Epiphany of Our Lord Catholic Church
  • Home
  • Online Giving
  • Map: Find us!
  • Meet the Staff
  • Calendar
  • Sacrament Prep
  • Men's Club (Holy League)
  • Altar Boy page
  • American Heritage Girls
  • Troops of St. George
  • Help! I cannot find the right Mass in my missal! I don't know when to sit, stand or kneel!
  • Pastor's bulletin article
  • Council of Catholic Women
  • Knights of Columbus
  • Photos
  • Youth Group!
    • Anima Christi
    • Sancti Amici
  • Latin Mass Schedule
  • Talks you don't want to miss!
  • Adult Catechism Class audio
  • Understand the Bible!
  • Extra Stuff
  • Things that need doing
  • Music
  • Bulletins
  • Covid information
  • CEW
  • Parish Business Directory

He only shuts up when he is writing!

Postures at Mass

2/21/2016

 
From the Pastor:    Postures at Mass

   There is a booklet that every priest uses to help him celebrate the correct Mass on the correct day. It is called an “ordo” and it lays out which “class” each day’s Mass falls into, which Mass may be celebrated each day, which Mass must be celebrated on certain days, which color is worn for each Mass, whether or not there is a Gloria or Credo, which preface is said, and if there are any commemorations. It also includes other helpful bits of information whenever something unusual pops up, to make sure the priest doesn’t overlook some important detail. Whether celebrating the newer Mass or the Traditional Mass, a priest relies on the ordo (different ones, obviously!) to guide him in all things. There is a strange little notation in the FSSP (Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter) Ordo, which I use for the Traditional Latin Mass, for the beginning of Lent. It reads: “In churches where the faithful are accustomed to stand for the Collects and Postcommunion prayers at Mass, they should be instructed to kneel for these prayers on the ferias of Lent and Passiontide (not, however, on Sundays or feast days).” Because of the exemption for Sundays, this doesn’t affect most of you who are reading this, since the majority of people are not able to make it to the feria (weekday) Masses. But it points out something (“...where the faithful are accustomed to...”) which I have explained before (bulletin of 8/23/15): the Traditional Latin Mass has strict rubrics for the priest, slightly less strict rubrics for the servers, and almost no rubrics for the faithful in the congregation. When the congregation sits, stands and kneels is more by custom than by rule and so  can vary from place to place!
   This seems strange, so very strange, to those who, like me, were brought up in the Novus Ordo Mass. We were told exactly when to sit, stand and kneel, and everyone did it in lockstep. No matter where you traveled in the US (for our bishops asked for more kneeling to be required than in the universal Church rubrics), you knew exactly what to do and when to do it. These are a few of the things you were instructed to do by your parents and/or the rubrics in your missal, or, more likely, the missalette: Dip your fingers in the holy water when you first enter the church; make the sign of the cross on your forehead, breast, left shoulder, then right shoulder; genuflect on your right knee before entering and upon exiting a pew; kneel in silent prayer before Mass began; make the proper responses at the priest’s invocations and at the end of the readings; sign yourself with your right thumb on your forehead, lips and breast before the Gospel; etc.. Yes, the people in the pews did everything the same (or at least knew they were supposed to do everything the same even if they didn’t do it). In the NO Mass it was the priest who seemed to have no rubrics to guide him!
   You didn’t have to travel to find priests not doing the same thing (i.e., the same posture, position, gestures, vestments, and vocalizations) as other priests. You could find different priests in the same parish who seemed to play by a different set of rules or you could even find a priest doing different things at each Mass he celebrated. The priest may celebrate the first Mass on a Lenten Sunday with violet vestments but then switch to a chasuble and stole with verticle stripes of brown, red, orange, and yellow for the next Mass (claiming it was an “African” vestment and used because the congregation was multi-cultural). The priest at the neighboring parish might have a multicolored chasuble that same Sunday, but this one made of tiny images of children from different races, for the so-called “children’s Mass” and he might have his stole over the top of his chasuble, where the other priest wore his underneath. Where did they preach from? At the ambo (pulpit), in front of the altar, or walking down the aisles were all common practices. Various priests prayed with their arms outstretched wide, some extended them just a little, some with their palms upward, some with the palms outward. There are, of course, many more examples I could give and that you are already thinking of. But I am out of room.
   I will continue along this same line in next week’s bulletin, answering some questions about just when you really should be sitting, standing and kneeling (and speaking/singing!) at the Traditional Latin Mass. (I think the Novus Ordo Mass goers have it down pat now.)

With prayers for your holiness,
Fr. Edwin Palka

Comments are closed.

    Author:
    ​Fr. Palka

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus
  • Home
  • Online Giving
  • Map: Find us!
  • Meet the Staff
  • Calendar
  • Sacrament Prep
  • Men's Club (Holy League)
  • Altar Boy page
  • American Heritage Girls
  • Troops of St. George
  • Help! I cannot find the right Mass in my missal! I don't know when to sit, stand or kneel!
  • Pastor's bulletin article
  • Council of Catholic Women
  • Knights of Columbus
  • Photos
  • Youth Group!
    • Anima Christi
    • Sancti Amici
  • Latin Mass Schedule
  • Talks you don't want to miss!
  • Adult Catechism Class audio
  • Understand the Bible!
  • Extra Stuff
  • Things that need doing
  • Music
  • Bulletins
  • Covid information
  • CEW
  • Parish Business Directory