In meinen Geboten wandeln

This morning I went to my first Mass this year in Germany. Obviously, during my time in Heidelberg I went along to Mass too, so going wasn't a new experience for me. Experiences could, however, vary dramatically. For instance, in Heidelberg I would usually attend the Jesuitenkirche in the Altstadt, and most of the time Mass there was fine. The hymns sung were sometimes difficult but it was ok. Every now and then, though, a different priest would come along and mess everything up, saying things like "Der Herr ist mit uns" (The Lord is with us), meaning the congregation felt a bit stupid and embarrassed when responding "Und mit Deinem Geiste" (And with your spirit).
Well, today was one of those not so good times. Please allow me to indulge in my favourite pastime - criticizing terrible "liturgies".
The main problem with today was that the priest messed with the Liturgy of the Word. First of all, the most blatant error was the complete omission of the responsorial psalm and the second reading. The first reading was also completely different - it should have been from Zechariah, but instead the lector read from Ezekiel, the bit about "making you sincerely respect my observances". Finally, while reading the Gospel (the correct reading, as it happens, from Matthew 11:25-30), he missed out huge chunks, particularly those awful bits about shouldering yokes and about the Lord's yoke being easy and His burden light. It was disappointing that the priest did this as I thought the Gospel was perfect, particularly since the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart was just on Friday ("I am gentle and humble of heart" - Mt 11:29).
Luckily the Liturgy of the Eucharist was fairly untouched, though I think he made up the offertory prayer (as well as the collect and the postcommunion). He sang the preface, which I love and wish they did it all the time in Scotland.

Below, an example of the German preface, from Eucharistic Prayer II.

Der Herr sei mit euch.

Und mit Deinem Geiste.

Erhebet die Herzen.

Wir haben sie beim Herrn.

Lasset uns danken dem Herrn unserem Gott.

Das ist würdig und recht.

In Wahrheit ist es würdig und recht, dir, Herr, heiliger Vater, immer und überall zu danken durch deinen geliebten Sohn Jesus Christus. Er ist dein Wort, durch ihn hast du alles erschaffen. Ihn hast du gesandt als unseren Erlöser und Heiland. Er ist Mensch geworden durch den Heiligen Geist, geboren von der Jungfrau Maria.
Um deinen Ratschluß zu erfüllen und dir ein heiliges Volk zu erwerben, hat er sterbend die Arme ausgebreitet am Holze des Kreuzes. Er hat die Macht des Todes gebrochen und die Auferstehung kundgetan.
Darum preisen wir dich mit allen Engeln und Heiligen und singen vereint mit ihnen das Lob deiner Herrlichkeit:

Future of this Blog

As my reader may have noticed, I've not posted anything for over a month now. Even when I get the impulse to write something, I often feel as though it's stupid and not worthwhile posting. So now I'm considering whether to continue with it at all. Furthermore, I'm almost finished with my year abroad, which is half the reason I started it. I'm just all dried up on material and if you want to read an opinion about anything Catholic, you can most definitely read a better one elsewhere. I'm basically not a writer.

On another note, I passed my third year at university, meaning only one more year to go till I've finished my degree. :D

Postal vote

WHY has my postal vote form NOT arrived? Don't they know that this will be my first time to vote for an MP? Not happy!

Good Shepherd Sunday

Last Sunday I went to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass for the first time since I arrived here in Heidelberg. And I must say that it was excellent. It was held in a relatively small church somewhat linked within the same Gemeinde or Seelsorgeeinheit as the Jesuitenkirche, in the same church where the only regular confession times are held and the only place for Eucharistic Adoration (the St. Anna Kirche that I mentioned in a previous post - clearly the orthodox place to be).
The mass started with an announcement of the fact that it was the 5th anniversary of the Holy Father's pontificate, and as a consequence, we would be singing and praying the Oremus pro Pontifice for the occasion. And thereafter Holy Mass proceeded. It was actually quite different from the Masses I went to in Nantes, where everyone was so clearly used to the EF, but here, where the small church was quite restrictive, it was perhaps less smooth. Nevertheless, they definitely managed it well. They had a "choir" of two men who could really belt out a tune and were perfect for the size of the church. The priest had a capable singing voice and his homily was the best homily I've probably heard here in Heidelberg. It was a very appropriate occasion to be talking of the Good Shepherd, where His vicar on earth is currently under much attack. I found the Oremus pro Pontifice entirely appropriate and beautiful.
Unfortunately, Holy Mass in the EF is nowhere near as common as in Nantes, and I believe the next one is in two weeks. The only other problem is that it is in the evening, which I really do not like, as I do not know what to do in the morning.

Here is the text of Oremus pro Pontifice:

V.Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Benedicto.
R. Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius.

Pater noster. Ave Maria.

Deus, omnium fidelium pastor et rector, famulum tuum N., quem pastorem Ecclesiae tuae praeesse voluisti, propitius respice: da ei, quaesumus, verbo et exemplo, quibus praeest, proficere: ut ad vitam, una cum grege sibi credito, perveniat sempiternam. Per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Amen.

V. Let us pray Benedict, our Pope.
R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

Our Father. Hail Mary.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant N, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Say the black, do the red!

When a priest is not wearing his chasuble for Mass, or you can see his stole (all of it), you know it's not going to go well and there's going to be a lot more to offer up.
So was it for me today at the Jesuitenkirche, as there was a different priest. My experience, while not as painful as the one in France, was pretty uncomfortable. Here are some reasons why:

• The priest wore no chasuble, as mentioned above,
• he greeted us with "The Lord be with us", giving rise to everyone awkwardly saying "And with your spirit",
• he ad libbed on the Collect, the Offertory and the Post-communion, talking endlessly,
• He referred to God as our mother as well as our father. I think this just confuses things, and it is not in accord with sacred scripture,
• he broke the host as he said "he broke it",
• the creed was a song (stick to the texts, people!!),
• the prayers of intercession were long and vague
• he walked the WHOLE length of the church (and it's a big church) to shake hands with people at the sign of peace
• he ad libbed everywhere, while at the same time talking of people who "take things too seriously"

I think his homily was actually not too bad, though I kind of switched off, as the sound quality wasn't great. I had the strong feeling that this priest was all for blurring the distinction between priest and laity, hence the "The Lord be with us" and the non-wearing of the chasuble, so he looked more like an altar server (who are wearing purple cassocks under their surplices. Let's hope there's less of this priest and more of the other. And of course, let us pray for the priest of today. Ss John Vianney and Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us!
Lord Jesus, eternal High Priest, grant grace to the priests of our day, that they may mould themselves in your likeness, and devote themselves to your Sacred Heart, and to the Immaculate Heart of Your Mother. Amen.

Confession in Heidelberg

Last night I went to Confession for the first time here in Germany. I had been really frustrated, however, because there seems to be only one hour of confession time a week offered here in the whole of Heidelberg. It was at St Anna's, where they were also holding Eucharistic adoration. Offering Confession at the same time as adoration is a very good idea, as when we are confronted with God, He helps us in our preparation before confession and then after Confession, we can say our thanksgiving before Him Who has just forgiven us.
This same Church also offers the Extraordinary Form of the Mass on Sunday evenings, which doesn't surprise me. Generally, if a Church offers Adoration time, they're more likely to offer the EF too (and this Church also seems to be the only one offering Confession regularly as well).
St Anna's is part of the Heiliggeistgemeinde, or Holy Spirit Parish, which also includes the famous Jesuitenkirche. The Jesuitenkirche played a fair role during the reformation, and although it is now the main church in Heiliggeistgemeinde, the Heiliggeistkirche used to be part of this Gemeinde too, before it was captured, recaptured, split in two (by a partition wall, not structurally!) and then finally given over to the Protestants (the church is evangelisch, which would be better translated as protestant rather than evangelical, as the latter is evangelikal. Furthermore, the Evangelical Church of Germany is a mixed bag of Lutheran, Anglican and Reformed churches, so I would need to go to a service to find out which exact denomination it is, or do a little more research). More to come, such as photos!

Heidelberger Aufenthalt

Having not posted throughout the whole of February, I felt I ought to give an update. I am now in Heidelberg, which was greatly involved in the Reformation, as Luther gave a speech defending his theses, and Johannes Eck, a leading opponent of his, was an alumnus of the university. The town is very beautiful, and I have had the fortune to see it in both lovely sunny weather and covered in a pretty blanket of snow.
Photos coming soon.