The Easter Vigil ruined

  • Thread starter Thread starter tad
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
My reasoning was something along the lines of ‘if it wasn’t new, then he wouldn’t have included in the rant against all the new things the pastor is doing’. But still, fair enough.

and sure, while it’s not wrong to use a grill for the easter fire, is it… dignified? Should the fire that symbolizes God (and from which the Paschal Candle, symbolic of Christ the Incarnate Light is lit) be put in something that Uncle Jimmy uses to roast brats in on Memorial Day when there well could be an alternative?
 
Maximilian75 said:
My reasoning was something along the lines of ‘if it wasn’t new, then he wouldn’t have included in the rant against all the new things the pastor is doing’. But still, fair enough.

and sure, while it’s not wrong to use a grill for the easter fire, is it… dignified? Should the fire that symbolizes God (and from which the Paschal Candle, symbolic of Christ the Incarnate Light is lit) be put in something that Uncle Jimmy uses to roast brats in on Memorial Day when there well could be an alternative?
Click to expand...
Honestly, it’s the pastor’s decision. I’d hope it’d not smell of past-incarnations of sausage, but there’s no rule against it.

And I think, in reality, that’s the crux of what many people have an issue with. The priest isn’t doing anything wrong. Perhaps not perfect, but it’s not illicit, invalid or wrong in any way. Could he have done something better? We don’t know that. We can be pretty sure that the priest wasn’t thinking “oh gee willakers how can I defile the vigil today?”
 
CilladeRoma said:
I agree that should not be done, but are we sure that is what actually happened. I am very leary of threads like this, as we only get one side. If the rubrics are not being followed, by all means, something should be done.

Best thing, either go somewhere else, or actually talk to the priest about your concerns.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, enough of us have been to “that Triduum” to be anything but leery about the possibility of the only priest they can get to do these liturgies coming in and playing fast and loose with the rubrics.

I would agree that going to the pastor of the parish about this, particularly if the pastor’s bad health prevented him from actually being present at these liturgies in the past. The OP has a long-standing relationship with the pastor, and the pastor knows the server knows how to “say the black and do the red.” It won’t hurt if the server writes out what things he finds out from here really are liturgical abuses rather than alternative ways to do things that he does not happen to like, so he won’t be making vague or irrelevant complaints. When he goes to the pastor, he ought to stick to the matters that are abuses and leave the rest off of the laundry list.

I would not be surprised, however, if the pastor has no choice but to tell the server which of the pastor’s brother priests can be depended upon to see to it that the rubrics are followed at that priest’s own parish, and sends this server there for Holy Week.
 
Last edited:
CD45 said:
I work with priests everyday in my diocese. Some are great, many are good and a few are still stuck in pre-Vatican II mode.
Click to expand...
That seems like quite a divisive statement, “…stuck in pre-Vatican II mode”.
 
Maximilian75 said:
While the Easter fire is not the Blessed Sacrament, the container that holds it should be dignified and set apart for the purpose of liturgy.
Click to expand...
The Church makes those decisions. There are instructions for what things need instructions, like the vessels and vestments. There are not instructions where the Church does not see fit to give them, like in this case.
 
Yes, but as I said to Xantippe, the things used in liturgy should still be as dignified as they can be.
 
That is a good principle, but one that applies only to the discretion of the priest, as he is the one who determines practically balance the “as they can be” part. It is not like a grill is something frivolous and inappropriate. It can easily be used in a dignified manner.
 
Last edited:
again,
Maximilian75 said:
and sure, while it’s not wrong to use a grill for the easter fire, is it… dignified? Should the fire that symbolizes God (and from which the Paschal Candle, symbolic of Christ the Incarnate Light is lit) be put in something that Uncle Jimmy uses to roast brats in on Memorial Day when there well could be an alternative?
Click to expand...
inappropriate, no (i guess). Frivolous and tacky? IMO, yes
 
I thought of something else. When we light the Easter candle, the lights are off. The fire is everything, and the only thing. I do not see how any container very visible could be tacky.
 
Maximilian75 said:
Yes, but the addition of this grill is new.

If it had always been this way/ parish couldn’t afford a new brazier for the EV, then that’s understandable.

But, how the OP phrased it, it seems as though this liturgical grill is a new addition, and not out of necessity. I could be wrong, though.
Click to expand...
I think you’re missing the point. Maybe part of his beef is the Webber but mostly is because the Blessing of the New Fire is not done at the appropriate time. It’s done somewhere in the middle of the Vigil according to the OP.
we didn’t light a fire outside the church at the beginning, but instead started a fire in a Weber inside the church at some point in the middle.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I don’t want to be overly fussy here, but I am a little confused.

I was just flipping through another thread where you mentioned that you determined you were a Christian, and then a Catholic, in the summer of 2012. Presumably you joined the church during the following Vigil, in 2013.

You seem to speak as though there was this long tradition of Vigils that the new priest broke when he arrived “five years ago”, but by my count, that would have been in 2013.

Is it possible that you just like the tradition you were first introduced to, and are balking against any new ones? I know that just after I was baptised, the priest who baptised me left the parish, and one of the last pieces of advice he gave me regarding the incoming priest was not to make any judgments regarding him, because invariably my impulse would be to dislike the new guy for not being the priest I knew and loved. And he was right. As it turned out, the new priest had many gifts I came to appreciate (and some quirks that drove me nuts) but I couldn’t see them in those first few months.
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
He didn’t say the Webber wasn’t new, either.
Click to expand...
It was new. I helped them assemble it when I dropped off my Easter flowers earlier Saturday morning.

It’s not the Weber that bothers me, it’s the fact that they lit the fire somewhere in the middle of the service.

Besides that, lighting a fire inside the church, like right in front of the altar inside the church, was a terrible idea as it filled the space with smoke and choked the faithful.
 
I can’t see any reason for the rubrics to be rearranged in such a manner.
 
Not really. My wife and I make it to a lot of different types of masses without much distress. We don’t like noisy churches or rock bands but other than that we’re pretty easy to please.

I did serve the Easter Vigil with the new priest for three years. After the third one I just couldn’t take it anymore. All of us servers were joking that we were going to schedule a vacation for the Vigil next year.

BTW, I get along with the new priest fine. He does some things like make me hold hands with him during the ‘Our Father’ and little stuff like that that I don’t care for, but I appreciate serving with him as I think he appreciates having me around. After five years we’re kinda used to each other. I know I’m a great relief to him for some of these funerals I’ve served.
 
It’s also occurred to me that since I’ll be around for Holy Thursday and Good Friday, I’ll probably be asked if I can serve the Vigil. While this may give me an opportunity to discuss my concerns about the Vigil it’s always a little awkward. What do I say? I don’t want to serve because it’s too goofy?

We’ll see what happens. We do some different stuff of the other big nights of Holy Week. On Holy Thursday everybody gets their hands washed and on Good Friday we have the Adoration of the Cross at the very end of the service. I don’t mind that so much. In fact, last year, both my wife and I kind of missed it in spite of attending two very beautiful and orthodox services.
 
Quote the GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal)

“However, the Priest will remember that he is the servant of the Sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass.”

-GIRM Chapter 1 Paragraph 24
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top