Vatican II

[Denise1957]

The Franciscans of the Immaculate do celebrate the EF by giving communion on the tongue while kneeling, at least to the friars (and they wear fiddlebacks!).

I suppose there are exceptions, as each group may be allowed to decide what they prefer to do. A truly beautiful video of their EF:

youtube.com/watch?v=4frzb-mre2Y

 

[JReducation]

The Franciscans of the Immaculate do celebrate the EF by giving communion on the tongue while kneeling, at least to the friars (and they wear fiddlebacks!).

I suppose there are exceptions, as each group may be allowed to decide what they prefer to do. A truly beautiful video of their EF:

youtube.com/watch?v=4frzb-mre2Y

The Franciscans of the Immaculate have permission from their general chapter to use the 1962 missal. If you notice very closely in that video, there are certain Franciscan elements that they preserve.

1. All of the friars are on the sanctuary in some form or other. This is to blur the lines between ordained and non ordained as much as possible, during a mass.
2. The sisters do the music. There is no male schola.
3. The music is polyphony, not Gregorian. Gregorian chant enters the Franciscan tradition in 1970 as a result of Vatican II.
4. This is a public church or chapel. You can tell by the architecture. It’s not Franciscan. They have to comply with the diocesan policies.
5. If the superior of the house has been one of the congregants, then they would have had to stand so as not to look awkward, because the superior does not kneel to a subordinate. If the superior is a priest and he’s the presider, then it works out well.

Most Franciscans, do not have blanket permission from the chapter. They use the old Franciscan form of the Tridentine mass, unless the superior gives permission to use the 1962 missal. In other words, they are dependent on the superior.

The reason my guys don’t wear fiddleback is not because it’s not allowed by the Franciscan rule. It’s because I don’t allow it. I don’t allow the albs with lace either.

Our form of the Tridentine mass is quite beautiful as well, just no fiddlebacks and communion is done the traditional Franciscan way, not the Roman way.

That’s the great thing about belonging to one of the major orders. You have freedom to use your customs or the Roman customs. Everyone else is locked into the Roman way.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV

 

[OraLabora]

We just did Mass XIV yesterday. I am thankful that we do the appropriate mass chants based on the liturgical calendar. Did I tell you I’m chanting now (or trying to)?

I have to admit though that some of the Masses are not so melodic to the ear.

I agree that if the EF became the norm there would be abuses and inconsistencies for sure, but the point is today, we are not all near Benedictine monasteries and the places where one is most apt to find chant within a mass is in the EF.

We did Mass XIV last Sunday as well. Today is Mass 11; however I’m on holiday and won’t be able to get to Mass at the abbey today. We have in-laws visiting, and trying to get that lot of cats herded will make getting to any Mass difficult…

(they decided they all wanted to go for a bike ride today so I have a bunch of rarely used bikes to adjust seats, organize, inflate tires, lube chains, adjust derailleurs, and then herd them along the bike path at a speed about half of what I’m used to; I’ll offer it up…)

It’s fortunately not something that happens often.

As for chant and the OF, it does happen in parishes. Not every Sunday but in Sherbrooke, QC, our schola rotated to a different parish every month, so in the city and nearby towns from September to June it was possible to hear chanted propers and ordinary at least once a month in a parish, plus at a couple of additional special occasions (Mass in seniors’ residences, concerts, funerals-we have a lot of requests to chant at fuenerals, etc). There are a couple of choirs in Montreal doing the same thing, as well as a very active choir in Chicoutimi. The choir in Quebec City recently disbanded due to the director not being able to do it any longer, but they do have a very popular EF Mass in Quebec City so all is not lost for chant there.

I agree some chants are a bit tough, but once you get the hang of them they can start to sound better and you can better appreciate the compositions. I used to have a hard time with graduals, but now that I’ve mastered them, I’ve come to appreciate them especially those in the most common mode, Mode V. Christus factus est on Palm Sunday and during the Triduum is particularly beautiful but it’s not so easy, especially the verse.

That’s the great thing about belonging to one of the major orders. You have freedom to use your customs or the Roman customs. Everyone else is locked into the Roman way.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV

There are certainly times that I feel more “Benedictine” than Roman. Apart from the beautiful liturgy there’s a gentleness to their spirituality that is very attractive, and their way of accepting everyone as Christ himself no matter what their condition in life is or how wounded or imperfect they are.

When I first visited the monastery the perfect liturgy and apparent seriousness of the monks was a bit off-putting. But when I got to know them I knew that this was the charism for me. They pay attention to the details of the liturgy but are very patient with human foibles, and are very warm and human themselves.

 

[JReducation]

There are certainly times that I feel more “Benedictine” than Roman. Apart from the beautiful liturgy there’s a gentleness to their spirituality that is very attractive, and their way of accepting everyone as Christ himself no matter what their condition in life is or how wounded or imperfect they are.

When I first visited the monastery the perfect liturgy and apparent seriousness of the monks was a bit off-putting. But when I got to know them I knew that this was the charism for me. They pay attention to the details of the liturgy but are very patient with human foibles, and are very warm and human themselves.

The Benedictines have a wonderful approach to liturgy, better than that of the SSPX. FSSP, or any diocese. While their liturgies are very well celebrated and choreographed, their approach is not like that of some Trads. They approach liturgy with great love, without the fear and trembling.

Whether they celebrate the Benedictine form of the Tridentine mass or the Benedictine form to the Pauline mass, they are quite comfortable in their skin that they will get it right and that if they screw up, it’s not a big deal Tomorrow is another day and we get another chance.

They take their time. They’re never in a hurry. Time does not exist in a Benedictine abbey. They are not stuck on the EF or the OF, on this breviary or that breviary. I visited a Benedictine classmate of mine and we laughed at some of the concerns that people on TC Forum have about the LOTH and the details of the mass.

He commented to me, “Has anyone told them the bad news?” I asked, “What bad news?” He answered, “That in the Benedictine tradition there is no one breviary and no one missal and there never has been. Every abbot has the authority to change the missal and the breviary, even to rewrite it, as long as he leaves in the essentials and it’s a unilateral decision. No bishop, pope or department in the Vatican ever gets involved.” This is part of the Benedictine beauty. They accommodate the liturgy to the culture and needs of the monks.

Many Trads don’t like Franciscans for this reason. The first priest to join the Franciscans was Brother Giles. Giles was a Benedictine monk who transferred over. He taught the first friar priests how to celebrate mas using the Benedictine mindset. That’s when Francis stepped in and said that he could use everything from the Benedictines except Gregorian chant. Giles, being very smart, knew that there was a form of chant that is almost like a hum that anyone can do. Some people call it plainchant. I don’t know if it has a real name. With is Benedictine mindset, he accommodated the liturgy to the culture of the friars. When the laity started to attend, he and the friars taught the laity how to accommodate to the culture of the friars. It’s done with that Benedictine cheer and impishness. They’re persuasive, but not intimidating. They trained our early friars well. The tradition lives on.

Go lite on the liturgy. Just do it by the book and don’t sweat it. God has a bigger brain than man. He can live with bloopers, because he understands man better than man understands man. Go slow, be reverent, but don’t be stiff. You’re a priest not a broomstick. If you’re a Franciscan or Benedictine, the lay people in your congregation are your brothers and sisters, not your children. If they get confused and mess up, you can live with it without getting upset.

The Benedictine contribution to how we think about liturgy is beyond description. It’s a pity that the Church allowed the secular clergy to move away from that mindset. I understand that it was to protect secular priests from being turned into religious, but that reverent, yet calm attitude about mass and the flexibility with which they make changes without losing sleep is enviable. It’s like, “New abbot = new rules. OK, I’m going to play tennis now.”

Fraternally,

Br. JR, FFV