Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Eccles: Papal funeral rites-what can we expect?
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stbruno
Shipmate
# 3505
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Posted
Not wanting to appear morbid ...but in the likely event of the passing of JPII, what ceremonies will be followed? [ 14. May 2007, 20:02: Message edited by: Belisarius ]
Posts: 157 | From: sydney | Registered: Nov 2002
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Spiffy
Ship's WonderSheep
# 5267
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Posted
I 'spect I'll cry a bit...
...but other than that, being a Prot I don't know.
-------------------- Looking for a simple solution to all life's problems? We are proud to present obstinate denial. Accept no substitute. Accept nothing. --Night Vale Radio Twitter Account
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+Chad
Staffordshire Lad
# 5645
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Posted
I expect they'll bury him at some point.
-------------------- Chad (The + is silent)
Where there is tea there is hope.
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Scotus
Shipmate
# 8163
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Posted
Can't do much until Tuesday, if he should die before then (it being the Easter Octave and then the Annunciation transferred)
I think there's a novena of requiems & lying in state before the funeral.
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IngoB
Sentire cum Ecclesia
# 8700
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by stbruno: Not wanting to appear morbid ...but in the likely event of the passing of JPII, what ceremonies will be followed?
The "Ordo exsequiarum Romani Pontificis", glad to have helped...
-------------------- They’ll have me whipp’d for speaking true; thou’lt have me whipp’d for lying; and sometimes I am whipp’d for holding my peace. - The Fool in King Lear
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
I do not know if they still would be observed (with my taste for theatre, I rather hope they are), but there used to be all sorts of ceremonies unique to the death of a pope. For example, the head of the College of Cardinals would tap the pope's head with a small hammer and address him by his baptismal name three times - and then announce, when His Holiness did not respond, that it was certain the pope was dead. The papal ring would be smashed.
Those unfamiliar with Italian customs, and therefore not seeing that it is a gesture of respect and recognition, should not be shocked when everyone applauds as the coffin is brought to the crypt.
My guess would be that John Paul's rites will be splendid and dignified, but with no special emphasis on the 'royal' aspects (which I so love). You'll remember that he declined a coronation and never used the third person form of address in his writings.
-------------------- Cheers, Elizabeth “History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
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stbruno
Shipmate
# 3505
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Posted
Not possesssing a copy of Ordo exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, can someone elaborate?
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IngoB
Sentire cum Ecclesia
# 8700
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Posted
Well, neither have I not did I find an online version. Hence my attempt at self-irony above...
-------------------- They’ll have me whipp’d for speaking true; thou’lt have me whipp’d for lying; and sometimes I am whipp’d for holding my peace. - The Fool in King Lear
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
I do not have a copy either... and here I thought my library quite extensive...
There is a terse explanation of some considerations on this Yahoo page, but no online source of which I know about the actual ceremonies. I had not realised that John Paul might be interred in Krakow.
-------------------- Cheers, Elizabeth “History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
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Maniple
Shipmate
# 2237
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Posted
The Funeral is to be on Wednesday.
May he rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen
-------------------- No Maniple, No Mass. Better Together.
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Treatise
Shipmate
# 4255
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Posted
I have put the text of the Novena for the Repose of Pope John Paul II and the text of On the Vacancy of the Apostolic See here.
Some resources from Committee on the Liturgy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are here.
-Treatise [ 02. April 2005, 22:03: Message edited by: Treatise ]
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Thurible
Shipmate
# 3206
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Posted
I am a little confused.
The Holy Father died on Easter Saturday. I was under the impression that Requiem Masses shouldn't be offered during Easter Week. Today is the a Sunday, and I was under the impression that Requiems may not be offered on Sundays. Tomorrow is the Annunciation, and my impression was that Requiems may not be offered on Solemnities.
However, the press have reported that Requiems were offered yesterday, were offered in S. Peter's Square today, and will be offered tomorrow. Is this them not understanding what a Requiem Mass is, or are they breaking the rules for the Holy Father?
Thurible
-------------------- "I've been baptised not lobotomised."
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
Better wait for an authoritative pronouncement from Trisagion or another 'insider' shipmate. I attended the Sunday mass today at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, which was almost full to capacity. The liturgy, and succinct scriptural homily by the archbishop, was extremely moving. The notices at the entrance described it as a Requiem, and indeed the collect and other prayers were for +++John Paul. The readings however were those of the day (very relevant as it happens), good anglican hymns were sung, and the eucharistic prayer brought tears to my eyes as the archbishop prayed not only for the Pope but for 'Archbishop Derek Worlock and Bishop David Sheppard' [sic] ... former RC and Anglican diocesans, the latter recently departed. Tat detail... red vestments were worn: this anglican would have expected white (for Easter) or possibly purple. Any suggestion why not?
-------------------- Brian: You're all individuals! Crowd: We're all individuals! Lone voice: I'm not!
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Thurible
Shipmate
# 3206
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Posted
According to the Abp. of Liverpool on Radio 4 this afternoon (he told the interviewer that he was still wearing his vestments as Mass had only just finished - the ones the Holy Father had worn on his 1982 to Liverpool), Paul VI had declared his desire that papal requiems should be in red because popes should live lives of martyrdom, constantly dying with Christ. Why this is different to the vocation of all Christians I'm not sure.
Thurible
-------------------- "I've been baptised not lobotomised."
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jlg
What is this place? Why am I here?
# 98
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Posted
[cross-post with Thurible - now I'm really confused!]
As I understand the meaning of the term, the only Requiem Mass for JPII will be the one held with his body present.
Are you people talking about masses offered for him or in remembrance or what? [ 03. April 2005, 20:57: Message edited by: jlg ]
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Thurible
Shipmate
# 3206
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by jlg:
Are you people talking about masses offered for him or in remembrance or what?
Hopefully for him, as he has just died, and, according to Holy Tradition, is preparing for/in Purgatory (whatever that might mean). Until (if) a successor of the Holy Father sees fit to canonise him, then no Masses should be said in his honour, or any such.
The Holy Father was a good and holy man, but he has just died. It is not the time to canonise him; that way Protestantism lies!*
Thurible
*There's a delicious irony in saying that about the Pope!
-------------------- "I've been baptised not lobotomised."
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jlg
What is this place? Why am I here?
# 98
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Posted
But every RC mass is offered for someone or something -- that's the final intercessory prayer: "For (insert name or intention) for whom/which this mass is being offered, let us pray to the Lord>". But this follows a lot of more general concerns about the church and the world in the here and now.
At a funeral (requiem) mass, the intercessory prayers begin with a prayer for the soul of the deceased, followed by entreaties on behalf of his/her family and friends, and then the rest of us, doomed to die as we all are.
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Trisagion
Shipmate
# 5235
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Thurible: I am a little confused.
You need not be.
You are quite correct regarding Masses for the Dead in the Octave of Easter and on Solemnities of the Lord. Normally no requiems during the Triduum, nor except for funerals during the Octave and on Solemnities...which is why Angelo Card. Sodano celebrated the Mass of the Second Sunday of Easter at St Peter's this morning.
These sort of liturgical rules, which appropriately place the celebration of the annual memorials of the events of our salvation ahead of any other memorial, are often ignored for pastoral reasons...hence the requiems for the Holy Father. Red is the colour for papal mourning according to the Pontificale, IIRC.
-------------------- ceterum autem censeo tabula delenda esse
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stbruno
Shipmate
# 3505
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Posted
Being glued to CNN for the last few days I too was struck by the fact that the Mass in St Peters was in fact the Mass appropriate to Divine Mercy Sunday (recently mandated by JP2) with White vestments, despite being referred to by the media as a requiem. (BTW the gospel readings were the same as those used in the 1961 Missal for Low Sunday -the former feast celebrated on the day). So i was surprised to see that Westminster Cathedral was celbrating mass in red.
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Archimandrite
Shipmate
# 3997
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Posted
The Mass in Vienna was celebrated last night at 7pm, with the Cardinal and clergy vested in black, and other clergy present in purple stoles. Apparently, there were 7,000 people there, as well as the president, chancellor, party leaders, ex-president &c., &c.* From the mass - Christoph Cardinal Schönborn
(*Incidentally, I was most delighted by the fact that in a space which became as cramped as the cathedral, these people could walk entirely unprotected and unmolested through the middle of a large crowd of voters without something inappropriate happening.)
-------------------- "Loyal Anglican" (Warning: General Synod may differ).
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FCB
Hillbilly Thomist
# 1495
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Posted
Here is a page with information on Papal funerals.
FCB
-------------------- Agent of the Inquisition since 1982.
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Chapelhead*
Ship’s Photographer
# 1143
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Posted
Bumping this up partly because I'm sure there's much to say about it.
I haven't seen the funeral (I'm at work - you can tell, can't you) and wondered whether it was a Mass in the sense I understand the word - with the bread and wine bit (to put it rather badly)? If so, who took Communion - presumably not the 2 million people present, or even all the (Catholic) VIP types? Or isn't this the way Requiem Masses are "done"?
-------------------- Benedikt Gott Geschickt!
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Ultraspike
Incensemeister
# 268
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Posted
Didn't get up at 4 am to see it so I'm wondering if there's a video available somewhere?
-------------------- A cowgirl's work is never done.
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Og: Thread Killer
Ship's token CN Mennonite
# 3200
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Posted
If there isn't a DVD soon, I'd be surprised.
-------------------- I wish I was seeking justice loving mercy and walking humbly but... "Cease to lament for that thou canst not help, And study help for that which thou lament'st."
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FCB
Hillbilly Thomist
# 1495
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Posted
I did get up at 4 am and it was a Mass with communion offered to those who were able to get close enough to receive -- i.e. actually in St.Peter's Square. There were 300 priests distributing communion. I figue that if each of them had 200 hosts (just a guess), then that was communion for 600,000. This liturgy was, of course, extraordinarily large, but the Vatican is very experienced at organizing Masses for vast numbers, so they are pretty efficient about it. The priests giving communion each has a ciborium with hosts in it that he holds during the Eucharistic prayer and then, as the Our Father begins, they start moving into position to distribute communion. Not surprisingly, communion was given in only one species.
I was struck by the fact that most of the people that they showed on television received on the tongue, not in the hand. There seemed to be a very large number of Poles in the Square, and I don't believe that the do communion in the hand in Poland, so this might account for it.
I must say that I found the whole thing extremely moving. Ratzinger did an excellent job with his homily. And when the crowd started chanting "magnus" at the end -- as they did at the funeral of Gregory the Great -- I got chills.
FCB
-------------------- Agent of the Inquisition since 1982.
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by FCB: I must say that I found the whole thing extremely moving. Ratzinger did an excellent job with his homily. And when the crowd started chanting "magnus" at the end -- as they did at the funeral of Gregory the Great -- I got chills.
I agree - the homily, in particular, was extremely moving (even if the music was not top quality.) And I, too, was surprised that so many people were receiving communion on the tongue.The BBC coverage included commentary by Eamon Duffy, which I found especially delightful. For example, there was an explanation of why John Paul requested that he be buried 'in the ground' - I wish I could remember it verbatim.
There was quite a notable ceremony involving chants and blessings by the Eastern rites.
-------------------- Cheers, Elizabeth “History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
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FCB
Hillbilly Thomist
# 1495
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by FCB: IThere were 300 priests distributing communion. I figue that if each of them had 200 hosts (just a guess), then that was communion for 600,000.
Doh!
Make that 60,000.
FCB
-------------------- Agent of the Inquisition since 1982.
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Thurible
Shipmate
# 3206
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Ultraspike: Didn't get up at 4 am to see it so I'm wondering if there's a video available somewhere?
The BBC have key moments on their website.
Thurible
-------------------- "I've been baptised not lobotomised."
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Ultraspike
Incensemeister
# 268
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Posted
Thanks, CNN is replaying it again tonight at 7pm so I'll catch it then.
-------------------- A cowgirl's work is never done.
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
I saw a lot of it and agree with FCB and NO. But I missed the communion, and heard later that the first person (after the assembled cardinals etc) to receive was Brother Roger of Taize. Can anyone else confirm this? If so, it's an amazing gesture.
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by angloid: I saw a lot of it and agree with FCB and NO. But I missed the communion, and heard later that the first person (after the assembled cardinals etc) to receive was Brother Roger of Taize. Can anyone else confirm this? If so, it's an amazing gesture.
I cannot remember if he received immediately after the cardinals, but most definitely remember his being, at the least, one of the first (presumably because he had to be wheeled.) And it is amazing!
During the communion, the cameras focussed largely on people from 'the crowds' (many young) receiving. I do not recall attention to heads of state and other dignitaries (perhaps because so few are RC, and seeing the Catholics receive would be awkward, with everyone seated together. I cannot remember how that was handled specifically.) One of the commentators mentioned the RC rules about communion to explain ++Rowan's exclusion.
-------------------- Cheers, Elizabeth “History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
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Zar
Shipmate
# 4647
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Posted
I too missed the Communion. But, out of interest, how would they justify giving Communion to Brother Roger? I know some members of the Taize Community are RC priests, but Brother Roger is/was a Lutheran. In Taize itself RC Mass is offered to all without anyone batting an eyelid, but I would have thought things would have been different when a Taize Brother went to the Vatican?
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Spike
Mostly Harmless
# 36
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Posted
I listened to the service on the radio and was very disappointed with the standard of the choir. I've heard many Parish Church choirs do better, and the Credo was so flat it was painful.
-------------------- "May you get to heaven before the devil knows you're dead" - Irish blessing
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Trisagion
Shipmate
# 5235
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Zar: ...but Brother Roger is/was a Lutheran.
I think "was".
-------------------- ceterum autem censeo tabula delenda esse
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Zar
Shipmate
# 4647
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Trisagion: quote: Originally posted by Zar: ...but Brother Roger is/was a Lutheran.
I think "was".
Well, it would greatly surprise me if he had been formally received into the Roman Catholic Church...because the message given out by Taize, as I've understood it, is that the communion of Christians as the Body of Christ is something that transcends denominational boundaries. I would therefore have thought it odd if Brother Roger, having founded an ecumenical community, had suddenly felt it necessary to switch allegiances from one wing of the Church to another.
It may well be that he's not 'officially' a Roman Catholic, but feels that as a member of the worldwide Church and a regular recipient of the RC sacrament in Taize, he's entitled to receive. However, it would be pretty monumental if the Vatican condoned that - though I guess if he'd been brought forward to receive they couldn't very well turn him away! [ 08. April 2005, 17:24: Message edited by: Zar ]
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FCB
Hillbilly Thomist
# 1495
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Zar: it would be pretty monumental if the Vatican condoned that - though I guess if he'd been brought forward to receive they couldn't very well turn him away!
I find is somewhat (i.e. highly) unlikely that someone simply slipped him into the communion line. I am sure that no one was in that line who was not vetted before hand.
I don't know if Br. Roger was ever officially received into the RC Church, but I do know that Max Thurian of Taize was.
FCB
-------------------- Agent of the Inquisition since 1982.
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
For those who missed the broadcast, Cardinal Ratzinger's homily is available at the BBC site.
I have no idea if Brother Roger was received into the RC Church, but fully agree with FCB that there was nothing spontaneous about the queuing. Perhaps (assuming he still is Lutheran - Roger, that is, not FCB) he has received permission to participate, generally or on this occasion.
-------------------- Cheers, Elizabeth “History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
I should like to ask a further question - which I know some of you are very qualified to answer. Having just read a thread in Purgatory about the Prince of Wales, then a Yahoo link regarding leaders from the Mid-East , it seems to me that there is a good deal of uproar about who shook hands with whom at the pope's funeral. Of course, enemies, those censuring actions, and so forth grasped hands only because of where the Vatican had seated them.... if John Paul is already in the heavenly courts, I can picture this great man of peace looking down and pushing a button...
My questions: (1) is exchanging the peace with another in any way an endorsement of the others' positions and (2) would it ever be acceptable to refuse to do so (for reasons of such disagreements, not because of fearing someone who had SARS may have coughed into his palms)?
-------------------- Cheers, Elizabeth “History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
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Sarum-mental
Apprentice
# 9300
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Posted
Can anyone explain two liturgic particularities of the the Papal obsequies ? First, why was the Credo used? There was a point where the Credo was not used in requiem Masses--has this changed? And, second, the responses to the Agnus dei and to the Lux aeternam were for the intention of a third person singular--give him rest eternal rather than the usual give them rest eternal. This seems subtle but it would seem to make the Pope a special case rather than a humble servant like the rest of us. Oh, and EWTN Radio commentators reported that Frere Roger had, indeed, swum the Tiber so to speak and become a Roman Catholic at some point in the past.
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Zar
Shipmate
# 4647
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Sarum-mental: Oh, and EWTN Radio commentators reported that Frere Roger had, indeed, swum the Tiber so to speak and become a Roman Catholic at some point in the past.
He may have done, on the same basis as Max Thurian (thanks for bringing him in, FCB). Having read more about the latter, it would appear that after Vatican II (at which both he and Roger were Protestant representatives) he felt the RCC to be inclusive of the Protestant churches. Hence he did not consider himself to have renounced his Protestantism on becoming a Catholic.
Apologies for dragging this out, but having been to Taize several times, I'm intrigued by the way it relates to the different Churches and especially to the Vatican.
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The Scrumpmeister
Ship’s Taverner
# 5638
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Posted
Aha!
A fellow Sarumite! (or perhaps just someone from Salisbury )
Either way, welcome aboard!
-------------------- If Christ is not fully human, humankind is not fully saved. - St John of Saint-Denis
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stbruno
Shipmate
# 3505
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Posted
Can anyone confirm whether two Eastern patriariarchs particpated in the Mass (I don't mean those who are Eastern rite catholics). CNN suggested that the Apostolic Patriarch of the Armenians and another were to be involved.
And I was blown away seeing Orthodox, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus all assembled at St Peters in what was a truly amazing gathering.
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Sarum-mental: And, second, the responses to the Agnus dei and to the Lux aeternam were for the intention of a third person singular--give him rest eternal rather than the usual give them rest eternal. This seems subtle but it would seem to make the Pope a special case rather than a humble servant like the rest of us.
Actually, the third person singular was used generally in a Requiem Mass (which is an actual funeral, not, for example, a Mass for all the departed in November). The plural is used otherwise.
-------------------- Cheers, Elizabeth “History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
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kingsfold
Shipmate
# 1726
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Posted
Newman's Own - thank you for that link to the transcript of Cardinal Ratzinger's homily. I kept losing track of what was being said as I kept finding that the moment I managed to get tuned into the Italian and start to pick up the sense and the flow of it, the English translation kept chipping in. I kept losing my concentration as I couldn't cope with the two languages simultaneously, and I kept tuning out the Italian to listen to the English. As the English was a paraphrase/summary rather than a direct translation, I lost it rather!
Anyhow, I have a video recording of most of the service (I got timed out on the final bit and lost the final removal of the coffin back into St Peter's; it cuts out at the point at which the cardinals start to depart from around the coffin). I am very happy to lend this out if anyone wants to borrow it.
-------------------- I came to Jesus and I found in him my star, my sun. And in that light of life I'll walk 'til travelling days are done
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Newman's Own
Shipmate
# 420
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by kingsfold: Newman's Own - thank you for that link to the transcript of Cardinal Ratzinger's homily. I kept losing track of what was being said as I kept finding that the moment I managed to get tuned into the Italian and start to pick up the sense and the flow of it, the English translation kept chipping in.
The same happened to me! (In fact, silly though this is, I nearly wished there were no translation.... of the Italian or the Latin... which, under the circumstances, shows I need a little more gin in order to be logical..)
I forgot to mention this earlier. The Creed is not required, but not prohibited, in the new order for funerals. It was not included in the 'old' Requiem (parts of which I dearly love... that Pie Jesu and Dies irae...)
The music was absolutely dreadful. (Not that the Sistine Choir shall ever be competition for, let us say, Westminster Cathedral.) I'm going to blush and admit something that I probably could only admit on this board. (Bracing myself - some of you are going to hate this...) Splendid though some aspects of the ceremonies were, wonderful though it was to see all those representatives of every faith (and all those enemies seated next to each other), and despite this being a tribute to John Paul's papacy which was incredible, I was disappointed on one count. It has been many years since the last papal funeral, and somehow I was picturing splendour. (I recited the prayer along with the crowd, sometimes lapsing into the Tridentine versions.) But it still was the type of liturgy I grew to dislike in my later Roman days - crap music where (so it seemed) everyone had to sing everything.
The deacon from Birmingham who chanted the gospel was about the best musically for the day.
-------------------- Cheers, Elizabeth “History as Revelation is seldom very revealing, and histories of holiness are full of holes.” - Dermot Quinn
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kingsfold
Shipmate
# 1726
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Posted
quote: The music was absolutely dreadful... The deacon from Birmingham who chanted the gospel was about the best musically for the day.
Agreed. I can understand that things might go a little flat if left to their own devices, but the choir had the organ chipping in every so often to bring the pitch back and they still managed to start the next repsonse out of tune...
Still, despite the quality of the music, I found the whole thing moving. [ 08. April 2005, 23:10: Message edited by: kingsfold ]
-------------------- I came to Jesus and I found in him my star, my sun. And in that light of life I'll walk 'til travelling days are done
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Angloid
Shipmate
# 159
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Posted
Among the most moving was the sight of the very plain coffin with the Bible on top. In conjunction with the reports of the Pope's will (ie. nothing to leave), and the dignity without pomposity of the liturgy (I understand NO's nostalgia for more 'show', but in wouldn't have seemed appropriate IMHO), it said a lot about the man and hopefully about the sort of church that a new pope will have to lead.
Having said that, don't the new funeral rites encourage the use of a white pall over the coffin?
Posts: 12927 | From: The Pool of Life | Registered: May 2001
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FCB
Hillbilly Thomist
# 1495
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by Newman's Own: But it still was the type of liturgy I grew to dislike in my later Roman days - crap music where (so it seemed) everyone had to sing everything.
I'm not sure that they expected everyone to sing everything. Rather, what they seems to do is to try to make sure that everyone had some part they could sing in everything (e.g. polyphonic psalm verses with a chanted congregational response. I agree with you that it didn't work, either aesthetically or, from what I could see, liturgically (not many people were singing). I think a better solution would have been simply to let the choir do some parts and let the congregation do others.
quote:
The deacon from Birmingham who chanted the gospel was about the best musically for the day.
I also thought the litany of the saints was beautiful. Funny how it was the parts without the choir that came off best.
FCB
-------------------- Agent of the Inquisition since 1982.
Posts: 2928 | From: that city in "The Wire" | Registered: Oct 2001
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Ian Climacus
Liturgical Slattern
# 944
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Posted
quote: Originally posted by FCB: I also thought the litany of the saints was beautiful.
Me too. I found that very moving, and a wonderful witness to all the teachers, matryrs and saints through the ages. Absolutely beautiful.
Posts: 7800 | From: On the border | Registered: Jul 2001
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dj_ordinaire
Host
# 4643
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Posted
A wonderful experience to behold! Rest eternal to him, indeed - the Litany of the Saints, especially...
I think we can even overlook the dreadful concelebration vestments!
-------------------- Flinging wide the gates...
Posts: 10335 | From: Hanging in the balance of the reality of man | Registered: Jun 2003
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