Liturgi

Aktiv deltakelse i messen, holde hender etc.

Liturgi /


En biskop i USA har utgitt liturgiske regler for sitt bispedømme (se her – pdf-fil), og bl.a. skrevet at man ikke skal holde hverandre i hendene under Fader vår. Noen syns (se her) at dette var forferdelig dumt sagt, og Father Z. kommenterer det hele på denne måten:

Correctly understood, the “full, conscious and active participation” desired by the Council Fathers is rooted in our baptismal character, which makes it possible to receive graces and the other six sacraments. “Active participation” is first and foremost an interiorly active receptivity to all that God is offering. This interiorly active receptivity requires the person to make acts of will to stay focused and attentive to the mysteries of the sacred action. This interior receptivity at times manifests itself outwardly in physical expression, especially in the words people speak as responses, prescribed prayers recited in common during the liturgical action, certain gestures such as kneeling or standing of making the sign of the Cross, and at times walking in procession, as in the case of going forward to receive Holy Communion. In fact, reception of Holy Communion by a baptized person in the state of grace is the most perfect form of “full, conscious and active participation”, for its is the perfect harmony of the interior and the exterior of the person’s active receptivity.

On the other hand, some people – liberal liturgists for example – think that active participation means doing things, such as carrying stuff, clapping, singing every word of everything that could be sung, moving about, etc. They are abetted by clerics who think they are “empowering the laity” and helping their “active participation” by surrendering their own proper roles as clerics to any number of lay people. Liberal liturgists talk of baptism as the foundation of “active participation”. They see baptism as conferring rights, especially the right to do things during the liturgical action. …

… A good example of this liturgy rights activism popped up on the site of the extremely liberal US cATHOLIC, penned by their perennially wrong Bryan Cones. They are staging a nutty over there about the liturgical law issued by His Excellency Most Rev. Roger Foys for the Diocese Covington. Among the issues addressed by the bishop is the liturgically bizarre and often liturgically abusive aberration of prompting people to hold hands and wave their arms around during the Our Father of Holy Mass.

3. desember: Den hellige Frans Xaver (1506-1552)

Katolsk, Liturgi /

I dag feirer Kirken (det noen mener er) den største misjonæren etter apostelen Paulus, den hellige Frans Xaver (el. Xavier, Xaverius). Jeg kjenner svært godt til ham, etter mine mange år hos Fransickus Xaverius-søstrene i Bergen. Slik leste jeg i dag i matutins 3. lesning:

Francis was born of noble family at Xavier in the diocese of Pamplona. In Paris, he joined the companions and disciples of St. Ignatius, and in a short time became a shining example of austerity of life and untiring contemplation of divine things. Paul III made him apostolic nuncio to India, and he traveled about through countless provinces, always on foot and often barefoot. He brought the faith to Japan and six other regions. In India he converted many hundreds of thousands to Christianity, cleansing many princes and kings in the holy waters of baptism. His humility was so great that, when he wrote to St. Ignatius, his general, he always did so on his knees. By many and wonderful miracles, the Lord confirmed his zealous work in spreading the Gospel. Finally, on the Chinese island of Sancian, he died on the 2nd of December, rich in merits and worn out with his labors. Gregory XV enrolled him among the Saints, and Pius X, appointed him the heavenly patron of the Society of the Propagation of the Faith and of its work.

Katolsk.no har en grundig artikkel om ham.

30. november: Den hellige Andreas

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Slik leste jeg i dag til Matutin om den hellige Andreas (i lesning 4, 5 og 6):

The Apostle Andrew was born at Bethsaida, a town of Galilee, and was the brother of Peter. He was a disciple of John the Baptist, and heard him say of Christ, Behold the Lamb of God, John i. 35-37, 40, whereupon he immediately followed Jesus, bringing his brother also with him. Some while after, they were both fishing in the Sea of Galilee, and the Lord Christ, going by, called them both, before any other of the Apostles, in the words, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. They made no delay, but left their nets, and followed Him. Matth. iv. 18-20. After the death and Resurrection of Christ, Andrew was allotted Scythia as the province of his preaching, and, after labouring there, he went through Epirus and Thrace, where he turned vast multitudes to Christ by his teaching and miracles. Finally he went to Patras in Achaia, and there also he brought many to the knowledge of Gospel truth. Aegeas the Pro-consul resisted the preaching of the Gospel, and the Apostle freely rebuked him, bidding him know that while he held himself a judge of his fellow men, he was himself hindered by devils from knowing Christ our God, the Judge of all.

Then Egeas, being angry, answered him, Boast no more of this thy Christ. He spake words even such as thine, but they availed Him not, and He was crucified by the Jews. Whereto Andrew boldly answered that Christ had given Himself up to die for man’s salvation; but the Pro-consul blasphemously interrupted him, and bade him look to himself, and sacrifice to the gods. Then said Andrew, We have an altar, whereon day by day I offer up to God, the Almighty, the One, and the True, not the flesh of bulls nor the blood of goats, but a Lamb without spot and when all they that believe have eaten of the Flesh Thereof, the Lamb That was slain abideth whole and liveth. Then Aegeas being filled with wrath, bound the Apostle in prison. Now, the people would have delivered him, but he himself calmed the multitude, and earnestly besought them not to take away from him the crown of martyrdom, for which he longed and which was now drawing near.

Come short while after, he was brought before the judgment-seat, where he extolled the mystery of the cross, and rebuked Aegeas for his ungodliness. Then Aegeas could bear with him no longer, but commanded him to be crucified, in imitation of Christ. Andrew, then, was led to the place of martyrdom, and, as soon as he came in sight of the cross, he cried out, O precious cross, which the Members of my Lord have made so goodly, how long have I desired thee! how warmly have I loved thee! how constantly have I sought thee! And, now that thou art come to me, how is my soul drawn to thee! Welcome me from among men, and join me again to my Master, that as by thee He redeemed me, so by thee also He may take me unto Himself. So he was fastened to the cross, whereon he hung living for two days, during which time he ceased not to preach the faith of Christ, and, finally, passed into the Presence of Him the likeness of Whose death he had loved so well. All the above particulars of his last sufferings were written by the Priests and Deacons of Achaia, who bear witness to them of their own knowledge. Under the Emperor Constantine the bones of the Apostle were first taken to Constantinople, whence they were afterwards brought to Amalfi. In the Pontificate of Pope Pius II his head was carried to Rome, where it is kept in the Basilica of St Peter.

Katolsk.no har en grundig artikkel om den hellige Andreas.

Den tradisjonelle messen vil kunne forandre den nye

Liturgi /


Den amerikanske kardinalen Raymond Burke sier i et intervju at den tradisjonelle messen blir brukt stadig mer (og blir gradvis mer akseptert), at den kan berike måten vi feirer den nye messen på, og at man om ikke så veldig lenge vil kunne forandre den nye messen i retning av den gamle:

… Many congregations lost their “fundamental sense that the liturgy is Jesus Christ himself acting, God himself acting in our midst to sanctify us.”

Cardinal Burke said greater access to the traditional Latin Mass, now known as the “extraordinary form” of the Roman rite, has helped to correct the problem.

“The celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form is now less and less contested,” he noted, “and people are seeing the great beauty of the rite as it was celebrated practically since the time of Pope Gregory the Great” in the sixth century.

Many Catholics now see that the Church’s “ordinary form” of Mass, celebrated in modern languages, “could be enriched by elements of that long tradition.”

In time, Cardinal Burke expects the Western Church’s ancient and modern forms of Mass to be combined in one normative rite, a move he suggests the Pope also favors.

“It seems, to me, that what he has in mind is that this mutual enrichment would seem to naturally produce a new form of the Roman rite — the ‘reform of the reform,’ if we may — all of which I would welcome and look forward to its advent.”

Språket er på plass – musikken er det neste på listen

Liturgi /

Jeffrey Tucker skriver på NLM-bloggen at nå som (det engelske) språket i messen endelig er på plass (og den gamle, banale oversettelsen er borte), kan man begynne å arbeide med pkunkt to, som er musikken:

We’ve sailed through the most substantial changed in the Catholic Mass in 40 years, and finally corrected a very flawed problem at the core of the experience of Mass goers, one that destabilized several generations of the faithful and created a massive disconnect between our practice and our tradition. At last we have a translation that is faithful to the Latin original, theologically serious, and aesthetically liturgical.

To those who have despaired that nothing will ever improve, those who have believed decline is somehow written into the fabric of our times, take notice: a dramatic improvement has in fact happened, seemingly against all odds. Authentic progress is possible with work and prayer!

With the basic structure in place – what can you do so long as the language of the liturgy is not right? – the question arises concerning the next step. What is stage two of the reform? The music issue is most certainly next on the list. Aside from the text, this is the issue that deals most substantially with the core of what we experience at liturgy. The core question is whether the music at liturgy is there to provide popular entertainment and inspiration or whether it is there to honor God by giving a beautiful and solemn voice to the liturgical texts themselves. …

Forvirret NTB-artikkel om den nye engelske oversettelsen av messen

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Noe er korrekt i NTB-artikkelen under (som jeg leste i Dagen), for den nye engelske oversettelsen av messen ble tatt i bruk sist søndag. Men liturgien er jo ikke ny, og selvsagt har ikke ulike kirkesamfunn samarbeidet om dette, det har derimot (de katolske) biskopene i alle land der engelsk er hovedspråk for liturgien.

Katolsk liturgi endret for første gang på 40 år

Messens liturgi, tekstene i den romersk-katolske seremonien, er blitt endret i den engelsktalende verden for å tilfredsstille Vatikanets ønske om en mer spirituell og tradisjonell tone.

I St. Monicas kirke i New York hadde katolikker søndag vanskeligheter for å venne seg til de språklige endringene, som ble gitt ut i form av et hefte.
I flere tiår har menigheten svart «Og med deg» når presten har sagt «Må herren være med deg». Nå skal de isteden si «Og med din ånd».

Enda vanskeligere skal det imidlertid være for prestene, ifølge nyhetsbyrået AFP. Etter å ha lært seg teksten utenat og fremført den likt i flere år, sa prestene til AFP at det kom til å ta tid å finne rytmen i den nye teksten.

Endringene er resultatet av et samarbeid mellom flere kirkesamfunn fra USA, Europa, Asia og Afrika.

1. søndag i advent: Ad te levavi animam meam

Liturgi, TLM /

Advent – 1st Sunday: Introit from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.

Slik åpner dagens messer:

(Salme 24, 1-3) Til deg løfter jeg min sjel. Min Gud, til deg setter jeg min lit og skal ikke rødme av skam. La ikke mine fiender spotte meg; for ingen av dem som venter på deg, blir til skamme. (Salme 24,4) Vis meg dine veier, Herre, og lær meg å kjenne dine stier. Ære være Faderen og Sønnen og den Hellige Ånd, som det var i opphavet, så nå og alltid og i all evighet. Amen. Til deg løfter jeg min sjel …

Det gjelder både den tradisjonelle messen (SE HER) og den nye messen (SE HER) – i sistnevnte synges vanligvis ikke verset (v 4).

En ødelagt kirke

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Jeg trodde de verste ødeleggelsene av katolske kirker var over tdilig på 80-tallet, og at man flere steder nå er i ferd med å få tilbake den gamle prakten, men via Rorate Cæli har jeg nå sett følgende bilder fra kreuz.net. Bildene under viser en augustienrkirke i Würzburg i Bayern – før 1940, fra 70-tallet og i 2011.

Reform av reformen – gammelt nytt

Katolsk, Liturgi, Paven /

Jeg har en rss-feed for nye sider på katolsk.no, og ble overrasket (positivt) da det i går dukket opp et innlegg med overskrifta: Nødvendig med «reform av liturgireformen». Da jeg så grundigere på innlegget, så jeg at det var fra januar 2010, men hadde blitt oppdatert i går. Men det var godt skrevet, og jeg tar med litt av det:

Uttalelsen kommer i forbindelse med en prestekonferanse i anledning det pågående presteåret, som har blitt avholdt i Roma denne uken. … .Den pavelige seremonimester Msgr. Guido Marini, oppfordret i en tale den 6. januar til en «reform av liturgireformen». I sin adresse til forsamlingen, sa Marini at en fornyelse av liturgien må reflektere «Kirkens ubrutte tradisjon», og inkorporere Det annet vatikankonsils forslag i den tradisjonen.

Konsilets reformer må forstås som en fortsettelse og videreføring av tidligere århundrers tradisjoner, sa Guido Marini: «Den eneste anvendelse som gir oss anledning til å nå liturgiens autentiske ånd, er å betrakte både den nåværende og tidligere Kirkens liturgi som en arv i konstant utvikling».

Msgr. Marini beklaget samtidig at behovet for en fornyelse er så åpenbar, gjennom det han mener er en omfattende misbruk av de liturgiske regler: «Det er ikke vanskelig å innse hvor langt unna noen adferdsmåter er fra liturgiens autentiske ånd. Vi prester er i stor grad ansvarlige for dette».

Italienske Marini siterte også den daværende kardinal Ratzinger, før sitt valg som Benedikt XVI, hvor han presiserer at liturgien er til for hele Kirken, og ikke må forandres på av enkeltprester. Samtidig kalte han presters manglende hensyn til liturgiske regler for «despotisk oppførsel», og presiserte at liturgien «ikke er gitt oss for at vi selv kan sette den under personlig fortolkning; i stedet er liturgien gitt oss til rådighet for alle, i går som i dag som i morgen».

… Den pavelige seremonimester uttalte at liturgien også er til for å fremme sakramentstilbedelse. Han påpekte at Benedikt XVI har innført praksisen med knelende munnkommunion ved pavemesser, som en måte å «synliggjøre den riktige holdning ved tilbedelse foran det store mysterium som er vår Herres nærvær i eukaristien».

Marini anerkjenner ønsket om aktiv deltagelse i liturgien, men fremhevde samtidig at legfolks deltagelse «ikke er en sann deltagelse hvis den ikke leder til tilbedelse av frelsens mysterium i Jesu Kristus, som for vår skyld døde og sto opp».

Talen har vakt oppsikt på katolske nettsteder, og støtter opp under de ryktene som over tid har versert vedrørende den såkalte «reform av reformen».

Jeg er selv en sterk tilhenger av en reform av liturgireformen, slik pave Benedikt og hans seremonimester snakker om og arbeider for. Jeg er ikke blant kritikerne av Vatikankonsilet, men jeg er svært opptatt av hvordan konsilet rett skal forstås. Jeg er samtidig kritisk til hvordan liturgireformen ble gjennomført årene etter konsilet, og håper at man snart kan reversere flere av forandringene som ikke har ført noe godt med seg. Til sist er jeg også klart for at den gamle liturgien også bør brukes (slik pave Benedikt har gitt tillatelse til); dette vil berike Kirken i stor grad, og det er helt unødvendig at noen ser kritisk på at den gamle messen feires regelmessig sammen med den nye (men det opplever man dessverre en del steder).

Slik kan (den nye) messen også feires

Liturgi /

Her er en flere uker gammel nyhet fra en ordinasjon og en messe feiret av erkebiskop Vincent Nichols i London. Jeg har selv vært i The London (el. Brompton) Oratory 3-4 ganger, men det er over ti år siden nå. Jeg leste om dette på NLM-bloggen, or der har de også følgende tekst (samt svært mange flotte bilder):

… our heartfelt congratulations to Fr. Edward van den Bergh, a priest of the London Oratory, who was ordained to the priesthood this past October 22nd by Archbishop Vincent Nichols.

The setting for the Mass was Lassus’ Missa Bell’ Amfitrit’ altera. The pictures provide not only a view of this splendid and joyous occasion, but will also provide our readers generally with yet another view of the London Oratory and its well-merited reputation for liturgical excellence. Do enjoy and once again, congratulations to Fr. Edward and the London Oratory.

S. Clemens: Suscipe Pater spiritum meum!

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Cum iter ad mare cepisset, populus voce magna clamabat: Domine Iesu Christe, salva illum: et Clemens cum lacrimis dicebat: Suscipe Pater spiritum meum. – Da han begynte å bevege seg mot sjøen. ropte folket ut med hly stemme: Å, Herre Jesus Kristus, frels ham! Og Klmens gråt og sa: Far, ta imot min ånd!

Slik var antifonen til dagens laudes, og til matutin kunne vi lese:

Clemens a Roman and disciple of blessed Peter, assigned each of the seven districts of the City to a notary who was to investigate carefully the sufferings of the Martyrs and their deeds and to write them down. He himself wrote a great deal to explain the Christian religion rightly for the salvation of others, Because he was converting many to the faith of Christ by his teaching, and the holiness of his life, he was exiled by the emperor Trajan to the wilderness near the city of Cherson across the Black Sea. There he found two thousand Christians who had been similarly condemned by the emperor. When he had converted many nonbelievers in that region to the faith of Christ, at the command of the same emperor he was cast into the sea with an anchor tied to his neck, and won the crown of martyrdom. His body was later brought to Rome by Pope Nicholas I and honorably buried in the Church which had already been dedicated to him.

Katolsk.no skriver også om den hellige Klemens.

Mer om den hellige Cecilia

Katolsk, Liturgi /

After Niccolò Circignani called «Il Pomarancio» (c. 1517/1524 – after 1596)
Print made by Monogrammist MP (16th C. late – 17th C. early; fl)
Church martyrs, with in the foreground St Cecilia standing in a cauldron of boiling water.
After the fresco executed in San Stefano Rotondo by Niccolò Circignani
Engraving
268 millimetres x 171 millimetres
The British Museum, London

Jeg fant bildet over og følgende informasjon HER:

Nicola Circignani’s cycle of the early Christian martyrs (1582) in the ambulatory of the Jesuit church of San Stefano Rotondo was one of the most celebrated of the numerous martyrdom cycles in Rome during the last twenty years of the sixteenth century. It consisted of thirty-one frescoes each depicting a scene of horrendous martyrdom within the early Church

The cycles were part of the Catholic response to the Protestant martyrologies such as John Foxe’s Acts and Monuments

One of the main themes of the Pontificate of Gregory XIII (1572-1585) was an Early Christian revival which took shape in Rome. Early Christendom was referred to as a Golden Age in the history of the Church. …

… In the cycle (of saints), the figure of St Cecilia was one of the major scenes. She died about AD 230 with her husband Valerian, his brother Tiburtius, and a Roman soldier Maximus. She was already a popular Roman saint.

But it was only in 1594 that she was officially made the Patron Saint of Music – again by decree of Gregory XIII, a patronage which give a boost to her cult.

22. november: Den hellige Cecilia

Liturgi /

Slik leste jeg i dag til matutin (i de tradisjonelle tidebønnene):

Cecilia a Roman virgin of noble birth vowed her virginity to God at a very early age. Unwillingly given in marriage to Valerian, she persuaded him to leave her untouched and go to blessed Urban. the Pope, that when he had been baptized he might be worthy to see Cecilia’s angelic protector. When Valerian had obtained this favor, he converted his brother Tiburtius to Christ, and a little later both were martyred under the prefect Almachius.

But Cecilia was seized by the same prefect because she had distributed the two brothers’ wealth to the poor, and orders were given to have her suffocated in a bath. When the heat dared not harm her. she was struck three times with an axe and left half dead. After three days she received the palm of virginity and of martyrdom, and was buried in the cemetery of Callistus. Her body and those of Popes Urban and Lucius, and of Tiburtins, Valerian and Maximus were transferred by Pope Paschal I to a church in the City dedicated to St. Cecilia.

Katolsk.no skriver også grundig om den hellige Cecilia.

Den hellige Elisabeth av Ungarn (1207-1231)

Liturgi /

Slik leser vi i dag til Mqatutin (i den tradisjonelle kalenderen):

From her childhood Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew, king of Hungary, began to fear God; and she grew in holiness as she grew in age. When she was married to Ludwig, Landgrave of Hesse and Thuringia, she devoted herself no less to the service of God than to the welfare of her husband. She was constant in prayer and in the works of mercy, zealously serving widows, orphans, the sick and the needy, for whom she built a fine hospital. When her husband died, she put on a coarse garment and, in order to serve God more freely, entered the Order of Penitents of St. Francis, where she shone most especially with the virtues of patience and humility. These virtues she showed when she was despoiled of her possessions, driven from her home and abandoned by all. With unconquered spirit she endured insults, derision and detractions, even rejoicing greatly that she could suffer such things for God. Having passed her life most religiously in holy works, she fell asleep in the Lord. Famous for miracles, she was enrolled among the Saints by Gregory IX.

Noen stusser nok over datoen, siden mange feiret Elisabeth for to dager siden. På katolske.no forklares dette på slutten av en grundig artikkel om den hellige Elisabeth av Ungarn:

… Elisabeth av Ungarn (av Thüringen) har alltid vært en av de mest elskede helgener i Tyskland. Med henne som forbilde driver St. Elisabeth-søstrene stadig sitt arbeid for fattige og syke, og de har vært og er representert flere steder i Norge. Kongregasjonen ble stiftet i 1842 i Neisse i Schlesien, den fikk sin kirkelige godkjennelse i 1859. I 1986 hadde kongregasjonen ca 3.000 søstre som arbeidet i Afrika, Italia, Jerusalem, Polen, Tyskland og Skandinavia, og deres virkefelt omfatter alle former for sosial omsorg. Siden 1200-tallet har hun vært skytshelgen for fransiskanertertiarer, sammen med den hellige Ludvig IX.

Helt fra sin død ble Elisabeth populær blant kunstnere. Hun avbildes enten som grevinne med krone eller som fransiskanertertiar mens hun hjelper nødstilte. Ofte har hun roser i fanget.

Elisabeths minnedag ble innskrevet i den romerske kalender i 1474. Tidligere ble hun minnet den 19. november, begravelsesdagen. Hennes minnedag er nå dødsdagen 17. november. I Tyskland minnes hun fortsatt 19. november. I tillegg til i fransiskanerordenen æres hun også høyt i dominikanerordenen (siden 1244) og i cistercienserordenen (siden 1236).

Tre kommunionsandakter

Katolsk, Liturgi, TLM /

Slik er den første av tre kommunionsandakter foreslått for katolske barn i BRANAS BØNNEBOK fra 1958:

Før den hellige kommunion.
Jesus, min Frelser, jeg skal nå ha den lykke å motta deg. Den lille hvite hostie, det er deg, min Gud. Du gjør deg sa liten for å gi deg selv til meg. Jeg tilber deg og jeg elsker deg.
Kjære Jesus, da du var et barn, var du lydig mot Maria og Josef av kjærlighet til meg. Jeg ber deg om tilgivelse fordi jeg har vært ulydig.
Kjære Jesus, av kjærlighet til meg har du alltid vært mild og tålmodig. Jeg ber deg om tilgivelse fordi jeg ikke alltid har vært god mot andre.
Kjære Jesus, av kjærlighet til meg har du vært flittig og arbeidsom. Jeg ber deg om tilgivelse fordi jeg har vært doven.
Kjære Jesus, hvor andektig du har bedt! Tilgi meg at jeg har bedt dårlig og ofte helt har glemt å be.
Kjære Jesus, hvor meget du må elske meg, siden du har villet lide og dø for meg. Jeg har gjort deg vondt ved mine synder. Tilgi meg. Jeg vil ikke bedrøve deg mer.
Kjære, gode Jesus, kom til meg!

Etter den hellige kommunion.
Jesus, min Frelser, hvor god du er! Du er kommet til meg. Jeg tror fast at du er i meg like så virkelig som du er i himmelen. Kjære Jesus, jeg ber deg, gå aldri bort fra min sjel. Bli alltid hos meg ved din nåde.
Kjære Jesus, du har gitt meg far og mor. Velsign og bevar dem. Velsign mine søsken, gjør at de elsker deg av hele sitt hjerte.
Kjære Jesus, der fins slemme mennesker som bedrøver deg og gjør store synder. Du har tilgitt dem på korset, tilgi dem ennå. Gi dem anger og gjør at de også elsker deg.
Kjære Jesus, der fins tusener av barn i hedningelandene som ikke er døpt. De kjenner deg ikke, de elsker deg ikke, de har ikke den lykke å motta deg. Miskunn deg over dem. Send misjonærer til dem for å fortelle dem om deg, for å døpe dem og la dem få motta sin første hellige kommunion.
Gode Jesus, i skjærsilden er det sjeler som lider meget før de kan komme i himmelen. Hjelp dem, ta dem snart opp i himmelen, for at de kan lovprise deg,
Gode Jesus, jeg takker deg fordi du er kommet til meg. Hjelp meg til alltid å være from og god. Jeg elsker deg.
Jesu hellige Hjerte, jeg vier meg til deg for bestandig.
Hellige Jomfru Maria, min gode Mor, du som elsker Jesus så meget, gjør at jeg elsker Ham mer og mer. Amen.

Les alle disse kommunionsandaktene.

Tredje hoveddel av «The Mass and Modernity»: Fem punkter

Liturgi, Teologi /

I går presenterte jeg innledning til tredje hoveddel av boka «The Mass and Modernity», og Fr. Jonathan Robinson fortsetter med å liste opp de neste fem og avsluttende kapitlene:

But what are we going to learn from the present liturgical wilderness and from the forces that have created it? Modernity has left little room for a Catholicism that revolves around the transcendence of God the Father, of the particularity of the revelation of God the Son, and the community as, in itself, a sort of eighth sacrament of the abiding presence of God the Holy Spirit working among us. As a result of these attitudes, the liturgy has been badly damaged, but that is not to say it has been destroyed. The Church has taken a wrong turning in her efforts to reach the world we live in, but the effort itself is in line with the Church’s mission to bring the mercy of Christ to a fallen, poor, and broken world. The various influences that have helped to distort the liturgy also have within them the themes for a genuine renewal of the sacramental life. ….

In the first chapter of this part, I discuss the meaning of the Paschal Mystery, that is, the mystery of Christ’s passion and death, his Resurrection and Ascension. The mystery really is of central importance and in practice has been much invoked by thinkers in today’s Church. Unhappily, the expression has come to be used in such an extended way that all too often one or other of its aspects is emphasized to the detriment of the mystery itself, the most egregious example of this is to identify the mystery with the Resurrection in a way that obscures its essential relationship to the passion and death as well as to the Ascension of am Lord.

In the second chapter I maintain that a renewed awareness of the transcendence of God will go a long way toward reestablishing that awe, beauty, and reverence which should characterize Catholic worship. At the same time, I also show that a heightened awareness of the otherness of God will come about only with a deeper grasp of the particular, historical character of Christ’s life and teaching.

In the third chapter I point out that there must be an altogether more serious and lucid penetration of the supernatural aspect of the Christian community. There is no word that has been more abused in the years since Vatican H, yet there are few words more important for an understanding of the liturgy. Awe and reverence have to manifest themselves; they have to be put into act; and this is done through the liturgy of the Church, the Church that is, in St. Paul’s teaching, the Body of Christ.

In the fourth chapter, I discuss the importance of the Old Rite of Mass for a renewed liturgy. The Tridentine Mass, or whatever it should be called, at least pointed toward God even when it was badly celebrated. This is not to say that the solution to our troubles is a wholesale return to this way of celebrating, but we must at least try to see what it possessed and what the Novus Ordo (the new rite of the Mass approved by Pope Paul VI) in practice puts in its place. What the Old Rite possessed was a clear lesson in the transcendence of God; while the way the Novus Ordo is often celebrated puts the community in the place of this reference to God.

In the fifth chapter I put forward some practical suggestions that, I think, would go a long way toward reestablishing the liturgy as the worship of God, a worship that is offered by the Mystical Body of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. These suggestions we probably little more than a «wish list», but they are seriously meant. On the other hand, while I think the liturgy should support or firm up the teaching of the Church,» it cannot by itself repair the present situation. Nevertheless, a restored liturgy would be a powerful force in a genuine renewal of the Church.

Uenighet i Sverige mht bruk av ny svensk bibeloversettelse i katolsk liturgi

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Jeg har nylig – først HER og senere HER – lest om en uenighet i Sverige når Den katolske Kirke ønsker å gjøre en hel del forandringer i den nye svenske bibeloversettelsen før de bruker den i den katolske messen – til tidebønnene ga de i 2008 opp ønsket om å bruke denne oversettelsen av salmene. Den svenske bibelselskapet ønsker ikke bare å få vite om alle forandringene (f.eks. fra «ble menneske» til «ble kjøtt»), men de krever også en begrunnelse for hver av dem – og så vil de visst vurdere hvilke forandringer de kan godta. Fra Bengts blogg (lenke over, med flere lenker til debatt i svenske Dagen):

Det har uppkommit diskussion kring upphovsrätten till Bibel 2000. Anders Piltz ger en bakgrund i en artikel i Dagen 2011-11-09 och skriver att «det är vår förhoppning att det ännu ska vara möjligt att komma överens i denna fråga». Det handlar om diskussion mellan Katolska kyrkan som i enlighet med för Katolska kyrkan i världen gemensamma riktlinjer vill göra vissa förändringar för liturgiskt bruk och Svenska Bibelsällskapet/Bibelfonden som har uppdrag att förvalta upphovsrättsfrågorna för Bibel 2000.

Så vidt jeg vet, tenker Den katolske Kirke i Norge på noe lignende (?), i alle fall på litt sikt, og noen i vårt bispedømme vurderer den nyeste norske bibeloversettelsen ganske grundig.

Tredje hoveddel av «The Mass and Modernity»: Lammets store fest

Liturgi, Teologi /

At the Lamb’s high feast we sing, Praise to our victorious King,
Who hath washed us in the tide, Flowing from his pierced side;
Praise we Him, whose love divine, Gives His sacred blood for wine,
Gives His body for the feast, Christ the Victim, Christ the Priest.

Slik starter tredje hoveddel av boka «The Mass and Modernity» som jeg nevnte for noen dager siden, og fortsettelsen er slik:

The Church at her deepest, truest level is the living presence of Christ working among us, and in us, through his sacraments. Christ came to share in our humanity so that every one of us could become partakers of his divinity. We are presented with this truth every time we go to Mass and the priest says at the offertory: «By the mystery of this water and wine may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our Immunity.»‘ We may not always sense his presence; there will be times of obscurity and darkness; but in a faithful and serious sacramental life, we know that God is gradually remaking us into the image of his beloved Son. And, just as the Father was well pleased with the Son, so he will be well pleased with us – if we remain in the Son.

In harmony with this understanding of the Church and sacraments, we have already noted that Vatican II taught that the liturgy is the summit of all the Church’s activities and the source from which all her power flows and that, in the liturgy, «the work of our redemption is accomplished.» The Catechism of the Catholic Church takes up this theme and quotes Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, saying that the liturgy gives to the faithful the power to bring home to themselves and to others «the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church». ….

… Liturgy matters, then, because one of its main purposes is to point the worshipper toward the truth; to remind him that he must go beyond himself and his community to the God who is, who was, and who is to come. The liturgy should teach and help the worshipper to experience in a deep way that is more than verbal that his need for goodness, for truth, for beauty, and for love we grounded in the reality of God.

But the seeds of a genuine renewal «fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them» (Mt 13:7). The modem world has been increasingly dominated by the theory and the practice of secularism. And then, too, the flavor of postmodernism is everywhere. ….

There are different strands that have contributed to this condition. Many of these strands that we have dealt with, such as the Enlightenment with its concern for justice, human rights, and due process, or again, the «rise of modem science», with its applications in health and technology, or the Romantic Movement with its historical, communitarian, and imaginative concerns, have persuasive and desirable elements, and I have been at pains to underline this side of the matter. Nonetheless, the overall thrust that carries them is hostile to the Christian revelation. The efforts of various sorts of Christians to accommodate the gospel in order to make it acceptable to the world has proved to be, not surprisingly, destructive of the Christian message. …

I fortsettelsen ser Fr. Jonathan Robinson på hva dette har medført (av skader) på liturgifornyelsen på 60-tallet.

Hjelp til å følge med i Den hellige messe – del 2

Liturgi, TLM /

I Barnas bønnebok fra 1958 (fra St Josephs Institutt, Oslo) er det fem sett med forklartinger og forbønner til hjelp for barna når de assisterer i messen. Slik begynner det andre settet med forklaringer og bønner:

Du kan i den hellige messe oppnå Guds store nåde og hjelp for deg og andre. Din bønn er forenet med prestens bønn. Enda mer: du ber sammen med Jesus. Derfor er din bønn sterk.

Hva vil du be om i denne messe?
Hvem vil du be for i dag?
Skal du motta Jesus i denne messe?
Den som følger med i den hellige messe, er vel forberedt til den hellige kommunion.

Etter forvandlingen står det: «Jesus er hos oss. Det er sikkert, enda vi ikke kan se Ham slik som Han var, da han levde blant menneskene. Vi husker hans korsoffer på langfredag. Nå ofrer Jesus seg på ny for oss til sin himmelske Far.» Og deretter kan man be følgende bønn:

Allmektige Gud, vi ber deg: ta imot det offer Jesus byr deg. Det er Ham som du tok imot ved hans offerdød på korset.
Ta imot vår gave: Jesus. Han vil gjøre godt igjen det våre synder har ødelagt. Fyll oss med din nåde og din kjærlighet. Ta imot oss selv sammen med Jesus.
La dette hellige messeoffer også bli til hjelp for de døde som ennå venter på å komme i himmelen. Herre, gi dem evig hvile hos deg.
Og vi som har syndet, vi er likevel dine barn. La også oss engang komme til deg. Vi ber deg om det ved Jesus, din Sønn, fordi det er ved Ham du gir oss all nåde.
Det er med Jesus vi vil ære deg, vår Far i himmelen, sammen med den Hellige And.

Hvis man har mottatt kommunion i messen foreslås det at man ber slik rett etter at messen er ferdig:

Kjære Jesus, Jeg takker deg fordi du ville gi deg selv til meg. Du har styrket min sjel. Hjelp meg å være god og sann, from og ren, hjelpsom Og kjærlig, flittig og lydig.
Kjære Jesus, hjelp meg å bringe din kjærlighet til andre.
Hjelp alle dem som jeg nevner for deg nå: far og mor, og ……………………
Hjelp alle dem som har det vondt.
Hjelp alle dem som arbeider eller lider for deg,
Hjelp alle dem som ikke kan motta deg i den hellige kommunion.
I Alterets hellige Sakrament være Jesus evig takk og pris og ære.

Hele dette andre settet av forklaringer og bønner kan leses her.

Paven til alle katolikker: Les tidebønnene!

Katolsk, Liturgi, Paven /

11 000 mennesker var samlet på Petersplassen i går og hørte pave Benedikt holde sitt siste foredrag om Bibelens salmer. Og han avsluttet sin gjennomgang av salmenes bok slik:

the Pope explained that, in the course of his catechesis dedicated to the Psalms, he had sought to focus on those «that reflect the different situations in life and the various attitudes we may have towards God. I would like to renew my call to everyone to pray the Psalms, to become accustomed to using the Liturgy of the Hours, Lauds, Vespers, and Compline. Our relationship with God can only be enriched by our journeying towards Him day after day».

Og siste salme han tok opp var numemr 110 (109):

1 Herren sier til min herre: «Sett deg ved min høyre hånd til jeg får lagt dine fiendersom skammel for dine føtter!»
2 Fra Sion rekker Herren ut ditt mektige septer. Du skal herske blant dine fiender!
3 Folket ditt møter villig fram den dagen du viser din kraft. Din ungdoms dugg kommer til degi hellig prakt, fra morgenrødens fang.
4 Herren har sverget og angrer det ikke: «Du er prest til evig tid på Melkisedeks vis.»
5 Herren er ved din høyre hånd, han knuser konger på sin vredes dag.
6 Han holder dom over folkeslag, det er fullt av lik, han knuser hoder vidt over jord.
7 Han drikker av bekken ved veien, derfor løfter han hodet høyt.

Om denne salmen sa paven bl.a.:

The Psalm begins with a solemn declaration: «The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool». Benedict XVI explained that «Christ is the Lord enthroned, the Son of man seated at the right hand of God. … He is the true king who by resurrection entered into glory, … higher than the angels, seated in the heavens over all other powers, … and with all His adversaries at His feet until the last enemy, death, is definitively defeated by Him». …

… The priestly dimension, linked to that of regality, appears in verse four. «The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind ‘You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek'». This priest, the king of Salem, had blessed Abraham and offered bread and wine following the victorious military campaign conducted by the patriarch to save Lot from the hands of his enemies. The king of the Psalm «will be a priest forever, mediator of the divine presence among His people, a catalyst for the blessing of God». Jesus Christ «is the true and definitive priest, Who will complete and perfect the features of Melchizedek’s priesthood». In the bread and wine of the Eucharist, Christ «offers Himself and, defeating death, brings life to all believers». …

… The Church traditionally considers this Psalm as one of the most significant messianic texts. «The king as sung by the Psalmist is Christ, the Messiah Who establishes the Kingdom of God and overcomes the powers of the world. He is the Word generated by God before any creature, the Son incarnate, Who died and rose to heaven, the eternal Priest Who, in the mystery of the bread and wine, grants forgiveness for sins and reconciliation with God; the King Who raised his head in triumph over death by His resurrection». …

Les mer om dette her.

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