A message from the master — Re: Lenten Acclamations
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Friends,

    Here was my question:

    IN THE NOVUS ORDO: My Missal says:

    During Lent, both before and after the Gospel Acclamation, instead of "Alleluia," any of the following phrases may be used:
    Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory! —— Praise and honor to you, Lord Jesus! —— Glory and praise to you, O Christ! —— Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God! —— Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!

    DOES THIS ALSO APPLY to the following?
    1. Holy Thursday
    2. Good Friday

    . . . because I remember being told that Holy Thursday and Good Friday are not part of Lent ....

    this statement (taken from http://www.chantcafe.com/2011/02/latin-missal-2002.html) doesn't say anything about an ACCLAMATION (like "Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ" etc.) Neither does this fellow.

    So .... do we sing "PRAISE TO YOU LORD JESUS CHRIST" on Good Friday ??


    Here is an answer from Gary Penkala, referred to in some circles as "the master":


    Dear Jeff,

    Confusion abounds when there are several liturgical books that are involved, published over many years. The Graduale Romanum, The Simple Gradual, The Roman Missal, and the Lectionary all have bearing on the issue.

    The simplest answer comes from the GIRM 2002 (#62):

    Outside Lent, sing an Alleluia refrain around the verse in the Lectionary [or other options, like the music in the GR]
    During Lent, sing the "other chant," which is the verse itself from the Lectionary [or other options, again]

    There is no mention made of a Lenten "refrain" in the GIRM. The old GIRM, though, has an Appendix for the U.S. that says:

    "During Lent the alleluia is not sung with the verse before the Gospel. Instead, one of the following (or similar) acclamations may be sung before and after the verse before the Gospel:
    Praise and honor to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory!
    Praise and honor to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
    Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!
    Glory to you, Word of God, Lord Jesus Christ!"

    The Lectionary agrees, in that the Gospel Acclamation appears as "Alleluia, alleluia. Verse text. Alleluia, alleluia" outside of Lent, but during Lent, has only "Verse text."

    The word "may" in the GIRM Appendix seems to indicate that even thirty years ago, one would be completely proper in singing ONLY the verse text during Lent.

    I cannot find this appendix in the new GIRM 2002 published online. Perhaps the new Roman Missals (October 2011) will clarify things.

    This lack of a mandated Lenten refrain is certainly news to me!

    It seems obvious, though, that the bishops sought to bring some uniformity to the Gospel Acclamation by providing a text to replace the alleluia refrain during Lent. That format was adopted by every parish as "dogma" - perhaps in much the same way that so many embraced hymns to replace the Propers.

    It's also clear that the original GIRM rubric is written with the chant format in mind: the Gradual would be sung after the First Reading and the Alleluia (with its Alleluia text at beginning and end) would be sung prior to the Gospel. The Alleluia would be replaced by the Tract (with obviously no Alleluia refrain, nor any other "refrain" text) during Lent. The parallel from the Lectionary is the ALLELUIA/VERSE/ALLELUIA and the VERSE format for Outside Lent and During Lent, respectively.

    One can sing "other" things as well, like the proper music from the Graduale -- that muddies the waters further (although many argue that this certainly has merit -- Dr. Mahrt, for instance).

    One thing is clear, though. Whatever the practice during Lent, it should be maintained for Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Although these days are part of the Triduum (and technically not "during Lent"), there is no Alleluia sung until the Easter Vigil. So the Gospel on Holy Thursday and the Passion on Good Friday are preceded by either the VERSE alone from the Lectionary, or by a LENTEN REFRAIN surrounding the VERSE.

    -Gary
  • Andrew Motyka
    Posts: 944
    Interesting discussion. That's one of those "everybody knows" rubrics that really isn't in the books, at least not right now.
  • Paul F. Ford
    Posts: 857
    Here are the official Lenten acclamations.
    Lent acclamations OFFICIAL.pdf
    46K
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Dr. Ford,

    Thank you! I've taken the liberty of "hard linking" that file, because I've had serious issues with PDF postings on this forum (in the past).

    Dr. Ford's Lenten Acclamation Document (instant view!) [click here]

    Dr. Ford, in your view, can these acclamations be used on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, even though those days are not really "Lent" ?
  • Paul F. Ford
    Posts: 857
    Yes!
  • Steve CollinsSteve Collins
    Posts: 1,021
    Lent is defined, scripturally, as the 40 days Christ spent in the desert. Starting with Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday is the 40th day, and we celebrate His entry into Jerusalem. Since the Sunday Feast is considered always a sort of Easter, that is why these Sundays are referred to as "during" or "in" Lent, not "of" Lent. Holy Week is set apart, including the Triduum, as the high holy days of both celebration and commemoration - observing the Sacrifice of the Cross as well as the triumph from the grave. The Liturgies contain both elements of celebration (Gloria on Holy Thursday) and continued sacrifice (no Alleluia). Then follows the 40 days of Easter leading up to Ascension Thursday.

    As a child, I learned to give up something for Lent. But whatever that was, I could have it some on the Sundays. This tradition ended with Palm Sunday, not Easter, IIRC.
  • Richard MixRichard Mix
    Posts: 2,767
    Confusion about the quadragesima appears to be nothing new, as one may read in the Catholic Encyclopedia. Scripture does speak of 40 days in the desert, as well as a tithe of one in ten. 'Lent' (not in most bible concordances!) seems to have originated as a 36 day fast beginning not on Ash Wednesday but on the "First Sunday of Lent", as the 1990 Gregorian Missal calls it. I'm only familiar with Sundays 'in' Lent from a former Methodist job.
  • eft94530eft94530
    Posts: 1,577
    When I was growing up there was no reprieve at home;
    a Lenten Sunday was just another day to "offer it up".

    In a self-improvement class in the mid-1980s, we students were given
    some article about how many days it takes to change any behavior.
    I bet you can guess that the number of days was a lot more than 6.

    If you need more datapoints to suggest that Lent does NOT need to be exactly fourty days
    how about those "thirty days" ...
    Septagesima (seventy) celebrated on a Sunday
    Sexagesima (sixty) celebrated on the following Sunday
    Quinquagesima (fifty) celebrated on the following Sunday
    ... before Quadragesima (fourty), a name for Lent, beginning on the following Sunday.

    Folks, if you have never tried the
    "Ash Wednesday through Easter Vigil inclusive" version of Lent,
    maybe this is the year to try!
  • marajoymarajoy
    Posts: 781
    (when I "offer something up" for Lent, I'm not trying to "change any behavior...")
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    For what it's worth, I was taught that Lent was originally seventy days. Also that Sundays have never been considered part of Lent.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,451
    From a homily by a Paulist father:
    "Chocolate's nice and all... but maybe we should think about giving up sin for Lent."
  • Andrew Coyne
    Posts: 42
    In the Marier hymnal, I noticed that he suggests the chant "Parce Domine" as a latin-language option. Would that be considered permissible?
  • Paul F. Ford
    Posts: 857
    Permissible for the gospel acclamation?
  • Andrew Coyne
    Posts: 42
    That's what I recall when I got it on inter-library loan. It was in the section for the Order of Mass in Latin. He suggested Parce Domine as the acclamation and then the verse was set to a psalm tone. I was surprised when I saw it, but now I'm thinking it might be a nice alternative. Dr. Ford, do you think I could do this?
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,157
    For Good Friday, it offers an English version of "Christus factus est" as a gospel acclamation, and lists the conventional Lenten texts as alternatives.
  • incantuincantu
    Posts: 989
    As a die-hard Marier devotee, this strikes me as odd (re: Parce Domine). I can imagine verses of Ps. 51 (often paired with Parce, Domine) as a Tract. But the antiphon does not seem in line with any of those in the Missal.
  • Steve CollinsSteve Collins
    Posts: 1,021
    Exactly. But as a made-up Antiphon to a Tract, it fits with the text thereof. The problem is with the GIRM, where the "Alleluia" has been magically transformed into a "Gospel Acclamation". There is no tradition for it any more than for the "Parce Domine" option. In fact, it is simply a redundant repetition of the V/R between the Gospel proclaimer and the people. (And all the wise "liturgists" wanted to rid the Mass of any redundancies!) It was only put there to force the people to sing yet something else, and rob it from the choir/schola who traditionally sang it without the people. Remember, to any good liturgist, listening is NOT participation!
  • Andrew Coyne
    Posts: 42
    So.... if there's no real "tradition" for a gospel acclamation, does that mean I could use this? What's the consensus?
  • Steve CollinsSteve Collins
    Posts: 1,021
    Not in this "real world". This world of liturgy is ruled by the GIRM (the English paraphrase thereof), the priest, the bishop, and (still today!) the liturgist. There is no common sense. There is not interest in, much less understanding, of history.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    Adam

    I tbink God would have us give up sin for Good.
  • eft94530eft94530
    Posts: 1,577
    giving up sin for Lent

    Except on Sundays?
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,451
    francis:
    Yes, well... baby steps and all that.


    eft:
    Since said homily was at a parish with some of the most frightening liturgical praxis I've ever seen... yes- except on Sundays.
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