To-day, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (sometimes refered to as Roodmas or Roodemas) in the year of our Lord 2007, marks a victory for Holy Mother Church. It also marks a new beginning in the liturgical life of the church after almost four decades of uncertainty.This morning at 8:00 A.M. EDT, the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) will broadcast a Solemn High Mass according to the 'extraordinary use' of the Roman Rite from the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama. Please remember to set your VCR/ DVR if you unable to watch this. The broadcast will last two hours.
On another note, I was talking with one of the Mercedarian friars at Our Lady of Lourdes, Overbrook the other day and he mentioned that he only had a two page 'crash course' printout guide to serving Low Mass in the 'extraordinary form' of the Roman Rite. I had seen the one he was talking about and found it highly inadequate for the beginner, so I photocopied several chapters from my liturgical books for him. I thought it might be helpful to put a small bit of this up on the web as well, so I took some photos of the relevant pages from my copy of The Baltimore Ceremonial and supplement material from my copy of Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described. (The material from O'Connell's The Celebration of Mass is the most detailed, but I thought that I should give deference to the official American source first.) They can be viewed on Flikr by clicking here. To enlarge the photo, click on the small thumbnail image to view it in on a seperate page. Then click on the small magnifying glass above the image that says "all sizes" in order to enlarge it.
I have noticed that in many places the solita oscula (ceremonial kisses of the celebrant's hand and the object being handed to or taken from him) and the small bows of the head (at the name of Jesus, Mary, and the saint whose feast is celebrated) are frequently omitted (most likely due to ignorance of them). It is my hope that servers will start to implement them seeing as they are indeed part of the rubrics of the Missale Romanum 1962.
10 comments:
I have noticed that in many places the solita oscula ... are frequently omitted.
It is Fr Zuhlsdorf's opinion that these actions are required only with respect to those who are actually clerics (i.e. deacons). Others should omit them.
If this is the case, then why does EVERY liturgical manual known to man prescribe them for the servers at Low Mass?!!! Perhaps poor Father Zuhlsdorf is working under the misconception that only clergy served Low Mass back in the day.
Fr. Z.'s opinion matches an opinion that is very popular in the USA, but it cannot be the correct one.
The "solíta óscula" are not dependent on the state or rank of the person who gives them, but on the person who receives them (the Celebrant). It is true - they are obligatory when the Mass is a Solemn Mass (since the Deacon and Subdeacon (or priests) are in Major Orders, but when the servers (in general or the Subdeacon at a Solemn Mass) are laymen (or in Minor Orders), it's not they they *should* omit them, it's that they **may** omit them.
So, laymen *may* give the reverential kisses. However, most often than not, it depends on the Celebrant of the Mass, who (in the US) will opt for their omission.
You will note, however, that several rubricists mention that the oscula are often, by custom, omitted by lay servers. In fact, the last edition of Fortescue edited by O'Connell has this same footnote which had appeared for years, but with the additional caveat that they should be omitted.
That said, I disagree entirely. Opposition to the oscula is generally, in my experience, a symptom of creeping Protestantism, anti-Romanism, or rationalistic reductionism. Sometimes all three!
See also:
"Frankly, in many respects it makes no difference what the servers do, provided they get the wine and water to the priest when he needs them and move the book around, and so forth. If they want to kiss things, who cares? For Low Mass I think it is a little precious, but that’s just my point of view."
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2006/11/afqb-kissing-handsobjects-in-tridentine-mass/
(I have a real problem with this. Isn't it a "Who cares?" attitude that got us to the deplorable state we're in now?)
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've always assumed that the idea behind the 'solita ocsula' is that they are reverences to the celebrant as a priest, since his hands have been consecrated. It's the same reason that in the Spanish culture we kiss the priest's hand (sans genuflection which is saved for the bishop) when greeting him. The Eastern Church has the same laudible custom. I think most of the opposition to the 'oscula' comes from people who feel that they would be emasculating themselves. Perhaps they are not secure in heir own masculinity...
The Internet Archive has the fifth edition of the Baltimore Ceremonial available for free download.
Ceremonial for the use of the Catholic churches in the United States of America (c1894).
Chattr,
Thank you for the tip! It will be interesting to compare my 8th Revised edition with this earlier one.
-MJE
Sir,
Please do not take offense at this, but WHY did you change the Papal coat of arms on this blog? You write in praise of the Holy Father and then seem to make yourself "holier" than him...just an observation.
Do you mean the papal coat-of-arms in the right-hand side-bar or the one in the image on this post?
If you mean the papal coat of arms in the image on this post, well those ARE the papal coat of arms... from 1894! This is the embossed, gold-leafed image on the cover of my copy of The Baltimore Ceremonial. If you have a problem with it then I suggest you take it up with those responsible. I believe that some of them reside in the crypt chapel of St. Peter's Basilica, Rome...
As for the (current) Holy Father's coat-of-arms in the right side-brar near the top, I did NOT change it myself. I have seen this image floating around the internet and was intrigued by it since it restored the papal tiara to Benedict XVI's coat-of-arms. Considering that the official one currently in use was influenced by Marini & Co., and in light of the fact that Marini and his sort are slowly being purged, I find no problem with displaying it.
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