April 2005

Questions Bishops are asked

By Bishop Kevin Manning, Catholic Outlook, April 2005

 

Question:
I heard that, in the last few weeks, you attended a meeting on liturgy in Rome, together with Cardinal Pell. It sounded pretty important. Was the meeting totally confidential or are we likely to hear about what happened?

Answer
Thank you for your question. I had intended to write about my experience in Rome so your letter is an added incentive.

The meeting I attended was a Plenary meeting of the Department of the Vatican that is responsible for Liturgy throughout the Church. The Department is called the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Cardinal Pell was recently appointed a member. I had already completed a five-year term, which was extended for another five years from January this year.

Last year was the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's document on the Liturgy entitled Sacrosanctum Concilium, so it was a good time to call the Plenary meeting. More than 30 countries were represented at the Plenary, which consists of 32 Cardinals, nine Archbishops and 10 Bishops.

The Holy Father does not attend these meetings but sends a message of greeting. However, he is closely associated with the meeting because the Congregation's work is to implement the policies he has outlined. This time, of course, the Pope was in hospital, but he still sent his message, commenting on the issues that we were treating.

Principal themes
The agenda of the Plenary is decided well beforehand. It was in May 2004 that we were told that the two principal themes would be the art of celebrating, called ars celebrandi in Latin, and liturgical formation, both spiritual and pastoral.

Other topics considered were: the homily, the recognition given by the Congregation to liturgical books and translations for use in the local Church, the Neo-catechumenate, the Fourth Eucharistic Prayer in English and other minor matters.

As you know this is the Year of the Eucharist and the Pope had prepared for it by writing several documents to help the Catholic people grow in love for the Blessed Sacrament and celebrate more worthily the Eucharistic Sacrifice in conformity with the liturgical norms.

His principal documents were: the Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia; the Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine; the Instruction from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments Redemptionis Sacramentum; and the General Instruction on the Roman Missal.

In fact, so comprehensive has been the Pope's treatment of many aspects of the Eucharist that the Plenary decided that there was no need for a further substantial document from the Congregation.

The discussion on the art of celebrating concentrated not only on the capacity of ordained ministers to celebrate, but also on the entire assembly in carrying out and living the meaning of every liturgical act. Celebrating is an art that is developed through contemplation and prayer.

Unique place of homily
Most enlightening was a three-part discussion on the homily. The first part centred on the unique place of the homily as an integral part of the liturgical action, a service of the Word of God (S.C. n. 52) It was emphasised that the homily has an aspect different from ordinary catechesis and must foster a meeting between God who speaks, and the community who listens.

The second part recognised that the homily is often the only formation in the faith that adult Catholic people receive. One of the speakers told us that 96% of the formation of the faithful in Western countries depends on the Sunday homily. He added that homilies should receive close scrutiny from the local Bishop - even down to Priests sharing their "homily books" with their Bishop!

The third point concerned the sources used by the priest in the homily. Useful sources for the homily are the writings of the Fathers of the Church (called Patristics), the teaching of the Church contained in the Council documents, the teaching of the Popes, and the Catholic Catechism.

Holy Father's message
The message we received from the Holy Father was very strong on liturgical formation both as a fundamental component in the preparation of future Priests, Deacons, ministers and religious, but also as a permanent dimension of catechesis for all the faithful.

"It is urgent," he said, "that in the parishes, associations and ecclesial movements there is assured adequate formation courses so that the liturgy be better known for its richness and language and comes to be lived in its fullness."

One of the principal addresses was delivered by Cardinal Pell on the recognition of liturgical translations by the Congregation, which insists that material submitted to it must first have the approval of National Bishops' Conferences. Clarification on points of disagreement in the course of discussion can be obtained from the Congregation.

Much has been written about liturgy since Vatican II and, for many, the key word is participation. The challenge posed to the Plenary is to encourage communities to deepen that participation, to interiorise it so that the liturgy is able to touch the life of the individual and of the community, becoming a source of sanctity, communion and missionary zeal.

This is a brief overview of the meeting and I hope to expand some of the topic discussed at a later date.

- Bishop Kevin Manning