The Church's Liturgy & Social Justice, part 3

How we pray and who we pray for in our liturgical assemblies must praise God by demonstrating our concern for God's least ones. The General Intercessions, in particular, have ample opportunity for this. Besides praying for our sick and deceased loved ones (which most parishes do), we should also be sure to pray for suffering people throughout the world, regardless of whether they're related to us by faith or blood. While we're at it, we should also pray for our enemies.

The Church's Liturgy & Social Justice, part 2

One important aspect of achieving social justice is also a part of our liturgy: reconciliation. Justice is a matter of right relationship. If something is keeping us from right relationship, such as a past wrong or unfair discrimination, we must be reconciled in order to return to a right and just relationship. Reconciliation involves (1) acknowledging our faults to the offended party, (2) asking for and receiving forgiveness, and (3) making reparations and/or doing penance.

       To model that for us in our interpersonal relationships, we have the Sacrament of Penance and the Penitential Rite of the Mass by which we are reconciled with God. The Sacrament of Penance provides the fullest expression of reconciliation (as outlined above) and is our only way of reconciling serious sins against God's law. The Penitential Rite of the Mass heals the lesser offenses so that we can be properly disposed for our reception of Holy Communion.

       The challenge for us is to take these opportunities for reconciliation seriously. This Sunday, when the liturgy comes to the Penitential Rite, make a serious examination of your conscience, fervently ask God for forgiveness, and then feel the forgiveness God offers through the words of the priest.

The Church's Liturgy & Social Justice, part 1

At the end of every Mass, we are urged to "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord." The new language of the Order of Mass which will be implemented in the US next year has a new option, which is, "Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life." The two are seen as equivalent by the Church: loving and serving the Lord means living the faith. 

       It means being the "good Samaritan" as we heard about last Sunday. 

       It means striving for justice in our world, as we are told time and again by Jesus and the prophets who came before him. 

       It means being a force for reconciliation, not only between ourselves and one another, but also between polarizing forces in our world.

       And it is (or should be) the Church's liturgy that causes us to see what must be done and to provide an example of how we are to live between Sundays. More on this in the coming weeks.

The Season of Easter

We are now in the second week of the highest liturgical season of the year: Easter. Yes, Easter is more than a day or even three days; it is a season of fifty days! It begins with Evening Prayer I* for Easter Sunday and ends with Evening Prayer II* on Pentecost Sunday. In fact, the word pentecost implies fifty days. 

       This makes the season of Easter longer than the season of Lent, the season that prepares us for Easter. This is fitting, and it is in keeping with one of the guiding principals of Catholic liturgy since Vatican II: the principal of progressive solemnity. This principal states that feasts and seasons of higher importance are to be marked with greater solemnity. Thus, the season of Easter should be longer than the season that prepares for it.

       It also means that those who come into a Catholic church during the Easter season should recognize that this time of year is different and more special than either Lent which precedes it, or Ordinary Time which follows it. Some examples of ways that parishes can do this:

• Use more flowers in decorating the sanctuary. For parishes that find it difficult to keep flowers in the sanctuary year-round, having them just for the Easter season is a worthwhile investment.
• The music at the liturgy should a little more elaborate (note that it already is more elaborate than Lent by virtue of resumption of the singing of the Gloria; the trick will be making it more elaborate than the Ordinary Time that follows when the Gloria is also sung).
• Replace the Penitential Rite with a Sprinkling Rite as a reminder of Baptism. (See below for the connection between Easter and Baptism).
• Have more elaborate banners, altar cloths, and other decorations (of course, using the color of the season — white — along with gold and other festive materials).
• Use images of the resurrection and Christian initiation (particularly Baptism), which symbolize the season.

In keeping with this last point, Easter is the usual season for parish celebrations of the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Baptism is celebrated in a big way at the Easter Vigil, when adults are brought into the Church during the memorial of Jesus' death and resurrection. But Baptisms should also be celebrated with the Baptism of infants on other Sundays of the Easter season. In addition, many dioceses hold the bulk of their Confirmation celebrations during Easter, and most parishes celebrate First Holy Communion during these fifty days, as well.

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*Evening Prayer (Vespers) is part of the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office), the official prayer of the Church which is not tied to the administration of any of the seven Sacraments. (For some foundational reading on the Liturgy of the Hours, read Chapter IV of The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.) Evening Prayer I is said in the evening of the day before a Sunday or solemnity; Evening Prayer II is said in the evening at the conclusion of a Sunday or solemnity.

Three Days, One Liturgy

It is Holy Week, the week of special celebrations leading up to the highest Holy Day of the Church year: Easter. As holy as the entire week is, the final three days are most special and most unique. 

       Beginning at sundown on Thursday, we begin the sacred Triduum. Literally translated, Triduum means "three days." What we celebrate during the Triduum is a three-day liturgy. This liturgy speaks loudly of the things that are central to our Catholic faith. Here is a brief summary, starting with the climax and working backwards to Thursday:

• The Resurrection (Easter) — we believe that death does not have the final word, that there is a part of us that is touched by God and has become divine, and therefore we are destined to live with God forever when we leave our earthly bodies behind.

• Jesus' commitment to his ministry of peace and justice (Good Friday) — Jesus led a life of feeding the hungry, healing the broken, and liberating the captives, and he did not back away from that ministry even though political and religious leaders of his time saw his work as a threat. He was even willing to go to a cruel death in order to bring about a more just world, a world that is reconciled with God.

• The importance of the Eucharist (Holy Thursday) — Jesus, in his human body, understood that we need to eat, and so he gave us the richest of foods, his very self, so that he can enter our bodies and use us to carry on his mission after his Ascension. That mission is one of love and compassion, especially toward the least and the lowest, as represented by the washing of feet that we do on Holy Thursday.

The Season of Lent

The liturgical season of Lent is upon us. As with the change of natural seasons, people should be able to perceive that something is different as we change into another liturgical season. To the point, people arriving at church starting this Wednesday should notice that things are different, and the changes should bring Lent to their minds. The liturgical documents specify the minimum:

• The color of the liturgical season is purple.
• Flowers may not be used to decorate the altar.
• Alleluia and the Gloria is not to be said or sung.
• Musical instruments may only be used to accompany singing.

Beyond that, there are other things that can be done. Here is a short list of other things that some parishes do:

• Change the Mass setting (the musical compositions that are used for the Eucharistic Prayer acclamations and the Lamb of God); some parishes even use the traditional Latin chants for the Holy, holy, holy and the Lamb of God.
• Eliminate all musical instruments except for the organ, played on just one or two stops.
• Use the "Form a" for the Penitential Rite ("I confess to almighty God…"), then sing or chant the Kyrie litany.
• Go beyond just removing the flowers and remove all green plants from the church, replacing them with bare branches.
• Greatly simplify all decorations, such as using a minimal altar covering and very plain banners (if any are used at all).
• Set up an Operation Rice Bowl display to highlight the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and giving.
• Add extra prominence to the Stations of the Cross.

In signs perceptible to the senses, we should know it's Lent right away and throughout the entire liturgy.

Collections and Second Collections — Why We Have Them, and When They are Especially Good

Except for the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, there is nothing in the Roman Rite about taking up collections at Mass. Yet, it is a common practice at Sunday Mass. Some find this objectionable; however, one of the precepts of the Catholic Church is that Catholics are to take care of the needs of the Church, and giving money is an efficient way to do this. Money helps pay the Church clergy and staff, it funds the Church's outreach efforts, and it purchases materials that the Church needs for its liturgy (bread, wine, vestments, vessels, etc.) and mission (religious education materials, the cost of meeting spaces, funds for the needy, etc.). The collection is usually taken up while the altar is being prepared for the Liturgy of the Eucharist, and the money collected is brought to the altar in procession with the bread and wine.
       Then there are the infamous "second collections." These are (typically) appeals for special projects or causes. Some are mandated by the local bishop or the conference of bishops (e.g., a second collection is always taken up for Catholic Relief Services every March); other collections are at the direction of the pastor (e.g., a monthly second collection to pay off parish debt). Second collections are sometimes taken up right after the regular collection; more often, they are taken up between the Communion Rite and the Concluding Rites (i.e., as the announcements are read). What often works best is for the first announcement say what the collection is for so that people know what the cause is for that particular collection.
       Personally, I hope that every parish takes up a second collection this weekend for the Haiti relief effort, and I hope every Catholic in the world contributes something to it. The earthquake this week in Haiti affected over 3 million people and early estimates are that this could be the single most destructive natural disaster in world history, with hundreds of thousands of people killed as a direct or indirect result of the quake. If your parish doesn't do something, please consider donating directly through Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Internationalis, or one of the other great Catholic charities that provide international disaster relief. Haiti was such a poor country to begin with, and this week's disaster is only increasing the suffering of the people in that country. As Catholics, we have a preferential option for the poor, the vulnerable, and the suffering; the best way we can respond in this situation is to help fund the relief effort.

Identity and Mission through Baptism

A few years ago, while working at a diocesan office of worship, I received a phone call. The caller had seen an infant baptism at his parish that Sunday and he had a suggestion: he thought it would be a good idea if we said the same words after a baptism that were said after Jesus' baptism: "You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased." The more I thought about it, the more I realized that he had a point (even if I couldn't single-handedly change the Roman Rite): we need to name the newly baptized belovedness and assure them of their identity as a child of God.
       Of course, the other part of the story of Jesus' baptism was how the Holy Spirit came upon him and set him off on his mission and ministry. This, too, is something that we need to do at baptisms: we need to give the newly baptized their mission.
       In looking at the Rite of Baptism, both of those pieces are there in the prayer that is said right before anointing the child with the Sacred Chrism. The prayer is, "God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has freed you from sin, given you new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and welcomed you into his holy people. He now anoints you with the chrism of salvation. As Christ was anointed priest, prophet, and king, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life."
       In this prayer, we receive our identity as a member of Christ's body, a member of that person to whom it was said, "You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased." Being a member of that body also means sharing in the dignity and responsibility of participating in Jesus' servant ministry of priest, prophet, and king. This is an awesome responsibility, but one that is possible because of the strength we receive by being beloved sons and daughters of God.