Zenit: Some more of Fr. McNamara's answers

Padre Pio, Monsignor Escrivá and the Roman Missal

And More on Saints' Prayers

ROME, APRIL 15, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: Regarding the special Mass formulas, I was wondering why two of the greatest saints of the 20th century, Padre Pio and Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, aren't included in the Roman Missal. There are lots of other saints which we have Masses for, and a lot of people don't know anything about them. But here we have two very close people and no special Mass for them. That is a shame. -- M.G., Limhamn, Sweden

A: Actually, St. Pio of Pietrelcina is included in the universal calendar on Sept. 23 as an optional memorial. However, because his canonization occurred after the publication of the third edition of the Latin Missal, he did not make it into that book. His was practically the last celebration added to the calendar by Pope John Paul II.

His feast day, along with the specific Mass formulas, will certainly be included in the translations of the missal under way and due for publication in English within the next couple of years. Some episcopal conferences have meanwhile published supplements with all the proper texts of new saints while awaiting the definitive translation of a new missal.

St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, founder of Opus Dei, is certainly a major figure of 20th-century sainthood as witnessed by the multitude that attended his canonization and by the fact that his statue already graces one of the outer niches of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

I believe that the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei has proper Mass formulas, approved by the Holy See, for the celebration of his feast day on June 26. Even though these texts are not found in the Roman Missal they may be used by any priest who opts to celebrate the memorial of St. Josemaría on this day.

Because he is included in the Roman Martyrology his celebration is not impeded since the celebration of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, which falls on the same day, is an optional memorial.

St. Josemaría will probably eventually find a place in the universal calendar as the importance of his spiritual heritage continues to grow.

However, the general criteria applied in the last few years, and recently codified in specific norms, has been to limit the number of saints added to the universal calendar. The preference is that they first be added to the calendars of specific dioceses, countries, or other ecclesial organizations such as religious congregations where devotion to them is most present.

Those who have been admitted recently have reflected an explicit desire to give a more universal face to the array of saints celebrated by the whole Church. This includes saints from continents and countries of more recent evangelization or otherwise underrepresented sectors of the Church such as the Eastern Churches.

Another criterion, not so easy to calculate, is the devotion of the faithful to this saint on a fairly extended basis. Long before his beatification, popular devotion to the figure of Padre Pio was already widespread in many countries. Above all, he was deeply venerated by John Paul II who took the personal initiative of enrolling his name in the general calendar.

While St. Josemaría is equally esteemed throughout the world, devotion to him is practiced above all by those faithful who are in some way associated with the life and work of Opus Dei, and is less present in the general faithful. Since for the moment these faithful can easily fulfill this devotion with the aid of the priests of the prelature, there seems to be no urgency in including him among the saints of the calendar.

This inclusion will likely come about in time along with some other great saintly figures of our epoch such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta and, perhaps, the recently departed Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement.

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Follow-up: Saints' Prayers for Souls in Purgatory

In the wake of our theological musings on the saints' praying for souls in purgatory (see April 1), a couple of readers asked for further reflections.

One asked: "If a person on earth needs prayers, does he himself need to request these prayers from a soul in purgatory, or can a soul in purgatory pray for that person without the request?"

Usually we refer to purgatory as a passive state, and we pray for the souls in purgatory and usually never think of the souls in purgatory praying for us (see Catechism, Nos. 1030-1032).

However, while there is little or nothing in Church tradition regarding this point, I believe that it cannot be totally excluded. If someone requests the prayers of a deceased person who happens to be in purgatory, God might well make that person aware of this request.

Thus, in a way that is analogous to the spiritual good we inevitably do to ourselves whenever we pray for others here on earth, performing the act of love of praying for others could quite well form part of the process of purgation for our lack of perfect love during our lives.

It is harder to affirm with any certainty that these souls can do so out of their own initiative. However, if someone, while still alive, promises to pray for another after death it is likely that God, who inspired the original promise, will find a way to allow its fulfillment even if the person spends some time in purgatory.

A Toronto reader inquired: "Perhaps the pious tradition of patron saints indicates that the saints can take some initiative in intercession, at least in their 'patronages.'"

I would say that this could be true only in part because patronages do not stem from the initiative of the saints but from the initiative of those, whether individuals, groups or the universal Church, who invoke their patronage.

In this way a patronage is a kind of stable or permanent request for the saints' mediation in a particular field or for a specific category. Just as God makes saints aware of individual requests for their intercession, he will make them aware of these more general and stable invocations for their mediation.

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Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.