Journal
1712 L Mon 5 Nov 2001
The front page of today's Australian is a lift out for the Melbourne Cup, a horse race on tomorrow. But the real front page has the headline: Bin Laden brands Australia an anti-Islam crusader. In his latest broadcast we are specifically referred to: "The crusader Australian forces were on Indonesian shores, and in fact they landed to separate East Timor, which is part of the Islamic world."
I had an essay to hand in today and while there read some magazine articles. In Newsweekly, who I have linked to, the have a good cover story on the "War on Terrorism".
Another book I looked at was the Rite of Marriage (E.J. Dwyer, NSW) 1971. In this Australian Edition there is added to the description of the procession:
The customary bridal procession may be retained.
It is in three places: n. 20, n. 40, and n. 55. In the US edition to be found in The Rites Volume 1 (Liturgical Press, 1990) page 725 it simply has the normal description of the procession.
20. If there is a procession to the altar, the ministers go first, followed by the priest, and then the bride and the bridegroom. According to local custom, they may be escorted by at least their parents and the two witnesses. Meanwhile, the entrance song is sung.
The Australian book makes no mention of it being a special provision for Australia (that: "The customary bridal procession may be retained.") I wonder what process there was for making such a change, in 1971.
In Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite (Ignatius Press, 1995) page 205, Monsignor Peter Elliott gives this description:
Depending on local custom, the celebrant either (a) enters the sanctuary with the servers and waits with the groom for the bride, or (b) he receives both bride and groom in front of the altar after they enter together, or (c) he receives them at the door of the church and precedes them to the sanctuary in a procession led by the servers, while the entrance hymn is sung. {Footnote 26: Cf. RR. Rite of Marriage, no. 20} However, according to the first two options, the celebrant and servers enter the sanctuary in a simple fashion, without an entrance hymn. The hymn or other appropriate music accompanies the bridal procession. The parents, witnesses and customary attendants usually take part in the procession.
For the US audience, he is making changes to what their instructions are. For Australians it highlights how the instruction "The customary bridal procession may be retained" is open to wide interpretation.
Copyright J.R. Lilburne, 5 November 2001.
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