Spot the Not Answers: All the fuss about liturgical laws

Well, where do I begin with this one.

Let us remember that this is a photo of the Red Mass if there was ever a term.

So let us take it one notch at a time.

Where do bishop's preach their homily? -  It is proper for the bishop to preach "from the chair".  As the phrase denotes, the bishop sits on his cathedra, or on his chair, to emphasize his role as teacher, guide and keeper of the Faith.  In this case, Cardinal Rosales is offering the Holy Sacrifice in his own cathedral, but opts to preach from the pulpit and not from his chair.  It has been traditional for bishop's to always preach from the chair and not from the pulpit/ambo.

And whenever he preaches, the bishop always wears his miter and if he is a metropolitan archbishop, his pallium if he has received it from the pope after he was appointed to his current metropolitan see.

Here are samples:

Cardinal Archbishop of Cebu, Ricaro Vidal, standing near his chair.

New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan preaching during Palm Sunday Mass.  He is missing the miter though.

Bishop Edward Slattery preaching during the Solemn Pontifical Mass for the anniversary of the Motu propio, Summorum Pontificum.


And here is the Holy Father.

Apart from the ghastly dalmatic the deacons are wearing.  Yup those are deacons seated beside the cathedra.  The designs are so ugly you would mistake them for a chasuble.  Now there is a reason why dalmatics are designed with the H form.  Look at the dalmatics worn by the deacons of the Mass in the photo of Bishop Slattery.  Now THOSE are dalmatics.

So, what's next?  Candles on the floor and not on the altar, ugh!

Crucifix way off to the side of the altar, ugh!  You have this impression that the face of the celebrant is more important eh?

And lastly, the concelebrating bishops are not wearing a miter.  They should have!  A simplex miter is proper for concelebrating bishops.  It is an unadorned miter, made of white silk.  The rubric for this part of the Mass should have been the bishop wearing his miter while seated.

See the miters worn by concelebrating bishops of the same Mass.

And yes, the bishops were not wearing albs or pontifical dalmatics.

So you might ask, why all the fuss?

Simple.  The appropriate things for the appropriate occassion.

Holy Mother Church has laid the norms on how to worship the Lord.  This is not mere fashion.  The Lord commanded Moses to follow liturgical laws when worshiping Him.  Go read Leviticus and Numbers!

So if our priests and bishops do not take the worship of the Lord seriously, and if they openly defy the laws of the Church regarding liturgical matters...

You know the point.

And I thought the Church in Manila has the Professor Magnus of Liturgy with her?