Det fins fire julemesser – julaftens vigilie (om ettermiddagen), midnattsmessen, messen ved daggry og juledagsmessen, og i år feiret jeg dem alle fire (i julaftens fmiliemesse byttet vi riktig nok ut lesningene med midnattsmessens lesninger). I hver av disse messene står det tydelig skrevet: Man kneler ved ordene Han er blitt kjød … – dette kan man sjekke ved de fire lenkene over.

I år gjennomførte jeg dette ganske grundig; ved å nevne dette punktet i prelenen, og ved å sørge for at det ble en pause slik at alle kunne knele. (I den gamle messen kneler man alltid når inkarnasjonen nevnes, mens i den nye messen er dette bekrenset til 26/12 og 25/3.)

Nå hører jeg fra noen at ikke alle prester ser ut til å ha brydd seg om dette (og at ikke alle ellers når man sier/synger trosbekjennelsen bryr seg om å bøye seg under disse ordene, slik de nåværende reglene sier).

Hva kan dere lesere av bloggen fortelle meg? Knelte presten i de julemessene du deltok i, og ble dette forklart og gjort så tydelig at alle kunne knele?

Min kone og jeg var i en vanlig menighetsmesse her i går kveld – en svært lite oppbyggende opplevelse, men jeg kommer sannsynligvis ikke til å skrive noe mer om den. I dag tidlig (mandag, bare noen få timer før vi setter kursen nordover) leser jeg mer om det jeg skrev i forrige innlegg – om den eukaristiske bønn og ad orientem – på Fr. Ray Blakes blogg. Den eukaristiske bønn fungerer best når presten ser på Gud og ikke på folket, sier denne presten, og han tar også pave Benedikt til inntekt for å si at den eukaristiske bønn er i krise:

In «The Sprit of Liturgy» the Pope speaks of the Eucharistic Prayer as «being in crisis». I must say being a regular celebrator of both forms of the Roman Rite, the crisis is in the Novus Ordo and especially when celebrated versus populum.

In the usus antiquior the silence shouts «PRAYER», in the usus recentior celebrated ad orientem there is a strong indication prayer is taking place but when it is celebrated facing the people, well, I am not sure what is going on and what the people are meant to do, I must confess I don’t know what our !st Communion children are taught to do in the Eucharistic Prayer.

What do you do during the Eucharistic Prayer? Do you join the priest in saying the Eucharistic Prayer? I am told in some liberal parishes priests encourage people to join in, even here some people follow the prayer in their missals, a few even move their lips. Do you just wait for the priest to finish – not sure what to do? This seems to be why most priests opt for the short and quick EP2. Do you say your own prayers? It always strikes me as a bit rude to deliberately pray about something else when the priest is addressing God.

In «The Sprit of Liturgy» the Pope speaks about returning to silent Eucharistic Prayer, or saying it silently but announcing in some way key words …

Dom Mark Daniel Kirby er prior i det benediktinske klosteret Our Lady of the Cenacle i Tulsa, Oklahoma. 17/12 hadde han feiret messen ad orientem i fem år, og skriver om fordelene ved denne praksisen:

1. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is experienced as having a theocentric direction and focus.
2. The faithful are spared the tiresome clerocentrism that has so overtaken the celebration of Holy Mass in the past forty years.
3. It has once again become evident that the Canon of the Mass (Prex Eucharistica) is addressed to the Father, by the priest, in the name of all.
4. The sacrificial character of the Mass is wonderfully expressed and affirmed.
5. Almost imperceptibly one discovers the rightness of praying silently at certain moments, of reciting certain parts of the Mass softly, and of cantillating others.
6. It affords the priest celebrant the boon of a holy modesty.
7. I find myself more and more identified with Christ, Eternal High Priest and Hostia perpetua, in the liturgy of the heavenly sanctuary, beyond the veil, before the Face of the Father.
8. During the Canon of the Mass I am graced with a profound recollection.
9. The people have become more reverent in their demeanour.
10. The entire celebration of Holy Mass has gained in reverence, attention, and devotion.

Som mange vet er dagene fra 17. desember fram til jul spesielle, med egne lesnnger og bønner – og Å-antifoner. Slik er bønna for 18. desember:

Latin:
Concede, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus, ut, qui sub peccati iugo ex vetusta servitute deprimimur, expectata Unigeniti tui nova nativitate liberemur.

Norsk:
Allmektige Gud, fra Adams tid har vi trellet under syndens åk. Nå bervi deg: Sett oss fri ved din enbårne Sønns fødsel, som gir oss nytt håp, (han som lever og råder .. )

Den nye engelske oversettelsen:
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we who are weighed down by ancient slavery beneath the yoke of sin, may be set free by the long awaited new birth of your Only Begotten Son.

Også denne boka handler om liturgien (selvsagt), dens utvikling nærmere bestemt – og jeg begynte på den i går. Tittelen er The Restoration and Organic Development of the Roman Rite, og den kan bestilles på Amazon her.

Slik beskrives boka hos Amazon:

This is a serious, scholarly of liturgy analysis combining historical, philosophical, musicological and liturgical. The volume, like the series, will be aimed at moving the debate about liturgy out of the narrow confines of either ‘pastoral liturgy’, ‘reform of the reform’ or nostalgia and bemoaning of the ruination of liturgical tradition to an entirely higher plane, of serious, scholarly, measured analysis combining historical, philosophical, musicological and liturgical. This book advances a provocative and controversial set of proposals for the development of future liturgical reform in its attempt to re-engage with a traditional sense of the Roman Rite. The author is uniquely placed to make the case he does. A mediaevalist and musicologist of unparalleled experience and breadth, Dobszay combines – almost uniquely – a profound knowledge of the history of the development of the Roman Rite – especially the Antiphonary – with a personal interest and passionate concern for the lived experience of the rite itself. The result is a lively and vigorous text based around the idea of the actual liturgical sense of the Roman Rite – meaning a respect for its integrity as an historical tradition that found multiform expression across Europe and also across at least 1600 years, combined with a sympathy for the fact that the rite is still a living entity with a long future ahead of it.