A while back, Catholic bloggers picked up the phrase "say the black, do the red". It seems this is now entering the mainstream as Fr Z has noticed two prelates quoting the phrase, Archbishop Hart of Melbourne and Cardinal DiNardo of Texas, who said:In the Fathers, you see an emphasis not only on the words said at Mass, but also the importance of the gestures of the liturgy. In other words, say the black, do the red.
6 comments:
strange that - when i did my mass exam recently - that's exactly what we were told in preparation - follow the GIRM to the letter!
"Entering the mainstream"? I have been hearing this phrase since long before blogs were around and I certainly thought it was mainstream then. Well, I guess I understand mainstream in the ecclesiastical context to mean those those who are endeavouring to think with the Church. (I like to use the word "sideshow" to describe those who are not mainstream in this sense :-)
Well, I'll look stupid, but what does it mean?
Stefan, it means that the priest, when he is saying Mass, should say the words in the Missal that are printed in black and follow the instructions of the rubrics which are printed in red. It is a pithy phrase to sum up the approach of being obedient to the Church in the matter of the liturgy and not making things up as you go along. (Sadly the latter has been the experience of many Catholics in recent decades.)
Yeah, I heard it long before blogdom as well - but certainly not in the mainstream and certainly not quoted by bishops and cardinals.
It's nice to know!
A certain deacon (now Fr. Dylan James) once taught me how to pray the Office a few years ago. He said, "The red bits are the rubrics." Loved it. Still love it. In fact I use it when explaining the Office to others.
Of course back then I was a rather precocious sixteen-year-old, so maybe I was just more "absorbent" of learning how to do stuff at that age.
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