Maronite Holy Mass

[tony mattar]

I am a Catholic Maronite and was just wondering why during the celebration of Holy Mass we do not kneel ONCE and also why we do not read from the Old Testament...has this always been The Tradition of Maronite Rite?

[DavidObeid]

Hi Tony,

I'm not sure about the Old Testament readings, but the kneeling part is explained thus:

In the Eastern rites (Antiochian, Byzantine, etc), the Divine Liturgy (it isn't called "Mass" in the East) is seen more in terms of a participation in the Marriage Feast in heaven and in eschatological (end of the world) terms, and hence places a greater emphasis on the notion of resurrection. The link between resurrection and the Eucharist was made clear by Our Lord in John 6. Eastern rites emphasise this over (but never in exclusion to) the juridical/sacrificial aspect emphasised in the West. With an emphasis on divinisation (read paragraph 460 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church), and resurrection, the appropriate posture is to stand erect.

There's quite a lot to this topic!

[MelanieM]

Do you know where I can obtain a copy of the Maronite Mass Rubrics?

[New Jack Swinger]

It would be good to get our hands on them. I believe they may have changed in recent times. Older Maronite Catholics tend to kneel during Consecration, not sure if that is just personal or whether it was traditionally a part of the Maronite liturgy.

We should be worshipping as one body and understanding why we do certain things in our liturgy. It adds to the richness and beauty of it.

[tony mattar]

David,
im still a little confused, so does that mean in some sense the East place more emphasis on the resurrection of Our Lord in Liturgy, compared to that of the Sacrificial meaning?

[DavidObeid]

Do you know where I can obtain a copy of the Maronite Mass Rubrics?

No, sorry. Perhaps you could contact the Maronite chancery office. In Australia the email address is chancery@maronite.org.au

[DavidObeid]

It would be good to get our hands on them. I believe they may have changed in recent times. Older Maronite Catholics tend to kneel during Consecration, not sure if that is just personal or whether it was traditionally a part of the Maronite liturgy.

We should be worshipping as one body and understanding why we do certain things in our liturgy. It adds to the richness and beauty of it.

Understanding liturgy is essential. It is what Pope Benedict XVI's reforms in the Latin Rite have been all about.

[DavidObeid]

David,
im still a little confused, so does that mean in some sense the East place more emphasis on the resurrection of Our Lord in Liturgy, compared to that of the Sacrificial meaning?

Yes.

One emphasis is not more or less right than another. They are just different.

[tony mattar]

yeah i get what you mean :)
thanks David
God bless you

[cmnunis]

Well, canon 20 of the Council of Nicaea already taught that it was wrong to kneel on Sundays and between the seasons of Easter and Pentecost because it is simply a time of rejoicing. After all, why repent when you are supposed to be celebrating?

With regards to kneeling in the Latin Rite, someone mentioned that it was merely to reinforce devotion to the Holy Eucharist during the Reformation.

[DavidObeid]

See my post here:

http://www.thecatholicforum.org/showthread.php?184-Communion&p=542&viewfull=1#post542

[Maiden Dame]

Just my little note on:

Older Maronite Catholics tend to kneel during Consecration, not sure if that is just personal or whether it was traditionally a part of the Maronite liturgy. Charbel,
At Our Lady of Lebanon (Harris Park) they introduced a few years ago some new changes e.g Response instead of And with you, it is now And with your Spirit. Another change was that you didnt kneel at the consecration anymore but remained standing. Although i still kneel and many members of the church still do, this was introduced but im not sure if its strictly enforced.
So since they changed the position, it would lead me to believe that it must have been tradition in the first place and not a personal choice :)

[frjohnlm]

..a good step into the right direction MelianM..Our Rubric is the community's formulised Liturgy serving as a guide or instructions to worship as one...

All this didn't just drop down from heaven..it took years and years...
It is traditions, and how those who belong to a ‎particular tradition and the extent of their conformity which really shape up who 'a ‎people' are and the manner how a particular people developed their expression of ‎faith over the years. But why are they so different depends on the origin of the ‎people and how symbolism worked in their lives before conversion and thereafter ‎conversion. One e.g. that comes to mind is the fact that the Romans favour statues & ‎figures to express their faith whereas, the Syriac traditions favour icons to express ‎their faith etc.. we find that this is also true to their liturgies...‎

One must keep in mind, history teaches that the worlds in the past were not as we ‎know them now, the media wasn’t as networked as today...:) so each people upon ‎receiving the Word, as preached by the Early Church, interacted with the people in ‎question and their culture. This is known as “inculturation (http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/cultr/documents/rc_pc_cultr_01031994_doc_i-1994-not_en.html)”. The ‎interaction of faith and culture re-orientated their lives allowing their faith in Jesus ‎of Nazareth; His birth, death and resurrection to give their world resurrected meaning and ‎sanctification ... ‎

Now, the effect of inculturation with differing cultures contributes to the differing ‎frameworks that formulised Liturgies based on differing Liturgical Calenders e.g. ‎Latin Rite and the Syriac Rite etc, consequently possessing each their own unique ‎form of act of worship. This fact about diversity does not threaten their unifying ‎expression of the exact same Faith/Creed as One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church. ‎

Note: We don’t ‘Creed’ one Holy Latin or Maronite etc Church!
'Diversity and Unity' ‎that’s how it is intended, besides, this in fact also reflects the mystery of the Most ‎Blessed Trinity One God. ‎

p.s. having said all that. on a different note: it is understood by 'The Catholic Church' herself that each faithful should refer to the church denomenation they were baptised in, not to forget the father side of the parents..Unfortunatly.. after been acustomed to a way of living most of us upon receiving a confronting truth come to know how hard it is to be obedient by making things right ;)