Priest Offers Mass for Youth at Sea Due to Extreme Heat and then Offers Apology and Archdiocese Issues a Statement
A priest named, Fr. Mattia Bernasconi, celebrated Holy Mass at Sea for a youth group in the extreme heat. An air mattress was used as an altar in the middle of the sea, parish priest and faithful in the water. Thus Don Mattia Bernasconi, vicar of the pastoral care for young people of the parish of Saint Louis Gonzaga in Milan, Italy, celebrated mass in Alfieri, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Crotone area. The incident is being investigated by Crotone prosecutors for a possible “religious offense.” The Archdiocese issued a statement (see below the letter)
Fr. Mattia has since apologized and asks forgiveness in an open letter:
Letter to the Archbishop, to the Episcopal Vicars, to my confreres and to all my brothers and sisters in the Faith.
Dearest Archbishop Mario, dear episcopal vicars, dearest confreres, dearest brothers and sisters in the Faith,
I am writing you a few but hear lines to apologize for the celebration on Sunday 24 morning in the waters of the sea of Capo Colonna. I was there with a group of boys from the oratory with whom we shared a wonderful experience of working in the assets confiscated from the mafia and managed by Libera. On Sunday, the last day of the camp, we planned to celebrate Mass and then to experience a day at sea before returning to Milan.
When we arrived at the pine forest where the celebration was scheduled, near the beach, we were unable to enter due to an event organized by another association that had reserved the entire area for its own activities. The camp organizers then took us to another beach, where, however, there were no shaded areas and the sand was already hot. We looked for other areas suitable for the celebration, but not having found any, it seemed significant to me, in the context of the camp we have just experienced, to celebrate in the water, immersed in the "earth" that welcomed us to work and reflect on the days we had just passed.
When a nearby family heard us, they offered us their mattress as an altar and I decided to accept. It was absolutely not my intention to trivialize the Eucharist or use it for other messages of any kind, it was simply the Mass at the end of a week of work with the boys who participated in the Camp and the context of the group (boys who for a week celebrated and worked with me) seemed to me sufficiently prepared to preserve the sacredness of the Sacrament even in the simplicity and poverty of the means. But the symbols are strong, it is true, and they speak, sometimes even in a different way than we would like. It was naive of me not to give them due weight. I assure you that there was no lack of attention and care for the Word and the Eucharist, but out of context the form is more eloquent than the substance and a moment of prayer lived with intensity and meaning by the young people present there has hit the faith of many: I am deeply saddened by it. Reading the beautiful press release from the Diocese of Crotone and Santa Severina , also relaunched by ours ( Rediscovering the beauty of liturgical symbols ), I recognize that I have lacked the attention necessary to enhance a mystery so great and so unworthily entrusted to our humble hands. I have always lived the Eucharistic celebration with profound awareness of the immense Mystery of love that it conceals and conveys and in eight years of ordination that was the first time I have not worn at least a alb and stole. But I realize that even once is too much.
I humbly apologize from the bottom of my heart also for the confusion generated by the media coverage of the news and images: it was absolutely not my intention that it had such prominence, so much so that for the celebration we had chosen a place initially isolated and away from the umbrellas (even if then some people, having seen us from afar, joined the celebration).
In the Mass that I celebrated on Monday afternoon in the church in the parish of San Luigi, I asked the Lord for forgiveness for my superficiality that made so many suffer. I hope you can understand my good intentions, tainted by too much naivety, and accept my sincere request for forgiveness. With a prayer for our Church and for all of us, don Mattia
Archdiocese Release:
He caused a parish group from Milan to discuss Mass celebrated at sea on an inflatable mattress and in a bathing suit on the media. The report offered by the press captures all the beauty and seriousness of the experience lived by these young people, who have chosen our territory to engage in a volunteer camp and question themselves on the subject of legality. A choice to appreciate and be grateful for. These young people have enriched our land with their presence and have experienced a moment of growth that will also affect the places of their daily life.
Taking a cue from this episode, however, it is necessary to remember that the Eucharistic celebration and, in general, the celebration of the sacraments has its own particular language, made up of gestures and symbols which, on the part of Christians and particularly of ordained ministers, it is right to respect. and enhance, without renouncing it too superficially.
In some special cases, on the occasion of retreats, school camps, in holiday areas it is also possible to celebrate Mass outside the church. However, it is always necessary to contact the ecclesial leaders of the place where you are, to advise on the most appropriate way of carrying out a Eucharistic celebration of this kind. Above all it is necessary to maintain that minimum of decorum and attention to the symbols required by the very nature of liturgical celebrations.
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them”: this is what Jesus promised (Gospel according to Matthew, chap. 18). Of course, every place and every circumstance are suitable for talking about him, for bearing witness to the joy of being his disciples and sharing it with those we meet. We humans, however, are "symbolic beings": the body, the clothes, the objects we use are vehicles of communication. The Liturgy is the moment in which the simple but eloquent symbols elaborated in the many centuries of life of the Christian communities are used to make an experience accessible: the encounter with the Risen Jesus and the ecclesial "we". That is why a certain form is also required for the celebration. It is evident that taking care of the form alone does not ensure the authenticity of a liturgical gesture. However, this is not a dimension to be overlooked.
“The continuous rediscovery of the beauty of the Liturgy is not the search for a ritual aestheticism that is delighted only in the care of the external formality of a rite or is satisfied with a scrupulous observance of the rubric. Obviously this statement does not in any way want to approve the opposite attitude that confuses simplicity with sloppy banality, essentiality with ignorant superficiality, the concreteness of ritual action with an exasperated practical functionalism. Let's be clear: every aspect of celebrating must be taken care of (space, time, gestures, words, objects, clothes, song, music, ...) and every rubric must be observed: this attention would be enough to avoid robbing the assembly of what is due to it , that is to say the paschal mystery celebrated in the ritual modality that the Church establishes. But even if the quality and norm of the celebratory action were guaranteed, this would not be enough to make our participation full. If the amazement for the paschal mystery which becomes present in the concreteness of the sacramental signs were to be lacking, we could really risk being impermeable to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022). this would not be enough to make our participation full. If the amazement for the paschal mystery which becomes present in the concreteness of the sacramental signs were to be lacking, we could really risk being impermeable to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022). this would not be enough to make our participation full. If the amazement for the paschal mystery which becomes present in the concreteness of the sacramental signs were to be lacking, we could really risk being impermeable to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022). we could really risk being impervious to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022). we could really risk being impervious to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022).
Source: https://diocesikr.it/single-article.php?id=116
In some special cases, on the occasion of retreats, school camps, in holiday areas it is also possible to celebrate Mass outside the church. However, it is always necessary to contact the ecclesial leaders of the place where you are, to advise on the most appropriate way of carrying out a Eucharistic celebration of this kind. Above all it is necessary to maintain that minimum of decorum and attention to the symbols required by the very nature of liturgical celebrations.
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am among them”: this is what Jesus promised (Gospel according to Matthew, chap. 18). Of course, every place and every circumstance are suitable for talking about him, for bearing witness to the joy of being his disciples and sharing it with those we meet. We humans, however, are "symbolic beings": the body, the clothes, the objects we use are vehicles of communication. The Liturgy is the moment in which the simple but eloquent symbols elaborated in the many centuries of life of the Christian communities are used to make an experience accessible: the encounter with the Risen Jesus and the ecclesial "we". That is why a certain form is also required for the celebration. It is evident that taking care of the form alone does not ensure the authenticity of a liturgical gesture. However, this is not a dimension to be overlooked.
“The continuous rediscovery of the beauty of the Liturgy is not the search for a ritual aestheticism that is delighted only in the care of the external formality of a rite or is satisfied with a scrupulous observance of the rubric. Obviously this statement does not in any way want to approve the opposite attitude that confuses simplicity with sloppy banality, essentiality with ignorant superficiality, the concreteness of ritual action with an exasperated practical functionalism. Let's be clear: every aspect of celebrating must be taken care of (space, time, gestures, words, objects, clothes, song, music, ...) and every rubric must be observed: this attention would be enough to avoid robbing the assembly of what is due to it , that is to say the paschal mystery celebrated in the ritual modality that the Church establishes. But even if the quality and norm of the celebratory action were guaranteed, this would not be enough to make our participation full. If the amazement for the paschal mystery which becomes present in the concreteness of the sacramental signs were to be lacking, we could really risk being impermeable to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022). this would not be enough to make our participation full. If the amazement for the paschal mystery which becomes present in the concreteness of the sacramental signs were to be lacking, we could really risk being impermeable to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022). this would not be enough to make our participation full. If the amazement for the paschal mystery which becomes present in the concreteness of the sacramental signs were to be lacking, we could really risk being impermeable to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022). we could really risk being impervious to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022). we could really risk being impervious to the ocean of grace that floods every celebration. […] Amazement is an essential part of the liturgical act because it is the attitude of those who know they are faced with the peculiarity of symbolic gestures; it is the wonder of those who experience the strength of the symbol, which does not consist in referring to an abstract concept but in containing and expressing in its concreteness what it means "(Francis, Apostolic Letter" Desiderio Desideri ", 29.06.2022).
Source: https://diocesikr.it/single-article.php?id=116
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