In the April 1999 BCL
Newsletter...
Pope John Paul II appointed Archbishop Francesco Pio Tamburrino as the new Archbishop Secretary to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on April 27, 1999. Archbishop Tamburrino, bishop of the diocese of Teggiano-Policastro, is former Abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Virgine. The Committee on the Liturgy expresses its prayerful best wishes to Archbishop Tamburrino and looks forward to many opportunities for fruitful collaboration.
On February 22-23, 1999 the Task Group on Environment and Art met in Orange, California to discuss and revise the third draft of their document on art and architecture. Bishop Rodimer, Chair of the Task Group, welcomed Bishop William Friend and Bishop Roger Schwietz who had recently been appointed to the Task Group. The members then reviewed the strengths and limitations of the current draft and made suggestions for the next revision. During the discussion, the Task Group decided to restructure sections and to return to the original four chapter divisions. In addition, a decision was made to incorporate the sections on sound and lighting prepared for an earlier draft. Two of the members agreed to take responsibility for the editorial work needed before the next meeting.
The editors then prepared and circulated a fourth draft to the members in April and incorporated the additional suggestions into a fifth draft. The Task group met again on April 28-29 at St. Paul Seminary in Minneapolis to review the revised sections, and to discuss the preparation of a final draft for presentation to the Committee on the Liturgy. The Task Group members also discussed the Holy Father's April 23rd Letter to Artists and outlined material from the letter that would be incorporated into the art and architecture document. In addition, the Task Group discussed the content of the appendices to the document, possible discussion questions for use by parish building committees, and made suggestions concerning the final format of the document. .
In late May the document will be given to the Committee on the Liturgy for discussion at their June meeting in Tucson. If the Committee approves the draft for consultation, the text will be given to all bishops for their analysis and written comments. Following the consultation and further discussion by the bishops, the draft will be revised and presented for a vote at a plenary session of the NCCB.
The Secretariat has recently received many inquiries concerning plans by dioceses to sponsor Eucharistic Congresses during the Jubilee Year of Our Redemption. In order to assist bishops and others in planning these celebrations, a publication entitled "Thirteen Questions on Eucharistic Congresses" has been jointly prepared by the Secretariat for the Liturgy and Secretariat for the Jubilee. Excerpts from the publication, which is available from the Secretariat for the Jubilee, are provided here for the information of our readers.
A Eucharistic Congress is "a kind of station to which an individual church invites other churches of a single region or nation or even of the entire world."1 At a Eucharistic Congress "the members of the Church join in the deepest profession of some aspect of the Eucharistic mystery and express their worship publicly in the bond of charity and unity."2
Just as the Holy Father has convoked an International Eucharistic Congress in his Diocese of Rome for June 18-25, 2000, so bishops may convoke congresses in their individual dioceses or regions as they see fit. One of the goals encouraged by the President of the Pontifical Committee for the Eucharistic Congress is the celebration of national, diocesan, inter-diocesan and parochial Eucharistic Congresses which possibly include an ecumenical and inter-religious dimension." (Letter of Cardinal Gagnon, President of the Pontifical Committee for the Eucharistic Congress to Presidents of Episcopal Conferences, September 19, 1998).
Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass is the section of the Roman Ritual which best answers this question. This rite calls for a careful review of how the Eucharistic mystery might best be celebrated and studied by "specialists in theological, biblical, liturgical pastoral and humane studies..."3
Each Eucharistic Congress should first have a catechetical aspect, seeking to study and explore the Eucharistic Mystery. Equally important is the encouragement by experience and teaching of that "full, conscious and active participation which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy".4 Finally, the aspect of mission must be emphasized, by which the Eucharistic celebration leads us "to the various works of charity, mutual help,...and missionary activity and the various forms of Christian witness."5
At the heart of every Eucharistic Congress is the celebration of the Eucharist itself, the source and summit of the entire Christian life.6 Celebrations of the Word of God and conferences can help to explore the various aspects of the Eucharistic Mystery suggested by the theme of the Congress. Opportunities for common prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in designated churches support an interiorization of these themes. Finally, Eucharistic Processions can help to give a public and ritual dimension to the Eucharistic faith which has been celebrated, studied and reaffirmed in the course of the Congress.7
A period of preparation by participants in the Eucharistic Congress could be arranged, including a long term study of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (1975) and the Order of Mass. The point of such a study would be to foster a deeper appreciation of the deeper spiritual meanings of the various parts of the Mass and the consummate importance of the participation of all present in the Eucharistic sacrifice. Diocesan offices for worship can be particularly helpful in the development of such studies, as can doctrinal experts and those charged by the bishop with oversight of doctrinal and catechetical ministries.
Five documents in particular provide a wealth of material for exploration during a Eucharistic Congress: Eucharisticum Mysterium (1967), Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass (1973), Apostolic Letter Dominicae Caenae (1980) and the Apostolic Letter Dies Domini (1998).
The norms prescribed for Eucharistic Processions in the ritual book Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass, chapter three, part three, should be carefully studied and observed.
Depending on the needs, resources and circumstances of each diocese, a Eucharistic Congress may take place in one day or extend over a number of days. Several dioceses might join together for a common celebration in the interest of better utilizing limited resources.
No. A Eucharistic Congress will be developed by a bishop in consultation with pastors and other specialists to meet the particular needs and in utilization of the particular resources of each diocese or region. While the common elements and activities described in numbers four and five should be carefully considered, the development of the theme and a unique particular structure will be suggested to the bishop by the local planning committee.
The theme of the International Eucharistic Congress (Jesus Christ: The Only Savior of the World, Bread for New Life) could be chosen, or one of the following themes drawn from the first chapter of the 1973 Instruction Eucharisticum Mysterium might be considered: The Eucharistic Mystery: Center of the Christian Life, The Eucharist: Center of the Local Church, The Eucharist: Unity of Christians, Christ Present: Really and Today, Word and Eucharist: the Sacrifice of Praise, The Eucharist and the Priesthood of Christ, Active Participation: Inner Affections and Outward Rites, Eucharistic and Daily Life of the Faithful, Eucharist and Children, Eucharist and the Order of Mass.
In response to a request from our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, the Central Committee of the Pontifical Committee for the Great Jubilee 2000 was charged with the preparation of euchological texts and Scripture readings for use at special Masses for the Holy Year 2000. In a letter of February 27, 1999, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, President of the Committee for the Great Jubilee 2000 conveyed these texts, as approved by the Congregation for Divine Worship, to the presidents of national episcopal conferences.
These texts may be used in the dioceses of the United States of America throughout the Holy Year 2000, beginning
January 3, 2000, except on Solemnities, Sundays and Feasts, the days within the Octave of Easter, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, Ash Wednesday and the weekdays of Holy Week. They will be published by USCC Publications in the Fall of this year as Sacramentary and Lectionary supplements. (order numbers 5.330 and 5.336)
Two Mass settings, including prefaces, are provided with each set of texts. The first emphasizes the temporality of our salvation. The antiphon quotes from Psalm 89, recalling how the Lord is "our dwelling place in all generations."
The collect then asks that, as in the fullness of time, the Father sent his Son, so on our pilgrim journey today we may be led to God by the light of the Paschal Mystery. The preface continues this temporal theme:
Begotten as your Son before all ages,
he was born in time of the Virgin Mary
and anointed by the Holy Spirit.
In your name he proclaimed a time of grace
bringing consolation to the afflicted, redemption to captives,
salvation and peace to the whole human race.
Truly he himself embodies the new creation
that shines forth in every age,
surpassing every human hope.
The second Mass setting centers on the mystery of our redemption. As the only-begotten Son brought "the remedy of salvation and the gift of eternal life," the collect prays that the baptized may receive "the desire and the strength" to do God's will so that all might be one "in holiness of life." This soteriological theme is continued in the preface:
It is in him that your promises are fulfilled,
shadows give way to light, the world finds itself reborn,
and man is created anew.
By his offering once for all upon the cross,
he wished to gather all your children who were dispersed.
Lifted up in glory, he draws all unto himself
as the first-born among many brothers.
Readings for the Liturgy of the Word accompany these Masses and will be published as a supplement to the Lectionary for Mass.
The nine selections provided for the first reading are drawn from the Chrism Mass, the Easter Vigil, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Baptism of the Lord, and the Sundays of Ordinary Time.
Isaiah 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9 [LFM 260] -- The LORD has anointed me and has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly.
Ephesians 1:3-14 [LFM 104] -- God chose us in Christ, for the
praise of the glory of his grace.
Leviticus 25:1, 8-17 [LFM 406] -- The celebration of
the ancient Jubilee.
Isaiah 11:1-10 [LFM 4] -- He shall judge the poor
with justice.
Isaiah 55:1-11 [LFM 41] -- Come to me that you may
have life.
Titus 2: 11-14 [LFM 14] -- The grace of God has appeared, saving all.
I Peter 2:4-9 [LFM 52] -- You are a chosen race.
I John 5:1-9 [LFM 21] -- The Spirit and the water and the blood.
Rev 22:12-14, 16-17, 20 [LFM 61] -- Come, Lord Jesus!
Three Gospels are provided, drawn from the Sundays in Ordinary Time and the Ascension of the Lord.
Luke 4:16-21 [LFM 260] -- To proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord.
Matthew 5:1-12a [LFM 70] -- Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Matthew 28:16-20 [LFM 58] -- I am with you always.
Appropriate Responsorial Psalms are also included with each of the first readings,8 along with appropriate Gospel Acclamations.9
USCC Publications has recently published its popular ritual edition of Administration of Communion of the Sick. Designed for use by all who bring Communion to the sick, this new edition is excerpted from chapter three of the ritual book Pastoral Care of the Sick. A unique feature of this new edition is the inclusion of the Spanish translation of the rite as found in Cuidado Pastoral de los Enfermos as approved by the Mexican Conference of Catholic Bishops. This new publication is available from USCC Publications by calling 1-800-235-8722 (ISBN 1-57455039308, $3.95).
1 Holy Communion and Worship of the Eucharist Outside Mass
2 HCWEOM 109.
3 HCWEOM 110.
4 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC)14.
5 Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis 6; See HCWEOM 111.
6 See SC 10.
7 See HCWEOM 112.
8 Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8 (O God, let all the nations praise you!); Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 (Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!); Ps 100:2, 3, 4, 5 (We are his people: the sheep of his flock); Ps 97:1-2, 6-7, 9 (The Lord is king, the most high over all the earth); Ps 37:3-4, 18 and 23, 27 and 29 (The salvation of the just comes from the Lord); Ps 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 (Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever);Isaiah 12:3, 4, 5-6 (You will draw water joyfully, from the well of salvation).
9 Rev 1:5a.6b, 15:3, 15:4, 19:5.