Posted on 05/03/2007 11:37:36 AM PDT by franky1
The Harrisburg Diocese Cathedral Church, St. Patricks of Harrisburg, PA is moving the Tabernacle back to its original center of the altar according to Fr. John Trugilio. He made the statement on the Fr. Mitch Pacwa EWTN show last night.
Also, according to my parish Church's secretary, in same Diocese, is to put back altar railing.
Thoughts!
That’s the parish where they have the Traditional Latin Mass, so that’s not surprising.
Oops, the Traditional Latin Mass is held in the Cathedral Chapel of St. Lawrence, which near the Cathedral of St. Patrick.
Interesting! If the bishop’s own church is doing this, perhaps there are wider implications. After all, one of the excuses for moving the tabernacle off to the side or in a separate chapel was that the priest in the Novus Ordo Mass has his back to the tabernacle when he says Mass versus populum. Wouldn’t it be nice if this is a signal that the bishops have all gotten advance notice of the wording of the interminably delayed motu proprio, and that it is mandating an ad orientem posture for the priest in both the TLM and the Novus Ordo?
It would! But it's unlikely that BXVI will take such a dramatic step as "mandating" it when he already said that it could be disruptive to have such a dramatic break.
awesome news!
Well that’s certainly interesting news! Good news, too, of course.
But could this mean that other changes are in the offing?
When did he say that? I know he has said just that with regard to scrapping the NO altogether, but I don’t recall anything from him saying the ad orientem posture would be a disruptive break. If anything, I recall his lamenting the use of versus populum as something he wishes had never been started.
He said that too! LOL
I'l try and find the quote (anyone know where to find it?), but the way I remember it he basically said that we really should go back to ad orientem but that if it proves too jarring for the congregation, then there should at least be a symbolic turning toward the east by putting a crucifix on the altar that the priest can face.
Found the quotes:
http://www.adoremus.org/0500-Ratzinger.html
Some excerpts:
“On the other hand, a common turning to the East during the Eucharistic Prayer remains essential. This is not a case of accidentals, but of essentials. Looking at the priest has no importance. What matters is looking together at the Lord. It is not now a question of dialogue, but of common worship, of setting off towards the One who is to come. What corresponds with the reality of what is happening is not the closed circle, but the common movement forward expressed in a common direction for prayer....”
“A more important objection is of the practical order. Are we really going to re-order everything all over again? Nothing is more harmful to the Liturgy than constant changes, even if it seems to be for the sake of genuine renewal....Where a direct common turning toward the East is not possible, the cross can serve as the interior “East” of faith. It should stand in the middle of the altar and be the common point of focus for both priest and praying community.”
Found the quotes:
http://www.adoremus.org/0500-Ratzinger.html
Some excerpts:
“On the other hand, a common turning to the East during the Eucharistic Prayer remains essential. This is not a case of accidentals, but of essentials. Looking at the priest has no importance. What matters is looking together at the Lord. It is not now a question of dialogue, but of common worship, of setting off towards the One who is to come. What corresponds with the reality of what is happening is not the closed circle, but the common movement forward expressed in a common direction for prayer....”
“A more important objection is of the practical order. Are we really going to re-order everything all over again? Nothing is more harmful to the Liturgy than constant changes, even if it seems to be for the sake of genuine renewal....Where a direct common turning toward the East is not possible, the cross can serve as the interior “East” of faith. It should stand in the middle of the altar and be the common point of focus for both priest and praying community.”
Oops...sorry for the double post.
It’s actually a little less “soft” than I portrayed it... he says where a common turning toward the East is *not possible*...(nothing in there about pastoral reasons).
But he does concede that too many sudden breaks in liturgical form is not a great thing, and he also points out that moving the altar out has allowed the recovery of the ancient tradition of having it at the crossing of the nave and the transepts. If his thinking is the same now he probably won’t mandate Ad orientem., though he *does* seem to regard it as what should be the normative form.
OK.
BTW, the altar crucifix placement during a NO Mass is interesting to me. The pastor who has recently been assigned the Indult Mass in our archdiocese has taken to putting a crucifix on the altar during his Novus Ordo Masses. I’d bet nearly anything, though, that as soon as he even gets a sniff of “permission,” he’ll be doing both the TLM and the NO right up there at the high altar (which, providentially, was never destroyed in the zeal for “modernization” back in the ‘70’s). As it is, he’s putting a new altar rail in for us traddies ASAP.
Fr. Trugilio was speaking about the 100th anniversary Mass on May 14.
http://www.stpatrickcathedral.com/Events.pdf
Excellent! There’s a NO parish near us where the pastor told me flat out he is just waiting for the motu so he can have the old Mass.
They too use an altar crucifix at every Mass...interesting, these priests out there in the woodwork laying low and just needing a little support from Rome!
Harrisburg Diocese Cathedral Church FTW!!!!
Most appropriate for Christ the King to be enthroned there so all can worship Him!
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