Good Friday and the Nativity

[am]

Has anyone ever heard of "connecting" the Death of the Lord on Good Friday with his Birth, by somehow proclaiming the Nativity before the Proclamation of the Passion on Good Friday?  

For to do so is apparently planned at my parish for this year: probably by singing the Nativity Proclamation from the Martyrology (although I'm not sure yet of the details).

Before I give in to the strong temptation to fuss about it in advance, I'd like to make a guess at where this idea is coming from.

[StrictCatholicGirl]

I've never heard of that being done before on Good Friday.. It seems inappropriate to me. There are, however, connections with the birth and death of Jesus that are worth mentioning again.
 
At the nativity, Jesus was placed in the hard wood of the manger and at the crucifixion He was placed on the hard wood of the cross. The swaddling clothes foreshadow the burial shroud. The cave at Bethlehem and the tomb in Jerusalem were "borrowed." Bethlehem means "House of Bread" and Jesus is the Bread of Life. At His circumcision, eight days following His birth, He shed His first drops of precious blood. At Candlemas there is Our Lady's "sword of sorrow" in anticipation of Good Friday. Now, while these events have been elaborated on in writing by the early Church Fathers and others, I, personally, have never seen them mingled liturgically.
 
It's like putting a "15th Station" (the Resurrection) in the Stations of the Cross - which was so popular in the 70s and 80s. The Stations of the Cross are not supposed to end on a joyful note. We're supposed to enter into the sorrow that was felt by the Blessed Mother, John and Magdalene, and the other disciples. We're supposed to walk away from the experience with a sense of profound loss, as they did. That's why I'm glad our Lenten and Good Friday practices have dropped the so-called 15th Station.
 
The same is true of the Nativity of Our Lord -- a joyful event. The Church shares in the joy of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and angels. Even though Jesus was born to die, we do not bring the Passion into our Christmas celebrations. So why would we bring Christmas into Good Friday? Anyway, that's how I see it. Let's stay focused.

- Lisa

[glgas]

It is a strong Franciscan idea, that the redemption was performed by the Incarnation, and the Calvary was just accidental event due to human failure. This will recommend the call of the Nativity proclamation.

However the Liturgy is the payer of the whole Church, and no pastor or bishop has the right to change it.

laszlo

Has anyone ever heard of "connecting" the Death of the Lord on Good Friday with his Birth, by somehow proclaiming the Nativity before the Proclamation of the Passion on Good Friday?  

For to do so is apparently planned at my parish for this year: probably by singing the Nativity Proclamation from the Martyrology (although I'm not sure yet of the details).

Before I give in to the strong temptation to fuss about it in advance, I'd like to make a guess at where this idea is coming from.

[am]

Not only Franciscan, but of course Fortunatus alludes to it in the Veneration hymn:

Quando venit ergo sacri plenitudo temporis,
missus est ab arce patris natus orbis conditor
atque ventre virginali carne factus prodiit.
Vagit infans inter arta conditus praesaepia,
membra pannis involuta virgo mater adligat,
et pedes manusque crura stricta pingit fascia.

I'm hoping that in my parish the allusion to the Nativity will be through singing this hymn... presumably in English... but I don't think it is likely, unfortunately.