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In this edition:
Reconciliation
Welcome to this fortnight's edition of LITed: Liturgical Education News. There is a lot being said at the moment in the mainstream media about what Reconciliation is and whether the 'seal' of the confessional may be broken. In this issue we look at what penance is and what it takes to become reconciled.
And, don't forget our forthcoming Musicians' Workshop next Saturday! James Robinson Education Officer, Liturgy Brisbane |
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What is the sacrament of Penance?
The current generation of Australian Catholics don't really go to reconciliation...much. Perhaps you may attend a 'second rite' Reconciliation in your parish during Advent or Lent, but the days of many in the parish attending confession before celebrating Eucharist are far behind us.
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Which rite is right for you?
The Sacrament of Penance is a celebration of God’s love and mercy. It celebrates the call to repentance after a process of conversion of heart. This includes confessing our sins and receiving the forgiveness of God through the ministry of the priest. Through this process, a person is reconciled with the Church and continues to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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Can the seal of the confessional be broken?
Cathy Caridi is an American canon lawyer who currently teaches in Rome. In this article she explores how the seal of the confessional works and what a priest may and may not divulge.
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Penance: Why do we confess?Why do we have to confess our sins to a priest? Can’t we just pray to God for forgiveness? If I sin but no one is affected then can I say, “no harm, no foul?” These questions and more are answered in this edition of “Sacraments 101,” a web video series from Busted Halo for those who’d like an introduction or refresher course on these important, tangible Catholic experiences of God. The Sacrament of Penance (aka Reconciliation) is one of the healing sacraments, and celebrates the loving embrace of God when we turn toward him and away from our sins.
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Headlines from other publications about Reconciliation
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And in other news:
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Resources for Reconciliation
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Preparation Card: How to prepare and to receive Reconciliation
This brochure from Liturgy Brisbane is designed to assist with preparing penitents for the sacrament of Reconciliation. It provides a selection of texts to enable them to celebrate the rite. Highly recommended for parishes to provide to those returning to the sacrament who may be unsure of the prayers and responses required of them.
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Our Family Prepares: The Sacrament of Penance
Just released from Liturgy Brisbane - the third book in the 'Our Family Prepares' Series. (Watch the video here). This workbook is designed to be used in a family setting with the child and parents working together. It is the only available resource for preparing 10 year olds for the individual rite of penance. It enables the parish to view the record of the journey and receive the parents' discernment of readiness.
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Parents and the Sacraments: Sin, Conscience and Penance
One of a set of ten 4-page brochures from Liturgy Brisbane designed to help parents prepare to celebrate the sacraments with their children. They are suitable for individual reading or group discussion. Each folder has a story, brief input, some questions, a few quotations, and a prayer.
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Liturgy Lines by Elizabeth Harrington
Liturgy is a window
It is easy to think of liturgy as something that we do: praying, singing, reading, making gestures, engaging with symbols. Preparing these things is the work of the parish liturgy committee and pastor. But the liturgical activities in which the Church is engaged are in fact the actions of Christ: Christ is the true celebrant of the liturgy.
God acts in the liturgy. In the waters of baptism, God plunges us into the saving mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. As we eat and drink at the Lord’s table, God joins us to Christ and we share in the great Passover from death to eternal life and in the banquet of heaven. As the celebrant anoints with holy oil, God seals the confirmand with the gift of the Holy Spirit or raises up the person who is sick.
What a pity, then, that so often we concentrate on the window itself instead of looking through it. The liturgy is boring, teenagers say. The liturgy committee decides to respond by having a ‘youth Mass’ with praise music and special lighting effects. This solution is a case of looking at the glass and the window frame instead of the view. When parishioners complain about minor rubrical infringements, they are concerned with smudges on the window.
Of course, the window itself is neither irrelevant nor unimportant. A dirty or foggy window will distort or obscure the view. The reform of the liturgy promoted by the Second Vatican Council was intended to clean the windows after centuries of grime. It was for this very reason that the Council highlighted the importance of the sacramental signs – baptising by immersion, taking and breaking real bread, receiving communion from the cup, proclaiming the word of God – not as an end in themselves, but as a means of realising what the liturgy actually does.
When liturgy committees evaluate the effectiveness of their preparation for a feast or season, their questions should not centre on the drama, decoration or liturgical forms but rather on their transparency. The hangings and symbols prepared by the liturgical artists are not designed to draw attention to themselves but rather are works of art which lead to the discovery of new spiritual depths. Ministers reviewing their liturgical roles should not just ask whether they performed their tasks correctly but seek to understand how their words and actions served to open up the reality of God’s saving work.
Liturgical innovation does not necessarily lead to a renewed spiritual experience. The unfamiliar often catches our attention and distracts from what is really taking place. Liturgical rites belong to the Church. Liturgy is the corporate worship of the whole body of Christ, united around the globe and down through the centuries. Preparing creative and vibrant liturgy is about ensuring that the preaching, praying, music, gestures, environment, symbols and ministers of the liturgy all enable the people of God assembled for worship to see beyond the liturgical forms and to participate fully, consciously and actively in the saving mystery that lies beyond them.
It is easy to think of liturgy as something that we do: praying, singing, reading, making gestures, engaging with symbols. Preparing these things is the work of the parish liturgy committee and pastor. But the liturgical activities in which the Church is engaged are in fact the actions of Christ: Christ is the true celebrant of the liturgy.
God acts in the liturgy. In the waters of baptism, God plunges us into the saving mystery of Jesus’ death and resurrection. As we eat and drink at the Lord’s table, God joins us to Christ and we share in the great Passover from death to eternal life and in the banquet of heaven. As the celebrant anoints with holy oil, God seals the confirmand with the gift of the Holy Spirit or raises up the person who is sick.
What a pity, then, that so often we concentrate on the window itself instead of looking through it. The liturgy is boring, teenagers say. The liturgy committee decides to respond by having a ‘youth Mass’ with praise music and special lighting effects. This solution is a case of looking at the glass and the window frame instead of the view. When parishioners complain about minor rubrical infringements, they are concerned with smudges on the window.
Of course, the window itself is neither irrelevant nor unimportant. A dirty or foggy window will distort or obscure the view. The reform of the liturgy promoted by the Second Vatican Council was intended to clean the windows after centuries of grime. It was for this very reason that the Council highlighted the importance of the sacramental signs – baptising by immersion, taking and breaking real bread, receiving communion from the cup, proclaiming the word of God – not as an end in themselves, but as a means of realising what the liturgy actually does.
When liturgy committees evaluate the effectiveness of their preparation for a feast or season, their questions should not centre on the drama, decoration or liturgical forms but rather on their transparency. The hangings and symbols prepared by the liturgical artists are not designed to draw attention to themselves but rather are works of art which lead to the discovery of new spiritual depths. Ministers reviewing their liturgical roles should not just ask whether they performed their tasks correctly but seek to understand how their words and actions served to open up the reality of God’s saving work.
Liturgical innovation does not necessarily lead to a renewed spiritual experience. The unfamiliar often catches our attention and distracts from what is really taking place. Liturgical rites belong to the Church. Liturgy is the corporate worship of the whole body of Christ, united around the globe and down through the centuries. Preparing creative and vibrant liturgy is about ensuring that the preaching, praying, music, gestures, environment, symbols and ministers of the liturgy all enable the people of God assembled for worship to see beyond the liturgical forms and to participate fully, consciously and actively in the saving mystery that lies beyond them.
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Images used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0. Full terms at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0.
Other images from Unsplash. 2017. Used under license. Full terms and conditions.
Other images from Unsplash. 2017. Used under license. Full terms and conditions.