Paul Turner’s Catholic Liturgy Blog

Presence of the body for two masses

 

Q:  I went to a visitation this afternoon for the father of a friend.  The plan was to have a rosary followed by a memorial mass.  The body would then be transported back to Florida where he had been a deacon for 20 years.  In Florida would be the funeral mass.  The body was in the narthex and I was told that the body could not be present in the church for two masses.  So the mass this evening was without the body in the church.  It is the first time I had encountered this and was wondering what is the actual requirement for this type of situation?

A:  I’m unaware of any law forbidding the presence of the body for two masses, but the Order of Christian Funerals only envisions one mass.  Even so, it’d seem inappropriate to have a mass with the body in the narthex.

 

Priest facing the people

Q:  The GIRM does not give specific directions regarding the direction the priest faces in the Novus Ordo liturgy. I recently played for a wedding and the priest celebrating the Vatican II rite had his back to the congregation during the Eucharistic prayer. I’ve read many articles from those who advocate this practice who present the argument that Pope Benedict, Cardinal Sarah and others have presented talks and written articles on the subject promoting a Liturgical East. I thought the force of liturgical law came from the official ritual books. I look forward to your academic opinion on the subject.

A:  The General Instruction of the Roman Missal states, “The altar should be built separate from the wall, in such a way that it is possible to walk around it easily and that Mass can be celebrated at it facing the people, which is desirable wherever possible” (299).

The GIRM also says that especially during the Eucharistic Prayer the priest “associates the people with himself in the Prayer that he addresses in the name of the entire community to God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit” (GIRM 78). He can do this well when facing the people, engaging their shared participation in the prayer he offers on their behalf to God.

GIRM 307 says: “The candlesticks required for the different liturgical services for reasons of reverence or the festive character of the celebration (cf. no. 117), should be appropriately placed either on the altar or around it, according to the design of the altar and the sanctuary, so that the whole may be harmonious and the faithful may not be impeded from a clear view of what takes place at the altar or what is placed upon it.” This would only be an issue if the priest were facing the people from the back of the altar.
It is true that the Order of Mass gives instructions for when the priest and deacon should be facing the people, but this probably covers circumstances in historic churches where the altar is not freestanding.
A priest is probably within his rights to offer the eucharistic prayer with his back to the people, but it is not consistent with the GIRM or the architectural purpose of churches.

 

Communion to a non-Catholic

Q:  I had a woman and she said she was a member of the Nazarene church.  She asked me if I would give her communion.  I was visiting was visiting a homebound parishioner and she was a caregiver.  She said she believed in the,real presence.  I declined.  I said you had to be in full agreement with the Catholic church.  I realize there are exceptions. Under what conditions can communion be given to a non-Catholic?

A:  The rules are found in the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism #131: “The conditions under which a Catholic minister may administer the sacraments of the Eucharist, of penance and of the anointing of the sick to a baptized person who may be found in the circumstances given above (n. 130) are that the person be unable to have recourse for the sacrament desired to a minister of his or her own Church or ecclesial Community, ask for the sacrament of his or her own initiative, manifest Catholic faith in this sacrament and be properly disposed.”

In the case you cite, the person probably had access to communion in the Nazarene Church. If she were in danger of death or had permission from the local Catholic bishops (the circumstances in n. 130), you could give her communion.

When Eucharistic Ministers approach the altar

Q:  I have a question about when the Eucharistic Ministers should approach the altar. The rubic from the GIRM states that ministers should not approach the altar until the priest has received communion. 162.  My question is: What is considered communion—consuming of the consecrated host or both the host and consecrated wine? There is confusion as to wait after the bread is consumed or wait after both the bread and wine are consumed. Some argue that because Christ is as much present in the host as in the wine, one species should be considered “communion” and there is not a need to wait for the wine to be consumed before approaching the altar.     Thoughts?
A:    GIRM 162 surely means that ministers do not approach the altar until the priest has finished receiving communion under both forms.

The communion chant, by contrast, begins with his communion (Order of Mass 136 and GIRM86 & 159.)
Of additional interest is that the rubric you cite describes when the ministers “approach the altar.” That is not the same as when they “enter the sanctuary.”  Ministers may enter the sanctuary before the priest receives communion, but they should not approach the altar to receive communion from him until he is done. The point is that they should not look like concelebrants up there. Being in the sanctuary is fine. Even servers normally are in the sanctuary.

Bulletin Inserts

Q:  I’m interested in accessing your bulletin inserts because we a re renovating our cathedral and want to being a catechetical process on the liturgical space. When I click on the particular bulletin insert I’m interested in from your site, it takes me to LTP but I can’t find in which publication the bulletin insert would be. Can you help to direct me ?

A:  We have fixed the link. Thanks for letting me know. My bulletin inserts are now available for purchase here: http://www.ltp.org/p-2836-ministry-liturgy-bulletin-inserts-volume-4.aspx

 

Reverence to the tabernacle

Q:  I have begun service as a deacon at a different parish that has the tabernacle centered on the wall behind the altar (the traditional sanctuary layout).

When I cross from my chair to the ambo, should I bow toward the altar or to the Real Presence in the tabernacle?

A.  Genuflections to the tabernacle are made only at the beginning and the end of mass, never during the middle. If you are carrying the Book of the Gospels in procession, then you do not even genuflect to the tabernacle at the beginning of mass.
When crossing from your chair to the other side of the sanctuary during mass, you make a low bow to the altar, not a genuflection to the tabernacle. The altar is the center of gravity throughout the mass.
You never bow to the tabernacle. When you make a reverence toward it, you genuflect. (Unless, of course, you are infirm.)

Biretta for Mass

Q. A newly ordained priest here uses a biretta for mass, much as a bishop does with the miter. I work from this starting point: In reforming the Missal of 1962 to the Ordinary Form

  1. If there is a stated change from Extraordinary to Ordinary, do what the new says
  2. If there is a drop in rubric from old to new, but new is silent, do not add it back in; cannot presume “somebody just forgot”
    1. E.g., do not now carry the chalice and paten etc. under the veil in the opening procession

So I think, about the biretta:  use noted in the older Missal, is not noted in the new, and thus is not worn or used at all at Mass.   Am I on safe ground?  Am I missing something?

A. I agree with you. Here are a couple more thoughts.
One priest, to justify such traditional additions, pointed me to GIRM 42, which says, “Attention must therefore be paid to what is determined by this General Instruction and by the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God, rather than private inclination or arbitrary choice.”

I think that’s it’s a stretch to say that this permits the re-importation of “traditional practices,” but he said that’s how he justified his actions.
My point with priests who wear a biretta or carry the chalice, paten and tabernacle key in procession is, if you do this, just admit that you are not “doing the red.” You are doing your own thing. If you do, then don’t complain when a priest invites people to hold hands during the Lord’s Prayer. Neither of you is being strictly faithful to the rubrics.
My prayers for all involved.
 
Rev. Paul Turner