On the Corrected Translaton of the Roman Missal

Courtesy of The Chant Cafe and FaithUK is this important article from Father Tim Finigan writing in the September/October edition of Faith Magazine. As approach the last week of a translation of the Holy Mass in the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo Missae) which has been a destruction to the faith Father Finigan brilliantly summarises its deficiencies and what it has meant. It is important that you make your friends aware of not only what is coming but the history and outright consipiracy to destroy the liturgy.

The New (corrected) ICEL Translation

Tim Finigan FAITH Magazine September – October 2011

Fr Timothy Finigan, Parish Priest of Blackfen, sketches the slow process, following Christopher Monckton's 1979 expose in this magazine, of correcting the 1970s mistranslation of the text of the liturgy. He also touches upon the opportunities offered by the translation for healing some of the deep ecclesial wounds of recent decades. Fr Finigan has a popular blog, The Hermeneutic of Continuity.

People have grown old and died waiting for an accurate English translation of the Missal of Pope Paul VI. Most Catholics under 40 years of age have never been able to participate at Mass said according to a faithful rendering of the official Latin text. This injustice to the People of God is now being rectified, and not before time.

The imprimatur for the first full ICEL Missal in England was given by Cardinal Heenan in October 1974. The introduction of the whole Missal was not necessarily immediate. In England and Wales, the former, and much better translation of the National Liturgical Commission (NLC), known colloquially as the "Wheeler Missal" after Bishop Wheeler who played a significant part in producing it, remained legitimate as an alternative. In the September-October 1975 issue of Faith Magazine, Fr Holloway wrote: "To my mind, it is a blessing that our Bishops have not yet allowed ICEL complete and total dominion, although for how long can NLC hold out?" In fact, it did gradually fall into general disuse, although some priests carefully retained copies of the Wheeler Missal. In recent years, they have become as gold dust for younger clergy. (It is still legitimate, I suppose, until the first Sunday of Advent, though I wonder whether anyone has even remembered to mandate its suppression.)

Early Criticisms of the Old ICEL

Though the NLC Propers could be used, the Ordinary of the Mass had to be ICEL. Criticisms of ICEL in the early days therefore often focussed on the texts of the Creed or the Eucharistic Prayers. Even so, this was in the days long before the first web browser was invented, and the reaction was slower than we are accustomed to now. People did complain about the translation, focussing on its banality and lack of a sense of the sacred. Latin Mass (even in the new rite) had become a rarity by the mid 1970s and so it required an effort to get hold of a Latin Missal to compare the texts. As more and more interested Catholics did so, there was a sense of outrage at what was missing, changed or simply invented. In 1979, Christopher Monckton, then Editor of the Universe, focussed the complaints of many of us in his widely influential paper for the Association of English Worship, published in this magazine (Dec 1979) as "Caught in the Act. A Conspiracy of Errors." (He compiled a list of over 400 such errors.)

The main point of his article was that the ICEL translation (of the Ordinary of the Mass) was not only banal, nor even simply erroneous; Monckton demonstrated that it was marred by systematic omissions, and systematic doctrinal defects. The words sanctus and beatus had been passed over in almost every place where they occur in the text. As he observed, "there was only one point at which the translators must have found it all but impossible to omit the word "Sanctus" and that is in the SANCTUS itself." They could hardly have expected the priest and people to say: "____,____,____," My own favourite example of desacralising is the translation of the text in the Roman Canon "accipiens et hunc praeclarum calicem in sanctas et venerabiles manus suas" which is properly translated in the new ICEL as "he took this precious chalice in his holy and venerable hands." The old ICEL has "he took the cup."

Monckton also drew attention to the theologically grave problem of the text's playing-down of sacrificial language, eliminating the distinction between the offering made by the priest and that made by the people, and losing the notion of Christ as victim. The most glaring example is the phrase ''sanctum sacrificium, immaculatam hostiam" in the Roman Canon, which is simply omitted.

Ever since Monckton's article and others like it in the late seventies, it has been an open secret that the translation was bad, and needed to be replaced. Even at that time, with the text not six years old, the Chairman of ICEL indicated that it was to be subject to a careful and painstaking re-evaluation; it took eighteen years for a new text to be presented to the Holy See. By 1998, however, many things had changed: Pope John Paul's papacy had matured, and the Congregation for Divine Worship, after a series of other good prefects, was now run by Cardinal Estevez. In his letter to ICEL, the Cardinal gave 114 examples of specific flaws in the proposed text, saying that the list "cannot be considered in any way exhaustive." He specifically noted "It appears, indeed, consciously or unconsciously to promote a view of sacramental and ecclesiological theology that contrasts with the intentions of the Holy See." Among the many defects, he noted the dropping of the words sanctus and beatus: the "careful and painstaking" eighteen year re-evaluation did not seem to have achieved very much.

Before offering his cordial good wishes in Christ the Lord, Cardinal Estevez wrote:

"... this Congregation considers it may be helpful to recommend that there be a complete change of translators on this project and that a new, independent and definitive English version be made afresh from the Latin texts."

Not long afterwards, in 2001, the instruction Liturgiam Authenticam was issued, insisting that

"the original text, insofar as possible, must be translated integrally and in the most exact manner, without omissions or additions in terms of their content, and without paraphrases or glosses. Any adaptation to the characteristics or the nature of the various vernacular languages is to be sober and discreet."

The following year, ICEL was reconstituted with due acknowledgement of the competence of the Congregation for Divine Worship, and the process of translation began for a third time. The growing use of the internet, especially in social networking, meant that through the debates of the US Bishops' Conference (commendably held in public session) the general Catholic public became increasingly aware of just what thinking was behind what was coming to be known by consensus as the "lame-duck translation", an expression popularised by Fr Zuhlsdorf who has spent many years analysing "What does the prayer really say?" both in his column for The Wanderer and on his popular blog. When Bishop Trautman of Erie complained about unfamiliar words being used, bloggers jokingly vied with each other to include the words "ineffable", "wrought" and "gibbet" into ordinary posts. The opposition to the more sacral language was characterised as objecting to "them fancy words."

A Great Relief for Priests and People

Now, after several decades, we finally have an accurate translation of the Roman Missal to use for the celebration of Mass. During the lead-up to its introduction, some of the liberal Catholic press has been acting in a way reminiscent of the "phony war" of 1939. They have not been issuing gas masks and practising air raid drills, but from the hysteria of some articles, you would think that extra first-aiders should be trained. I am not exaggerating here. The Tablet actually posted an article on its website in which the author suggested that asking children to say in The Confiteor "through my fault, through my fault, through my own most grievous fault" while beating their breasts, was a form of psychological child abuse. Wisely (perhaps realising that this foolish comment trivialised real child abuse) The Tablet took the article down.

Most ordinary Catholics who are still actually going to Mass will not be troubled by the changes to the text, except for stumbling a bit for the first few weeks and accidentally falling into the old ICEL from time to time. The priest can do a lot to help in the reception of this change. If he is obviously enthusiastic and positive, the people will be encouraged in their faith, and can benefit from the catechesis that he gives in his ordinary preaching, looking at topics like sacrifice, grace, humility, and the sacredness of the Liturgy, to give a few examples of doctrines that show out much more clearly in the new texts.

For the minority who take an active interest in the Liturgy, read Catholic articles and follow news within the Church, I suspect that the people who are delighted by the new ICEL will far outnumber those who are opposed to it. For priests who are faithful to the Church, and have been aware of the errors and deficiencies of the old ICEL, it will be a relief and a joy to be able to use a worthy text for the celebration of Mass in English. For the 27 years of my priestly life, I have been using a lame-duck text that dumbs down the theology of the Mass and prevents me from giving to God the reverence due to Him in the words of the prayers prescribed by the Church. I rejoice that the students I have taught, who are being ordained this year will begin their priestly ministry with a worthy text.

Unfortunately, there has been little progress on the question of copyright to the text, which belongs to the local Bishops' Conferences. The cards which have been produced by the major publishers have various problems because of conditions imposed by the National Liturgical Committee. They imply or state that the offertory prayers must be said out loud, that the sign of peace is compulsory, and that Holy Communion must be received standing. They are also unwieldy because of ICEL's insistence that the texts must be printed according to "sense lines." (This constraint also make the Missal itself waste acres of white space.) Last year, when the "phony war" ponderously urged elaborate preparation for priests to be able to use the new texts, I pointed out at one clergy meeting that I had done the preparation many years ago by taking English O-Level. The stubborn insistence on "sense lines" is surely a form of that "infantilisation" which was fostered by the collaborative ministry enthusiasts but is so decried nowadays.

Paradoxically, since Summorum Pontificum, it is easier to obtain high quality pdfs of the texts and music for the extraordinary form of the Mass and the Divine Office than for the ordinary form in English. There will undoubtedly be an underground movement to share electronic versions of the text so that booklets and leaflets can be produced and distributed on the internet free of charge. (There is already a text of the newly-translated Missal available on Wikispooks) It would make sense for ICEL and the English speaking Bishops' Conferences (or any one of them) or the Holy See itself to put an official version of the text out into the wild under a licence that allowed non-commercial copying with the caveat that the text itself should not be modified (it is in fact much easier to verify the integrity of an electronic text.) Hunting people down for copyright violations is a waste of time that could be better spent supporting the work done by enthusiastic Catholics free of charge for the love of God.

In a way, the liberals are right to fear the new (corrected) ICEL text. They do not want any change in the status quo because it will inevitably provide an opportunity to make other changes, most notably to the music that is used for the Mass. If parishes begin to recover the idea of a sung Mass, rather than a Mass at which things are sung, that will be a great improvement to the celebration of the Liturgy. Once bumped out of the groove in which we have been stuck for decades, it will be easier for parish priests to take up some of the reforms which have been encouraged gently by Pope Benedict, to be frightened no longer by traditional vestments and vessels for Mass, by the possibility of at least some celebrations of Mass being ad orientem, or by gently moving away from anti-liturgical informality.

During the decades in which we have been lumbered with the lame-duck translation, much has changed in the Church: some of the changes have ironically been a matter of people continuing to do the same thing. Those who as youngsters were attracted by the folk choir and have remained in it, can sometimes now look like the ageing rockers who play at teatime in seaside pavilions in the summer. They may still harbour the pious hope that young people will be attracted by matey liturgy and jolly tunes. The sad reality is that in most parishes there are hardly any young people left after the Confirmation course has finished. The ones who do remain will stay because either through a miracle or the providence of God they have received some formation in the faith: they want the truth and they want to worship God. Some school chaplains or diocesan youth centres have tried hard to move towards better and more catechetical music for worship but the danger remains that this is of transient appeal and can become quickly outdated and a source of amusement unlike the perennial sacred music of the Church which was actually mandated by Vatican II.

The debate over whether liturgy or catechesis is most important for saving the faith of the young has taken a new turn in the recent revival of the Liturgical movement. The Liturgy has been rediscovered as itself a source for theology, and therefore also for catechesis. This certainly does not mean that the Liturgy is primarily a school assembly: making it such is one of the problems that we have to overcome. Rather, the priest in his preaching, and the catechist in sacramental preparation can use the texts of the Liturgy to illustrate the faith. This will be much easier with the new (corrected) translation which succeeds in preserving the dogmatic content of the prayers. Shortly after the time of the publication of the lame-duck translation, Faith movement produced a pamphlet called "The Liturgy: a catechism of Catholic doctrine." This showed that even in what was a bad translation, the basic doctrines of the faith could be found in the text. Now everyone is talking about the opportunity for catechesis that the new text presents.

Important though this is, it must be accompanied by a recovery of the sacred in the Liturgy: especially in the celebration of Sunday Mass, and even more crucially in the celebration of the school Mass. Many active young Catholics have found the numinous in the usus antiquior and have become attached to it, much to the bewilderment of older Catholics who remember the heady days of the seventies with nostalgia. Whatever the process of mutual enrichment between the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms of Mass (as desired by Pope Benedict) will hold for the future, the present position of young Catholics is that they are going to keep or lose the faith through what they experience in the Mass celebrated at their parish and at their school. The new (corrected) translation offers us a definitive moment of action (the local centre of spirituality would doubtless call it kairos.) Archbishop Nichols told the clergy of Westminster on the 9th of June last, that "the Liturgy forms us, not us the Liturgy." I agree with him and would add that right now, we need to seize the opportunity to change more than simply the translation: clergy of orthodox faith who love the Church must take the risk of insisting that they will submit themselves to the Liturgy, eradicate informality, correct abuses and (if not literally then at least symbolically) turn towards the Lord. Whether in English or in Latin, we are in fact going up to the altar of God. And He is the one who gives joy to our youth.

Dear Bishop

Dear Bishop,

Is all this really necessary?

"Here we are being instructed by our bishop to remain standing when we return to our pew and remain standing until all have received. I know that the Mass is not a private devotion and a common posture is good, but I am wondering, can this be interpreted in the same way as the direction for receiving communion? While that direction is to stand and receive on the hand, we all have a right to receive on the tongue while kneeling. But then again, just because we have a right doesn't necessarily mean we should exercise that right. I do not know what I am going to do!" ...SW

"I myself will be kneeling after receiving, upon arrival at the pew. We have also heard we are to stand until all receive, but I will be following Cardinal Arinze on this one." ...CapeBretoner

I cannot tell you to disobey, but then, I doubt that the bishop has the authority to regulate you like this, regardless.. The Church is not some kind of communist boot camp. Go and receive Him, kneel if you choose, receive Him on your tongue and go back to your pew and quietly kneel in a corner at the back and ignore anyone who harasses you. I'm with Cardinal Arinze and Cape Bretoner on this one! --Vox.

"Why is it so important that everyone do the same thing? Myself, it means much to me to kneel after the Agnus Dei. And I don't want to stand around after receiving communion, waiting for everyone to receive. The story I get is that "standing is the way our culture shows respect" and "kneeling was for slaves back then". Our Bishop is wonderful. He is all for the new ways. I dare to disagree though and am starting to dread going to Mass because I am afraid...Thank you for getting all this info out to people. Maybe tolerance will prevail. I am not sure what I will do if someone complains about my kneeling. I've all ready let folks know where I stand (hah hah) on the "new postures". I hate disagreements but even more so I had being pushed around. I think it is beneath the dignity of the clergy to try to force people, especially older Catholics, to give up reverent liturgical practices that are dear to them."...Maria K.

Never "dread" going to Mass. On the other hand, if it is really that bad and a disturbance to your soul, then try to find a different parish. A priest friend once told me a story about his late well-known sister (a writer of some high regard in these matters who wrote the book to wake up Canadian about the liturgy and the crisis). It seems that she was praying once before the Blessed Sacrament and as she poured her heart out to Jesus with how much she was suffering because of the liturgical abuses, she heard and audible voice, "If I have to put up with it, so do you!" Blessed John Paul II quoted the Archangel Gabriel upon his elevation, "Do not be afraid." I would add "be strong" and calm and seek out a different parish if necessary. The "regulation" after communion is simply illogical and wrong. If you choose to kneel, then kneel. The bishop has no authority in this matter at that place. The GIRM does not give him the power to "regulate" at that point. It is silent on the matter. It is your choice and right to kneel.--Vox.

And may Toronto always be grateful for "laudable practice!"

Me too.

I know too as I was also there. But being five years older than Voris, I remember the plywood table set up one Sunday and a rather forlorn and sober looking Father Carroll being so out of place. Then at 13, I left. What Michael says in this video is true. It happened here in Toronto just like that. It happened everywhere...

 

The GIRM and the Calgarian Catholic Church

Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary has recently announced certain norms for the implemntation of the General Instruction on the Roman Missal, the GIRM.

I have no doubt that Bishop Henry means well, he must be terribly decieved by those around him who have adivsed him in this matter.

Those who have advised the bishop and published this under his name have also taken a public stand against the well-known practice of Pope Benedict XVI and what had become known as the "Benectine Arrangement" which has been recently implemented in Toronto's St. Michael's Cathedral with beautiful new medieval style candlesticks. It is simply unacceptable that professional Catholics and chancery officials would mislead a bishop to publish something that simply contradicts not only the GIRM but Redemptionis Sacramentum. He is clearly not being well-served. These are the same bureaucrats who advised the bishop to ban communion on the tongue and to suspend the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. The bishop is not being well-served.

Here is the link to the PDF document at the Dicocese of Calgary.

Implementation Directives FOR THE DIOCESE OF CALGARY

ACCORDING TO THE GENERAL INSTRUCTION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL, 2011

The purpose of this document is to call attention to certain paragraphs in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) 2011 that require a change of practice for some if not all of our parishes. It also presents the decisions that I have made as Bishop of the Diocese of Calgary

on certain aspects of the same.

The General Instruction of Roman Missal speaks of the Bishop's role in paragraph #22.
One cannot act outside the actual GIRM.

PREPARATION BEFORE THE LITURGY REGARDING CROSS AND CANDLES

GIRM #117 The altar is to be covered with at least one white cloth. In addition, on or next to the altar are to be placed candlesticks with lighted candles: at least two in any celebration ... Likewise, on the altar or close to it, there is to be a cross adorned with a figure of Christ crucified. The candles and the cross with the figure of Christ crucified may also be carried in the procession at the Entrance. On the altar itself may be placed a Book of the Gospels distinct from the book of other readings, unless it [the Book of the Gospels] is carried in the

Entrance Procession.

DIRECTIVE The general practice in the Diocese of Calgary is to place the cross and candles next to the altar rather than on the altar. If placed on the altar, the cross and candles should be positioned so as to avoid creating a barrier between the priest and the people.

Those of you who have read The Spirit of the Liturgy will know that then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote about what has become known as the "Benedictine Arrangement" of six candles across the front of the Altar with the Crucified Christ in the middle. He is re-focussing our attention and the Priest Celebrant's. The GIRM does not specify this, yet, but wait for the Fourth Edition of the Roman Missal. This is a re-orientation of our focus away from the personality of the priest and in turn, his distraction by the people to Christ. What must follow is legislated return to "ad orientem" posture.
The practice of placing the processional candles at the ambo may continue. For those who follow the practice of lighting the candles at the altar during the offertory, this may also continue.

This is a liturgical error. The Processional Candles are to be only at the Ambo during the reading of the Gospel as they represent the presence of Christ. When it is not that time, Christ is not present at the Ambo. The candles are not "lit" at this time, whatever that is, it is a silly and trite innovation. The Processional Candles should be placed near the Credence Table or some other are of the sanctuary.
INTRODUCTORY RITES

Entrance Procession with the Book of the Gospels

The following paragraphs from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal make reference to the Book of the Gospels: #117, #120, #122, #173, #194, #195.

DIRECTIVE 1. When the reader carries the Book of the Gospels a simple bow of the head is sufficient.

2. According to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal the lectionary should not be carried in the entrance procession, but rather the Book of the Gospels. Currently Canada does not have a Book of the Gospels. Processing even with the lectionary has created a deep respect for the scripture, the Word of God, and has increased the awareness of the Word as a mode of Christ's presence among us. We will continue to use the lectionary in procession until the Book of the Gospels is available. At that time the lectionary will no longer be carried in procession, only the Book of the Gospels. #90 makes no mention of the Book of the Gospels being carried in the closing procession. Therefore the Book of the Gospels (or lectionary) will be left in place at the end of the liturgy.
It appears that in Calgary the bereaucrats have poorly advised the bishop. The "Lectionary" is not be held aloft in procession, only the Book of Gospels.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Presentation of the Gifts

From Redemptionis Sacramentum #106 However, the pouring of the Blood of Christ after the consecration

from one vessel to another is completely to be avoided, lest anything should happen that would be to the detriment of so great a mystery.

DIRECTIVE Wine may be presented to the priest in a flagon, but then it must be poured into the chalices prior to the Consecration. This is best done while the chalice is being prepared.

A little picking and choosing what to obey.
Posture - General Article on Posture

#43 The faithful should stand from the beginning of the Entrance chant, or while the Priest approaches the altar, until the end of the Collect; for the Alleluia chant before the Gospel; while the Gospel itself is proclaimed; during the Profession of Faith and the Universal Prayer; and from the invitation, Orate, fratres (Pray, brethren), before the Prayer over the Offerings until the end of Mass, except at the places indicated here below. The faithful should sit, on the other hand, during the readings before the Gospel and the Responsorial Psalm and for the Homily and during the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory; and, if appropriate, during the period of sacred silence after Communion.

In the dioceses of Canada, the faithful should kneel at the Consecration, except when prevented on occasion by ill health, or for reasons of lack of space, of the large number of people present, or for another reasonable cause. However, those who do not kneel ought to make a profound bow when the Priest genuflects after the Consecration. Where it is the practice for the people to remain kneeling after the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer and before Communion when the Priest says Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God), it is laudable for this practice to be retained.

Posture During the Preparation Rite

Specific to this moment in the liturgy, paragraph #43 states: The faithful should sit, on the other hand, during the readings before the Gospel and the Responsorial Psalm and for the Homily and during the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory; and, if appropriate, during the period of sacred silence after Communion.

DIRECTIVE To establish this posture as a common practice throughout the Diocese, a change is required. The people will sit through the Preparation Rite, rising in time to respond to the invitation Pray my sisters and brothers. The ritual gesture of standing is a treasured posture in the Church's prayer and is the desired posture when we offer prayer to God. At this point in the Preparation Rite we stand in readiness to offer our prayer through the voice of the priest as he prays the presidential prayer over the gifts.
This is a change to take place everywhere.

Posture During the Eucharistic Prayer

DIRECTIVE Although it has been the practice in this Diocese to stand during the Eucharistic Prayer and before Communion when the priest says This is the Lamb of God, the posture to be assumed by the faithful for the Consecration is kneeling. Therefore, in all the churches in the Diocese of Calgary the faithful are to kneel at the conclusion of the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) and to stand when the priest announces The Mystery of Faith. Those who may not be able to kneel for such reasons as infirmity are invited to make a profound bow when the celebrant genuflects at the Consecration of the bread and again at the Consecration of the wine. For your information, this same directive will be given by the other Latin Rite Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories to their faithful. This directive applies only to churches and exceptions would be chapels in institutions, halls, outdoor mass sites, gymnasiums, etc. Churches in our diocese that do not currently have kneelers have until the first Sunday in Advent 2012 to submit to the Bishop’s Office a plan for how they will modify their facilities to comply with the Diocesan application ofthe norm in the GIRM.

Sadly in Calgary, there is no "laudable practice." But where did the kneelers go?

Posture for the Deacon During the Eucharistic Prayer

#179 During the Eucharistic Prayer, the Deacon stands near the Priest, but slightly behind him, so that when necessary he may assist the Priest with the chalice or the Missal. From the epiclesis until the Priest shows the chalice, the Deacon usually remains kneeling.
DIRECTIVE Generally the deacon will kneel as required, unless he is not able because of health or lack of space. In this circumstance the rule as found in #43 is applied: Those who do not kneel ought to make a profound bow when the Priest genuflects after the Consecration.

Health factors and inability to kneel goes without saying. Obviously this is being addressed because the current GIRM specifying this is being ignored.

The Rite of Peace

#154 Priest may give the sign of Peace to the ministers but always remains within the sanctuary, so that the celebration is not disrupted. He may do the same if, for a reasonable cause, he wishes to offer the sign of Peace to a small number of the faithful.

When May Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Come to the Altar?

#162 In the distribution of Communion the Priest may be assisted by other Priests who happen to be present. If such Priests are not present and there is a truly large number of communicants, the Priest may call upon extraordinary ministers to assist him, that is, duly instituted acolytes or even other faithful who have been duly deputed for this purpose. In case of necessity, the priest may depute suitable faithful for this single occasion. These ministers should not approach the altar before the Priest has received Communion, and then they are always to receive from the hands of the Priest Celebrant the vessel containing the species of the most Holy Eucharist for distribution to the faithful.

DIRECTIVE In the Diocese of Calgary, the extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion may enter the sanctuary at the Sign of Peace, and stand away from the altar. After the priest consumes the Eucharistic Species, the extraordinary ministers approach the altar. They may receive Communion from the Priest, the deacon, or one of the other extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion who has been the first of the laity to receive Communion. However, the Priest must present the Communion vessels to the extraordinary ministers.

This is clearly not permitted. The GIRM is clear on when the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are to enter the sanctuary. I am very impressed by the good pastor at the parish in Toronto where I am Cantor on Saturday evening. Upon reading this in the new GIRM, he immediately corrected it!

Posture During the Communion Rite

#43 Where it is the practice for the people to remain kneeling after the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer and before Communion when the Priest says Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God), itis laudable for this practice to be retained.

DIRECTIVE In the Diocese of Calgary we will continue the practice of standing during the acclamation This is the Lamb of God.
Sadly, there is no "laudable practice" to maintain.

The Communion Song
Um, I think the GIRM refers to the Communion "Chant"

#86 While the Priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion Chant is begun, its purpose being to express the spiritual union of the communicants bymeans of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly the "communitarian"character of the procession to receive the Eucharist. The singing is prolonged for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful.

DIRECTIVE The common posture of standing continues during the Communion procession and singing of the Communion song. This practice teaches us that Communion is a corporate action in which we together are drawn into the Eucharistic mystery and the life of the Trinity. Singing together helps us realize our communion together in the Risen Lord. We will catechize on the importance of communal song during the

Communion Procession. The bond of unity is expressed by joining in the congregational song before receiving Communion and after consuming the sacred elements. Personal prayer takes place during the silence after the Communion procession is finished. At that time while the priest or other designated extraordinary ministers are purifying the vessels, we should also enter into communal silence together.

WHY ARE YOU TREATING PEOPLE LIKE AN ARMY..."Francis Cardinal Arinze"

Posture for Receiving Communion

#160 The Priest then takes the paten or ciborium and approaches the communicants, who usually come up in procession. It is not permitted for the faithful to take the consecrated Bread or the sacred chalice by themselves and, still less, to hand them on from one to another among themselves. In the Dioceses of Canada, Holy Communion is to be received standing, though individual members of the faithful may choose to receive Communion while kneeling. When standing before the minister to receive Holy Communion, the faithful should make a simple bow of the head. When receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, they reverently join their hands; when receiving Holy Communion in the hand, they reverently open their hands placing one beneath the other, and they consume the host immediately upon receiving it.

DIRECTIVE The more common posture is for the people to stand to receive Communion, but we need to be aware that kneeling is permitted. A prie-dieu should not be provided for this latter posture. It is important to convey to the people that paragraph #160 is not an indication that one posture is more holy than the other.

OH, GIVE US A BREAK!   BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO KNEEL ARE ARROGANT AND PRIDEFUL AND THINK THAT THEY ARE ALREADY SAINTS.
formation is also needed on:

a) How to receive on the tongue: tilt the head back and extend the tongue in order that the hand of the minister does not contact the mouth of the communicant.

b) How to receive in the hand: place one hand beneath the other, then take the lower hand and lift the host to one's mouth. NO, ONE SHOULD BRING THEIR HAND TO THEIR MOUTHS OR BETTER STILL, STICK OUT YOUR TONGUE AND PUT AN END TO THIS ABOMINATION!

c) No sign of the cross or genuflection is required after receiving Communion.

New Required Sign of Reverence at Communion

#160 When standing before the minister to receive Holy Communion, the faithful should make a simple bow of the head.

DIRECTIVE The bow of the head is a sign of reverence for the sacred presence of the Risen Lord in the Communion elements. This is a bow of the head and not a deep bow.In order that it be a gesture of integrity and not rote motion the whole Communion procession will need to take on a slightly slower pace.Each communicant will make the bow of the head while standing before the sacred elements, not while the person ahead is receiving Communion. The bow will occur in a timely manner while the previous communicant is

moving away. The minister will wait for the communicant to make the bow, then raise his or her face toward the minister in order to respond appropriately. Once the communicant raises the head, the minister holds the

host and proclaims The Body of Christ. The communicant responds Amen. The consecrated host is placed with care upon the hand of the communicant, or on the tongue. The communicant then moves to the station to receive the Blood of Christ in the same manner. In the Diocese of Calgary the bow is encouraged before both elements: the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ.

Communion from the Elements Consecrated at the Same Mass

#85 It is most desirable that the faithful, just as the Priest himself is bound to do, receive the Lord's Body from hosts consecrated at the same Mass and that, in the cases where this is foreseen, they partake of the chalice (cf. #283), so that even by means of the signs Communion may stand out more clearly as a participation in the sacrifice actually being celebrated.

DIRECTIVE Recognizing the practical challenges of #85, we should strongly encourage the participation of the faithful in the fullness of the paschal sacrifice by receiving elements consecrated at that same liturgy.
Communion from the Chalice

#245 The Blood of the Lord may be consumed either by drinking from the chalice directly, or by intinction, or by means of a tube or a spoon.

DIRECTIVE In the Diocese of Calgary, the Blood of the Lord may be consumed only by
drinking from the chalice. 
Yuck.
Who May Place Remaining Consecrated Hosts in the Tabernacle?

#163 When the distribution of Communion is over, the Priest himself immediately and completely consumes at the altar any consecrated wine that happens to remain; as for any consecrated hosts that are left, he either consumes them at the altar or carries them to the place designated for the reservation of the Eucharist.

DIRECTIVE #63 states that only the deacon or priest may go to the tabernacle. This applies also to retrieving previously consecrated hosts from the tabernacle. In the Diocese of Calgary, formally installed extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion may also go to the tabernacle. From a practical viewpoint it is fitting therefore to have sufficient hosts consecrated at the liturgy to provide for the entire assembly in so far as this  is possible.
Who May Purify the vessels?

#163 Upon returning to the altar, the Priest collects the fragments, should any remain, and he stands at the altar or at the credence table and purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice, and after this purifies the chalice, saying quietly the formula Quod ore sumpsimus, Domine (What has passed our lips), and dries the chalice with a purificator. If the vessels are purified at the altar, they are carried to the credence table by a minister.Nevertheless, it is also permitted to leave vessels needing to be purified, especially if there are several, on a corporal, suitably covered, either on the altar or on the credence table, and to purify them immediately after Mass, after the Dismissal of the people.

#192 Likewise, after the distribution of Communion is complete, a duly instituted acolyte helps the Priest or Deacon to purify and arrange the sacred vessels. In the absence of a Deacon, a duly instituted acolyte carries the sacred vessels to the credence table and there purifies them, wipes them and arranges them as usual.

DIRECTIVE In the Diocese of Calgary, a priest, deacon, instituted acolyte, or formally installed extraordinary minister of Holy Communion may purify the vessels. The principle here is that if you can do the greater, then you can do the lesser.

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION ARE NOT PERMITTED TO PURIFY THE VESSELS! THERE WAS AN INDULT FOR THIS ONLY IN THE DIOCESES OF THE UNITED STATES. THEREFORE, IF IT WAS OR IS HAPPENING IN CANADA IT IS ILLEGAL IN 2008 THE INDULT EXPIRED AND WAS NOT RENEWED FOR THE UNITED STATES. IT DID NOT THEN NOR NOW APPLY TO CANADA AND BISHOP HENRY OF CALGARY IS IN DIRECT DISSENT TO THE GENERAL INSTRUCTION ON THIS AND REDEMPTIONIS SACRAMENTUM.
The purification may be done after the Communion procession at the credence table but not in the sacristry.

It may also occur immediately after the liturgy, however the purification of the vessels should not delay the priest from greeting the people.
CONCLUDING RITES

#166 When the Prayer after Communion is concluded, brief announcements should be made to the people, if there are any. #168, 185 Immediately after the Blessing ... Ite missa est (Go forth the Mass is ended).

And all reply Thanks be to God.

DIRECTIVE Only dismissals contained in the Missal are to be used.
AT LEAST THIS IS CORRECT. IT IS THE POSTCOMMUNION PRAYER, NOT THE PRE-DISMISSAL PRAYER. ANNOUNCMENTS COME AFTERWARDS!

I said previously, it will take more than a correct translation. 

All Saints Missa Solemnis - Toronto

Una Voce Toronto is pleased to be sponsoring a Missa Solemnis for the Feast of All Saints on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 at 7:30 P.M. at St. Leo's Mimico. Located at 277 Royal York Road in Etobicoke.

The Sacred Ministers include Father Paul Nicholson, Priest, Father Kim D'Souza, Deacon and Father Russell Asch, Subdeacon. This the fifth time that Father D'Souza has been Deacon in a Solemn Mass, the fourth since being ordained to the priesthood in 2010. Father Asch was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Toronto in May 2011. Father Nicholson celebrates both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite as his parish, St. Patrick's Kinkora in the Diocese of London. The Pastor of St. Leo's, Father Frank Carpinelli, will provide the homily.

Thw music will be provided by the new Una Voce Toronto Schola and Choir and includes the Gregorian Propers including the extended Offertory and the extended Psalm verses for the Communion. The Ordinary is the Mass for Three Voices by William Bryd with motets by Palestrina, Viadana and Dering.

We hope to see you at this most sacred feast.

Fighting Back With Truth and Clarity

How amazing is the internet for our ability to communicate and cooperate and spread the truth. No wonder they have closed the CCCB Plenary to everyone but Salt + Light and Father Rosica's media interpretation. Why is LifeSiteNews banned from the plenary? 

What is it that they are afraid of?

Have they not yet figured it out that they cannot stop people from communicating or spreading the truth?

Didn't they want an educated laity. Is there arrogance not the height of the clericalism that they profess to detest?

In a post below, I point out two letters about regimented standing orders in conjunction with the new GIRM. This is occurring in two separate dioceses 2,000kms apart. Antigonish and Sault Ste. Marie. There is a common denominator though, the current Bishop of Antigonish is the former Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie.

Before you go any further, take a few moments and watch this video of the former Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Francis Cardinal Arinze. Watch all of it, but particularly the points referred to about standing whilst everyone is receiving communion in a regimented fashios is addresesd at 3:00

Now, back to the Internet and communications.

Gaby, a regular reader left a note in the combox of We've Got Mail. In it, she left a dubium, a doubt or question, asked by none other than the Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal George and it is posted at Adoremus. The dubium was answered in what is a called a Responsum by Cardinal Arinze on this very topic. 

Here is the main point:

At the time Cardinal Francis George, of Chicago, was Chairman of the Bishops' Committee of the Liturgy, and the question was raised due to this habit by liturgists developing in the United States forcing the people into this regimented posture. The new GIRM was issued and the Cardinal asks if the "long-standing practices of individuals kneeling upon returning to their places after having received Holy Communion is somehow prohbitited. It was noted that there is  "controversy ... over the proper posture of the faithful at Mass after receiving Holy Communion. In several dioceses people have been instructed that they must stand until the last person has received Communion, despite the long-standing custom that people knelt during the distribution of Communion"
 

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.

Isn't the Internet wonderful?

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

The Gloria you should all be singing!

If you have not yet discovered the really fine work done by Jeff Ostrowski and the other good folks at the Corpus Christi Watershed, then I urge you to do so. Their work along with that of Jeffrey Tucker and Adam Bartlett at The Chant Cafe and Church Music Association of America is critically important right now. The change to the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal is a great opportunity but if the beauty is to be realised fully, then  you are going to have to spread this news in your parish to affect real change.

Here is the setting of the Roman Missal Gloria based on Mass XV, Missa Dominator Deus which dates from at least the 9th century. It is presented here with an organ accompaniement. This Gloria was deemed by Father Bill Burke of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to be "too hard" for Canadians and has been scandalously left out of the so-called "Chant Setting" in the Canadian hymnal supplement.

Father Burke, with all due respect, I have more confidence in my fellow Catholic Canadians than you do.

I have used this Gloria for the past two weeks at the Vigil Mass on Saturdays and it will take some time but I fully expect the congregation will learn this and come to appreciate its prayerfullness and ethereal beauty.

The Proper thing to do!

A very important talk at a very important symposium hosted by the Most Reverend Thomas Olmstead, Bishoip of Phoenix and a leader of the Church to be watched for greater things through the grace of God.

Until the approval of The New Roman Missal by Pope Paul VI on 3 April 1969, there had existed for four hundred years a substantial unity between the texts of the Proper of the Mass contained in the Graduale Romanum and those given in the Roman Missal. The Missal, in effect, reproduced the complete texts of those sung parts of the Mass that in the Graduale Romanum are fully notated.

Read the rest here.