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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,