The Word

Proclaiming the Word

     As Catholics we sometimes take the Word of God for granted. I suppose that could be said of anyone, but most Protestant faiths place their greatest emphasis on the Word each Sunday, where we tend to place our greatest emphasis on the Eucharist. And our worship space arrangements tend to support my view, in that the table of the Word (the ambo) and the table of the Eucharist (the altar) are most often disproportionate to one another, in that the altar is almost always much larger (and centered) than the ambo (which is off to the side). Father Eugene Walsh, SS (1911–1989) once wrote that ambos and altars should be of similar size in the sanctuary.
     Jesus Christ is the center and summit of our liturgy as we worship the triune God. He is present in the priest (persona Christi), in each person present (see Matthew 18:20), in the Eucharist, and also in his word.

               “In the beginning was the Word,
               and the Word was with God,
               and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

     If Christ is the Word, and therefore is God, then is not his presence in Word just as significant as his presence in Eucharist?

               “Indeed, the word of God is living and effective,
               sharper than any two-edged sword,
               penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow,
               and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” 
               (Hebrews 4:12)

     Does not the writer of the letter to the Hebrews give us deep insight into the essence of the risen and glorified Christ? Let us not forget, the temporal Christ, walking among us, was the Word before he offered to us (and for us) his Body and Blood. Jesus Christ as Word, eternally begotten of the Father, has transcended time, where Christ became Eucharist in time.
     The General Instruction on the Roman Missal (hereafter GIRM), Vatican II’s guide for the celebration of the liturgy, makes clear that “ . . . Christ himself is present in the midst of the faithful through his word.” (55.). In this statement the bishops are quoting the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium) of Vatican II: “[Christ] is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church.” (SC 7.).
     Whenever I instruct lectors I always emphasize this last point with them. If they truly understood it they would be shaken by the awesome responsibility that they have undertaken in bringing the Word to the gathered assembly. A composer colleague of mine also offered this sage advice, which he had gotten from an experienced lector: “Proclaim the scripture as if you are reading a love letter from God.” Could anything be more beautiful? What, in fact, is scripture, but just that: God writing how much he loves us? This is why the Israelites wept as the Word was proclaimed to them: “ . . . all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.” (Nehemiah 8:9).
     There are a number of parishes who engage in the practice of ringing sanctuary bells at each of the consecrations, to call attention to the presence of Christ on the altar. This is fine, but it is inconsistent. Should not bells be rung at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Word (if not at the beginning of each reading and the psalm) to likewise call attention to the presence of Christ in the Word?
     For you who are lectors, let me offer the following practical advice for your ministry of proclaiming the Word:

• Have a Catholic bible (New American Bible) handy at home.
• Make use of published resources for your ministry, such as pronunciation guides and Catholic scripture commentaries. Be sure to check with your priest to insure the resources are specifically designed for Catholic use.
• Read the reading at least one week in advance. Go to your bible and read the passages that precede and follow yours.
• Pray over your reading each time you practice it during the week. Read it at least once a day, even to the point of near memorization. Memorization is not the goal, but having an internal knowledge of the passages will allow for a more effective proclamation.
• For the liturgy, be dressed as someone who has the awesome task of being the mouthpiece for the living Christ, who proclaims the Word that he is through your ministry.
• Approach the ambo with grace and reverence.
• Look at the assembly and pause before you speak, being sure you have everyone’s attention.
• Don’t just read the scripture, proclaim it in a life-giving manner. Be slow, deliberate, clearly enunciating every word correctly, making eye contact with the assembly as much as possible. While this is not a performance, your responsibilities have aspects that are performative in nature.
• At the end of the reading, pause, letting your sound dissipate in the space, before proclaiming “The Word of the Lord.” in a likewise life-giving manner. This will elicit an enthusiastic response from the assembly.
• Leave the ambo in a likewise gracious and reverent manner, and return to your place to continue in full participation of the liturgy, joyously responding and singing, being a model of good liturgical behavior for the assembly. Remember, people will look to you for good modeling.
• Finally, never approach the ambo unless you are fully prepared. Lectors who read the Word unprepared do a grave disservice to the community and diminish the significance of the Word.

     May all who proclaim the Word of God be enlightened by the flame of the Holy Spirit in their hearts, that hearts of all the faithful may “burn with love as Christ speaks” to them (Luke 24:32).

Why, God?

Why, God?

     The husband of a friend of mine is dying of cancer. He received the news only five months ago, on his 56th birthday. Yesterday another friend of mine buried his 42-year-old daughter, another cancer victim. Last Friday I played the funeral of a 47-year-old man who died in his sleep, found by his mother, with whom he lived. In the meantime I read about three other friends who had relatives in their 40s and 50s who died of cancer.
     I know this seems like a macabre way to start a post, but this is part of reality. Yet why does God, so loving, so merciful, allow sickness to happen? I know that this is really the same question asked about evil, particularly when 9/11 and the Asian tsunami occurred. And, more importantly, why can’t we as human beings comprehend the “why”?

God Only Knows . . .

     “God only knows,
     God makes his plan,
     the information’s unavailable
     to the mortal man.”

     That’s a lyric that always made an impression on me, from Paul Simon’s Slip Slidin’ Away. Very poignant indeed, but it doesn’t tell the whole story (not that we can ever know the whole story this side of heaven). And as poignant as this lyric is, it does give the impression that God is somehow cold and insensitive, when nothing could be farther from the truth.
     I remember another case several years ago when a man in his 50s died of cancer, never knowing he was ill until it was too late. He asked his friend, a deacon, “Why me?”. His response: “I don’t know, it’s all part of God’s plan.” What??? Part of God’s plan??? If we know that God is a loving parent, and that his love is mirrored in many things, especially the love of a parent for their child, how is it even theologically conceivable that someone’s illness would be part of God’s plan?
     Let’s remember that this earth is not heaven, and creation is not yet finished. And as long as the kingdom of God has not yet been established on earth, imperfections are going to exist, and among them illness. Let’s not, however, assume that God inflicts illness on his children any more than God inflicts any other kind of malady on us so that he can swoop in and be the hero in the end. But didn’t God inflict punishments in scripture? Well, that may be true, but we do not know if these things are historical accuracies or theological witnesses. Remember, the purpose of scripture is salvation, not science.

Is God Even Listening?

     What about all those prayers that are never answered? Surely those parents who buried their children, as I described above, prayed and prayed that their children would not die, and yet their prayers went seemingly unanswered. Where was God? Is God deaf? Is the divine plan so etched in stone that God’s heart is impenetrable? Does God even care?
     It is human to ask these questions, even to shout them at God. But here’s a little-accepted fact: God hears and answers every prayer, just sometimes the answer is “no” or “not yet”. Does that mean God doesn’t care when a mother loses her child? On the contrary. Psalm 116 tells us that “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful one.”. Every time someone dies, the first heart to break is God’s. You who are parents, and who have more than one child: Aren’t you capable of laughing with one child and yet crying with another all at the same time? Our God can do that with every one of his children, for God can see every one of his created ones at once. I remember (then-Archbishop) Theodore McCarrick once preach in a homily, “God loves you so much, he can’t take his eyes off you.”. What beautiful words, and how beautifully it speaks of our importance in the heart of God.
     St. Peter tells us that, to God, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years are as one day. God knows no human time, for to God all time is present, a mystery we cannot understand in this life. This truth may explain why we sometimes get a “no” to our prayers and petitions to God. We can see only our little slice of history and environment, while God sees it all. Every choice we make is like a pebble dropped in a pond, whose ripples go out in concentric circles. The nearer to the center, the more intense the ripple, and so forth. In other words, every choice we make affects and influences others in our life. Our choices may influence others to make certain other choices, and so on and so on. Who knows how far into history our own choices may influence people? Well, God knows.

The Hymnbook of Israel

     One of my favorite books of the bible is the book of Psalms. As a pastoral musician, the psalms are close to my heart, for they are part of every liturgy we celebrate. The psalms, it is said, are the hymnbook of Israel, but what makes them so dear to me is the fact that Jesus himself sang these hymns in his life as a faithful Jew. And within the span of these 150 psalms are found every human emotion, from joy to despair, and there are many examples wherein the psalmist blames God and even makes deals with God. In other words, the psalms are rich in addressing nearly every facet of human existence, and can offer support and clarity in every earthly situation.
     So when we find ourselves asking, “Why, God?”, just remember that Jesus himself asked that from the cross, as he quoted Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”.

Funerals

And Jesus Wept . . .

     On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, when we heard the beautiful Gospel story of the raising of Lazarus, it brought me to reflect on the changing mourning process in our Church. In my area of the country, the funeral process consisted of a wake (usually two days of viewings, both afternoon and evening), and the fullness of the mourning process was done within the three stationary liturgies as prescribed by the Church. Usually the mourning ritual occurred over the course of three days or so, from the time of death to interment.

     These days, I have found the process to be ever-changing, and it seems the Church is in need of addressing these changes with an eye toward making adaptations that acknowledge this new reality. I will expand this further as we go along.

     Back “in the day” (as my wife likes to say), families were mostly of one faith, in our case, Catholic. There may be a couple of family members from outside the faith—usually through marriage—but for the most part everyone was Catholic. In my ministry as Director of Liturgy and Music at a large parish set among a number of retirement communities, I serve anywhere from 110 to 120 funerals per year. When once families at Catholic funerals were mostly practicing Catholics, this is sadly no longer the case. I am finding that, for the most part, families at funerals are mostly unchurched, and it is now common for less than half of the family to even identify as Catholic. While I say this not to judge anyone, it does however make for liturgy that can be unpredictable and difficult to minister. I know that much of this can be said about weddings as well, but I will address that in a later post. It also appears that the increase in unchurched and mixed-faith families has contributed to some of these changing practices. Let’s look at some of these changes (These may or may not apply in your part of the country.). Here is the funeral process as it was from the time of Vatican II through perhaps 10 years ago. Let’s consider a person’s death to be Day 1:

     Day 3: Wake at the funeral home, afternoon and evening viewings to receive mourners

     Day 4: Same, including the wake service led by a parish minister (usually a priest or deacon) during one of the viewings

     Day 5: Funeral Eucharist at the parish church with burial (interment) at a cemetery.

     Nowadays, there are a number of variations on this theme. Let’s look at some of them. Variation 1:

     Day 3: Wake at the funeral home, one viewing of 3–4 hours

     Day 4: Funeral Eucharist with burial.

     Rather than writing out all the possible variations, let’s just say that it often happens that a family will request a simple service in the funeral home instead of a Eucharist at church. This often happens in the case of an unchurched family, and I have even seen this happen in the case of a very active person who dies and whose children are unchurched, which I find to be very sad. This is why I encourage seniors in particular to make sure they make their wish known to their children that they want a full Catholic funeral at their passing.

     It also happens very often now that families opt for cremation rather than traditional burial. In 1992 the Church approved the inclusion of cremains at Catholic funerals, provided cremation was not done for reasons of denying the Resurrection. This, however, has created some unique pastoral challenges. Sometimes the deceased is cremated before the funeral Mass, and sometimes afterward. When done before and therefore present at Mass, the rites should be adapted to address the presence of an urn rather than a casket. In my parish, we always have someone carry the urn in and out in procession, the same way a casket would be processed. This helps to keep the funeral liturgy consistent, and helps address other liturgical issues as well.

     Sometimes the cremation is done after the funeral Mass. When this is the case, the dismissal, “Let us take our brother/sister to his/her place of rest.” makes no sense, as the family are not going to an interment but are dispersing while the body is going to the crematory. This disrupts the funeral process as it currently exists, and the Church has need to adapt the ritual for the reality. I realize the reciprocal can be legitimately argued, but the Church does allow for cremation, and therefore the ritual needs to be adapted.

     It also happens that a funeral is now celebrated the day after a death, but does this really allow a family the necessary time to begin the mourning process?

     While there is indeed fine-tuning to be done in our funeral process, our Catholic mourning process, when done in its fullness, is one that is beautiful, providing the bereaved with comfort and consolation, as well as an opportunity to give their beloved back to God.

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.