Cardinal Newman
Catechist Consultants — 6th August, 2018
HANDOUTS n. 168
“Clear, brief and
easily assimilated by all”
Part 1. Christ Jesus Our Lord
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CHRIST is the first of 4
parts, all starting with “C”, in this submission: the others are:-
·
CATECHETICS in the faith once delivered to
the saints;
·
CONFESSION of sin and seeking holiness; and
·
CONCEPTION of saints in matrimony and
priesthood.
These are the
four vital topics in this submission for the renewal of Catholicism and
Christianity in Australia, to rebuild vital items that have gone
missing, and to clear away obstacles to virtue.
THE FACTS of our
PRESENT SITUATION
The Second
Vatican Council [VCII] has given us the ideas and ideals for the new
Evangelization. However,
the greatest concern of VCII has not yet been achieved.
This concern was
declared by Pope St John XXIII at its opening, on 11th October, 1962:
The greatest
concern of the Second Vatican Council is
that the Sacred
Deposit of Christian
Doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously.
Quoted in Abbott, Documents
of VCII, p. 713; and Catechism of the Catholic Church p. 2; emphasis added.
In actual fact,
the Sacred Deposit of Christian Doctrine is less well guarded and taught than in 1962. So Catechetics will be the nucleus for our
renewal in Christ, in Confession, and in Conception.
IN
CHRIST: vocations to His priesthood
“Jesus did not
want a Church without priests,” declared St John Paul II to Australian
seminarians in Melbourne in 1986. Christ desires vocations to His
Priesthood and perseverance in it.
Vocations require
catechesis for a renewed faith and devotion to Christ in the Holy
Eucharist:-
·
This “Presence-Sacrament” needs much more
reverent genuflections and adoration than customary today.
·
This Sacrifice-Sacrament requires matching
sacrifices in participants, including celibacy in priests.
·
This Communion-Sacrament is symbiotic with
prayer and zest for holiness and so for Confession.
CATECHETICS of
faith
·
The Apostles’ Creed unveils the Trinity
& Incarnation, the life of Christ and our life in Christ.
·
The Our
Father is the key to all
prayer, first privately, then liturgically at Mass.
·
The Ten Commandments and Sermon on the
Mount alert us to sin, Confession, and holiness.
·
The Catholic
Family Catechism Disciples’ Edition
offers easy memorization and understanding.
CONFESSION of
sins
·
This Sacrament has been almost abolished
in the Protestant mindset of many Mass-going Catholics.
·
Contraception, General Absolutions,
general worldliness, no sense of sin: all cry out for Confession.
·
Without regular Confession, zeal for
holiness ceases and sins multiply.
CONCEPTION of
saints
·
Contraception is the chief enemy of the
Sacrament of Matrimony by which spouses should sanctify each other and
their children (CCC n. 1534) and for sustainable marriage.
·
“Contracepting the Gospel” by concealment,
corruption or even cowardice is a major vice or temptation for quite a
number of otherwise good priests who desperately need leadership and
support.
Personal Covenant
Seven Pledges of a glory-giver
On MY HONOUR, I promise that I will do my best to be God’s
glory-giver:-
a child of the
Father,
a cross-bearer
with Jesus Christ, my Saviour and Friend,
with the Holy
Spirit as my Helper and Guide.
I reject Satan,
sin and selfishness.
I will be a child
of Mary and the Church,
a Good Samaritan
to my neighbour,
and faithful to
the duties of my vocation in life to which it has pleased God to call
me.
Saint N., named my patron at Baptism
(and Saint N. at Confirmation),
help me to please Jesus (today)
by imitating your virtues.
Modesty before God and man
Goodwill flows from a pure heart, a good conscience
and a sincere faith, (cf. 1 Timothy 1:5)
Lord, help me save my
soul
by putting others
before myself
— their safety,
feelings, comfort —
and make me pure
and humble,
truly
manly/womanly,
modest and
well-mannered
in gesture, deed
and dress, speech and thinking,
never rude or
crude,
and to shun pride
and vanity,
or any vulgar
display of my body, talents or successes;
may I always
imitate Mary Thy lowly handmaid,
the Living
Catechism of Christ Thy Son,
Who lives and
reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
The Reform
of the Reform of the Liturgy
VCII began the New Evangelization with
Liturgical Renewal in Sacrosanctum
Concilium (SC). Yet its
implementation has failed to deliver what VCII intended. Its
implementation needs Reform.
Proof: People with no
memory of the Old Rite, youth and young families, are escaping from the Ordinary Form they were attending, to the
Extraordinary Form 1962 Latin
Mass, or to the dignified
sacral English and deportment of the new Ordinariate Mass for convert Anglicans, or simply to the SSPX. New liturgy is so often celebrated in a way that does not
raise them to God and grip their souls.
Surely we must re-read what the Council said and also evaluate the pastoral efficacy of changes not in VCII, e.g. Mass “facing the
people”, Communion in the hand, standing up, from lay ministers. See “A
Liturgy Awesome and Wondrous”, Appendix pp. 23-24.
Another indicator is a dearth of vocations to sacramental states of life — matrimony, priesthood, Religious
Life, from families. Shonky liturgy, shoddy catechetics, worldliness,
have killed off vocations.
THE SENSE OF THE
SACRED — “We beheld His glory” (John 1:14)
It is evident
that the liturgy must favour the Sense of the Sacred and make it shine
forth.
It must be
permeated by the spirit of reverence, adoration and the glorification
of God.
Extraordinary
Synod of Bishops in Rome, 1985, Final Report IIB(b) 1
But it isn’t! The Sense of the Sacred is negated by worldly entertainments
and alien ceremonies merging off into mere antics. Such do not hold the
faithful, proven since 1970 by 85% adults, adolescents and children no
longer present at all. “Actual
participation,” participatio actualis, not just “active participation”, participatio activa, is a subtlety missing in the translations
of VCII’s SC. In practice, the Sense of the Sacred, that vital
“sacramental” such as human nature needs, is missing too.
PRIEST at ALTAR:
Which side of the altar ?
Leading them
Godward to the altar? or Facing the people across the altar ?
We assume Mass
should be “turned to the people” — but it’s not in VCII’s SC, and came
later: The altar should be built separate from the wall, in such a way
tiiat it is possible to walk around it easily and that Mass can be
celebrated at it facing the people, which is desirable wherever
possible...
General
Instruction of the Roman Missal [GIRM] n. 299
This is the only
mention of “Mass facing
the people” in the GIRM, or indeed in the entire Missal. Its purpose
seem to be that a free standing altar can be incensed all round; and
only secondarily, it makes “facing the people” possible, “can be”,
preferred, “which is
desirable", but not
commanded.
Yet contrary passages in GIRM and repeated in the
rubrics (red print in altar edition), assume the priest is not “facing
the people,” but leading them to the altar, “on their side”. Never say
“with his back to us” because the priest turns to greet the
people — except for the start of the Eucharistic Prayer.
If facing the people were normative, these directives
“to turn to the people” are meaningless:-
Rubric
|
GIRM
|
Location in the
Eucharistic Liturgy
|
28
|
145
|
Washing hands
|
29
|
146
|
“Pray, brethren”
|
31
|
—
|
Before Preface
no rubric says “turned to the people”, unlike rubrics 29, 127, 132,
139
|
127
|
154
|
Sign of Peace
|
132
|
157
|
“Behold die
Lamb of God”
|
133
|
158
|
“Turned back to
the altar”: the only such mention after a rubric “turned to the
people”
|
139
|
165
|
“Let us pray”
before post-Communion prayer: significant if at the altar and not at
the chair
|
141
|
167
|
Blessing and
Dismissal
|
We need reports
from priests and parishioners who have experienced the English Mass ad orientem (priest facing liturgical east), whether English Novus Ordo or Old Latin Rite.
SACRED SILENCE —
No chatter in church: it’s stealing the
attention people owe to God.
Sacred silence...
at the designated time... Even before tire celebration itself, it is
praiseworthy for silence to be observed in the church... sacristy... vesting room... adjacent
areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred celebration in a
devout and fitting manner. (GIRM n. 45b)
UNCLUTTERING
Electronic sights
and sounds of “power presentations” negate the Sense of the Sacred. And
their impact on the young is quite blunted by familiarity. Overhead
projectors and liturgical dancing are destructive of the Sense of the
Sacred. The faithful cease to forget themselves to meet God. So Our
Lord cleansed the Temple:-
Take all of this
out of here!
(John 2:16; Mark
11:15-16)
Turn your steps
to these places that are utterly ruined! The enemy has laid waste the
whole of the sanctuary. Your foes have made uproar in your house of
prayer: they have set up their emblems, their foreign emblems, high
above the entrance of the sanctuary. (Psalm 74:3-5 — Little Hour, Thursday Week 3)
Father James Tierney
© The Rev. B.J.H.
Tierney. Handouts are free and may be copied for any
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welcome and should be made to the publisher and distributor, the
Cardinal Newman Faith Resources Inc. PO Box 359, St Marys NSW 1790;
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