TCA Question & Answer of the Day

Each weekday, you'll find a new question and answer. Check back for the new question and scroll down to see previous day's entries! Let us know what you think - - or question! -- by emailing us at tcanswer@osv.com.

For the Week of March 9-13, 2009

Question of the Day for Friday, March 13, 2009

Separate Blessed Sacrament Chapels?

Q. The General Instruction for the Roman Missal (GIRM) says that “the priest (or deacon) … is to carry the ciborium to the tabernacle when the distribution of Communion is finished at Mass” (no. 163). But what is a priest to do when the tabernacle is in a Blessed Sacrament chapel separated from the church proper by a wall and sometimes a door?

I thought that the priest is not supposed to leave the altar during the Mass. Of course, I think the solution is to bring the tabernacle back into the church proper, but here in the archdiocese of Los Angeles, almost all the churches have been reconfigured with a Blessed Sacrament chapel.

P.M., Canoga Park, Calif.

A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Francis Hoffman, J.C.D.:

For a just cause the Celebrant can leave the altar and the sanctuary area during Mass. This is often the case, for example, when the priest must bring Holy Communion to someone in a wheelchair who might be seated near the back of the Church.

In cases where the tabernacle is separated from the Church proper, the ordinary minister of Holy Communion (bishop, priest, or deacon) should ordinarily reserve the Blessed Sacrament, even if that means leaving the altar.

As for the location of the tabernacle, the GIRM (no. 314) states: “The Most Blessed Sacrament should be reserved in a tabernacle in a part of the church that is truly noble, prominent, readily visible, beautifully decorated, and suitable for prayer.” If the tabernacle is behind a wall, or door, or separated from the Church proper, I do not understand how it could be prominent, let alone visible.

Question of the Day for Thursday, March 12, 2009

Gregorian Chant?

Q. How did “Gregorian chant” get that name?

 O.B., Chicago, Ill.

A. In today’s popular jargon, the term “Gregorian chant” is often synonymous with “plain chant,” the Church music of the early Middle Ages, as well as later compositions written in a similar style. In the strict sense, however, Gregorian chant refers to the Roman form of early plain chant as opposed to the Ambrosian, Gallican and Mozarabic forms that were similar to it but largely supplanted by it throughout Europe in the eighth through eleventh centuries.

The chant is named in honor of Pope St. Gregory I (c. 540-604), whose feast day is today on the traditional Church calendar. Gregory is called “the Great” in part because of his considerable influence on the development of the Church’s doctrine, organization and discipline. According to many historians, the designation “Gregorian chant” came about because he also was responsible for helping to shape the final arrangement of the Roman form of plain chant — though that claim has been debated.

Question of the Day for Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Saint Damian de Veuster?

Q. Some years ago I saw the powerful one-man play entitled Damien, about the life of Blessed Damian de Veuster, the “Apostle to the Lepers” who ministered here in Hawaii. He has been one of my heroes ever since. Have there been any developments in the cause for his canonization?

 J.R., Honolulu, Hawaii

 A. You’ll be happy to learn that on February 21, when Pope Benedict XVI presided at an ordinary public consistory for the causes of canonization of several Blesseds, he announced that Damian and a number of others will be canonized this fall.

Blessed Jozef Damian de Veuster (1840-1889) was a Belgian professed priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (a missionary order), and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar (PICPUS).

Known as “the Leper Priest” and “the Hero of Molokai,” Joseph was born in Tremelo, Belgium, on January 3, 1840. He joined the Sacred Hearts Fathers in 1860 and received the name Damian in religious life. In 1864 he was sent to Honolulu, Hawaii, where he was ordained a priest.

For the following nine years Damian worked in missions on the big island, Hawaii. In 1873 he volunteered to be sent to the leper colony on the island of Molokai, a government-sanctioned medical quarantine. He spent 16 years ministering to the lepers (victims of what is now called Hansen’s Disease), providing them the sacraments and spiritual consolation. He also dressed their ulcers, dug countless graves, and built hospitals, clinics, churches and hundreds of coffins.

Damian announced in 1885 that he himself had contracted the disease, yet he continued his work. He died on April 15, 1889, on Molokai, a martyr of charity.

An interesting side note: When Damian was once publicly slandered by a local religious leader with animosity toward the Catholic Church, the celebrated British author Robert Louis Stevenson (who was himself not a Catholic) wrote an impassioned defense of the hero.

Damian was declared venerable in 1977. Pope John Paul II declared him blessed on June 4, 1995. Pope Benedict XVI will canonize him on Sunday, October 11, of this year. His feast day is May 10.

The play you saw was written by Aldyth Morris and first performed in 1976. I attended a performance of it myself back in the early 1980s, in the Lamb’s Players Theatre in San Diego. At the time I wasn’t a Catholic, and I had never heard of Damian. But I was deeply moved that night by the fine performance given by actor Robert Smyth.

Question of the Day for Tuesday, March 10, 2009

 How Many American Bishops?

Q. How many bishops are there in the U.S.?

 H.M., Springfield, Mo.

 A. At present there are more than 400 bishops in the United States. This total includes currently serving diocesan bishops, auxiliaries and retired prelates.

Question of the Day for Monday, March 9, 2009

Papal Ring?

Q. When Pope John Paul II passed away, I read that his “Fisherman’s Ring,” which is a papal signet ring used to seal certain official documents, was destroyed. (A new one is created for each pope.) Can you tell me more about this ring and its history? And is this ring different from the one that people kiss when they greet the pope?

G.N., via email

A. Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D.:

As successor to St. Peter, the pope wears a signet ring called the “Ring of the Fisherman” or Pescatorio. The first mention of the papal ring comes in 1265 in a letter from Pope Clement IV to his nephew. It was used in sealing the pope’s private correspondence. The ring was pressed into red sealing wax on an envelope or folded paper.

On public documents the papal seal was pressed into melted lead. These documents are called “papal bulls” because of the imprinted seal (Latin bulla). (As a Protestant I attached another meaning to the term papal “bull”!)

In 1842 this function of the fisherman’s ring was replaced by a stamp that duplicated in red ink the insignia on the ring.

At the death of the pope, with the other cardinals as witnesses, the camerlengo uses a silver hammer to crush the papal ring. (The camerlengo is treasurer of the Vatican and director of the conclave that elects a new pope.) This prevents anyone from using the deceased pontiff’s ring to forge documents before a new pope is elected.

As you noted, a new gold ring is created for each pope. The ring has no gem. In bas-relief it pictures St. Peter in a boat fishing, along with the name of the pope in Latin. At the coronation of Pope Benedict XVI, the camerlengo placed the ring on the right fourth finger of the new pope. This is the ring that people kiss when they greet the pope.