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Monday 17 October 2011

We've got mail...

How is it that people are so distressed by what is being caused in their parishes that to get an answer they need to write to a blogger.

Truly, I am humbled. More, I am saddened.

Letter 1 from Antigonish:
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 3:04:30 PM
To: voxcantoris@rogers.com
Subject: New Missal & Unity of Posture

Good Afternoon,

I have been following your blog for a while now, particularly you posts on the new missal which are very informative. Thank you!

I am in the Diocese of Antigonish and this weekend one of the local bulletins had an insert on the new missal and unity of posture. One of the changes stated was:

In our diocese, the people will continue standing, even at their pew, until the last person in the communion procession receives communion. The hymn will not end until the last person receives, then the people may kneel. (The full bulletin can be viewed here:

http://www.cansoparishes.org/bulletin.html

I find it hard to believe that this is an actual change but I am no expert! Do you know anything about this?

Thank you for your time.

Letter 2 from another forlorn place in Canada, the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie 
Sent: October 17, 2011 4:42 PM
To: voxcantoris@rogers.com
Subject: communion

Hello,

Can you help me? My mom called me this afternoon. She was told that the GIRM 2011 indicated that the congregation must remain STANDING after communion until everyone has received? I am surprised. I've been to a CMAA conference, read quite a bit, perused the new GIRM for Canada, but have never heard this. I hope it's not true! Do you know of any such instruction?

Thank you.

Dear my fellow suffering Canadian Catholics,

The GIRM indicates two things. We must kneel at the Consecration, so all those churches that pulled out their kneelers will have to put them back in. Second, those places where kneeling is from the end of the Sanctus to the Doxology and from the Agnus Dei, that is a “laudable” practice to be maintained. Once you return to the pew from Communion the decision on whether to kneel, sit or stand is yours and yours alone. The GIRM is silent here thought there is reference that the priest and faithful “may pray quietly for a time.


Nobody has the right to tell you what your posture is at this point. The decision is yours. If anyone harasses you for kneeling or orders you up on your knees then that is an action straight out of Hell.

Perhaps you might have you expert liturgists consider what Cardinal Arinze has to say.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc0g3UMRtMM

The good news?

In 20 years, the people that are doing this will all be retired or dead and before the judgement seat of God.

The other good news?

The “FOURTH TYPICAL EDITION” will be upon us before you know it, after all, its rubrics next and praxis, not translation; and the sound which you hear is the death knell of the cabal of modernists, feminists, homosexualits, socialists and fascists dressed up as catholics with a small "c" as they try to persecute you one more time.

Be strong friend, Jesus has already won it for us.
God bless.

Vox Cantoris









6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here in the Diocese of Victoria, a spot of good news!

Some of our parishes have been accustomed to kneel through the entire Eucharistic Prayer, some (most) stand at the Memorial Acclamation, and others stand all the way through. Once the new translation comes in, the following rules will apply:

- For churches with kneelers (again, most of them), the new practice will be to kneel all the way through the Eucharistic Prayer.
- For churches without kneelers, the new practice will be to stand throughout the Eucharistic Prayer, and to make a profound bow at the Consecration.

For most parishes, the change will be minor: simply remain kneeling instead of standing at the Mysterium Fidei. It will be interesting to see whether the "standing" parishes without kneelers obey the directive to make a profound bow. And it will be even more interesting to see whether those "standing" parishes with kneelers will obey the new directive to kneel.

After receiving Communion, we are free to kneel, sit or stand as we please. We have also been explicitly told that there is no requirement to stand in the new GIRM.

Anonymous said...

I too am in the Diocese of Antigonish. We have heard the same, no kneeling after Communion until everyone has received. I for one will not be going along with that and I know of a few others who also will not follow that bizarre rule. Hopefully the Bishop will not follow the precedent sent by one of his previous confreres in dealing with people who decide to ignore an unlawful rule.

capebretoner

Gabby said...

A dubium was already submitted to the CDW on this very topic.

"Numerous inquiries" received by the BCL led Cardinal Francis George, chairman of the BCL, to submit a dubium (doubt, question) to the Holy See's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW) on May 26, 2003:

Dubium: In many places, the faithful are accustomed to kneeling or sitting in personal prayer upon returning to their places after having individually received Holy Communion during Mass. Is it the intention of the Missale Romanum, editio typica tertia, to forbid this practice?

Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the CDW, responded to the question on June 5, 2003 (Prot. N. 855/03/L):

Responsum: Negative, et ad mensum [No, for this reason]. The mens [reasoning] is that the prescription of the Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, no. 43, is intended, on the one hand, to ensure within broad limits a certain uniformity of posture within the congregation for the various parts of the celebration of Holy Mass, and on the other, to not regulate posture rigidly in such a way that those who wish to kneel or sit would no longer be free.

Gabby said...

All this tells me is that nothing in Canada is going to change. Parishes will still do whatever they want and that will cause any number of problems when new pastors will want to implement the things the GIRM really say after a period where any number of abuses have become 'the tradition'.

Young Canadian RC Male said...

Vox don't declare victory before the 4th comes out yet. For all we know we could get a modernist Pope when Benedict XVI dies (don't forget the cardinals vote the Pope in, it's not a meritocracy)and then with the stroke of a pen, that 4th ed. won't be like you describe, and he can undo SP and UE.

Puff the Magic Dragon said...

Reading the "unity of posture" paragraph without reading the "as set out in the GIRM" ending of the paragraph is the same as reading in the American constitution: "the right to bear arms shall not be infringed" and ignoring the "to maintain a well regulated militia" beginning.