Saturday, May 09, 2009

High Mass Training Day

Light blogging today and I wanted to follow some of what the Holy Father been doing and saying in the Holy Land but today has been a "training day" for Tuesday's High Mass. I have been watching this video three or four times, I think it is one of the better videos of High Mass on You Tude. I love the elegance of it all, of the music, the vestments, the co-ordination of the Sacred Ministers. The French really do have a flair for liturgy, in both forms. I know I haven't learnt all the details of the ceremonies perfectly, and I will have to have a crib sheet for the various bits and pieces, the blessing of the deacon and incense for example, I wish I had a better memory for these things. Thank the Lord, if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing less than perfectly.

Anyhow the booklets came back from the printer, quite nice.

5 comments:

nickbris said...

That was EXCELLENT,brought tears to my eyes.Why on earth did it get changed?
The sooner we get back to it the better for all of us.

FrGregACCA said...

"Thank the Lord, if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing less than perfectly."

Yes indeed. My bishop is fond of saying, tongue firmly planted in cheek, that a Liturgy completely free of mistakes is not valid.

gemoftheocean said...

:-D I also like slight imperfections in something like this. Liturgy is not theatre, but it undeniably has theatrical properties. One of the endearing parts of live theatre is *precisely* when something goes wrong. Now you don't like a complete hash...but when some little detail or two goes wrong, it's special. Most people miss the small mistakes anyway. I do hope you'll have someone do some video camera filming and you post it to youtube so your far flung readers can have a look!

Crux Fidelis said...

Fr Ray, you say that the French have a flair for liturgy in both forms. Perhaps, if your experience is limited to la Madeleine or St Sulpice, but I have encountered as many liturgical abuses there as I have in the UK and Ireland. For example, the Apostles' Creed is regularly recited at Mass instead of the Nicene and wearing the chasuble seems to be optional.

I am old enough (just) to remember the days ante novum ordinem as I became an altar boy in 1964. One priest in our parish used to rattle through Mass in 12 minutes. That was popular with those anxious merely to fulfil their Sunday obligation but let's not get all misty eyed about the "good old days". Incidentally, the school holidays weren't all sunshine either.

Crux Fidelis said...

Miserere me. On reflection, my last post may have sounded a bit churlish. That was not my intention.

Fr Ray, please accept my sincere best wishes and and heartfelt prayers for your Silver Jubilee. Ad multos annos.

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