Q:  I have a query regarding the Rite of Acceptance. Could you give a reason for why a parish would avoid doing the Rite of Acceptance during Advent and Lent. If it is done during these times, doesn’t that present a problem with the Introductory Rites?

A:  In theory, the Rite of Acceptance can be done at any time, but RCIA 18 suggests two or even three times a year, so it would be logical to avoid seasons like Advent and Lent, which have much focus already.

The RCIA designed the Rite of Acceptance first as a word service, not as part of mass. It’s OK to have it at mass, and I like it that way, but it could be led by a deacon, for example, as a separate prayer service. When it is done at mass, the introductory rites are complicated, but no more so during Advent and Lent.

The Rite of Acceptance is best done when it has been discerned that one or more persons are ready to become catechumens. This could happen at any time of year, and it would be beneficial for the potential catechumen to have the ceremony as soon as possible. If the favorable discernment should fall during Advent and Lent, in order to avoid Sunday mass, a deacon could lead a prayer service at an agreeable time.

Q:  What wording could be used for a “Profession of Faith” Certificate for children under the age of reason whose parents either become Catholic or are returning to the Catholic Church.  

A:  The question concerns a child validly baptized as an infant in another Christian congregation, and whose parents (one or both of whom are Catholic) now wish him/her to be known as a Catholic. As I understand it, the child is not making a profession of faith, but the parents are declaring that they want their child to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

Here is wording that could be used on a certificate, based on a suggestion from one of the pastors in my diocese:

Pat Doe

[son/daughter/ward] of  Jack Doe  & Jane (Smith) Doe

was born on [m/d/y]  in City, State   and baptized on [m/d/y]

at [the name of non-Catholic church of baptism]  in City, State.

At the request of his [parents/guardians],

stating [in a letter dated m/d/y] [in my presence on m/d/y]  that they want their [son/daughter] to be received into the full communion of the Catholic Church,

this information was recorded in the [baptismal/reception] register of [name of parish] on [m/d/y].

__________________________________            ____________

Father George Bergoglio, Pastor                                             Date

Parish seal

Q:  I understand that the permission to use a reading from the marriage lectionary applies not only to weddings celebrated at parish Sunday Masses in Ordinary Time and Christmastime but to the other days listed in 1-4 of the Table of Liturgical Days… yes?

A:  No. Compare The Order of Celebrating Matrimony (OCM) paragraph 34 and OCM 56. The permission to substitute a reading from the marriage lectionary in OCM 34 applies only to the previous sentence, the one about celebrating a wedding during a parish Ordinary Time Sunday mass.

OCM 34 was written in 1991, and it was carried into the Ritual Mass for the Celebration of Marriage in the third edition of the Roman Missal in 2002 without the final paragraph. The new English translation of the OCM should probably have corrected 34 to match the missal. OCM 54 is correct. If you have a wedding on a day such as the Nativity of John the Baptist on June 24, all the readings come from the solemnity of John, and none from the wedding lectionary.

Q:  I just finished reading your One Love: A Pastoral Guide to the Order of Celebrating Marriage – excellent!

A question regarding OCM 130A (d)…

You say that, whether communion is distributed or not, the prayer that normally concludes the intercessions is omitted (p. 54) and one proceeds directly to the Lord’s Prayer (no communion) or nuptial blessing (with communion).  The FDLC, in its presentations and publications, states that if communion is distributed the closing prayer IS used.

I admit the rubric is poorly worded (what does “then” refer to?)….

A:  Thanks for your comments on my book.

I’m sticking with my interpretation that the concluding prayer of the universal prayer is always omitted. The main reason is that 103 (c) is a new element in the second edition. There are some other changes between what was OCM 49 and is now OCM 103, but mainly some clarifying points. In the end, I agree, it’s hard to tell if (d) is referring to (c) or to (a) and (b) as well. I think it is the principle in force whether or not communion is distributed. In one instance, the Lord’s Prayer replaces the concluding prayer, and in the other instance the nuptial blessing replaces the concluding prayer.

The word “then” simply means “next.” In Latin it’s the same word that you find at the beginning of paragraph 103: “The Universal Prayer then takes place.”

Q:  When is Mother Teresa’s feast day? Do you have a text of the Collect?

A:  No official word yet that I know of, but probably September 5, probably the US bishops will request her on the liturgical calendar, probably ICEL will be asked to translate a collect.

Q:  What IS the preferred “cross” for Good Friday veneration?  A cross or crucifix ?  I see the pope uses a large crucifix.   Any thoughts ?

A:  I’ve treated this in Glory in the Cross, but in short, you can make an argument for using either a cross or a crucifix. The rubrics all say “cross” on Good Friday, and I think that that is the better practice. We are not adoring an image of Christ, we are adoring the cross on which he died. “Behold the wood of the cross…”

Q:  When Holy Family falls on a weekday instead of a Sunday, as it will this year on Friday, December 30, does it become a holyday of obligation?

A:  No. It’s just a feast day. Like St. Bartholomew on August 24.

 

 

Q:  Are funeral Masses considered to be a community Mass or a private Mass? The concern being whether Eucharistic Adoration in the chapel should stop while funeral Masses are occurring.

A:  There’s no such thing as a private mass. Eucharistic adoration must cease whenever mass is taking place. Even a funeral mass.

Q:  Please look over the attached order of service and let me know if it would work for a layperson leading a communion service in a prison. Is this OK?

A:  I’ve looked at what you send me, and no, that’s not a good way to do a communion service. These points are going to sound picky, but here goes:

• People are not supposed to answer “And with your spirit” to someone who is not a priest or deacon.
• The Gloria, Sanctus and Agnus Dei do not happen at a service outside of mass.
• It’s not a good idea to read the account of the Last Supper as if that replaces the eucharistic prayer.
• The embolism after the Lord’s Prayer and the peace prayer belong to a priest.

It would be far better to use the liturgical books that were prepared for this circumstance.

• See here for the USCCB overview: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/weekday-celebrations-in-the-absence-of-a-priest.cfm
• Chapter I of this book is the go-to place for the order of service: http://www.catholicbookpublishing.com/products/118
• This book is designed for Sundays, but it will give other ideas: http://store.usccb.org/sunday-celebrations-in-the-absence-of-a-priest-p/7-293.htm

Q:  When a deacon presides for a Sunday celebration in the absence of a priest, may he use the presider’s chair?

A:  Yes.  If a layperson presides, he or she does not use the priest’s chair, according to Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest 24, but a deacon does use it according to SCAP 19.

Q:  But look at this: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/frequently-asked-questions/deacons-at-sunday-celebrations-in-absence-of-priest.cfm

A:  Oh. OK, after further review, I see that I was using an older edition of the book Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest. Indeed, the legislation has changed. Paragraph 24 now says, “Leaving the Priest’s chair vacant, he uses a chair other than the Priest’s as a symbol that the community awaits the presence of the Priest.”