Why Do People Genuflect Before The Easter Vigil Mass?

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' post='1254915' date='Apr 24 2007, 07:11 AM']I guess they wouldn't have to post anything, but even then I would be surprised if there are any bishops reading phatmass.

You bring up this issue of correcting liturgical abuses. That makes me wonder how exactly bishops do that? Do they send out "inspectors" to every parish, kinda like a secret shopper? Just about every Mass I go to has [i]something[/i] that breaks the GIRM. Sometimes I wish I was ignorant about that stuff, because it does have a way of taking the joy out of attending Mass.[/quote]

oops... I meant to put "Most bishops do not have..." not "Most bishops do have..."

[Maria]

In the church we use now (my parish shares it with the French parish who owns it) the tabernacle (a really lovely one) is in a side chapel. There's one of those hanging things that have a read candle outside the door of the chapel, but you can't see the tabernacle from the main part of the church. Am I supposed to genuflect in the general direction of where it is anyway? Since we moved to that building I've kind of gotten out of the habit of genuflecting, so I don't tend to do it unless I can actually see where the tabernacle is and direct it, so to speak. I do, of course, look around to see if I can see the tabernacle when I enter a church I'm not overly familiar with.

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='VaticanIILiturgist' post='1255049' date='Apr 24 2007, 12:44 PM']Bishops typcially will not go out in search of abuses. They generally rely on information being brought to them by God's people, but only after it has been addressed locally within the parish. Most bishops, except in the gravest matters of abuse, prefer not to discuss issues of liturgical abuse until the pastor has addressed it with the person.

The pastoral visit of the bishop is also a time for them to make sure things are running proerly at the parish. "Secret shoppers" would seem to undermine the fraternal relationship of the bishop to his priests. Things like this should be conducted openly and without pretense. Sending people out to secretly observe liturgical celebrations seesm contrary to the spirit of unity in Christ and celebration of the Lord's plan of salvation.

All that said, I know several bishops who do this... [/quote]

Well, bishops aren't idiots. They know parishinors aren't going to bother raising the issue because it gets everyone in a hissy (unless it's a grave offense, but those are rare). Most laypeople don't have enough at stake to bother becoming their parish's Liturgy Police. It's easier to just change parishes if it bothers them that much, especially since if they do raise the issue, they'll be "forced" out anyway.

Also, anyone who has worked in a restaurant kitchen knows how everyone cleans up their act when they know the government inspector is stopping by next week. It's not any different with the bishop. Of course, it's all a matter how important these matters are to the bishop. If it is important to him, the parish likely has its act cleaned up anyway; if it's not that important to him, they may not bother. I attended a Mass where Archbishop Thomas Kelly was installing a pastor at one parish and couldn't help but notice their homemade recipe of eucharistic bread had a dangerous tendency to cumble and fall on the floor. You almost had to Hoover it from your hand into your mouth, or lick it up like a dog. Obviously, the Archbishop's presence wasn't enough to make them correct that abuse (and about as grave an offense as possible before you get into "automatic excommunication" territory).

So the bottom line is, there are only two ways to eliminate liturgical abuse: allow each priest to do it on his own initiative (i.e. unrealistic) or send out the spies and make sure it gets done right (i.e. realistic). Of course, I'm sure some bishops prefer to maintain more trust between them and their priests and don't see much spiritual value gained in enforcing things too heavily. Correcting abuses is a great way to run smack into peoples' Pride, which is why most laypeople wisely leave it to their bishop to handle how he sees fit

Edited April 25, 2007 by LouisvilleFan