Liturgical Ministries—The Presider

The Presider

     Perhaps the most underestimated factor in assessing whether or not a liturgy is truly life-giving is the style and participation of the presider. The term “presider” may refer to any individual, clergy or not, who presides over a worship service. While these same principles apply to any person who presides, clergy or lay, the following will limit our discussion specifically to the role of the priest presider at Eucharist.
     Nothing sets the tone of a liturgy more than the attitude, style and participation of the presider. While all liturgical ministers are models of proper liturgical “behavior”, the presider is the primary model of such behavior. His style, even from his first words, will let the community know what kind of liturgy is being celebrated, i.e. whether or not it will be true life-giving worship of God.
     A good presider never stops learning, even many years after ordination.
     The liturgy, indeed the Eucharist, is infused with the spirit of Christ. Christ is to be found in the Word, in the Eucharist, in the assembly, and in the priest, who acts in persona Christi. As Christ taught his disciples, it is the mission of the priest to instruct the community. As Christ offered the one, perfect sacrifice to the Father, it is the role of the priest to offer again, in the name of the faithful, the one, perfect sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood made present on God’s altar.
     The presider must exude the warmth and love of Christ to the community, both in and outside of the sanctuary. He must do this in such as way as to point the way to Christ without drawing undue attention to himself. This is part of the challenge of Christian ministry for all of us. Referring back to the first paragraph, if the presider is warm, loving, a strong leader, a capable preacher and a knowledgeable celebrant, the celebration of the Eucharist will be one that is profound and life-giving. It is said that there cannot be fire in the pews if there’s ice in the pulpit. This is very true. Let us be fair to all the good priests who serve the Church in saying that the reciprocal is also true: There cannot be fire in the pulpit if there is ice in the pews. All the more reason that liturgy is truly “the work of the people”.

Life-Giving Liturgy

The Elements of Life-Giving Liturgy, cont.

     It is said that the most important words in the Eucharist are hic et nunc—“here and now”. Why would this be so? After all, do we not retell the institution of the Eucharist during each Mass? Do we not praise God for the death and resurrection of Christ? Are these not historical events that occurred 2,000 years ago?

     That is all true, yet what we celebrate in each Eucharist is not so much those God-given events that occurred in temporal history, but, more importantly, we celebrate the salvific action of God that is occurring at this very moment, and will occur until Christ returns in glory.

     God’s work of salvation began at Eden, and will continue until the last judgement, of which we hear in Matthew 25. It is God’s desire that every person attain salvation, for God loves the creatures he has made, and wants all people to live with him forever in his heavenly kingdom. The Eucharist is a means of attaining that salvation, as it plants the seeds of charity in our hearts and, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, kindles in us a desire to bring the saving work of God to a world in need, working for justice and peace. This is the Sunday-Monday connection.

     As we begin to examine the various elements of life-giving liturgy we meet elements both tangible and intangible. There are ministries and rituals, and there are people who fulfill those ministries and perform the rituals. Yet it must always be borne in mind that “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). One priest put it me this way: “People always come before the big red book.” Rubrics are good and necessary, but God made not rubrics but people, and people made rubrics. In any liturgical celebration, therefore, the pastoral care of the community is of primary importance, reverence and sacramental integrity being always understood.

     Here are liturgical ministries we will examine:

          The Priest Presider

          The Deacon

          Proclaimers of the Word (Lector)

          Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

          Altar Servers

          Ministers of Hospitality

          Ministers of Music (including Cantor, Music Director and Choir)
          The Assembly.

     Once we have given an overview of these ministries we will begin to examine the temporal moments of the liturgy.

Life-Giving Liturgy

The Elements of Life-Giving Liturgy

When we talk about celebrating the “liturgy” we talk about celebrating the “work of the people” (leiturgia). At no time in the history of our Church has this concept been more true or relevant than since the promulgation of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. We have come to realize that, contrary to the celebration of the Mass of the previous 400 years (according to the missal of Pius V), the celebration of the Eucharist is not the action of a cleric within the hearing and with the assistance of pew-dwelling parishioners, but is the action of an entire community come together in praise and worship of the one triune God. The most beautiful part of the worship experience is that our God interacts fully with our action of worship, so that the liturgy is truly the action of God along with the community, God gracing us with gifts that we give back to the One who has gifted us.

In order to celebrate the Eucharist in a way that is life-giving, many things must happen, must “fall into place”, if you will. There is much preparation that needs to be done, for while liturgy must be open to spontaneity, it must be a spontaneity inspired by the Holy Spirit, and not one created by unpreparedness, i.e. wondering what is going to happen next. There is a danger, of course, in “overscripting” the liturgy, giving it a feel that is more theatrically profane than liturgically sacred, but careful, thoughtful preparation can guard against such unintended perceptions.

What makes for a life-giving liturgical experience? What makes an assembly sing at the top of their lungs, or not sing at all? Is it just the quality of the music? Is it the fact that they may have, or not have, a reason to sing? Is it the weather? The economy? The presider? The manner of preaching and proclaiming? The fact is, it is all these things and much more, as we will examine throughout this blog. Liturgy is an abstract jigsaw puzzle, and all the pieces must fit together well in order that the worship experience may be fully effective in the lives of those who come together as the community of believers. If any of those pieces is missing, the entire liturgical experience suffers, and those in attendance leave feeling less than nourished.

As the Eucharist is the center and summit of Christian life, so is the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist the center and summit of the Christian community. The Roman Missal contains the rubrics, the guides for celebrating the liturgy, the parameters within which the liturgy of the Church of Rome is celebrated throughout the world. Within these rubrics there is great room for creativity and freshness, so that the liturgy does not have to be celebrated in a droll, “cookbook” manner, where “valid” and “licit” are the only justifying criteria.

Just what are the pieces of this puzzle? There are many, but we will focus on some of the more prominent ones. For example, there is the presider. The effect of the specific presider on the celebration cannot be understated or underestimated. Nothing has as much effect on the liturgical celebration as the manner, style and personality of the presider. This is not to say that the liturgy is all about the presider, for it is not, and those priests who attempt to make the liturgy “their” mass do so to the detriment and disservice of the community. The liturgy is not about you, it is not about me, it is in a sense about “us”, but more importantly, it is about Jesus Christ and the salvation won for us by his death and resurrection. A good presider, indeed a great presider, bears this in mind and inspires the assembly to focus on that truth rather than on his own presence.

It has been said that the hallmark of a good parish experience is hymns, homilies and hospitality. This is a simple yet nonetheless true statement when it comes to the liturgical experience. When it comes to these three elements, some good questions need to be addressed: 1) Are the people welcomed warmly upon entering the worship space? 2) Are their comfort needs addressed? 3) Is the preaching done in a way that is formational rather than simply religious or doctrinal? 4) Is the preaching related to the gospel? 5) Is the homily delivered in a thoughtful, personal way? 6) Is the homily written by the one delivering it, or is it read from something written by another (a “canned” homily)? 6) Is the music for the liturgy appropriate and life-giving? 7) Are the sung texts meaningful and connected to the celebration at hand? 8) Do the musical selections and ritual music help the assembly to worship in a meaningful way?

These are just a few questions to ask oneself when beginning to address these issues. There will be many more as we examine these topics.

Welcome!

Welcome to Life-Giving Liturgy!

     Here we will explore the ways of celebrating liturgy that is solemn and full of life. Even Good Friday, the most solemn day of the liturgical year, is sober, but not somber. In other words, even Good Friday is to be life-giving, for the liturgy has at its very heart life in Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Is that not a reason to celebrate with joy?

     In order to delve into the issues of life-giving liturgy we will first begin to explore the aspects of modern liturgy as we celebrate it in the spirit of Vatican II. There will be no bashing here, yet no one will be exempt from scrutiny, clergy and laity alike. The purpose is never to abase but only to lift up and help the Church celebrate worship in a more vital way.
     May the grace of the Holy Spirit guide our discussion.