so rudely contradict everything the coordinator had said.

So the GIRM is just suggestions, eh? Can’t wait to hear how the Diocese responds to the coodinator’s questions because she fired them off as soon as she got home.

It’s going to be interesting to see him celebrate his first English Mass with the new Roman Missal since he’s clueless that the biggest changes are going to be his to make. It’s also going to see how he reacts to being told that the EMHCs are no longer to purify the vessels, since he categorically refused to purify them himself when he was our pastor from 2004-08 (note that there are only two chalices and one ciborium to purify).
 
Phemie, I did not know that Canada was adopting the new GIRM. Did Canada also have the indult for EMHC to purify as in the US?

Prot. n. 468/05/L Rome, 12 October 2006, from Francis Cardinal Arinze:
  1. Paragraph 279 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal directs that the sacred vessels are to be purified by the priest, the deacon or an instituted acolyte. The status of this text as legislation has recently been clarified by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. It does not seem feasible, therefore, for the Congregation to grant the requested indult from this directive in the general law of the Latin Church.
  2. This letter is therefore a request to the members of the Bishops’ Conference of the United Status of America to prepare the necessary explanations and catechetical materials for your clergy and people so that henceforth the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 279, as found in the editio typicatia of the Roman Missal, will be observed throughout its territories.
 
Every English-speaking country is adopting the new GIRM.

No we never had an indult for the EMHCs to purify but they still do it. It’s not the first time that Canada has done something because it had been approved for the US. That’s how we got to use a non-approved version of the Lectionary for 17 years.

The US was given permission to use the NRSV for the Lectionary so Canada used that version for its Lectionary. Before the US had printed theirs, Rome had rescinded the permission to use that version for Liturgy and Canada was told to find come up with another version within 5 years. It took ~16 more years to get our new version.
 
The US was given permission to use the NRSV for the Lectionary so Canada used that version for its Lectionary.
I wasn’t aware that the US had ever in recent decades had interest in any version other than the NAB. Was it just isolated pockets in the US that did this, or did the USCCB as a whole make the request or get permission in some way?
 
… It’s not the first time that Canada has done something because it had been approved for the US…
Sorry, this made me smile…it seems to be our national motto…“Do as the Americans do”
 
This morning after Mass the liturgy coordinator got up to explain the new “Celebrate in Song” and the pew cards with the new translation that had been placed in the pews. It’s the first time that the congregation has seen the new words.

Note that we don’t have a pastor and we have not received any direction from the Diocese on any of this. The priest who has been unofficially the administrator, by virtue of his presence in the rectory (he’s pastor of his own parish 25 miles away and missionary to one a two hour flight away) says Mass in English only in our parish, since his own parishes Mass is in an aboriginal language.

Anyway, when she explained the new books and pew cards she also talked about the new postures (ok, some are not new but it’s the first time they’ve been imposed for the entire country) and attitudes called for by the Canadian GIRM: servers and ministers genuflecting to the Tabernacle at the end of the entrance procession and when exiting the sanctuary at the end of Mass; kneeling after the Sanctus and standing for the Mysterium Fidei, unless prevented by illness; if one cannot kneel, bowing profoundly when the priest genuflects (except he never does so she said ‘at the Elevation’); standing at “Pray brothers and sisters…”; more silence before Mass; EMHCs not coming to the sanctuary before the priest has received Communion, etc.

Once she returned to her pew, this priest walked to the ambo and said, “It should be said that all the things that B. has mentioned are simply suggestions. Since Vatican II we have been called to be a friendly church, a welcoming church. There is no reason to stop socializing before Mass. To do anything different is to say we’ve been wrong for the last 40 years. I don’t think we’ve been doing ANYTHING wrong and I totally disagree with these changes. As for the language, I haven’t looked at the changes but I don’t think there are many and it’s not a big deal.”

You could practically hear jaws hit the floor, people were stunned that he would just so rudely contradict everything the coordinator had said.

So the GIRM is just suggestions, eh? Can’t wait to hear how the Diocese responds to the coodinator’s questions because she fired them off as soon as she got home.

It’s going to be interesting to see him celebrate his first English Mass with the new Roman Missal since he’s clueless that the biggest changes are going to be his to make. It’s also going to see how he reacts to being told that the EMHCs are no longer to purify the vessels, since he categorically refused to purify them himself when he was our pastor from 2004-08 (note that there are only two chalices and one ciborium to purify).
Wow! I see God gifted you with patience.
 
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