22 October 2019

Depontification?

Even Adrian Molesworth no about the Defenestration of Prague. Would "The Depontification of Pachamama" do as a description of the watery relocation of those iffy statues in Rome? Or "The Intiberisation"? Does it merit an annual liturgical celebration? I expect Joshua has Propers (Extraordinary Form) at the ready.

Megahoot!!!

16 comments:

Joshua said...

Indeed I do.

While no set of lessons nor full propers have come down to us from the days when the 1st of January was kept with a Mass against the Peril of Idolatry (as the Ordinariates might style it), the Gelasian and Leonine Sacramentaries supply suitable prayers.

Herewith, the proposed Votive; I leave it to the good monks of Solesmes to supply the chant:

Missa ad prohibendum ab idolis

Introitus (1 Cor. 10, 14b; 4 Reg. 17, 35b; 1 Joann. 5, 21)
Carissími, fúgite ab idolórum cultúra: nolíte timére deos aliénos, et non adorétis eos, neque colátis eos, et non immolétis eis: filíoli, custodíte vos a simulácris.
Ps. 95. 5 Quóniam omnes dii géntium dæmónia; Dóminus autem cælos fecit.
V. Glória Patri.

Non dicitur Glória in excélsis.

Oratio [Sacramentarium Gelasianum Vetus, 54]
Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, da nobis voluntátem tuam et fidéli mente retinére, et pia conversatióne deprómere: ut Ecclésia tua a profánis vanitátibus expiáta, non áliud profiteátur verbis, áliud exérceat actióne. Per.

Léctio libri Sapiéntiæ.
Sap. 14, 8-30
Per manus quod fit idólum, maledíctum est et ipsum, et qui fecit illud; quia ille quidem operátus est, illud autem cum esset frágile, deus cognominátus est. Simíliter autem ódio sunt Deo ímpius et impíetas ejus; étenim quod factum est, cum illo qui fecit torménta patiétur. Propter hoc et in idólis natiónum non erit respéctus, quóniam creatúræ Dei in ódium factæ sunt, et in tentatiónem animábus hóminum, et in muscípulam pédibus insipiéntium. Inítium enim fornicatiónis est exquisítio idolórum; et adinvéntio illórum corrúptio vitæ est: neque enim erant ab inítio, neque erunt in perpétuum. Supervacúitas enim hóminum hæc advénit in orbem terrárum; et ídeo brevis illórum finis est invéntus. Acérbo enim luctu dolens pater, cito sibi rapti fílii fecit imáginem; et illum qui tunc quasi homo mórtuus fúerat, nunc tamquam deum cólere cœpit, et constítuit inter servos suos sacra et sacrifícia. Deínde interveniénte témpore, convalescénte iníqua consuetúdine, hic error tamquam lex custodítus est, et tyrannórum império colebántur figménta. Et hos quos in palam hómines honoráre non póterant propter hoc quod longe essent, e longínquo figúra eórum alláta, evidéntem imáginem regis quem honoráre volébant fecérunt, ut illum qui áberat, tanquam præséntem cólerent sua sollicitúdine. Provéxit autem ad horum cultúram et hos qui ignorábant artíficis exímia diligéntia. Ille enim, volens placére illi qui se assúmpsit, elaborávit arte sua ut similitúdinem in mélius figuráret. Multitúdo autem hóminum, abdúcta per spéciem óperis, eum qui ante tempus tanquam homo honorátus fúerat, nunc deum æstimavérunt. Et hæc fuit vitæ humánæ decéptio, quóniam aut afféctui, aut régibus deserviéntes hómines, incommunicábile nomen lapídibus et lignis imposuérunt. Et non suffécerat errásse eos circa Dei sciéntiam, sed et in magno vivéntes insciéntiæ bello, tot et tam magna mala pacem appéllant. Aut enim fílios suos sacrificántes, aut obscúra sacrifícia faciéntes, aut insániæ plenas vigílias habéntes, neque vitam, neque núptias mundas jam custódiunt: sed álius álium per invídiam occídit, aut adúlterans contrístat; et ómnia commísta sunt: sanguis, homicídium, furtum et fíctio, corrúptio et infidélitas, turbátio et perjúrium, tumúltus bonórum, Dei immemorátio, animárum inquinátio. Nativitátis immutátio, nuptiárum inconstántia, inordinátio mœchíæ et impudicítiæ. Infandórum enim idolórum cultúra omnis mali causa est, et inítium et finis. Aut enim dum lætántur insániunt, aut certe vaticinántur falsa, aut vivunt injúste, aut péjerant cito. Dum enim confídunt in idólis quæ sine ánima sunt, male jurántes nocéri se non sperant. Utraque ergo illis evénient digne, quóniam male sensérunt de Deo, attendéntes idólis, et juravérunt injúste, in dolo contemnéntes justítiam.

Joshua said...

(ctd)

Graduale (Ps. 113, 12. 16 = Ps. 134, 15. 18)
Simulácra géntium argéntum et aurum, ópera mánuum hóminum.
V. Símiles illis fiant qui fáciunt ea, et omnes qui confídunt in eis.

Allelúja, allelúja.
V. Ps. 96, 7a Confundántur omnes qui adórant sculptília, et qui gloriántur in simulácris suis.
Allelúja.

Temp. Sept.
Tractus (Ps. 113, 13-15)
Os habent, et non loquéntur; óculos habent, et non vidébunt.
V. Aures habent, et non áudient; nares habent, et non odorábunt.
V. Manus habent, et non palpábunt; pedes habent, et non ambulábunt.
V. Non clamábunt in gútture suo.

Temp. Pasch.
Allelúja, allelúja.
V. Ps. 96, 7a Confundántur omnes qui adórant sculptília, et qui gloriántur in simulácris suis.
Alleluja.
V. Rom. 1, 25b Qui coluérunt, et serviérunt creatúræ pótius quam Creatóri.
Allelúja.

Sequéntia sancti Evangélii secúndum Matthǽum.
Matt. 4, 1-11 [=Dom. I. in XL.]
In illo témpore: Ductus est Jesus in desértum a Spíritu, ut tentarétur a diábolo. Et cum jejunásset quadragínta diébus, et quadragínta nóctibus, póstea esúriit. Et accédens tentátor dixit ei: Si Fílius Dei es, dic ut lápides isti panes fiant. Qui respóndens dixit: Scriptum est: Non in solo pane vivit homo, sed in omni verbo, quod procédit de ore Dei. Tunc assúmpsit eum diábolus in sanctam civitátem, et státuit eum super pinnáculum templi, et dixit ei: Si Fílius Dei es, mitte te deórsum. Scriptum est enim: Quia Angelis suis mandávit de te, et in mánibus tollent te, ne forte offéndas ad lápidem pedem tuum. Ait illi Jesus: Rursum scriptum est: Non tentábis Dóminum Deum tuum. Iterum assúmpsit eum diábolus in montem excélsum valde: et osténdit ei ómnia regna mundi, et glóriam eórum, et dixit ei: Hæc ómnia tibi dabo, si cadens adoráveris me. Tunc dicit ei Jesus: Vade Sátana: Scriptum est enim: Dóminum Deum tuum adorábis, et illi soli sérvies. Tunc relíquit eum diábolus: et ecce Angeli accessérunt, et ministrábant ei.

Offertorium (1 Cor. 10, 20)
Quæ ímmolant gentes, dæmóniis ímmolant, et non Deo: nolo autem vos sócios fíeri dæmoniórum.

Ad lib., Versus Offertorii (1 Cor. 10, 14. 28a)
V. 1. Propter quod, carissími mihi, fúgite ab idolórum cultúra: * Nolo autem vos sócios fíeri dæmoniórum.
V. 2. Si quis autem díxerit: Hoc immolátum est idólis: nolíte manducáre: * Nolo autem vos sócios fíeri dæmoniórum.

Secreta [Sacramentarium Gelasianum Vetus, 55]
Ut tibi grata sint, Dómine, múnera pópuli tui, ab omni, quǽsumus, eum contagióne perversitátis emúnda; nec falsis gáudiis inhærére patiáris, quos ad diversitátis [sic; Sacramentarium Leonianum: veritátis]tuæ prǽmia veníre promíttis. Per.

Præfatio communis.

Communio (1 Cor. 10, 21)
Non potéstis cálicem Dómini bíbere, et cálicem dæmoniórum; non potéstis mensæ Dómini partícipes esse, et mensæ dæmoniórum.

Ad lib., Versus Communionis (Ps. 113, 12-16)
1. Simulácra géntium argéntum et aurum, ópera mánuum hóminum.
Aña. Non potéstis cálicem...
2. Os habent, et non loquéntur; óculos habent, et non vidébunt.
Aña. Non potéstis cálicem...
3. Aures habent, et non áudient; nares habent, et non odorábunt.
Aña. Non potéstis cálicem...
4. Manus habent, et non palpábunt; pedes habent, et non ambulábunt; non clamábunt in gútture suo.
Aña. Non potéstis cálicem...
5. Símiles illis fiant qui fáciunt ea, et omnes qui confídunt in eis.
Aña. Non potéstis cálicem...
V. Glória Patri.
Aña. Non potéstis cálicem...

Postcommunio [Sacramentarium Gelasianum Vetus, 56]
Mystériis tuis veneránter adsúmptis, quǽsumus, Dómine, ut contra nostræ conditiónis errórem, et contra diabólicis armémur insídiis. Per.

Joshua said...

PS

Most interestingly, the Ambrosian Breviary retained another such prayer against idol-worship as part of the proper Office of the Lord's Circumcision, a prayer that also occurs in the Leonine Sacramentary:

[Brev. Amb., In Circum. Dñi ad Laudes, Or. I.]
Omnípotens, sempitérne Deus, qui mensæ tuæ partícipes a diabólico jubes abstinére convívio, da, quǽsumus, plebi tuæ: ut, gustu mortíferæ profanitátis abjécto, puris méntibus ad épulas ætérnæ salútis accédat. Per.

This would, I feel, make a fine Secret.

Joshua said...

It would of course be outrageous and shocking to suggest that, to purge the City of filthiness, all wicked South American trash be forthwith thrown into the Tiber, that poor river!

Athelstan Riley said...

Nigel Molesworth, as any fule know.

Grant Milburn said...

Let PF pontificate if we can depontificate.

Mick Jagger Gathers No Mosque said...

Joshua. Putting the sword to the Amazonian Amaletkites .

Beautiful

Unknown said...

Greatly appreciating the "romanitas" of Joshua's propers (or shall I say its "nobilis simplicitas" in line with tradition?), I humbly suggest a "Neo-Gallican" set. I haven't come up with a preface for it yet. So, any contribution would be most happily welcome.

IN FESTO SOLLEMNIS DEMERSIONIS SIMULACRI TURPISSIMI

Introitus. Dt 16, 21-22 & 7, 5-6. Non plantabis lucum, et omnem arborem juxta altare Domini Dei tui. Nec facies tibi, neque constitues statuam: quæ odit Dominus Deus tuus. Quin potius hæc facietis eis : aras eorum subvertite, et confringite statuas, lucosque succidite, et sculptilia comburite: quia populus sanctus es Domino Deo tuo. Ps 95, 5. Quoniam omnes dii gentium dæmonia;
Dominus autem cælos fecit. Gloria Patri…

Oremus. Deus, cujus Unigenitus vidit Satanam sicut fulgor de cælo cadentem, omnia idola amazonica aliasque pseudomatres terrae, qui ad confusione animarum pervagantur in Vaticano, in alto Tiberi detrude. Per eundem Dominum…

Lectio libri Regum 3, 15, 9-15. – In anno vigesimo Jeroboam regis Israël regnavit Asa rex Juda, et quadraginta et uno anno regnavit in Jerusalem. Nomen matris ejus Maacha filia Abessalom. Et fecit Asa rectum ante conspectum Domini, sicut David pater ejus: et abstulit effeminatos de terra, purgavitque universas sordes idolorum quæ fecerant patres ejus. Insuper et Maacham matrem suam amovit, ne esset princeps in sacris Priapi, et in luco ejus quem consecraverat: subvertitque specum ejus, et confregit simulacrum turpissimum, et combussit in torrente Cedron: excelsa autem non abstulit. Verumtamen cor Asa perfectum erat cum Domino cunctis diebus suis: et intulit ea quæ sanctificaverat pater suus, et voverat, in domum Domini, argentum, et aurum, et vasa.

Graduale. Dn 11, 31-33. Et brachia ex eo stabunt, et polluent sanctuarium fortitudinis, et auferent juge sacrificium: et dabunt abominationem in desolationem. V. Et impii in testamentum simulabunt fraudulenter: populus autem sciens Deum suum, obtinebit, et faciet. V. Et docti in populo docebunt plurimos: et ruent in gladio, et in flamma, et in captivitate, et in rapina dierum. Alleluia, alleluia. Jo 2, 15.16. Cum fecisset quasi flagellum de funiculis, omnes ejecit de templo, et dixit: Auferte ista hinc. Alleluia.

Unknown said...

(part 2)

Seq. S. Evangelii sec. Matthaeum, 24, 15-28. – In illo tempore: Dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Cum videritis abominationem desolationis, quæ dicta est a Daniele propheta, stantem in loco sancto, qui legit, intelligat: tunc qui in Judæa sunt, fugiant ad montes: et qui in tecto, non descendat tollere aliquid de domo sua: et qui in agro, non revertatur tollere tunicam suam. Væ autem prægnantibus et nutrientibus in illis diebus! Orate autem ut non fiat fuga vestra in hieme, vel sabbato: erit enim tunc tribulatio magna, qualis non fuit ab initio mundi usque modo, neque fiet. Et nisi breviati fuissent dies illi, non fieret salva omnis caro: sed propter electos breviabuntur dies illi. Tunc si quis vobis dixerit: Ecce hic est Christus, aut illic: nolite credere. Surgent enim pseudochristi, et pseudoprophetæ: et dabunt signa magna, et prodigia, ita ut in errorem inducantur (si fieri potest) etiam electi. Ecce prædixi vobis. Si ergo dixerint vobis: Ecce in deserto est, nolite exire; Ecce in penetralibus, nolite credere. Sicut enim fulgur exit ab oriente, et paret usque in occidentem: ita erit et adventus Filii hominis. Ubicumque fuerit corpus, illic congregabuntur et aquilæ.

Offertorium. Ex 32, 19-20. Cum appropinquasset Moyses ad castra, vidit vitulum, et choros: iratusque valde, projecit de manu tabulas, et confregit eas ad radicem montis: arripiensque vitulum quem fecerant, combussit, et contrivit usque ad pulverem, quem sparsit in aquam, et dedit ex eo potum filiis Israël.

Secreta. Immaculatum Agnum tibi, Domine, offerimus, cujus Spiritus nos inflammet caritate, omniaque sculptilia gentium comburat. Per Dominum... in unitate ejusdem Spiritus...

Communio. Jz 17, 28. Domine Deus, memento mei, et redde mihi nunc fortitudinem pristinam, Deus meus, ut ulciscar me de hostibus meis, et pro amissione duorum luminum unam ultionem recipiam.

Postcommunio. Abscondito pinguefacti manna paneque roburati fortium, quaesumus, Domine noster: ut omnes haereses respuamus et tibi semper ex toto corde nostro adhaereamus, cujus Filus promissit nobiscum esse usque ad consummationem saeculi. Per eundem Dominum...

rick allen said...

Oh I think the plain English word "vandalism" is sufficient.

The odd thing is, for all the complaints about pagan imagery, anyone really offended by pagan imagery, walking into any church in Rome, would probably faint dead away. I think the real problem for our Catholic idol-smashers is that these particular maternal figures are not European (or, as the poster called them above, "South American trash."

So I would take for my text instead the following from St. John Henry Newman:

"Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon-worship to an evangelical use, and feeling also that these usages had originally come from primitive revelations and from the instinct of nature, though they had been corrupted; and that they must invent what they needed, if they did not use what they found; and that they were moreover possessed of the very archetypes, of which paganism attempted the shadows; the rulers of the Church from early times were prepared, should the occasion arise, to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace,,,,,

"We are told in various ways by Eusebius, that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed in their own. It is not necessary to go into a subject which the diligence of Protestant writers has made familiar to most of us. The use of temples, and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasions with branches of trees; incense, lamps, and candles; votive offerings on recovery from illness; holy water; asylums; holydays and seasons, use of calendars, processions, blessings on the fields; sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure, the ring in marriage, turning to the East, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant, and the Kyrie Eleison, are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the Church."

Joshua said...

I congratulate Unknown for his happy composition; here are a few friendly suggestions:

1. Should the wording of the otherwise extremely clever and amusing Collect not rather be "in altum Tiberis"?

2. No current Gradual has two verses (though anciently the Gradual of Easter Week had multiple verses); I suggest deleting "Et brachia ex eo stabunt, et" from its beginning, and entirely omitting the last verse "Et docti... dierum."

I rather like Unknown's choice of Gospel pericope (though I would perhaps prefer the parallel passage, Mark 13:14-23), but I wonder if it does not somewhat clash with his intended meaning, as surely we are celebrating, not fleeing from abomination, but the casting forth of such filth into the river: perhaps a better choice would be the plunge of the devil-possessed Gadarene swine into the swirling waters, as recorded in Matthew 8, Mark 5 and Luke 8.

Joshua said...

PS
I forgot to mention that Unknown's citation for the Communion verse is incorrect: it should be Judges 16:28.

Calvin Engime said...

> I haven't come up with a preface for it yet. So, any contribution would be most happily welcome.

Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutáre, semper et ubíque grátias ágere: Dómine sancte, Pater omnípotens, ætérne Deus. Extra quem est nullus deus, faciéntem omnia, extendéntem cælos solum, et a quo solo humánum genus lapsum est, atque restitútum. Solus mártyros gloriósos ad effudéndum pro te solo sánguinem roborásti, et ad fruitiónem tui soli perpétuam omnes beátos Angelos ac hómines sanctos duxísti. Et ídeo cum Angelis et Archángelis, cum Thronis et Dominatiónibus, cumque omni milítia cœléstis exércitus, hymnum glóriæ tuæ cánimus, sine fine dicéntes.

Banshee said...

First of all, the idols in question were apparently not made in any of the native art styles of Amazonian or Andean tribes, but were rather a modern syncretistic neopagan production. Same thing for the idol and shamanistic ceremonies.

Secondly, they were cheap crud designed to offend.

Third, there is a lot of difference between worshipping an idol and a piece of art history that is no longer a religious object.

Joshua said...

PS Having thought on it, the second verse of the Eastertide Alleluia of the proposed Mass against the Peril of Idolatry (as given above) should end with the phrase ", qui est benedíctus in sǽcula" – this will yield a better sense, thus:

Temp. Pasch.
Allelúja, allelúja.
V. Ps. 96, 7a Confundántur omnes qui adórant sculptília, et qui gloriántur in simulácris suis.
Alleluja.
V. Rom. 1, 25b Qui coluérunt, et serviérunt creatúræ pótius quam Creatóri, qui est benedíctus in sǽcula.
Allelúja.

Richard Chonak said...

As appealing an analogy as 'depontification' is, I can't help preferring 'deposition' as a simpler alternative. Should it be 'ex Traspontina'?