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Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 1

I would argue that we are not The readings of Scripture take us in the celebrating the ‘day’. We are celebrating same direction. Isaiah promises the Australia. We are celebrating our Spirit who will bring justice and integrity identity as a nation. Whatever date we which, in turn, produce peace and choose for our national day, we cannot security. Paul’s first letter to the wipe away an ignominious colonial Corinthians speaks of the variety of the history of violence, exploitation and Spirit’s gifts which lead us to respect racism. We need to own it. Perhaps 26 differences. Paul’s letter to the Romans CELEBRATING January more than any other day, urges us not to let our love be a pretence. precisely because of its associations, The Gospel of Matthew offers us the Truly This is an AUSTRALIA stands as a call to conversion and Beatitudes and Luke gives the example of

reconciliation. It keeps before our mind the birds of the air and the flowers of the here is a lot of controversy about the the sorry history of our nation and urges field to encourage us to trust in God’s date of Australia Day. This is good T us to work for a better and more providence. These choices have and right. It is a debate we need to have. harmonious future. This is the tenor of deliberately avoided texts of the land- The eleven ships of the First Fleet arrived the prayers and readings we use to flowing-with-milk-and-honey kind in Botany Bay between 18 and 20 celebrate Australia in the liturgy. which might give the impression that January 1788 after a voyage of 36 weeks. Australia is flawlessly blessed with Exulted(From the Preface of the Dedication P of a Church)lace In the liturgical feast, we are not The site was unsuitable for a settlement pretending that we are God’s own everything good and beautiful. and it took several days to discover Port by Anthony Mellor country where The date 26 January is certainly Jackson 12 kilometres to the north. So it was on 26 January that the ships moved everything is or has confronting. But it provides a strong been perfect. context in which we pray for Australia to a sheltered anchorage with fresh Nor, worse still, and celebrate a vision for a new creation water which Arthur Phillip named are we boasting in Christ. It would be a great pity if a Sydney Cove. The official policy of the ‘A cathedral is more than a large church. It contains  in civic service, they provide a public space of or gloating that different date for our national day British Government was to establish the cathedra or bishop’s chair which is both a seat of connection and identity. we are the friendly relations with the Aboriginal produced just an escapist opportunity for authority and a sign of unity. As far back as the 3rd These elements were demonstrated clearly when people and Phillip ordered that they be greatest. superficial partying. century, Tertullian referred to the cathedra Paris collectively mourned for Notre Dame Cathedral Triumphalist well treated. The idealist may therefore In the end, if 26 January is too painful an apostolorum (chair of the apostles) as a guarantee of after the fire of April 2019. nationalism has been regard 26 January as ‘First Contact’ day, anniversary and if we cannot find faithful teaching. Long before the Church’s sense of carefully eschewed. Instead we humbly Cathedrals are never finished. The oldest and a day luminous with possibility. But in consensus around a different date, the episcopal ministry matured, and certainly prior the stand before God, acknowledging all our grandest cathedrals are the subject of centuries of fact, conflict soon broke out and today liturgy may offer us another solution. flourishing of cathedral architecture, the cathedra peoples old and new, asking for the light extensions, restorations, repairs and additions and many call it ‘Invasion Day’. We have a liturgical tradition of apostolorum symbolised an ecclesial sense of of Christ so that we will see more clearly, thus convey a sense of living history and growth. th celebrating a ‘vigil’ or of anticipating a authoritative witness to the tradition embodied in the Throughout the 19 century, January 26 and seeking the saving grace to This is true even of Brisbane’s 150-year-old Cathedral solemn feast on the evening before the person of the local bishop. was celebrated in Sydney as Foundation transform our lives. We pray for a of St Stephen, built in several stages. On 4 December day. If we were to adopt this custom in Day; other states celebrated their own blessing on our land and peace for all What makes a cathedral distinct from any other 2019 we celebrated thirty years since its most recent celebrating the liturgy of Australia Day anniversaries of foundation. For the who dwell here. We pray that our holy church in the diocese then is the seat of the bishop restoration and dedication. The tiny original on 25 January, we would be symbolically from which he presides, teaches and pronounces. cathedral, oldest church in Queensland, stands sesquicentenary in 1938, although the communion will give us all the strength celebrating on the day before ‘invasion’, We speak of Christ as priest, prophet and king. beside it. The precinct is a fine example of a living main celebrations were held in Sydney, it to walk together in the ways of justice. was becoming a date of national a day still replete with the possibility of While the bishop shares in Christ’s threefold ministry public and sacred space in which believer and non- significance. After World War II, the day The Preface explicitly acknowledges that harmony and respect, a day for in a special way, this participation is not his privilege believer alike mingle. It is a green space and a public was agreed by all states, though it did for tens of thousands of years, God has dreaming that a different history might alone; every Christian is anointed in their baptism to thoroughfare. As the Church’s rituals unfold inside, not become a public holiday for all states been with the people of Australia, yet unfold for us. share in the threefold vocation of Christ. Therefore, a hundreds of people transit the precinct going to and until 1994! This is recent. sustaining them with the bounty of cathedral is not the sole domain of the local bishop; it from work or having lunch in the shade or winter divine providence. This is a far cry from is the home of all the faithful of the local Church of sun. It is a genuine gift to the city and forms a Other dates have been suggested. In the colonial missionaries who once the diocese. ‘courtyard to the House of God’. 1915, to raise funds for World War I, an sought to suppress Aboriginal practices, Cathedrals are more than ecclesial structures. They The Cathedral of St Stephen functions on at least Australia Day was held on 30 July. The stories and beliefs which they considered serve a multiplicity of functions and are a three levels: firstly it is the cathedral church of the following year, the committee decided on pagan and idolatrous. Instead we offer 28 July. Some have suggested 12 March JUDITH DURHAM HAS WRITTEN concentrated intersection of the human and the Archdiocese; secondly it is an inner-city church our praise of God in union with the divine, the ecclesial and the worldly, the offering liturgical and sacramental service for the because this was the day in 1913 when A NEW VERSION OF ADVANCE whole people of Australia, people from transcendent and the mundane: busy CBD; and thirdly it is the main church of the Canberra was named and Australia’s AUSTRALIA FAIR. HAVE A LOOK! every race and tongue, every place and  architecturally, they are the fruits of a striving for broader cathedral parish (which includes St Patrick’s capital city was born. Or perhaps 27 time. The liturgy in the Missal creative excellence and craftsmanship; in Fortitude Valley and Villa Maria Centre at Spring May would be suitable because on this  encourages us to transcend the grubby spiritually, they point to the sacred in the midst of Hill). These three functions meld together rather date in 1967 a referendum agreed to reality we see so often when we scratch the secular; than sit in awkward tension. In a liturgical sense, the include Aboriginal people in the census; the surface of Australian society.  in service to society, they are a gathering point in primary task is to balance each of these important it symbolises recognition for all collective moments of thanksgiving and lament; elements in the annual cycle of feasts and seasons. Australians.

2 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 3

I would argue that we are not The readings of Scripture take us in the celebrating the ‘day’. We are celebrating same direction. Isaiah promises the Australia. We are celebrating our Spirit who will bring justice and integrity identity as a nation. Whatever date we which, in turn, produce peace and choose for our national day, we cannot security. Paul’s first letter to the wipe away an ignominious colonial Corinthians speaks of the variety of the history of violence, exploitation and Spirit’s gifts which lead us to respect racism. We need to own it. Perhaps 26 differences. Paul’s letter to the Romans CELEBRATING January more than any other day, urges us not to let our love be a pretence. precisely because of its associations, The Gospel of Matthew offers us the Truly This is an AUSTRALIA stands as a call to conversion and Beatitudes and Luke gives the example of reconciliation. It keeps before our mind the birds of the air and the flowers of the here is a lot of controversy about the the sorry history of our nation and urges field to encourage us to trust in God’s date of Australia Day. This is good T us to work for a better and more providence. These choices have and right. It is a debate we need to have. harmonious future. This is the tenor of deliberately avoided texts of the land- The eleven ships of the First Fleet arrived the prayers and readings we use to flowing-with-milk-and-honey kind in Botany Bay between 18 and 20 celebrate Australia in the liturgy. which might give the impression that January 1788 after a voyage of 36 weeks. Australia is flawlessly blessed with Exulted(From the Preface of the Dedication P of a Church)lace In the liturgical feast, we are not The site was unsuitable for a settlement pretending that we are God’s own everything good and beautiful. and it took several days to discover Port by Anthony Mellor country where The date 26 January is certainly Jackson 12 kilometres to the north. So it was on 26 January that the ships moved everything is or has confronting. But it provides a strong been perfect. context in which we pray for Australia to a sheltered anchorage with fresh Nor, worse still, and celebrate a vision for a new creation water which Arthur Phillip named are we boasting in Christ. It would be a great pity if a Sydney Cove. The official policy of the ‘A cathedral is more than a large church. It contains  in civic service, they provide a public space of or gloating that British Government was to establish different date for our national day the cathedra or bishop’s chair which is both a seat of connection and identity. we are the friendly relations with the Aboriginal produced just an escapist opportunity for authority and a sign of unity. As far back as the 3rd These elements were demonstrated clearly when people and Phillip ordered that they be greatest. superficial partying. century, Tertullian referred to the cathedra Paris collectively mourned for Notre Dame Cathedral Triumphalist well treated. The idealist may therefore In the end, if 26 January is too painful an apostolorum (chair of the apostles) as a guarantee of after the fire of April 2019. nationalism has been regard 26 January as ‘First Contact’ day, anniversary and if we cannot find faithful teaching. Long before the Church’s sense of carefully eschewed. Instead we humbly Cathedrals are never finished. The oldest and a day luminous with possibility. But in consensus around a different date, the episcopal ministry matured, and certainly prior the stand before God, acknowledging all our grandest cathedrals are the subject of centuries of fact, conflict soon broke out and today liturgy may offer us another solution. flourishing of cathedral architecture, the cathedra peoples old and new, asking for the light extensions, restorations, repairs and additions and many call it ‘Invasion Day’. We have a liturgical tradition of apostolorum symbolised an ecclesial sense of of Christ so that we will see more clearly, thus convey a sense of living history and growth. th celebrating a ‘vigil’ or of anticipating a authoritative witness to the tradition embodied in the Throughout the 19 century, January 26 and seeking the saving grace to This is true even of Brisbane’s 150-year-old Cathedral solemn feast on the evening before the person of the local bishop. was celebrated in Sydney as Foundation transform our lives. We pray for a of St Stephen, built in several stages. On 4 December day. If we were to adopt this custom in Day; other states celebrated their own blessing on our land and peace for all What makes a cathedral distinct from any other 2019 we celebrated thirty years since its most recent celebrating the liturgy of Australia Day anniversaries of foundation. For the who dwell here. We pray that our holy church in the diocese then is the seat of the bishop restoration and dedication. The tiny original on 25 January, we would be symbolically from which he presides, teaches and pronounces. cathedral, oldest church in Queensland, stands sesquicentenary in 1938, although the communion will give us all the strength celebrating on the day before ‘invasion’, We speak of Christ as priest, prophet and king. beside it. The precinct is a fine example of a living main celebrations were held in Sydney, it to walk together in the ways of justice. was becoming a date of national a day still replete with the possibility of While the bishop shares in Christ’s threefold ministry public and sacred space in which believer and non- significance. After World War II, the day The Preface explicitly acknowledges that harmony and respect, a day for in a special way, this participation is not his privilege believer alike mingle. It is a green space and a public was agreed by all states, though it did for tens of thousands of years, God has dreaming that a different history might alone; every Christian is anointed in their baptism to thoroughfare. As the Church’s rituals unfold inside, not become a public holiday for all states been with the people of Australia, yet unfold for us. share in the threefold vocation of Christ. Therefore, a hundreds of people transit the precinct going to and until 1994! This is recent. sustaining them with the bounty of cathedral is not the sole domain of the local bishop; it from work or having lunch in the shade or winter divine providence. This is a far cry from is the home of all the faithful of the local Church of sun. It is a genuine gift to the city and forms a Other dates have been suggested. In the colonial missionaries who once the diocese. ‘courtyard to the House of God’. 1915, to raise funds for World War I, an sought to suppress Aboriginal practices, Cathedrals are more than ecclesial structures. They The Cathedral of St Stephen functions on at least Australia Day was held on 30 July. The stories and beliefs which they considered following year, the committee decided on serve a multiplicity of functions and are a three levels: firstly it is the cathedral church of the pagan and idolatrous. Instead we offer concentrated intersection of the human and the Archdiocese; secondly it is an inner-city church 28 July. Some have suggested 12 March JUDITH DURHAM HAS WRITTEN our praise of God in union with the divine, the ecclesial and the worldly, the offering liturgical and sacramental service for the because this was the day in 1913 when A NEW VERSION OF ADVANCE whole people of Australia, people from transcendent and the mundane: busy CBD; and thirdly it is the main church of the Canberra was named and Australia’s AUSTRALIA FAIR. HAVE A LOOK! every race and tongue, every place and  architecturally, they are the fruits of a striving for broader cathedral parish (which includes St Patrick’s capital city was born. Or perhaps 27 time. The liturgy in the Missal creative excellence and craftsmanship; in Fortitude Valley and Villa Maria Centre at Spring May would be suitable because on this  encourages us to transcend the grubby spiritually, they point to the sacred in the midst of Hill). These three functions meld together rather date in 1967 a referendum agreed to reality we see so often when we scratch the secular; than sit in awkward tension. In a liturgical sense, the include Aboriginal people in the census; the surface of Australian society.  in service to society, they are a gathering point in primary task is to balance each of these important it symbolises recognition for all collective moments of thanksgiving and lament; elements in the annual cycle of feasts and seasons. Australians.

2 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 3

A Cathedral Church An Inner-city Church The liturgical assembly at the cathedral is substantially multicultural. Vibrant ethnic

The bishop and the cathedral stand at the centre of In Brisbane the cathedral must also function as the communities, currently the source of growth and the liturgical life of the diocese as the embodiment of only Catholic church in the inner-city. Because of renewal in the life of the local Church, participate the unity of all the faithful in a particular place. All this, the cathedral has an extensive daily routine of strongly in the various liturgical ministries, although should hold in great esteem the liturgical life of the Mass, Benediction and Penance. As more pressure is their cultures are not yet reflected adequately in the diocese centred around the bishop, especially in his placed on suburban parishes and their daily nature of the liturgies themselves. This will be the cathedral church; they must be convinced that the sacramental ministry, the cathedral has increasingly next major step in the evolution of cathedral liturgy. pre-eminent manifestation of the Church consists in become a liturgical centre for people who work in or the full active participation of all God's holy people visit the CBD. Many people drop in for Mass or in these liturgical celebrations, especially in the reconciliation, for a brief prayer or to light a candle. Living Stones same Eucharist, in a single prayer, at one altar, at These celebrations require supply priests to assist the The cathedral becomes a counter-sign if it is not a which there presides the bishop surrounded by his appointed cathedral clergy. place of welcome. It is a liturgical synergy of art and college of priests and by his ministers (SC 41). Music is necessary to support the flow of the architecture which shapes the faith of people and Therefore, a cathedral is not merely a venue for cathedral liturgy. The cathedral choir, schola and directs their spirits towards something beyond the major celebrations but is an expression of the chorale, comprising enthusiastic volunteers and here and now. profound communion of all within the diocese. contracted professionals, offer their commitment, Perhaps the Cathedral of St Stephen may seem to Central to these expressions of unity are celebrations talent and dedication in music and song to serve the suffer under the weight of having too many tasks to such as the annual Chrism Mass and the rite of participation of all in the liturgy. The fine musical perform but, in reality, these different strands weave ordination. In small, compact dioceses, the quality of their contribution provide a splendid uplift together in a daily tapestry of bustling civic and celebration of the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday to all our liturgical celebrations. religious life. For me, it is a joy to witness the morning is possible but in the vast dioceses of Hospitality and evangelisation are important constant activity of cathedral life, to see families Australia this is impractical. In Brisbane we celebrate dimensions of an inner-city ministry. The cathedral gathering for baptism, to notice the prayerful it the week before Holy Week to conclude an annual offers guided tours to visitors and organised school intensity as candles are lit, to share the journey of the gathering of the clergy with the archbishop (thereby groups. Well-trained volunteers offer this essential daily worshippers who are so consistent in their ensuring a good clergy attendance!). commitment, to encounter the vulnerable who seek extension of cathedral ministry. They are the During the Chrism Mass, all the faithful re-commit personal face of the cathedral, and their ministry sanctuary, shelter and solace, to respond to those in themselves to their baptismal vocation and the clergy offers thousands of visitors the opportunity to need with an open and generous heart, to greet nervous brides and grooms as they begin their new renew their commitment to service in the ordained deepen their knowledge of local history, engage ministry. The bishop blesses the oils used in baptism their sense of religious faith and develop an ecclesial life together, to pray for the well-known and and in the care of the sick and consecrates the spirituality. unknown in the funeral liturgy, to hear the playful laughter of children on the lawn, to listen to the choir fragrant oil of Chrism for use in confirmation and as the sound of their practice travels down the ordination and in the Rite of Dedication of places of A Parish Church worship. In the days that follow, these oils are stairwell, to watch the faces of the tourists who enter the cathedral for the first time, to nod to those who poured into smaller containers and distributed to Our cathedral is also a territorial parish with the same local parish communities and chaplains. Many duties, responsibilities and outreach as other parish are taking in the sun during their lunch break; to communities ceremonially receive these holy oils, communities. The archbishop is the ‘parish priest’ discuss the tasks of maintenance with co-workers; to be present with the diocese as it gathers to celebrate symbol of the unity of sacramental ministry but delegates the responsibilities of parish throughout the diocese. governance to the dean of the cathedral. He takes our common life and mission in Christ. These are the responsibility for working with the pastoral council faces of the living stones, and they are the greatest Another major cathedral event is celebrating the and finance council. treasure of the Church of God. sacrament of Holy Orders. While practical or Fifteen hundred years ago, a bishop in the south of pastoral reasons may be advanced for ordinations to There is a core community of ‘regulars’ at weekday take place elsewhere, ordinations to the diaconate or and Sunday Masses. They feel a sense of ownership France, Caesarius of Arles, exhorted his people: My presbyterate are best celebrated in the cathedral Church, when the faithful and clergy gather around of the life of the cathedral and its associated activities. fellow Christians… Whenever we come to church, we because this is a more effective sign of service to the the bishop’s chair, and join him in calling the However geographical borders are difficult to must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we local Church which ordination signifies. This is true ordinand for service, invoking the Holy Spirit upon identify and maintain and the sense of community is expect this church to be. Do you wish to find this for geographical reasons as much as theological, him to empower him for leadership. Ordinations most often centred on the Mass one attends. And basilica immaculately clean? Then do not soil your particularly in rural areas, for ordination at the mark the intersection between the life of a cathedral indeed, each of the Sunday Masses offers a particular soul with the filth of sins. Do you wish this basilica cathedral makes a statement that the newly ordained and the local communities of the diocese. experiences to cater for the sweep of liturgical styles. to be full of light? God too wishes that your soul be The Saturday evening and early Sunday morning not in darkness, but that the light of good works is called to serve the diocese and is no longer the Major civic events, such as the Anzac Day Mass, and Masses are most like a parish Mass. The later Sunday shine in us, so that those who dwell in the heavens ‘possession’ of one town or locality. When the significant ecumenical occasions, such as the morning and midday Masses express a cathedral- will be glorified. Just as you enter this church cathedral is not large enough to house the joyous Anglican Roman Catholic day of reconciliation, are style or more ‘solemn’ worship (often presided over building, so God wishes to enter into your soul. crowds, another venue may be a necessity. also key moments in the annual rhythm of cathedral by the archbishop). The late Sunday evening Mass life. As mother church of the archdiocese, the Ordinations lift the spirits of the local faithful, bolster (the last Sunday evening Mass in the diocese) has a  Rev Dr Anthony Mellor is the dean of the Cathedral of St cathedral seeks to manifest the broadest embrace of the morale of the local clergy, and set the newly greater youth focus. Stephen in Brisbane. ordained on a solid foundation for their ministerial God’s love, to be a sign and instrument of harmony life. Ordinations are vivid expressions of the local and communion among the whole human family.

4 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 5

A Cathedral Church An Inner-city Church The liturgical assembly at the cathedral is substantially multicultural. Vibrant ethnic

The bishop and the cathedral stand at the centre of In Brisbane the cathedral must also function as the communities, currently the source of growth and the liturgical life of the diocese as the embodiment of only Catholic church in the inner-city. Because of renewal in the life of the local Church, participate the unity of all the faithful in a particular place. All this, the cathedral has an extensive daily routine of strongly in the various liturgical ministries, although should hold in great esteem the liturgical life of the Mass, Benediction and Penance. As more pressure is their cultures are not yet reflected adequately in the diocese centred around the bishop, especially in his placed on suburban parishes and their daily nature of the liturgies themselves. This will be the cathedral church; they must be convinced that the sacramental ministry, the cathedral has increasingly next major step in the evolution of cathedral liturgy. pre-eminent manifestation of the Church consists in become a liturgical centre for people who work in or the full active participation of all God's holy people visit the CBD. Many people drop in for Mass or in these liturgical celebrations, especially in the reconciliation, for a brief prayer or to light a candle. Living Stones same Eucharist, in a single prayer, at one altar, at These celebrations require supply priests to assist the The cathedral becomes a counter-sign if it is not a which there presides the bishop surrounded by his appointed cathedral clergy. place of welcome. It is a liturgical synergy of art and college of priests and by his ministers (SC 41). Music is necessary to support the flow of the architecture which shapes the faith of people and Therefore, a cathedral is not merely a venue for cathedral liturgy. The cathedral choir, schola and directs their spirits towards something beyond the major celebrations but is an expression of the chorale, comprising enthusiastic volunteers and here and now. profound communion of all within the diocese. contracted professionals, offer their commitment, Perhaps the Cathedral of St Stephen may seem to Central to these expressions of unity are celebrations talent and dedication in music and song to serve the suffer under the weight of having too many tasks to such as the annual Chrism Mass and the rite of participation of all in the liturgy. The fine musical perform but, in reality, these different strands weave ordination. In small, compact dioceses, the quality of their contribution provide a splendid uplift together in a daily tapestry of bustling civic and celebration of the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday to all our liturgical celebrations. religious life. For me, it is a joy to witness the morning is possible but in the vast dioceses of Hospitality and evangelisation are important constant activity of cathedral life, to see families Australia this is impractical. In Brisbane we celebrate dimensions of an inner-city ministry. The cathedral gathering for baptism, to notice the prayerful it the week before Holy Week to conclude an annual offers guided tours to visitors and organised school intensity as candles are lit, to share the journey of the gathering of the clergy with the archbishop (thereby groups. Well-trained volunteers offer this essential daily worshippers who are so consistent in their ensuring a good clergy attendance!). commitment, to encounter the vulnerable who seek extension of cathedral ministry. They are the During the Chrism Mass, all the faithful re-commit personal face of the cathedral, and their ministry sanctuary, shelter and solace, to respond to those in themselves to their baptismal vocation and the clergy offers thousands of visitors the opportunity to need with an open and generous heart, to greet nervous brides and grooms as they begin their new renew their commitment to service in the ordained deepen their knowledge of local history, engage ministry. The bishop blesses the oils used in baptism their sense of religious faith and develop an ecclesial life together, to pray for the well-known and and in the care of the sick and consecrates the spirituality. unknown in the funeral liturgy, to hear the playful laughter of children on the lawn, to listen to the choir fragrant oil of Chrism for use in confirmation and as the sound of their practice travels down the ordination and in the Rite of Dedication of places of A Parish Church worship. In the days that follow, these oils are stairwell, to watch the faces of the tourists who enter the cathedral for the first time, to nod to those who poured into smaller containers and distributed to Our cathedral is also a territorial parish with the same local parish communities and chaplains. Many duties, responsibilities and outreach as other parish are taking in the sun during their lunch break; to communities ceremonially receive these holy oils, communities. The archbishop is the ‘parish priest’ discuss the tasks of maintenance with co-workers; to be present with the diocese as it gathers to celebrate symbol of the unity of sacramental ministry but delegates the responsibilities of parish throughout the diocese. governance to the dean of the cathedral. He takes our common life and mission in Christ. These are the responsibility for working with the pastoral council faces of the living stones, and they are the greatest Another major cathedral event is celebrating the and finance council. treasure of the Church of God. sacrament of Holy Orders. While practical or Fifteen hundred years ago, a bishop in the south of pastoral reasons may be advanced for ordinations to There is a core community of ‘regulars’ at weekday take place elsewhere, ordinations to the diaconate or and Sunday Masses. They feel a sense of ownership France, Caesarius of Arles, exhorted his people: My presbyterate are best celebrated in the cathedral Church, when the faithful and clergy gather around of the life of the cathedral and its associated activities. fellow Christians… Whenever we come to church, we because this is a more effective sign of service to the the bishop’s chair, and join him in calling the However geographical borders are difficult to must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we local Church which ordination signifies. This is true ordinand for service, invoking the Holy Spirit upon identify and maintain and the sense of community is expect this church to be. Do you wish to find this for geographical reasons as much as theological, him to empower him for leadership. Ordinations most often centred on the Mass one attends. And basilica immaculately clean? Then do not soil your particularly in rural areas, for ordination at the mark the intersection between the life of a cathedral indeed, each of the Sunday Masses offers a particular soul with the filth of sins. Do you wish this basilica cathedral makes a statement that the newly ordained and the local communities of the diocese. experiences to cater for the sweep of liturgical styles. to be full of light? God too wishes that your soul be The Saturday evening and early Sunday morning not in darkness, but that the light of good works is called to serve the diocese and is no longer the Major civic events, such as the Anzac Day Mass, and Masses are most like a parish Mass. The later Sunday shine in us, so that those who dwell in the heavens ‘possession’ of one town or locality. When the significant ecumenical occasions, such as the morning and midday Masses express a cathedral- will be glorified. Just as you enter this church cathedral is not large enough to house the joyous Anglican Roman Catholic day of reconciliation, are style or more ‘solemn’ worship (often presided over building, so God wishes to enter into your soul. crowds, another venue may be a necessity. also key moments in the annual rhythm of cathedral by the archbishop). The late Sunday evening Mass life. As mother church of the archdiocese, the Ordinations lift the spirits of the local faithful, bolster (the last Sunday evening Mass in the diocese) has a  Rev Dr Anthony Mellor is the dean of the Cathedral of St cathedral seeks to manifest the broadest embrace of the morale of the local clergy, and set the newly greater youth focus. Stephen in Brisbane. ordained on a solid foundation for their ministerial God’s love, to be a sign and instrument of harmony life. Ordinations are vivid expressions of the local and communion among the whole human family.

4 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 5

prayers and readings will play a role in preparing a The Order of Celebrating Matrimony without Mass has thoughtful and fruitful marriage (OCM 17). introduced another new element, namely the rite of

distributing holy communion from the tabernacle. The One of the clearest innovations here is incorporating liturgical book does not say so, but one imagines that ENGAGING THE 2015 into the OCM an appendix containing an ‘Order of this would only be used if a deacon was celebrating the Blessing an Engaged Couple’ (OCM 253-271). The rite marriage of two Catholics. It is also included in the is simple. Between introductory rites and the Order of Celebrating Matrimony in the Presence of an ORDER OF CELEBRATING conclusion is a reading from scripture, prayers of Assisting Layperson. This chapter is another innovation intercession and the blessing prayer. It is envisaged that in OCM. one of the parents may appropriately preside. Using a lay minister may be helpful in isolated The honourable betrothal of Christians, therefore, is a MATRIMONY communities without a priest or deacon, or where the special occasion for two families, appropriately pastoral leader of the community is a religious or lay celebrated with some ceremony and with common person. Such a person would need the approval of the by John prayer, so that, upon receiving the divine blessing, Chalmers bishop and, in Australia, would need to be authorised what is joyfully begun may in its own time be joyfully by the state marriage registrar. The lay person may be completed (OCM 253). able to share the experience of Christian married life in a way that a priest cannot. This welcome provision has of consent, as well as additional readings. It contains an It is important that no promise or commitment be Introduction not been taken up in Australia (or at least has only been entirely new chapter on celebrating matrimony in the exchanged by the couple so that the blessing ceremony used in exceptional circumstances). It does highlight, In 1971, the Australian Church joyfully received the new presence of a lay minister and has incorporated from does not pre-empt in any way the actual marriage itself. however, the fact that the couple themselves are the Rite of Marriage, revised after Vatican II. Crisp, clean the Book of Blessings rites for blessing an engaged For this reason it might be best if it is not celebrated by minsters of the sacrament of matrimony, with the and to the point, the text served the Church well for couple and a married couple on their anniversary. the priest or deacon or held in the church. The gathering presider simply being an official witness on behalf of many decades. In 2015, the Holy See approved and together of family and friends, perhaps with a BBQ, may appropriately be hosted by the couple who has been the Church. confirmed a revised Order of Celebrating Matrimony Engaging the possibilities (OCM). Now, a few years further on, it is opportune to married the longest. Participants might say a few words, 4. SUPPORT of couples after marriage also receives some ponder its reception, for better and for worse. Pastoral care in the Christian community has four areas the couple’s song played and good wishes offered. of importance in relation to the sacrament of attention in the OCM. This dimension begins already at the wedding liturgy itself. A well-crafted sentence of Handling the Language matrimony: catechesis, preparation, celebration, support (OCM 14). welcome may acknowledge the presence of parents, grandparents and others whose marriage is a model for There is a certain sadness, even irony, that the new rite was issued when fewer couples are seeking a church 1. CATECHESIS, adapted to children young people and the young couple, though the presider needs to be wedding. Sadder still is the document’s arcane adults, takes place through preaching and through the aware that some of those present may be divorced. In language that almost succeeds in hiding what the rite means of social communication. (The rite embraces the any case, the readings, homily and the pledge of love calls The Importance and Dignity of the Sacrament of technological age!) This provides the background and and fidelity by the newly married couple should all Matrimony. For example, the second paragraph reads, context which will encourage young people to seek inspire those present to strive to live their relationships 3. CELEBRATION of the marriage liturgy has four key A marriage is established by the conjugal covenant, marriage in a church. The introduction sees here an in a fuller love. elements: the scripture readings, the consent of the that is, the irrevocable consent of both spouses by opportunity for evangelisation. bride and groom, the venerable prayer of blessing and The Introduction notes that God, who has called the which they freely give themselves to each other and In conducting the preparation, pastors, taking into finally eucharistic communion. The aim is full, active couple to marriage, continues to call them to marriage. accept each other. The phrase ‘conjugal covenant’ is account prevailing attitudes toward marriage and the and conscious participation by all, though with a It lauds a marriage that is desired, prepared for, cele- more difficult to conjugate than a German verb! The family, should endeavour to evangelise the couple’s diverse assembly of family and friends this is often brated, and lived daily in the light of faith (OCM 11). 2015 introduction seems at times to assume that the authentic and mutual love in the light of faith. Even difficult to achieve. language of daily life is not sufficiently holy for God. As with the time of engagement, here once again, the the requirements of law for contracting a valid and Attention should be given to the appropriate use of most significant contribution of the 2015 edition is the Where is the strong, simple language of Vatican II? By licit marriage can serve to promote a living faith and options provided in the rite (OCM 29). A basic decision addition of the Order for Blessing of a Married Couple the incarnation, the Son of God has united himself in fruitful love between the couple, ordered toward is whether to celebrate the marriage within Mass (where on the Anniversary of Marriage. It is envisaged that such some fashion with every human being. He worked establishing a Christian family (OCM 20). th th both parties are Catholic). Many choices are offered in a blessing would occur at Sunday Mass on the 25 , 50 with human hands, thought with a human mind, acted th Forty-five years ago, Pope Paul VI outlined the the readings, prayers and gestures of the rite. A sung or 60 anniversary of the wedding. This provides not by human choice, and loved with a human heart (GS only affirmation of the success of the marriage but also a 22). It is this incarnational approach which would help challenging process of evangelisation which is the acclamation may be introduced after the consent. OCM essential mission of the Church. It entails upsetting, also contains newly minted words of greeting. At their witness to the parish of what is possible in married life. couples to uncover and cherish what is true, good and The Order of Blessing draws attention to the resources beautiful in their relationship. through the power of the Gospel, humankind’s criteria best, Catholic marriage ceremonies are quite attractive, for judgment, determining values, points of interest, not too verbose and not ‘over before they have started’. in the Roman Missal and the Lectionary and provides Nevertheless, the expanded introduction (double the lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of beautiful texts for the renewal itself. In the 2015 edition, the introductory rites have been length) contains many memorable phrases. As couples life which are in contrast with the Word of God and the elaborated and clarified but the provisions are essentially Supporting a couple in marriage however does not strive to nurture and foster their union in equal plan of salvation (EN 19). This is the starting point for unchanged (OCM 45-50). The liturgy does not endorse need to wait for decades. It begins from day one. Let us dignity, mutual giving and undivided love… divine marriage preparation. and human realities are united. This enables couples anyone ‘giving the bride away’. The priest or deacon accompany this new family with our prayers that the greets the couple warmly either at the door of the church mutual love of this couple may grow daily and that to persevere in good times and in bad times, faithful in 2. PREPARATION for marriage concerns naturally the or at the place where the couple will sit. This honestly God in his kindness will sustain all families throughout body and mind… (OCM 9). These are words that a future spouses themselves and their families, but also reflects the social reality of the couple’s life before the the world (OCM 252). presider might reflect on, phrase by phrase, with the the pastor and the entire ecclesial community who wedding. Still, the cultural expectation that the father couple. ensure the pastoral and liturgical care of the couple will walk his daughter down the aisle is strong in  Rev Dr John Chalmers has most recently been director of The latest edition of the liturgical book also contains (OCM 12). A key element in fostering and nourishing Australia even after using the marriage rite for fifty years. Centacare Mission and Formation in Brisbane. new texts for introductions, collects, and the reception the faith of the couple is welcome (OCM 16). The rites,

6 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 7

prayers and readings will play a role in preparing a The Order of Celebrating Matrimony without Mass has thoughtful and fruitful marriage (OCM 17). introduced another new element, namely the rite of

distributing holy communion from the tabernacle. The One of the clearest innovations here is incorporating liturgical book does not say so, but one imagines that ENGAGING THE 2015 into the OCM an appendix containing an ‘Order of this would only be used if a deacon was celebrating the Blessing an Engaged Couple’ (OCM 253-271). The rite marriage of two Catholics. It is also included in the is simple. Between introductory rites and the Order of Celebrating Matrimony in the Presence of an ORDER OF CELEBRATING conclusion is a reading from scripture, prayers of Assisting Layperson. This chapter is another innovation intercession and the blessing prayer. It is envisaged that in OCM. one of the parents may appropriately preside. Using a lay minister may be helpful in isolated The honourable betrothal of Christians, therefore, is a MATRIMONY communities without a priest or deacon, or where the special occasion for two families, appropriately pastoral leader of the community is a religious or lay celebrated with some ceremony and with common person. Such a person would need the approval of the by John prayer, so that, upon receiving the divine blessing, Chalmers bishop and, in Australia, would need to be authorised what is joyfully begun may in its own time be joyfully by the state marriage registrar. The lay person may be completed (OCM 253). able to share the experience of Christian married life in a way that a priest cannot. This welcome provision has of consent, as well as additional readings. It contains an It is important that no promise or commitment be Introduction not been taken up in Australia (or at least has only been entirely new chapter on celebrating matrimony in the exchanged by the couple so that the blessing ceremony used in exceptional circumstances). It does highlight, In 1971, the Australian Church joyfully received the new presence of a lay minister and has incorporated from does not pre-empt in any way the actual marriage itself. however, the fact that the couple themselves are the Rite of Marriage, revised after Vatican II. Crisp, clean the Book of Blessings rites for blessing an engaged For this reason it might be best if it is not celebrated by minsters of the sacrament of matrimony, with the and to the point, the text served the Church well for couple and a married couple on their anniversary. the priest or deacon or held in the church. The gathering presider simply being an official witness on behalf of many decades. In 2015, the Holy See approved and together of family and friends, perhaps with a BBQ, may appropriately be hosted by the couple who has been the Church. confirmed a revised Order of Celebrating Matrimony Engaging the possibilities (OCM). Now, a few years further on, it is opportune to married the longest. Participants might say a few words, 4. SUPPORT of couples after marriage also receives some ponder its reception, for better and for worse. Pastoral care in the Christian community has four areas the couple’s song played and good wishes offered. of importance in relation to the sacrament of attention in the OCM. This dimension begins already at the wedding liturgy itself. A well-crafted sentence of Handling the Language matrimony: catechesis, preparation, celebration, support (OCM 14). welcome may acknowledge the presence of parents, grandparents and others whose marriage is a model for There is a certain sadness, even irony, that the new rite was issued when fewer couples are seeking a church 1. CATECHESIS, adapted to children young people and the young couple, though the presider needs to be wedding. Sadder still is the document’s arcane adults, takes place through preaching and through the aware that some of those present may be divorced. In language that almost succeeds in hiding what the rite means of social communication. (The rite embraces the any case, the readings, homily and the pledge of love calls The Importance and Dignity of the Sacrament of technological age!) This provides the background and and fidelity by the newly married couple should all Matrimony. For example, the second paragraph reads, context which will encourage young people to seek inspire those present to strive to live their relationships 3. CELEBRATION of the marriage liturgy has four key A marriage is established by the conjugal covenant, marriage in a church. The introduction sees here an in a fuller love. elements: the scripture readings, the consent of the that is, the irrevocable consent of both spouses by opportunity for evangelisation. bride and groom, the venerable prayer of blessing and The Introduction notes that God, who has called the which they freely give themselves to each other and In conducting the preparation, pastors, taking into finally eucharistic communion. The aim is full, active couple to marriage, continues to call them to marriage. accept each other. The phrase ‘conjugal covenant’ is account prevailing attitudes toward marriage and the and conscious participation by all, though with a It lauds a marriage that is desired, prepared for, cele- more difficult to conjugate than a German verb! The family, should endeavour to evangelise the couple’s diverse assembly of family and friends this is often brated, and lived daily in the light of faith (OCM 11). 2015 introduction seems at times to assume that the authentic and mutual love in the light of faith. Even difficult to achieve. language of daily life is not sufficiently holy for God. As with the time of engagement, here once again, the the requirements of law for contracting a valid and Attention should be given to the appropriate use of most significant contribution of the 2015 edition is the Where is the strong, simple language of Vatican II? By licit marriage can serve to promote a living faith and options provided in the rite (OCM 29). A basic decision addition of the Order for Blessing of a Married Couple the incarnation, the Son of God has united himself in fruitful love between the couple, ordered toward is whether to celebrate the marriage within Mass (where on the Anniversary of Marriage. It is envisaged that such some fashion with every human being. He worked establishing a Christian family (OCM 20). th th both parties are Catholic). Many choices are offered in a blessing would occur at Sunday Mass on the 25 , 50 with human hands, thought with a human mind, acted th Forty-five years ago, Pope Paul VI outlined the the readings, prayers and gestures of the rite. A sung or 60 anniversary of the wedding. This provides not by human choice, and loved with a human heart (GS only affirmation of the success of the marriage but also a 22). It is this incarnational approach which would help challenging process of evangelisation which is the acclamation may be introduced after the consent. OCM essential mission of the Church. It entails upsetting, also contains newly minted words of greeting. At their witness to the parish of what is possible in married life. couples to uncover and cherish what is true, good and The Order of Blessing draws attention to the resources beautiful in their relationship. through the power of the Gospel, humankind’s criteria best, Catholic marriage ceremonies are quite attractive, for judgment, determining values, points of interest, not too verbose and not ‘over before they have started’. in the Roman Missal and the Lectionary and provides Nevertheless, the expanded introduction (double the lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of beautiful texts for the renewal itself. In the 2015 edition, the introductory rites have been length) contains many memorable phrases. As couples life which are in contrast with the Word of God and the elaborated and clarified but the provisions are essentially Supporting a couple in marriage however does not strive to nurture and foster their union in equal plan of salvation (EN 19). This is the starting point for unchanged (OCM 45-50). The liturgy does not endorse need to wait for decades. It begins from day one. Let us dignity, mutual giving and undivided love… divine marriage preparation. and human realities are united. This enables couples anyone ‘giving the bride away’. The priest or deacon accompany this new family with our prayers that the greets the couple warmly either at the door of the church mutual love of this couple may grow daily and that to persevere in good times and in bad times, faithful in 2. PREPARATION for marriage concerns naturally the or at the place where the couple will sit. This honestly God in his kindness will sustain all families throughout body and mind… (OCM 9). These are words that a future spouses themselves and their families, but also reflects the social reality of the couple’s life before the the world (OCM 252). presider might reflect on, phrase by phrase, with the the pastor and the entire ecclesial community who wedding. Still, the cultural expectation that the father couple. ensure the pastoral and liturgical care of the couple will walk his daughter down the aisle is strong in  Rev Dr John Chalmers has most recently been director of The latest edition of the liturgical book also contains (OCM 12). A key element in fostering and nourishing Australia even after using the marriage rite for fifty years. Centacare Mission and Formation in Brisbane. new texts for introductions, collects, and the reception the faith of the couple is welcome (OCM 16). The rites,

6 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 7

he alarm goes and I grope at the bedside table to turn it off. It is 5:50 on Sunday morning and Can anything be done that

T the weekly ritual of getting our family to Mass might invite people back into begins. Yes, you read that correctly, 5:50 am. You see our preferred Mass time is 6:30 Sunday morning the liturgical space? and yes, our parish still offers such an early time. If this is to happen, it does not take light shows and Maybe saying it is our family’s preferred Mass time is rock music, at least, not in my view. Relationship and a stretch – maybe it is simply my preferred Mass time engagement are critical. The priest is key. The way – because trying to get three school-aged children up he presides over the Eucharist makes a huge and out the door this early on a Sunday morning is difference. He is not a performing seal, but needs to not always easy. It never ceases to amaze me that project a sense of warmth, welcome, energy and our children willingly rise at 5:30 almost every day so inclusivity. If he looks as if he is bored or just they can run up and down the hall, fight, yell, come following routine, that is projected onto the in and wake us up, and generally be busy, yet come assembly. Homilies do not need the 30-second Sunday morning it is like trying to raise the dead! soundbite of the news cycle to connect with people’s The usual responses come from under rumpled lived experience, but they need to be thought- provoking and challenging; they should be sheets and doonas: I don’t want to go to Mass! Mass is boring! I’m tired! It is particularly difficult during respectful of the breadth, diversity, age and winter when it is cold and dark. However through sophistication of the congregation. It is not all about the priest, but sharing something of his personal perseverance and the occasional threat or bribe, we find ourselves in the car for the short ride to the story or struggle in a homily can create interest and church, mostly on time. While driving to Mass, I empathy. This carries across to the interpersonal dynamic before and after Mass. Just as important as often see bike riders on their early morning ride and wonder if that would be a better use of my time, the priest are other people who recognise us and especially as a lack of cars on a Sunday morning greet us and talk to us. These relationships are the context in which we celebrate Sunday Mass. makes riding a much more pleasant experience. No doubt some of those riding will stop for coffee with The Eucharist is an invitation to return each week to friends at local cafes, catching up over smashed avo entertained and have come to expect to be and to know we are held gently. We bring our the same space, to replenish, restore and reflect. It is on sourdough toast. What is not as common entertained. Staring at the ubiquitous screen has troubles and concerns, our hopes and dreams, our an opportunity to disconnect from technology and nowadays is to find these same people at Mass. become a defining image of our time. In this context gratitude and our brokenness. I don’t wish to glorify enter into the full participation of the Eucharist. Attendance at the Sunday Mass has been falling attending the Eucharist could be seen as counter the experience as though it is always something Sitting with our children as they fidget and fiddle, I steadily for decades. This is well documented and cultural. It bucks the trend, but can it compete and uplifting and enlightening. Sometimes it is bloody do hope that they learn to value the quiet time and there are many reasons for it. The refrain of our should it try? What draws a person to communal hard, a chore and a struggle. I am distracted by other enter into a personal relationship with God. I hope children is one I often hear from adults: that Mass is prayer and worship and what benefit might it have? thoughts, bored, tired, preoccupied, wrestling with they come to see this time as a reprieve from the rush children or left unstimulated by the homily. I take and stress of contemporary life, the chance to ‘reset’ boring, it doesn’t resonate, I don’t experience God Returning to the drive, I find myself arriving at Mass some solace in the fact that others in the ready for the week ahead. The rhythm of repeated that way, and I’ve got other things to do. At one level and sitting in church. It is mainly older people, but I congregation might be feeling like me. There is responses and communal song bring us into a new this is true, but the Eucharist is not entertainment for know their faces and where they sit, even if I don’t comfort in the familiar and knowing that we are all realm. the pleasure of the masses. It is imbued with deep know their names. They are my community, people there as community. I often wonder if others meaning, replete with symbolic ritual and gestures whom I have come to recognise through being at I do not mean that one cannot experience experience this the same way or whether it is which speak to something beyond the participants Mass each week. They know us and they know our community or God in other settings. But I think different for them. and which invite them into community with God and kids. They have always taken delight in seeing the Sunday Mass provides a unique place for our kids to others. It has stiff competition. kids at Mass and have watched them grow. They I imagine those young enough to have grown up in find the presence of God in the words, actions and In our modern technological life, everyone and have celebrated baptisms, confirmations and first the digital age may struggle to have the Mass hold people gathered. It teaches them to recognise the everything is on 24/7. We have at our fingertips communions with us. their attention. It does not offer the next new importance of silence, creative boredom, which experience, something to excite, to get that might spark the imagination. Such a sacred space is access to more information than ever before through Every Sunday I deliberately leave the phone at home. dopamine hit before moving quickly onto the next precious in the modern technological world. devices such as iPads and iPhones. Want to watch I have no need of it. Whom will I call? My parents thing. Gen X and Millennials have grown up in an your favourite movie, sport or TV show? Simply click are often at Mass sitting with us. What do I need to Soon enough we find ourselves in the car, age of wealth and opportunity. They travel to all or tap onto your preferred streaming service and watch or do? What is in such urgent need of my responding to requests to go out for breakfast. We parts of the globe, visiting incredible places. Lifestyle watch at your leisure. Social media provides a attention? There is freedom in this letting go. It return home ready for another week tethered to our is key: surfing, gaming, riding, hiking, golf, concerts, constant stream of news and content to be viewed, allows me to enter into the prayerful space without devices, but grateful for the one hour spent. sports events, coffee and brunch, units at the coast. consumed and interacted with; games of all sorts technological distraction. I am untethered. keep people occupied for hours. Although the Opportunity abounds and choices are endless… and Eucharist has its own rhythm and basic movements: all the while Facebooking, Tweeting, Instagramming internet and wireless devices might have intensified  Stephen Lock, Education Officer in religious education at sitting, standing, kneeling and simple gestures such and Snapchatting. This is not a criticism but a reality. the experience, technology has been exerting its Brisbane Catholic Education, has been a school teacher and as the sign of the cross, bowing silently and Many of these experiences however are short lived, influence for decades, starting with the advent of APRE. television, quickly followed by MTV, video, DVD, handshakes for peace. Listening, responding and self-focused activities. and computers. With such media and stadium silent reflection are all done in a personal way but concerts, for the last 50 years we have been with others. It is an opportunity to focus on Christ

8 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 9 he alarm goes and I grope at the bedside table to turn it off. It is 5:50 on Sunday morning and Can anything be done that

T the weekly ritual of getting our family to Mass might invite people back into begins. Yes, you read that correctly, 5:50 am. You see our preferred Mass time is 6:30 Sunday morning the liturgical space? and yes, our parish still offers such an early time. If this is to happen, it does not take light shows and Maybe saying it is our family’s preferred Mass time is rock music, at least, not in my view. Relationship and a stretch – maybe it is simply my preferred Mass time engagement are critical. The priest is key. The way – because trying to get three school-aged children up he presides over the Eucharist makes a huge and out the door this early on a Sunday morning is difference. He is not a performing seal, but needs to not always easy. It never ceases to amaze me that project a sense of warmth, welcome, energy and our children willingly rise at 5:30 almost every day so inclusivity. If he looks as if he is bored or just they can run up and down the hall, fight, yell, come following routine, that is projected onto the in and wake us up, and generally be busy, yet come assembly. Homilies do not need the 30-second Sunday morning it is like trying to raise the dead! soundbite of the news cycle to connect with people’s The usual responses come from under rumpled lived experience, but they need to be thought- provoking and challenging; they should be sheets and doonas: I don’t want to go to Mass! Mass is boring! I’m tired! It is particularly difficult during respectful of the breadth, diversity, age and winter when it is cold and dark. However through sophistication of the congregation. It is not all about the priest, but sharing something of his personal perseverance and the occasional threat or bribe, we find ourselves in the car for the short ride to the story or struggle in a homily can create interest and church, mostly on time. While driving to Mass, I empathy. This carries across to the interpersonal dynamic before and after Mass. Just as important as often see bike riders on their early morning ride and wonder if that would be a better use of my time, the priest are other people who recognise us and especially as a lack of cars on a Sunday morning greet us and talk to us. These relationships are the context in which we celebrate Sunday Mass. makes riding a much more pleasant experience. No doubt some of those riding will stop for coffee with The Eucharist is an invitation to return each week to friends at local cafes, catching up over smashed avo entertained and have come to expect to be and to know we are held gently. We bring our the same space, to replenish, restore and reflect. It is on sourdough toast. What is not as common entertained. Staring at the ubiquitous screen has troubles and concerns, our hopes and dreams, our an opportunity to disconnect from technology and nowadays is to find these same people at Mass. become a defining image of our time. In this context gratitude and our brokenness. I don’t wish to glorify enter into the full participation of the Eucharist. Attendance at the Sunday Mass has been falling attending the Eucharist could be seen as counter the experience as though it is always something Sitting with our children as they fidget and fiddle, I steadily for decades. This is well documented and cultural. It bucks the trend, but can it compete and uplifting and enlightening. Sometimes it is bloody do hope that they learn to value the quiet time and there are many reasons for it. The refrain of our should it try? What draws a person to communal hard, a chore and a struggle. I am distracted by other enter into a personal relationship with God. I hope children is one I often hear from adults: that Mass is prayer and worship and what benefit might it have? thoughts, bored, tired, preoccupied, wrestling with they come to see this time as a reprieve from the rush children or left unstimulated by the homily. I take and stress of contemporary life, the chance to ‘reset’ boring, it doesn’t resonate, I don’t experience God Returning to the drive, I find myself arriving at Mass some solace in the fact that others in the ready for the week ahead. The rhythm of repeated that way, and I’ve got other things to do. At one level and sitting in church. It is mainly older people, but I congregation might be feeling like me. There is responses and communal song bring us into a new this is true, but the Eucharist is not entertainment for know their faces and where they sit, even if I don’t comfort in the familiar and knowing that we are all realm. the pleasure of the masses. It is imbued with deep know their names. They are my community, people there as community. I often wonder if others meaning, replete with symbolic ritual and gestures whom I have come to recognise through being at I do not mean that one cannot experience experience this the same way or whether it is which speak to something beyond the participants Mass each week. They know us and they know our community or God in other settings. But I think different for them. and which invite them into community with God and kids. They have always taken delight in seeing the Sunday Mass provides a unique place for our kids to others. It has stiff competition. kids at Mass and have watched them grow. They I imagine those young enough to have grown up in find the presence of God in the words, actions and In our modern technological life, everyone and have celebrated baptisms, confirmations and first the digital age may struggle to have the Mass hold people gathered. It teaches them to recognise the everything is on 24/7. We have at our fingertips communions with us. their attention. It does not offer the next new importance of silence, creative boredom, which experience, something to excite, to get that might spark the imagination. Such a sacred space is access to more information than ever before through Every Sunday I deliberately leave the phone at home. dopamine hit before moving quickly onto the next precious in the modern technological world. devices such as iPads and iPhones. Want to watch I have no need of it. Whom will I call? My parents thing. Gen X and Millennials have grown up in an your favourite movie, sport or TV show? Simply click are often at Mass sitting with us. What do I need to Soon enough we find ourselves in the car, age of wealth and opportunity. They travel to all or tap onto your preferred streaming service and watch or do? What is in such urgent need of my responding to requests to go out for breakfast. We parts of the globe, visiting incredible places. Lifestyle watch at your leisure. Social media provides a attention? There is freedom in this letting go. It return home ready for another week tethered to our is key: surfing, gaming, riding, hiking, golf, concerts, constant stream of news and content to be viewed, allows me to enter into the prayerful space without devices, but grateful for the one hour spent. sports events, coffee and brunch, units at the coast. consumed and interacted with; games of all sorts technological distraction. I am untethered. keep people occupied for hours. Although the Opportunity abounds and choices are endless… and Eucharist has its own rhythm and basic movements: all the while Facebooking, Tweeting, Instagramming internet and wireless devices might have intensified  Stephen Lock, Education Officer in religious education at sitting, standing, kneeling and simple gestures such and Snapchatting. This is not a criticism but a reality. the experience, technology has been exerting its Brisbane Catholic Education, has been a school teacher and as the sign of the cross, bowing silently and Many of these experiences however are short lived, influence for decades, starting with the advent of APRE. television, quickly followed by MTV, video, DVD, handshakes for peace. Listening, responding and self-focused activities. and computers. With such media and stadium silent reflection are all done in a personal way but concerts, for the last 50 years we have been with others. It is an opportunity to focus on Christ

8 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 9

OPEN LETTER FROM JAPAN FRENCH MISSAL GERMAN SYNODAL WAY Liturgiam Authenticam, published in Under the leadership of Cardinal Reinhard 2001, demanded new literal translations of Marx, the German bishops agreed to move the liturgical books. Under great pressure, forward with the ‘synodal way’ that has the English-speaking world prepared a new been developed for the German Church translation of the Roman Missal and during 2019. It is a two-year introduced it in 2010. A new Italian listening/dialogue process, beginning in translation (which incidentally retains the Advent, which involves joint meetings In an open letter on the renewal of the ADDITION TO THE CALENDAR three-year cycle of Collects rejected in the between the German Bishops Conference Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Bishops Conference, and Prof Dr Roman Curia, Peter Takeo Okada, former English Missal) is only now being publish- and the ZdK, the Central Committee of Thomas Sternberg, president of ZdK lay organisation. An optional commemoration honouring Archbishop of Tokyo, made some bold ed and will be introduced early in 2020. German Catholics (the country’s largest lay Our Lady of Loreto has been added to the discuss one of the four key questions. To from each diocese (lay men and women, comments on inculturation in relation to organisation). Roman Calendar on 10 December. It has now also been announced that the be binding, decisions must be taken by a priests and religious) will accompany their the liturgy. The message is particularly Holy See has confirmed the translation of A couple of the bishops and several of the majority of clergy and laity but also by a bishop to the Plenary. It is an attempt to pertinent in view of the papal visit to Japan Liturgical texts have been provided in Latin the Missel Romain prepared and approved officials of the Roman Curia are worried two-thirds majority of the bishops. The enshrine a ‘walking together’ in synodality. at the end of November. and they will be translated into English in due course. by the French-speaking bishops. Its about giving lay people a deliberative voice bishops have last say on the One spokesman said, ‘all the baptised are One of the most important issues for the approval has been made possible by Pope alongside the bishops on issues of ecclesial implementation of the decisions. responsible for the life of the Church. Loreto is a popular pilgrimage site on the Catholic Church in Japan is the task of Francis’ move to allow liturgical translation reform and renewal. They are also What concerns everyone must be discussed east coast of Italy, 280 km from Rome. Meanwhile in France… inculturation of the teachings of the to be more flexible and to decentralise concerned that Germany is ‘going it alone’ by everyone’. Increasingly, lay people have Since the late Middle Ages, its basilica has Gospel and the liturgy. Regarding the decision making in liturgy by his document and may compromise the universal Following on from a vast consultation with a voice in diocesan synods. They are more been said to contain the small house from liturgy, we received special permission Magnum Principium. The printed books teaching of the Church. Cardinal Marx lay people in 2018 (‘Let us rebuild the present in episcopal councils as close Nazareth where the Virgin Mary and the in French will be available for Advent 2020 went to Rome in the European summer for Church’), the new permanent Council of collaborators of the bishops, though this after the Second Vatican Council for Holy Family lived. Some of the stones had adaptations concerning the Order of and will be mandated from May 2021. discussions with the pope and curial the French Bishops Conference has taken a varies from diocese to diocese. Lay been brought by ship from the Holy Land officials. He was sharply critical of the strong and unprecedented initiative. Non- contributions are still consultative, but step Mass and the way of celebrating Mass… by member of the Angeli family, giving rise It seems to us that the new version of the APPOINTMENT secret meetings between several of the bishops will be invited for the first time to by step a common deliberation and to the legend that it was transported by departments and their non-consultative General Instruction of the Roman Missal take part in the Plenary Assembly of the discernment is becoming part of the fabric ‘the angels’. The commemoration of Our interventions. He was able to clarify will result in the cancellation of some bishops of France. Two representatives of the Church in France. Lady of Loreto recalls the mystery of the misunderstandings and returned to cases of adaptation which were incarnation and will contribute to the Germany with the pope’s encouragement previously permitted to the Bishops Marian dimension of Advent, an element in of the synodal journey. SUNDAY of the WORD OF GOD In Australia, the day is likely to be Conference of Japan. We see a serious the liturgical preparation for Christmas. celebrated in mid-January (on the second The initiative is a bold move to advance the Pope Francis has established a new Sunday problem in changing the current Sunday in Ordinary Time) and Bible work of evangelisation in Germany. In of the Word of God since it is through the manner of celebrating the Mass which Sunday, which Australia has kept at the has been welcomed by the people and discussing four key issues – power sharing, Bible that we come to know God and encounter Christ. The pope linked the day end of July, will probably be suppressed. taken root deeply in the Church. The women’s position in the Church, sexual with the Week of Prayer for Christian Bishops Conference of Japan sent our morality, and the priestly way of life – Cardinal Marx declared: We bishops are Unity, celebrated in late January in the new alternative plan to the Congregation northern hemisphere, because the word of doing what we are committed to do as for Divine Worship and the Discipline of God is the common property of all the Sacraments some years ago. Until shepherds in order to liberate Christians and points out the authentic now we have had no response from the evangelisation and the proclamation of path to unity in Christ. The pope Congregation. We have also requested Christ’s message from the obstacles which recommended special honour be paid to Sr Mariella Mascitelli has been appointed as approval of the Japanese texts translated stand in the way. Marx also spoke of the the sacred text by enthroning it at the a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for from Latin for the prayers of the Mass. goal of reform: We are aware that the Sunday Mass and suggested the Culture. Australian born of Italian parents, We humbly ask for acknowledgement of synodal way will alter the Church. A commissioning of readers on this day. He It is appropriate that the Sunday of the Mariella returned to live in Italy as a our qualification to decide official synodal process without reform is urged that care be given to the homily Word of God will be inaugurated in 2020 member of the Sisters Disciples of the Japanese translations from the original unthinkable. The process has been which enables people to enter more deeply because it marks 1600 years since death of Divine Master. She has an architecture into the word of God. Latin texts. In sum, I propose that the prompted by institutional failure and a loss St Jerome at the age of 80. Variously a degree from Sapienza University in Rome hermit, papal secretary and monastic Roman Curia be more open to cultural Our Lady of Loreto has special significance of credibility in the Church. The bishops A profound bond links sacred Scripture for Pope Francis and his aim to revitalise and specialises in design for liturgy. She heard that Catholics are likely to perceive and the faith of believers. Since faith founder, he is renowned as the Scripture adaptations initiated by the local has worked on three Australian churches scholar who made the definitive Churches. the thinking and vision of Vatican II. Pope the Church as ‘rife with scandal, or as comes from hearing, and what is heard John XXIII went by train to Loreto just and, designated as an associate of the archaic, or as a crooked organisation with is based on the word of Christ, believers translation of the Bible into Latin, a He said he wished that the Curia would be before the Vatican Council opened to ask National Liturgical Architecture and Art forbidding morals and incomprehensible are bound to listen attentively to the word translation called the Vulgate. The pope’s letter quotes Jerome: ‘Ignorance of the a sign for them of ‘poor, humble, faithful her intercession for the Council. It was the Council, represented the Australian bishops regulations of belief’. of the Lord, both in the celebration of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’. and holy servants of our Lord’ but they first time in a century that a pope had conference at a conference on the closure liturgy and in their personal prayer and The synodal assembly will be made up of have had rather the impression of the broken their self-imposed ‘imprisonment’ of churches held in Rome last November. reflection… Christ Jesus is knocking at Rembrandt’s sketch of St Jerome shows 220 members – 69 bishops, 69 members of Vatican as a place for ‘power struggles or in the Vatican and had left the city of our door in the words of sacred him studying the Scriptures and wearing Our photo shows her at Domus Dei the ZdK, and 82 people from other groups games’. He urged a greater Rome. It was symbolic of the new Scripture. If we hear his voice and open his cardinal’s hat. The lion derives from artisan workshop in Albano Laziale, in the Church. Two presidents will be decentralisation of power through approach of embracing the modern world south of Rome. Domus Dei, owned by the the doors of our minds and hearts, then a legend in which he removed a thorn delegation to bishops’ conferences, sharing elected, one a bishop and the other a lay from the lion’s paw, whereupon the lion which was to become a hallmark of Sister Disciples of the Divine Master, he will enter our lives and remain ever responsibility among local Churches. theologian. Four commissions would each with us (Aperuit illis, 7, 8). became his pet. Vatican II. makes liturgical items and sacred art.

10 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 11

OPEN LETTER FROM JAPAN FRENCH MISSAL GERMAN SYNODAL WAY Liturgiam Authenticam, published in Under the leadership of Cardinal Reinhard 2001, demanded new literal translations of Marx, the German bishops agreed to move the liturgical books. Under great pressure, forward with the ‘synodal way’ that has the English-speaking world prepared a new been developed for the German Church translation of the Roman Missal and during 2019. It is a two-year introduced it in 2010. A new Italian listening/dialogue process, beginning in translation (which incidentally retains the Advent, which involves joint meetings In an open letter on the renewal of the ADDITION TO THE CALENDAR three-year cycle of Collects rejected in the between the German Bishops Conference Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Bishops Conference, and Prof Dr Roman Curia, Peter Takeo Okada, former English Missal) is only now being publish- and the ZdK, the Central Committee of Thomas Sternberg, president of ZdK lay organisation. An optional commemoration honouring Archbishop of Tokyo, made some bold ed and will be introduced early in 2020. German Catholics (the country’s largest lay Our Lady of Loreto has been added to the discuss one of the four key questions. To from each diocese (lay men and women, comments on inculturation in relation to organisation). Roman Calendar on 10 December. It has now also been announced that the be binding, decisions must be taken by a priests and religious) will accompany their the liturgy. The message is particularly Holy See has confirmed the translation of A couple of the bishops and several of the majority of clergy and laity but also by a bishop to the Plenary. It is an attempt to pertinent in view of the papal visit to Japan Liturgical texts have been provided in Latin the Missel Romain prepared and approved officials of the Roman Curia are worried two-thirds majority of the bishops. The enshrine a ‘walking together’ in synodality. at the end of November. and they will be translated into English in due course. by the French-speaking bishops. Its about giving lay people a deliberative voice bishops have last say on the One spokesman said, ‘all the baptised are One of the most important issues for the approval has been made possible by Pope alongside the bishops on issues of ecclesial implementation of the decisions. responsible for the life of the Church. Loreto is a popular pilgrimage site on the Catholic Church in Japan is the task of Francis’ move to allow liturgical translation reform and renewal. They are also What concerns everyone must be discussed east coast of Italy, 280 km from Rome. Meanwhile in France… inculturation of the teachings of the to be more flexible and to decentralise concerned that Germany is ‘going it alone’ by everyone’. Increasingly, lay people have Since the late Middle Ages, its basilica has Gospel and the liturgy. Regarding the decision making in liturgy by his document and may compromise the universal Following on from a vast consultation with a voice in diocesan synods. They are more been said to contain the small house from liturgy, we received special permission Magnum Principium. The printed books teaching of the Church. Cardinal Marx lay people in 2018 (‘Let us rebuild the present in episcopal councils as close Nazareth where the Virgin Mary and the in French will be available for Advent 2020 went to Rome in the European summer for Church’), the new permanent Council of collaborators of the bishops, though this after the Second Vatican Council for Holy Family lived. Some of the stones had adaptations concerning the Order of and will be mandated from May 2021. discussions with the pope and curial the French Bishops Conference has taken a varies from diocese to diocese. Lay been brought by ship from the Holy Land officials. He was sharply critical of the strong and unprecedented initiative. Non- contributions are still consultative, but step Mass and the way of celebrating Mass… by member of the Angeli family, giving rise It seems to us that the new version of the APPOINTMENT secret meetings between several of the bishops will be invited for the first time to by step a common deliberation and to the legend that it was transported by departments and their non-consultative General Instruction of the Roman Missal take part in the Plenary Assembly of the discernment is becoming part of the fabric ‘the angels’. The commemoration of Our interventions. He was able to clarify will result in the cancellation of some bishops of France. Two representatives of the Church in France. Lady of Loreto recalls the mystery of the misunderstandings and returned to cases of adaptation which were incarnation and will contribute to the Germany with the pope’s encouragement previously permitted to the Bishops Marian dimension of Advent, an element in of the synodal journey. SUNDAY of the WORD OF GOD In Australia, the day is likely to be Conference of Japan. We see a serious the liturgical preparation for Christmas. celebrated in mid-January (on the second The initiative is a bold move to advance the Pope Francis has established a new Sunday problem in changing the current Sunday in Ordinary Time) and Bible work of evangelisation in Germany. In of the Word of God since it is through the manner of celebrating the Mass which Sunday, which Australia has kept at the has been welcomed by the people and discussing four key issues – power sharing, Bible that we come to know God and encounter Christ. The pope linked the day end of July, will probably be suppressed. taken root deeply in the Church. The women’s position in the Church, sexual with the Week of Prayer for Christian Bishops Conference of Japan sent our morality, and the priestly way of life – Cardinal Marx declared: We bishops are Unity, celebrated in late January in the new alternative plan to the Congregation northern hemisphere, because the word of doing what we are committed to do as for Divine Worship and the Discipline of God is the common property of all the Sacraments some years ago. Until shepherds in order to liberate Christians and points out the authentic now we have had no response from the evangelisation and the proclamation of path to unity in Christ. The pope Congregation. We have also requested Christ’s message from the obstacles which recommended special honour be paid to Sr Mariella Mascitelli has been appointed as approval of the Japanese texts translated stand in the way. Marx also spoke of the the sacred text by enthroning it at the a Consultor to the Pontifical Council for from Latin for the prayers of the Mass. goal of reform: We are aware that the Sunday Mass and suggested the Culture. Australian born of Italian parents, We humbly ask for acknowledgement of synodal way will alter the Church. A commissioning of readers on this day. He It is appropriate that the Sunday of the Mariella returned to live in Italy as a our qualification to decide official synodal process without reform is urged that care be given to the homily Word of God will be inaugurated in 2020 member of the Sisters Disciples of the Japanese translations from the original unthinkable. The process has been which enables people to enter more deeply because it marks 1600 years since death of Divine Master. She has an architecture into the word of God. Latin texts. In sum, I propose that the prompted by institutional failure and a loss St Jerome at the age of 80. Variously a degree from Sapienza University in Rome hermit, papal secretary and monastic Roman Curia be more open to cultural Our Lady of Loreto has special significance of credibility in the Church. The bishops A profound bond links sacred Scripture for Pope Francis and his aim to revitalise and specialises in design for liturgy. She heard that Catholics are likely to perceive and the faith of believers. Since faith founder, he is renowned as the Scripture adaptations initiated by the local has worked on three Australian churches scholar who made the definitive Churches. the thinking and vision of Vatican II. Pope the Church as ‘rife with scandal, or as comes from hearing, and what is heard John XXIII went by train to Loreto just and, designated as an associate of the archaic, or as a crooked organisation with is based on the word of Christ, believers translation of the Bible into Latin, a He said he wished that the Curia would be before the Vatican Council opened to ask National Liturgical Architecture and Art forbidding morals and incomprehensible are bound to listen attentively to the word translation called the Vulgate. The pope’s letter quotes Jerome: ‘Ignorance of the a sign for them of ‘poor, humble, faithful her intercession for the Council. It was the Council, represented the Australian bishops regulations of belief’. of the Lord, both in the celebration of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’. and holy servants of our Lord’ but they first time in a century that a pope had conference at a conference on the closure liturgy and in their personal prayer and The synodal assembly will be made up of have had rather the impression of the broken their self-imposed ‘imprisonment’ of churches held in Rome last November. reflection… Christ Jesus is knocking at Rembrandt’s sketch of St Jerome shows 220 members – 69 bishops, 69 members of Vatican as a place for ‘power struggles or in the Vatican and had left the city of our door in the words of sacred him studying the Scriptures and wearing Our photo shows her at Domus Dei the ZdK, and 82 people from other groups games’. He urged a greater Rome. It was symbolic of the new Scripture. If we hear his voice and open his cardinal’s hat. The lion derives from artisan workshop in Albano Laziale, in the Church. Two presidents will be decentralisation of power through approach of embracing the modern world south of Rome. Domus Dei, owned by the the doors of our minds and hearts, then a legend in which he removed a thorn delegation to bishops’ conferences, sharing elected, one a bishop and the other a lay from the lion’s paw, whereupon the lion which was to become a hallmark of Sister Disciples of the Divine Master, he will enter our lives and remain ever responsibility among local Churches. theologian. Four commissions would each with us (Aperuit illis, 7, 8). became his pet. Vatican II. makes liturgical items and sacred art.

10 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 11

INCULTURATION IN THE AMAZON A NEW CHURCH BUILDING FOR THE AMAZON

Alongside the Synod for the Amazon, plans The design takes its inspiration from

have been released for an iconic traditional communal housing, circular in indigenous church for the Yanomami shape and built of wood and palm. Like people in far northwest Brazil near the the traditional architecture, the church will border with Venezuela. Originating several be open at its centre, establishing a link years ago with an idea of the local tribes between the visible and invisible universes. themselves, with assistance from the Because everything must be brought to the Liturgy Commission of the Brazilian site by boat, as much as possible the imposition of specific ways of Bishops Conference and with funding from building will use local stone, wood and living of some peoples over others, the Vatican, designs have been shown for a palms, and employ Yanomami construction including economically, building that respects indigenous traditions. techniques and local artisans and artists. culturally and religiously. We Volunteer architects Tobias Bonk and Construction will begin in the second half reject an evangelisation of Teresa Cavaco come from a Brazilian firm of 2020 and take about 18 months to colonialist style. To proclaim the with the best reputation for religious complete. Good News of Jesus implies to architecture and sacred art. They spent Liturgically, the design is a model of recognise the seeds of the Word time in the area, participating in local excellence. The circular worship space is already present in the cultures. rituals, visiting the villages, talking with centred on the altar and ambo with a The evangelisation we propose leaders in an effort to respect customs both separate chapel to house the tabernacle. A today for Amazonia is the indigenous and Christian. They have broad ambulatory around the perimeter inculturated proclamation that designed a church for 500 people, 32m in provides a transition into the sacred The Pan-Amazon Synod of Bishops held symbolising the Church on the move in the generates processes of interculturality, diameter and 25m high, to serve a space and incorporates a way of the during October has created quite a stir in Amazon. Ironically, the critics will often be processes that promote the life of the scattered community of several thousand. cross, spaces for the baptismal font and SCULPTURE FOR ST PETER’S SQUARE the media. For months, the idea of the first to agitate in favour of the right to Church with an Amazonian identity and It will be built on the site where the reconciliation, as well as shrines for ordaining married men to assure the life but they cannot recognise its face. Salesians have had a mission for 50 years. devotion. Eucharist in isolated communities has been expression in another cultural form. This led the Synod to make adventurous debated. The possibility of enhancing This is where the Synod made the greatest proposals for the inculturation of the women’s ministry, perhaps through the statement, challenging a Euro-centric liturgy and liturgical pluralism. It diaconate, has also been canvassed. Church based on the philosophical world recognised that there are already 23 Overall, the Synod promoted a total views of Plato and Aristotle. The Synod’s different Rites in the Catholic Church ecological vision which will prevent final document articulates a profound (including the Roman Rite) and gave exploitation of the Amazon and its people. respect for the local indigenous culture and impetus to the development of a liturgical And once again, the event demonstrated firmly rejects an evangelisation in a Rite for the Amazon. the call to synodality as a key modus colonialist mode. operandi for church governance. All these 119. The new organism of the Church in elements are represented in the final 14. The life of Amazonian communities Amazonia [a regional synodal structure document. not yet affected by the influx of Western overlapping the various national bishops At Mass on the World Day of Migrants and civilisation is reflected in the belief and conferences covering the region] must Refugees at the end of September, Pope Francis One of the most far-reaching dimensions of rites about the action of the spirits of the establish a competent commission to reaffirmed the need to show hospitality and the Synod, however, would certainly be its divinity, called in innumerable ways, inclusion towards vulnerable displaced people. embrace of inculturation. The fuss over study and dialogue, according to uses with and in the territory, with and in He used the key words ‘welcome, protect, the Pachamama figurines was the tip of and customs of the ancestral peoples, the relation with nature. Let us acknowledge promote, integrate’ to advocate the integral the iceberg. These simple wood carvings of elaboration of an Amazonian Rite, that for thousands of years they have which expresses the Amazonian human development of all people. He then a pregnant woman, symbols of the looked after the earth, its waters, and liturgical, theological, disciplinary and unveiled a life-size bronze statue in St Peter’s Amazon people’s respect for life and Square representing migrants of various creation, appeared in the opening ritual in forests, and have succeeded in spiritual patrimony, with special preserving them up to today so that reference to what Lumen Gentium 23 cultures and historical periods. He said he the Vatican gardens and were subsequently wanted the sculpture to remind all of the placed in a church in the Via della humanity can benefit from the affirms for the Oriental Churches. This evangelical challenge of hospitality. Conciliazione. There was outcry on enjoyment of the free gifts of God’s would be added to the rites already traditionalist blogs that this constituted Creation. The new pathways of present in the Church, enriching the It is the work of Canadian artist, Timothy evangelisation must be built on dialogue work of evangelisation, the capacity to Schmalz, widely known for his bronze of the idolatory. So much so that they were stolen and thrown into the Tiber, an action with this fundamental knowledge, in express the faith in one’s own culture, homeless Jesus. The work is sincere in its for which the pope himself apologised. which it is manifested as seeds of the and the sense of decentralisation and intent but heavy and literal in its design. One Word. commentator called it ‘lumpen and inert’. It is Our photo, taken on 19 October 2019, collegiality that can express the catholicity a pity an inspired contemporary work was not shows members of Amazon indigenous 55. We are all invited to approach the of the Church. It could also study and commissioned. It is the first new sculpture populations preparing for a Way of the Amazonian peoples as equals, respecting propose how to enrich ecclesial rites with introduced into the square in 400 years. Cross procession. In foreground is one of their history, their cultures, their ‘good the way in which these peoples look after How long will it remain there? the Pachamama carvings with a canoe living’ style. Colonialism is the their territory and relate to its waters.

12 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 13

INCULTURATION IN THE AMAZON A NEW CHURCH BUILDING FOR THE AMAZON

Alongside the Synod for the Amazon, plans The design takes its inspiration from

have been released for an iconic traditional communal housing, circular in indigenous church for the Yanomami shape and built of wood and palm. Like people in far northwest Brazil near the the traditional architecture, the church will border with Venezuela. Originating several be open at its centre, establishing a link years ago with an idea of the local tribes between the visible and invisible universes. themselves, with assistance from the Because everything must be brought to the Liturgy Commission of the Brazilian site by boat, as much as possible the imposition of specific ways of Bishops Conference and with funding from building will use local stone, wood and living of some peoples over others, the Vatican, designs have been shown for a palms, and employ Yanomami construction including economically, building that respects indigenous traditions. techniques and local artisans and artists. culturally and religiously. We Volunteer architects Tobias Bonk and Construction will begin in the second half reject an evangelisation of Teresa Cavaco come from a Brazilian firm of 2020 and take about 18 months to colonialist style. To proclaim the with the best reputation for religious complete. Good News of Jesus implies to architecture and sacred art. They spent Liturgically, the design is a model of recognise the seeds of the Word time in the area, participating in local excellence. The circular worship space is already present in the cultures. rituals, visiting the villages, talking with centred on the altar and ambo with a The evangelisation we propose leaders in an effort to respect customs both separate chapel to house the tabernacle. A today for Amazonia is the indigenous and Christian. They have broad ambulatory around the perimeter inculturated proclamation that designed a church for 500 people, 32m in provides a transition into the sacred The Pan-Amazon Synod of Bishops held symbolising the Church on the move in the generates processes of interculturality, diameter and 25m high, to serve a space and incorporates a way of the during October has created quite a stir in Amazon. Ironically, the critics will often be processes that promote the life of the scattered community of several thousand. cross, spaces for the baptismal font and SCULPTURE FOR ST PETER’S SQUARE the media. For months, the idea of the first to agitate in favour of the right to Church with an Amazonian identity and It will be built on the site where the reconciliation, as well as shrines for ordaining married men to assure the life but they cannot recognise its face. Salesians have had a mission for 50 years. devotion. Eucharist in isolated communities has been expression in another cultural form. This led the Synod to make adventurous debated. The possibility of enhancing This is where the Synod made the greatest proposals for the inculturation of the women’s ministry, perhaps through the statement, challenging a Euro-centric liturgy and liturgical pluralism. It diaconate, has also been canvassed. Church based on the philosophical world recognised that there are already 23 Overall, the Synod promoted a total views of Plato and Aristotle. The Synod’s different Rites in the Catholic Church ecological vision which will prevent final document articulates a profound (including the Roman Rite) and gave exploitation of the Amazon and its people. respect for the local indigenous culture and impetus to the development of a liturgical And once again, the event demonstrated firmly rejects an evangelisation in a Rite for the Amazon. the call to synodality as a key modus colonialist mode. operandi for church governance. All these 119. The new organism of the Church in elements are represented in the final 14. The life of Amazonian communities Amazonia [a regional synodal structure document. not yet affected by the influx of Western overlapping the various national bishops At Mass on the World Day of Migrants and civilisation is reflected in the belief and conferences covering the region] must Refugees at the end of September, Pope Francis One of the most far-reaching dimensions of rites about the action of the spirits of the establish a competent commission to reaffirmed the need to show hospitality and the Synod, however, would certainly be its divinity, called in innumerable ways, inclusion towards vulnerable displaced people. embrace of inculturation. The fuss over study and dialogue, according to uses with and in the territory, with and in He used the key words ‘welcome, protect, the Pachamama figurines was the tip of and customs of the ancestral peoples, the relation with nature. Let us acknowledge promote, integrate’ to advocate the integral the iceberg. These simple wood carvings of elaboration of an Amazonian Rite, that for thousands of years they have which expresses the Amazonian human development of all people. He then a pregnant woman, symbols of the looked after the earth, its waters, and liturgical, theological, disciplinary and unveiled a life-size bronze statue in St Peter’s Amazon people’s respect for life and Square representing migrants of various creation, appeared in the opening ritual in forests, and have succeeded in spiritual patrimony, with special preserving them up to today so that reference to what Lumen Gentium 23 cultures and historical periods. He said he the Vatican gardens and were subsequently wanted the sculpture to remind all of the placed in a church in the Via della humanity can benefit from the affirms for the Oriental Churches. This evangelical challenge of hospitality. Conciliazione. There was outcry on enjoyment of the free gifts of God’s would be added to the rites already traditionalist blogs that this constituted Creation. The new pathways of present in the Church, enriching the It is the work of Canadian artist, Timothy evangelisation must be built on dialogue work of evangelisation, the capacity to Schmalz, widely known for his bronze of the idolatory. So much so that they were stolen and thrown into the Tiber, an action with this fundamental knowledge, in express the faith in one’s own culture, homeless Jesus. The work is sincere in its for which the pope himself apologised. which it is manifested as seeds of the and the sense of decentralisation and intent but heavy and literal in its design. One Word. commentator called it ‘lumpen and inert’. It is Our photo, taken on 19 October 2019, collegiality that can express the catholicity a pity an inspired contemporary work was not shows members of Amazon indigenous 55. We are all invited to approach the of the Church. It could also study and commissioned. It is the first new sculpture populations preparing for a Way of the Amazonian peoples as equals, respecting propose how to enrich ecclesial rites with introduced into the square in 400 years. Cross procession. In foreground is one of their history, their cultures, their ‘good the way in which these peoples look after How long will it remain there? the Pachamama carvings with a canoe living’ style. Colonialism is the their territory and relate to its waters.

12 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 13

transformation of this present created dependence on God and we hand world into the new creation (p. 21). ourselves over to God in our needs and The Christmas texts make use of the Historically, liturgical inculturation has O’Loughlin suggests we ask: Does this symbolism of light, but it is always the occurred more by authentic performance fears and in our journey into the future bread in any way involve human beings (p. 71). It is a fine line in liturgy between symbol of dawn – night giving way to of the liturgy than by scholarly daylight. Notwithstanding echoes which manipulation of its forms. The challenge is caught up in the many possible forms of ministering and monopolising. The slavery in our world? And we have to Eucharistic Prayer is prayed in the first- people in some places might hear in the to catch what is authentic and to reflect phrases ‘true light’ and ‘new radiance’, I critically upon it. Critical reflection upon ask about the availability of bread for person plural: this is Christ’s action and would suggest that there is nothing the praxis is the task of liturgical Frank O’Loughlin, New the all for whom Christ died (p. 27). The not just ours. The priest’s role is not to CELEBRATING whatever in these texts which is specific to catechesis. It evaluates and refines the inclusiveness of the ‘all’ is stressed several stand between Christ and the gathered the winter solstice. The feast, its practice and opens up the experience of the Wineskins: Eucharist in times by O’Loughlin, a good shake up for Church but to enable and minister to the those who are getting used to the communion between Christ and the CHRISTMAS IN interpretation and even its texts may have liturgy for participants. Perhaps the been formed in the crucible of the winter problem in Australia is that we have relied Today’s Context eucharistic words ‘for you and for many’. Church gathered for the Eucharist (p. 81). (Coventry Press, 2019) 85 pages. AUSTRALIA solstice but this is not a normative or so much on liturgical catechesis framed in O’Loughlin tackles the ambiguous notion Besides the taking, blessing, breaking and necessary element in the tradition. These the northern hemisphere that we have by Tom Elich by James Cronin of sacrifice. It must be grounded in Jesus’ sharing, the Eucharist encompasses word same texts have been used in a vast variety unconsciously come to accept it as revelation of a God of love. After pointing as well as. God’s word is only what God of cultures and situations for fourteen normative. out how, in relation to God, we are says but how it is received: God enters centuries, apparently without any need to Liturgy does not happen between the pages like children who owe everything into dialogue with concrete Some people and Churches in Australia adapt them to the specifics of climate or of the Roman Missal. Liturgy is an event, The Church is now in a new ball game to our parents, but he notes that human beings in all their have argued that we need to develop landscape. I believe they are equally and it is this that captures the particularity which is about more than getting our dependence can be made into a ambiguity. He has always liturgical texts drawing on the Australian appropriate for a Christmas celebration in of time and place. It occurs when the theology right or teaching the faith debt that must be repaid… sought and still seeks to draw landscape and the experience of the the Australian midsummer. seasons in this country. The Uniting Church gathers to listen to the word, break properly; theology and catechesis simply Sacrifice can take on all the us out of that ambiguity into Church of Australia, for example, has bounce off many people today (p. 10). So various unhealthy forms that union with himself through introduced Australian imagery into the writes Frank O’Loughlin, an experienced dependence can take on dialogue with his word (p. 76). Preface of one of its Eucharistic Prayers: Melbourne pastor and teacher. Towards among human beings. It A priest I admire says that a We bless you for this wide red land, for the end of his new book, he notes: If the can take the form of a deal, good preparation for preaching is its rugged beauty, its changing seasons, liturgy is to bear fruit, it has to take into a trade: I give to you in to ask what bits of the reading for its diverse peoples, and for all that account the way our minds work (p. 81). order that you give to me. It can be made you want to say, ‘I can’t cop reduced to subservience so that the debt that’, and then weave your reaction into lives upon this fragile earth. You have He recognises the need for a new is crushing and I feel the need to crush your homily. O’Loughlin would agree: called us to be the Church in this place, evangelisation such as that proposed by myself to correspond to it (p. 64). The What honest reactions do those words to give voice to every creature under Catholics for Renewal who published their concept is so difficult to understand provoke in us? What questions do they heaven (Uniting in Worship, p. 212). submission to the Plenary Council 2020 correctly that he remarks: one cannot but raise up in us? …The honesty of the In fact, the texts in the Roman Missal and eat, pour out and drink, anoint with under the title, Getting Back On Mission: Many have suggested that it may be very wonder about its usefulness in the reaction is the starting point of the display an admirable and helpful reticence oil or wash in water. Australian people The call to be the People of God has to be helpful in our liturgical books to be able to contemporary context (p. 66). activity of the word of God in us (p. 73). relate Christmas to mid-summer and Easter in their specificity to a particular time and who come to celebrate Christmas do not experienced in liturgy, where Christ is to the refreshing cool of autumn, that this place. For if we in Australia sought crunch across the snow in the village present in the gathered assembly. Many The way O’Loughlin explores the The beauty of O’Loughlin’s book is its lack might set up a special resonance in our liturgical rites specific to the place where square – they come in from the beach. It eucharistic liturgies still focus on the sacramental symbols is powerful. When of pretention and prolixity. All Catholics minds and hearts if our liturgical texts and we worship, we could not begin to imagine is holiday time. Dressed informally as altar, rarely inviting worshippers to Jesus gives bread to his disciples and can easily and profitably plumb its depths. rites spoke of the time and place where we a unified set of texts or ritual patterns for Aussies are wont to do, they come into engage in full, active, and conscious says, ‘Take this, all of you, and eat it – It is a gentle warning to those who think live. Australian images and metaphors the whole country. There is little in Australian architecture, adorned by communal participation... These this is my body’, he is establishing a nothing has changed in Catholic culture. common between the tropical rainforests Australian artists, decorated with native perceptions of the liturgy are both accurate would provide specific entry points for the communion with them… He is giving Our basic sacramental symbols will not of the north, the temperate seacoast of the flowers. Unless they have been looking at and challenging! I note that attendance at Christian people of this land, drawing them himself to them as life-giving with a life change but, in each different age and south and the arid desert of the interior. too many old-world Christmas cards, Sunday Mass in my diocese dropped 36% more naturally into the timeless mystery of that is internal to them (p. 16). The society, we need to see them in a fresh The wet and dry seasons of Australia’s references to the sun evoke the salty smell in the decade 2006-2016, and this is typical the Christ event. connection between bread, body and way. St Augustine comments that all our north are foreign to the experience of of the sea, a warmth on the skin, perhaps across the country. relationship evokes the marriage covenant. those who live in Melbourne or Hobart. the glow of a little sunburn. most sacred things come from the kitchen Christmas O’Loughlin addresses these issues by I like to think about the phrases, This is – bread, wine, water, oil and, of course, All this happens automatically because the my body given for you and With my body There is indeed an alienation when exploring the layers of meaning in the very hands. These thing provide the The Action of the Liturgy liturgy is anchored in the here and now. It I thee worship together. Christmas is presented to us from the signs of the sacraments. For the Jews, sacraments with their unique language is incarnate in these people who celebrate context of the Northern winter solstice. It The particularity of a place and time is bread symbolised many things: slavery, I remember a priest of yore, a man known and, as with any language, we need to the Christmas liturgy looking forward to a is silly for us to sing of dashing through provided not so much by the liturgical text freedom from slavery, and God’s abundant to preside almost hurriedly, who, on being understand it if we are to use it Christmas day spent around the backyard the snow or to employ the all-too-familiar as by the liturgical event. This is where we care (the manna in the desert). For us it informed that Padre Pio took an hour to effectively (p. 13). Frank O’Loughlin has pool with a kilo of prawns and a glass of liturgical catechesis of the lengthening of capture the specific style and multicultural can mean care for the environment and complete weekday Mass, replied: ‘Does he given us a good head-start. Highly wine or a frosty beer. It is the context days. While there has been a long mix of the assembly; this is where the the value of our labour (the ‘work of think he is the one turning the bread and recommended! rather than the text, the event rather than tradition of such interpretation stretching great moment in liturgical time is human hands’). All of creation has wine into the body and blood of Christ?’ the book, which sets our Christmas liturgy from the Fathers of the Church down to incarnate in the song, voice, preaching, worked together to get that loaf to be our O’Loughlin points out: it is God who is at  James Cronin, our regular into our own matrix of the invincible modern American school textbooks, these intercession of a real gathering of the local food… The Eucharist…is the foretaste the centre! …In interceding for ourselves reviewer, is parish priest of Dalby summer sun. interpretations are not found in the Church. Who are we and how do we and promise of what is to come – the and our world…we recognise our (Toowoomba). He has a liturgy liturgical texts of the Roman Missal+-. behave before, during and after the liturgy? resurrection of the body, the degree from Sant’Anselmo in Rome.

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transformation of this present created dependence on God and we hand world into the new creation (p. 21). ourselves over to God in our needs and The Christmas texts make use of the Historically, liturgical inculturation has O’Loughlin suggests we ask: Does this symbolism of light, but it is always the occurred more by authentic performance fears and in our journey into the future bread in any way involve human beings (p. 71). It is a fine line in liturgy between symbol of dawn – night giving way to of the liturgy than by scholarly daylight. Notwithstanding echoes which manipulation of its forms. The challenge is caught up in the many possible forms of ministering and monopolising. The slavery in our world? And we have to Eucharistic Prayer is prayed in the first- people in some places might hear in the to catch what is authentic and to reflect phrases ‘true light’ and ‘new radiance’, I critically upon it. Critical reflection upon ask about the availability of bread for person plural: this is Christ’s action and would suggest that there is nothing the praxis is the task of liturgical Frank O’Loughlin, New the all for whom Christ died (p. 27). The not just ours. The priest’s role is not to CELEBRATING whatever in these texts which is specific to catechesis. It evaluates and refines the inclusiveness of the ‘all’ is stressed several stand between Christ and the gathered the winter solstice. The feast, its practice and opens up the experience of the Wineskins: Eucharist in times by O’Loughlin, a good shake up for Church but to enable and minister to the those who are getting used to the communion between Christ and the CHRISTMAS IN interpretation and even its texts may have liturgy for participants. Perhaps the been formed in the crucible of the winter problem in Australia is that we have relied Today’s Context eucharistic words ‘for you and for many’. Church gathered for the Eucharist (p. 81). (Coventry Press, 2019) 85 pages. AUSTRALIA solstice but this is not a normative or so much on liturgical catechesis framed in O’Loughlin tackles the ambiguous notion Besides the taking, blessing, breaking and necessary element in the tradition. These the northern hemisphere that we have by Tom Elich by James Cronin of sacrifice. It must be grounded in Jesus’ sharing, the Eucharist encompasses word same texts have been used in a vast variety unconsciously come to accept it as revelation of a God of love. After pointing as well as. God’s word is only what God of cultures and situations for fourteen normative. out how, in relation to God, we are says but how it is received: God enters centuries, apparently without any need to Liturgy does not happen between the pages like children who owe everything into dialogue with concrete Some people and Churches in Australia adapt them to the specifics of climate or of the Roman Missal. Liturgy is an event, The Church is now in a new ball game to our parents, but he notes that human beings in all their have argued that we need to develop landscape. I believe they are equally and it is this that captures the particularity which is about more than getting our dependence can be made into a ambiguity. He has always liturgical texts drawing on the Australian appropriate for a Christmas celebration in of time and place. It occurs when the theology right or teaching the faith debt that must be repaid… sought and still seeks to draw landscape and the experience of the the Australian midsummer. seasons in this country. The Uniting Church gathers to listen to the word, break properly; theology and catechesis simply Sacrifice can take on all the us out of that ambiguity into Church of Australia, for example, has bounce off many people today (p. 10). So various unhealthy forms that union with himself through introduced Australian imagery into the writes Frank O’Loughlin, an experienced dependence can take on dialogue with his word (p. 76). Preface of one of its Eucharistic Prayers: Melbourne pastor and teacher. Towards among human beings. It A priest I admire says that a We bless you for this wide red land, for the end of his new book, he notes: If the can take the form of a deal, good preparation for preaching is its rugged beauty, its changing seasons, liturgy is to bear fruit, it has to take into a trade: I give to you in to ask what bits of the reading for its diverse peoples, and for all that account the way our minds work (p. 81). order that you give to me. It can be made you want to say, ‘I can’t cop reduced to subservience so that the debt that’, and then weave your reaction into lives upon this fragile earth. You have He recognises the need for a new is crushing and I feel the need to crush your homily. O’Loughlin would agree: called us to be the Church in this place, evangelisation such as that proposed by myself to correspond to it (p. 64). The What honest reactions do those words to give voice to every creature under Catholics for Renewal who published their concept is so difficult to understand provoke in us? What questions do they heaven (Uniting in Worship, p. 212). submission to the Plenary Council 2020 correctly that he remarks: one cannot but raise up in us? …The honesty of the In fact, the texts in the Roman Missal and eat, pour out and drink, anoint with under the title, Getting Back On Mission: Many have suggested that it may be very wonder about its usefulness in the reaction is the starting point of the display an admirable and helpful reticence oil or wash in water. Australian people The call to be the People of God has to be helpful in our liturgical books to be able to contemporary context (p. 66). activity of the word of God in us (p. 73). relate Christmas to mid-summer and Easter in their specificity to a particular time and who come to celebrate Christmas do not experienced in liturgy, where Christ is to the refreshing cool of autumn, that this place. For if we in Australia sought crunch across the snow in the village present in the gathered assembly. Many The way O’Loughlin explores the The beauty of O’Loughlin’s book is its lack might set up a special resonance in our liturgical rites specific to the place where square – they come in from the beach. It eucharistic liturgies still focus on the sacramental symbols is powerful. When of pretention and prolixity. All Catholics minds and hearts if our liturgical texts and we worship, we could not begin to imagine is holiday time. Dressed informally as altar, rarely inviting worshippers to Jesus gives bread to his disciples and can easily and profitably plumb its depths. rites spoke of the time and place where we a unified set of texts or ritual patterns for Aussies are wont to do, they come into engage in full, active, and conscious says, ‘Take this, all of you, and eat it – It is a gentle warning to those who think live. Australian images and metaphors the whole country. There is little in Australian architecture, adorned by communal participation... These this is my body’, he is establishing a nothing has changed in Catholic culture. common between the tropical rainforests Australian artists, decorated with native perceptions of the liturgy are both accurate would provide specific entry points for the communion with them… He is giving Our basic sacramental symbols will not of the north, the temperate seacoast of the flowers. Unless they have been looking at and challenging! I note that attendance at Christian people of this land, drawing them himself to them as life-giving with a life change but, in each different age and south and the arid desert of the interior. too many old-world Christmas cards, Sunday Mass in my diocese dropped 36% more naturally into the timeless mystery of that is internal to them (p. 16). The society, we need to see them in a fresh The wet and dry seasons of Australia’s references to the sun evoke the salty smell in the decade 2006-2016, and this is typical the Christ event. connection between bread, body and way. St Augustine comments that all our north are foreign to the experience of of the sea, a warmth on the skin, perhaps across the country. relationship evokes the marriage covenant. those who live in Melbourne or Hobart. the glow of a little sunburn. most sacred things come from the kitchen Christmas O’Loughlin addresses these issues by I like to think about the phrases, This is – bread, wine, water, oil and, of course, All this happens automatically because the my body given for you and With my body There is indeed an alienation when exploring the layers of meaning in the very hands. These thing provide the The Action of the Liturgy liturgy is anchored in the here and now. It I thee worship together. Christmas is presented to us from the signs of the sacraments. For the Jews, sacraments with their unique language is incarnate in these people who celebrate context of the Northern winter solstice. It The particularity of a place and time is bread symbolised many things: slavery, I remember a priest of yore, a man known and, as with any language, we need to the Christmas liturgy looking forward to a is silly for us to sing of dashing through provided not so much by the liturgical text freedom from slavery, and God’s abundant to preside almost hurriedly, who, on being understand it if we are to use it Christmas day spent around the backyard the snow or to employ the all-too-familiar as by the liturgical event. This is where we care (the manna in the desert). For us it informed that Padre Pio took an hour to effectively (p. 13). Frank O’Loughlin has pool with a kilo of prawns and a glass of liturgical catechesis of the lengthening of capture the specific style and multicultural can mean care for the environment and complete weekday Mass, replied: ‘Does he given us a good head-start. Highly wine or a frosty beer. It is the context days. While there has been a long mix of the assembly; this is where the the value of our labour (the ‘work of think he is the one turning the bread and recommended! rather than the text, the event rather than tradition of such interpretation stretching great moment in liturgical time is human hands’). All of creation has wine into the body and blood of Christ?’ the book, which sets our Christmas liturgy from the Fathers of the Church down to incarnate in the song, voice, preaching, worked together to get that loaf to be our O’Loughlin points out: it is God who is at  James Cronin, our regular into our own matrix of the invincible modern American school textbooks, these intercession of a real gathering of the local food… The Eucharist…is the foretaste the centre! …In interceding for ourselves reviewer, is parish priest of Dalby summer sun. interpretations are not found in the Church. Who are we and how do we and promise of what is to come – the and our world…we recognise our (Toowoomba). He has a liturgy liturgical texts of the Roman Missal+-. behave before, during and after the liturgy? resurrection of the body, the degree from Sant’Anselmo in Rome.

14 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019 Summer 2019 LITURGY NEWS 15

OUR COVER Bright Star Grace Kumbi

The deep-flowing Daly River runs through a lush tropical landscape where goannas, rock snakes, turtles and magpie geese abound. It is one of the best places to catch barramundi. Yams, waterlily roots and fruits are plentiful. All these elements figure in Grace Kumbi’s Christmas painting Bright Star. She shows all the plants, animals and birds of her country looking to the Holy Family in the central mandala. Mary has a dilly bag and Joseph holds a spear as they cradle the new-born child between

them. The mystery of the incarnation is at the centre of all creation, where the earth and sky meet. Grace Kumbi is the coordinator of indigenous arts at One of Grace’s fellow artists at Nauiyu, Christina Merrepen Arts in the community of Nauiyu Nambiyu Yambeing, wrote: It means a lot to us that Jesus at Daly River. The settlement was a Catholic mission came into the world as a little baby. We know how founded in the mid-1950s and is now an Mary must have felt… Some of us… have been born independent community of several hundred in the bush, maybe under the open sky with the residents, 225 km south of Darwin. Grace was born stars shining above, maybe with only a bough in Darwin in 1968 but grew up in Nauiyu. After shelter to keep off the sun and the rain. So it is that, completing high school in Darwin, she returned to in different ways, we have given our own thoughts paint at the Women’s Centre. to the birth of Christ. The tradition of Christian religious art in Nauiyu is strong. It owes a lot to Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr- Baumann whose stations of the cross are known This is one of the works of art throughout Australia. The first qualified indigenous contained in teacher in the Northern Territory and eventually Our Mob, God’s Story principal at the local school, Miriam-Rose is a (Bible Society Australia, 2017) respected community elder, founder of Merrepen and mentor to younger artists.

IN THIS ISSUE ... EDITORIAL BOARD

Rev Dr Tom Elich (editor) 2. Editor: Celebrating Australia Sr Maree Byron OSU 3 Truly This is an Exulted Place Mr Gerry Crooks 2015 Order of Celebrating Matrimony 6 Rev John Fitz-Herbert 8 Family Mass in the Age of Technology Mrs Elizabeth Harrington 10 News PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY Sr Ursula O’Rourke SGS 14 Australia: Celebrating Christmas Mrs Clare Schwantes 15 Books: O’Loughlin, New Wineskins 16 Our Cover: Grace Kumbi Articles for publication are welcome. We reserve the right to edit material in consultation with the author. Volume 49 Number 4  PRICE PER CALENDAR YEAR SUMMER December 2019 CONTACT Liturgy News

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16 LITURGY NEWS Summer 2019