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1. The
General Instruction:
The
third revision of the General Instruction of the
Roman Missal will take effect in the Diocese of
Camden on March 9, 2003, the First Sunday of
Lent. Basically, the General
Instruction tells all of us how the Church
should celebrate Mass. The first General
Instruction (GIRM) was issued in
1969 at the promulgation of the Mass as it was revised
after Vatican II. A second revision was issued in
1975. Each of these revisions, issued by the Pope,
was a fine tuning of liturgical directives in light of
the experiences that the Church worldwide had in
celebrating the vernacular Mass. This third
revision was first published in Latin and is the current
law.
The GIRM states: “In the celebration of
Mass the faithful are a holy people, a chosen people, a
royal priesthood; they give thanks to God and offer the
Victim not only through the hands of the priest but also
together with him and learn to offer
themselves. They should endeavor to make
this clear by their deep sense of reverence for God and
their charity toward brothers and sisters who share with
them in the celebration.” (no. 95).
The Church wants Mass “planned in such a way that it
brings about in the faithful a participation in body and
spirit that is conscious, active, full, and motivated by
faith, hope and charity. The Church desires this
kind of participation, the nature of the celebration
demands it, and for the Christian people it is a right
and duty they have by reason of their baptism.” (no.
18).
The church is a “sacred space”—a place where God
speaks to us, a place where Jesus gives himself to us in
the Holy Eucharist, a place where we are united in the
Holy Spirit and a place where the Blessed Sacrament is
continuously reserved. The Sacrament, Jesus’
real presence, is reserved primarily to bring Communion
to the sick but also for adoration and prayer.
When we enter the church we should joyfully greet one
another in welcome. Before Mass, however, “it is
praiseworthy for silence to be observed in church … so
that people may dispose themselves for the sacred rites
which are to be enacted in a devout and fitting manner.”
(no. 45).
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2.
We Roman Catholics:
We are accustomed to calling ourselves Catholics.
Older Catholics will recall often calling themselves Roman
Catholics. The term catholic means universal
in Greek. Being a Catholic refers to our union in
the one worldwide Church of Jesus Christ in communion
with the Bishop of Rome.
There
are, however, other Catholics in the world besides Roman
Catholics. For example, in our Diocese we have St.
Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church on Cooper Landing
Road in Cherry Hill. Ukrainian Catholics have
their own Archbishop of Philadelphia distinct from the
Roman Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal Bevilacqua.
They have their own great gold-domed Cathedral on North
Franklin Street in Philadelphia. Ukrainian
Catholics are just as Catholic as Roman Catholics
are. They are equally in union with the Bishop of
Rome. They are not, however, Roman
Catholics. Their customs in worship as they
celebrate Mass include much singing of prayers,
ceremonies different than ours, often the Old Slavonic
language and Mass that can routinely run an hour and a
half or two.
Being Roman Catholics means that we share a heritage of
worship and a growth in church organization originating
from Latin missionaries. We have our roots in the
liturgical tradition of Rome. Latin churches in
Northern Europe often interacted in a mutual development
with Rome.
In
a broad sense it may be equally true to say, for
example, that many Protestant churches likewise share
with us in the Roman or Western Latin tradition of
Christian life and ways of worship. Most closely
the worship of Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists shows
a similarity to our celebration of the Holy Eucharist
because we have common roots that we share.
The way Western or Latin Christians of the Roman
tradition celebrated the Mass has particular
characteristics. For instance, our style of
prayers—the Opening Prayer or Collect, the Prayer
over the Gifts and the Prayer after Communion—is
short, crisp and to the point. The Eucharistic
Prayer—the series of prayers surrounding the
consecration of the bread and the wine—is also usually
fairly direct and simple in its expressions. We
are not inclined to have longer liturgies that Eastern
Christians enjoy. We usually save incense and
elaborate processions only for special occasions.
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3.
Roman Catholic Gesture:
When and why do we stand, sit or kneel? Why do we
bow or genuflect? Our gestures in worship are
rooted in the long experience of Roman Catholic
Christians. When we sit, why we stand and how we
receive Holy Communion are not practices made up
in New Jersey last weekend. Liturgical gestures have
been handed on to us from ancient times. How we do
such things at Mass identifies our heritage and our
reverence for God.
1. Genuflection: When we are in a church
where there is a tabernacle with Jesus present in the
Blessed Sacrament, we “genuflect to it when” we “approach
or leave the altar” (no. 274). People stop to
genuflect to the Blessed Sacrament before entering their
pew and when leaving church. All who cross in
front of the tabernacle genuflect except during Mass once
they have entered the sanctuary and genuflected
as they did so, when they walk in a
procession or if they are
holding the cross, candle or the Gospel Book.
2.
A profound bow: The General
Instruction calls for a profound bow (no. 49) or
a bow of the body from the waist instead of
genuflecting if the Blessed Sacrament is not present
in the church itself.
Additionally, when we stand to recite the Creed each
Sunday “At the words, By the power of the Holy
Spirit … became man, all make a profound bow”
except on March 25th, “the Annunciation of
the Lord and Christmas, [when] all kneel” (no.
137). When Eastern Catholics enter churches they
usually make a profound bow.
3.
A head bow: “When receiving Holy
Communion in the hand, the communicant bows his or her
head before the sacrament as a gesture of reverence and
receives the Body of the Lord…. … When Holy
Communion is received under both kinds, the sign of
reverence is also made before receiving the Precious
Blood.” This Norm established by the United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops was approved by
the Vatican (4/17/02) for reception of Holy Communion
(for no 160, paragraph 2 of the GIRM).
4.
Standing: Standing is a position
that denotes respect and attention. We, therefore,
stand “for the singing of the Alleluia before the
Gospel … the Gospel … the general intercessions”
(no. 43). “The norm for reception of Holy
Communion in the dioceses of the United States is
standing” (USCCB and approved by the Vatican 4/17/02
for no.160, paragraph 2 of the GIRM). At
the Gospel note the GIRM says to stand “for the
singing of the Alleluia.” It is not necessary to
stand for any musical prelude introducing the
Alleluia. The revised norms also ask us to
stand—as of March 9, 2003—when we say: May the
Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands, for the praise
and glory of his name, for our good and for the good of
all his Church. The General Instruction
explains: “The faithful should stand … from the
invitatory, Pray the our sacrifice… before the
prayer over the gifts” (no. 43).
5. Kneeling: The chief time when we
are accustomed to kneel at Mass is for the Eucharistic
Prayer. In European churches where there were
often no kneelers nor even pews in the great cathedrals,
people usually stood for nearly all of the Mass.
In the regard, the General Instruction
states: “They should kneel at the consecration, except
when prevented by reason of health, lack of space,
the number of persons present, or some other good
reason. However those who do not kneel at the
consecration ought to make a profound bow when the
priest genuflects after the consecration.” (no.
43). At the same point, however, the General
Instruction notes: “Where it is the custom
that the people remain kneeling from the end to the
Sanctus until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer [that
is, before the Our Father], this [posture of reverence]
is laudably retained.” (no. 43).
The General Instruction stresses that “The
gestures and posture of the priest, deacon and the
ministers, as well as of the people should allow the
whole celebration to shine with dignity and noble
simplicity, demonstrating the full and true meaning of
each of their diverse parts, while fostering the
participation of all. Therefore, greater attention
needs to be paid to what is laid down by liturgical law
and by the traditional practice of the Roman Rite, for
the sake of the common spiritual good of the people of
God rather than to personal inclination or arbitrary
choice. The uniformity of posture to be observed
by all taking part is a sign of unity of the members of
the Christian community gathered for the sacred liturgy:
it both expresses and fosters the spiritual attitude of
those assisting.” (no. 42).
We did not create the Roman
Rite. We share in it. We need to handle with
care the ways of worship by which our faith has been
handed down to us. The way we do things at church
is not just whatever we feel like doing. We should
appreciate what we have received in common. The General
Instruction asks Roman Catholics “to shun any
appearance of individualism or division, keeping before
their eyes that they have one Father” (no. 95).
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4.
Beginning the Mass:
At
Mass everyone gathered forms one assembly. At the
start of Mass, the procession moves through the
congregation (a) to unite a community in song; (b) to
suggest the involvement of all present as the ministers
move through the assembly and (c) to emphasize the Lord’s
presence with us in his sacrificial self-giving since we
carry among us his cross, honored by two candles, and
place it in honor near the altar. The Book of
the Gospels can also be carried in this
entrance procession to the altar and is placed on it.
The
General Instruction stresses the “importance
of singing.” It states: “… great importance
should be attached to the use of singing in the
celebration of Mass. Although it is not always
necessary to sing all the texts that are themselves
meant to be sung (e.g., in weekday Masses),
nevertheless, the complete absence of all singing by
ministers and people—which by law accompanies
celebrations which take place on Sundays and Holy Days
of obligation—should be particularly guarded against.”
(no. 40).
Since
we are Roman Catholics, moreover, the General
Instruction also notes: “it is desirable that
they know how to sing at least some of the parts of the
Ordinary of the Mass in Latin” (no. 41). The “Ordinary
of the Mass” means the parts that are the same in
every Mass such as the Sanctus (Holy, Holy
Holy), Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), the
Our Father and the Creed.
When
the procession reaches the sanctuary, ministers
genuflect. The priest and deacon kiss the
altar. At the chair the priest makes the sign of
the cross. “After greeting the people, the
priest, the deacon or another minister may very briefly
introduce the faithful to the Mass of the day.” (no.
50).
The
priest then invites each of us to take a few moments for
personal reflection before the Confiteor or the Lord
have Mercy. There is “a brief pause for
silence” then the community carries the penitential
rite (no. 51).
Some
Masses have special introductions. “On Sundays,
especially in Easter time, in place of the customary
penitential rite, the blessing and sprinkling with water
may occasionally be performed to recall baptism.” (no.
52). Funeral Masses begin differently than other
Masses; then, after the priest reverences the altar, he
immediately prays the Opening Prayer.
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5.
Liturgy of the Word:
THE
READINGS, THE LECTORS, THE PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
1. The Readings: The General
Instruction asks for reflective silence.
It states: “The liturgy of the word must be celebrated
in such a way as to promote meditation. … any
kind of haste which impedes recollection must be clearly
avoided. Brief moments of silence are appropriate
during the liturgy. … Such moments of silence
are opportunely observed after the first and second
reading, and then, at the completion of the homily.”
(no. 56).
2. The Gospel: All stand for the
Alleluia. A special song—a Sequence—sung
before the Gospel is mandatory on Easter and Pentecost
and “is … after the Alleluia.” (no. 64). The
General Instruction notes that “The
reading of the Gospel is the high point of the liturgy
of the word. The greatest veneration must be shown
to it, setting it off from the other readings by special
marks of honor. It is honored in three ways: by a
special minister … who prepares himself by a blessing
or a prayer; by the faithful who by their acclamations
acknowledge and confess Christ present and speaking to
them, and who stand as they listen to it; by marks of
reverence that are given to the Book of the Gospels
itself.” (no. 60) “If the Book of the
Gospels is on the altar,” the priest or the deacon
takes it and goes to the pulpit. Altar servers may
carry the censer and candles, walking ahead.
Everyone turns toward the pulpit to show “special
reverence to the Gospel of Christ.” (no. 133).
As the priest or deacon says “A reading from the
Holy Gospel …, making the sign of the cross with
his thumb on the book and on his forehead, mouth and
breast, … everyone else does as well. …”
(no. 134).
3. The homily: After the Gospel the
priest or a deacon preaches.
4. The Creed: Once the people have
had a moment to reflect, the Creed is proclaimed.
It “serves as a way for all the people gathered
together to respond to the word of God” (no.
67). “A bow of the body, or profound bow, is
made … with the profession of faith at the words was
incarnate of the Holy Spirit … made man” (no. 275)
except on Christmas and the feast of the Annunciation
when the whole congregation genuflects at these
words. (It might be recalled that in the
Latin Mass, before 1969, everyone genuflected at these
very same words whenever the Creed was
said.)
5. The General Intercessions: In these
petitions, also called the Prayer of the Faithful,
“the people, respond … to the Word of God which they
have welcomed in faith, and exercising the office of
their baptismal priesthood, offer prayers to God for the
salvation of all.” (no. 69). “As a rule the
sequence of intentions is to be: a. for the needs of the
Church; b. for public authorities and the salvation of
the whole world; c. for those oppressed by any need; d.
for the local community.” (no. 70). The priest
directs “the general intercessions from the chair”
and “introduces them with a brief remark…. He also
concludes them with a prayer. The intentions
announced should be sober, with a discrete freedom and
composition of few words, expressing the needs of the
whole community. … the intentions are announced
from” the pulpit “by the deacon … the reader or a
member of the … faithful. … people” respond
“together … or … in silence.” (no. 71).
6. The Collection: A Collection is taken
up. The General Instruction explains: “It
is fitting for the faithful’s participation to be
expressed by their presenting the bread and wine for the
celebration of the Eucharist and other gifts to meet the
needs of the Church and of the poor.” (no. 140).
7.
The Preparation of the Altar: The
deacon or the altar servers prepare the altar while the
collection is being taken up. “After the general
intercessions, while the priest remains at the chair,
the deacon prepares the altar, assisted by the acolytes,
but the care of the sacred vessels belongs to the
deacon.” (no. 178) The General
Instruction explains that “when no deacon is
present, the acolyte places the corporal, purificator,
chalice, and Sacramentary on the altar while the priest
remains at the chair.” (no. 190). It notes
further that “from the presentation of the gifts until
the cleansing of the vessels, only the chalice with the
paten, the pyx as necessary, and finally the corporal,
purficator and missal” (no. 306) are placed on the
altar.
8.
The Offertory Procession: In preparing the
bread and wine before Mass, only the number of altar
breads to be consumed at that Mass—but a sufficient
number—should be used. Normally, not many
hosts should be left over for reservation. The General
Instruction states: “It is most desirable that
the faithful, just as the priest himself is bound to do,
may receive the Lord’s body from hosts consecrated at
the same Mass and that, in the instances when it is
permitted, they share in the chalice. Then even
through the signs communion will stand out more clearly
as a sharing in the sacrifice actually being offered.”
(no. 85). At any Mass Communion from the chalice
is permitted to be offered to the people in the Camden
Diocese.
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6.
Liturgy of the
Eucharist:
1. The
focus of attention is now to the altar: Once the
Liturgy of the Word is completed, the altar is
prepared. After the offertory procession is
finished, the focus of everyone’s attention moves to
the altar itself.
a. “At the altar the priest receives the paten with
the bread from the minister. With both hands he
holds it slightly raised above the altar and says
inaudibly, Blessed are you, O Lord. He then
places the paten with the bread on the corporal.” (no.
141)
b.
“Next, the priest stands at the side of the altar, as
the minister presents the cruets and pours wine and a
little water into the chalice, saying inaudibly: By
the mystery of this water. He returns to the
middle of the altar, takes the chalice, raises it a
little with both hands, and says in a low voice: Blessed
are you, Lord God. Then he places the chalice
on the corporal and may cover it with a pall. ” (no.
142)
c.
“However, if no liturgical song is sung at the
offering of the gifts, and the organ is not played, the
priest is permitted to offer the formulas of blessing in
presentation of the bread and wine audibly, to which the
people respond with the acclamation: Blessed be God
for ever.” (no. 142).
2.
Stand before the Prayer Over the Gifts: As
of March 9, 2003, after the priest says Pray,
brothers and sisters, that this our sacrifice may be
acceptable to God our Almighty Father, the people
immediately stand and then say: May the Lord accept
this sacrifice at your hands to the praise and glory of
his name, for our good and for the good of all the
Church. The General Instruction states:
“The people stand and make their response: May the
Lord accept this sacrifice….” (no. 146).
Why this change? It seems connected to the notion
that standing is the Roman tradition’s proper posture
for prayer. In this response people themselves are
already beginning to pray.
3.
Kneeling for the Eucharistic Prayer:
When do we kneel and why do we kneel? The General
Instruction notes that “The …
posture of the priest, deacon and the ministers, as well
as of the people should allow the whole celebration to
shine with dignity … demonstrating the full and true
meaning … while fostering the participation of all.”
(no. 43).
a.
The Roman Rite, in general, states: “The faithful
should stand … from … Pray that our sacrifice
…, before the prayer over the gifts to the end of
Mass, except … They should kneel at the
consecration, except when prevented by reasons of
health, lack of space, the large number of people
present or some other good reason. However, those
who do not kneel at the consecration ought to make a
profound bow when the priest genuflects after the
consecration.” (no. 43).
b.
Our American Catholic practice has, however, been to
kneel from the Holy, Holy, Holy until the Our
Father. To understand this difference,
remember ancient churches had no pews. Even
today a church such as St. Peter’s Basilica in the
Vatican has no pews and few chairs for people.
Likewise there are no kneelers. In our American
experience, we have almost always had both pews and
kneelers. Given this convenience by which people
might easily kneel, our practice has shown special
reverence for the Lord’s presence at the eucharistic
table of the altar by kneeling for the Eucharistic
Prayer as well as by kneeling after receiving Holy
Communion.
c.
The General Instruction states: “it is
up to the Conference of Bishops to adapt the gestures
and posture in the Order of the Mass to the customs and
reasonable traditions of the people according to the
norm of law. … When it is the custom that
the people remain kneeling from the end of the Sanctus
until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, this is
laudably retained.” (no. 43).
d.
On April 17, 2002 the Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Discipline of the Sacraments confirmed the
following adoption of the United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops; namely: “In the dioceses of the
Untied States of America, they should kneel beginning
after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus
[the Holy Holy, Holy] until after the Amen of the
Eucharistic Prayer, except when prevented by
reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of
people present, or some other good reason.
However, those who do not kneel at the consecration
ought to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects
after the consecration. The faithful kneel after
the Agnus Dei [the Lamb of God] unless the
Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise.” (In this
Diocese congregations should continue the practice of
kneeling during the period of Holy Communion and until
such a time as the Blessed Sacrament has once again been
placed for reservation in the tabernacle.)
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7.
The Communion Rite:
1.
Our Father: How may people
hold their hands during the prayer?
a.
In some places people hold hands. In other places
people lift their hands in a manner such as the priest
does. Others simply fold their hands. The General
Instruction does not give a clear answer.
It states: “At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, the
priest, with hands joined, says the introduction to the
Lord’s Prayer. With hands outstretched, he then
sings or says this prayer with the people.
(no.153). After the Lord’s Prayer is completed,
the priest alone, with hands outstretched, says the
embolism Deliver us.” (no. 152).
b. Where does that leave the question? It is not
forbidden to hold hands if, say, a family wants
to. But such a gesture should not be forced
on others. People might also raise their hands
while saying the Our Father.
2. Rite
of Peace: The General Instruction states:
“It is suitable that each person offer the sign of
peace only to those nearby and in a dignified manner.”
(no. 82). It suggests: “While the sign of peace
is being given, the following may be said: The peace
of the Lord be with you always. The response
is: Amen.” (no. 154). These expressions are not
mandatory.
3. Breaking of the Bread:
a.
The General Instruction states: “The
breaking of the eucharistic bread is … reserved to the
priest and the deacon. … During the breaking of
the bread, the Lamb of God is, as a rule, sung…”
(no. 83).
b. The General Instruction recommends: “though
unleavened and baked in the traditional shape, the
Eucharistic bread should be made in such a way that in a
Mass with a congregation the priest is able actually to
break it into parts and distribute them to at least some
of the faithful. (When, however, the number of
communicants is large or other pastoral needs require
it, small breads are in no way ruled out.) The
action of the breaking of the bread, the simple term for
the Eucharist in apostolic times, will more clearly
bring out the force and meaning of the sign of unity of
all in the one bread … distributed among the members
of one family.” (no. 321).
c.
Just as the Lamb of God accompanies the breaking
of the consecrated Body under this form of Holy
Communion, so also it is the proper time for the
preparation of the cups for distribution of the
consecrated Blood. The deacon or servers should
bring the chalices for Communion under both Species to
the altar when the singing of the Lamb of God begins.
4. Communion: There are some
changes for receiving Communion.
a.
The General Instruction states that
extraordinary ministers of Communion “do not approach
the altar before the priest has received Communion and
always accept from the hands of the priest the vessel
which contains either species of the Blessed Eucharist
for distribution” (no. 162).
b. The General Instruction explains: “The
priest … goes to the communicants, who, as a rule,
approach in a procession. The faithful are not
permitted to take up the consecrated bread….” (no.
160).
i. Standing is the approved posture for Communion
in the United States. The General Instruction states:
“The faithful may communicate either standing or
kneeling, as established by the Conference of
Bishops. However, when they communicate standing,
it is recommended that they make an appropriate gesture
of reverence, to be laid down in the same norms, before
receiving the Sacrament.” (no. 160); “The
communicants reply Amen, and receive the
Sacrament as they choose” (no. 161).
ii. Bow your head before receiving the Sacrament
when taking the host in your hand or receiving the
Precious Blood. This norm for Communion in
the United States was approved on April 17, 2002 by the
Vatican: “When receiving Holy Communion in the hand,
the communicant bows his or her head before the
sacrament as a gesture of reverence and receives the
Body of the Lord from the minister. The
consecrated host may be received either on the tongue or
in the hand at the discretion of each communicant.
When Holy Communion is received under both kinds, the
sign of reverence is also made before receiving the
Precious Blood.”
c.
On March 22, 2002 the Vatican approved that “the
diocesan bishop may
grant to priest celebrants the faculty to permit
extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion to assist with
the purification of the sacred vessels after the
distribution of Communion at Mass.” The Bishop
of Camden has granted this faculty to priests who
celebrate Mass in the Diocese of Camden
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