For each question, rate your parish from zero to
three:
3 = excels; 2 = good; 1 = fair; 0 = poor (or don’t know).
1.
Does your
parish liturgy make prominent the priesthood of Jesus Christ?1
2.
Does the celebration of Mass in the parish
clearly reflect the hierarchal structure of the Church?2
5.
Is the priority of Mass in your parish “worship
of the Divine Majesty” with all else subordinate?5
7.
Is communion
under both kinds provided at least on special occasions?7
8.
Is Lent a
time that focuses both on recalling/preparing for baptism, as well as on
penance?8 E.g., is use of holy
water fostered, or suppressed?
9.
Are the faithful, during Lent, encouraged to
detest sin, with an emphasis on penitential practices and prayer for sinners?9
Authentic Participation
10. Is
“active participation” understood as both internal and external, with
interiority, expressed as “deep wonder,” the foundation?10
11. Do
the faithful participating in Holy Mass have a real sense that they are “offering
the Immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest, but also with
him” – and in so doing, are they learning “to offer themselves”?11
12. Does
the faithful’s experience of Holy Mass reflect use of “signs perceptible to the
senses” – such as bells and incense?12
13.
Does your
parish make explicit connection between frequent reception of confession, as
well as penance in general, and a worthy and fruitful participation in the Holy
Mass?13
14. Do
both clergy and laity recognize the legitimate roles that pertain to each –
with neither intruding on the roles of the other?14
15.
Do servers,
lectors and choir members discharge their office with sincere piety and
decorum? Do they recognize their ministry is “exalted”? Have they been trained
to perform their functions in an “orderly manner”?15
Fidelity
16. Is
everything in the sacred liturgy carried out in accordance with norms set by
the Holy See and the bishop – as opposed to what may arise from a particular
priest’s preferences, or those of parishioners, either individually or by
group?16
17. Do
all – including the priest – refrain from ever adding, removing, or changing
anything in the liturgy on his or her own authority?17
18. If there have been liturgical “adaptations” in
your parish, have they been approved by either the Holy See, the bishop or
conference of bishops?18
22.
Is the use of
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion truly out of necessity, rather than
convenience; is it “provisional” rather than ordinary?22
Latin and Tradition
24. Are
the faithful “able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the
Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them”?24
E.g., the Gloria, Credo, Pater Noster,
Angus Dei?
25. Is
the “beauty and noble simplicity” of the liturgy guided by the General
Instruction “and by the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what
serves the common spiritual good of the People of God, rather than private inclination
or arbitrary choice”?25
Posture, Gestures, Silence
26.
Are the
faithful encouraged to observe common postures and gestures?26
27.
Are all aware
that the Missal presupposes ad orientem posture
by the priest: i.e., the priest & people face the Lord together, rather
than the priest offering Mass facing the people?27
28. Is
“sacred silence” given its proper place in the sacred liturgy, particularly “in
the Penitential Act and again after the invitation to pray,” after readings, homily,
and communion? Is silence observed beforehand “in the church…vesting room, and
in adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred
celebration in a devout and fitting manner”?28
32. Do
all bow their heads when the Holy Trinity “are named together and at the names
of Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Saint in whose honor Mass is
being celebrated”?32
Sacred Music
33. Does
the sacred music draw on the whole “treasure” of Christian tradition – or only
on a small segment thereof? Is sacred music treated as the preeminent art of
the Church?33
41. Are
Scripture-based chants – as opposed to hymns – given priority for the entrance,
offertory and communion processions?41
Art & Architecture
42.
Does your
parish liturgical practice and environment reflect “sound tradition” – as
opposed to setting aside all that is traditional in the liturgy, for example in
selection of art, furnishings, vestments and vessels?42
44. Has
the parish sought to preserve sacred art already in its possession – and not
“disposed of and dispersed [them], removing only those that are “repugnant to
faith, morals, and Christian piety, and which offend true religious sense
either by depraved forms or by lack of artistic worth, mediocrity and pretense”?44
How
did your parish score?
(Sorry about that confusing part; relic of earlier version!)
For each question, rate your parish from zero to three:
3 = excels; 2 = good; 1 = fair; 0 = poor (or don’t know).
119-132 = A
105-118 = B
93-104
= C
80-92 = D
0-79
= F
Created by:
Father
Martin Fox
Saint
Remy Parish
Russia,
Ohio
1 Sacrosanctum Concilium, number 7.
3 SC 7
4 Ibid. 47.
5 Ibid. 33.
6 Ibid. 35.2.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid. 109.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid. 19, Redemptionis Sacramentum 40, 41.
11 SC 48.
12 Ibid. 7.
13 Ibid. 9.
14 Ibid. 28.
15 Ibid. 29, 30.
16 Ibid. 22.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid. 40.
19 Ibid. 42.
20 RS 64.
21 RS 108.
22 RS 152, 158.
23 SC 36.1.
24 Ibid. 54.
25 GIRM 42.
26 Ibid. 42, 44.
27 Roman Missal 1, 29, 127, 132, 139, 141,
144.
28 GIRM 45.
29 Ibid. 82.
30 Ibid. 90.
31 Ibid. 274.
32 Ibid. 275.
33 SC 112.
34 Ibid.
35 Ibid. 113.
36 GIRM 40.
37 SC 114.
38 Ibid. 116.
39 Ibid. 117.
40 Ibid. 120.
41 GIRM 48, 74, 87.
42 Ibid. 23.
43 Ibid. 111.
16 comments:
I had the Faith Formation group I facilitate study "Sacrosanctum Concilium" at the beginning of the year, and they were all surprised at what the document actually said.
Thank you for compiling this; it is well-done. I unfortunately scored my parish at only 21!
Now THAT is a tough questionare. My parish gets an F. Primarily for the banjo at our services.
Hoser:
As you can see, it's based 100% on what Vatican II and subsequent documents call for. Many of the questions take their language directly from the documents.
I liked this a great deal, and learned much from it.
Father, do you believe it is possible to create something like this that is less subjective to the one filling it out?
John:
I'm not sure. Can you offer any suggested verbiage?
I'm terribly sorry to say that my parish totally bombed the music section...
Father, I'm not sure I can.
Just taking No. 1 for example. I had to go re-read the relevant section of Sacrosanctum Concilium, spend some time thinking about it and all in all, I still wasn't sure how to rate my parish.
A guide like this would be ideal for those moving to the area seeking a parish to join, but I worry that it might be over the heads of many.
Again though, I enjoyed this. Thank you.
John:
I appreciate your suggestion, but here's the difficulty.
Once I start specifying "objective" criteria (i.e., that aren't already contained in the source materials I worked from) that determine whether any of these stated goals is being met, I'm now going beyond what the relevant church documents say.
For example, question one, which you cite, comes directly from Sacrosanctum Concilium; but that document never says, "here are the objective measures by which you know if this is true." So who am I -- a mere parish priest -- to supply them? Another parish priest, among others, might credibly challenge my suggestions.
So it's really the province of the bishops to do that.
Instead, all I can do is pose the question exactly as the Council did. And in answering it, you and I and everyone else simply has to look, listen, and ask ourselves: does this lift up Jesus Christ as priest?
As I see it, there's an easy response: "I don't know." In which case, the parish would seem to be failing on one count to implement Vatican II.
Does this help? Or did I miss the point?
Hoser, where is your parish? I want to go! Seriously, I think one could make this reasonably objective by applying bands of scores in each category, I.e scales do five. So you could be compliant or REALLY compliant. Or you could be less than compliant or BANJO. I love the banjo, but love my TLM parish more. I am so torn!
"F" of course. No surprise. This is a mega parish out West. And why I read your blog :)
Yes Father, that makes sense. Thank you.
F (21). I really need to change my parish to St. Remy!
122 for my parish. I had to give a 0 for #7. My parish celebrates both forms of the Mass but only offers the Host in communion. We have altar rails so maybe that is why?
I did not understand #26 so I selected 0. We are not encouraged to hold hands or pray in the orans posture if that is what you mean.
#32 got a 2. Not all bow their heads but it's getting there. :) Of course some would say how can you tell if you have your head bowed but I have observed from the adoration chapel so there!
I'm not familiar with #39 so it got a 0 and I'm not a music specialist but I know my pastor takes great importance in Sacred Music it certainly is beautiful to me so the rest of the section gets 3s.
Johnny:
Thanks for the comment.
Q. 26: "Are the faithful encouraged to observe common postures and gestures?"
I went back and re-read the relevant GIRM passages. It refers to standing, sitting and kneeling at the designated times. The sections linked also refer to the priest, deacon and servers engaging in processions and other gestures "with decorum."
Your comment is helpful, because I realize that question could be recast to be clearer. Thanks!
Oh okay Father. Thanks for the clarification. In that case #26 would be 3. Here is a relevant article from Cardinal Burke.....
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/bringing-the-liturgy-back-to-the-real-vatican-ii
Very good review for a parish. Unfortunately, according to my answers, my parish is a D. So much to do!
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