Liturgi

Jeg har noen ganger lagt merke til at prester i katolske begravelser fokuserer i svært liten grad på bønnen for den avdøde (til hjelp i skjærsilden), og at minneordene blir veldig tydelige og får dominere til og med i prekenen (selv om retningslinjene sier at det ikke skal skje). Selv prøver jeg alltid å følge «boka», men jeg gir gjerne litt plass til noen minneord på slutten av liturgien – etter messen, men før avslutningen ved kisten. Beskrivelsen fra USA under er vel likevel sjokkerende for alle her i Norge (hos oss vil jo ingen tenke på kremere noen før messen!):

Requiem æternam and Lux æterna are out; Amazing Grace, On Eagle’s Wings and How Great Thou Art are in. Indeed, these three songs are so ubiquitous at funeral and memorial Masses (at least two of them have been sung at 90% of the Masses for the dead that I have attended) that they almost seem to constitute a new “proper.”

Black or purple vestments are out; white vestments are in.

Eulogies after communion are typically in, despite efforts to stamp them out. People expect them today the way they expected the Dies irae in former times.

Bodies are, increasingly, out. It’s been several years since I’ve attended a funeral in my parish that featured a body rather than “cremains” or sometimes just a photo of the deceased.

In terms of overall tone (readings chosen, homilies given, etc.), intercession for the deceased is out; celebration of the life of the deceased is in.

I dag feiret man i den tradisjonelle liturgien den hellige Johannes Krysostomos (=gullmunn), og jeg leste i Matutins tredje lesning:

Reading 3
John came from Antioch and was called «Chrysostom» because of the golden flood of his eloquence. Ordained a priest of the Church of Antioch, he was later, against his will made archbishop of Constantinople to succeed Nectarius, through the influence of Arcadius the emperor. In this office, since he spoke out strongly against the degradation of public morals and the licentious lives of the nobility, he drew down on himself the hatred of many persons. He gravely offended Empress Eudoxia also, because he reprehended her for taking the money of the widow Callitropa and the land of another widow. For all these reasons he was forced into exile, while all the widows and the needy mourned at being deprived of their common father. It is beyond belief how many hardships he suffered in his exile and how many people he converted to the faith of Jesus Christ. The number, warmth and brilliance of his sermons and other writings are universally admired. He gave up his soul to God on September 14, and his body -was buried in the Vatican basilica. This outstanding Doctor of the universal Church was appointed the heavenly patron of preachers by Pope Pius X.

På katolsk.no leser vi om hvordan/hvorfor hans minnedag ble flyttet fra 27/1 til 13/9:

…. Allerede konsilet i Khalkedon i 451 omtalte ham som kirkefader, og i 1568 utnevnte den hellige pave Pius V (1566-72) ham offisielt til kirkelærer. Den 8. juli 1908 ble han utnevnt til de kristne predikantenes skytshelgen av den hellige pave Pius X. Nå feirer Kirken hans fest den 13. september, dagen for translasjonen av hans relikvier til Roma og vigilien for hans dødsdag, fordi 14. september er opptatt av festen for Korsets opphøyelse. Tidligere ble hans fest feiret den 27. januar, dagen for translasjonen av hans bein til Konstantinopel. …

I dag feires den hellige Eystein i Norge, mest i midt-Norge, der han feires som fest. En full messe er utarbeidet for dette, med alle bønner, antifoner og tekster – og denne messen fins både på norsk og latin! Man kan finne hele messen på norsk her, og jeg skal gi noen smakebiter på latinen (som jeg har fått tilsendt – og det overrasket meg at Eystein heter Augustin på latin):

Inngangsvers:
Ecce vir, qui ædificábit templum Dómini: Dei adiutóres sumus: Dei ædificátio estis. (Se den mann som skal bygge Herrens tempel; vi er Guds medhjelpere, dere er Guds byggverk.)

Kollektbønn:
Deus, qui ministério pastoráli beáti Augustíni epíscopi pópulum tuum in alto septentrióni in vias tuas perduxísti, tríbue, quǽsumus, ut eius intercessióne séquimur voluntátem tuam et crescámus in grátia. Per Dóminum nostrum … (Evige Gud, ved den salige biskop Eysteins hyrdetjeneste førte du ditt folk i det høye nord på dine veier. Vi ber deg, gi at vi på hans forbønn må følge din vilje og vokse i nåde. Ved vår Herre …)

I dag er det en litt forvirrende dag mht hvilke helgener man kan feire; den hellige Polykarp i den tradisjonelle kalenderen, den hellige Timoteus i den nye kalenderen i det meste av verden, og den hellige Eystein i Norge (mest i midt-Norge). (For ordens skyld; jeg bruker nå den tradisjonelle kalenderen privat i tidebønnene og når jeg feirer den tradisjonelle messen, siden det er fullt tillatt (og svært interessant) – ikke som noen protesthandling.) Slik leste jeg i dag i Matutins tredje lesning:

From the Book on Ecclesiastical Writers, composed by St Jerome, Priest at Bethlehem. Chapter 17
Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John, and was consecrated by him Bishop of Smyrna. He was reckoned the chief of all the Christians of Asia, because he had been taught by several of the Apostles, and other persons who had seen the Lord. During the reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, and while Anicetus presided over the Church of Rome, Polycarp came thither to discuss some questions regarding the time for observing Easter. He found some heretics at Rome, who had been led astray by the doctrine of Marcion and Valentine, and brought back many of them to the faith. One day Marcion met him by accident, and said to him Do you recognise me? whereto he replied I recognise the devil’s eldest son. Some time after, in the reign of Mark Antonine and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, during the fourth persecution since Nero, when the Pro-consul was ruling in Smyrna, the whole population being assembled in the theatre, clamoured against Polycarp, and to please them he was burnt. He wrote an extremely useful Epistle to the Philippians, which is publicly read in the Churches of Asia even to this day.

I dagens (24/1) Prim-bønn ble den viktigste feiringen i morgen nevnt først i martyrologiet:

On the morrow we commemorate the conversion of the holy Apostle Paul, which took place in the second year after our Lord’s ascension.

(Statuen til venstre står i Damaskus.) Men Paulus’ omvendele er i den tradisjonelle kalenderen bare en 3. klasses fest (dvs. minnedag), mens den i den nye kalenderen feires som fest, og i morgendagens Matutin leses bare hans omvendelse fra Apotl.gj. 9, ikke noe om ham fra kirkefdrene e.l.

Katolsk.no skriver om datoen for om Paulus’ omvendelse:

Feiringen av Paulus’ omvendelse den 25. januar har sin opprinnelse i Frankrike på slutten av 500-tallet. Da skal noen av hans relikvier ha blitt overført dit. Men festen omtales som translatio allerede i Hieronymus’ martyrologium, så festen kan være for å minnes overføringen av hans relikvier fra katakombene til basilikaen San Paolo fuori le Mura. Festen er altså opprinnelig en translasjonsfest, translatio, som imidlertid har blitt til en konversjonsfest, conversio, allerede på 600- og 700-tallet. Den ble ikke feiret i Roma før på 1000-tallet. 25. januar er avmerket på gamle norske primstaver som Pålsmesse.

Til Matutin leste jeg i dag i tredje lesning:

Timothy was born in Lystra in Lycaonia of a gentile father and a Jewish mother, and was a follower of the Christian religion when the Apostle Paul visited that city. Paul was so moved by what he repeatedly heard of Timothy’s holiness that he took him with him as a companion on his journeys; yet, because of the Jews who had been converted to Christ and who knew that Timothy’s father had been a Gentile, he had him circumcised. When they both arrived at Ephesus, the Apostle ordained him bishop to govern the Church there. The Apostle wrote him two letters, one from Laodicea, the other from Rome. Strengthened by these letters in the ministry of his pastoral office. he could not endure that the sacrifice which is due to God alone should be offered to the images of demons, and he strove to win over the people of Ephesus from the impiety of offering sacrifice to Diana on her feast day. He was stoned, and was nearly dead when the Christians rescued him and took him to a village on a neighboring mountain. There he died in the Lord on January 24.

Dette er vel å merke i den tradisjonelle kalenderen, for i den nye kalenderen er han flyttet til 26. januar. Slik skriver katolsk.no om dette: «Fra 1100-tallet ble hans minnedag feiret den 24. januar, vigilien for festen for Paulus’ omvendelse. Siden kalenderreformen i 1969 har minnedagen vært 26. januar sammen med Titus, så nær apostelfesten som mulig, for å markere de to biskopenes tilknytning til Paulus.» (De kaller ham underlig nok Timotheos – noe få greske navn beholdt -os, isteden for det latinske -us.)

Nå blir også den hellige Eystein feiret i Norge 26/1, så den hellige Timoetus og den hellige Titus, er bare valgfrie minnedager i Norge 27/1.

Jeg ble litt overrasket da jeg i kveld så at den hellige Antonius den store (~251-356) – abbeden – i den norske messeboken fra 1961 blir kalt for Anton. Tydeligvis var han en godt kjent helgen i gamle dager, for det er jo det mest kjente som har fått fornorsket sine navn; Hans, Per, Pål, Mari, Lars etc.

I Italia er den hellige Anton fortsatt en populær helgen, og mange av de gamle tradisjonene – med bl.a. velsignelser av dyr – lever fortsatt. Fra Zenit:

Italians mark St Anthony’s memory with a variety of vigils, processions, special blessings, parades and gigantic bonfires, along with open air celebrations involving songs, music and historical re-evocations that recount the life and miracles of the saint. This takes place generally between Jan. 16 and 17.

The celebrations usually start with a vigil, which is followed by the opening of the stands filled with the food typical of the local region. The following morning, after Mass, bonfires are lit, after being blessed by the parish priest. During the day and into the evening there is dancing, singing and food-tasting, accompanied by folkloric music and dramatic performances of several kinds, such as the reading of poetry and folk tales.

In addition to the bonfire, there is also a the custom of having the parish priest bless the fields, cattle and harvest. St. Anthony is the patron of butchers, peasants, breeders and domestic animals.

Many entrust themselves to his intercession, asking for healing of illnesses, but also praying for release from the devil. In religious art, St. Anthony is known as «the saint of the demonic temptations»; in fact, he was continually attacked during his life, tempted and tormented by the devil, at times even physically.

Meanwhile, in Rome, Jan. 17 was marked by a blessing of animals in St. Peter’s Square. Presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, the animals included chickens, sheep, goats and horses.

NLM-bloggen melder at Fr. Stefan Heid har skrevet en artikkel i the Homiletic and Pastoral Review med overskriften «Cross, Altar and the Right Way of Praying,». Der tar han opp pave Benedikts oppfordring om å sette et stort krustifiks på alteret også (eller kanskje spesielt) når man feirer messen versus populum. (Min erfaring sier også at dette krusifikset bør være ganske stort, minst 1/2 meter – i Peterskirken er det vel over 2 meter.) Fr Heid skriver bl.a. dette om hvordan presten ber:

… The sacrificial action of the Eucharist takes place on the altar, within a continuous current of prayer: from the prayer over the gifts, through the Eucharistic Prayer, to the Our Father. In this respect, the Eucharistic action is markedly different from the liturgy of the Word that precedes it. The ambo is, strictly speaking, not a place of prayer; the Opening Prayer is better placed at the celebrant’s chair. In the usus antiquior, the priest is always standing at the altar, and almost always praying! The silent prayers are neither private prayers nor mere time-fillers (i.e., horror vacui), but rather to make the altar a place of unceasing prayer.

Once this point has been acknowledged, the implication is that the priest at the altar takes on a different attitude, or mindset, than he has anywhere else. Here he stands, first and foremost, as one who prays. Christianity recognizes this distinctive prayer posture where the priest raises his hands, as well as his eyes. The raising of hands and eyes belongs, inseparably, to the gesture of early Christian prayer, just as Jesus himself practiced in the Jewish tradition. Standing in prayer is also part of this tradition, seen as a fundamental posture for one in prayer; on one’s knees praying, likewise, uses elevated hands and eyes, all dating back to early Christianity. Since the Middle Ages, this prayer posture, with hands and eyes raised, has faded somewhat from practice. Now, it is only the priest raising his hands (and eyes for only a few short moments) because he is reading prayers. He does look up, for instance, in the Roman canon at the time of the consecration while speaking the words: “et elevatis oculis in coelum”. Therefore, Jesus inaugurates the Eucharist “with eyes raised to heaven.”

Even in the ordo novus, the rubric at this point reads: “He (the priest) raises his eyes.” But where exactly is the priest supposed to be looking, at the church ceiling? So when the priest in reciting a prayer is required to look upward, rather than simply staring into space, the obvious focal point is a high-standing cross on the main altar. …

254 biskoper har feiret den tradisjonelle latinske messen siden pave Benedikts motu proprio om denne messen i 2007 skriver det tyske tidsskriftet Katolisches (jeg leste dette først i «Dantes nyheter»).

USA nar vel flest biskoper på listen, men også Frankrike, Italia og Storbritannia har en hel del. Den eneste biskopen fra Norden er biskop Kozon i København.

Jeg kaller det kontinuitet å feire den tradisjonelle messen, for ved å gjøre det understreker man at man i dag vil stå i og fortsette (continue) Kirkens tradisjon – også liturgisk.

Den svenske bloggen «Dantes nyheter» skriver om liturgien i Peterskirken, og viser bildene over, og også flere bilder:

Sedan 2005 har den påvliga liturgin undergått djupgående förändringar. Det börjar bli allt svårare att skilja vissa ceremonier från den traditionella liturgin. Under den påvliga julmässan hördes rentav det traditionella gradualet efter episteln! Nedan anförs förnyade bevis på samma utveckling. Frågan är vilka avtryck detta får utanför Rom. …

Bilden är från Trettondagens påvliga högmässa i Peterskyrkan, då två biskopar konsekrerades. (Och detta är inget isolerat, tvärtom.) Genast slås man av den traditionella inramningen. Men det finns mer, betydligt mer. Mässhakarna är romerska. Biskoparna vigs iförda de tunna biskopliga tunicellae (tunnare utförande av dalmatika och tunika) som förknippas med den traditionelle romerske prelaten och som symboliserar prästämbetets fullhet (dalmatikan och tunikan är diakonens respektive subdiakonens särskilda liturgiska plagg). Alborna är traditionella.

Fler bilder från samma tillfälle (hög romersk mitra, traditionell påvlig herdestav, påvlig romersk mässhake, återinförd påvlig tron, ministranten ligger på knä framför påven, ceremonimästare i traditionell romersk cotta i linne). Kontinuitet är Benedictus XVI:s ledord. I detta borde den helige Fadern ha varje katoliks stöd.

Deus, judicium tuum regi da: et justitiam tuam Filio regis. – Se, Herskeren kommer, Herren, og i hans hånd er kongemakt, kraft og velde. Gud, gi Kongen din domsmakt og din rettferd til Kongssønnen.

Over ser vi inngangsverset til epifanifesten (i den tradisjonelle messen) og under et bilde som illustrerer det som skjer.

Og her er noen av lesningene i dagens Matutin:

Reading 4
From the Sermons of Pope St Leo (the Great), 2nd for Twelfth-Day.
Dearly beloved brethren, rejoice in the Lord; again I say, rejoice. But a few days are past since the solemnity of Christ’s Birth, and now the glorious light of His Manifestation is breaking upon us. On that day the Virgin brought Him forth, and on this the world knew Him. The Word made Flesh was pleased to reveal Himself by degrees to those for whom He had come. When Jesus was born He was manifested indeed to the believing, but hidden from His enemies. Already indeed the heavens declared the glory of God, and their sound went out into all lands, when the Herald Angels appeared to tell to the shepherds the glad tidings of a Saviour’s Birth; and now the guiding star leadeth the wise men to worship Him, that from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof, the Birth of the true King may be known abroad; that through those wise men the kingdoms of the east might learn the great truth, and the Roman empire remain no more in darkness.

Reading 5
The very cruelty of Herod, when he strove to crush at His birth this King Whom he alone feared, was made a blind means to carry out this dispensation of mercy. While the tyrant with horrid guilt sought to slay the little Child he did not know, amid an indiscriminate slaughter of innocents, his infamous act served to spread wider abroad the heaven-told news of the Birth of the Lord. Thus were these glad tidings loudly proclaimed, both by the novelty of their story, and the iniquity of their enemies. Then was the Saviour borne into Egypt, that nation, of a long time hardened in idolatry, might by the mysterious virtue which went out of Him, even when His presence was unknown, be prepared for the saving light so soon to dawn on them, and might receive the Truth as a wanderer even before they had banished falsehood.

Reading 6
Dearly beloved brethren, we recognise in the wise men who came to worship Christ, the first-fruits of that dispensation to the Gentiles wherein we also are called and enlightened. Let us then keep this Feast with grateful hearts, in thanksgiving for our blessed hope, whereof it doth commemorate the dawn. From that worship paid to the new-born Christ is to be dated the entry of us Gentiles upon our heirship of God and co-heirship with Christ. Since that joyful day the Scriptures which testify of Christ have lain open for us as well as for the Jews. Yea, their blindness rejected that Truth, Which, since that day, hath shed Its bright beams upon all nations. Let all observance, then, be paid to this most sacred day, whereon the Author of our salvation was made manifest, and as the wise men fell down and worshipped Him in the manger, so let us fall down and worship Him enthroned Almighty in heaven. As they also opened their treasures and presented unto Him mystic and symbolic gifts, so let us strive to open our hearts to Him, and offer Him from thence some worthy offering.

Slik var antifonen til Magnificat i dag (i de tradisjonelle tidebønnene) på festen for Jesu allerhelligste navn. (Du skal gi ham navnet Jesus, for han skal frelse sitt folk fra deres synder, alleluja.)

På katolsk.no kan vi lese om hvorfor dagen feires i den tradisjonelle klenderen i dag, men ikke i den nye (der den nå igjen kan feires, 3. januar):

… Flere ordener og bispedømmer hadde fester for Jesu hellige Navn i sine kalendere, først feiret i noen bispedømmer i Tyskland, Skottland, England, Spania og Belgia. Men det var ikke før i 1721, på anmodning fra keiser Karl VI (1711-40) at pave Innocent XIII (1721-24) utvidet festen til hele Kirken og fastsatte dagen til Andre søndag etter Epifani. I 1913 forandret den hellige pave Pius X (1903-14) dette til den søndagen som faller mellom 2. og 5. januar, eller den 2. januar, dersom det ikke falt noen søndag mellom de to datoene. På denne datoen ble dagen feiret som fest frem til kalenderrevisjonen i 1969, da den falt helt bort, selv om også den etter-konsiliære messeboken inneholder en votivmesse for Jesu hellige Navn.

Da den tredje reviderte utgaven av det romerske missale (Editio Typica tertia) ble utgitt i mars 2002, var imidlertid dagen kommet tilbake, nå som en valgfri minnedag den 3. januar.

Den liturgiske feiringen av 1. januar er blitt forandret en del (fra den gamle til den nye kalenderen); i den tradisjonelle kalenderen er det julens oktav som avsluttes (som vist i lesning 4, 5 og 6 til Matutin – se under) og det er Jesu navnedag/ omskjærelsesdag (i lesning 7, 8 og 9 til Matutin):

Reading 4
From the Sermons of Pope St Leo the Great. 7th for Christmas
Dearly beloved brethren, whosoever will keep truly and honour piously this day’s festival, it is necessary for him neither to think falsely of the Lord’s Incarnation, nor meanly of the Lord’s Godhead. For as there is danger, on the one hand, of denying the truth of Christ’s participation of our nature, so is there no less danger, on the other, of doing despite to the equality of His glory with the glory of the Father. Wherefore, when we draw near to understand the mystery of Christ’s Birth, wherein He was born of the Virgin Mary, we must leave the clouds of earthly imagination behind and pierce the fog of human wisdom with the eye of enlightened faith.

Reading 5
The authority on which we believe is the authority of God Himself; the teaching which we follow is the teaching of God Himself. Wherefore whether we lend the ear of our mind to the testimony of the Law, or to the revelations of the Prophets, or to the full pealing of the Gospel trumpet, that is true, which John the Son of Thunder, uttered, when he was filled with the Holy Ghost, and said In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made. True also is his witness when he saith The Word was made Flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father. John i. 1-3, 14.

Reading 6
The Person of the Son of God therefore remaineth unchanged and one, though He have two natures, keeping His own, and taking ours. He appeareth as man to be the restorer of men, but abideth all the while in His immutable Godhead. That Godhead which He shareth with the Father was not a whit the less Almighty, nor did the form of a servant touch the form of God to derogate from it. The Most High and Everlasting Being, bending down for man’s salvation, took the Manhood into His glory; He ceased not to be That which He is from everlasting. Hence we see the Only-begotten Son of God in one place confessing that the Father is greater than He, John xiv. 28, and in another declaring that He and the Father are One, x. 30. This is an evident proof of the distinction of His two natures, and the unity of His Person; for He is inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood, and yet equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and yet, though He be God and Man, He is not two, but One Christ.

Under Una Voces generalfrorsamking i Roma i noevember i år ble det holdt flere foredrag, som nå offentliggjøres på NML-bloggen. Det andre av disse foredragene jeg vil nevne er Don Giuseppe Vallauris gjennomgang av prestens stille ønner i messen. Han tar ikke her opp Canon som tradisjonelt sies stille, men de mange stille bønner som presten sier gjennom hele messen. Han sier om disse bl.a.:

… The priest at Mass acts “in persona Christi capitis”, he embodies, he represents Christ and therefore, all his actions, even the most insignificant ones, like climbing the steps, have a meaning, a sacred meaning. These prayers are not as ancient as the Roman Canon, and it can easily be surmised that in the course of time the priest and or the Church felt the need to fill in the gaps, so to speak, and be reminded of his unique role, at every moment of the Mass. …

… The first characteristic of these prayers is humility. It is a recurring idea throughout the Mass, from the prayers at the foot of the altar to the last, inaudible prayer, Placeat tibi, Sancta Trinitas. …

… I said above, that the priest at Mass, but not only at Mass of course, acts in “persona Christi” and precisely for this reason he feels unworthy. It is as if he constantly needed to remind himself of his unworthiness for such a sublime role. A similar attitude is expressed by the kissing of the altar, which he does several times. Not only at the beginning, before the Introit, and twice during the Canon, but also every time he turns towards the people, he kisses the altar beforehand. Each time, he wants to be united with Christ, represented by the altar, he needs to be empowered by Christ himself, so that he can really re-present Him.

The first silent prayer, after the prayers at the foot of the altar, which, in the solemn Mass at least, are said by the sacred ministers alone, is Aufer a nobis. This is one of the most beautiful moments. The priest approaches the altar, the place of sacrifice and, realizing he is unworthy of such a task, prays that he may be purified. Humility leads to the request for purification. The altar already is the Holy of Holies, having been consecrated, set aside for the offering of the sacrifice. Who could approach it without fear? He prays Aufer a nobis, using the plural, because he prays in the name of the sacred ministers. As Dom Gueranger says: “The closer we are to God, the more we feel that even the slightest blemish on the soul is an obstacle to be removed. Already he has prayed: Deus, tu conversus, vivificabis nos. But since he is getting near to God, he asks again that his sins may be removed. …

… The silent prayers of the priest at Mass, open for him a true sense of awe and amazement as he performs his holy duty. “This amazement should always fill the Church assembled for the celebration of the Eucharist. But in a special way it should fill the minister of the Eucharist.” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 5).

Alle disse stille bønnene finner man her – på latin og norsk.