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.

What's different in Advent?

Advent is the three-to-four-week season before Christmas. It is a time when we prepare ourselves (spiritually and otherwise) for the celebration of the memorial of Christ's first coming and his second coming at the end of time.
       Liturgically, Advent is marked in several ways:

1. The Gloria is not sung. The reason for this is that the angels sang Gloria in excelsis Deo! on that first Christmas morning and so we refrain from singing it during our season of preparation so that it is new and fresh for us when we sing it again this Christmas.
2. Liturgical music in general should be marked by some moderation from the Ordinary Time that preceded Advent and the Christmas season to come. It need not be as spare as during Lent, but the average Catholic should notice that something is different about the music.
3. Along the same lines, parishes may do other things to mark the difference in the season. For example, one parish where I have served uses a dimmer light setting during Advent so that it is noticeable when the lights come up full on Christmas (reflecting the notion that Christ, the Light of the World has come). 

All of this falls under the principle of progressive solemnity, which is to say that Christmas is a season that should have greater solemnity than Advent, and so we do things to mark our progress on this journey from preparation to high feast.

When in Rome (or Key West, or wherever)…

When Catholics travel, we have the delight of experiencing the Sunday Eucharist in both its universality and its diversity. The essence of the liturgy is the same everywhere, especially within a particular country; yet, each bishop has some freedom to "customize" the liturgy for his particular diocese. Sometimes the differences are fairly significant; other times they are very subtle.
       A case in point: on a recent weekend in Key West, I attended Sunday Mass at the local parish church. All was very familiar, until the priest began the Invitation to Communion ("This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper"). At this point, the assembly got down on their knees, and stayed there until the Communion ministers were in place for the Communion Procession. Although I had heard that some US dioceses had implemented this after the 2002 Roman Missal made it clear that a bishop could mandate this posture for his diocese, I hadn't personally experienced kneeling at this point in the liturgy since the 1970s. So I fumbled to get the kneeler down and did what everyone else in the assembly was doing: kneeling for the Invitation to Communion and the assembly's response.
       And that's the point: we must respect the fact that our universal liturgy has local adaptations. Even though our home diocese might do things differently, we are obliged to follow the customs of the diocese in which we are worshipping. We best express our universal faith when we suspend our personal preferences in favor of the unity of the assembly. Doing so reflects our notion of who we are as a Church and what our worship is all about: a sacrifice of self for the good of the community. 

The Sign of Peace

The Sign of Peace in the Roman Rite is in the Communion Rite, just after the Lord's Prayer and before the breaking of the bread. As it says in the General Instruction: "[After the Lord's Prayer, t]he Rite of Peace follows, by which the Church asks for peace and unity for herself and for the whole human family, and the faithful express to each other their ecclesial communion and mutual charity before communicating in the Sacrament.*" 
       So that's what it's about, but when it comes to providing a rubric on how to do it, there is no universal norm. All the General Instruction says is, "As for the sign of peace to be given, the manner is to be established by Conferences of Bishops in accordance with the culture and customs of the peoples. It is, however, appropriate that each person offer the sign of peace only to those who are nearest and in a sober manner.*"
       In the US, the conference of bishops has not promulgated anything formally on this. I do recall that, when the current Order of Mass was published in the late 1960s, our pastor said that for the Sign of Peace, we should shake hands with the person to our right, our left, in front of us, and behind us. I don't know if that was what his bishop told him, or if that came from another source.
       Nonetheless, with everything that has been said about the H1N1 virus, we all now know that the flu is readily transmitted from hand to hand. Therefore, many dioceses have been coming out with formal statements about how to convey the sign of peace.† We still don't have a directive from the US conference of bishops, so there is still wide latitude in terms of what is acceptable for the sign of peace. However, it wouldn't really be an effective sign of peace unless it is comfortable and meaningful to both parties in the exchange. 
       That's worth keeping in mind as we express to each other "our ecclesial communion and mutual charity" this cold and flu season.
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*GIRM, 82.
†I am currently traveling in the Boston Archdiocese, and I note that they have issued new directives on this, effective October 31, 2009 (to view those directives, click here).

The Sunday "obligation"

One of the precepts of the Catholic Church (i.e., rules that Catholics are to follow), is to attend Mass on Sunday. In most cases in this country, this is not a problem — there are Catholic Churches that are reasonably accessible to most Catholics, even if it means driving a little bit. 

       However, it is important to note that no precept of the Church binds a person if it involves a significant hardship or it would put the person or others at risk. A good example is a person who is ill, especially if they have an infectious disease. By attending Mass, they could infect dozens — if not hundreds — of other people. 

       With winter approaching and some time left in hurricane season, it is also important to note that one need not put oneself at risk. If the roads or sidewalks are slippery, the temperature is well below zero such that frostbite is a serious risk, or if power lines are down and it is just very risky to be traveling to church, there is no obligation to go.

       Nonetheless, one is still to "keep holy the Lord's day." If one is unable to go to church on Sunday, it is still expected that one will set aside some time in prayer and worship, preferably with a group of others. The scriptures of the day may be read, intercessions may be offered, and either formal prayers or spontaneous prayer should be said.