Posted on 04/20/2004 5:44:17 PM PDT by Antoninus
Paul Weyrich had to apply to Rome when he switched from the Latin Rite to the Eastern Rite; things may have changed.
Have fun over there.
Have another cup of java; that should take some of the edge off ;-D
If you have the opportunity, I strongly urge you to attend a Maronite Catholic liturgy. No bells - lots of smells! To hear the Consecration, using the words and Aramaic language of our Lord at the Last Supper, is just awesome.
The entire mass is chanted (even the low mass). It is a dialogue between the celebrant and the congregation. The Maronites have great love for our Blessed Mother and total reverence and respect for the Holy Eucharist. The liturgy is steeped in lyrical and poetic language. Here is just one example of a Maronite prayer.
Mother of God (Wa in kana jismouki)
Mother of God, O Gentle One,
treasure of mercy and our hope.
You are our refuge and in you we place our trust.
Intercede for us, O Virgin Mary
and have compassion on our dead.
Though your body may be far from us,
Virgin Mother when you pray.
But your prayers are always with us
giving us protection and shelter.
We implore you to ask him who honoured you
when he became incarnate from you.
Ask him for us sinners, forgiveness
and his mercy for ever and ever.
You are our Mother, you are our hope
you are our glory and you are our refuge.
Be our advocate before your Son
that in his mercy, he may forgive our sins.
Do not abandon us, O Gentle Mother.
You are full of all the graces.
Pray for your children, all your children,
who give you thanks for ever and ever.
Fr Geoffrey Abdallah.
But, I might go some time, just to see what it's like.
Before you go, call ahead to inquire which liturgy is in the vernacular. You should also plan to attend 3 times - the first visit can be disorienting. Here are some guidelines to help you understand what you will experience.
The Liturgy
The Maronite liturgy is one of the oldest in the Catholic Church. St. Peter and other Apostles brought the liturgy of the Last Super to Antioch where it developed in Greek and Syriac concurrently. The early Antioch liturgy is the basis of the Maronite liturgy.
The first thing you will notice is the layout of the church itself. There is a platform extending from the altar, called a bema. The early churches were former synagogues, and the bema was the raised platform on which the elders stood and read scripture. You will also notice the richness of the priestly vestments. The design of the Maronite vestments is indigenous to the Holy Land.
The priest and deacon sit at the end of the bema facing the altar rather than presiding over the congregation. The semicircular seating arrangement dates back to the two monastic choirs of the early church. it encourages the congregation to be participants in the liturgy, rather than spectators. The liturgy is throughout a dialogue between the people and the priest. The priest serves as the prayer leader in much the same way as Moses served the Israelites. The congregation stands or sits during the liturgy as the liturgy is chanted back and forth between the priest and the congregation. In Eastern Catholic Churches, kneeling is done on Pentecost, in private prayer and can be done during Confession (Reconciliation).
The Maronite liturgy begins with calling on God's mercy, whereas the Latin Rite liturgy begins with "let us call to mind our sins." We also acknowledge our sinfulness, but greater stress is laid on God's mercy. As one prayer says, "Your mercy, O Lord, is greater than the weight of the mountains..."
The Triasagion (Qadeeshat Alaho) is the first prayer that is sung in Aramaic, and it is sung three times in honor of the Holy Trinity. It is normally sung facing East.
The sign of peace is also different from the Latin Rite. The priest kisses the altar, places his hands on the chalice, then passes God's peace to the deacon, who then gives it to the acolyte, who passes it to the first person in the pews, who passes it to the next person, an so on. Very rich indeed!
The Consecration is sung in Aramaic, the everyday language of our Lord, the Blessed Mother, and the Apostles. It is the closest we come to the Lord's actual words at the Last Supper.
Throughout the liturgy, the priest will bless the congregation using the handcross, the Gospel, and the Eucharist itself, both before and after Communion. Holy Communion is given only by intinction. There is no Communion in the hand and there are no Eucharistic ministers. Only the bishop, the priest, the deacon or the subdeacon give communion. It is done with the words, "The servant of God ... receives the Body and Blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life."
The Maronite rite has over eighty Eucharistic Prayers, called Anaphorae. Most were composed by different saints, including St. James (the oldest prayer), the Apostles, St. Peter, St. Sixtus and St. Basil. The prayers throughout the liturgy are full of Biblical Imagery. The story of salvation is told over and over again, and each liturgy is a short course in theology, using spiritual poetry to give praise, honor and thanksgiving for God's mercy and forgiveness, and His constant love for us not matter what!
Please remember Bishop-elect Mansour in your prayers, along with all the bishops and priests, and those discerning the priesthood.
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POPE JOHN PAUL II APPOINTS RECTOR OF ST. RAYMOND MARONITE CATHEDRAL BISHOP OF THE EPARCHY OF SAINT MARON OF BROOKLYN St. Louis--Pope John Paul II has announced this morning at 6 a.m. CST (noon in Rome) that Chorbishop Gregory J. Mansour, Vicar General and Chancellor of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, and Rector of St. Raymond Maronite Cathedral in St. Louis has been appointed the third Bishop of the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, following Bishop Stephen Hector Doueihi. The announcement was made simultaneously in Rome, Lebanon and Brooklyn at noon Rome time. A press conference will be held at 10:00a.m. Sat. January 10, 2004 at St. Raymond Cathedral.The appointment is a result of the nomination of Bishop-elect Gregory J. Mansour by the Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir and the Synod of Maronite Bishops in Bkerke, Lebanon. Bishop-elect Gregory J. Mansour will be ordained March 2, 2004, the Feast of St. John Maron, at the Patriarchal Headquarters of the Maronite Church in Bkerke, Lebanon by his Eminence and Beatitude Mar Nasrallah Peter Cardinal Sfeir. The Installation in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo will be held April 27, 2004 at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, Brooklyn, NY. |
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A LETTER FROM THE BISHOP-ELECT TO THE PARISHIONERS AND FRIENDS OF ST. RAYMONDS January 10, 2004 Dear Parishioners and Friends of St Raymond Cathedral, |
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Saint Raymond Maronite Cathedral’s Pastor for the second time becomes Bishop
The true glory of Saint Raymond: The Little Flock that gave America two True Shepherds. When rumors went out trying to guess who the next bishop of the Eparchy (Diocese) of Saint Maron– Brooklyn is going to be, after Bishop Stephen Hector Doueihi, the second Bishop of that Diocese, resigned as he reached the canonical age (75), according to the Canon Law of the Eastern Churches, many people found it strange that the Patriarch in Lebanon would name another, or a “second Maronite American-born” Bishop. Moreover due to his young age Chorbishop Gregory Mansour was really “out of the picture” for such a nomination. Now things have happened. Although almost everybody was caught off guard with the nomination, Bishop Shaheen had a deep inspiration that Abouna Gregory one day is going to be a Bishop. As the famous saying exclaims: “watch for what you wish for!” Sayedna Bob got his wish…We all got our wish… and Abouna Gregory who definitely enjoyed being Rector at Saint Raymond didn’t know that he was dealing with a “LOOK LIKE BISHOP AND BE”_PARISH, not at least when we woke him up two weeks ago and told him: “The Patriarch is on the phone!”
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"autoviography" = "autobiography"
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