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Sunday, February 9, 2014

More on the Way's Mass.

The main criticism of the Neocatechumenal Way is the way in which they celebrate the mass; therefore, I devoted two posts on it, which I hope that none would find boring.  It is also worth pointing out what the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)  says about other Masses or Community Masses.

GIRM 114:  Among those Masses celebrated by some communities, moreover, the conventual Mass, which is a part of the daily Office or the community Mass, has a particular place.  Although such Masses do not have a special form of celebration, it is nevertheless most proper that they celebrate with singing, especially with the full participation of all members of the community, whether of religious or of canons.  In these Masses, therefore, individuals should exercise the office proper to the Order or ministry they have received.....  

Do the Catholic layperson have a proper order and ministry in the priesthood?. Yes, the lay Catholic is also included as part of the priesthood.  The Apostle Peter stated that we are a holy nation, a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). According to the Instruction of Redemptionis Sacramentum of the Congregation of Divine Worship (See weblink below on the Vatican website):

The celebration of the Mass, as the action of Christ and of the Church, is the center of the whole Christian life for the universal as well as the particular Church, and also for the individual faithful, who are involved "in differing ways according to the diversity of orders, ministries, and active participation.  In this way, the Christian people, "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, a people God has made his own" manifests is coherent and hierarchical ordering."  "For the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical Priesthood, though they differ in essence and not only in degree, are ordered to one another, for both partake, each in its own way, of the one Priesthood of Christ." 


http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20040423_redemptionis-sacramentum_en.html#Chapter II 

One of the purpose of the Neocatechumenal Mass in celebrating in small communities is to imitate the Mass of Early Christianity.  In Early Christianity, the word "concelebration" is not the same as it is used today.  In ancient Christianity, all Christians concelebrated according to their role or liturgical order of the Church whereas in modern times, it refers only to the bishops and priests (See the weblink below):  

http://books.google.com/books?id=vJ78Vd4O9d4C&pg=PA261&lpg=PA261&dq=Concelebration+in+the+Early+Church&source=bl&ots=n1HLNy-C7B&sig=ZRcMFC0kjZraPPIwwqJgX1tVgy4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ntv2UqKRDcjQyAGhgIGwAQ&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Concelebration%20in%20the%20Early%20Church&f=false

2 comments:


  1. Priests can say Mass alone: (ministerial priesthood)

    "Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary." (from Summorum Pontificum)

    There are two participations in the one priesthood of Christ: (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1546 - 1553)
    the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood where ordained priests through Holy Order can change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, and then "us" the common priesthood who cannot change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
    The link you provided doesn't work; I cannot find where you got the info that in early Christianity the word "concelebration" didn't mean the same as it does today. Can you provide? Thanks.
    As for GIRM 114??? - I looked it up and it says:
    "At Sunday Masses in parishes, insofar as parishes are "Eucharistic communities", it is customary to find different groups, movements, associations, and even the smaller religious communities present in the parish." (202) While it is permissible that Mass should be celebrated for particular groups according to the Norm of the Law, (203) these groups are nevertheless not exempt from the faithful observance of the liturgical norms.
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    Replies
    1. Dear Anonymous at 8:05 a.m.,

      The weblink does not work because the book is up for sale. At any rate, the word "concelebration" during Early Christianity had a different meaning that it did today. In Early Christianity, all Christians concelebrate. In the middle ages, the word "concelebration" was changed to mean only for bishops and ordained priests.

      In the same way, the word "gay" meant "happy" or "merry" until the 17th century. Today, when you say that a person is "gay," they don't mean that they are happy. Words change over time.

      http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gay?s=t&path=/

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