On Friday at a priest`s funeral, I bumped into Fr Adrian Dixon, our diocesan liturgist. Fr Dixon is my successor at St Joseph`s and St Wilfrid`s in Gateshead. The Latin Mass continues on a Sunday at St Joseph`s: recently Fr Dixon has learnt how to say it and seems to be the celebrant most Sundays now. While disappointed not to be involved any more myself, I must say that it is a great breakthrough to have the diocesan liturgist celebrating the traditional Mass in his own parish. I have always had respect for Fr Dixon and have consulted him on liturgical matters and he asked me canonical questions at times. A couple of years ago I was concerned as to how I would bless two paschal candles with only one Easter vigil. Unfortunately I can`t remember the answer now but may need to look it up again for next year.
On this occasion I took the opportunity to ask whether we have an indult in England and Wales for lay people to purify the vessels after communion. . This arose because of the indult for lay people to do so in the USA recently not being renewed by the Holy See. He told me we don`t have any such indult. It would be surprising if our bishops were to say anything, I suppose, but maybe it will be raised at the next ad limina. Fr Finigan had an article with a discussion about this matter on his blog which includes a response from the Liturgy office of the English bishops. I am reluctant to make a stand about this in the parish without a lead from the top as they will just think it`s me who has `dragged (them) back in time in the celebration of Mass` ( in the words of the petition I was given a couple of months after arriving in the Forest). Anyway, if the universal indult is coming soon, (here`s the latest rumour) then there will be less to worry about in all kinds of ways!
1 comment:
Father, our PP did away with this practice (having the extraordinary ministers purify the sacred vessels) early this year, explaining the new GIRM didn't allow it. I can't speak for the rest of our diocese (Wrexham). Apart from a couple of the ladies bewailing the fact they could no longer "wash up" (!!) there wasn't a general revolution or anything. Just thought you might like to know that!
Incidentally, although CTM (214) doesn't mention who should or should not purify the vessels after Holy Communion, it does have a footnote pointing to the appropriate parts of the GIRM (163, 279) which restrict this to a "priest, deacon or instituted acolyte".
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