Liturgi

Kortere skrifteandakt – fra bønneboken 1944

Katolsk, Liturgi, TLM /

Fra Den katolske bønneboken fra 1994, har jeg nå skannet inn og gjort klart alt som står om skriftemålet der. Først kan man lese en kort form av enskrifteandakt:

Før skriftemålet.

Milde og miskunnsrike Gud, min Herre Jesus Kristus, du er det eneste frelseshåp for min sjel. Ta i nåde mot mitt skriftemål og gi meg sann hjerteanger og inderlig sorg over mine synder, så jeg alltid med ydmykt og oppriktig hjerte skrifter dem.

Min Herre og min Gud, hør mine bønner. Gode Jesus, verdens Frelser, som har ofret deg selv i korsdøden for å frelse synderne, se i nåde til meg stakkars synder, som kaller på ditt navn. Tenk ikke på mine synder, men kom i hug din rikdom på godhet. Og -selv om jeg har syndet, så du kunde dømme meg, så har du nok av det som kan frelse meg.

Skån meg derfor, du, min Frelser, og miskunn deg over min syndesjel! Fri den fra de bånd som trellbinder den, leg sårene som synden har tilføyd den.
Miskunnelige Herre, se på din rene jomfrumors, Maria Immaculatas, og alle helgeners fortjenester. Send for deres skyld ut ditt lys og din sannhet. La dem vise meg mine synder, som de er og som jeg må skrifte dem, lære og hjelpe meg til oppriktig og angerfullt å sanne dem for min skriftefar. Du som lever og råder, Gud fra evighet og til evighet. Amen.

Etter skriftemålet.

Herre, inderlig ber jeg deg: Se til din jomfrumors, Marias og alle dine helgeners fortjenester. La for deres skyld dette mitt skriftemål tekkes deg, og ta mot det i nåde. Og hva det enn har manglet nå eller før av sann anger, oppriktig og fullstendig skrifte, det utfylle du med din godhet og miskunn. Løs meg så i din himmel helt og fullt fra min synd, for din miskunnsrike kjærlighets skyld. Du som lever og råder, Gud fra evighet og til evighet. Amen.
Bønn for skriftefaren.

Herre, du har gitt oss vår prest og skriftefar som en fører på vegen til himmelen. Gi både oss og ham den styrke som troen gir, det mot som håpet vekker til live, den hjertevarme som kjærligheten kaller fram.

Nådens Gud, gi ham den overnaturlige kjærlighet til oss. Send ham din Hellige Ånds gaver: Fromhet når han ber og betrakter og bærer fram det hellige messeoffer. Forstand, kunnskap og visdom når han lærer oss din hellige tro og dine bud. Rådets And når han i skriftestolen går i rette med, lærer, advarer, trøster og læger våre sjeler. Gudsfrykt, så han ikke søker noe annet enn din ære og vår frelse, og styrkens Ånd, så han kan føre oss til modig strid under Kristus, vår konges merke. Amen.

Les et seks siders dokument med forberedelse til skriftemålet i lang og kort form, samt selve skriftemålet og takkebønner etterpå, fra Den katolske bønneboken fra 1944.

Skriftemålet. – Ritualet for absolusjonen.

Liturgi, TLM /

(Fra den norske bønneboken, 1944.)

Når du kommer inn i skriftestolen, hilser presten deg til vanlig med: «Lovet være Jesus Kristus!» Du svarer: «I all evighet. Amen.» Så kan du si: «Sign meg, far, for jeg har syndet.» Presten signer deg og sier:

Dominus sit in corde tuo et in labiis tuis, ut rite confitearis omnia peccata tua. In nomine Patris, et Filil + et Spiritus . Saneti. Amen.

(Herren være i ditt hjerte og på dine lepper, så du rett kan vedkjenne deg alle dine synder. I Faderens og Sønnens + og den Hellige Ånds navn. Amen.)

Du kan så si: «Mitt siste skriftemål var for …. siden. For Gud og for Dem som prest skrifter jeg i anger og ydmykhet mine synder.»

Skrift så oppriktig og angerfullt alle syndene dine. Når alt er sagt, kan du tilføye: «Alle disse syndene og alle jeg har gjort før, angrer jeg oppriktig og ber om en passende bot og absolusjonen.»

Spør presten om noe, så svar greit etter din samvittighet. Er du i tvil eller vil spørre om noe, så spør med tillit. Hør nøye på det presten sier uten å avbryte ham. Kommer du til å tenke på noe du har glemt, så vent med å si det til han er ferdig med sin rettledning. Straks han har gitt deg boten, gjør du vel i å gjenta den eller iallfall si «Takk».

Når presten gir deg absolusjonen, sier han:
Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis tuis, perducat te ad vitam æternam. Amen.

Med høyre hånd løftet:
Indulgentiam, absolutionem, et remissionem peccatorum tuorum tribuat tibi omnipotens, et misericors Dominus. Amen.

Dominus noster Jesus Christus te absolvat: et ego auctoritate ipsius te absolvo ab omni vinculo excommunicationis, et interdicti, in quantum possum et tu indiges. Deinde ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis, in nomine Patris, + et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

(Den allmektige Gud miskunne seg over deg, tilgi deg syndene dine og føre deg til det evige liv. Amen.
Den allmektige og miskunnsrike Herre ettergi, frifinne deg for og tilgi deg alle dine synder. Amen.
Vår Herre Jesus Kristus løse deg fra dine synder, og jeg med hans fullmakt løser deg fra alle bånd av ekskommunikasjon og interdikt, så langt jeg kan og du trenger til det. Så løser jeg deg fra syndene dine i Faderens, + Sønnens og den Hellige Ånds navn. Amen.)

Med dette er syndene dine tilgitt og slettet ut.

Presten ber:
Passio Domini nostri Jesu Christi, merita beatæ Mariæ virginis, et omnium sanctorum, quidquid boni feceris, et mali sustinueris sint tibi in remissionem peccatorum, augmentum gratiæ, et præmium vitæ æternæ. Amen.

(Vår Herres Jesu Kristi lidelse, den salige jomfru Marias og alle helgeners fortjenester, alt du har gjort av godt eller tålt av ondt, bli til ettergivelse av synden, øking av nåden og det evige livs lønn for deg. Amen.)

Når presten til sist sier: «Lovet være Jesus Kristus», og du har svart som vanlig, kan du stå opp og gå ut av skriftestolen.

Som vanlig kan jeg legge til at jeg med glede studerer og lærer av vår Kirkes gamle tradsjon, som pave Benedikt nå har tillatt oss å bruke igjen, uten at jeg dermed dømmer tradisjonene som er kommet til etter ca 1970.

Om ikke lenge presenterer jeg også det bønneboken fra 1944 foreslår som forberedelse til skriftemålet, og takkebønnene etterpå.

Lætare-søndag – 4. søndag i fasten

Liturgi, TLM /

Slik er det tradisjonelle inngangsverset for denne søndagen – der presten gjerne skal bruke rosa messeklær, pga det gledesfylte budskapet:

(Is. 66:10,11) Lætare, Jerúsalem: et convéntum fácite, omnes qui dilígitis eam: gaudéte cum lætítia, qui in tristítia fuístis: ut exsultétis, et satiémini ab ubéribus consolatiónis vestræ. (Ps. 121:1) Lætátus sum in his, quæ dicta sunt mihi: in domum Dómini íbimus.

Gled deg, Jerusalem, og kom sammen, alle som elsker den. Fryd dere med glede, dere som var sorgfulle, så dere kan juble og drikke dere utørste av trøstens overflod. Glede fylte meg, da de sa til meg: Vi går til Herrens hus.

I den nye messen er samme inngangsvers i stor grad beholdt:

Gled deg, Jerusalem, du Sions datter, kom sammen, alle som elsker henne! Fryd dere storlig, alle som var sorgfulle, så dere kan juble og mettes med rikelig trøst!

Den tradisjonelle messen har flere gledesfylte elementer – og evangeliet er fra Johannes 6, da Jesus mettet fem tusen i ørkenen – men i den nye messen er alt annet enn inngangsverset forandret fullstendig. Den tradsjonelle messen fortsetter slik:

Kollektbønn:
Vi ber deg, allmektige Gud: gi at vi som trykkes ned av det våre handlinger fortjener, må falle til ro ved trøsten i din nåde. Ved vår Herre …

Graduale:
(Salme 121, 1 og 7) Glede fylte meg da de sa til meg: Vi går til Herrens hus. Fred være i din festning og overflod i dine tårn.

Traktus:
(Salme 124,1-2) De som setter sin lit til Herren, er som Sionsfjellet. Den som bor i Jerusalem, skal i evighet ikke rokkes. Fjell står omkring det, og Herren står omkring sitt folk fra nå av til evig tid.

Konfirmasjon før førstekommunion?

Katolsk, Liturgi /

(Dette er en uke gamle nyheter, men) en biskop fra USA fikk ros direkte fra pave Benedikt fordi han har flyttet konfirmasjonsalderen i sitt bispedømme ned til før førstekommunion. Slik kan vi lese hos Catholic News Agency:

Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo said he is delighted to have first-hand papal approval for changing the order by which children in his diocese receive the sacraments.

“I was very surprised in what the Pope said to me, in terms of how happy he was that the sacraments of initiation have been restored to their proper order of baptism, confirmation then first Eucharist,” said Bishop Aquila, after meeting Pope Benedict on March 8. Bishop Aquila was one of five bishops from North and South Dakota to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican as part of their March 5-10 “ad limina” visit to Rome.

Over the past seven years the Diocese of Fargo has changed the typical order of the sacraments of initiation. Instead of confirmation coming third and at an older age, it is now conferred on children at a younger age and prior to First Communion.

Bishop Aquila said he made the changes because “it really puts the emphasis on the Eucharist as being what completes the sacraments of initiation” and on confirmation as “sealing and completing baptism.” …

… Bishop Aquila explained his theological thinking to Pope Benedict during today’s meeting. In response, he said, the Pope asked if he had “begun to speak to other bishops about this.” He told the pontiff that he had and that “certainly bishops within the Dakotas are now really looking towards the implementation in the restoration in the ordering of the sacraments.”

Jeg har personlig ingen sterke meninger om dette, men vet at den enkelte bsikop kan sette konfirmasjonsalederen helt ned til sju år. Jeg vet at noen få prøver å få dette innført i vårt bispedømme, og jeg har på en måte sans for deres argumenter.

Fem sår som påføres Kirken i noen typer messefeiring

Liturgi /

15. januar i år holdt biskop Athanasius Schneider er foredrag i Paris for en gruppe som heter Réunicatho (og som jeg ikke kjenner til). Han holdt et foredrag om liturgien, som kan deles inn i fem hovedpunkter. Jeg tar med hovedpunktene og noen utvalgte deler:

I – Turning our gaze towards Christ

II – The Mass is intended to give glory to God, not to men

III – The Six Principles of the Liturgical Reform

The Second Vatican Council put forward the following principles regarding a liturgical reform:

1. During the liturgical celebration, the human, the temporal, and action must be directed towards the divine, the eternal, and contemplation; the role of the former must be subordinated to the latter (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 2).
2. During the liturgical celebration, the realization that the earthly liturgy participates in the heavenly liturgy will have to be encouraged (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 8).
3. There must be absolutely no innovation, therefore no new creation of liturgical rites, especially in the rite of Mass, unless it is for a true and certain gain for the Church, and provided that all is done prudently and, if it is warranted, that new forms replace the existing ones organically (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 23).
4. The rites of Mass must be such that the sacred is more explicitly addressed (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 21).
5. Latin must be preserved in the liturgy, especially in Holy Mass (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 36 and 54).
6. Gregorian chant has pride of place in the liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 116).

The Council Fathers saw their reform proposals as the continuation of the reform of Saint Pius X (Sacrosanctum Concilium 112 and 117) and of the servant of God Pius XII; indeed, in the liturgical constitution, Pius XII’s Encyclical Mediator Dei is what is most often cited.

Among other things, Pope Pius XII left the Church an important principle of doctrine regarding the Holy Liturgy, namely the condemnation of what is called liturgical archeologism. Its proposals largely overlapped with those of the Jansenistic and Protestant-leaning synod of Pistoia (see “Mediator Dei,” 63-64). As a matter of fact they bring to mind Martin Luther’s theological thinking. …

IV – The five wounds of the liturgical mystical body of Christ

Disse oppsummerer Father Z. slik:

1 Mass versus populum.
2 Communion in the hand.
3 The Novus Ordo Offertory prayers.
4 Disappearance of Latin in the Ordinary Form.
5 Liturgical services of lector and acolyte by women and ministers in lay clothing.

V –The Motu Proprio: putting an end to rupture in the liturgy

In the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI stipulates that the two forms of the Roman rite are to be regarded and treated with the same respect, because the Church remains the same before and after the Council. In the letter accompanying the Motu Proprio, the pope wishes the two forms to enrich each other mutually. Furthermore he wishes that the new form “be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage.” …

One of the necessary conditions for a fruitful new evangelization would be the witness of the entire Church in the public liturgical worship. It would have to observe at least these two aspects of Divine Worship:

1) Let the Holy Mass be celebrated the world over, even in the ordinary form, in an internal and therefore necessarily also external “conversio ad Dominum”.
2) Let the faithful bend the knee before Christ at the time of Holy Communion, as Saint Paul demands when he mentions the name and person of Christ (see Phil 2:10), and let them receive Him with the greatest love and the greatest respect possible, as befits Him as true God.

Thank God, Benedict XVI has taken two concrete measures to begin the process of a return from the liturgical Avignon exile, to wit the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum and the reintroduction of the traditional Communion rite. …

Les hele foredraget her.

Hva og hvordan man synger i messen – og en bokanmeldelse

Liturgi /

Jeffrey Tucker skriver i et blogginnlegg:

… It is almost a universal fact that the musicians who perform at Mass today do not really understand what it is they are being asked to do. It is not their fault. No one ever explained this to them. There is a massive loss of knowledge out there.

After explaining, and after (they were) taught them how to read square notes and sing the propers, everything changed. The musicians were thrilled and excited. They were shown the north star of Catholic music. They were fired up to get going singing the liturgy rather than merely singing songs as Mass. A few hours of instruction and conversation changed everything. …

For å forstå hvorman og hva man skal synge i liturgien (dvs. messen ordinarium og proprium), kan man kjøpe boken The Musical Shape of the Liturgy – som beskrives slik:

The Musical Shape of the Liturgy, by William Mahrt, is the first full treatise that maps out — historically, theologically, musically, and practically — the musical framework of the Roman Rite in a way that can inform audiences of all types. Mahrt demonstrates that the Roman Rite is not only a ritual text of words, but is a complete liturgical experience that embeds within it a precise body of music that is absolutely integral to the rite itself. In other words, the music at Mass is not arbitrary. It is wedded to the rite as completely as the prayers, rubrics, and the liturgical calendar itself. Everything in the traditional music books has a liturgical purpose. When they are neglected, the rite is truncated; the experience is reduced in splendor. These claims will amount to a total revelation to most all Catholic musicians working today. …

Liturgiske nyheter

Liturgi /

Fr. Ray Blake i England skriver om bestemmelser for liturgien for det anglikanske ordinariatet, som har tydelige tradisjonalistiske tendenser, som på litt sikt kan få betydning for katolsk liturgi generelt:

… it is interesting that Rome’s latest moves on the liturgical front is to restore the more ancient usage, but for the Ordinariate.

As in England, Ordinary Time will no longer be referred to, being replaced by Sundays after Epiphany or Sundays after Trinity, thus ensuring the whole liturgical year is now explicitly anchored and referenced to the mysteries of salvation.
The three “-gesima” Sundays are restored.
Rogation days before Ascension, and the Ember days in the four seasons of the year are restored.
The Octave of Pentecost is restored, to be marked properly except for the readings which will be of the particular weekday.

Already the Ordinariate have announced its liturgy should be eastward facing. The replacement of Ordinary Time is obviously a reflection of calendar of the Book of Common Prayer, but it is probably more than that, the same could be said of Rogation and Ember days but the rest, the -gesimas, the Octave of Pentecost are used by some Anglicans but at least here, it is not mainstream.

This isn’t going to happen tomorrow, if the whole Church is to be carried forward but for the rest of the Church these are interesting developments, one hears rumours of a new Missal being prepared, an Usus Medior; a reconciliation of the Usus Antiquior and Recentior, so there is one Roman Usage, rather than two.

Det gamle dåpsritualet på latin og norsk

Liturgi, TLM /

Jeg har noen få ganger døpt barn etter det gamle dåpsrirualet – siden pave benedikt i 2007 ga alle prester tillatelse til å gjøre dette. (Men av 44 dåp jeg hadde i fjor, var bare 2 etter det gamle ritualet – det må gjerne bli flere.)

Så langt har jeg i det gamle ritualet bare brukt latin (og spurt fadderen ekstra på norsk, når han/hun skal svare. Men det fins en norsk utgave av ritualet, der en hel del av ritualet ar oversatt til norsk – mens noen bønner, eksorsismene og selve dåpsformulaeret må sies på latin. Jeg har funnet ritualet i den norske bønneboken fra 1944, og dåpsritualet begynner slik:

Presten tar mot fadderen med barnet ved kirkedøren. Han spør den som bærer barnet:
P.: N hva søker du hos Guds Kirke?
P.: Troen.
P.: Hva gir troen deg?
F.: Det evige liv.
P.: Når du altså vil gå inn til livet, da hold budene. Du skal elske Herren din Gud av hele ditt hjerte og hele din sjel og din neste som deg selv.
Han ånder tre ganger over barnets ansikt og sier:
P.: Vik bort fra ham (henne) du urene ånd, og gi rom for Trøsteren, den Hellige Ånd.
Deretter signer han barnet med korstegnet på pannen og brystet.
P.: Motta korstegnet både på din panne + og i ditt hjerte +. Tro på de himmelske lærdommer og ferdes slik at du kan være Guds tempel.
Presten ber noen bønner på latin om Guds nåde for barnet.

Se hele rutualet på latin og (delvis) norsk her.

Forandringer i kirkemusikken som ikke har noe med musikken å gjøre

Liturgi /

Jeffrey Tucker foreslår her at man heller må forandre bestemmelsene om ordene som skal synges i messen, dvs. at det kreves at messens proprium alltid synges – på latin eller på morsmålet, og så kan andre ting synges deretter.

I Norge synger man vanligvis hymer som passer noenlunde godt til søndagens tema (dvs messer på norsk i Norge, i messer på andre språk er min opplevelse at sangvalget er dårligere), mens messens egne tekster – inngangsvers etc. – blir oftest ignorert. Men Tucker opplevde nylig en messe som var mye verre:

At a Mass I attended on the first Sunday of Lent, for example, the choir sang a processional that had nothing to do with Lent, fully three offertory songs that were unrelated to the liturgy or (in the case of one of them) even to Christianity (so far as I could tell), and the communion song shouted repeatedly that “God is amazing!” but I failed to find that text anywhere in my liturgical books.

So let’s say you went up to this choir leader in charge and said: “Instead of those crazy songs, you really should be singing Gregorian chant, just as the Vatican demands.” Would this song leader have any clue at all where to begin? He would not have the music in front of him. He wouldn’t know what to sing and when. As for the official chant books such as the Graduale or the Gregorian Missal, the notation and the language are completely foreign to him. He would be totally clueless how to actually implement the demand.

This situation is true in probably three quarters of American parishes today, and even those parishes where there is a Gregorian schola, there are other Masses controlled by the Life Teen band or some other guitar group that wants nothing whatever to do with chant and refuses even to learn what it is all about. They won’t budge. …

Kirken har utallige ganger sagt hva som bør synges i liturgien, messens proprium og gregoriansk sang har første plass etc., men dette har alltid blitt ignorert eller omtolket. Derfor foreslår Tucker:

… Is this a counsel of despair? No. Absolutely not. There is a way out of this whole problem. Interestingly, it is not through further pronouncements on music and musical style. The Church needs to change its current legislation dating from 1967 that permits other texts to replace the proper texts of the Mass.

The problem text came in section 32 of Musicam Sacram: “The custom legitimately in use in certain places and widely confirmed by indults, of substituting other songs for the songs given in the Graduale for the Entrance, Offertory, and Communion, can be retained according to the judgement of the competent territorial authority.”

This sentence seems innocuous. It’s tempting to read past it. Should a legitimate custom be retained? Sure, why not? Actually, what this sentence permitted, for the first time in the history of the universal Church, was the complete throwing out of the Mass propers that had been largely stable throughout the whole history of the Roman Rite and formed the basis of Gregorian chant in the first place. The “indult” quickly became the universal practice.

This is the sentence that needs to be repealed, erased, and replaced, because it is this sentence that unleashed the musical chaos and confusion. This is the reason for why the choir is free to totally ignore the liturgy and sing any old song that they happen to have handy in place of the actual text that the liturgy is asking us to sing.

Any Vatican commission on music that is actually effective in our times needs to state very plainly, admitting no exceptions, that this universal practice of throwing out Mass propers in favor of just about anything is absolutely repealed. It must state very plainly that the proper text of the Mass, whether drawn from the Missal or Roman Gradual or from the Simple Gradual, must be the text that is sung. Period. Only after this text is sung in some setting may other songs be introduced. …

Les hele artikkelen her.

Konselebrasjon – bare sammen med biskopen?

Liturgi, Teologi /

Sist søndag presenterte kardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, prefekt for Liturgikongregasjonen, en bok skrevet av Msgr. Guillaume Derville, kalt «La concélébration eucharistique. Du symbole à la réalité».

I sin bokpresentasjon sa kardinalen bl.a. følgende om konselebrasjon:

… “Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation. These considerations should make us realize the care which is needed, if the liturgical action is to reflect its innate splendour.”

That is to say: the liturgy, and within it the act of concelebration, will be beautiful when it is true and authentic, when its innate splendour is really reflected. It is in this context that we should understand the question posed by the Holy Father regarding concelebrations with a large number of priests: “For my part,” said the Pope, “I have to say, it remains a problem because concrete communion in the celebration is fundamental, and I do not consider that the definitive answer has really been found. I also raised this question during the last Synod but it was not answered. I also had another question asked regarding the concelebration of Mass: why, for example, if a thousand priests concelebrate, do we not yet know whether this structure was desired by the Lord?” …

… The Council did indeed decide to widen the faculty for concelebrating in accordance with two principles: that this form of celebration of the Holy Mass adequately manifests the unity of the priesthood, and that it has been practised up to now in the Church both in the East and in the West. Hence concelebration, as Sacrosanctum Concilium also noted, is one of those rites that it is fitting to restore “according to the primitive rule of the holy Fathers.”

In this sense, it is important to look, however briefly, into the history of concelebration. The historical panorama that Msgr. Derville offers us, even if it is —as he modestly points out— only a brief summary, is sufficient to let us glimpse areas of obscurity, that show the absence of clear data on Eucharistic celebration in the earliest times of the Church. At the same time, and without falling into a ingenuous “archaeologism”, it does provide us with enough information to be able to state that concelebration, in the genuine tradition of the Church, whether eastern or western, is an extraordinary, solemn and public rite, normally presided over by the Bishop or his delegate, surrounded by his presbyterium and by the entire community of the faithful. But the daily concelebrations of priests only, which are practised “privately”, so to speak, in the eastern Churches instead of Masses celebrated individually or “more privato”, do not form part of the Latin liturgical tradition. …

Hele teksten hos Zenit.org – jeg leste det først hos Fr. Ray Blake.

TLM i Danmark – Sorg i København

Liturgi, TLM /

Jeg leste nettopp et innlegg på nettstedet ‘Katolsk Tradition’, som ble postet søndag – etter at den tradisjonelle messen ikke ble feiret slik man hadde regnet med:

I dag var ca. 50 katolikker mødt op i Jesu Hjerte kirke for at høre messe efter den traditionelle ritus. Da præsten af ukendte årsager udeblev, fejrede en af de stedlige præster så i stedet en messe efter ny ritus (for den del af menigheden, som ikke gik hjem). Det skal bemærkes, at der ved Jesu Hjerte kirke er mindst tre præster, som er uddannede til at fejre den traditionelle messe, herunder den præst, som valgte at fejre messen efter ny ritus.

Det må samtidig være tilladt at minde om Pave Benedikts ord i Motu Propriet fra 2007 (art 5):

“I sogne hvor der er en stabil gruppe af troende som er knyttet til den ældre liturgiske tradition, skal sognepræsten villigt imødekomme deres ønske om at fejre Messen efter ritus i den Romerske Messebog offentliggjort i 1962, og sikre at disse troendes velfærd harmonerer med sognets sædvanlige pastorale omsorg, under biskoppens ledelse og i overensstemmelse med Canon 392, idet han undgår splittelse og fremmer hele Kirkens enhed.”

Det er med sorg vi må konstatere, at dette fortsat er fremtid i København.

Heller ikke i vårt land har den tradisjonelle messen så veldig gode kår, men det er nå offentlig messe annen hver søndag i Oslo, bl.a. førstkommende søndag. SE HER.

Når man knapt klarer å gå i søndagsmessen

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Elizabeth Scalia skriver ofte mye interessant på First Things og andre steder, og skriver denne uka om hvor vanskelig det er å gå i en katolske søndagsmesse – og for hennes bror, som går i messen hver dag, er det visst nesten umulig.

(I Norge er dette heldigvis nokså mye bedre; mange menigheter har en stille fromesse, og flere steder har også høymessen både passende og god sang og musikk, og folk oppfører seg ganske fromt før, under og etter messen. Men rett skal være rette; jeg har selv opplevd noen messer som jeg bare med store vanskeligheter har klart å lide meg gjennom.)

Slik skriver hun:

… I think what my brother and I are missing is the sense of reverent anticipation that used to precede Sunday mass when, in the spare minutes before the processional, people used to kneel and collect themselves; they gathered their thoughts, remembered an intention, let go of what was frivolous and finally sighed a big, cleansing, quieting breath in preparation for the great prayer of the mass. If people spoke at all, they whispered; they were reverently aware of Christ present in the tabernacle and considerate of their neighbors at prayer.

Perhaps it is different where you worship, but in my parish—and I would count mine as one of the “quieter” and “more reverent” in our area—that sort of preparation is nearly impossible. The choir and musicians are noisily setting up, talking and laughing. The people in the pews—of all ages—are “being community” with such a boisterous disregard for time or place that a priest recently halted his robing to stride out from the sacristy and call, “excuse me! This is not a movie theater; it’s not Grand Central Station. Have a little consideration, please. There might actually be a couple of people here who are, you know . . . praying.”

Before beginning his homily, Father apologized for the intemperate tone, but his point was valid. We used to have a sense of “sacred spaces,” wherein one behaved differently than everywhere else. The lobby or narthex of a church was for chatting; once you entered the nave, you quieted down. …

Hun har også en blogg – der hun denne uka tar opp mye av det samme.

Ratzinger om liturgien i 1998: Problemer med den tradisjonelle liturgien

Liturgi, Paven /

I femte og siste del av min gjengivelse av kardinal Ratzingers foredrag om liturgien i 1998, understreker han at det faktisk var alvorlige problemer med den tradisjonelle liturgien på starten av 60-tallet. (Dette er ting det er viktig for tradisjonalister å ta alvorlig; observasjoner fra en person som kjente Kirken ut og inn fra før andre verdenskrig. De fleste av oss som lever i dag har jo bare lest oss til informasjon om liturgien før Vatikankonsilet.):

One notices a return to mystery, and to adoration and the sacred, and to the cosmic and eschatological nature of the liturgy. To this, the Oxford Declaration on the Liturgy of 1996 bears witnesses. On the other hand one has to admit that the celebration of the ancient liturgy was too lost in the realm of the individual and the private. One must admit that the communion between the priest and the faithful was lacking. I have great respect for our ancestors who during the Low Mass, said the prayers «during Mass» which their prayer book recommended. Certainly one cannot consider that as the ideal of the liturgical celebration! Perhaps, these reduced forms of celebration are the fundamental reason why the disappearance of the ancient liturgical books had no importance in many countries and caused no pain, There was never any contact with the liturgy itself. On the other hand, where the liturgical movement had created a certain love for the liturgy, where this movement anticipated the essential ideals of the Council -for example the prayerful participation of all at the liturgical action- there was a greater pain at the liturgical reform undertaken too much in haste and limiting itself often to externals. Where the liturgical movement never existed the reform did not -it first pose a problem. The problems arose in a spasmodic way where a wild creativity made the sacred mystery disappear.

This is why it is so important to obey the essential criteria of the Constitution on the Liturgy, which I cited above, even if one celebrates according to the Ancient Missal. At the moment when this liturgy truly touches the faithful by its beauty and depth, then it will be alive and there will be no irreconcilable opposition with the new liturgy -provided that these criteria are truly applied as the Council wished.

Hele foredraget kan leses her.

Ratzinger om liturgien i 1998: Egentlig to måter å forstå Kirken på

Liturgi, Paven /

I fjerde del av min gjengivelse av kardinal Ratzingers foredrag om liturgien i 1998, sier han at det heller er ulike matter å feire messen på og forstå Kirken på – heller enn to ulike riter – som er problemet:

The alarm of which we have spoken is so great, I think, because one is contrasting two forms of celebration with two different spiritual outlooks. One is contrasting two different ways of perceiving the Church and Christian existence. The reasons for this are several. Firstly, one judges the two liturgical forms by their exterior elements and arrives at the conclusion that there are two fundamentally different outlooks. That the new liturgy be celebrated in the vernacular, facing the congregation and that there be great leeway for creativity and the active exercise of roles by the laity, is considered essential by the average Christian. On the other hand, it is deemed essential that the old liturgy be in Latin, the priest face the altar, that the rite be strictly controlled and that the faithful follow the Mass by praying privately without having an active role. From this view appearances and not what the liturgy itself considers important, are essential for a liturgy. One must realize that the faithful understand the liturgy from visible concrete forms and that they are spiritually impregnated by them and that the faithful do not penetrate easily the depths of the liturgy.

The contradictions and oppositions which we have enumerated do not come from either the spirit or the letter of the Council documents. The Constitution on the Liturgy itself does not mention at all celebration facing the altar or the congregation. On the matter of language, it says that Latin must be conserved while at the same time giving the vernacular a larger role, «especially in the readings, the directives and in some prayers and chants» (SC 36:2). As to lay participation, the Council insists firstly and generally, that the liturgy is essentially the business of the entire Body of Christ, Head and members, and so it belongs to the entire Body of the Church «and it is consequently intended to be celebrated in community with the active participation of the faithful.» And the text makes clear that «in liturgical celebrations, everyone one, minister or faithful, in fulfilling his function, does only and fully what belongs to him by virtue of the matter and the liturgical norms» (SC 28). «To promote active participation, one will encourage the acclamations of the people, their responses, the chant of the psalms, antiphons, canticles and other actions and gestures and bodily positions. One will observe a holy silence in its time» (SC 30).

Here then are, the Council directives. They can give everyone matter for reflection. There is unfortunately a tendency, amongst some modern liturgists, to develop the ideas of the Council in one direction. One overturns the intentions of the Council, acting in this way. The role of the priest is reduced by some to the purely functional. The fact that the entire Body of Christ is the subject of the liturgy is often deformed to the point where the local community becomes the self-sufficient subject of the liturgy and it allots the various roles. There also exists a dangerous tendency to minimalise the sacrificial nature of the Mass and to make the mystery and the sacred disappear under the so-called imperative pretext of making oneself more easily understood. Finally, one notices the tendency to fragment the liturgy and the unilateral emphasizing of its communitarian character by giving the assembly the power to decide about the celebration.

Hele foredraget kan leses her.

Ratzinger om liturgien i 1998: Ulike riter ikke noe problem

Liturgi, Paven /

I tredje del av min gjengivelse av kardinal Ratzingers foredrag om liturgien i 1998, understreker han at flere riter innen Kirken ikke skaper forvirring. (Et spørsmål som er blitt enda mer aktuelt etter 2007.):

One must examine the other argument which pretends that the existence of two rites can fracture unity. One must distinguish, here, the theological from the practical side of the question. Theologically and fundamentally one has to realize that several forms of the Latin Rite have always existed and that they retreated but slowly only as Europe was unified. Up to the Council, there existed alongside the Roman Rite, the Ambrosian Rite, the Mozarabic Rite of Toledo, the Rite of Braga, the Rite of the Carthusians and the Carmelites and the best know the Dominican Rite; and perhaps other ones which I do not know. Nobody was ever scandalized that the Dominicans, often when present in parishes, did not celebrate like parish priests but rather had their own rite. We had no doubt that their rite was both Catholic and Roman. We were proud of the richness of having several rites. The free space which the new order of Mass gives to creativity it must be admitted, is often excessively enlarged. The difference between the Iiturgy with the new liturgical books, as it is actually practiced and celebrated in various places is often much greater than the difference between the old and new liturgies when celebrated according to the rubrics of the liturgical books.

An average Christian without special liturgical formation would be hard pressed to distinguish a Sung Mass in Latin according to the Old Missal from a Sung Mass in Latin celebrated according to the New Missal. The difference, by contrast, can be enormous between a liturgy faithfully celebrated according to the Missal of Paul VI and the concrete forms and celebrations in the vernacular with all the possible freedom and creativity! With these considerations we have already crossed the threshold between theory and practice where matters are naturally more complex since the question of human relationships arises.

Hele foredraget kan leses her.

Ratzinger om liturgien i 1998: Konsilet og den tradisjonelle liturgien

Liturgi, Paven /

I andre del av min gjengivelse av kardinal Ratzingers foredrag om liturgien i 1998, ser vi at han snakker om at det ikke er feil i forhold til Vatikankonsilet å fortsette med den tradisjonelle liturgien:

The two most often heard are the lack of obedience to the Council which reformed the liturgical books and the rupturing of unity which must necessarily follow, if one allows other different liturgical forms to continue. It is relatively easy to refute in theory these two arguments. The Council itself did not reform the liturgical books but rather ordered their revision. To that end it laid down some fundamental rules.

Primarily the Council defined what liturgy is and this definition gives valid criteria for every liturgical celebration. If one wishes to scorn these essential rules and to put aside the normae generales which are bound at numbers 34 to 36 of the Constitution «De Sacra Liturgia», then one violates obedience to the Council! One must judge liturgical celebrations, whether they be according to the old or the new liturgical books, based on these criteria. It is good to remember here what Cardinal Newman realized when he said that the Church in all her history has never abolished or defended orthodox liturgical forms (forms which express the true faith) which would be totally foreign, to the spirit of the Church.

An orthodox liturgy (a liturgy which expounds the true faith) is never a compilation drawn up according to the pragmatic criteria of diverse ceremonies, of which one can dispose positively and arbitrarily, this way today, that way tomorrow. The orthodox forms of a rite are living realities, born of the dialogue of love between the Church and Her Lord. They are the expressions of the life of the Church where the faith, the prayer and the very life of generations is condensed and where at same time the action of God and the response of man is enfleshed in a concrete form. If the subject which has borne certain rites historically disappears or if the subject is transplanted into another environment, these rites can perish. The authority of The Church can define and limit the use of rites in different historical situations. She never forbids them purely and simply! The Council, therefore, ordered a reform of the liturgical books but it never forbade the previous books. The criterion which the Council enunciated is both vaster and more demanding. It invites everyone to self-criticism! We will return to this point.

Hele foredraget kan leses her.

Stor forskjell når presten vender seg til Gud

Liturgi /

Jeg legger vel ikke så veldig skjul på at jeg selv syns det er bedre (historisk, teologisk og pedagogisk) om presten vender seg ad orientem (til Gud) under messens eukaristiske bønn – samt at det er bedre når de troende mottar kommunion knelende og på tungen (slik pave Benedikt praktiserer det). Jeg leste nå nettopp et ukegammelt innlegg der en katolikk fra USA beskriver hvordan han opplevde sin aller første messe feiret ad orientem:

… Not too long ago, I attended an Ordinary Form of the Mass where the priest was facing away from the congregation during the consecration. Of course, that was the normal practice prior to Vatican II. But I had never experienced it. In the Ordinary Form of the Mass today, the priest faces the congregation the whole time.

I know there are theological reasons to support both practices. And my point here is not to argue them or to say that either is objectively “better.” All I want to say is that when the priest held up the bread and wine and offered them up to the Father as the Body and Blood of His Son, I experienced Mass in a different way than ever before.

At every other Mass I had ever been to, I had seen the priest holding up the Body and Blood toward me. Holding them up for an audience to see – or at least, that is what I naturally perceived from the way it was done. If you are just observing the Ordinary Form of the Mass, this is the part where you’d say, “Oh, this is where the priest holds up the bread and wine to the congregation.”

But when the priest was facing away from me this time, I got a very different impression. It really hit home to me more than ever that in that moment I was participating in something, not just observing. That I wasn’t just being shown something, but that we were the ones offering the something together — through the priest. All because the priest was facing the other way. The position of his body just seemed to resonate more with what we were doing. That’s all. …

Les hele denne beskrivelsen her.

Ratzinger om liturgien i 1998: Gleder og problemer

Liturgi, Paven /

Jeg har i det siste lest flere ganger gjennom et kort foredrag kardinal Ratzinger holdt 24. oktober 1998; 10 år etter at at pave Johannes Pauls motu proprio om den tradisjonelle messen: Ecclesia Dei ble utgitt.

Jeg har forkortet foredraget noe og skal porsjonere det ut i fem deler, slik:

1 Den tradisjonelle liturgien etter 1988 – gleder og problemer.
2 Tolkingen av konsilet – ikke feil å fortsette med den tradisjonelle liturgien
3 Flere riter innen Kirken skaper ikke forvirring
4 Ulike matter å feire messen på – heller enn to ulike riter
5 Problemer med den tradisjonelle liturgien

Her er første del; det er flere ting å glede seg over mht den tradisjonelle liturgien etter 1988, men den møter fortsatt problemer flere steder:

The different communities born from the pontifical document – Ecclesia Dei – have given the Church a great number of priestly and religious vocations, zealous, joyful and profoundly united to the Pope, to serve the Gospel at this era in history, our era. Through them many faithful have been confirmed in their joy to be able to live the liturgy and in their love for the Church where may be they have found the two. In several dioceses -and their number is not so small- they serve the Church in collaboration with the Bishops and in a brotherly way with the faithful who feel at home in the renewed form of the new liturgy. All this cannot but urge us to gratitude today!

In many places difficulties persist and continue to persist, because bishops as well as priests and faithful consider this attachment to the ancient liturgy an element of division, which only troubles the ecclesial community and gives rise to suspicions about a conditional acceptance of the Council and more generally suspicion about obedience to the legitimate Pastors of the Church.

We must now ask the following question: how can these difficulties be overcome? How can one build the necessary confidence so that these groups and communities which love the ancient liturgy may be able to be integrated peacefully into the life of the Church? But there is another question underlying the first: What is the deep reason for this scorn or even refusal of the continuation of the ancient liturgical forms?

In this matter certainly, it is possible that reasons exist anterior to any theology – reasons which originate in the characters of individuals, which originate in the opposition of different characters or originate even other completely external circumstances. It is certain, however, that there are also more profound reasons which explain these problems.

Hele foredraget kan leses her.

Ikke særlig tung musikk i kommende søndags messe

Liturgi /

Jeffrey A. Tucker skriver i dag at messens proprium for fastetiden har overraskende lyse og lette melodier:

Here is a surprising fact about the Gregorian propers for Sunday during Lent: they mostly explore major keys. … (The chants) mode 8, which might be regarded as the lightest and most elevated, the most song-like, of all the modes. That chant is anything but dreary. … Perhaps the Gregorian tradition is reminding here that while Lent is a penitential season, Sunday does in fact remain a feast day – a real break in the fast. It is a mistake to try to cram the whole of the Lenten spirit into the Sunday Mass.

Første eksempel som viser dette er introitus for føste søndag i fasten (slik det skal synges bl.a. i St Joseph kirke i Oslo kommende søndag):

Og her er offertoriet for samme søndag:

Første tradisjonelle høymesse på over 40 år

Liturgi, TLM /

Sist søndag – søndag quinquagesima – ble det i bispedømmet Trenton i New Jersey, USA, feiret et tradisjonell høymesse/ levittmesse. Det er viktig at den tradisjonelle messen får slippe til, og får litt publisitet, slik at vanlige katolikker også kan få tilgang til Kirkens gamle (og gode) liturgiske tradisjon. De tre prestene som feiret denne messen var alle svært unge; det er visst slike som liker den gamle tradisjonen – selv er jeg visst et unntak, med mine 56 år. Slik leser vi om messen:

Quinquagesima Sunday was the occasion for the first Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form sponsored by the Diocese of Trenton since the restoration of the Traditional Mass.

Approximately 650 people filled the Church of St. Anthony in Hamilton, NJ. A large romanesque structure, complete with a vaulted coffered ceiling, the original polychromatic marble altar in ciborium, with heavy mosaic. Located within the neighborhoods of the state capital, St. Anthony’s is one of the most beautiful and historically significant churches in the Diocese of Trenton, built as a Franciscan parish in the mid-20th Century.

The Mass setting was Franz Schubert’s Mass in G Major, expertly sung and accompanied by students of Westminster Choir College, in Princeton, NJ. …

Les mer om dette på LNM-bloggen. (Det er blitsen som gjør prestenes klær så blå – og det er også et bordalter i koret, som absolutt bør fjernes.)

Skroll til toppen