Ad Dominum

Happy Name Day!

(St. Bartholomew, pray for us.)

Pax et bonum.

Gregor Kollmorgen today posted photos at The New Liturgical Movement, (as that blog is wont to do), of an abbatial blessing at Rein Abbey (Cistercian) in Austria. The photos are quite nice; it looks to have been a splendid, joyous occasion both for the abbey and the Church.

The comments at the end of the article, however, are very discouraging. Kollmorgen wrote:

Yes, there are altar girls and Communion in the hand. While this is regrettable, let’s not make this the topic of discussion again on this occasion; otherwise I would have to disable comments on this post.

It seems that we have two issues:

• “altar girls”
• Ministering Holy Communion in the hand

In all of my reading about the liturgy I have never found the Church refer to “altar girls.” In our liturgy there are, however, “altar servers,” the gender of which is not specified. Yes, I have heard all of the arguments for male-only altar serving, but I don’t buy them. The denial of any baptized Christian a chance to serve at the Altar of God is nothing more than misogyny dressed up as holiness. Altar servers ≠ ordained ministers. Period.

Regarding the reception of Holy Communion in the hand, this is a perfectly licit practice. Really, that ought to end the discussion right there. If it’s licit, it isn’t regrettable. Personally, perhaps, but that wasn’t the point of the jibe.

Sacred liturgy is important. Therefore, it is of absolute importance to practice charity and prudence when we discuss it. Let’s leave aside the personal chauvinism in favor of a community-oriented approach to the liturgy which is, after all, the work of the people. Not male people: all people.

We must reform ourselves before we can reform the liturgy. Let us begin with charity.

Pax et bonum.

This just in from Jerry Galipeau:

This morning Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and USCCB President, announced to the body of bishops that we have received the final text of the Roman Missal. Implementation of the new text will take place, as anticipated, on the First Sunday of Advent, 2011 (November 27, 2011). A public announcement (in the form of a press release) will be at 12 noon EDT today.

In the coming weeks we will be working with the staff of the ICEL Secretariat to prepare the texts for transmittal to publishers. Please know that we are doing everything possible to assure a timely delivery of the text. We received the text in a series of Word files that must be reviewed for accuracy and consistency; then they must be assembled into a complete text. In addition, adaptations and proper texts for the Dioceses of the United States, which were returned separately in hardcopy form, must be integrated into the full texts. Please note that it will be some time before we can accurately determine the page count for the Missal, as the files do not at this time include musical notation, several optional elements (at the Conference’s discretion), or in some cases, page breaks.

In the meantime you can access the final text of the Order of Mass on our website, www.usccb.org/romanmissal, which is being updated today to reflect the latest text. We draw your attention to a number of modifications made in the Order of Mass since its’ original approval in 2008, some of which may affect musical settings of the Order of Mass and other catechetical resources already in print:

–the words of absolution in the Penitential Act have been modified (so that the text of the current Sacramentary is maintained);

–the addition of “I believe” at three points in the Profession of faith;

–several slight modifications to the texts of the Eucharistic Prayers;

–the final doxology of the Eucharistic Prayer has been slightly altered.

Regarding adaptations for the Dioceses of the United States, you will notice in the Order of Mass that the acclamation “Christ has died” has not been approved. Musical settings of the Order of Mass must not include this acclamation. Alternate forms of the tropes for form C of the Penitential Act were approved. They will be contained in an appendix in the final text of the Missal.

With the final text, the Congregation for Divine Worship issued detailed publishing guidelines for the ritual text. We are currently reviewing those guidelines, and we will offer separate communication in the coming weeks with those who intend to publish ritual editions of the Missal.

We are well aware of publication deadlines, especially for those who publish seasonal and annual participation aids, and we are doing everything possible to expedite the transmittal of the texts. Hopefully we will be able to furnish at least some texts very soon, but in the meantime, know that the text of the Order of Mass is available on our website.

We are grateful for your collaboration and your faithful service to the Church as we work together to bring the Roman Missal to successful implementation.

God’s peace,

Msgr. Anthony Sherman and Fr. Rick Hilgartner

Thoughts?

Pax et bonum.

(Click to expand)

It’s been a while since I posted a picture of my “shrine” at home, so I thought that I would show you the current state of things. It has been helpful for me over the years to see photos of everyday practices and spaces of everyday people who are travelling down the same road.

So to that end I am putting out a call for “Sacred Spaces and Home Altars.” Whatever your space, whatever your image, whatever its condition, whatever its location, and whatever your faith or spiritual tradition, I am asking for photos of a space or place where you can go to “get away,” spiritually. (Preferably in your own home, but I’m open to new ideas.)

Dust off your candlesticks, freshen the flowers, grab your camera, and show your fellow readers where you go- on your own- to get away.

Email the photographs to:

When I receive some photos I’ll start posting them. You can note with the photos whether you want to be anonymous or receive attribution. Some words of explanation would be nice, but not necessary. Spread the word, too, if you like. The more photos I receive the better this project will turn out!

Pax et bonum.

No, not that one.

St. Hyacinth

Pax et bonum.

Father Ruff strikes gold yet again.

The mind of the Church on the ‘Novus ordo’

At Catholic Culture, Jeff Mirus makes a very good point about the reformed liturgy of Paul VI: in the mind of the Church, it is the normal, ordinary form of the Catholic liturgy. The ‘extraordinary’ form is permitted and one may prefer it, but one should not denigrate the Church’s normal, ordinary liturgy. Nor may one misuse the comments and opinions of Cardinal Ratzinger, especially when they are taken out of context, as if they are now the teachings of the Magisterium.

This is something that breaks my heart: the liturgy of the Church, the “source and summit” (SC 10) of the Church’s life, is regularly critized and denigrated and attacked and mocked – and this by practicing Catholics. I appreciate Dr. Mirus’s comments.

Yes, this mean you and you and you, and you, too.

Pax et bonum.

(Editor’s note: This is part one of a guest post written and contributed by one of my dearest friends, Gawyn Reddragon, who blogs at Signs and Portents.)

Athene

With such thoughts, sitting amongst the suitors, he saw Athene and went straight to the forecourt, the heart within him scandalized that a guest should still be standing at the doors. He stood beside herand took her by the right hand, and relieved her of the bronze spear, and spoke to her and addressed her in winged words: ‘Welcome, stranger. You shall be entertained as a guest among us. Afterward, when you have tasted dinner, you shall tell us what your need is.

(Odyssey, p.30, ll. 118-124)

Rules and tradition about how we treat travelers and visitors spring from all over the ancient world. Multiple stories and myths tell us of strangers in foreign lands in need, being given aid, or worse, not being given aid and what the consequences are for those who do not provide that aid. Often, in these stories the traveler who seeks aid is a God or Goddess in disguise (many times in the form of a beggar woman or man).  How well the person in the story follows the rules and rituals of hospitality really matters, because she or he never really knows when it might be one of the Gods testing her or him! 

We see for those who failed to adhere to the rules of hospitality that the price for failure is swift and terrible.  These myths or stories were designed to teach the listener (often they were recounted orally) or reader the rules of hospitality.  As people listened or read the stories over and over, they learned each rule and tradition (and the consequences for failing to follow those rules).  But more importantly, they learned why those rules are important.  They learned why they must honor the strangers and provide shelter and food to the foreigners as they walk in their lands – a lesson we might well take to heart today.    

Why were these traditions of hospitality so important in the ancient world?  It is really very simple.  It was very dangerous to travel at that time.  Travel in the ancient world was difficult at best and Hospitality was the key to survival.  Many of the rules were designed around how a culture treated “foreigners.”  Without the rules, travelers or foreigners would have no one to protect them against the environment or from other people looking to take advantage of them.  Hospitality was so serious an issue that not adhering to the established rules of hospitality could, and most likely would mean death, so violating the rules of hospitality was a severely punishable offense as noted above. 

In ancient Greece, hospitality was the providence of Zeus.  Though Zeus seems to have been the playboy God and had

Zeus

a reputation for not taking his job seriously (aside from looking where his next piece of…well you know those stories), one aspect of his job that he most assuredly took seriously was hospitality.  He took it so seriously that he was often known as Zeus Xenios, meaning he was god of travelers – something to which he paid very, very close attention.  (Wikipedia) 

In ancient Greece, hospitality ξενία (xenia), “the…generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home…is often translated as “guest-friendship (or ‘ritualized friendship’) because the rituals of hospitality created and expressed a reciprocal relationship between guest and host.” (Wikipedia) Strict rituals were developed so both traveler and host knew what to expect and how to behave.  Failure to follow these proscribed rituals of hospitality or ξενία (xenia) resulted in a loss of honor or τιμή (timĕ) for you and your house.  Losing τιμή (timĕ) was somewhat like losing honor or face in other cultures. 

The ξένος  (xenos) or [the] “guest-friend” entered into a relationship with the host under the ritual of ξενία (xenia) – “the Greek concept of hospitality, or generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home.” (Wikipedia)

 This is a reciprocal relationship between the guest and the host that is established through ritual, which consists of three basic rules:  

• “The respect from host to guest; The host must be hospitable to the guest and provide them with food and drink and a bath, if required. It is not polite to ask questions until the guest has stated their needs. (Wikipedia)

The host is responsible for providing the guest with food, drink, and a bath if needed, before bombarding him or her with questions.  In the ancient world, a guest would be able to bring stories and news from his or her travels, so one would be tempted to ask questions, but it would be impolite and a breach of hospitality to do so before the guest’s needs are seen to. 

            In this day and age of cell phones and computers, the need for news and stories would make desire to ask questions a little less tempting, but we still find ourselves tempted to talk to talk when guests arrive, rather than show them to their rooms so they can freshen up before chatting.

• The respect from guest to host; The guest must be courteous to their host and not be a burden. (Wikipedia)

It is important the guest not take advantage of the host.  The rules of hospitality only go so far, so the guest cannot be over demanding.  Demanding that the host provide items that are extravagant or out of the ordinary can result in a host calling a breach of hospitality.

• The parting gift ξεινήιον (xenion,) from host to guest; The parting gift is to show the host’s honor at receiving the guest.” (Wikipedia)

Finally, to show what an honor it was to receive the guest, the host gives a gift to the guest before the guest departs.  The status and wealth of the host, the rank of the guest, and various other factors determine what type of gift the guest is given.   Regardless, the giving of this gift completes the ritual of hospitality and seals the relationship between the people/houses that is everlasting.

            Ancient Greece was not the only place where we find strong stories and teachings about hospitality.  In the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah we find the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (in the book of Genesis).  It appears that both cities had a long-standing reputation for blatantly violating the ancient rules of hospitality.  Lot attempted to mitigate the situation (by giving his virgin daughters to the mob so they could engage in rape with them), but could not. So, the citizens failed this last “test” utterly and both cities were utterly destroyed. (Jesus also implies in the new testament that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was being inhospitable to strangers – Matthew 10:14-15)

“The Indian civilization is one of the oldest on earth, and like every culture has its own favorite stories including quite a few on hospitality. That of a simpleton readily sharing his meager morsels with an uninvited guest, only to discover that the guest is a God in disguise, who rewards his generosity with abundance. That of a woman who lovingly cooks up all the Khichdi she can afford, for everyone who is hungry… till one day when she runs out of food for the last hungry person to whom she offers her own share, and is rewarded by the god in disguise with a never ending pot of Khichdi. Most Indian adults having grown up listening to these stories as children, believe in the philosophy of “Atithi Devo Bhava”, meaning the guest is God. From this stems the Indian approach of graciousness towards guests at home, and in all social situations.” (Wikipedia)

Most people did adhere to these customs and rituals not only out of fear of loss of honor τιμή (timĕ) or punishment, but because they too would at some point be traveling and would have to depend on the hospitality of others.  The idea of generalized reciprocity, or idea that if I follow the rules and treat you appropriately, you will do the same should I need it someday was a strong motivator in helping each of these systems work. 

Today, hospitality is rarely, if ever, so serious that it means life or death. More so, it is about etiquette.  It is about respecting one’s guests and one’s hosts.  There are still rules for how we treat our guests and how we treat our hosts.  Where I come from, we are supposed to treat our guests like we would our own family – or at least that is what is supposed to happen (not that it always happens that way). 

The rules vary today from culture to culture and even sub-culture to sub-culture.  Certainly, how one is treated here in Appalachia is somewhat different that how one might be treated as a guest in Oklahoma City.  In fact, the concept of hospitality as a social norm is established in many societies and cultures and is regularly studied by social scientists.

An entire industry has developed in our culture around hospitality and we expect, and I daresay demand certain treatment at certain establishments – mainly hotels and spas.  Depending on the establishment and how much we pay (the how much we pay being key) we have high or low expectation for how we are treated and the type of hospitality we receive.  Unfortunately, the lines have begun to blur and hospitality has become commercialized in such a way that it is moving from hotels and spas into our very homes.  In part two of this exploration of hospitality, we will take a look at hospitality in the modern world and see what survives, what has changed, and where we might be going.

(Ad Dominum welcomes submissions of all sorts. Send a message via the Contact form for any submissions or questions. Many, many thanks to Gawyn for this post. Watch for part two soon.)

Regular posting will resume next week. I apologize for the hiatus, but life has thrown me a few curve balls this week. I would, however, like to share this quote that I ran across yesterday.

One was rubbing a peach along his face, and I said, ‘It’s supposed to feel like that.’

Another was breathing into the peach, and I said, ‘It’s supposed to smell like that.’

Another was biting into the peach, and the juice was running down his face and arms, and I said, ‘It’s supposed to taste like that.’

In a country of plenty, everybody should have the experience of tasting the bounty.

–Chef Tony Geraci, director of food and nutrition for Baltimore City Schools, on the reaction of second-graders eating fresh peaches for the first time in their lives after he brought in 40,000 pounds of tree-ripened, Maryland-grown peaches for school lunches. (USA Today)

Can you imagine never having tasted a peach?

I’m not kidding when I say that reading this choked me up. And it ought to have.

Pax et bonum.

There are oodles of new posts waiting to be posted, but for now I leave you with this:

I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land.

-Frederick Douglass

via NCR

Stay tuned this week coming for hospitality, earth, air, fire, water, and Francis.

Pax et bonum.

I don’t typically do these “meme” things, but as spirituality and practice is a major theme of the blog, for this I will make an exception.

Fr. Austin Murphy (at Jesus Goes to Disney World- which is excellent, and if you aren’t reading, you should be) tagged me to list my 5 favorite devotions. So here they are, in no particular order:

1. Liturgy of the Hours
2. The Jesus Prayer
3. Meditation (outdoors, with maybe a stick or two of good incense)
4. Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament
5. Centering prayer

I don’t think I’m going to continue the tagging (I think that might be 7 years of bad luck for breaking the chain!), but I would like to know what you guys would say are your 5 favorite devotions.

Pax et bonum.