Sunday, January 11, 2009

And now for something completely different


This morning the Holy Father again celebrated Mass in the Sistine chapel using the original altar. Let`s hope we see more of the Pope leading by example in 2009. Let`s hope we see him attend or celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary form. For a full report see the NLM blog.


12 comments:

Augustine said...

A quid says you can't do this next Sunday :p

PeterHWright said...

Now this, in my opinion, is the way Mass should be celebrated.

Unfortunately, it's going to take a long time to reintroduce ad orientem worship on a wide scale, but I am sure it will happen !

(The Sistine Chapel looks splendid, but I wish they wouldn't put flowers right in front of the Crucifix. It looks wrong.)

Anonymous said...

What happened to your posting about Bishop Cunningham?

Fr Michael Brown said...

I got fed up with it.

Augustine said...

Sympathies, Father.

Pastor in Monte said...

Oh golly: then mine too, and my prayers for you and the diocese.

Anonymous said...

The Pope seems to be wearing a very nasty chasuble.

And wearing a lace alb with a "Gothic" chasuble - a major solecism I am told.

Anonymous said...

I am not sure it is the original altar. Sixteenth century engravings seem to show a shorter, canopied altar.

I am not sure either but did the pope traditionally celebrate in the Sistine Chapel? I thought the practice was for him to preside at Mass in the Sistine Chapel having read a Mass elsewhere. On the, relatively rare, days the pope celebrated pontifcally he used one of the basilicas - or so I thought.

Fr Michael Brown said...

Old Believer I too had heard that the Pope in recent times celebrated Pontifical Mass only a few times a year and in one of the major basilicas. I`ve just got out the booklet for the radio 3 series `The Octave of the Nativity` from 1984. It has a 16th century engraving of the altar in the Sistine chapel with the canopy you describe. However the picture is of the pope celebrating Mass in 1578.

Anonymous said...

Esteemed Dr. Brown,

In that wonderful booklet (and why don't the BBC repeat the superb series of reconstructions,(even if they missed out the commemoration of the comites Christi octaves).

However, the engraving on page 66 of the booklet clearly shows the pope presiding (and indeed the caption indicates this) and a bishop can clearly be seen on the faldstool on the Epistle side whilst the pope is on his throne.

Fr Michael Brown said...

Old Believer I looked at page 66 but didn`t study the picture for long enough and only read the caption.

As an old believer maybe you can tell us when it became the custom for the Pope to celebrate Mass in public so rarely? Did the Pope celebrate the Mass at the various station Masses of Lent in the first millenium?

Fr Michael Brown said...

Thomas, it is a pity about the chasuble especially since the deacons are so well vested.