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Thursday 10 December 2009

Does your Canadian parish eliminate the Alleluia verse?

Based on that old Toronto corporate slogan, "an educated consumer is our best customer," Vox Cantoris is creating a new file; but moving forward, we'll subsitute consumer for catholic. If anyone can recall which company used this expression, please let me know in the comment box.

It seems that the pedagogical formation of most of us as it pertains to the sacred liturgy in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite is sadly lacking. Worse, it does not seem to be much better with most clergy.

Something which I have noticed in the last couple of years at different parishes during the week; Sometimes the lector, and not usually with a good voice but here's marks for doing it, sings the Alleluia. At other parishes where it is not sung then the Alleluia or Praise and its Acclamation are all omitted. Yet, elsewhere where it is not sung, it is read. Deciding then to do a little research on this matter I found a few interesting details.

Let us take a look at what I have found:

First, let us read what the General Instruction on the Roman Missal states in English and then in its original Latin:

63. When there is only one reading before the Gospel, during a season when the Alleluia is to be said, either the Alleluia Psalm or the Responsorial Psalm followed by the Alleluia with its verse may be used;
During the season when the Alleluia is not to be said, either the psalm and the verse before the Gospel or the psalm alone may be used;
The Alleluia or verse before the Gospel may be omitted if they are not sung.

63. Quando una tantum habetur lectio ante Evangelium:
tempore quo dicendum est Allelúia, haberi potest aut psalmus alleluiaticus, aut psalmus et Allelúia cum suo versu;
tempore quo Allelúia non est dicendum, haberi potest aut psalmus et versus ante Evangelium aut psalmus tantum.
Allelúia vel versus ante Evangelium, si non cantantur, omitti possunt.

Nota bene: the word here to pay attention to is possunt which means, "can" or "be able (to)".

Now, let us examine what is in the new Canadian Lectionary and which you will commonly find in your little paperback missalette published by Novalis--the Living with Christ paper missal. Now, you can check this for yourself the next time you go to Church, you don't need to take my word for it.

Go to GOSPEL ACCLAMATION for any day and note the italicised sentence.

"If the Alleluia is not sung, the acclamation is omitted." and during Lent, "If the Praise is not sung, the acclamation is omitted."

If this is the case and the document actually says that the Alleluia "can" or is "able" to be omitted if not sung, why in the Canadian Church has the CCCB and its publishers replaced this with the word "is"? I mean, "is" omitted is a lot different than "can be" or "able to be" omitted.

So, the next time you go to Church and you wonder why after the Responsorial Psalm the Alleluia is omitted now you know why.

The CCCB and its publishers have told the priests that if not sung then the Alleluia and its Acclamation "is" to be omitted and unless the priest has read the GIRM then he does not know that it is not mandator, the Alleluia and Acclamation can clearly be proclaimed if not sung!

And you, the laity follow what is going on and it is reinforced every time you open that little paper missalette. Once again, you have been liturgically lead astray. Let's see, how many times is that now?

I will be asking this question to the good people at Novalis, I'll let you know their response.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The slogan you're referring to is from 'SIMS', the clothing store.

John Vicente