Tidings of Discomfort and Liturgical Abuse
This Christmas, I was delighted to have the opportunity to travel across at least three states to celebrate the joy of this season with my family. This was the good news. The bad news? I was pelted to a spiritual pulp by liturgical abuse after abuse. Because the Mass in my home parish is faithful, I have not had to endure this level of concentrated torture for some time — and, frankly, the shock was a bit much to take.
So I share with you here a list of the dastardly deeds of the ignorant, sloppy, slothful, unfaithful and the well intended. Each of these listed below is prohibited by the liturgical norms or other instructions from the Holy See or is an omission contrary to expressed guidance provided by the Church:
• Changing of the prayers by the priest (absolutely forbidden).
• Standing when the rubrics instruct us to kneel (diocese-wide disobedience to the Holy See).
• Tropes repeated at the singing of the “Lamb of God” (recently clarified …More