Images de page
PDF
ePub

i.e., pecunia retracta non statim erogari valet in usus etiam pios et necessarios, sed immo conservanda est ad fructum; ut ergo erogetur seu consumatur, licet ad amplificandam ecclesiam, ut in casu factum est, necessaria est semper Apostolicae Sedis licentia, seu dispensatio super obligatione hac, quam data lex in laudato canone perspicue et explicite, nullaque concessa exceptione, imponit.

J. KINANE.

LITURGY

THE REVERENCES TO BE MADE IN GIVING BENEDICTION OF THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT

REV. DEAR SIR,-As decrees appear occasionally which modify the reverences to be made by a priest while giving Benediction (cum ostensorio), it is difficult to find a manual that supplies all the reverences to be made during the Service. Hence one notices that these reverences differ in different churches. If the question is not too unwieldy, will you kindly say what are the proper reverences to be made by a priest during the Service.

SACERDOS.

From the wording of the query we infer that our correspondent is concerned with the ordinary Benediction (cum ostensorio) given by a single priest-without Deacon and Subdeacon, or even an Assistant, to expose the Blessed Sacrament. Briefly the reverences in the order of the ceremony should be as follows1: (1) Bow to the cross on leaving the sacristy; (2) Genuflect in plano on arrival at the foot of the altar; (3) Kneel for a short prayer of adoration on the first step (customary, not prescribed); (4) Ascend the altar, spread the corporal, open the Tabernacle, and genuflect 2 on one knee; (5) Take the custodia from the Tabernacle, close the latter, open the Monstrance and the custodia, put the Blessed Sacrament (in the lunette) into the Monstrance, place the latter in the centre of the altar, and genuflect on one knee; (6) If there is a throne, take the Monstrance, mount the steps (if necessary), place it upon the throne, descend and genuflect on one knee; (7) Turn to the right, descend so as not to turn the back on the Blessed Sacrament, and kneel on the first step; (8) Bow moderately, rise, step

1 Benediction not being strictly a liturgical ceremony does not occur in any of the official books of the Roman rite. As a consequence, it varies somewhat in different countries. As authorities on the complete ceremony consult Ritus servandus in solemni expositione et benedictione SS. Sacramenti (Burns and Oates 1915); Fortescue, Ceremonies of the Roman Rite (pp. 240246); Muller, Handbook of Ceremonies, etc.

2 Genuflect in front of the Tabernacle, having the hands on the altar. An assistant in this case genuflects (with hands joined) a little to the right, in order not to turn his back on the celebrant,

• The more general practice is to bow profoundly both here and in No. (9), and this would seem more consonant with the double genuflection. But the Ritus servandus directs, 'praemissa inclinatione mediocri.'

slightly towards the Gospel side and put incense into the censer without any form of blessing; (9) Kneel again, receive the censer and bowing moderately before and after, incense the Blessed Sacrament in the usual way; (10) Bow slightly during the singing of the words Veneremur cernui ; (11) At the words Genitori Genitoque incense the Blessed Sacramentall as in No. (9); (12) After the Versicle and Response rise, sing the Prayer, kneel again on the first step, receive the humeral veil1 and, without bowing, rise and ascend to the predella; (13) Genuflect on one knee, turn the ornamented side of the Monstrance away from yourself, take it through the ends of the humeral veil, turn round and bless the people; (14) Raise the Monstrance to the level of the eyes, lower it below the breast, raise it again to the level of the breast, turn with it first to the left, then to the right (as in the Orate Fratres) and place it on the altar2; (15) Kneel on predella, return humeral veil and, without another genuflection, take the Blessed Sacrament from the Monstrance, restore it to the custodia, close it and the Monstrance, open the Tabernacle and, without genuflecting, place within it the custodia, and then genuflect; (16) Close the Tabernacle, fold the corporal, place it in the burse, restore the latter to its place against the gradus, and without further genuflection or bow 3 descend to the foot of the altar; (17) Genuflect in plano, return to the sacristy and bow to the cross on arrival.

PROFESSED RELIGIOUS AND THE PRIVILEGE OF ACTING AS SUBDEACONS AT A HIGH MASS. THE USE OF THE STOLE IN THE RECONCILIATION OF A CONVERT. SHOULD THE ANTICIPATED SUNDAY MASS HAVE THE CREDO'? THE NAME OF THE ORDINARY IN THE CANON OF THE MASS

[ocr errors]

Rev. Dear Sir, I shall be obliged if you will kindly reply to the following queries in the next issue of the I. E. RECORD:

1. Have professed Religious who are not in Orders the privilege of acting as Subdeacons at a High Mass?

2. Should a priest in reconciling a convert wear the stole when he does not absolve from excommunication; and when he does absolve should he wear the stole throughout the ceremony?

3. When a Sunday Mass is anticipated should the Credo be said? 4. When an Ordinary of a diocese has more than one name, e.g., Henry Edward, is it sufficient to mention only one in the Canon of the Mass ? I fancy I have learnt that one name is sufficient, though I cannot lay my hand on the authority.

INQUIRER.

1 If the Monstrance has been placed on a throne to which the ascent is made by steps or a ladder, a genuflection is made before the ascent and after the descent, and the humeral veil is usually not received till then. The priest receives it kneeling on the edge of the predella, and then proceeds with the blessing, as in No. (13).

2 There is an alternative though less usual way of giving the blessing, i.e., turning first to the left, then to the right, then back again to the middle and then by the left to face the altar.

> Sometimes we observe a bow to the cross, but it is not prescribed.

1. We are not aware that religious profession carries with it any such privilege. A professed Religious, even though he has not received first tonsure, enjoys certain privileges proper to clerics, e.g., the privilegium fori, but we have no evidence that this special privilege of assisting as Subdeacon at the Mass is included amongst them. The Congregation of Rites, questioned as to whether one who had not received the Subdiaconate might act as Subdeacon in a Solemn Mass, is very explicit on the point, and makes no exception in favour of Religious. The following question and reply are dated July 17, 1894: Num qui Subdiaconatus ordinem nondum recipit, Subdiaconi munere fungi valeat in Missa Solemni? - Affirmative; dummodo clericale saltem tonsura sit initiatus, manipulum non ferat et vera urgeat necessitas.' 1 And again, in a decree dated May 14, 1905, it is stated: 'Clericus ad munus subdiaconi obeundum in Missa Solemni, nunquam deputetur, nisi adsit rationabilis causa et in minoribus ordinibus sit constitutus, aut saltem tonsura initiatus.' The reception of at least first tonsure is, therefore, a prerequisite for acting as Subdeacon in the Mass in any circumstances, and this, as far as we know, equally applies to seculars and professed Religious. The following comment of Ojetti reflects the views of liturgists on the matter: 'At debet esse necessario clericus, etsi sit regularis, necnon solummodo in casu praecisae et absolutae necessitatis, idest dummodo non adsit alter.' 2

3

4

2. On the points raised herein the Ritual is not at all clear, nor do authorities seem to be in agreement. The result is that custom seems to regulate the usage differently in different places. Some prescribe the use of a purple stole throughout the ceremony, others prescribe only the surplice except, of course, for the actual Baptism and the Confession. We think that the stole should be also used for the absolution from excommunication, but for the remainder of the ceremony we know of no reason, apart from custom, that would justify the use of it.

3. Yes, the Credo should be said. The anticipated Sunday carries with it its ordinary privileges as far as the Mass is concerned, and the recitation of the Credo is one of these. It retains the Gloria, too, if the particular Sunday were entitled to it."

4. We agree with our correspondent that it is quite sufficient to mention the first of the two names in the recitation of the Canon. Though unable for the moment to discover any definite regulation in the matter, we find the tenor of several decrees decidedly against the multiplication of names unnecessarily in the liturgy of the Mass. The rubric in question directs the insertion of the nomen (not the nomina) Antistitis and we think in the particular case the insertion of the name Henrico leaves no room for ambiguity and adequately designates the Ordinary

1 Decr. 3832.

2 Synopsis Rerum Moralium, vol. iii. p. 3839.

3 Vide the Rituale Parvum (published by Duffy & Co.), p. 76.

4 Vide Ceremonies of the Roman Rite (Fortescue), p. 402.

5 See the directions in the Irish Ordo, or the outline of the Calendar annually published in the Ephem. Liturgicae.

of the place. The decrees1 referred to prohibit appendages to the names of Saints in the Collects of the Mass, e.g., Franciscus (de Paula), Petrus (Nolascus), Franciscus (Xaverius), and we fancy the reason given in one of the decrees for the prohibition has some degree of plausibility also in the present instance: Quum horum Deus non indigeat ad dignoscendum in cujusnam Servi sui nomine Oratio sibi designatur.'2

6

THE FEAST of a TITULAR IN RELATION TO THE REFORMED RUBRICS OF THE BREVIARY

REV. DEAR SIR,-In the reformed Rubrics of the Breviary (Additiones et Variationes, tit. vii. par. 1) it appears that in Lauds of a 1st Class double a commemoration is made of any double major, or minor, and of any semi-double occurring on the same day, except in the case where a 1st Class double is a Primary Feast of Our Lord kept by the Universal Church. Now, in a church whose Titular is the Sacred Heart the latter Feast is Primary. Can it, therefore, be described as 'Festum primarium Domini 1 classis Ecclesiae Universalis,' in the sense of the rubric ?

SACERDOS.

No; as the Feast of the Titular it is Primary, but as a Feast of the Universal Church it ranks as a Secondary Feast of Our Lord. The Office of the Feast, therefore, is not exempt from the prescribed commemorations, even when, as in this instance, it happens to be that of the Titular of the Church.

M. EATON.

1 Decr. 583; 2319; 2637.

2 The prohibited appendages of course refer to the places of origin of these Saints, and we are fully aware that the cases are not parallel, but nevertheless the prohibition of them serves to indicate the mind of the Church.

DOCUMENTS

THE PONTIFICAL COMMISSION FOR THE INTERPRETATION
OF
THE CANONS OF THE NEW CODE REPLIES

NUMBER OF PROPOSED DIFFICULTIES

(October 16, 1919)

PONTIFICIA COMMISSIO

AD CODICIS CANONES AUTHENTICE INTERPRETANDOS

DUBIA

SOLUTA IN PLENARIIS COMITIIS EMORUM PATRUM

TO A

Can. 6.-1. Utrum praescripta decreti S. C. C. diei 30 nov. 1910 'Decorem domus Dei' de chori disciplina in urbe servanda, I-VIII, adhuc vigeant.

Resp. Affirmative.

Can. 10.-2. Utrum vota religiosa simplicia perpetua ex parte voventis, emissa ante promulgationem Codicis in Religionibus votorum sollemnium, sive virorum sive mulierum, sint moderanda quoad modum dimissionis religiosorum et quoad effectus dimissionis a iure antiquo vigente ante Codicem. 1

Resp. Affirmative.

Can. 199, § 1 et 874, § 1.-3. Utrum ad normam canonum 199, § 1, et 874, § 1, Parochi, Vicarii parochorum, aliive sacerdotes ad universitatem

1 Cadono per conseguenza i commenti fatti in Riviste pur autorevoli ad altro dubbio o incompletamente o indebitamente pubblicato. Ecco, per maggior chiarezza, la domanda presentata alla Commissione, alla quale domanda il dubbio corrisponde: 'Fr. Iosephus Antonius a S. Ioanne in Persiceto, Procurator Generalis Ordinis Fratrum Minorum Cappuccinorum, ad pedes Sanctitatis Vestrae provolutus, quae sequuntur humiliter exponit:

[ocr errors]

In Ordinibus regularibus virorum sive etiam monialium stricte dictarum, vota simplicia, quae usque ad diem Pentecostes h. a. 1918 solemnibus praemittebantur, erant (et sunt) perpetua ex parte voventis (S. Congr. super st. Reg., Sanctissimus, 12 iun. 1858, n. I; et S. C. Episc. et Regul., Perpensis, 3 maii 1902, n. V); eaque vota, usque in diem quo vigere coepit Codex Iuris canonici: (a) apud regulares viros in Ordinibus clericalibus, ex iustis ac rationabilibus causis, solvebantur ex parte Ordinis in actu dimissionis professorum (Sanctissimus, n. III et IV; et quoad religiosos etiam Ordinis laicalis militari servitio adscriptos, S. C. de Relig. Inter reliquas, 1 ian. 1911, n. VIII); (b) apud Moniales vero solvebantur ab ipsa Sede Apostolica, ad quam recurrendum erat in singulis casibus iuxta praescriptum decreti Perpensis, n. XII. 6 Porro, quum dimissio huiusmodi professorum non videatur contemplari

« PrécédentContinuer »