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Other Preaching Resources
Articles
What Is Mystagogical
Preaching? by Jeff Kemper and Emily Besl
Renewing the Celebration of
the Eucharist: Considerations in Light of the Revised GIRM by Jeff Kemper
Internet Sites
Catholic Homilies
http://www.catholicsermons.com
Partners in Preaching
http://partnersinpreaching.org/
Preachers Exchange
http://www.preacherexchange.com/index.htm
Sermons & Sermon Lectionary Resources
http:///www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermon.html
Better Preaching - web site of
Dr. Stephen V. DeLeers
www.betterpreaching.org
A Bibliography for
Preachers
AlleBibn, Ronald J. Patterns of Preaching: A Sermon
Sampler. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1998.
Bailie, Gil. Violence Unveiled, New York:
Crossroad, 1997.
Bartlett, David L. Between the Bible and the
Church: New Methods for Biblical Preaching. Nashville: Abingdon Press,
1999.
Bausch, William J. A World of Stories for Preachers
and Teachers. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1998.
Bergant, Dianne with Richard Fragomeni. Preaching the
New Lectionary, Year B.
Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1999.
Bernstein, Eleanor, CSJ, ed. Liturgical Words,
Gestures, Objects, Notre Dame: Notre Dame Center for Pastoral Liturgy:
1995.
Buechner, Frederick. Telling the Truth: the Gospel
as Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale. New York: Harper & Row, 1977.
Childers, Jana. Performing the Word: Preaching as
Theatre. Nashville: Abingdon, 1998.
Craddock, Fred B. As One Without Authority.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1979, rev. ed.
Craddock, Fred B. Overhearing the Gospel.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1978.
Craddock, Fred B. Preaching. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1985.
Crawford, Evans E. The Hum: Call and Response in
African American Preaching. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995.
Curzon, David, ed. Modern Poems on the Bible: An
Anthology. The Jewish Publication Society, 1994. (OT poems)
Curzon, David, ed. The Gospels in our Image.
Harcourt Brace & Co., 1995. (NT Poems)
Eslinger, Richard L. A New Hearing. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1987.
Foley, Edward. Preaching Basics. Chicago:
Liturgy Training Publications, 1998.
Farilie, Henry. The Seven Deadly Sins Today,
Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995.
Hilkert, Mary Catherine. Naming Grace: Preaching
and the Sacramental Imagination. New York: Continuum, 1997.
Howe, Reuel L. Partners in Preaching: Clergy and
Laity in Dialogue New York: Seabury Press, 1967.
Long, Thomas G. and Edward Farley, eds. Preaching
as a Theological Task: World, Gospel, Scripture. Louisville: Westminster
John Knox Press, 1996.
Lowry, Eugene. The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon As
Narrative Art Form. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975.
McGee, Lee. Wrestling With the Patriarchs:
Retrieving Women’s Voices in Preaching, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.
Mitchell, Henry H. Celebration and Experience in
Preaching, Nashville: Abingdon, 1990.
National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Fulfilled
In Your Hearing: The Homily in the Sunday Assembly, Washington, D.C.
United States Catholic Conference, 1982.
Parachini, Patricia A. Lay Preaching: State of the
Question. Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1999.
Philippart, David. Saving Signs, Wondrous Words.
Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1996.
Pilch, John J. The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday
by Sunday (Cycles A, B & C), Collegeville: The Liturgical Press.
Plantina, Cornelius, Jr. Not the Way It’s Supposed
to Be: A Breviary of Sin, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 1995.
Rahner, Karl. The Great Church Year, New York:
Crossroad, 1993.
Rahner, Karl, S.J. "Priest and Poet," Theological
Investigations 3, 294-317.
Rahner, Karl, S.J. "The Word and the Eucharist,"
Theological Investigations, vol. 4, pp. 253-286.
Rose, Lucy Atkinson. Sharing the Word: Preaching in
the Roundtable Church, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.
Sample, Tex. The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired
World: Electronic Culture and the Gathered People of God. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1998.
Schillebeeckx, Edward. For the Sake of the Gospel.
New York: Crossroad, 1990.
Schmitmeyer, James M. The Words of Worship, New
York: Alba House, 1988.
Stafford, William S. Disordered Loves: Healing the
Seven Deadly Sins, Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications: 1994.
Taylor, Barbara Brown. Bread of Angels.
Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1997.
Taylor, Barbara Brown. When God is Silent.
Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1997.
Tisdale, Nora Tubbs. Preaching Local Theology and
Folk Art, Fortress Press, 1997.
Troeger, Thomas H. Borrowed Light. Oxford
University Press, 1994.
Troeger, Thomas H. Imagining A Sermon.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990.
Troeger, Thomas H. The Parable of Ten Preachers.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992.
Troeger, Thomas H. Preaching While the Church Is
Under Reconstruction: The Visionary Role of Preachers in a Fragmented World.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.
Troeger, Thomas H. Ten Strategies for Preaching in
a Multi Media Culture. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996.
Untener, Ken. Preaching Better: Practical
Suggestions for Homilists. New York: Paulist Press, 1999.
Waznak, Robert. An Introduction to the Homily.
Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1998.
Weems, Renita J. Just a Sister Away: A Womanist
Vision of Women’s Relationship in the Bible, Lura Media, 1988
What is Mystagogical Preaching?
by Emily Besl and
Jeffrey Kemper
Briefly, a mystagogical homily is one that illumines the
deep meaning of the liturgical act by reflection upon:
- THE MYSTERY (SPECIFIC SALVIFIC EVENT) OF JESUS CHRIST
- THE STORY THAT REVEALS THE MYSTERY (Scripture)
- THE RITUAL THAT RENDERS THE MYSTERY PRESENT (Liturgy)
- THE LIVED SITUATION OF THE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING IN THE LITURGY
To do this, the preacher has to have
an understanding of each of the aspects listed above. This should
lead to such questions as:
- What is it Christ has done for us?
- What are the implications for our lives?
- What is it about the saving act the Scripture passage is trying to bring to
our attention?
- What is it that ritual is effecting and communicating?
What is the experience of the people participating?
How do they or might they understand or interpret what is happening in the ritual?
What is it that the Church intends for us to understand?
- What is the situation – cultural and personal – of the participants’ lives
that will effect how they experience the ritual?
What is the “lens” through which they will see the event?
- What is this experience calling the hearers to realize and respond to in
light of the salvation Jesus Christ offers?
The preacher always keeps these
issues before him when preparing for mystagogical preaching.
Mystagogical preaching has these
characteristics:
1. It makes concrete and specific
references to the liturgical rite, words, gestures, actions, structures.
2. It looks to Scripture for
past instances or images of how God works in the liturgical rite.
3. It connects the past, present,
and future of salvation history so that the community’s present liturgical
act is seen in a wider context
4. Implicit in mystagogical
preaching is the doctrine of the Church
5. It weaves the
EVENT–STORY–RITUAL–LIVED SITUATION together; it is ultimately synthetical,
not analytical (taking it apart and studying it).
6. Is not so much about telling
people HOW to live, as revealing the deep meaning of Christ’s saving work in
history and liturgy, which leads people to SEE differently, and thus come to
live differently.
Renewing the Celebration of the Eucharist:
Considerations in Light of the Revised GIRM
by
Jeff Kemper
INTRODUCTION
I imagine that there is a
wide range of opinion in this room concerning the new GIRM. Some of us think
it is the best thing that has happened in 30 years, others of us think it is
the worst thing in 30 years. Probably most people are thinking that they
don't have a clue, since they haven't read it yet. Wherever we stand on this
topic, one thing is certain: the new GIRM will not save the Church, nor will
it destroy it. The GIRM is a set of rubrics, and rubrics in and of
themselves do not make a worthy celebration of the Mass. Rubrics can be
followed perfectly, but the liturgy can still be lifeless. Rubrics do
serve to keep us faithful to the belief of the Church and true to the
meaning of the act we are celebrating. Rubrics contribute to a sense of
unity among the believers, because they allow the assembled believers to
participate in the action because they know the pattern of the liturgy. Yet,
rubrics are the structure - the skeleton - of the liturgy; they are not its
spirit. The spirit of the liturgy comes from the Holy Spirit who is manifest
in the attitude and understanding of the participants of the liturgy. The
new GIRM offers us an opportunity to examine our understanding of and
attitude towards the Eucharist, as well as examine who we celebrate the
Eucharist, and that takes us beyond the rubrical changes in the new GIRM.
THE
CONCERNS OF GIRM 2002
When one looks at the
revised GIRM, four concerns shine forth. First, that the Mass be a source of
grace and renewal to all who celebrate it. (This is not new to this edition
of the GIRM; it was a concern of the 1970 GIRM and a concern of the Missal
of Pius V.) Second, that the Eucharist be celebrated with reverence and
respect. (Once again, not a new concern.) Third, that the roles of the
participants be clear and valued - those of the ordained ministers: bishop,
priest, and deacon, as well as those of the lay ministers and the assembly.
Fourth, that music be understood as integral to the celebration of the
Eucharist. (You will notice in GIRM # 40 that Sunday Mass without music is
not considered an option.)
QUALITIES
NECESSARY FOR A FRUITFUL CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST
In light of these four
concerns, there are two qualities of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist,
which are indispensable for it to bear fruit in the lives of the
participant: 1) that it be celebrated reverently, and 2) that it be
celebrated relevantly.
REVERENCE
What is reverence? The
attitude that what we are doing is sacred - important. In the Eucharist we
are engaged in the act that changes the destiny of the universe. We are
engaged in the action of the Redeemer in our midst for our salvation. (Note,
we are engaged in the act, not simply recipients of it by residual
effect.) If this is the case, the Mass's significance must be revealed in
all that we do when celebrating it:
-
the quality of the place
in which we celebrate the Eucharist;
-
the quality of the
appointments we use: the altar, ambo, chair, vessels, vesture, books, etc.
(Note: Cost is not a determinant of worth. You can pay a lot of
money for some pretty tacky stuff made of silver or gold. Craftsmanship,
beauty, and worthiness of materials as authentic are also considerations.
At the same time, one cannot dismiss objects made of silver and gold as
automatically ostentatious and therefore unworthy.
-
the quality of the
hymnody and musical elements
-
the quality of the
proclamation of the liturgical texts
-
the quality of the
preaching
-
the quality of the
participation of the assembly and the ministers.
If these are done with a
sense of their ultimate significance, then those who participate in them can
more easily realize the value and worth of the elements individually and the
Eucharist as a whole. If the value of the act is apparent, it is so the
easier for people to enter into the liturgical act and into the realities
the liturgy leads us to.
The issue of reverence leads us to the question of how is the sacred
expressed? In the Catholic tradition, the sacred actions and sacred objects
are not disconnected from this world, but are found in the ordinary elements
of this world which are raised to the significance God intended for them.
One has only to look at how God chose to save us: by becoming one of us!
Jesus is God who became human in the fullest sense of human, as God intends
us to be. The sacramental life God gave us uses ordinary, everyday objects
and actions to bestow grace: water, bread, wine, oil, touch, meal, bath,
story (of salvation) and the ancillary - assisting - symbols: light, color,
music. Sacrality is not what is distant and unrelated to life; rather it is
found in the elements of life that put us in touch with God who created
them.
Granted, it would easier to sense the sacred if it were detached from our
reality, unrelated to life, because the distinction between the sacred and
the ordinary would be so obvious. But this is not Christian belief. Given
this reality of God's mode of operation, it falls to the ministers of the
liturgy to make God's saving work evident and actualized in our midst
through the language people speak and comprehend and through actions which
are not alien to life. Using the best objects we have, in the best building
we can provide, the best words we can sing and speak, the best demeanor we
can muster, will serve to reveal and effect God's work in our midst.
RELEVANCE
The second quality for
fruitful celebration that I mentioned - relevance - may sound jarring at
first, or at least reminiscent of the 1970s. Yet it is not so strange when
you think about it.
What is relevance? It is the connection of one thing to another so that the
first may have value. No one engages in actions that are insignificant to
them. Somehow, any action we engage in has some significance to us. For
example, a healthy heart in and of itself is not seen as that important for
an individual until that individual realizes that his or her
healthy heart will keep them alive. A healthy heart becomes relevant when it
is connected with our own lives. The liturgy must be relevant to people's
lives for them to see its value. Therefore, it falls to the ministers of the
Church to make the liturgy speak to people who live in a "real" world. The
liturgy must be able to show it has significance "here and now" and "there
and then" (in life in the world to come). What fulfills the truest need of
the Christian besides the celebration of Eucharist? Nothing! Somehow, this
needs to be communicated to the faithful, so that they come to the Eucharist
not because external canon law demands it, but because their internal
conviction directs them to come together with others to do what Jesus, who
died that we might live, commanded the Church to do in His memory.
The relevance of the Eucharist is manifest in several ways:
-
through worthy and
dignified celebrations that take into consideration the lived situation of
the community that is gathered-
-
the age, talents,
abilities, size, and theological stance and acumen of the community;
-
reflection on and
teaching the meaning and significance of the actions taking place in the
liturgy;
-
homiletically - through
mystagogical preaching.
Mystagogical preaching looks at the rite (or an element of it), reveals
its meaning, and shows why it is relevant to people's lives. It leads
people to ask, "So what?" "So what?" in the sense of "So what do I do
know, in light of what I have done in the liturgy?" So how must I see the
world differently in light of what I "saw" in the liturgy?" Mystagogical
preaching does not set necessarily ignore the readings, but can draw the
scriptures, the rite, and life together. (In late July and through August
of 2003, the Athenaeum preaching website - www.mtsm.org - will have
mystagogical homilies available as models.)
-
educationally - through
talks, courses, retreats, parish missions, and bulletin announcements.
Religious relevance should
never be confused with the avant garde or that which is purely
contemporary. Because religion deals with the deepest dimensions of life,
there is an agelessness to it that is expressed in archetypes - ancient
symbols: bathing, eating, drinking, touching, anointing, telling the story.
Because our faith is rooted in a historical act, tradition and traditions
play a significant role. Relevance, therefore, is often manifested in
ancient acts that reveal meaning, just as reverence is often manifest in
contemporary acts and objects.
But what is it that nurtures a sense of reverence and relevance?
QUALITIES
THAT FACILITATE A SENSE OF REVERENCE AND RELEVANCE
I. MASTERY OF
THE "GENIUS" OF THE RITE AND ITS PARTS
The first thing that is
necessary to nurture a sense of reverence and relevance is that the
ministers must come to understand the "genius" of the rite and its parts.
"Genius" in this sense does not mean "intelligent" or "smart;" rather it
means the inner logic or the dynamic of the rite - what the rite is all
about and trying to accomplish. This is obviously much more than rubrics,
although rubrics can help to reveal the genius of the rite.
Mastering the genius of the rite in the case of the Mass involves an
understanding of the Eucharist in a holistic manner. One therefore has
to comprehend the reasons Christ gave us the Eucharist.
-
to unite the members of
the Church to Christ as branches are grafted to a vine, and to unite them
to one another as the parts of a body are united together. (Note it is
both of these that are at play in the Eucharist. As Thomas Aquinas
answered to the question about the res et sacramentum or the
ultimate purpose of the Eucharist, it is to unite individuals to Christ
and his Church. People - not stones and mortar or institutions - are the
Church.)
-
To fulfill the command of
Christ to do this in his memory. The object of his memory is ultimately
his Paschal Mystery - his Passion, death, and resurrection (and his
ascension and gift of the Spirit).
-
To participate in the
priesthood of Jesus Christ by being joined to his ONE saving sacrifice to
his Father: the Paschal Mystery.
We achieve these purposes
through gathering as the Church, hearing the Word of God, offering the
sacrifice in a context of grateful remembering, and receiving the Body and
Blood of the Lord. Notice, these three purposes are not disparate, isolated
ends, but are related and reciprocal.
Mastering the genius of the rite also involves understanding the
relationship and purposes of the various parts of the Mass. Some
questions which can help us with this are:
-
What is the connection
between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist?
-
What is the connection
between the Eucharistic Prayer and the Communion Rite?
-
What is the purpose of
the Eucharistic Prayer?
Is it simply to consecrate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the
Lord, or is it to give thanks in obedience to the Lord's command to
remember his redemptive acts? If it is the latter, (which it is), then we
must understand that Christ is not simply present to us under forms of
bread and wine, but rather that Christ leads us in this act of
thanksgiving, so that we may offer to his Father the sacrifice of Calvary
and thus participate sacramentally in his Paschal Mystery by offering and
receiving the Lord's body and blood.
-
Do we understand that the
Communion Rite is not simply a private intimate act with the Lord, but a
most communitarian intimate act with the Lord
-
Do we understand that it
is Christ who leads us in this act of Eucharist?
-
through the power of
the Holy Spirit he has gathered us as his Body
-
he speaks to us through
the proclamation of the Scriptures
-
he leads us in the
great prayer of thanksgiving and offering - the Eucharistic Prayer
-
he feeds us with his
very self
-
What difference does
this understanding make in celebration, as opposed to simply thinking
that we do this act and offer Christ to the Father, as if by our own
power?
-
What difference does
this understanding make to our concept of what being a minister means?
-
We are stewards of
Christ, making decisions appropriate to the concrete situation according
to the will of the Master - Christ, not according to our own whim or
fancy, nor according to the whim or fancy of the community.
-
Are the various actions
of the Mass understood to be disjunctive acts that are simply thrown
together, or is the relationship between the individual acts evident?
-
Do we understand that
there is a hierarchy of importance to the elements of the liturgy? For
example, the breaking of the bread is a significant act (after all, it is
one of the actions the Lord himself did at the Last Supper) which is often
performed all too hastily, yet the sign of peace can go on forever.
-
Do we understand why
music is important to the liturgical act?
-
Because it expresses
the reality of faith that words alone cannot express;
-
Because it expresses
the deeper significance of the mystery we celebrate;
-
Because it draws the
community together in a common act;
-
The new GIRM #39-40
stresses the importance of singing; it does not envision Mass on Sundays
or feast days being celebrated without singing.
-
How does the whole
celebration and its parts relate to the life of the Christian at the
beginning of the third millennium?
-
Do we understand and
appreciate the significance of ritual and the dynamics that are involved
in ritual activity - the style of liturgical language, the sense of
movement, the characteristics of liturgical music, and the attitudes of
the participants?
We can never assume that
just because we have passed a course, had hands laid on our heads, or have
performed a rite over a long period of time that we have a mystery of the
genius of the liturgy. We need to continue:
-
to study - read, attend
talks and workshops, ask questions and seek answers from credible sources.
(Note: not everything in print, on TV, radio, or the web is a credible
source!)
-
to reflect and meditate
on the Mass and its parts. Wonderful sources for meditation and reflection
are the Eucharistic Prayers.
When the genius of the Mass
is "mastered" (as if it ever could be truly mastered!), it becomes much
easier to
-
function ministerially in
a manner that is reverent and relevant because we understand more fully
what is happening when we celebrate the Eucharist;
-
choose appropriate texts
(choices of greetings, penitential rites, opening prayers, general
intercessions, Eucharistic Prayers and prefaces, blessings) and music that
draw out the meaning of the Eucharist and the feast or season;
-
determine how to arrange
and decorate for feasts and seasons;
-
to preach and teach on
what we are doing and why we are doing it, as well as the significance of
the feast, season, or liturgy to our lives;
-
show the significance of
the Mass in living Christian life and Christianity's significance to the
world.
II. MASTERY OF
THE DISCIPLINES AND DYNAMICS FOR CELEBRATING THE EUCHARIST
The second quality that
facilitates a sense of reverence and relevance for the Eucharist is a
mastery of the disciplines and dynamics for communicating the significance
of what we are doing at Mass as one act in Christ, as well as in the various
elements that make up the Mass. Key to mastery is understanding that
the dynamic of ritual activity is that it is "heightened" activity. Ritual
uses ordinary human actions, but raises their significance.
Religious ritual deals with what is of ultimate importance, not with
trifles. Our demeanor, posture, and movement, as well as our mode of
speech say more than our words to. Several years ago on my way out of town,
I attended Mass on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi at a parish. In his
homily the pastor bemoaned the lack of respect shown to the Eucharist. Yet,
when he prayed the Eucharistic Prayer, he recited it in a monotone voice
that conveyed that a) he didn't have a clue as to its significance or b) he
couldn't have cared less. He distributed the Eucharist in haste, continually
saying "Body of Christ. Body of Christ. Body of Christ" - two or three for
every host he distributed - and distributing hosts like he was dealing a
poker hand. I am sure he was sincere in his mourning the loss of respect for
the Eucharist, but he actually contributed to it by his sloppy actions. In
another situation, One may ask whether beginning Mass with a secular "Good
morning!" and then rotely saying "The Lord be with you." communicates the
significance of the liturgical greeting. When you think about it, does not
"The Lord be with you." said with expression speak much more eloquently than
"Good morning"?
Religious ritual is intrinsically hopeful and joyful but it is not
frivolous. The use of jokes or sports reports within the liturgy or the
homily for no specific liturgical or theological purpose tends to deflate
the action we are doing, as does any belittling of the ritual.
Communicating the meaning of the Mass demands that one has the ability to
communicate not only the text - the words - of the liturgy, but also their
meaning through inflection, pacing, voice tone and quality.
-
First, though, the texts
must be proclaimed so that they can be heard and the words understood. If
the pronunciation of the text is unclear, what good will inflection or
pacing do? If the text can't be heard, what good is articulation? Pastors
must make sure that churches are acoustically sound (pardon the pun)
either in their design or by the assistance of a speaker system. Those
speaking must know how to use the microphones effectively.
-
Second, the speaker must
master the text, so that it is clear who is speaking to whom about what.
For instance, is the presider speaking to God in the name of the
community? Is he addressing the assembly? Eye contact makes a big
difference here. If you are speaking to God and looking at the people, it
doesn't make sense; or if you are speaking to the people but not looking
at them, it doesn't make sense. When something doesn't make sense, it has
no credibility. (This loss of credibility is very subtle. Now, people
don't consciously say, "Oh, that doesn't make sense." In the back of their
minds, however, it registers as non-sensical. The speaker has to prepare
the text, making an effort to set aside presumptions. For example, during
the institution narrative (commonly called the words of consecration) in
the Eucharistic Prayer, most presiders look at the people when they say
the words of the Lord. However, if one reads the text, these words are
being spoken to the Father, not the assembly: "…he took bread, gave bread,
gave you thanks…" It is in the act of thankful remembering
addressed to the Father that these words are spoken.
-
Third, what are we doing
in the text? Are we thanking, praising, asking, acknowledging sinfulness,
offering? They all do not sound alike. Hopefully, "We come to you with
praise and thanksgiving." sound different than "Lord, we have sinned
against you."
-
Fourth, pacing helps
communicate meaning and the relationship of what is presently being said
with what preceded and what follows. Commas, semi-colons, periods,
paragraph spacing all denote various levels of pauses.
-
Inflection is also
important to communicate meaning. A basic ground rule of the hierarchy of
stress in a sentence is as follows: first, action verb; then subject of
the action , then object of the action, then modifiers. Yet, the context
of the texts may (and very often is) determined more so by the context
of the text - what precedes and follows, the readings just heard, the
feast or season, and the true theology of the Church. For example, in
Eucharistic Prayer III we proclaim, "Father, you are holy indeed and all
creation rightly gives you praise.' Depending on the context, it may be
proclaimed: "Father, you are holy indeed…" in order emphasize
"holy" in light of the Sanctus just sung. Or, "Father, you are holy
indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise" in order to
manifest the worship of God by the cosmos. Whatever is the case, the one
way of proclamation that is not acceptable is: "Fatheryouareholyindeedandallcreationrightlygivesyoupraise."
Flat and dead don't cut it!
If these qualities are
important in the proclamation of prayer texts, how much more important is
the proclamation of the word of God, which is living and active like a
two-edged sword! Are readers (including deacons and priests, who are at
times the worst readers) well-trained in the art of proclamation so that
they hold the assembly's attention and communicate the meaning and spirit of
the text? There are some excellent tools for readers, among them, Liturgy
Training Publication's Workbook for Lectors and Gospel Readers. (Every
sacristy, of course, should have a pronunciation guide handy.)
Music, which can no longer be understood as an accessory to the Eucharist as
it once was, demands that the choice of text and tune reflect the dignity of
the liturgy, lead people into a deeper understanding and appreciation of the
rite, feast, or season, not to mention that it must reflect sound theology.
Not all religious music is liturgical music. Much music is inspirational and
appropriate for non-liturgical prayer and meditation. (This does not make it
second class religious music; it just means it is not intended for
liturgical use.) Just as the proclamation of the spoken text is important,
so to is the leading of music, which must be led so that the assembly can
more easily participate. Cantors, instrumentation that enables singing, a
viable schema of new music over a period of time (which will vary from
parish to parish) as well as a method of teaching the music that works for a
specific community are the tools for helping a parish become a singing
parish.
A word about time. Rushing denotes a lack of importance. It tells
people there is something more pressing to do. I have researched the
liturgical documents since the invention of the clock, and I can find
nowhere legislation that Mass must be 40 minutes or 50 minutes! While we
need not dally around, we do need to take the time to celebrate fully and
reverently. This is all the more important in light of the new legislation
that only ordained ministers may assist in the breaking of the bread and the
pouring of the cups. Will we sacrifice Holy Communion under both forms
because we do not want to take three more minutes to prepare the cups? (By
the way, it is worth noting how often the revised GIRM mentions the
significance of receiving Communion under both forms.) Yet, we must also
recognize that "empty" time - that is, time wasted because proper
preparations for the liturgy were not made or useless activity is occurring
- is an enemy of good liturgy as well.
Finally, what we perceive ourselves to be doing may not be what the assembly
perceives. If you have a chance, watch yourself on video tape and see how
you come across. It may be humbling, but it may also be affirming. If you
can't do that, ask a group of people to discuss the liturgy with you. Ask
questions about what they perceive to have been communicated by the music,
the readings, and prayers. This may reveal as much about the mode of
proclamation as it does about the text.
CONCLUSION
Why is all this
important? Because Christianity, especially Catholicism, believes that God
works through the human faculties - hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting,
imagining, thinking, feeling. For the liturgy to be effective in the sense
of touching human lives (what we traditionally refer to as "bearing fruit"),
we have to take full advantage of the rites in the best ways possible to
draw people into the life of Christ so that, through the liturgy - the
source and summit of Christian life - they may come to full stature in
Christ and eternal life.
What I have mentioned here covers only a small part of the whole picture;
however, I think it offers enough of an agenda to keep us busy for a while.
This presentation served as an overview to the RENEWING THE CELEBRATION OF
THE EUCHARIST offered by the Worship Office of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
in March, 2003 as preparation for the implementation of the revised General
Instruction of the Roman Missal.
© 2003. Reverend Jeffrey M. Kemper
Fr. Kemper is the academic dean and director of liturgy at
Mt. St. Mary's Seminary.
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