I cannot tell you how fast my heart sinks when I am at a Mass where straight after the sign of the cross the celebrant greets the congregation with a `Good Morning Everyone`. Immediately I sense the spirit of the liturgy is doomed as we lose the sense of taking part in an action greater than ourselves. I can`t remember the risen Christ greeting his apostles with a cheery `Good Morning` at all. Looking back at other important scriptural greetings I can`t find any `Good Mornings`. The voice from the burning bush didn`t say `Good Morning Moses` nor the angel Gabriel wish Our Lady a good morning.
So I was very heartened to read about Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines instructing his clergy on the correct way to greet the congregation with the liturgical greeting, `Peace be with You` for a bishop or `The Lord be with You` or one of the other formulae for a priest.Thank you Cardinal Tagle.
PS This is not a problem I have ever noticed in the Extraordinary Form. : )
PS This is not a problem I have ever noticed in the Extraordinary Form. : )
Well said Father Michael.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago when I was "supplying" I was about to start the liturgical introduction the the Pater Noster when I was interrupted ivy a deacon saying "Would the children please come up onto the altar and join Father for the Our Father"!!!
I have supplied in that parish regularly for the past three years and never had experienced that in that parish.
Needless to remark it was the culmination of many non liturgical incidents during Mass over those years. The deacon seems to think he is in charge....but who let him get to that stage? Some ignorant, insecure priest, I surmise, is the answer.
Needless to add I shall not supply there again. If they want to go to Hell they can (not may!) do so...but hopefully without me.
This seems to be something which (surprisingly) older priests seem to go in for. The best example is the daily Mass at St Joseph's Home. At least Father makes the sign of the Cross & reads the entry antiphon before we get to 'Good morning'
ReplyDeleteYour post reminded me of the opening conversation between Bilbo and Gandalf in The Hobbit.
ReplyDelete"Good morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. .................................. "What do you mean?" he [Gandalf] said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"
J.R.R. Tolkien did not have any time for modern inventions in the N.O. either.
I'ts bad enough getting the "Good Morning" from the Celebrant - what really gets me is the nursery school-type response from the congregation. "Good Morning Father".
ReplyDeleteIs this a version of "Dominus vobiscum" - "et cum spiritu tuo" ?
What I find even more annoying is the priest, at the end of the Mass, saying, 'Thank you all for coming', as if we have all come along to see him. Along with, 'Good morning everyone', this kind of jovial communication between priest and people is precisely what Cardinal Ratzinger had in mind when he said that in many parishes the parish community is celebrating itself.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Fr., my heart also sinks on hearing "Good morning" from the priest at the beginning of Mass (and I try not to join in the nursery school - type response). But please let us not blame the Novus Ordo for this, too. The "Good morning" at the beginning of Mass is a bad habit, hopefully it will die out. But it is possible to celebrate the N. O. Mass without "good morning"-ing, so it's not the fault of the N. O.
ReplyDeleteCoffee Catholic the Ordinary Form invites the celebrant to say a few words at the beginning and as he is facing a crowd of people i can understand in some way the urge to wish them a good morning. If there was not room for improvisation the temptation would not aise i suspect.
ReplyDelete