Post intelligent and civil comments. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the NLM
What precisely is the deal with the second confiteor which we can see being sung in these photographs? Is it still suppressed or can it be used without getting into trouble? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see it!
I like that deep color red. It's dark, nearly black, That seems to be the perfect shade for Good Friday, rather than a bright, joyous red. Save that for Pentecost.
Does anyone know why, at solemn Masses celebrated by the ICRRS, the Deacon and Subdeacon kneel before the celebrant at the "Ecce Agnus Dei"? All other solemn Masses I have assisted at, or seen pictures of , the Deacon and Subdeacon stand either side of the celebrant. Are the ICRSS following an older custom?
At the National Gallery in London yesterday, I noticed quite a few prelates in a number of paintings wearing the same color blue that the Institute uses. The ICRSS was the first thing to pop into my head on seeing them.
While it can be overdone, it is rather pleasant to see the Continental custom of dressing up the littler servers in elaborate variations on cassock and surplice has not died out, or been revived. I have no doubt that dressing up in the Institutes's blues at so early an age may impress upon them the dignity of their apostolate!
Josiah--it is rather reminiscent of "oxblood red," the medieval color used for some celebrations of the Passion. Splendid, eh?
Michael,
I don't know about the old Roman practice, but in the Dominican Rite the deacon and subdeacon kneel facing inward at the preparation prayers for communion, and have done so since at least 1256 . . .
The practice of the deacon and sub-deacon kneeling at the "Ecce Agnus Dei" depends on whether or not they intend to receive Holy Communion. If they intend to receive Holy Communion they kneel at the "Ecce Agnus Dei." If they do not intend to receive Holy Communion they remain standing next to the priest. (For the sake of symmetry, if only one of them intends to receive, they both kneel anyway.) Since many Solemn High Masses actually have priests assisting as deacon and sub-deacon, and those priests would presumably receive Holy Communion at Masses they themselves offered at some other time that day, they probably don't receive Holy Communion again on the same day. As far as I know, that accounts for the different practices noticed in different photographs.
Question for rubrical experts: Musts a Solemn High Mass always begin with the Asperges, which is strictly speaking not part of the Mass, or is it simply custom?
Great pictures.
Here's a question on my mind lately:
Would it be possible to celebrate the Mass like this, just in English?
Could the orientation and postures of the EF be preserved, while the speaking would be in the vernacular?
I'm sure some militant NLM readers will be repulsed by this idea, but I can't help but think that in some parishes, where learning Latin all around might be imprudent at the current time, there would still be much to be gained from recovering the EF procedures.
Thoughts?
Dear Franz Josef,
I'm no expert, but I think I know the answer to your question - and it's "no". Asperges or Vidi Aquam precedes - or used to - the principal mass on Sundays, which a high mass will often be. But if high mass is celebrated on some other occasion, there will be no Asperges or Vidi Aquam.
The rubrics are clear on the Asperges and Vidi Aquam. Before the principal Sunday Mass only. Not on Holy Days of obligation and certainly not on weekdays.
In England at least the law was to recite it if there was no choir and even if the principal Mass was a low one.
anonymous
what you describe is pretty much the anglican use missale as far as i can see. (I could be wrong about this)
Anonymous--sometimes I wonder about such a solution. Latin ought to be preserved but it seems to me that it is one of those things that really scare people, more than ad orientem or the various ceremonial actions. Much of the talk about the "Latin Mass" tends to make the language the decisive factor when it is sometimes secondary to the general ceremonial mood created. Perhaps in some places the ars celebrandi in its more elaborate forms could coexist with the vernacular, as a bridge towards a more comprehensive "package."
Indeed, I suspect had the mass been translated (competently) and *nothing else* tampered with, we might not be in the mess we have at present. On the other hand, it might be the one solution all sides hate equally, too.
I don't think the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is necessarily "dressing up" the little boys in blue to match their own colors as one reader suggests. A friend of mine who is a member of one of the French apostolates once mentioned that the wearing of blue is a special privilege that goes back to Royalty...
The style of dress used for the servers is not necessarily a nod to the choir dress of the priests of the Institute, but most likely local tradition the Institute has restored to use. Such things are quite common in Europe.
Actually, I think that the Institute is presently introducing this style of habit for its younger servers. I am happy that this habit solves the problem of young (and, alas, even older) servers wearing a cassock but no collar. It simply looks odd. Here, a solution has been found.
(I forgot to add: "And not only in Grenoble, for the same habit was seen in Rome yesterday.)
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