Wednesday Liturgy: Holy Water, Abstinence and Mimes
ROME, FEB. 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
As Lent approaches I wish to deal with some questions which we have addressed in previous years but which are continually raised.
One refers to the novel practice of removing holy water from the stoops during Lent. We explained on March 23, 2004, why this should not be done, quoting from an official reply of the Congregation for Divine Worship (3/14/03: Prot. N. 569/00/L). To wit:
"This Dicastery is able to respond that the removing of Holy Water from the fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted, in particular, for two reasons: "1. The liturgical legislation in force does not foresee this innovation, which in addition to being 'praeter legem' is contrary to a balanced understanding of the season of Lent, which though truly being a season of penance, is also a season rich in the symbolism of water and baptism, constantly evoked in liturgical texts. "2. The encouragement of the Church that the faithful avail themselves frequently of the sacraments is to be understood to apply also to the season of Lent. The 'fast' and 'abstinence' which the faithful embrace in this season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments or sacramentals of the Church. "The practice of the Church has been to empty the Holy Water fonts on the days of the Sacred Triduum in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil,
and it corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated (i.e., Good Friday and Holy Saturday)."
Many questions refer to the nature and obligation of the Lenten fast. A fairly extensive treatment of this topic can be found March 14 and 28, 2006, in which we deal with the general rules and acceptable exceptions to the laws of fast and abstinence.
Regarding this, a priest reader from Oklahoma asked: "Is it a grave matter to eat meat, knowingly and without necessity, on a Friday in Lent?"
This is more related to moral theology than liturgy. There are sins in which the matter may be grave or not grave according to other circumstances. For example, stealing even a small sum would be grave matter if the thief knows the victim to be desperately poor and needy. It would not necessarily be grave matter, although still a sin, if it represented a slight loss.
Considering this, I would say that the act of eating meat on a Friday of Lent could be grave or venial according to other circumstances. If this act is carried out knowingly, without necessity in such a way that the Church's laws are openly despised and denigrated, then it would be grave matter and should be confessed as such.
However, there may be many circumstances that could mitigate the culpability. For example, in a religiously pluralistic society a Catholic could easily find himself invited to a gathering where refusing what was offered would deeply offend the host. Strictly speaking, he is knowingly and unnecessarily eating meat on a day of abstinence but finds himself in a social conundrum that would make his fault less grave.
Not that he is off the hook completely. A Catholic should foresee these situations and avoid them whenever possible. He should also be willing to testify and defend his faith. After all, precisely because we have a pluralistic society nobody ridicules Buddhists for vegetarianism nor Jews and Muslims for abstaining from pork. Therefore Catholics should be courageous and visible in observing our somewhat miniscule rules on the days the Church asks us to make a sacrifice.
Finally, several readers asked if it was permitted to incorporate mimes and dramas during the reading of the Passion and other Holy Week readings. We repeat what we said in April 2007: "While such elements may be incorporated into extra-liturgical events such as a Way of the Cross or catechesis, they are never permitted within the liturgy. God's Word must be heard in the silence of the soul with as little interference as possible from visual or audible distractions."
Of course, this rule applies to all seasons of the year. The liturgy is simply not the appropriate situation for such demonstrations even though they are praiseworthy and effective catechetical tools in other circumstances.
As Lent approaches I wish to deal with some questions which we have addressed in previous years but which are continually raised.
One refers to the novel practice of removing holy water from the stoops during Lent. We explained on March 23, 2004, why this should not be done, quoting from an official reply of the Congregation for Divine Worship (3/14/03: Prot. N. 569/00/L). To wit:
"This Dicastery is able to respond that the removing of Holy Water from the fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted, in particular, for two reasons: "1. The liturgical legislation in force does not foresee this innovation, which in addition to being 'praeter legem' is contrary to a balanced understanding of the season of Lent, which though truly being a season of penance, is also a season rich in the symbolism of water and baptism, constantly evoked in liturgical texts. "2. The encouragement of the Church that the faithful avail themselves frequently of the sacraments is to be understood to apply also to the season of Lent. The 'fast' and 'abstinence' which the faithful embrace in this season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments or sacramentals of the Church. "The practice of the Church has been to empty the Holy Water fonts on the days of the Sacred Triduum in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil,
and it corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated (i.e., Good Friday and Holy Saturday)."
Many questions refer to the nature and obligation of the Lenten fast. A fairly extensive treatment of this topic can be found March 14 and 28, 2006, in which we deal with the general rules and acceptable exceptions to the laws of fast and abstinence.
Regarding this, a priest reader from Oklahoma asked: "Is it a grave matter to eat meat, knowingly and without necessity, on a Friday in Lent?"
This is more related to moral theology than liturgy. There are sins in which the matter may be grave or not grave according to other circumstances. For example, stealing even a small sum would be grave matter if the thief knows the victim to be desperately poor and needy. It would not necessarily be grave matter, although still a sin, if it represented a slight loss.
Considering this, I would say that the act of eating meat on a Friday of Lent could be grave or venial according to other circumstances. If this act is carried out knowingly, without necessity in such a way that the Church's laws are openly despised and denigrated, then it would be grave matter and should be confessed as such.
However, there may be many circumstances that could mitigate the culpability. For example, in a religiously pluralistic society a Catholic could easily find himself invited to a gathering where refusing what was offered would deeply offend the host. Strictly speaking, he is knowingly and unnecessarily eating meat on a day of abstinence but finds himself in a social conundrum that would make his fault less grave.
Not that he is off the hook completely. A Catholic should foresee these situations and avoid them whenever possible. He should also be willing to testify and defend his faith. After all, precisely because we have a pluralistic society nobody ridicules Buddhists for vegetarianism nor Jews and Muslims for abstaining from pork. Therefore Catholics should be courageous and visible in observing our somewhat miniscule rules on the days the Church asks us to make a sacrifice.
Finally, several readers asked if it was permitted to incorporate mimes and dramas during the reading of the Passion and other Holy Week readings. We repeat what we said in April 2007: "While such elements may be incorporated into extra-liturgical events such as a Way of the Cross or catechesis, they are never permitted within the liturgy. God's Word must be heard in the silence of the soul with as little interference as possible from visual or audible distractions."
Of course, this rule applies to all seasons of the year. The liturgy is simply not the appropriate situation for such demonstrations even though they are praiseworthy and effective catechetical tools in other circumstances.
posted by Chipi Buenafe at
10:39 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home