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CATHOLIC
PRESS
MONTH
VOL 2 NO 8
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1964
$5.00 PER YEAR
SERVING GEORGIA’S 71 NORTHERN COUNTIES
of Atlanta
‘On The
I.F.NTF.N PASTORAL LETTER
Renewal Of The
Liturgy 9
INTRODUCTION
1 When Pope John
convoked the Second
Vatican Council, he
almost immediately
put liturgy in the first
place for debate and
decision. He wanted
to give more vigor
to Christian life; to
adapt the Church to
the needs of our
times; and to help the whole of mankind (espec
ially those who were baptized in Christ) into the
household of the Church. This is what he meant
by an aggiornamento, a renewal of the spirit of
the Church, an updating of the ways of the Church.
Thus far, the great conciliar Constitution of the
Sacred Liturgy is the chief fruit of the Council.
This is very fitting; and it is timely that our Pas
toral Letter this Lent of 1964 should treat of this
great theme - the liturgy - as it is termed;
"The summit toward which the activity of the
Church is directed; the fountain from which all
her power flows.”
2. The liturgy used to be thought of as a set of
rubrics or rules for ceremonies. Spirituality used
to be considered in the sentence, "I have a soul
to save, - by myself”. Little connection was
seen between the two. So the average Catholic at
tended Mass, went to Mass, was present at Mass. -
almost as a stranger or silent spectator. He took
little part in either the reading of the Bible, or
the liturgy of the Eucharist. The renewal calls for
an entirely new concept, "A full and active parti
cipation by all the people is the aim to be con
sidered before all else.”
A. THE NEW MEANING OF LITURGY
3. The reasons for this are clear: first, lit
urgy is an action, a community-action; second, it
has definite roles, -bishop, priest, layman, each
restored to his proper task in public prayer; and
third, it has its pastoral and teaching part to play,
namely to be simpler, more comprehensible, Ac-
tion then, definite roles, and a pastoral part. But
foremost it is the action of Christ, our Head.
God’s goodness and holiness descends, and man’s
praise ascends. In fact, “to accomplish so great
a work, Christ is always present in His Church,
especially in her liturgical celebrations.” It is the
Mystical Body at work, or rather at prayer, where
Christ the Head is joined to the members. A priest
is not ordained for himself. His role at Mass is not
a solitary one. He is simply the representative
of the people.
B. INFLUENCE OF LITURGY
4.11 is the people, - God’s Holy People, - that
make up the Church, that need the liturgy. For
,s ’\ v '^ nii mumm iir m ormirir iMiiM
the liturgy is not created nor made up by the
Church. It is received from God, but it can exist
only for the people. It will be helpful for us to
examine this. There will be changes in it, - English
for Latin in some places, certain other changes,
more Scripture. But the chief transformation will
•Jiot be on the surface, but rather in the fundamen
tal things; the effect on you personally, on the
parish, on the Church, and on those separated
from the Church but still joined by baptism.
(a) On You Personally
5. You are asked to come out from behind the
pillar and put away your rosary. You are asked
to join with the priest in a community prayer and
action, first drawing in the riches of the Bible.
then participating in the Eucharist, particularly
by receiving Christ’s Body and Blood. Your pray
ers, hymns, responses and gestures will be im
portant, All the while, you will be more conscious
of yourself, your family, your neighbor as part
of this “Holy People”. Through thepriestwho is
Christ’s representative, you are taking your part
in the Mystical Body.
6.1 n the Sacraments, there is that same divine
life at work. There has been the same mistake
here, the misconception that the Sacraments were
simply signs or symbols. Baptism and Confirma
tion of a child or adult now is more clearly seen
as a true initiation into a new life. Penance, al
though confidential, also partakes of one common
vitality in Christ. Marriage and Priesthood are not
just "ways of life”. They are definite roles and
tasks to carry out. The priest administers the
parish; the parents the home and family. And the
Sacrament once called “Extreme Unction” is now
called “Anointing of the Sick” to show that its
chief purpose is to strengthen.
7.T he Sacraments, therefore, are to sanctify
men; to build up the body of Christ; and to give
€CCL€SIA SctA
worship to God. You are influenced each time you
receive one of them, as you are when you take
part in the Eucharist. Modern man is not content
with abstractions. Concrete realities are essential
today. In the Mass and the Sacraments, as well as
the Divine Office of the priests, the Church pro
vides these realities.
there will be a vast transformation. We have spok
en of the effect on the person and the parish. Now,
the Church will stress more vigorously the read
ing of the Scriptures, and in fact, one commenta
tor, Father Fred McManus, a liturgical specia
list of the Council, speaks of a “real revolution”
in preaching - “the proclamation of God’s wonder
ful works in the history of salvation”.
(d) On Other Believers In Christ
11. Finally, in these urgent days of the ecu
menical movement, with those not of our faith
deeply interested in the aggiornamento of the Cath
olic Church, what effect will the liturgical renewal
have on the yearning for union between ourselves
and those who are separated but not formally set
apart? It will be indirect and gradual. It will be
new and strange to Protestants to hear the Scrip
tures used with more familiarity in Catholic ser
vices. The vernacular, - in our case, English, -
can make them much more at home. Our new use
of hymns; our common book, the Bible, and our
mutual prayer, the Our Father, all become bonds
of union.
(b) On The Parish
8.Secondly, what will the liturgical renewal do
for the parish? It has already been noted that the
liturgy exists for the people of God, That includes
not only the Church, centered around the bishop in
his cathedral church, but also those groupings of
the faithful known as parishes. The Church is a liv
ing, pulsating thing but it exists here and now on
the local level in our parishes. As one American
priest, Father Joseph Connolly, of Baltimore, has
written, “Only when the Christian experiences
that his coming to church is in response to God’s
call, that he is with his brothers...” then will he
be able to sense himself and his parish as they are
in the mind of God.
9. Thus, the parish. Each of us, - priest, sis
ter, brother, layman, child, - has his role to play;
some more precisely liturgical, others more or
dinary. In each of them, the liturgy strengthens
the Christian’s way of life. Otherwise, the great
public worship of the Church is but a pageant, a
show, a solemn drama. It was never intended to
be such. It was intended to be for the increase of
holiness of God’s People. It is in the parish that
this takes place for the average Catholic,
(c) On The Church Itself
10. Thirdly, The Effect of the liturgical renewal
on the Church Itself, of course, will be very great.
In missionary countries, the principal of adapta
tion will allow for local usages and regional ini
tiative; the vernacular will permit the old Latin
rigidity to be relaxed. But in our own country too
C. PRACTICAL STEPS
12. What a theme for our Lenten meditation.
In a short letter, this is what the new liturgy
will mean to us. It is a key part of the updating,
th e renewal that Pope John held so vital for our
times. The new liturgical transformation runs like
a golden thread through Pope Paul’s words to the
Council - the need for reforms; for the Church’s
awareness of herself: for union with our separat
ed brethren; and for the bridge to our modern
world. In fact, up to this point, the Constitution
on the Liturgy is the great keystone of the arch ol
the Council. Soon will come the decisions on the
role of the bishops, the part of the layman, on re
ligious liberty and the ecumenical efforts. Right
now, it is the public worship of the Church that
is the key.
13. So now we ask the priests and people of
our archdiocese to meditate on these things-that
liturgy is a public community-action, with defi
nite roles and a pastoral, teaching part. It is
Christ offering His Father the Eucharistic Sacri
fice as Head of the Mystical Body. Its effect on
each of us personally,- on our parish, on the
church, on our separated brethren, - will be deep
and vigorious.
14.0ur pastors are urged to preach, again and
again, the true meaning of the liturgy, and to fol
low each new move so that the new spirit will en
liven our parishes. In our schools, our sisters,
and lay teachers, and confraternity teachers are
cautioned to explain the liturgy to our children,
not in terms of rules and ceremonies, but of the
new changes. Our parish societies should meet to
discuss the new Constitution, and the Explanations
of it,
15. It will not be an easy experience. It will be
new and strenuous. But a year of it will bring the
liturgy alive in our parishes.
CONCLUSION
16. The liturgy is “the public worship which
Christ, the Head of the Church offers to His
Heavenly Father, and which the community of the
faithful, - all of us, - pay to its Founder, and
through Him to the Eternal Father.” This means
that it is divine, and yet it is human too. But as
the French liturgist, Father Louis Bouyer, has
written, “If it is the work of God, it is of a God
who became man.” That is our confidence. That
is our assurance.
Archbishop of Atlanta
REFERENCES
All references are to the Constitution on the Sac
red Liturgy or to Pius XII, Mediator Dei, or to the
following:
1. Fr. Frederick R. McManus, “Changes in the
Liturgy”, Commonweal, Feb. 14,1964,p,596
2. Fr. Joseph M. Connolly, ’The Parish: A
Total View” From The Revival of the Lit
urgy (1963) pp. 127-128
3. Fr. Louis Bouyer, of the Oratory
IMPOSSIBLE FORECAST
Unknown When
Liturgy Changes
Will Be Realized
This is the ninth in a series
on the broad reforms in the pub
lic worship of the Church which
were enacted by the ecumeni
cal council. The author, an
official council expert, is a pro
fessor of canon law at the Cath
olic University of America and
the immediate past president of
the North American Liturgical
Conference.
BY FATHER FREDERICK R.
mcmanus
(N. C. W. C. NEWS SERVICE)
What will the Mass of the fut
ure look like? How soon will
all the changes decreed last
December by the Second Vati
can Council became a matter of
ordinary parish practice?
The answer to the second
question is impossible to give.
The 2,000 bishops of the coun
cil could not themselves work
out the details of a revised,
reformed Mass rite and text.
Only recently (Jan. 25) has Pope
Paul VI established a commiss
ion to correct the official mis
sal "so that the sacrifice of the
Mass, even in the ritual forms
of its celebration, may become
pastorally efficacious to the
fullest degree.”
THE OTHER question is eas
ier. The council’s Constitution
on the Liturgy, Chapter II, en
titled “The Most Sacred Mys
tery of the Eucharist,” gives
the general directions and also
the purpose; that the meaning of
the Mass “may be more clearly
manifested, and that devout and
active participation by the
faithful may be more easily
achieved.”
Some changes are obvious
enough. Others, like concele-
bration of Mass and Communion
under both kinds, require much
explanation.
Even the simpler changes
may take time to work out;
• Official use of mother ton
gues, at least for the Scriptu
ral readings and the parts of
Mass which are properly said
or sung by the people.
• Greater variety and better
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
THIS NEW 50-cent piece bears a profile of the late President John F. Kennedy on the front and the
presidential seal on the back. The first eight coins struck were given to President Johnson for
Mrs. Kennedy, her children and members of the family. About 90 million coins will be turned out
during 1964 at the mints in Philadelphia and Denver.
MAJOR U.N. CONCERN
Religious Intolerance Issue
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y.
(NC) Racial discrimination
and religious intolerance held
the United Nations spotlight as
the U, N. Human Rights Com
mission began its 20th session
Monday (Feb. 17).
First priority on the com
mission’s chronically crowded
agenda was given the draft con
vention on the elimination of
racial discrimination just com
pleted by the Subcommission on
the Prevention of Discriminat
ion. The commission must re
view, amend if it deems it
advisable, and adopt a text for
The drawings published in the
Archbishop’s Lenten Pastoral
Letter are from “Symbols
in the Church” by Carl Van
Freeck and Aloysius Croft; pub
lished by the Bruce Publishing
Company, Milwaukee.
submission — through the
Economic and Social Council—
to the next session of the U.N.
General Assembly.
SECONDLY, commission
members will have to turn their
attention to drafting a declarat
ion on the elimination of all
forms of religious intolerance.
It will have before it the vari
ous texts and the discussion of
the Subcommission on the Pre-
CONT1NUF.D ON PAGE 8
INCLUDED IN NEK COUNCIL
Six Archdiocesan Lay
Advisors For Education
Lay members form part of a
new Advisory Council for Edu
cation, approved this week by
Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan.
Msgr. Patrick J. O'Connor,
recently appointed Archdioce
san Secretary for Education,
announced that the new.Coun
cil will consist of Principals
and Vice Principals of High
Schools, several Principals of
Elementary Schools, and a se
lected group of lay men and lay
women.
Purpose of the Council is to
assist Monsignor O’Connor to
meet the present needs in this
area and to plan the future
progress of our Catholic
schools. Names of the Council
follow:
Msgr. P. J. O'Connor, Arch
diocesan Secretary for Educa
tion,
Sister Mary Severine, Super
visor, archdiocesan elementary
schools.
St. Pius X High School: Rev.
James L. Harrison, principal;
Rev. John J. Cotter, vice-prin
cipal; and Sister M. Amabilis.
St. Joseph High School: Rev.
Daniel J. O'Connor, acting prin
cipal and Sister Mary Magdala,
vice-principal.
Drexel High School: Rev.
Richard Leary, principal; Sis
ter M. Donatus, vice-principal.
Our Lady of the Assumption
School: Sister Mary Brigid,
principal,
St. Jude the Apostle School;
Sister Francis Maureen, prin
cipal.
Our Lady’s Day School: Sis
ter M. Simeon, principal.
SS. Peter and Paul School:
Mother Edmunda, principal.
Papal Count
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (NC) —
Thomas W. Pangborn, local in
dustrialist and philanthropist,
has been named a papal count
by Pope Paul VI. In 1951, he
was named a Knight Grand
Cross of the Holy Sepulchre.
In 1960, Pope John XXIII ap
pointed him as a Private Cham
berlain of the Sword and Cape.
In 1949, Pangborn was made a
Knight of Malta.
St. Joseph’s School, Mariet
ta: Sister William Joseph, prin
cipal.
Our Lady of Lourdes School:
Mother Ruth, principal.
St. John the Evangelist
School, Hapeville: Sister Mary
Richard, principal.
Mrs. Alex W. Smith, Jr„
Mrs. L. Upchurch, the Hon.
Joseph Salome, Mr. Roscoe L.
Thomas, Mr. Charles E. La
Duca, Mr. Sam McQuaid,
Inclusion of the laity as advi
sors in Archdiocesan education
is a “new approach”, experi
enced in only a few dioceses in
the country. In the Archdiocese
of Atlanta, however, it continues
the trend, initiated by Archbis
hop Hallinan, for greater use of
the talents of the laity in the
works of the Church in North
ern Georgia,
Other groups within the Arch
diocese which have lay advisors
include the Catholic Youth Or
ganization, the Commission for
Christian Unity, the Commis
sion on Religious Vocations and
the Commission on Sacred Lit
urgy,