Liturgy Newsletter

February 2005

News

Changes at Bishops’ Conference

At the November meeting of the Bishops’ Conference Bishop Arthur Roche was elected Chair of the Department for Christian Life and Worship. Bishops Hopes, Noble and McMahon continue to serve in the Department, and are joined by Bishop Kevin Dunn, recently ordained as Ordinary for the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. Bishop Mark Jabalé, former Chair of the Department, has now been appointed to the Department for Education. Bishop Hopes succeeds Bishop Roche as Chair of the Liturgy Committee. Bishops Noble and McMahon continue as Chairs of the Spirituality and Patrimony Committees respectively.

General Instruction of the Roman Missal

As previously advised GIRM is to be published by CTS in April. Published at the same time will be Celebrating the Mass, a pastoral companion issued by the Bishops’ Conference, and With Hearts and Minds, a resource for parish groups to deepen understanding and assist participation in the celebration of Sunday Mass. A wide range of additional resources – including Deanery discussion sheets; leaflets for parish ministers; a series of formation resources for use at Sunday Mass (handouts and homily helps) will all be available to be downloaded from the Liturgy Office website from Friday April 8th.

A Time of Prayer

Often people are looking for a simple pattern for daily prayer. A Time of Prayer is a booklet, prepared by the Liturgy Office, which offers a simple form, using the scriptures that can be used at any time of the day, and everyday. It follows the basic structure of the Divine Office, which since Vatican II has been seen as the Prayer not just of the clergy and religious but of the whole Church. A Time of Prayer has been written in order to be suitable for use by individuals and by groups. It is to be published by CTS at the end of January.

Martyrology

The editio typica of the Roman Martyrology was published in 2001. In December 2004 a second edition was published which corrects a number of typographical errors and includes not only the 117 people canonized or beatified between 2001 and 2004 but also the names of many saints, mostly Italian-Greek monks, whose names were not previously listed but who are much venerated, especially in southern Italy.

An English translation of the Martyrology is being produced by ICEL for the consideration of the Bishops’ Conference.

Rite of Penance

New resources for Lenten celebrations of the Rite of Penance are available for downloading from the Liturgy Office website.

Educational Resources

A. Exploring Churches

The Churches Conservation Trust has brought out an excellent new resource for teachers and parents for children of all ages and abilities to make the most of visits to churches and churchyards. The book covers most aspects of the school curriculum, including a page which shows how many subjects can be studied in a church context - science, music, literacy, art/craft design, citizenship, religious education, ICT, Maths, geography and history – and help to develop key skills. There are photocopiable drawings and resource sheets, including a Picture Library, TimeLine and on-site activity sheet.

The Churches Conservation Trust is the national body that cares for and preserves English churches of historic, architectural or archaeological importance that are no longer needed for regular worship. Its website www.visitchurches.org.uk has dedicated education pages with details of free tours and downloadable resources such as Tips for Busy Teachers. For further help and advice contact the Trust’s Education Officer on 020 7213 0679.

B. Remembering when...

Esther Gordon of the Grail Community has prepared for use by Church groups, a script for an imaginative re-enactment of a 3rd century Gathering for Eucharist. A service of prayer and scripture with a devotional theme it offers an opportunity for discussion about the development of the Eucharist and its contemporary setting. For further details contact Esther Gordon on 020 8866 2195 or grailcentre@compuserve.com

Shop2Share

A web-based shopping service which helps you fund the advocacy work of Caritas-Social Action (the voice of the Catholic Church on social justice and care in England and Wales) at no extra cost to you, whenever you shop on-line at specified retailer sites (including Debenhams, Dixons, John Lewis, Majestic Wine Warehouse, Priceline and Waitrose Direct). Caritas-Social Action receive a % of the total amount spent. You don’t loose out, you spend what you spend at normal retail — no extras — and the retailer donates to Caritas-Social Action direct. It is incredibly simple to join, it takes no more than a minute to register and any time you shop on-line through Caritas - social action Shop2Share you support Caritas-Social Action’s invaluable work.

E-Ordo 2005

Resource Publications in the USA have prepared an Electronic Ordo, easily downloaded and a real boon for those needing to refer regularly to the liturgical calendar and use an electronic PC or PDA calendar for daily scheduling. Resource Publications have been asked to produce a version using the Calendar for England and Wales for next year! US$19.95 per user.

Baptismal Controversy

Until recently parish practice in the church of St Mary’s South Brisbane, Australia, was to baptise children and adults ‘in the name of the Creator, Liberator and Sustainer’ rather than ‘in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit’, (the traditional and canonical formula).

The Bishop of the Diocese, Archbishop Bathersby, has required the practice to cease and has declared that the baptisms carried out using the non-canonical words are invalid.

Writing in the Courier-Mail the Archbishop observed: ‘Larger questions lie not far beneath the surface of the controversy, and it is the question of communion, namely whether a parish of the Roman Catholic Church can be in communion with the Archdiocesan Church and the Universal Church, if it changes the structure of the sacraments and locates its authority within the community. The baptism formula is merely one aspect, but an important one, of all these other questions.’

Gluten Allergies/Alcohol Intolerance

Details of the Church’s position concerning the use of ‘low-gluten’ hosts and non-alcoholic wine, or ‘mustum’ are given on the Liturgy Office website. There is also with a list of suppliers who have demonstrated that they sell low-gluten hosts which meet the requirements of the Catholic Church concerning bread for use at Mass.

Make Poverty History

In a world where poverty kills 30,000 people every day, 2005 will be a year of unprecedented opportunity for rich countries to tackle some of the root causes of poverty.

By chance, the UK has an extra-ordinarily influential role in 2005, and CAFOD is behind a massive rallying call on our Government to make poverty history by tack-ling unjust trade, debt and aid. It is joining with what could become the most powerful coalition ever against world poverty: MakePovertyHistory.

A brief guide to resources in the Roman Rite for celebrations of the liturgy and other times of prayer associated with this work for justice are provided on the Liturgy Office website, together with web-links to resources provided by CAFOD and others.

Not English speaking?

Many parishes include numbers of people in the Sunday Assembly whose first language is not English. This can make it especially difficult for them to participate in the Liturgy of the Word. The Vienna International Religious Centre provides a web-based service giving each Sunday/Solemnity’s readings and a brief meditation in a range of European languages, e.g. Dutch; French; German; Hungarian; Italian; Polish; Slovakian; Spanish. If anyone knows of a similar service providing Sunday readings in other languages, e.g. Arabic, Russian or Swahili would they please advise the Liturgy Office.