Thursday 30 May 2013

Spot the Difference


Starting from 2hrs 35 mins, we have Pope Francis's incensation of the Blessed Sacrament, our Eucharistic Lord.



Starting from 8 mins 41 seconds, we have Pope Benedict XVI's incensation of the Blessed Sacrament, our Eucharistic Lord.




Kneeling before our Eucharistic Lord has always been important to Popes, as you can see.


Kneeling Catholic will be none too pleased for reasons which will be obvious. Our beloved Holy Father says so many good and wise things but one wonders if there were some behind His Holiness who were wondering when Pope Francis would use the prie-dieu set before him.


Pray that the Holy Father sets a good example to the rest of us, especially at this time when faith in the Real Presence is so weak and so fragile, to kneel before our God, as did his predecessor and, presumably, all of His Holiness's predecessors.



St. Francis of Assisi, in his "Letter to All Superiors of the Friars Minor" said:

'When the priest is offering sacrifice at the altar or the Blessed Sacrament is being carried about, everyone should kneel down and give praise, glory, and honor to our Lord and God, living and true.'

I liked the gesture that the Holy Father made in travelling humbly by foot as a pilgrim following the Lord in procession, as one of us, but would have preferred that the Holy Father had not broken with his predecessors on this occasion and had knelt before the Lord Jesus in adoration and worship. It goes without saying that kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament, in adoration, is a genuine gesture of humility before God.

11 comments:

Philip said...

How depressing Pope Francis liturgies are - it is all about him!

He talks about God, he talks beautifully but it his take on particular aspects of the faith rather than the Catholic Tradition which we had from Benedict.

In the liturgy it is all him again, his simplicity, his humility, his lack of triumphalism, his innovations, his disregard for ancient customs, his break with the past, his break with his predecessors. The liturgy should point to God, not Fr Jorge!

NonAngelusSedAnglus said...

My mother always said, "Don't curse the darkness. Light a candle.". Let us set a good example to others here.

epsilon said...

Enough of this silly holier than thou judgemental rubbish!

Pope emeritus Benedict, though I love everything about him, isn't God!

Pope Francis isn't meant to be a carbon copy of B16!

Thank God for Fr Ray Blake who unlike many trads is not badmouthing Pope Francis!

I watched the whole procession from 1:40:00 on and it was beautiful, gentle, holy and Catholic!

The Bones said...

No, Pope Benedict XVI is not God.
Humbly, he knelt down before Him, thus teaching us that Jesus is God.
I am not bad-mouthing Pope Francis, just saying that it is sad that His Holiness did not kneel before the Holy of Holies.

The prie-dieu suggests that it was expected that His Holiness would kneel before Jesus, our Eucharistic Lord.

The Bones said...

Kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament is not a 'rubric'.

This is worship.

Amfortas said...

Philip I don't understand how 'particular aspects of the faith' are somehow different from Catholic Tradition. Perhaps it's your choice of phrase that's confusing me. You seem to be pitting faith and Tradition against one another. This is illogical and certainly not Catholic.

Amfortas said...

Just what are you trying to say? This constant attempt to contrast the two papacies is negative, even destructive. Just what do think it achieves?

aly said...

Everyone who is interested in Pope
Feancis not kneeling has surely read that he has a bad knee. I said to someone that when Pope Francis visited Pope Benedict that they kneeled together in prayer.
That person said to me, yes but
getting back up is the hard part.
I said, yes that is true. The kneeling part was posted per video
but I don't think the getting up was. Msgr. Ganswein was close at
hand.

The Bones said...

His Holiness had no trouble in kneeling for the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday.

aly said...

My apology for typo-ing Pope Francis'
name. Laurence, you are right about that feet washing bit. I'm just trying to sort it out as you are.

Katalina said...

While I also admire the pope for walking behind the procession he should have knelt down even if were uncomfortable. This is why I think in hindsight the Cardinals back in March should have picked somebody YOUNGER and in BETTER health after Benedict had to step because of age. If it had been Card Burke Malcolm Ranjith or Peter Erdo who are all in their 60's this would not even be a issue with confusion and novelties

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