Indeed many a question has been raised as to why when the TLM is celebrated, the faithful has to witness a lot of the priest’s gestures of making the sign of the cross. We perfectly understand that during the revisions of the Roman liturgy post-Vatican II, many omissions were made in assuming that reverent gesture more so even that of some seemingly trivial elements being rendered “non-obligatory” (like priests maintaining the “ad orientem” position whilst celebrating the Mass, or using the “canonical fingers” after the handling of the consecrated hosts). Now with regard to frequently crossing oneself or making the sign of cross over the sacred species by the celebrant, Matthew Bellisario of Catholic Champion provides us with his commentary with citations from the Angelic Doctor and Pope Benedict XVI himself as to why this had been practised ever since the heavenly Roman liturgy has been codified or specified during the Council of Trent.

I personally would like to take note of the following elocutions by no less than St. Thomas Aquinas himself in tackling the very same question about making the sign of the cross within the celebration of the sacred liturgy:

The priest, in celebrating the mass, makes use of the sign of the cross to signify Christ’s Passion which was ended upon the cross. Now, Christ’s Passion was accomplished in certain stages. First of all there was Christ’s betrayal, which was the work of God, of Judas, and of the Jews; and this is signified by the triple sign of the cross at the words, “These gifts, these presents, these holy unspotted sacrifices.”

In short, we may say that the consecration of this sacrament, and the acceptance of this sacrifice, and its fruits, proceed from the virtue of the cross of Christ, and therefore wherever mention is made of these, the priest makes use of the sign of the cross.
(III,q. 83, a. 5, ad 3)

For more of the explanation and reflection on this matter is the article by Matthew Bellisario in his blog.

…THIS?

THE LITURGICAL YEAR AND INCULTURATION
13th Asian Liturgy Forum (ALF)
South-East Asian Region,
September 16-20, 2009
Bahay Pari, San Carlos Pastoral Formation Complex, Edsa, Makati City

We, the delegates to the 13th Asian Liturgy Forum of South-East Asia, met from September 16-19, 2009 to discuss the timely and urgent topic of Liturgical Year and Inculturation. The meeting was held in Bahay-Pari of San Carlos Pastoral Formation Complex, Makati City, Philippines, under the auspices of His Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop of Manila to whom we express profound gratitude. The delegates to the meeting came from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. We are now pleased to share the result of our three-day meeting.

1. The history of the liturgical year shows that the calendar of feasts has been constantly adjusting itself to political, cultural, and religious environment of local Churches. This should serve as a guiding principle in our work of inculturating the liturgical year.
2. We note that inculturation normally takes place within the framework of approved liturgical books, whereby the substantial unity of the Roman Rite is preserved. Hence, the inculturation of the liturgical calendar does not result in a totally new calendar that is an alternative to the typical edition of the Roman Rite.

3. However, we acknowledge that inculturation might not always be sufficient to address certain local needs. We would not preclude the creation of particular liturgical calendars while retaining the register of feasts of the Roman Rite.

4. Roman traditional liturgical symbols may need to be adjusted in accord with the seasons of the year in the local Church. This would be applicable, for example, to liturgical feasts like Christmas and Easter whose original symbols do not correspond to existing seasons of the year in a particular Church.

5. Inspired by liturgical history, we recognize the role of local cultural and social traditions in the institution of some liturgical feasts like the Chair of St. Peter in Rome, which originated in the ancestral feast of ancient Rome called parentalia. In accord with liturgical norms, local Churches could institute feasts derived from their traditional and other established practices.

6. Likewise, the cycle of human work has shaped some liturgical celebrations like Rogation and Ember days. We believe that in the industrial world marked by the rhythm of work and rest, production and consumption, and strikes and negotiations, the Church should similarly establish pertinent liturgical feasts.

7. In regions where popular pious exercises abound and continue to be meaningful to the faithful the liturgical calendar can be enriched by the integration of popular religious practices with the liturgical feasts.

8. Sometimes political situations have left their mark on the liturgical calendar as witnessed by the institution of the feasts of Christ the King and St. Joseph the Worker. Local Churches may propose similar feasts to accompany the faithful across political systems.

In conclusion, given that time is relative, that situations are provisional, and that culture and traditions are in constant evolution, the Church should continue to revise, reinvent, and create liturgical feasts that meet the actual needs of the faithful.

That in all things God may be glorified.

I’m dying to know.

A rather old but straightforward piece from Fr Zuhlsdorf, it tackles how we as Catholics who dare champion Tradition must approach many of today’s assertions that the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is not in any way “vital to every Christian’s spiritual life, as regarding its antiquated status.” A nice read, indeed.

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1) Rejoice because our liturgical life has been enriched, not because “we win”.  Everyone wins when the Church’s life is enriched.  This is not a “zero sum game”.

2) Do not strut.  Let us be gracious to those who have in the past not been gracious in regard to our “legitimate aspirations”.

3) Show genuine Christian joy.  If you want to attract people to what gives you so much consolation and happiness, be inviting and be joyful.  Avoid the sourness some of the more traditional stamp have sadly worn for so long.

4) Be engaged in the whole life of your parishes, especially in works of mercy organized by the same.  If you want the whole Church to benefit from the use of the older liturgy, then you who are shaped by the older form of Mass should be of benefit to the whole Church in concrete terms.

5) If the document doesn’t say everything we might hope for, don’t bitch about it like a whiner.  Speak less of our rights and what we deserve, or what it ought to have been, as if we were our own little popes, and more about our gratitude, gratitude, gratitude for what God gives us.

For many of us Filipinos who have been accustomed to archbishops and the religious sector inching every nook and cranny of politics in the name of liberation theology (which I figure is not intrinsically untoward, but emphasising it more above every aspect of Church doctrine that may be detrimental), the following is a sort of breather perhaps especially that it concerns a drawing forth of metanoia not by engaging in radical deeds but by fostering Eucharistic ardour amongst the faithful: just as the Church wills and teaches.

H/t to my friend Mr. Carlos Palad for this wonderful Rorate Caeli post.

—

Communion kneeling and on the tongue made mandatory in the Cathedral of Lima

A reader from Lima, Peru has informed Rorate that to receive holy communion at the Cathedral-Basilica of Lima, Perú, the faithful must now kneel in addition to receiving only on the tongue. For that purpose, two kneelers are now put before the steps of the high altar at the moment of Communion, just like in Papal Masses.

In his sermon on September 20, 2009 in the Cathedral, Juan Luis Cardinal Cipriani Thorne, Archbishop of Lima, made the following statement:

“The most respectful way of receiving the Eucharist is kneeling and on the tongue. We must recover a sense of respect and reverence due to the Eucharist, because the love to Jesus is the center of our Christian lives. Our souls are at stake.”

One of the latter pieces of wisdom from the late Monsignor Moises Andrade, H.P. before his demise last year.

—-

Care of Supreme Pontiffs: Stability of Roman Liturgy as God’s Gift

By the late Msgr. Moises Andrade, Jr. H.P., at the University of Santo Tomas last January 7, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI offered his care for the Roman Liturgy in his motu proprio letter of July 7, 2007. Here, he conveyed his support for the maintenance of sacredness, reverence for God’s presence, and the participant’s awareness of sinfulness during the celebration of the Roman Liturgy.

1. Awareness of Sinfulness.

Keeping the hands joined, kneeled and bowing low in prayer, and the striking of the breast are bodily gestures expressing fidelity to God’s gift of Sacred Liturgy. They are occuring in various moments of the Holy Mass primarily. They instill to every officiating priest and all participants in Sacred Liturgy the readiness to welcome God’s gift of forgiveness and remission of sins.

2. Reverence for God’s Presence.

The Divine Presence in the Word of God and in the Mystery of the Eucharist are experienced in the epistles and gospels of a one year cycle of the 1570 Roman Missal and in the Roman Canon, conveniently articulated by the rubrics, when faithfully implemented. Rather than require the ability of so many trained ministers, servers, singers and other assistants, the availability of at least one ordained priest and his acolyte always makes accessible the sacraments in their solemn prayerfulness.

3. Maintenance of Sacredness

Focus on the salvific grace of Christ’s holy cross through ritual gestures and its sacred image at the central place at the altar will yield the harvest of piety and clear signal of the role of the priest – not so much as presider, but as a servant to facilitate the encounter of the living God with the praying people including the priest as well.

Conclusion

The awareness of the Roman Liturgy’s sacredness, reverence of God’s presence, and the consciousness of human sinfulness yet graced by God’s self-giving are constantly transmitted through the various historical periods of the Church’s liturgy and are especially expected through the exposure of the faithful to the ritual celebration elaborated extraordinarily in the 1962 Roman Missal (the 7th retouching of the 1570 mass book) and ordinarily, in the 1970 Roman Missal (the 8th retouching of tthe roman liturgical text).

Well it doesn’t pay to slack around or engage in mundane activities since, as Christians, these days are focused primarily on commemorating our redemption from perpetual condemnation. So, here’s something I want to share concerning these sacred days–courtesy of my good friend Carlos Antonio Palad of Rorate Caeli:

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1) It is better to attend the liturgical actions of the Sacred Triduum than to go on pilgrimage to various churches. The ideal is to be able to do both, but if one must choose between attending the liturgical actions of these holiest days, and going on Visita Iglesia, the former is the better choice. The sacred liturgy is the official worship of the Church and is far superior and more pleasing to God than our private devotions, and it is through the liturgy that we enter upon the spirit of the season. If our goal in these holiest days is to be more conformed to Christ, then what better way to do so than to attend the liturgy and receive the Eucharist, by which our union to the Body of Christ is made more intense and complete?

By the way, the “Siete Palabras” is NOT a liturgical service, but a merely devotional one. If you have to choose between that and the Veneration of the Cross and Communion, please prefer the Veneration of the Cross and Communion.

2) When you go to confession and the priest does not mention the words of absolution when “absolving” you, gently but firmly insist that he recite at least the basic words of absolution (“I absolve you from your sins”). It is my personal experience that some priests use invalid formulae when giving sacramental absolution especially when there are many people, and since it is our spiritual welfare and salvation as Christ’s faithful that is endangered by this practice (which renders confession invalid), it is our duty to protest (but with charity). If the priest does not give you valid absolution, then you should repeat your confession to another priest. Remember: your eternal salvation might be at stake. God forbid that anyone who has something serious in his conscience should die after an invalid confession.

3) The Visita Iglesia is a much-misunderstood practice. It originated with Catholics visiting seven churches on Maundy Thursday to adore the Blessed Sacrament in the “altars of repose”. Traditionally, the number seven comes form the fact that, as of the year 1900, there were seven major churches in Intramuros – San Agustin (Augustinians), San Nicolas (Recoletos), San Ignacio (Jesuits), Santo Domingo (Dominicans), Nuestra Senora de Lourdes (Capuchins), San Francisco (Franciscans) and Manila Cathedral.

Obviously, the ideal time for Visita Iglesia is Maundy Thursday evening. If the Visita Iglesia is done this evening, then the focus should be on the Eucharist – after all, the Eucharist is especially placed in altars of repose during Maundy Thursday precisely so we will adore the Blessed Sacrament. If the Visita Iglesia is done on Good Friday morning (which is also possible), the Way of the Cross is more appropriate. In our devotions, let us not forget the meaning of the day and the mysteries of Christ commemorated on that day.

4) There is no substitute for fasting and abstinence on Good Friday, not even self-flagellation, rolling on the ground, having oneself literally crucified or walking in procession barefoot. God desires our obedience, not our self-willed penances. Other penances may be substituted for abstinence on the Fridays of Lent, but Good Friday is different, it and Ash Wednesday being the days of penance par excellence. Fasting means eating only one full meal a day (which itself should not equal more than one normal full meal – some people eat enough for three meals during this ‘one full meal’!), and two meals that do not equal a full meal, plus no snacks or merienda (although energy drinks, juices, coffee, chocolate and milk are fine). Abstinence means not eating meat – and that includes white meat or chicken meat (some people rationalize that meat refers only to red meat, or beef and pork).

Some people insist on snacking or eating meat because “it is so tiring to go on Visita Iglesia” during Good Friday. This rationalization begs the question: why go on “Visita Iglesia” only to use it as a reason not to practice penance? What is more important: to practice the little penance and self-denial that the Church asks us to do, or to go on “spiritual tourism”, eating and drinking to our heart’s content while hopping from one church to another?

Good Friday is a time for us to think of Christ crucified, not to use Christ as an excuse for our own little pleasures. At present, the Church requires Filipino Catholics to fast and abstain for only two days of the year. Is this too much? Is Christ so distant from our hearts that we cannot even bear to offer these little sacrifices to him? Then why even observe Holy Week? Without the spirit of penance, our Holy Week traditions are meaningless.

5) God is NOT DEAD on Good Friday and Black Saturday. When you hear someone make this claim (especially in and around Quiapo), explain to that person that Christ our God died once, but that He arose from the dead and is forever glorified in heaven. Holy water also doesn’t lose its holiness on Good Friday afternoon. If you buy amulets or practice black magic on Good Friday and Black Saturday as God won’t see your deeds because He is dead, rest assured that God knows what you are doing and will hold you to account for it.

6) Holy Saturday is not an excuse to go back to our sinful lives. Many malls and TV channels “go back to the usual programming” on this day. This is not commendable. We are supposed to be doing two things on Holy Saturday: mourn Christ, who was crucified by our sins, and prepare for the joy of Pascha (Easter). Traditionally, Catholics practiced fasting on Holy Saturday, although it is no longer required by Church law. Easter Sunday is the time for rejoicing, but so that our rejoicing with the Risen Lord will be complete, we must also seek to understand the bitterness of His Passion. For this, Holy Saturday is the perfect time.

Perhaps it does not help that since 1970, the ancient liturgical and devotional traditions of Holy Saturday have been laid aside and forgotten (even though they were never abolished by the Church). It is my prayerful hope that the day will come when such beautiful practices as Tenebrae, the “Mater Dolorosa” sermon and many others will be revived in our parishes and cathedrals to sanctify this day once more. Perhaps the “Soledad or Desolata Procession”, still practiced late at night on Good Friday in a few parishes, could be revived as well and done on Holy Saturday morning, in order to prevent Holy Saturday from turning into a vacuum of idleness.

7) The greatest and most important liturgical celebration of the Sacred Triduum, and of the entire liturgical year, is the Paschal or Easter Vigil. Please make the effort to attend every year or at least once every few years. Yes, it is very long (3-4 hours, depending on the musical settings used and the number of people baptized or confirmed), but it is truly worthwhile. After all, the season is about Christ’s triumph over death. Why observe the triumph, only to be absent from the victory celebration?

8 ) Many priests give their all during Holy Week. Please go out of your way to commend your parish priest once Holy Week is over. I know of priests who weep with joy when they see a lot of people attending the services of the Triduum – it shows just how much the Triduum means to them.

Have a blessed Holy Week Triduum to all.

The ever-reliable Fr. Zuhlsdorf, at last had put this up on his blog for all the world to see:

PHILIPPINES
Cardinal accused of disobeying Pope

Robert Mickens
In Rome

THE HEADof the Vatican’s Ecclesia Dei commission has reprimanded the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, for setting “unduly restrictive” conditions on use of the Tridentine Mass, [Again… update on the terms!  No one really says "Tridentine" anymore.] saying they were “in direct contradiction” to the wishes of Pope Benedict XVI.

“Your ‘Archdiocesan Guidelines’ are simply not acceptable as they stand and I ask you to reconsider them,” said the Ecclesia Dei president, Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, in a letter dated 6 March and seen by The Tablet this week. It said “guidelines allowing only a monthly Mass in a chapel of [the] Metropolitan Cathedral” were in violation of the norms established in the motu proprio, “Summorum Pontificum”, issued by the Pope in 2007 for the widespread use of the Tridentine Mass. [Get this…] Cardinal Castrillón said the papal decree was “part of the universal law of the Church” and could not be limited by the “particular law” of a diocesan bishop. [This is the part that the Pope’s enemies in this matter will really hate!] The Archdiocese of Manila ministers to more than 2.8 million Catholics.

“There is simply no legitimate reason why this [Tridentine] Mass cannot and should not be celebrated in any church or chapel of your archdiocese,” Cardinal Castrillón said in his letter to the Archbishop of Manila.

[Read closely…] He insisted that Cardinal Rosales actively promote the implementation of the motu proprio by “helping priests who are desirous to learn how to celebrate” the old rite Mass, which he said only required that the priest be “reasonably competent in Latin”, [which, as WDTPRS has been saying all along, means that the priest can pronounce the words properly.  We want more, of course, but that is the minimum.  And what is required is sufficiency, the minimum, not expertise.] and that there were faithful [no number set… and the coetus mentioned in the Motu Proprio might be very small indeed.] who wished to assist at its celebration. The Archdiocese of Manila published the Tridentine Mass guidelines on its website last year. But they were quickly removed when supporters of the old rite protested to Rome.

Rome has spoken. The PCED has spoken. And I might as well make my very own comments on these events very soon as I have lots of IT work to accomplish these days. Nonetheless, there needs be a sung Te Deum for this.

Deo Gratias.

{N.B: Original post by Fr. Zuhlsdorf here }

My sources have usually been NLM and WDTPRS, although I visit the latter more often than I do the former. Liturgy and the correct celebration of such (including those that tackle the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite) have been my usual subjects nowadays inspite of this blog’s former intentions of becoming my own hub for Catholic apologetics articles. Nevertheless, I do not mind.

Today I had the chance to check out anew Fr. Z’s blog (WDTPRS of course) and these caught my eye:

USCCB Newsletter from Committee on Divine Worship

and

TLMs are not hard for the young… on the contrary

For the first item, I could not help agreeing with Fr Z and his insights. Nuff said. Why indeed must we be so obtuse as not to comprehend the real issues at hand? Latin is necessary, Latin has been with the Church for years, Gregorian chant is in Latin, one of the most prestigious–and highly reliable–translations of the Bible is in Latin. We should open ourselves into the big picture here. (<< addenda on these remarks shall follow when I get home from the bank today, or after I attend TLM in Alabang tomorrow morning.)

On the other hand, the second citation I pointed above on certain young people not finding a hard time learning the rubrics of the Extraordinary Form is just remarkable... and realistic. There's nothing better than to espouse even a tad bit of mettle here. Nothing is ever difficult if we try.

In a gist, the FFI now prefers to celebrate in the Forma Extraordinaria. What more can I say?

From The New Liturgical Movement:

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Franciscans of the Immaculate Predilect the Usus Antiquior

by Gregor Kollmorgen

The Franciscans of the Immaculate, who for some time now have increasingly been celebrating the usus antiquior, have now declared their predilcetion for the Extraordinary Form and explained their reasons for this. This was done by a letter to the editor of the Italian newspaper La Stampa by the Procurator General of the Order, Fr. Alessandro Maria Apollonio, of which messainlatino.it gives some excerpts. Here is an NLM translation of these:

The Franciscans of the Immaculate avail themselves, with joy and grateful appreciation, of the initiative taken by Pope Benedict XVI with the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. [...] The choice to predilect the “extraordinary form” corresponds to a legitimate internal choice of the religious family, as foreseen in the same motu proprio, in a Catholic spirit of fidelity to the Pope and to the liturgical tradition of the Order founded by St. Francis of Assisi. [...]

The spirit of St. Francis, in fact, tends to the greatest possible glorification of God through the good and beautiful things of the world and has always led us to seek what most helps to elevate the mind and heart to the “Most High, Almighty and Good Lord” to whom alone are due “praises, glory, honor and all blessing”(Canticle of the Sun). The extraordinary form of the liturgy of the Vetus Ordo – which is accompanied by that of the Novus Ordo (Missal of Paul VI) – offers, indeed, the happy possibility to live more intensely the vocation and mission of St. Francis of Assisi, within the universality of the Church and its wealth of expressions.

Deo gratias!

From an announcement disseminated by those in-charge of noon masses at the University of Asia and the Pacific as of February 16, 2009. I had the chance to receive this via a forwarded e-mail sent through one of the online groups I belong to:

Friday Noon Masses at UA&P to be Celebrated in Latin

Beginning February 20, the Friday noon Mass at the Stella Orientis Oratory will be celebrated in Latin. The Mass will continue to be the ordinary rite as approved by Vatican II, not the extraordinary rite or the so-called Tridentine Mass.

Celebrating the Friday noon Mass this way will preserve the use of Latin in the liturgy, as encouraged by Pope Benedict XVI. Using Latin in the Mass has never been stopped or prohibited. In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy ­ Sacrosanctum Concilium ­ the Second Vatican Council, while allowing the use of the vernacular, also affirmed that the “use of the Latin language (…) is to be preserved in the Latin rites.” (no. 36)

The said university’s personnel and students are entrusted with spiritual formation courtesy of the Opus Dei.