Presten skal gjøre seg mest mulig usynlig når han feirer messen

Lesere av bloggen blir nok ikke overraska når jeg igjen nevner temaet om hvordan messen best skal feires. Presten skal helst ikke komme i veien, ikke stikke seg fram, er budskapet i dag. Slik skriver en prest om reaksjoner han fikk etter en messe:

I have a story to tell and I am not bragging at all but my point is simply how good it is just doing things the way they should be done without putting one’s personality in the forefront.

A lady came to my Sunday Mass just this last Sunday and she stopped by the sacristy to tell me that I say the Mass better than any priest in . We have 7 priests here in total. I had never seen or spoken to her before so any partiality is non existent. Also, the Saturday evening before, I said the evening Mass in another town … and after Mass an elderly lady said to me, «What a beautiful Mass. We’ve never seen such a nice Mass and to think! … … We had to get it from an American!»

Noen av de mange kommentarene til dette inlegget er også interessant lesning. Her er noen utvalgte:
I am not bragging because I didn’t do anything special. I say Mass soberly and simply preach. I am truly convinced that less personality is better and is liberating during the Mass except when showing enthusiasm for Catholicity and all its realities during the homily. I owe a great deal of my formation to you for I learned the Mass on my own and my attitude was formed in a very large part through my disposition and the truths of liturgy that you have taught. … …

Precisely how the (Novus Ordo) Mass in my parish was celebrated this morning. Everything absolutely perfect from the moment the priest processed in silently carrying the chalice in its veil topped with burse,
wearing Roman vestments, his eyes downcast—indeed, no eye contact with the congregation was apparent at any time during the Mass—until he recessed in similar silence at the end of Mass. Whenever he addressed God, even from the “chair” (e.g., the opening prayer and the confiteor) he turned to face the altar directly, rather than the people. For the consecration, he bowed deeply over the Host to enunciate the words of consecration slowly and distinctly. At the elevation, he raised the Host very slowly as high as he could reach and held it long enough for 3 distinct rings of the bells, before lowering it equally slowly; similarly with the Chalice. His brief sermon—about how the “Holy Sacrifice of the Mass” (which exact phrase he mention 3 times in hardly a minute and a half) is necessary the redeem the world of Creation—was beautiful and even poetic in emphasizing how necessary it is for us to offer sacrifice to God, which Holy Sacrifice alone joins us in communion. Probably half the 40 or so present received on the tongue. In short, every moment of the Mass was quietly reverent and solemn by any standard, whether old Mass or new Mass. At no point did the personality of the priest intrude on the person of Christ for whom he was acting. His every gesture was precise and careful as his words—for instance, bowing his head at every mention of the Holy Name throughout the Mass. I realize that this type of daily Mass is not typical of most local parishes. … …

Well said. If the clergy stick to the books- the laity will too. If the clergy want to get creative- be creative in the Homily. I would like to add clergy who don’t stick to the books encourage laity to be disobedient too. … …

Some people have said (I hope I got this right) that if priests simply followed the rubrics and did what the Church asked, there would have been far less anguish and upheaval on account of the liturgy following Vatican II. Still, it is not simply a matter of the priest desiring to follow the rubrics. Fr. Peter Stravinskas has written that he would die a happy priest if he could simply celebrate the mass of Paul VI as it was intended to be celebrated – which I take to mean that there are circumstances and pressures which are obstacles to his doing this (on a regular basis at least).

If you actually look at all the rubrics in the mass (Novus Ordo), though they are less numerous and involved than the extraordinary form, you might be surprised. There are many that I almost never see done – bowing at the consecration, or at the “By the power of the Holy Spirit . . ” in the Creed, for example. The Novus Ordo is not as “loose” as you might have been led to believe.

1 hendelser på “Presten skal gjøre seg mest mulig usynlig når han feirer messen”

  1. Jeg er helt enig med forfatteren av teksten. Likevel vil jeg litt reagere på de siste linjene. Problemet med rubrikkene i «dagens Messe» (Novus Ordo) er at de fortsatt tvinger presten til å velge ditt eller datt (innledende riter, av og til tekstene, prefasjon, eukaristike bønn, osv), og gir ham for ofte mulighet til å bestemme hva de sier eller ikke (eller gjøre det på en annen måte). Jeg var aldri svært imponert over dette. Slik er presten forpliktet til å feire til en viss grad SIN Messe. I motsetning til det, når man feirer den gamle Messen, kan man av og til (ifølge rubrikkene) velge Messen han vil feire, men etter «In Nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti» får presten glemme alt som kommer fra seg selv og bare la seg bli ført av rubrikkene.

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