The image shown here is the city of Toledo. The Christians are waging the Reconquista as the Moors face them. This is from the Mozarabic chapel in the Cathedral. The quality is not great but I thought I would take the photo (none allowed in the cathedral) to have something to remember the chapel by since the book I bought from the cathedral does not include much for the chapel by way of pictures.
I have compiled a small list of comments and observations from Lauds and mass this morning in the Mozarabic Chapel of the Toledo Cathedral. The office and mass were both beautiful in spite of the lack of ornamentation and other liturgical items one might expect at a mass. About a dozen canons celebrated lauds and immediately after one of theirs was celebrant. A few times in the mass a canon came up to assist the priest with things much like a subdeacon or altar boy would do in the US. The mass was celebrated in a beautiful chapel with a metal gate in back where the divine office could be celebrated. The mass was celebrated versus populum. Only three laymen attended, myself included. Two of us were obvious neophytes to the liturgy.
Observations:
The vestment looked similar to a Roman vestment but equally wide in front unlike ¨fiddleback¨ chasubles. I could not tell if the stole was a band like Roman rite priests or more like the Byzantine stole. An inch or so protruded from the bottom of the chasuble and looked like a Byzantine stole without fringe embroidering.
The priest at the words of institution did not lift up the chalice or host. Near the end of the mass he lifted the gifts saying Sancta Sanctis, similar to the Byzantine Rite according to St. John Chrysostom.
Each time the priest broke the host in the fraction rite he said one word in Latin. I could not pick up what he was saying but he divided the host into about 8 pieces.
The credo follows the words of consecration.
At the end of mass there is nothing like the ¨Ite, missa est¨ or sign of the cross. The priest kissed the altar and went back to the sacristy.
After each part of the priest praying a line in the Pater Noster the canons, acting as a schola, said ¨Amen.¨
The sign of peace was placed before the Canon of the Mass and sanctus.
After they priests in Lauds finished a psalm they would say the Gloria Patri but at the end of the naming of the Holy Trinity they say, ¨et en saecula, Amen¨ instead of the Sicut erat...saecula saeculorum, Amen.
I enjoyed the mass a lot and wished it was a Sunday mass or other more festive celebration to see it in a more authentic High mass form, but was grateful to attend with little difficulty. I hope to attend tomorrow before I jump on the train back to Madrid at 1230pm tomorrow. Toledo is at the end of the train line. Lisbon is the only station in Portugal, so I will have to go to Lisbon prior to Fatima only to return after the Solemnity of Pentecost.
Brother Benedict Pock O.S.B.
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