DIOCESAN LITURGICAL

    COMMISSION

    NEWSLETTER

 

    November 2005

Diocese of  Antigonish, 75 Prince Street, P. O. Box 100, Sydney, NS,  B1P 6G9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The season of Advent summons us to re-examine our Christian identity and to rededicate ourselves to the mission which we received at Baptism.  While this mission is inherently messianic engaging us in the saving work of Christ, it is also fundamentally social in nature. This reality is explicitated in the well known passage from Isaiah 61 proclaimed by Jesus of himself in the synagogue at Nazareth as recorded in Luke’s gospel: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."  We share in this mission as a priestly and prophetic people called to build the kingdom of God by transforming the world in which we live.

 

This mission of transformation is rooted in the new commandment of love. The second Vatican Council in Gaudiam et Spes, reaffirms Jesus' teaching: "that the new command of love was the basic law of human perfection and hence of the world's transformation."  Now love by its very nature is social and draws us together in solidaritybreaking down barriers of race, ethnicity, language, culture and social class.  The readings of Advent bring this mission into sharp focus and challenge us to move forward as true disciples of Christ.  They exhort us to live in hope of the Lord's coming through active and vigilant waiting and unrelenting vigilance always giving authentic testimony to who we really are as the

 

people of God and doers of the gospel.  They help us to reflect on the meaning of "God with us" and what is really at stake in celebrating the feast of the Word made flesh.

 

In the face of the ever increasing assault on the human condition driven by a lethal coalescence of social, economic, political, environmental and health factors, the season of Advent beckons to us with new urgency to be transformers of a broken world and to be builders of what the concluding chapter of the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church refers to as a civilization of love. Only
when we as a society, whether it be at the local, national or international level, are totally given over to embracing the challenge of gospel love will ultimate transformation occur.  It is in mobilizing
the forces of love and healing that we can initiate a process that will lead to the reign of God and the establishment of the regime of universal justice and peace.  Then we will have laid the foundations whereby, in the true spirit of Advent, we may wait in joyful hope for the coming of the Saviour.

 

Fr. Paul MacGillvray

Diocesan Coordinator of Social Justice Ministry

 

 

Mass of Chrism

 

Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Sydney River will host the Mass of Chrism on April 10, 2006 at 4 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

Baptism during Sunday Liturgy

As Advent approaches and we prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ among us, this article will present my experience with celebrating baptisms during the Sunday assembly of Eucharist.

            In the past, I have often celebrated baptisms outside of mass.  This small, private affair does not truly convey the richness of being welcomed into a community.  One point I learned on a course was that we are the only organization in the world that initiates new members with no one else present.  With most organizations, people would be on hand to welcome the new person in.  Similarly, with a marriage, during the reception, someone from each family stands and welcomes the bride or groom into their new family.  Baptisms held outside of the Sunday assembly where just a small number of family and friends are present do not impact as when a church is full for the Sunday Eucharist.

            This past summer we have started celebrating baptisms only in the context of Sunday Eucharist with the assembly present.  One has heard different reactions.  Of course, mass will go a little bit longer and some people have reacted to that.  But with a manageable number of no more than three or four baptisms, the homily being adapted to the situation, this celebration will take up to a full hour.  Some others look forward to the celebrations of baptisms at mass.  When speaking with the parents about their experience, even with Catholic and non-Catholic parents, they have commented on how meaningful and significant this celebration has been for them. 

At the entrance of the Church, we complete the rite of welcome; the parents and godparents join the procession at the beginning and at the end.  It is very important that at the end of mass, as the assembly leaves the church, the parents and godparents receive the welcome of the community present.  This has had a touching effect upon the parents and family members. 

            We have had more positive reactions voiced about celebrating baptisms during the Sunday assembly than negative ones.  It really helps to reinforce the welcome to the parents, godparents and family when they see a whole church welcoming, smiling, and saying hello.  This also moves the welcoming to where it belongs, with the community.  It is not just the presider who welcomes the new members.  This experience has forced us, as presiders, to move out of our own comfort zone.  For efficiency, it is much easier to celebrate baptisms privately; however, it lacks the presence of community and how important community is to all of us.  Having this positive experience, it is wonderful to see how a community welcomes our new members.  It gives us a sense that the church we join is much bigger than we think it is.

 

Fr. Will MacPherson

 

 

Expecting Mary in Advent

 

Advent is a season of waiting. For children, the wait is long and slow. For a liturgy committee, Advent is too short and jammed with special days, almost too many. We in the church can get caught up like the rest of society.  Rather than patiently waiting we are busy readying the Christmas decorations, music for Midnight Mass, and added touches to make all feel welcome on that special night and for the season of Christmas which continues until the Baptism of the Lord (January 9). 

 

There is always a question about Marian devotions in our celebrations. Some would say that not enough emphasis is given to the Blessed Mother, while still others would dismiss drawing any attention to the Mother of God. Like everything there is a time and a place. With Advent approaching it is a time to rediscover Mary. Mary’s mention in scripture during Advent reminds us of her struggle inward. Mary’s acceptance of God’s will altered the history of the world, and for this reason alone we should celebrate our Blessed Mother.

 

Advent is a time of waiting, sometimes referred to in writings as a “wild pregnant season” or “expectancy”. Whatever our terms for Advent there is no doubt that Mary plays a prominent role. We are, of course,  journeying during Advent to celebrate the Birth of the Son of God. Our malls and store fronts, display Nativity scenes and also we receive cards in the mail depicting the expectant Mary.  So why not celebrate the Virgin Mary within our churches.

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The Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated during Advent on two Feast Days, December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and on December 13 the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It may be an appropriate time to visit the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Johnston and learn why this shrine exists in this beautiful countryside parish. Throughout our diocese seven parishes have been named “Immaculate Conception”, maybe they can celebrate this feast and invite neighbouring parishes to join in a liturgy.

 

Mary is also mentioned in the gospels on the Fourth Sunday of Advent. This should encourage all parishes to acknowledge Mary in prayer and in song. It is fitting that Marian hymns be sung on this day.

 

The majority of our parishes would have a statue or painting of Mary. Maybe Advent is the time to draw special attention to it. Candles burning by a statue create not only beauty but also draw simple attention to the devoted or inquisitive mind. Dried roses can also be appropriate, roses being a Marian symbol and the dried roses reminding us of our winter season.

 

In some places during Advent a veil is placed over the statue with only the face of Mary exposed. This, in a way, makes the statue look expectant.  A large dried wreath behind the statue or around a picture would also be suitable. It is always important that any decorating  be done tastefully

 

Not all parishes may have shrines or statues to Mary but maybe there is a stained glass window to Mary that can be highlighted with flowers or candles.

 

It is important to remember that Mary is our companion on these days and that she be recognized in an appropriate manner.

 

Mary provides an excellent role model in trusting God’s understanding rather than our  own. She trusts the message from an angel and allows the Holy Spirit to dwell within her.  The Holy Spirit would have to provide this young woman with strength; after all, she was pregnant without a husband, and she was to carry the child of God. It is no wonder that in our rosary we pray “Hail Mary, full of grace”

 

It is only four weeks that we journey with Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary. This season of expectation is a time to celebrate Mary respectfully.

 

Fr. Daniel MacLennan

 

 

Some Ideas for Marian Music During Advent

 

Advent is the liturgical season that nourishes us in our trustful waiting for the coming of the Lord.  We recall through the scripture readings of the four Sundays of Advent what God has promised.   We wait for the Lord, and this is both a past coming and a future one. Thus Advent becomes an ideal time for us to recall the God’s plan and prepare ourselves for the coming of the Lord into our lives.

 

The Advent season is characterized by the work of the Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets, by whose power the Word became  incarnate in Mary’s womb, and filled Elizabeth with such joy and zeal that she proclaimed Mary as the mother of the Lord.  This same Spirit enkindles in the faithful the light of Christ and calls us forth, and enables us, particularly in Advent, to announce the Messiah to all peoples.

 

Advent is characterized by hope.  Hope for God’s faithful is not simply waiting for something to happen, it is to commit ourselves to the building of God’s Kingdom. This hope encourages us in our transformation of our daily lives to correspond with God’s plan for us. 

 

Yet we recall that Advent, is, as John Paul II reminded us, the Marian time par excellence.  The Church recalls the Daughter of Zion, the Virgin who waits to welcome the Word of God.  On the Fourth Sunday, our liturgy celebrates Mary, (she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled). The collect of the Mass recalls the Annunciation, the mystery of vocation, mission and consecration through the power of the Spirit. It is in the Virgin that the Spirit descends in power just as he descended on the prophets of the old Covenant consecrated for the salvation of the people. Modeling ourselves on Mary (a woman of hope who accepted God’s will "hoping against hope") we are invited to prepare ourselves to meet the Lord who comes. During the first part of Advent, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception urges us to reflect upon the wonder of God’s love carried out in Mary.  The Virgin Mother of Christ appears before all people as the sign of God’s election, and a sign of sure hope.

 

Given this particular Marian tone of Advent, how then do those who prepare liturgy, and in particular our music ministries appropriately reflect and incorporate this tone into our Sunday liturgy? 

 

Each Sunday liturgy during Advent calls us to open the doors of our hearts to Christ, as did Mary.  Mary, Woman of the Promise, 465 in the Catholic Book of Worship III (CBW III) highlights the characteristic stance of the faithful called for in Advent.  By singing  lyrics such as “through your open, willing spirit”, “faithful to the Word within you”, “help us to be true disciples”, we too become expectant and hopeful that the God-who-comes will find us ready to receive the abundance of his mercy.  This piece of music, perhaps not as widely known as more “traditional” Marian hymns, has a familiar melody (tune: Drake’s Broughton) and is quite appropriate for the whole season.  This piece could be used during the preparation of gifts.

 

The Third Sunday of Advent has us proclaiming the Responsorial Canticle based on the Magnificat.  The musical setting (24,CBW III) has as its refrain, “My soul rejoices in my God”.  The Magnificat is as one writer put it, the magna carta of any faith experience.  In the Magnificat we see how God has chosen to establish his dwelling place in the human heart and stamps the heart with two characteristic features:  thanksgiving and sharing.  Thanksgiving refers back to God in praise for His gift and in sharing, we are enabled to reach out and share this gift with other human beings.  Thus we take up our vocation and mission.

 

Liturgical planners may wish to consider another setting for the Magnificat perhaps for the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Recalling the Magnificat from the previous Sunday would help reinforce that we are people of hope and mission.  Consider this as a piece for preparation of gifts or for a time of meditation following communion (an option that should be used sparingly).  These are two of the few times during the liturgy where congregational singing is considered optional so if your congregation were not used to singing in parts, or did not have the Glory and Praise this could work quite well.  An interesting musical setting based on the Magnificat is My Soul Proclaim (428, Glory and Praise, 1997).  Choirs will have some fun with this piece as it has an ostinato (repeated) refrain under which are sung the verses simultaneously.   

 

The Fourth Sunday of Advent has the Annunciation as its focus.  Two pieces in the CBW III ought to be considered for this liturgy.  One, of course is The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came.  This piece helps us look to the New Testament readings for a Christian understanding of the fulfillment scriptures.  As Patty Fowler wrote in the September-October 1998 Celebrate journal (p. 41), “Who could not be drawn into the story of an angel with ‘wings as drifted snow’ and ‘eyes of flame’ appearing to the young Mary with the words ‘From God, all hail!’?  We all know the message that he brought: ‘You shall bear a holy child, by whom we shall to God be reconciled.’  And Mary’s trust, her ‘yes’ to God, is a model for all seekers of truth, for all who experience exile in any form.”

 

Another piece appropriate for Advent, but particularly so on this Fourth Sunday is Servant of the Word (467, CBW III).  We praise Mary who became the preeminent disciple by being “servant of the Word”, “docile to the will of God”, bearer of God’s Son”.  The refrain calls out “pray for us and lead us to the Son of God.”  Some will recognize this piece as the traditional O Sanctissima, (468, CBW III).

 

It is hoped that through the ideas sketched out in this article we can see that Advent time is a season that highlights our Blessed Mother.  Yet we also see that while recalling Mary as the first disciple, the “woman of the promise”, we also place this emphasis within the greater Advent context.  Looking through the CBW III we also recall Isaiah’s words of preparing the way of the Lord when every valley will be lifted up and the “mountains made low” when we sing Every Valley (308, CBW III).  We proclaim that “hope shall triumph” in O Come, Divine Messiah (310, CBW III).  We are moved to mission when we sing “obey the call of the Spirit, proclaim liberty to captives, and bring comfort to the sorrowful” in Arise, Your Light Has Come (302, CBW III). 

May our coming Advent season be one filled with hope, comfort and joy and that like Mary, we too may have “an open willing spirit” and are ready to greet the God-who-comes to us as “true disciples”.

 

Fr. Conrad Edwards

 

 

 

Ministry Workshops

 

Workshop material for formation of lectors, Extra-Ordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and hospitality has been prepared and used in the diocese for the past number of years. Guidelines are found in the Diocesan Policy Manual. Workshop facilitators  for the ministries who require assistance with training may call the Office of Worship for materials. E.g.- The formation of lectors guidelines requires the following topics to be covered:

 

1. Baptism, the call of all Christians to enter into a relationship with God and with the Church.

 

2. Ministry, the call of all Christians to join with Jesus in his mission to bring all humankind into one People under the Father’s love.

 

3. Praying Scripture should be the primary mode of preparation for the Lector.

 

4. Introduction to Scripture can be a basic session giving an overview of Scripture. Lectors should be encouraged to continue their formation by taking courses which may be offered in their areas on Scripture.

 

5. Practice proclaiming the Word in the presence of others. Learning techniques of operating and adjusting the microphone, projecting the voice, and reading with understanding.  

After the completion of the period of formation, persons are called forth in a community celebration to be Recognized. The Rite of Recognition can be found in,” Celebrations of Instillation and Recognition.”