Author: John Schultz

Liturgy There’s a big push

Liturgy
There’s a big push in the Arlington Diocese right now to get liturical practices in line with the new General Instruction to the Roman Missal (GIRM). I’m all in favor of that as it speaks to the “why” and “how” we worship God at Mass and ultimately makes the liturgy Christocentric rather than a celebration of man. At my parish on the first Sunday of Advent there will be several things that change to conform to the GIRM: no more blessing of infants during the distribution of communion (all are blessed at the end of Mass), no more Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist in the entrance procession, more uniformity and emphasis on gestures and posture, and more.
I was at the liturgy planning meeting for the parish when we discussed this – it struck me that in most U.S. parishes, there’s never been that kind of a meeting. We had all reviewed the new GIRM and been to several workshops/seminars on the content. The liturgy director had created a list of changes we needed to discuss, and the consensus from pastor all the way down was that we need to “follow the rules.” Not because they are rules, but because we understood and wanted to live by the theological implications of the guidelines that are in the new General Instruction.
I’d be curious to know if this is happening anywhere else. It’s a perfect time for an candid, honest and open review of our liturgical practices in the U.S. I don’t have to repeat that the liturgical mayhem of the last 30 years that has been caused by innovations and ignorance is not a good thing.

Christmas Music Mayhem Several years

Christmas Music Mayhem
Several years back, before I started conducting at my parish, the choir had in their repertoire a Caribbean tune called “The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy” (note to liturgists: having a suburban DC parish sing Caribbean tunes is not a good example of inculturation.) The piece starts with a baritone solo, and he stood in front of the microphone and sang: “The Virgin Mary Had a Baby GIRL.”
The congregation roared and giggled thru the entire Mass. And he never lived it down.

Say it ain’t so, St.

Say it ain’t so, St. Joe!
I just got an e-mail from St. Joseph Communications, a publisher of Catholic tapes & CDs.
Subject: Special Christmas Offer
First Line: With only a few weeks left until Our Lord’s birthday, there is still time to get the gift that will inspire all to a deeper understanding and devotion to this Holy Season.
Do you have any special offers for Advent? Do you have reservations about recycling marketing material from 12/05/01? I thought I had to go to Target to get deals on Christmas items!