December 22, 2006
Merry Christmas, You Heretics!
Basil Seal has some rules for non-Papists thinking of crashing Midnight Mass. Among them:
Rule 5: When everyone kneels, you kneel. When everyone stands, you stand. When everyone sits down, you sit down. There is a Missal in the rack before you, inside you will find the service, so you can follow along. Sorry, no video is available, you will actually have to read it...Oh, and if you are doing this right, it will be in Latin. If you need help, ask a Catholic. Before entering a pew, Catholics genuflect toward the altar, so do not knock some poor old blue hair down in your rush to take her seat. And while you are there, it would probably be good to genuflect and then prostrate yourself before the alter and beg forgiveness.
Read the rest - complete with gratuitous 'Palie-bashing!
I've often dwelt on the ironical thought that the two highest Holy Days, Christmas and Easter, also are the two days I most loathe going to church. This is no coincidence, of course - I just can't stand the "C & E" crowds, whose milling about, whispering and (during the music) talking, dropping things and general cluelessness make it terribly difficult to concentrate. In general, the only spirit I feel move me is the one urging me to kick my neighbors in the shins and remind them that the service isn't a @#$@)#* cocktail party.
(Oh, and of course, we know that Jesus was, in fact, born at 10:30 PM on Christmas Eve, not Midnight.)
Posted by Robert at December 22, 2006 08:48 AM | TrackBackI have subsequently fixed the misspelled word...My apologies....
Posted by: Basil Seal at December 22, 2006 09:37 AMTechnically, Catholics genuflect towards the Tabernacle, not the altar. In olden days, this meant towards the altar, as the Tabernacle was usually built into or directly behind the main altar (the exception being monasteries or cathedrals which often have separate chapels/side altars/tabernacles for adoration the Eucharist).
In older churches, it is still that way -- toward the altar.
The newer church architecture usually has the tabernacle off to the side, and so one would actually genuflect not precisely at the altar, but slightly to one side.
Of course, Tridentine masses are usually in older churches where the Tabernacle is in the traditional position, so Basil's formulation is right 99% of the time.
That was a typo? I thought you were being "edgy".
Posted by: Robbo the LB at December 22, 2006 09:53 AMChreaster Chreaster
Chreaster Chreaster
I only go to Church
on Christmas and Easter...
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